We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The nobler and more perfect a thing is, the later and slower it is in arriving at maturity. A man reaches the maturity of his reasoning powers and mental faculties hardly before the age of twenty-eight; a woman at eighteen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Maturity takes time to develop and varies between individuals.
This quote by Arthur Schopenhauer emphasizes that true maturity, whether in reasoning or emotional understanding, is a gradual process that occurs later in life than often expected. It highlights the distinction in the timeline of maturity between men and women, suggesting that complete intellectual and emotional development requires experience and time, which underscores the importance of patience in personal growth.
Themes
MaturityWisdomGrowthAgeDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to illustrate that everyone develops at their own pace.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes →To be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
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Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.
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Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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