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
One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind. In order to read what is good one must make it a condition never to read what is bad; for life is short, and both time and strength limited.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Choose your reading material wisely, as it can greatly influence your mind.
This quote by Arthur Schopenhauer emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in reading. He suggests that bad books can have a detrimental effect on one's intellectual growth, likening them to poison for the mind. Since life is short and our mental resources are limited, Schopenhauer argues that one must cultivate a discerning approach to reading by avoiding poor literature to make room for enriching and beneficial works.
Themes
ReadingBooksKnowledgeWisdomIntellectualQuality
In practice
Example use cases
During a book club meeting, one could share this quote to spark a discussion about the importance of choosing quality literature.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes βTo 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.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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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