Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Books

Quotes about: Books

• To buy books would be a good thing if we could also buy the time to read them; but the purchase of books is often mistaken for the assimilation and mastering of their contents.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Funny, Book, Reading

  "Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays".

• A man who has not enough originality to think out a new title for his book will be much less capable of giving it new contents.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Men, Thinking

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer (illustrated)”, p.21, Full Moon Publications

• Consider the Koran... this wretched book was sufficient to start a world-religion, to satisfy the metaphysical need of countless millions for twelve hundred years, to become the basis of their morality and of a remarkable contempt for death, and also to inspire them to bloody wars and the most extensive conquests. In this book we find the saddest and poorest form of theism. Much may be lost in translation, but I have not been able to discover in it one single idea of value.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  War, Book, Years

  "The World as Will and Representation" by Arthur Schopenhauer, translated by E. Payne, Vol. II, Ch. XVII, 1958.

• Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are the engines of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses" as the poet said "erected in the sea of time." They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind, Books are humanity in print.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Change, Teacher, Book

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.28, Publishdrive

• If a man wants to read good books, he must make a point of avoiding bad ones; for life is short, and time and energy limited.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Life Is Short, Men

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2012). “Collected Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer”, p.375, Simon and Schuster

• Students and scholars of all kinds and of every age aim, as a rule, only at information, not insight. They make it a point of honour to have information about everything, every stone, plant, battle, or experiment and about all books, collectively and individually. It never occurs to them that information is merely a means to insight, but in itself is of little or no value.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Mean, Age

  Arthur Schopenhauer, E. F. J. Payne (1974). “Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays”, p.479, Oxford University Press

• The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Art, Book, Reading

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.23, Publishdrive

• Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in: but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Time, Mistake, Book

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.51, Publishdrive

• How entirely does the Upanishad breathe throughout the holy spirit of the Vedas! How is every one who by a diligent study of its Persian Latin has become familiar with that incomparable book stirred by that spirit to the very depth of his Soul !

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Latin, Book, Soul

• 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.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Life Is Short, Order

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer (illustrated)”, p.47, Full Moon Publications

• Vedas are the most rewarding and the most elevating book which can be possible in the world.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Vedas, India

• ... that when you're buying books, you're optimistically thinking you're buying the time to read them. (Paraphrase of Schopenhauer)

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Thinking, Buying

• Reading is merely a surrogate for thinking for yourself; it means letting someone else direct your thoughts. Many books, moreover, serve merely to show how many ways there are of being wrong, and how far astray you yourself would go if you followed their guidance. You should read only when your own thoughts dry up, which will of course happen frequently enough even to the best heads; but to banish your own thoughts so as to take up a book is a sin against the holy ghost; it is like deserting untrammeled nature to look at a herbarium or engravings of landscapes.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Reading, Book, Mean

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.35, Publishdrive

• Scholars are those who have read in books, but thinkers, men of genius, world-enlighteners, and reformers of the human race are those who have read directly in the book of the world.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Men, Race

  Arthur Schopenhauer, E. F. J. Payne (1974). “Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays”, p.492, Oxford University Press

• Men of learning are those who have read the contents of books. Thinkers, geniuses, and those who have enlightened the world and furthered the race of men, are those who have made direct use
  of the book of the world.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Men, Race

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2015). “Essays of Schopenhauer”, p.83, Sheba Blake Publishing

• A book can never be anything more than the impression of its author’s thoughts. The value of these thoughts lies either in the matter about which he has thought, or in the form in which he develops his matter — that is to say, what he has thought about it.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Lying, Book, Matter

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer (illustrated)”, p.21, Full Moon Publications

• Many books serve merely to show how many ways there are of being wrong, and how far astray you yourself would go if you followed their guidance. You should read only when your own thoughts dry up.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Dry Up, Way

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.35, Publishdrive

• However, for the man who studies to gain insight, books and studies are merely rungs of the ladder on which he climbs to the summit of knowledge. As soon as a rung has raised him up one step, he leaves it behind. On the other hand, the many who study in order to fill their memory do not use the rungs of the ladder for climbing, but take them off and load themselves with them to take away, rejoicing at the increasing weight of the burden. They remain below forever, because they bear what should have bourne them.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Memories, Book, Men

  Arthur Schopenhauer (2016). “101 Facts of life”, p.93, Publishdrive

• Any book, which is at all important, should be reread immediately

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Important, Should

• To read a book is to hold an entire world in the palm of your hand. That world is unique to you; no two readers can ever inhabit the same world

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Book, Unique, Hands

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