67 Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes (On Loneliness, Life, Death)

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Top 10 Quotes – Loneliness Quotes – Life Quotes – Happiness Quotes – Intellect Quotes – Death Quotes – Deep Quotes – Takeaways – Further Readings

Here are 67 of the best Arthur Schopenhauer quotes.

Strangely, most of these quotes are pessimistic.

But they are inspiring too.

And it’s appreciated to find an author more down-to-earth.

More realistic.

Someone who makes you think deeply.

Schopenhauer did that.

He was also influenced by Eastern philosophies, the concepts of “life being suffering”, insatiable desires, and asceticism.

All powerful stuff.

And all helpful concepts that you can use to improve your life.

I hope you’ll love these quotes as much as I did.

Authors influenced by Schopenhauer: Albert Einstein, Friedrich Nietzsche

Authors who influenced Schopenhauer: Buddha, Plato, Aristotle

Top 10 Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes

Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer

To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence. Arthur Schopenhauer

The safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy. Arthur Schopenhauer

The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness. Arthur Schopenhauer

A sense of humour is the only divine quality of man. Arthur Schopenhauer

It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else. Arthur Schopenhauer

Life is a task to be done. Arthur Schopenhauer
See Also
The Wisdom of Life Quotes by Arthur Schopenhauer

Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things. Arthur Schopenhauer

What people commonly call fate is mostly their own stupidity. Arthur Schopenhauer

The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Loneliness, Solitude

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude. Arthur Schopenhauer

To be alone is the fate of all great minds – a fate deplored at times, but still always chosen as the less grievous of two evils. Arthur Schopenhauer

We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Life

Life without pain has no meaning. Arthur Schopenhauer

It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to do. Arthur Schopenhauer

Music is the answer to the mystery of life. The most profound of all the arts, it expresses the deepest thoughts of life. Arthur Schopenhauer

Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death. Arthur Schopenhauer

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal. Arthur Schopenhauer

Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed. Arthur Schopenhauer

Life is short and truth works far and lives long: let us speak the truth. Arthur Schopenhauer

Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom. Arthur Schopenhauer

There is only one healing force, and that is nature. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Happiness, Unhappiness

There is only one inborn error and that is the notion that we exist in order to be happy. Arthur Schopenhauer

In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death. Arthur Schopenhauer

It would be better if there were nothing. Since there is more pain than pleasure on earth, every satisfaction is only transitory, creating new desires and new distresses, and the agony of the devoured animal is always far greater than the pleasure of the devourer. Arthur Schopenhauer

Pleasure is never as pleasant as we expected it to be and pain is always more painful. The pain in the world always outweighs the pleasure. If you don’t believe it, compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other. Arthur Schopenhauer

Men need some kind of external activity, because they are inactive within. Arthur Schopenhauer

All wanting comes from need, therefore from lack, therefore from suffering. Arthur Schopenhauer

It is difficult, if not impossible, to define the limit of our reasonable desires in respect of possessions. Arthur Schopenhauer

Money is human happiness in the abstract; he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly to money. Arthur Schopenhauer

Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become. Arthur Schopenhauer

The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Intellect

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. Arthur Schopenhauer

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else. Arthur Schopenhauer

Intellect is a magnitude of intensity, not a magnitude of extensity. Arthur Schopenhauer

A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial. Arthur Schopenhauer

One should use common words to say uncommon things. Arthur Schopenhauer

The person who writes for fools is always sure of a large audience. Arthur Schopenhauer

The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him. Arthur Schopenhauer

Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in. Arthur Schopenhauer

As a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents. Arthur Schopenhauer

Reading is thinking with someone else’s head instead of ones own. Arthur Schopenhauer

Ordinary people merely think how they shall ‘spend’ their time; a man of talent tries to ‘use’ it. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes About Death

Life is a constant process of dying. Arthur Schopenhauer

After your death, you will be what you were before your birth. Arthur Schopenhauer

Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection. Arthur Schopenhauer

Deep Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes

Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes. Arthur Schopenhauer

Patriotism is the passion of fools and the most foolish of passions. Arthur Schopenhauer

The Universe is a dream dreamed by a single dreamer where all the dream characters dream too. Arthur Schopenhauer

Treat a work of art like a prince: let it speak to you first. Arthur Schopenhauer

A pessimist is an optimist in full possession of the facts. Arthur Schopenhauer

The problem is not so much to see what nobody has yet seen, as to think what nobody has yet thought concerning that which everybody sees. Arthur Schopenhauer

Your friends call themselves sincere. The enemies are. Arthur Schopenhauer

Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think. Arthur Schopenhauer

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 Schopenhauer

The present is the only reality and the only certainty. Arthur Schopenhauer

Will is the primary, urge the secondary, and idea the tertiary form of the will. Arthur Schopenhauer

Man takes pride in thinking he was the first to invent gods. Arthur Schopenhauer

A reproach can only hurt if it hits the mark. Whoever knows that he does not deserve a reproach can treat it with contempt. Arthur Schopenhauer

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 (Essays and Aphorisms)

Hatred is a thing of the heart, contempt a thing of the head. Arthur Schopenhauer

We can do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must. Arthur Schopenhauer

Why is it that, in spite of all the mirrors in the world, no one really knows what he looks like? Arthur Schopenhauer

For our improvement we need a mirror. Arthur Schopenhauer

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer

The truth can wait, for she lives a long life. Arthur Schopenhauer

Conclusion

If a big diamond is cut up into pieces, it immediately loses its value as a whole; or if an army is scattered or divided into small bodies, it loses all its power; and in the same way a great intellect has no more power than an ordinary one as soon as it is interrupted, disturbed, distracted, or diverted; for its superiority entails that it concentrates all its strength on one point and object. Arthur Schopenhauer

Key Takeaways From Arthur Schopenhauer’s Quotes

Happiness. Arthur Schopenhauer believed seeking happiness externally was futile. Indeed, he believed it’s something you can find inside, in your way of thinking, and when you don’t expect it too much.
Solitude. Schopenhauer reminded us of the importance of spending time alone in solitude. By doing this, you’ll have more self-understanding that will lead you to more inner peace. Conversely, Schopenhauer reminded us of the importance of having close relationships. This way you’ll avoid feeling isolated and lonely.
Suffering. Influenced by Eastern philosophies, Schopenhauer believed like Buddha that ‘life is suffering”. See the Four Noble Truths. Having that perspective in mind, you’ll find it easier to navigate life when you’re feeling down. Remember: You’re not supposed to be happy all the time.
Desires. Schopenhauer reminded us that suffering comes from your insatiable desires. So try to journal and meditate on your desires. Why do you want to buy this? Why do you want more money? Why do you want to travel the world? Understand: most of your desires are not yours. It’s society telling you what you should desire. Stay alert.
Art. To have a better life, Schopenhauer recommended arts. He told us art was a direct escape from suffering. So don’t hesitate to create, paint, dance, sculpt, write, and build. The more you create, the more you’ll transcend yourself.

67 Arthur Schopenhauer Quotes (On Loneliness, Life, Death) – Wisdom Quotes (2024)