T HE W I S DO M O F L I FE

B EI N G T HE FI R ST PA R T O F

A R T HU R S C HO P E N HA U E R S ’

El p b ori s m en 3u r l eb c ns wei s b ei t

Vi ta /n z m/ wer e
’

e/ zder e UV E N A L .

T R A N S L A T ED l V/ T H A P R E F A CE

T B A H JH T S A U N D E R & M A .

T HI R D EDI T I O N .

S VV l k lfl
E S <3 N hI I E l¢ 5
3 (3 I i E [ I! (3 C)
P A T E R N O S T E R S ! U A R E

1 89 1
 / 8 9 / cu

T R A N S L A T O R S P R EFA CE
’

S CHO P EN HA U E R is one of the few philosophers who

can be generally understood without a commentary .

A l l his theories claim to be drawn direct f rom the f acts ,

to be suggested by observation and to interp ret the ,

wo ld as it is and whatever view he takes he is con

r ,

q stant in his appeal to the experience of common li fe .

;
7 This characteristic endo ws his style with a f reshness
and vigour whic h would be di fficult to match in the
philosophical writing of any cou n try and impossible ,

1
7 i n that of German y . I f it were asked whether there
5
1

were a n y circ mstances apart from heredity to which

u , ,

he ow d h i mental habit the ans wer might be f ound

e s ,

in the abnormal c haracter of his early education his ,

acquaintance with the world rather than with books ,

the extensive travel of hi s boyhood his

s rdent p ,
a u r

suit oi knowledge f or its own sake and without regard

to the emoluments and endowments of learnin g He .

was train ed in realities even more than i n ideas and

hence he is original forcible clear an enemy of all
, , ,

3
$ p hi l os 0 h i c i n d efin i ten es s
p and obscurity so that it
may w el l b e said of him in the words of a wri ter in
,

the R v e Co n tem porain e c c n es t p a s a n p hi l os op he

’
e u ,
 ’
TR AN SL ATO R S P R EF A C E .

hi l h i le
’

c om m e l es a n tr es , e es t a n p os op e ga a on

m en de .

It is not my purpose nor would it be poss ible with ,

‘

in the limits of a pref atory note to a ttempt an account ,

of S chopenhauer s philosophy to indicate its sources

’

, ,

or to suggest or rebut the obj ections whic h may b e

taken to it M R ibot in his excellent little book
. .
, ,

has d one all that is necessary i n this direction But .

the essays here presented need a word of explan ation .

I t s hould be observed and S chopenhauer himsel f is at ,

pains to p oint out that his sys tem is like a citad el

,

with a hu n dred gates : at w h atever point you take it

up wherever you make your entrance you are on the
, ,

road to the cen tre I n this respect his writi n gs

.

resemble a series of essays composed in support of a

single thesis a circumst nce w hich led him to insist a ,

more emphatically even than most philosop hers that ,

f or a pr e per u nderstandi n g of hi s system it was

n ecessary to read every line he had written P erhaps .

it would be more correct to describe D i e Wel t a ls Wi t/e

a n d Vo s tell n g as hi s
r u m ai n thesis and his oth er ,

treatises as merely corollary to it The essays in the e . s

volumes f or m part of the corollary ; they are taken

f rom a collectio n p blished towards the clos e u f o

S chopen hauer s li f e and by him entitled P r e g a n d

’

, a r a

P a r a l i p om en as bei ng i n the nature of surplusage

a,

a n d illustrative o f h i s m ai n positio n Th ey are by fa . i

L a P h il os ophi e d e S c h o p en h a u
. er ,
pa r T h R i b ot
. .
 ’
T R A N SL AT O R S PR EFA C E .

the m os t popular of his works an d since their fir st , ,

publication in 1 851 they have done much to build up his

f ame. Written so as to be intelligi ble enough in them
selves the tendency of many of the m is towards the
,

fundamental idea on which his system is based I t may .

theref ore be convenient to summarise that idea in a

couple of sentences ; more especially as S chopenhauer
sometimes writes as i f his advice had b een f ollowed
and his readers were acquainted with the whole of hi s
work .

A l l philosophy is in some sense the endeavour to

find a uni fying principle to discover the most general

,

conception underlying the whole field of nature and

of k nowledge By one of those bold generalisations
.

which occasional l y mark a real advan ce in science ,

S chope n hauer conceived this ni f yi n g prin c i ple t his u ,

underlying unity to consist in something analogous

,

to that wi l l w hich sel f consciousness reveals to us

-
.

Wi ll is according to him the fundamental reality of

, ,

the world the thi n g i n itsel f and its obj ectivation is

,
- -

w hat is presented in phenom ena T he st uggle of the . r

will to realise itsel f evolves the organism which in its ,

turn evolves intelligence as the servant of the will .

A n d in practical li fe the antago n ism betwe en the will

and the in tel l ect arises f rom the f act t hat the f ormer
is th e metaphysical subs tance the latter somethi n g ,

accidental a d secondary A n d f urther will is des i r e

n
.
, ,

that is to say n ee d of somethin g ; hence need and

,
 TR A N SLATO R S
’
P R EF A C E .

p ain are what is positive in the worl d and the on l y ,

possible happiness is a negation a renunciation of the ,

wi ll to l i ve .

It is instructive to note as M R ibot points out

, .
,

that in finding the origi n of all things not in i n telli ,

gence as so m e of his predecessors in philosophy had

,

done but in will or the force of nature f rom which

, , ,

all phenomena have developed S chopenhauer was ,

anticipati n g something of the scientific spirit of the

n ineteenth century To this it may be added that in
.

combating the method of Fi c hte and Hegel who ,

spun a system out of abstract ideas and in discarding ,

it f or one based on observation and experien ce ,

S chopenhauer can be said to have brought down

philosophy f r om heaven to earth .

I n S c hopen hauer s View the various f orms of

’

R eligion are no less a product of human i n ge n u ity

than A r t or S cien ce He holds in e ffect that all
.
, ,

religions take their rise in the desire to explain the

world ; and tha t in regard to truth and error they
, ,

di ffer in the main not by preachi n g mon oth eism

, , ,

pol ytheism or pantheism but in so f ar as they

,

recogn ise pessimis m or optimism as the true des c ri p

tion of lif e Hen ce an y religion which look ed u pon the
.

worl d as being radically evil appealed to him as con

taini n g a n i n destructible el eme n t of truth I have .

e n d eavoured to presen t hi s view of two of the great

religi ons of the wo l d i n the extract which comes
x
 ’
T R A N S L AT O R S P R EFA C E .

in the thi d vol u m e and to wh i h I have gi v en the

r ,
c

ti tle of T he Chr i s ti a n S ys tem The te n or of it is .

to sho w that however little he may have been in

,

sympat hy wit h the supern atural el eme n t he o wed ,

much to th e mora l doctrines of C hris tia n ity and

of Buddhism b etween which b e traced great res e m
,

blance .

O f S chopen hauer as of many ano th er writ er i t may

, ,

be Said that he has been misunderstood a n d d epr eciated

just in the degree in whi c h he is thought to be new '

and that i n treati n g of the Conduct of L i f e he is in

, , ,

real ity valuable on ly in so f a as he bri n gs old truths

,
r

to re m mbr n ce Hi s name used to arouse and in

e a .
,

c ertain quarters still arouses a vague sense of alarm ,

as though he had come to subvert all the rul es of

right thi n ki n g and all the pri n ci pl e of good conduc t s ,

rather than to proclaim once again and give a new

m an in g to truths with which the world has lon g
e

been f amiliar O f his philosophy in its more tech

.

n i c a l asp ects as matter u pon w hich enough p erhaps

, , ,

has be en written no accou n t ne ed be taken here

, ,

except as i t affects the f orm i n which he embodies

these truths or suppli es the f resh l ight in w hich he
sees them For whatever claims to originality his
.

meta physical th eory may possess th e chief i n terest to ,

be f ou n d in hi s views of li f e is a n affair of f orm

rather than of substance ; a n d he stands in a s ph ere
of his own not because he sets new problems or opens
,
 ’
T R A N SL A TO R S P R E FA C E .

up u ndiscovered tr u ths but in the m anner in which

,

he approaches what has been already reveal ed .

He is not on that acco u nt less important ; f o the r

great mass of men at all times re quires to have old

e —
truths imparted as i f th y were new f ormulated as ,

it were directly f or th em as indivi duals and of

, ,

special ap plication to their own circumstances in li f e

A disc u ssion of human happ i ness and the way to
obtain it is never either unnecessary or uncalled f or ,

i f one looks to the extent to which the lives of most

m en f al l short of even a poor ideal or again to the

, , ,

di fficulty of reaching any definite and secure conclu

sion For to such a momentous inquiry as this the
.
,

vast maj ority of mankind gives nothing more than a

nomi n al co n sideration acce pting the current belie f
, ,

whatever it may be on authority and taki n g as little

, ,

thought of the grounds on which it rests as a man

walki ng takes of the motio n of the earth But for .

those who are not indi fferent—f or those whose desire

to f at hom the mystery of existence gives them the
righ t to be call ed thinki n g beings— i t is just here in ,

regard to the conclusion to be reached that a di tfi ,

culty arises a di fficulty a ffecti n g the conduct of li f e

,

f o while the great f acts of existence are alike for all

r ,

th ey are variously appreciated and c onclusions di ffe r

, ,

chiefly f rom innate diversity of temperament in those

who draw them I t is i n nate temperament acting on
.
,

a V i ew of the f acts necessarily incomplete that has ,

 ’
T R A N S L AT C R S P R E FA C E .

i ns pired so man y di fferen t t eachers The ten dencies .

of a m a n s own mi n d —the I dols of the Ca v e be fore

’

which he bows — interpret the f acts in accordan ce

wit h his own nature he elaborates a s y stem containi n g
: ,

perhaps a grain of truth to w hich the whole of li f e is

, ,

then m ade to con f orm the f acts purporting to be the

foundation o f the theory and the theory in its turn ,

giving its own colour to the f acts .

N or is this error the manipulation of facts to suit a

,

theory avoided in the views of li f e w hich are pre

,

s ented by S chope n hauer I t is true that b e aimed .

especially at f reeing himsel f f rom the trammels of

p revious systems ; but h e was caught in those o f his
o wn . Hi s na tural desire was to resist the common
—
appeal to anythi n g extramundane anythi n g outside
or beyond li fe — as the basis of eit her hO pe or fear .

He tried to look at l i fe as it is b t the metap hysical u

theory on which his whole philosophy rests made it

nec ssary f or him a s he thought to regard it as an
e , ,

u n mix ed evil He calls o present existence an i n

. u r

fin i tes i m a l mo m ent between two eterniti es the past ,

and the f uture a mome n t— like the li f e of P lato s

,
’

“
D wel lers in the Cave — fill e d with the pursuit of
”

shadows ; where everythi n g is relative phenomen al , ,

illusory an d man is bound in the servitude of i gn or

,

ance struggl e and need in the endless round of e ffort

, ,

a n d f ailur e I f you confine yoursel f says S cho pe n

.
,

hau er on l y to s ome of its small details li fe may

. ,
 ’
T R A N S L A T O R S P R E FA C E .

indeed appear to be a comedy because of the on e of ,

.

two bright s pots of happy circumstance to b e f ound

i n it her e and there ; but w h en you reach a high e r
poi n t of Vi ew a n d a broader outlook t hes e so on ,

become invisible and Li f e seen f rom the distan ce

, ,

whi c h brings out the true proportion of all i ts parts ,

is revealed as a trag edy— a long record of stru ggle

a n d pain with the death of the h ero as the fi al
,
n

certainty Ho w then h e a ks c an a m an make the

.
,
s ,

best of his brie f hour under the ha d co n di tions of r

his d s tiny What is th e true Wisdom of Li f e

e

S chop enhauer has no p i e conceived divi n e p l a n to -

vindicate ; n o religious or moral enthusiasm to give a

r os e te h e to some f a r off eve n t obliging us in th e
a u -
,

e n d to t hi n k t hat all thi n gs work together f o good r .

Let p ets a n d th e logia n s give pl y to im agi n atio n !

o o a

he at any ra te will prof ess n o kno wl edge of a n y

, ,

thin g b eyo n d our ken I f our existe ce d oes n ot

. n

entirely fail o f its aim it must he says he s nfier i n g

, , ,

fo r this is what meets us everywhere in th e worl d ,

and it is absurd to loo k upon it as the result of

c han ce S till in the f ace of al l this su ff ring a n d i n
.
,
e ,

spite of the f c t that theu n c ertainty of li fe de troy s

a s

its alue as an en d in its l f ev ery man s natural

v e ,
’

d esire is to preserve h i s existe n ce ; so that li f e is a

bl ind un reason i g f orce hurryi n g us we kno w n ot
,
n ,

whither From his high m etaphysical stan dpoi n t

.
,

S chope n ha u er is ready to admit that ther e are many

 ’
T R A N S L A T oR s P R EFA C E .

thi n gs i n li f e which give a short satis faction and

'

blind us f or the m o ment to the realiti es of existence ,

pleasures as th ey m ay be cal led in so f a r as they are ,

a mode of r eli ef ; but that pleasure is not positive in

its nature nor an ything more than the negation of
su ff ering is proved by the f act that i f p l easures
, ,

come in abund ance pain soon returns in the form of

,

satiety ; so that the sense of illusion is all that has

been gained Hence the most a man can achieve i n
.
‘

th e way of w el f are is a measure of relie f from this

su ff ring ; an d i f people were prudent it is at thi

e ,
‘

th ey would aim instead of trying to secure a happi

,

ness which alway s flies f rom them .

I t is a trite saying that h appiness is a delusion a ,

chim aera the fa ta m org na of the heart ; but here is a

,
a

writer who will bring our whole conduct into line

wi th that as a matter of practice ; making pain the
,

positive ground work of lif e and a desire to escape it

,

the spur of all e ffort While most of those who treat

.

of the cond u ct of li f e come at last to the conclusion ,

more or less vag ely expressed that religion and

u ,

morality f orm a positive source of true happiness ,

S chopenhauer d oes not pro f essedly tak e this view ;

though it is quite true that the practical outcome of
his remarks tends as will be seen in support of it ;
, ,

with this d i ff erence however— he does not direct the

,

imagin ation to an ythi n g outside this present li f e as

maki n g it worth while to live at all his obj ect is to
b
 ’
TRA N SL ATO R S P R EF A C E .

sta te the fac ts of existence as they immediat ely

appear and to draw conclusio n s as t w ha t a wise
,
o

m a n wil l do in the f ace of them .

I n the practical outcome of S chopen h auer s e t hics

’

the end an d a i m of those maxims of co n duct w hic h

he recommends there is nothing t hat is not sub
,

s ta n ti a lly a kin to theories of li f e which in d i ffe rent ,

f orms the greate part of mankind is presumed to

,
r

hold in reverence I t is the premises rath er than the

.

conclusio n of his arg ment which intere t us as some

u s

thing new The whole world he says with all its

.
, ,

phenomena of change growth and develo pment is , ,

u ltimately the mani f es tation of Will Wi l le a n d

r s —
Vo tellu n g a blind force conscious of itsel f only
when i t reaches the stage of intel lect A n d li f e is a .

cons tant sel f assertion of this will ; a long desi e

-
r

which is never f ulfilled ; disillusion inevitably f ollow

ing upon attainment because the will the thing i h
, ,
-

itsel f — i n philosophical lan gu age the n o m en on ,

u

alway remai n s as the permanen t element ; and wi th

s

this persistent exercise of i ts claim it can never be ,

satisfied S o li f e is essential ly su fferi n g ; and the only

.

reme dy for it is the f reed m of the intellect from the

o

servit u de imposed by its master the will , .

The happiness a man can attai n is thus in S chopen , ,

hauer s view negative only ; but ho w is it to be

’

acqu ired ? S ome temporary relie f he says may be , ,

obtained through the medium of A t ; f or in the r

 ’
TR A N SL ATO R S P R EF A C E .

apprehension of A rt we are raised out of our bondage ,

contemplating obj ects of thought as they are in them

selves apart f rom their relation s to our own ephemeral
,

exist ence a n d f ree f rom any taint of the will This

,
.

contemplation of pure thought is destroyed when A rt

is degraded from i ts lof ty sphere and made an i n s tr u ,

me n t in the bondage of the will How few of t hose who

.

f eel that the pleasure of A t transcends all ot hers could

r

gi v e such a striking exp l an ation of their f eeli n g

But the hi ghest ethical du ty and con sequently the ,

s u preme endeavour af ter happiness is to withdraw ,

f rom the struggle of li f e and so obtain release f rom

,

th e misery w hich t hat struggle im p oses upo n all even ,

upon those who are f or the moment success f ul For .

as will is the i n most kernel o f everything so it is ,

identical und er all its man i f st ati ons ; and through

e

th e mirror f the world a man m ay arrive at the

o

knowledge of hims el f The recogn ition of the

.

identity of our own nature with that of others is the

begi n nin g and foundation of all true morality For .

once a m an clearly perceives this solidarity of the

will there is aroused in him a f eeling of s ymp a thy
,

wh i ch is the mai n spring of ethical cond u ct This

-
.

f eeling of sympathy must in any true moral system

, ,

pr event our obtaini n g success at the price of others ’

los Justice in this theory comes to be a noble

s .
, , ,

e nlightened sel f interest ; it will f orbid our doi n g

-

wrong to our fellow man because I n I nj u rm g him we

-
, , ,
 PR E F A C E
’
T R A N SL AT CR S

are i nj u ring ourselves— our own nature which is ,

identical with his O n the other hand the rec ogn i

.
,

tion of this identity of the wil l must lead to com

miseration—a f eeling of sympathy with our f ellow
sufferers —to acts of kindness and benevolen ce to the ,

mani f estation of what K an t in the M etap hys w of ,

E thi c s calls the only absolute good the good wi ll

,
In , .

S chopenhauer s phraseology the human will in other

’

, ,

words ép the love of li fe is in itsel f the ro ot of all

,
’
o s, ,

evil and goodn ess lies in renouncing it T heo eti

,
. r

cally his ethical doctrine is the extreme of socialism

, ,

in a large sense a recognition of the i n ner identity

and equal claim of al l men with ourselves ; a
s
,

reco gn ition is s ui n g i n dydm universal benevolence , ,

and a stifli n g of particu lar desires .

I t may come as a surprise to those who a ff ect to

h old S cho p e n hauer in abhorre n ce without perhap , , s,

really knowi ng the n ature of h i s views that in this , ,

theory of the essential evil of the human will— 3pm ,

f f —
the common selfish idea o li e he is reflecti n g and
indeed probably borrowing what he describes as the
f undame n tal te n et of C hristian t heology that the ,

whole c r ea ti on gr oa n eth a n d tr ava i l eth i n p a i n sta n d 1

,

ing in need of redemption Though S chopen hauer .

was no f riend to Christian theology in its ordi ary n

tendencies he was very much in sym pathy with some

,

of the doctrines w hich have been con n ected wi th i t .

1 R om an s viii .
, 22 .
 ’
TR A N S L A T O R S PR E FA C E .

I nhis O pinion the f oremost tr u th which Christianity

proclaimed to the world l ay in its recognition of
pessimism its vie w that the world was essentially
,

corrupt and that the devil was its prince or ruler

,
.
1

I t would be out of place here to inquire into the exact

meani n g of this statemen t or to determine the pre ,

cise f orm of compensation provided f or the ills of li f e

under a n y scheme of doctrine which passes f or Chris
tian : and even i f it were i n place the task would be ,

an extremely d i ffi cult one for probably no system of

beli ef has ever undergo n e at various periods more , ,

radical changes than Christianity B u t whatever .

prospec t of happin ess it may have held out at an ,

early date of its history it soon came to teach that

,

the necessary preparatio n f or happi n ess as a posit ve ,

i

spiritual state is r en u n c i a ti on resignation a looking

, , ,

a way f rom extern al l i fe to the inner lif e of the soul

a ki n gd om n ot of thi s wo l d S o far at least as con
r .
, ,

cerns its view of the world itsel f and the mai n lesso n ,

and duty whi h li f e teaches there is nothi n g in the

c ,

theory of pessimis m which do es n ot accord wit h t hat

el i gi on whi c h is looked up to as the guide of li f e over
'

a great part of the civilised world .

What S chopenhauer does is to attemp t a meta

p hysical explanation of the evil o f li f e with out any ,

re f erence to anythi n g outside it P hilosophy he .

,

urges should be c os m ology not theol ogy ; an ex plana

, ,

1
John x ii .
, 31 .
 ’
TR A N S L A T C R S PR E F A C E
.

tion of the world not a scheme of divine knowledge

,

it s hould leave the gods alone—to use an ancient

phrase—and claim to be lef t alone in return S cho .

e n h a u er was not concern ed as the apostl es and

p ,

f athers of the C hurc h were concerned to f ormulate a ,

scheme by which the ills of this li fe should be

remedied i n another— an app eal to the poor and
o ppressed conveyed of ten in a material f orm as for
, , ,

instance in the story of Dives and L az arus I n his

,
.

theory of li f e as the sel f assertion of will he en deav-

,

o u rs to account for the sin misery and iniquity of the ,

world and to point to the way of escape— the den ial

,

of the will to live .

Though S chopenhauer s views of lif e have this ’

much in common with certain aspects of Christian

doctrine they are in decided antagonism with another
,

theory which though comparatively speaking the

, , ,

birth of yesterday has already been di gnified by the

,

name of a religion and has no doubt a certain , , ,

number of followers I t is the theory whi ch looks.

upon the li fe of m an kind as a continual progress

towar ds a state of perfection and humanity in its ,

nobler tend ncies as its el f worthy of worship To

e .

those w ho embrace this t heor y it will seem that ,

because S chopen hauer does not hesitate to declare the

evil in the li fe of mankind to be f a r in excess of the
good and that as long as the human will remains
, ,

what it is there can be no radical change f or the

,
 TR A N S L AT O R ’
S P R EF A C E .

—a questio n which may even come to b e generally

raised in a not very distant f u ture on behal f of some
, ,

n e w conception of Christianity .

A n d f rom another p oi n t of vie w let it be f rankly

,

admitted that renunciation is incompatible with

ordi n ary practice with the rules of li f e as we are
,

compelled to f ormulate them ; and that to the vas t ,

maj ority the doctrine seems lit tle but a mockery a

, ,

hopelessly unworkable plan inapplicable to the con

,

d i ti on s under which men have to exist .

I n spite of the fact that he is theoretically in

sympathy with truths which lie at the f oundation of

certain widely revered systems the world has not yet
,

accepted S chopenhauer f or what he proclaimed him

self to be a great teacher : and probably for the reason
,

that hope is not an element in hi s wisdo m of li fe a n d ,

that he attenuates love into something that is not a

,
f —
real living orce a shado wy recognition of the
id entity of the will For men are disinclined to
.

welcome a theory which neither flatters their present

position nor holds out any prospect of better thi n gs
to come O ptimism — the belie f that in the end
.

everything will be f or the best—is the natural creed

of manki n d ; and a writ er wh o of set purpose seeks

to undermine it by an appeal to facts is regarded as

one who tries to rob humanity of its right How s .

s eldom an appeal to the facts within our reach is

really made ! Whether the evil of li f e a ctually out
 ’
TR A N SL AT O R S P R EF A C E . x vn

weighs the good or i f we sh uld look for better

,
-

,
o

things W hat is the possibility or the nature of a

,

Fu ture Li f e either for ourselves as individ u als or as

, ,

part of some great whole or again as contributing to

, , ,

a coming state of p er fection —s u ch in q uiries clai m an

amount of atte n tion which the m ass of men every
where is unwilli ng to give B u t in any ca e whether
.
,
s ,

it is a vague asse n t to c rrent belief s or a blind reliance

u ,

on a baseless certainty or an impartial attem pt to put

,

—
away what is f alse hope remains as the deepest
,

f oundation of every faith i n a happy f u t ure .

But it should be observed that this looking to the

f uture as a complement f or the pre ent is dictated s

m ai n ly by the desire to remedy existi n g ills ; and

that the great hold which religion has on man kind as ,

an incentive to presen t happin ess is the promise it ,

makes of coming perf ection Hope f or the f uture is .

a ta cit admission of evil in the presen t ; for i f a man

is completely happy in this li f e and looks upon ,

ha ppiness as the prevaili n g order he will not t hink ,

so much of another S o a d iscussion of the nature of

.

hap piness is not thought c om pl ete i f it takes accou n t

o n ly of our present li fe and unless it connects what
,

we are now and w hat we do here with what we may

be hereaf ter S cho penhauer s theory does not pro f ess
’
.

to do this ; it promises no positive good to the i n

dividual ; at most only reli ef ; he breaks the idol of
,

the world an d sets up n othing H1 its place ; and like

,
 ’
x vu l T R A N sL A T O R s PR EF A C E

man y another iconoclast he has long b e e n co n d emn ed

,

by thos e whose t emples he has desecrated I f th e re .

are optimistic theories of li fe it is not li f e itsel f he

, ,

would argue which gives colour to them it is rather

,

the reflection of some great fin al cause which humanity

has created as the last hope of its redemption

Hea ven bu t the vi s i on o ff u lfilled d es i re,

A nd hel l the s ha dow f r om a s ou l on fir e,
Ca s t on the da rkn es s i nto whi c h owrs el ves ,
80 l a te em erged f rom , s ha ll s o s oon ex p i re .
1

S till hope it may be said is not knowle dge nor a

, , , ,

real answer to any question ; at most a mak eshi f t a , ,

moral support f or intellectual weakness The truth .

is that as th eori es both optimism and pessimism are

, ,

f ailures ; because th ey are extreme vie w s w here only

a very partial judgment i s possible A n d in view of .

the great uncertainty of all answers most of those ,

who do not accept a stereotyp ed system leave th e

question alone as bein g ei ther of lit tle i n terest or of

, ,

no beari n g on the welf are of th eir lives which are ,

comm o n ly satisfied with low aims ; tacitly ridiculi n g

those who demand an answer as the m ost pressi ng
affair of exist ence But the fact that the fi n al pro
.

hl em s of the world are still open makes in f avour of ,

an honest attempt to thi n k them out in spite o f all ,

previous f ailure or still existing di fficulty ; and how

1
O m ar K h ayya m tran s l a ted b y E . F i tz geral d .
 '
’
trR A N S L A T O R s
'

PR E FA C E .

ever old these problems may be the endeavour to ,

solve them is one which it is always worth while to

encourage af resh For the individual advan tages
.

which attend an effor t to find the true path accrue

quite ap art f rom any success in reachi n g the goal ;
a n d even though the height we strive to climb be
i n acce sible we can s till see and understand more
s ,

than thos e who never leave the plain The sphere it .

,

is true is enormous— the study of human lif e and

,

destiny as a whole ; an d our me n tal vision is so ill

adapted to a range of th i s extent that to aim at form
i n g a complete scheme is to attempt the impossible .

I t must be recognised that the data are i n su fficie n t f or

l arge views and that we ought not to go beyond the
,

f acts we have the f acts of or a m ary li f e interpreted

, ,

by the common experience o f every day T hese f orm .

our only material The views we take must of

.

f —
necessity be ragmentary a mere collection of ap e e r as,

rough guesses at the undiscov ered ; of the same

nature i n d eed as all our possessions in the way of
, ,

knowl edge— little tracts of solid land reclaimed f rom

the mysterious ocean of the unknown .

But i f we do not a dmit S chopenhauer to be a great

h —
teac er because he is out of sympathy with the
,

highest aspirati ons of m ankind a n d too ready to ,

dogm tise f rom partial v iews —he is a very suggestive

a ,

wri ter and eminently readable Hi s style is brillian t

, .
,

animated f orcibl e pu n gent ; although it is als o dis

, ,
 ’
TR A N SL A T O R S P REFA CE

cu rsive irresponsible and with a tendency to su per

, ,

fic i a l ge n eralisation He bri n gs in the most unexpected

.

t opics without an y very sure sen se of their relative

place ; everything in f act seems to be f air game once
, , ,

he has taken up his pen Hi s irony is noteworthy ;

.

f or it extends beyond mere isolated sentences and ,

sometimes applies to whole pass ages which must be ,

read c m g am ) s a li s A n d i f he has grave faults as

u r
s
.

W ell as excelle nces of literary treatment he is at least ,

always witty and amusing and that too in dealing , , ,

with subj ects— as here f or i n s tan c e wi th the C ond u ct of

, ,

Li f e — on which many others have been at once severe

a n d dull . I t is easy to complain that though he is
witty and amusi n g he is o f ten at the same time bitter
,

a n d ill natured
-
This is in some measure the u h
.

pleasant side of his u n com p romising devotion to truth ,

his resolute eagerness to dispel illusion at any cos t

those d fects of his qualiti es which were intensified by
e

a solitary an d until his last years unappreciated li f e

, , .

He was naturally more disposed to coerce than to

flatter the world into accepti n g his vi ews ; he was
above all things u n esp ri t fo t a n d at times brutal r ,

i n the use of his stre n gth I f it should be urged that

.
,

howev er great his literary qualities he is not worth ,

reading becau se he takes a narrow view of li f e and is

blind to some of its greatest bl essings it will be well ,

to remember the prof ound truth of that line which a

f riend inscribed on his earl iest biograp hy : S i n on
 ’
TR A N SL ATO R s PR EFA C E .

ew a s s et f ec er a t a tru h which
i l le m i n u
t i
s s seldom
}
without ap plication w hatev er he the form of hu man
,

eff ort S cho pen hauer can ot be n eglected because he

. n

takes an unpleasan t V ie w of existence f or it is a V iew ,

which must prese n t it s elf at some time to every , ,

thoughtf ul person To be outrag ed by S chopenhau er

.

means to be ignorant of many of the f acts of li f e .

I n t his one of his smaller works A p ho i m en z ,

r s u r

L ebe s wei hei t S chopen hauer aba n d ons his high m eta
n s ,

p hysical stand point and discusses wi th the same zest

, ,

and appreciation as in f act mark ed his enjoymen t of

them some of the pleasures which a wise man will
,

seek to obtai n —health moderate possessions intel

, , ,

lectual riches A n d wh n as i n this l ittle work he

. e , ,

comes to s peak of the wisdom of li fe as the practical

art of living the pessimist view of human destiny is
,

obtruded as li ttle as possible Hi s r marks prof ess to . e

be the result o f —
a compromise n attempt to treat u

li f e f rom the common standpoint He is content to .

call these witty and instructive pages a series of

aphorisms ; thereby indicati n g that he makes no claim
to expound a complet e theory of conduct I t will .

d oubtless occur to an y int elligent reader that his oh

s erv ati on s are b u t f ragmentary t houghts on various

ph a ses of lif e ; and in reality mere ap ho s

,
m s — i n the,
'

rz

,
h e —
old Greek sense o t word pithy disti n ctions
f
definitio n s of facts a marking off as i t were of the
,
-
, ,

1 S l i gh tly al te red from Ma rti al . E p i gram I . x x u .

 ’
x x u T R A N SL AT O R s PR EFA C E .

true from the f alse in some of our ordinary notions of

lif e and prosperity Here there is little that is not in
.

complete h armony with precepts to which the world

has long b een accustomed ; and in this respect also , ,

S chopenh auer o ff ers a suggestive comparison rat her

th an a contrast with most wri ters on happiness .

The philos op her in his study is co n scious that the

world is never likely to embrac e his h i gher m etaphy
s i c a l or ethical sta n dpoi n t and a n n ihilate the w ill to
,

live ;nor did S chope n hau er himsel f do so except so fa r

as he in common with most serio u s stude n ts of li f e
, ,

avoided the ordi n ary aims o f man kind The theory .

which recommended universal benevolence as the

highest ethical duty came as a m tter of practice to
, ,
a ,

mean a f ormal standing aloo f— the n e p l s l t of -

u u ra

individualism The Wisdom of Li fe as the pra c tical

.
,

a r t of living is a compromis e
, We are here not by .

any choice of our own an d while we strive to make

the best of it we must not let ourselves be deceived
, .

I f you want to be happy he says it will not do to , ,

cherish illusions S chop en hau er wou l d have f ou n d

.

nothi n g admirable in the conclusion at which the lat e

M Edmond S cherer f o i n tan ce arrive d L rt dc
’
.
,
r s ,
. a

v i v e he wrot e in his pr ef ace to A miel s J

’
o r al
’
r , es l u n ,
c

d e e fa i r e n n e r a i s o d c s o
s i re omp r om i
n, de s eu sc r '
an c se,

p re
’

te a
r x
fi
u ti ons
c S ch ope n hauer conceiv e s hi s mis
.

sion to be rather to d ispel illusion to tear the mask

, , ,

from li f —a violent op erati on n ot al ways productive

e ,
 ’
TR A N SL ATO R S P R E FA C E .

what a man is in himself and that the pl easure h e

,

derives from these blessings will depend entirely upon

the extent to w hich his personality really allows hi m
to ap p reciate them This is a rule whi h ru n s some
. c

risk of bei n g overlooked whe n a writ er tries to

daz zle the mind s eye by describi ng all the possible
’

sources of p l easure in the world of our surroundings

but S i r John L ubbock in common with every one
,

who attempts a f undamental a ns we r to the question of

happiness canno t afford to overlook i t
,
The truth of .

the ru le is perhap s taken f or granted in hi s account of

li fe s pleasures ; but it is significant that it is only
’

when he comes to speak of li fe s troubles that he ’

f reely admits the f orce of it Happ i es s he says in

. n , ,

t his latter connection dep e ds m u c h m o e on wh t i s

,
n r a

wi thi n tha n wi thou t u s Y e t a rigid application of this

.

truth might perhaps discount the e ff ect of those

pleasures with which the world is said to abou n d .

That happiness a s well as unhappiness d epends mainly

u pon what is withi n is more clearly recognised in the
,

case o f trouble ; for when troubles come upon a m an ,

they influence him as a rule much more deeply than

, ,

pleasures How f ew even a mongst the millions to

.
,

—
whom these blessings are open health books travel , , ,

—
art real ly find any true or perman ent h appiness in
them
Wh ile S chopenhauer s view of the pleasur es of li f
’
e

may be eluc i dated by comparing it with that of a .

 ’
T R A N SL AT O R S P R E FA C E . x x v

pop u lar writer like S i r John Lubbock and by con ,

brasti ng the appeals they severally make to the outer

and the inner world as a source of happiness ;
S chopenhauer s view of li f e itsel f will stand ou t more
’

clearly i f we remember the opinion so boldly ex

pressed by the same English writer I f we r es olu tely .

l ook obs erves S i r J

,
ohn Lubbock I d o n ot s a y a t ,

the br i ght si de f
o thi n gs , bu t at th i n gs as they r ea lly

ar e i f we a va i l owrs el v es o f the m a n i fold bl es s i n gs

whi c h s wrr ou n d u s feel tha t l i fe i s
; we c a n n ot bu t
i n d eed a gl or i ou s i n her i ta n c e There is a splendid .
1

excess of optimism about this stateme n t w hich well

fits it to show u p the darker picture drawn by the
German philosoph er .

Fi n ally it should be remembered that thou gh

,
"

S chopenhauer s picture of th e world is gloomy and

’

sombre there is nothing weak or unmanly in his

,

attitude I f a hap p y existence he says —not mere ]y

.
, ,

—
an existence ree f rom pain is denied us we can at
f
least be heroes and f ace li fe w
,

ith courage : d a s
hoc hs te wa s der M en s c h er l a ngen lea nn i s t ei n her oi s c her
'

L eben s l a u f noble character will never complain at

. A
m i f rtu n e y f or i f a m an loo k s round him at other
s o

man i f estations of that which is hi s own inner n ature ,

the will he finds sorrows happening to hi s f ellow men

,
-

harder to bear than any that have come upon hims elf .

A n d the i d eal of nobility is to deserve the praise

1 T h e P l ea s u res of L i fe . P art I .
, p
. 5 .

B
 ’
T R A N SL A T O R S PR EFA C E .

which Hamle t—i h S hakespeare

’
s Tragedy of P es s i m
ism—gave to his f ri end
T ho u ha s t been
j
'

A s on e, in su
fieri n g a ll , tha t su ers n othi ng .

But perhaps S chopenhauer s theory carries w ith i t ’

its own correction He describes existence as a m ore

.

or less viole n t oscillation between pain and boredom .

I f this were really the sum of lif e and we had to ,

reason f rom such a partial vie w it is obvious that ,

hap piness would lie i n c ti on and that li f e would be

a

so constituted as to s pply two natural and inevitable

u

incentives to action and thus to contain in itsel f the

,

very conditions of ha p piness Li f e itsel f reveals our .

destiny I t is not the struggle which produces misery

.
,

it is the mis taken aims a n d the low id eals—w a ns s u

a l le bd n d i gt d as Gem ei n e !
,

T hat S chopen hauer conceives li f e as an evil is a

deduction and possi bly a mistaken deductio n f rom his
, ,

metaphysical theory Whether his scheme of things is

.

—
correct or not a n d it sh ares the common fate of all
m etaphysical systems in being u n v eri fiabl e an d to that ,

extent u n profitabl e— h e wil l in the last resort have

m ade good his cl aim to be read by his insight into the

varied needs of human li fe I t may be that a future .

age will consign his meta physics to the philoso phical

lumber room ; but he is a literary a rtist as well as a
-

philosopher and he can m ake a bid for f ame in eith er

,

c apacity .
T B S , , ,
 C O N T EN T S .

C HA P .

I NT R O D U CT I O N
1 . D I VI S I O N O F T HE S UBJ
E CT

P ER S O NA L I T Y ,
O R W HA T A MA N 18

PRO P ER T Y , O R W HA T A M A N HA S

PO SI T I O N ,
O R A MA N
’

S PL A CE I N T HE E S T I MA T I O N
O F O T HE R S

S ec t . I . R e pu ta ti on

2 . P ri d e

3 R . ank

4 . Hon ou r

5 Fa m e
.
 I N T R O DUC T I O N .

I N pages I shall speak of T he Wi s d om of L i fe in

these
the common meaning of the term as the art namely
, , ,

of orderi n g ou r lives so as to obtain the greatest

possible amount of pleasure and success ; an art the

theory of which may be called E u doem on ol ogy for it ,

teaches us how to lead a happy existence S uch an .

existence might perhaps be defined a s one which ,

looked at f rom a purely obj ective point of view or , ,

rather a ter cool and mature refl e t o for the

,
f c i n —
q ues tion necessarily involves subj ective consideratio n s ,

—would be decidedly pref erable to non existence ; -

implying that we should cling to it f or its own sake ,

a n d not merely f rom the f ear of death ; and f urther ,

that we should never like it to come to an end .

N ow whether human li f e corresponds or could ,

possibly correspond to this conception of existen ce I s

, ,

a question to which as is well k nown my phi los o

,
-
,

h i c al system returns a negative answer O n the

p .

eud aemo n istic hypothesis however the question must

, ,

be answered in the affirmative and I have shown in ,

the second volume of my chief work (ch that

.

this hypothesis is b ased upon a f undamental mistake .

A ccordi n gly in elaborating the s cheme of a happy

,

existence I have had to make a complete surrender

,

of the higher metaphysical and ethical stand o i nt to

p
 i N T R O Di i C T i oN .

which my own theories lead ; and everything I s h l l a

say here wi l l to some extent rest upon a com promise ;

in s f a r that is as I take the common s ta n dpoint of
o , ,

every day and embrace the error which is at the

,

bottom of it My emark s there fore will possess

. r , ,

on ly a q u alified value f o the very word eu doem on o

,
r

l ogy i s a euphemism Further I make no claims to

.
,

comple teness ; partly because the subj ect is i n ex

ha u s ti b l e and partly because I should otherwi se hav e
,

to say over agai n what has been already said by

others .

The only book com posed as f ar as I re m ember , ,

with a like purpose to that which animates this

c ollection of aphorisms is Cardan s De u ti li t te ea; ’

, a

u d vc r s i s c ap i en d a which is well worth readi n g and

, ,

may be u ed to supplement the present work

s .

A ristotle it is true has a f ew words on e u daem on o

, ,

logy in the fifth chapter of the first book of his

R hetor i c ; but what he says does n ot come to very
much A s compilation is not my business,I have
.

made no use of these predecessors ; more especiall y

beca use in the process of com piling individuality of

view is lost and individuality of vie w is the k ern el
,

of works of thi s kind I n ge n eral indeed the w ise

.
, ,

in all ages have l ways said the same thi n g and the
a ,

f ools who at all times f orm the immense m ajority

, ,

have in their way too acted alike and done j u st the ,

opposite ; and so it wil l conti n ue Fo as Voltaire . r,

says we ha ll lea v e thi s w l d a s fool i s h a n d a s

, s or

wi c ked as we fou n d i t on owr a r i va l r .

 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

The di fferences which come under the firs t head are

those which N ature h ersel f has set between m a n and
man ; and f rom thi s f act alone we may at once i n f er
that they i n fl u ence the happiness or unhappiness of
man ki d i n a much more vi tal a n d radical way than
n

those co n tai n ed under the two f ollowing heads which ,

are merely the effect of human arrangements Com .

pared with gen u i n e p ers on a l a dv a n tages such as a ,

great mi n d or a great h eart all the privileges of rank ,

or birth even of royal bir th are but as ki n gs on the

, ,

stage to ki n gs i n real li f e The same thing was said

.

lon g ago by Met odo u s the earliest disciple of

r r ,

Epicurus who wrote as the title of one of his chap ters

, ,

T he happ i n es s we r ec e i v e fr om ou r s elv es i s gr ea ter

tha n tha t whi c h we obta i n fr om ou r s u rr ou n d i n gs 1
.

A n d it is an obvious f act which cannot be called i n ,

question that the pri n cipal element in a man s well

,
’

bei n g — ind eed in the whole tenor of his existence — is

, ,

what he is made of his inner constitution For this

, .

is the immediate source of that inward satisf ac tion or

dissatisf action resulting f rom the sum total of his
se n sations desires and thoughts whilst his surround
,

i n gs on the other han d exert on ly a mediate or

, ,

i n direct influence upon him This is why the same .

external events or circumstan ces a ffe ct no two people

alike ; even w i th perf ectly similar surr oundi n gs every
one lives in a world of his own For a man has .

immediate apprehension only of his own ideas f eelin gs ,

a n d volitions ; the outer world can i n fluence hi m only

in so f r as it brings these to li f e The world in

a .

w hich a man lives shapes itself chiefly by the way in

1 C f C l em en s A l ex
. . S trom . II .
,
21 .
 D I VI S I O N O F T HE S UBJ EC T .

which he looks at it and so it proves di fferent to

,

di fferent men ; to on e it is barren dull an d super , ,

fic i al ;to another rich interesti n g and f ull of meanin g

, , .

O n hearing of the interesting events which have hap

pened in the course of a man s exp e ience m any people
’

r ,

will wish that similar thi n gs had hap pened in their lives
too completely f orgetting that they s hould be envious
,

rather of the me n tal aptitude which lent those even ts

the sign ificance they possess when he describes them ;
to a man of genius they were int eresting adventures ;
but to the dull perceptions of an ordinary individual
they would have been stale ev eryday occurrences , .

This is in the highest degree the case with many of

Goethe s and Byron s poems w h ich are obviously
’ ’

f ounded upon actual f acts ; where i t is open to a

f oolish reader to envy the poet because so many
delightf ul things happened to him instead of envying ,

that mighty power of phantasy which was capable of

turning a fairly common experience into something
so great and beauti f ul .

I n the same way a person of melancholy tempera

,

ment wil l make a scene in a tragedy out of what

appears to the sangui n e m an only i n the light of an
in ter esting con flic t an d to a phlegmatic soul as some
,

thi n g without any mean i n g ; —all of which rests upon

the f act that every even t in order to be realised and
,

ap preciated requires the c c operation of two f actors

,
-
,

namely a subj ect and an obj ect ; although these are

,

as closel y and necessarily connected as oxygen and

hydrogen in water When there f ore the obj ective or

.

external fact or i n an experien ce is actually the same ,

b u t the s bject i ve or person l p pr iatio n of it y ari es

u a a ec ,
6 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

the event is just a s much a different one i n the eyes o f

di ffere n t persons as i f the objecti v e factors had not
been alik e ; f or to a blunt intelligence the fairest and
best obj ect in the world presen ts only a poor reality ,

and is there f ore only poorly appreciated like a fine ,

-

landscape in dull weather or in the reflection o f a b ad

,

c a m er a obs c u r a . I n plai n language every man i s ,

pen t up within the limits of his own con sciousness ,

and cannot directly get beyond those limits a n y more

than he can get beyond his own skin so external ai d
i s n ot of much use to him O n the sta ge one man is
.
,

a pri n ce another a mi n ister a third a servant or a

, ,

soldier or a general and so o ,

n — mere extern al di ffer
,

en c es: the inner reality the kernel of all these a ppear

,

a n c es is the same — a poor player with a ll the anxieties ,

of his lot . I n li fe it is j ust the same D i ff rences of . e

ran k and wealth give ev ery man his part to play but ,

this by n o means implies a di fferen ce of i n ward happi

ness and pleasure ; here too there is the s a me bein g
, ,

—
in all a poor mortal with hi h ardships a n d troubles
,
s .

Though these may indeed in every case proceed f m

, ,
ro

dissimilar causes they are i n their essential nature

,

much the same in all th eir f orms wi th d egrees of ,

intensity which vary no doubt b t in no wise corre

, ,
u

s p on d to the part a man has to play to the presence or ,

absence of position and wealth S ince everythi g . n

which exists or happens f or a m an exists only in his

con sciousn ess and happe n s f or it alone the most essen ,

tial thi n g for a m a n i s the constitution of this c on

s c i ou s n es s w hi ch is in most e s e s f ar more important
,
i

than the circumstances which g to f orm its contents o .

A 11 the pride and plea sure of the world mirro ed in ,

r
 DI V I S I O N O F T HE S U BJ ECT .

the dull consciousness o f a f ool is p oor ind eed com

pared with the imagination ot Cervantes writi n g his '

D on ! u i x ote in a miserable prison The obj ective hal f .

o f li f e and reality is in the hand of f ate and accord ,

i n gl y take various f orms i n di fferent cases

s the
subj ectiv e hal f is oursel f an d in essentials it always
,

remains the sam e .

Hence the li fe of every man is stamped with the

same character throughout however much his exter ,

nal circumstances may alter ; it is like a series of

variations on a single theme N 0 one can get beyo n d .

his own individuality A n animal u nder whatever

.
,

circumstances it is placed remains within the narrow ,

limits to which natu re has irrevocably consig n ed it ;so

that our end eavours to make a pet happy must alw a ys
keep within the compass of its nature and be restricted ,

to what it can f eel S o it is with man the m easure

.

of the happi n ess he can attain is determined be f ore

han d by his i n dividuality M ore especial ly is this the

.

case with the men tal powers which fix o n ce for all his ,

capacityf orthe hi gher ki n ds of pleasu re I f these powers .

are small no e ff orts f rom without nothing tha t hi s

, ,

f ellow men or that f ortune c a n do f or him wi ll su ffi ce to

-

raise him above the ordinary degree of human happi

n e s a n d pl easure hal f an imal though it be his only
s
,

resources are his sensual appetite —a cosy and chee rf ul ,

f amily li f e at the most — low com pan y and vulgar

,

pastime even education on the whole can avail , ,

little i f an ythi n g f or the e n largemen t of his horizon

, , .

For the highest most varied a n d las ti n g pleasures are

,

those of the mi n d however much our youth may

,

deceive us on this poi n t ; and the pleasu es of the r

 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

mi n d turn chi efly on the powers of the mind I t i s .

clear then tha t our happi n ess dep en ds in a great

, ,

degree upon what we m e upon our indivi duality , ,

whilst lot or des tiny s ge n erally taken to mean on ly

l

what we hav e or our r ep ta ti on O u r lot in this

,
u .
,

sense may improve but we do not as k much of it i f

,

we are inwardly rich : on the other hand a f ool ,

remai n s a f ool a dull blockh ead to his last hour even

, , ,

though he were surrounded by hou ris in paradise .

Thi s is why Goethe in the Wes t os tl i c her Di v a n says

,
-

that every man whether he occupy a low position in

,

li fe or emerges as its victor testifies to personality as

, ,

the greates t f actor in happiness

Volk u d K
/n n ec ht u n d Ueberwi n der
S i c gestehen , eu jeder Z ei t,
HO c hs tes Gli tc h der E r den ki nder
'

S ei di e P ers bn li c hkei t
’

nu r .

E verythi n g con firms the f act tha t the subj ective

e lement i n li f e is incomparably more import an t for
our happiness a n d pl easure than the obj ective f rom ,

such sayi n gs as Hu n ge i s the bes t s a u c e a n d Y ou th

r ,

a n d A ge c a n n ot l i ve together up to the li f e of the ,

Gen iu and the S ai n t Health outweighs all other

s .

bl essings so much that one may really say that a

h ealthy beggar is happier than an ailing king A .

quiet and cheerful temperament happy in the enj oy ,

ment of a perf ectly sound physique an intellect clear , ,

lively p e n etrating and seei n g things as they are a

, ,

m oderate and ge n tl e will and there f ore a good c on

,

science— these are privileges which no rank or wealth

can make up f or or re place For what a man i i n .
s
 D I VI S I O N O F T HE S UBJ ECT .

himself what accompanies hi m when he is alone what

, ,

no one can give or tak e away is obviously more ,

essential to him t han everythi n g h e has in the way of

possessions or eve n what he may be in the eyes of
,

the world A n i n tellectual man in complete solitude

.

has excellent e n tertainment in his own thoug hts and

f ancies whilst no amount or diversity of social
,

pleasure theatres excursions and amusements can

, , ,

ward off boredom f rom a dullard A good temperate .

, ,

gen tle character c an be happy in needy circumstances ,

whilst a covetous envious and malicious man even i f

, ,

he be the richest in the world goes miserable N ay ,

.

more ;to one who has the constant delight of a special

individuality wi th a high degree of intellect most of
, ,

the pleasures which are run after by ma n kind are

per fectly supe fluous ; they are even a trouble
r

a n d a burden A n d so Horac e says of himsel f that

.
, ,

however many are deprived of the fancy goods -

of li fe ,
there is one at le ast who can live without
them
Gem m a s , m a rm or, ebu r, T yrrhen a s i gi lla , ta bella s
A r gen tu m , ves tes Gcetu l o m u ri c e vi neta s
S u n t gu i non ha bea n t, est qu i n on c u ra t ha bere

and when S ocrates saw various articles of luxury

spread out for sale he exclaimed : How m u , ch ther e i s

i n the wor l d tha t I d o n ot wa n t .

So the first a n d most essential element in our li f e s ’

hap piness is what we are — our personality i f for no, ,

other reason than that it i s a constan t f actor com i n g

i t o play u n d er all circumstances besid e u n lik e the
n : s,

blessing w hic h are d e cribed u n der the oth er two

s s
10 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

heads it is not the sport of destiny and cannot be

,

wrested from us — and so fa it is endowed wit h a n,

r,

absolute value in contra st to the merely rel atl v e

worth of the ot her two The co n sequence of this is .

that it is m u ch more di fficult t han peo ple commonly

suppose to get a hold on a m a n f rom without But .

here the all p owerf ul age n t Time comes in and claims

-
, ,

its righ ts and be f ore its influence physical and

,

mental advant ages gradually waste away Moral .

c haracter alone remai n s inaccessible to it I n View of .

the destructive c fl ec t of time i t seems inde ed as i f

’

, , ,

the blessi n gs nam ed u n der the other two heads of ,

which time cannot directly rob us were superior to ,

th ose of the firs t A nother advan tage might be

.

claimed f or them nam ely that being in their very

, ,

nature obj ective and ext er n al they are attai able ,

n
,

and every one is present ed wit h the possi bility at ,

l east of coming into posses s ion of them whilst what is

,

subj ective is n ot op n to us to acquire but maki n g i ts

e ,

entry by a kind of d i v i n e r i ght it remai n s f or li f e , ,

i m mutabl e inalienable an i n exorable do om L et

, ,
’

me qu ote those lines in which Goet he describes how an

unaltera ble destiny is assigned to every man at the hour
of his birth s that he can dev elope on ly in the li n es
,
o

laid dow n f o him as it were by the co njunction s of

r , ,

th e stars ; a n d how the S ibyl a n d the prophets d eclare

that hi m elf a m a n can n ever escap e nor a n y power
s ,

of tim e avail to chan ge th e path on which his li fe

is cast
Wi e a n dem T ag, der d i c h der Wel t ver li ehen ,
Di e S on/h e s ta n d z u m Gr u s s e der P la n eten,
B i s t a ls oba ld u nd f or t u n d f or t ged i ehen ,
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

two it is mani f estly a wiser course to ai m at the

,

maintenance of our health and the cultivation of our

f aculties than at the amassing of wealth ; but this
,

must not be mistaken as meaning that w e shou ld

neglect to acquire an adequate supply of the n ec es s ies ai

of li f e We al th i n the strict sense of the word that

.
, ,

is great s u pe fl u i ty c a n do little f or our happi n ess

,
r ,

and many rich people f eel unhappy just because they

are without an y true mental culture or knowledge ,

and conse quently have no obj ective interests which

would quali f y them f or intellectual occupations For .

beyond the satisf action of some real and natural

necessities all that the possession of wealth can achieve
,

has a very small i n flue n ce upon our happiness in the ,

proper sense of the word ; indeed wealth rather dis ,

tu rb s it because the preservation of pr operty entails

,

a great man y unavoidable anxieties A n d s till men .

are a thousand times more intent on bec oming rich

than on acquiring culture though it is quite c ertain ,

that what a man i s contributes m uch more to his

happiness than what he has S o you may See many .

a man as i n dustrious a an ant ceas elessly occu pied

,
s ,

f rom morni n g to night i n the endeavour to increase

his heap of gold Beyond the narrow horizon of .

means to this en d he knows nothi n g ; his mi n d is a

,

blank and consequently unsusceptible to a n y other

,

influence The highes t pleasures those of the i n

.
,

tell ec t are to him inaccessible and h e tries in vain

, ,

to replace them by the fleeting plea ures of sense in s

which he i dulges lasting but a brief hour a n d at

n ,

tremen dous cost A n d i f he is lucky hi s struggles

.
,

res lt i n hi s havi n g a r eally great pile of gold which

u ,
 D I VI S I O N O F T HE S UBJ E C T .

he leaves to his heir either to make it still larger or

, ,

to squander it in extravagan ce A li f e like this .

,

though pursued with a se n s e of earn estn ess and an

air of importan ce is just as silly as many another
,

which has a f ool s cap f o its symbol

’
r .

Wha t a m n ha i n hi m s elf is then the chie f

a s , ,

element in his happiness Because this is as a rule .

, ,

so very little m ost of those who are placed beyo n d

,

the struggle with pe n ury f eel at bottom quite as u n ,

happy as those who a h still e n gaged i n it Their r .

minds are vacant their i m agination dull their S pirits

, ,

p oor ,
a n d so they are drive n to the compa n y of those

—
like them f o s m l i s i
i r i s m i l i ga d et— where they n

make commo n pursuit of pastime a n d entertainme n t ,

con sisti n g f or the most part in sensual pleas ure ,

amusement of every ki n d an d fi n ally in excess , ,

a n d liber ti n i s m A you n g man of rich f amily enters

.

upon lif e with a large patrimony and o ften runs ,

through it i n an i n credibly short s pace of time i n ,

Vicious ext avagan ce ; and why ? S im ply because

r ,

here too th e mi d is empty a n d void a n d so the m a n

,
n ,

is bored with existe n ce He was sen t f orth i n to .

the world outwardly ri h but i n wa dly p o or an d his

c r ,

vain en deavour was to make hi s ex tern al wealth

compensate f o his i n n er pover ty by tryi n g to obtain
r ,

everythi n g fr om wi thou t like a n old man who seeks ,

to stre n gthen hims el f as K i n g David or Maré chal de

R etz tried to do A n d so in the en d one wh o is i n
.

wardl y poor comes to be also poor outwardl y .

I need n o t i n sist upon the import n ce of the other a

two kinds of blessings which make up the happines s

of human l i f ; now a days the value of possessi n g
e - -

c
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

them i s too well known to require advertisement .

The third class it is true may seem compared with

, , ,

the second of a very ethereal character as it consists

, ,

only of other people s O pin i ons S till everyone has to

’
.

strive f or re putation that is to say a good name R ank

, , .
,

on the other hand shou l d be aspired to only by those

,

who serve the S tate and fame by very f ew indeed

, .

I n any case re putation is looked upon as a priceless

,

treasure and fa me as the most precious of al l the

blessi n gs a man can attain s—the Golde n Fleece as it
,

were of the elect : whilst only f ools will pre fer ra n k

,

to property The second and third class es moreover

.
, ,

are reciprocally cause and e ffect ; so f a r that is as ,

P etronius maxim ha bes ha beber i s is true ; and con

’

, ,

v ers el y the f a v our of others

,
in all its f or m s of ten
, ,

puts u s in the way of getting what we wan t .

 C HA P T ER I I
P ER S O N A L I T Y O R WHA T A M A N 1 3
, .

WE have al eady seen in general that what a man i s

r , ,

contributes much more to his happiness than what he

has or how he is regarded by others
, What a man is .
,

and so what he has in his own person is always the ,

chief thing to consider ; f or hi s individuality aecom

p a n i es him always and everywhere and gives its ,

colour to all hi s experiences I n every kind of e nj oy .

m en t f or instance the pleasure depends principally

, ,

u pon the man hi m self E very one admits this in .

regard to physical and how much truer it is of intel

,

lectual pleasure When we use that English expres

, .

sio n to enj oy ones el f

,
“
we are employing a very
”
,

stri king an d appropriate phrase f or observe—one

says not he enj oys P aris but he enj oys himsel f i n
,
”
,

P aris To a man possessed of an ill conditioned

”
-
.

individuality all pleasure is like delicate wine in a

,

mouth made bitter with gall Theref ore i n the bless .

,

ings as well as in the ills of li f e less depends upon ,

what be f alls us than upon the way i n which it is met ,

that is upon the kin d an d degree of our gen eral

,

u s c e ti b i l i ty
p W hat. a m a n is an d has in h i msel f —
i n ,

a word personality with all it en tails i s the only i m

, , ,

mediate an d direct f actor i n his ha ppiness and welf are .

A ll els e is mediate a n d i n direct and its influence can ,

be neutralised and f rustrated ; but the influence of

personality never This is why the envy which per
.

sonal q u alities excite is the most implacable of al l — as ‘

it is also the most care f ully dissembl ed .

 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

Further the constitution of our consciousness is the

,

ever present and lasting element in all we do or su ffer ;

our individuality is persisten tly at work more or less , ,

at every moment of our li f e all other influences are :

tem poral incidental fleeting and subj ect to every

, , ,

ki n d of chan ce and change T his is why A ristotle .

says : I t i s n ot wea lth bu t c ha ra c ter tha t la s ts A n d .

1

just for the same reason we can more easily bear a

misf ortune which comes to us entirely from without ,

than one which we have drawn upon ourselves ; f or

f ortune may always change but not ch a racter , .

There fore subj ective blessings — a noble natu re a

, , ,

capable h ead a j oyful temperam ent bright s pirits

, , ,

a well constituted perf ectly so u n d physique in a

-

, ,

word m en s s a n a i n c orp or e s a n o are the first and

, ,

most important elements in happin ess ; so that we

should be more intent on promoting and preservi n g
such q ualities than on the possession of external weal th
and external honour .

A n d of all these the one which mak es us the most

,

directly happy is a ge n ial flow of good spirits ; f or

this excellent quality is its own immedia te reward .

T he m an who is cheer f ul and merry has al ways a good

—
reason f or bei n g s o the f act namely that he is s o
, , , .

There is nothing which like this quality can so com , ,

p l etel
y replac e the loss of every other blessi n g I f .

you k now an yone who is you n g handsome rich an d , ,

esteemed and you want to k now f urther i f he is

, , ,

happy ask I s he cheerf ul and genial —and i f he is

, , ,

1
E th E n d . VI I . 2 37.

f? ydp pi
( ro rs
fifi
é u i ov 0 1
, 37 d x p i ju a ra
‘

.
 P ER S O N AL IT Y ,
O R W HA T A MA N Is . 17

what does it matter whether he is young or old ,

s traight or humpbacked poor or rich l —h e is happy ,

.

I n my ea l y days I once op ened an O l d book a n d

r

f ound these words : I f you l a u gh gr ea t d ea l you re a ,

a

happ y ; i f you cr
y a gr ea t d ea l you
, a r e u n happ y

a very simple remark no doubt ; but just bec aus e it

,

is so simple I have never been able to forge t i t ,

even though it is in the last degree a truism S o i f .

cheer fulness knocks at our door we should throw it ,

wide open f or it never comes ino pp ortunely i n stead

,

of t h at we o f ten make scruples about letti n g it i n

,
.

We want to be quite sure that we have every reason

to be contented ;then we are af raid that cheerfulness of
spirits m ay i n terf ere with serious reflections or w eighty
cares Cheerf ulness is a direct and immediate gai n
.
,

—the very coin as it were of happiness and not like all

, , , ,

else merely a cheque u po n the ban k ; f or it alone

,

makes us immediately hap py i n the presen t mom ent ,

and that is the highest blessing for beings like us whose ,

existence is but an infinitesimal mome n t between two

etern ities To secure and promote this f eeli n g of
.

cheerf ulness should be the supreme aim of all our

endeavours af ter happi n ess .

N ow it is certain that nothing con tributes so little

to cheerf ulness as riches or so much as health I s it , , .

not in the lower classes the s o called working classe

,
-
s,

more especially those of them who live in the

cou n try that we see cheerf ul a n d co n te n ted f aces ?
,

and is it not amon gst the rich the upper classes th at , ,

we fin d f ace f ull of ill hum our an d vexation ? C on

s -

sequently we should try as much as possible to main

tain a high degree of health ; for cheerfulness is t he
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

very flower of it I need hardly say what one must

.

do to be healthy— avoid every ki n d of excess a ll ,

violen t and u n pleasan t emotion all mental ov e s t am

,
r r ,

take daily exercise in the open air cold baths an d ,

s u ch like hygienic measures For without a proper

.

amount of daily exerci s e no one can remain healthy

all the processes of li f e demand exercise f or the due
perf ormance of their f un ctions exercise not only of
,

the parts more immediately concerned but also of the ,

W hole body . For as A ristotle rightly says L i fe i s

, ,

m ovem ent ; it is its very essence C easeless and rapid

.

motion goes on in every part of the organism The .

heart with its co m plicated double systole and di astole

, ,

beats stron gly a n d untiringly ; with twenty eigh t -

beats it has to drive the whole of the blood through

arteries veins a n d capillaries ; the lungs pump like a
,

s team engine without i n termission ; the intestines are

-
,

always in peristaltic action ; the glands are all con

s ta n tl
y absorbing and secreti ng eve n the brain has a

double motion of its own with every beat of the

,

pulse an d every breath we dra w When people can .

get no exercise at all as is the case with the countless

,

numbers who are con dem n ed to a sede n tary li f e there ,

is a glaring and f atal disproportion between outward

inactivity and inner tumult For this ceaseless i n
.

ternal m otion re q uires some external cou n terpart an d ,

the want of it produces effects like those of emoti on

which we are obliged to suppress Even trees must .

be shaken by the w ind i f they are to thrive T he

,
.

rule which finds its application here may be mos t

briefly ex pressed in Latin om n i s m otu s g o c eler i or ,
u ,

eo m a gi s m otu s .
 TI I E WI S D O M OF LI FE .

an d be gen erally given u p to sad thoughts T e . h

ultima te cause of this is u n doub tedly to be f oun d in

innate and therefore u n alterabl e p hysical co n stitutio n
, , ,

especially in the more or less n ormal relation of a

man s sensitiveness to his muscular and vital energy
’
.

A b n ormal se n sitiveness produces i n equality of S pirits a ,

predominating m elancholy with p eriodical fits of n u ,

restrained liveliness A ge n ius is on e whose nervous .

po wer or sensitiveness is largely in excess ; as A ris

totl e has very correctly observed M e d i s ti n gu i s hed
1
,
n

i n p hi l os op hy, p ol i ti c s , p oetr y or a r t, a
pp ea r to be a ll

o f This is doubtless the

a m el a n c hol y tem p er a m en t .

passage which C icero has in his mind when he says ,

as he o f ten does A r i s toteles a i t om n es i n gen i os os

,

m el a nc hol i c os es s e S hakespeare has v ery neatly

.
2

expressed this radical and innate diversity of tempera

men t in thos e lines in T he M er c ha n t of Ven i c e
N a tu r e ha s f ra m ed s tra n ge f ellows i n her ti m e
S om e tha t wi ll everm ore p eep throu gh thei r eyes ,

A n d l a u gh, l i ke p a rr ots a t a bag p i p er ;

-

A n d others of su c h vi nega r a sp ec t,
T ha t they l l n ot s how thei r teeth i n wa y of
'
sm i l e,
T hou gh N es tor s wear the jes t be la u gha bl e .

This is the di ff erence which P l ato d aws between r

efiv K and St v — the man of ea y a n d the m n

s oK s s , a

of d i fil c u l t disposition
‘ — i n proo f of which he re f ers
to the varying degrees of susceptibility which di ff er
ent pe ople S how to pleasurable a n d pai n f l impres u

sions ;so that one m an wil l laugh at w hat makes another

despair A s a rule the stron ger the susceptibility to u n
.
,

p leas ant i m pres ions the weaker is th e s u s c e pti b i l i ty to

s ,

2
1
P ro bl . x x x ,
e
p . 1 . Tu sc . i .
, 33 ,
 P ER S O N A L I T Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N IS .

pl easant one s and v i e v r s a I f it is equally possible

,
c e .

for a n ev ent to turn out w ell or ill the 86 m m will ,

0 ;

be a n n oyed or grieved i f the issue i s u n f avourable ,

a n d will n ot rej ice should it be h ppy O n the

o ,
a .

other han d th e t v will n either wor y nor fret over

,
e
'
K s r

an un f avourabl e issue but rej oice i f it turn s out well

, .

I f th e on e is success f ul in nine out of ten u n d er tak

i n gs he will n ot be pleased but rather annoyed that
, ,

one has miscarried ; W hilst the other i f o n ly a si n gl e ,

one succeeds will manage to find consolation in the

,

f act and remai n cheerf u l But here is another .

i n stance of the truth that hardly any evil is entirely

,

W ith out its com pe n sation ; f o the misf ortunes and r

s u ffe ri n gs which the Sv k t hat is people of ox o oc

, ,

gloomy a n d an xi ous character have to overcome are , , ,

on the whol e more imaginary an d theref ore less real

,

than those which bef all the gay an d careless ; f or a

man who pai n ts everythi n g black who constantly ,

f ears the worst and takes measures accordi n gly W l l l ,

not be disappointed so of ten in this world as one who

al w
,

ays looks upon the bright side of things A n d .

when a morbid affection of the nerves or a derange ,

me n t o f the digestive organ s plays into the hand of ,

an i nnate tendency to gloom this tende n cy may ,

reach such a heigh t that permanen t discomf ort pro

duces a weariness of li f e S o arises an i n clination to .

suicide w hich even the most trivial un pleasan tness

,

m y actually bri n g about ; n a y when the tende n cy

a ,

att ins its worst f orm it may be occasioned by

a ,

nothi n g i n particular but a m an may r esolve to put

,

an end to his existence simply becaus e he is per ,

m a n en tl un ha p and th en cooll a n d firm l carr

y p y y
,
y y
 T HE WI S DO M OF LI FE .

out hi s determination as m ay be seen by the way in

which the su fferer when placed under supervision
, ,

as he usually is eagerly waits to seize the first

,

unguarded moment when without a shudder with

, , ,

out a struggle or recoil he m ay use the n ow natural

,

and welc ome means of efiec ti n g his release Even

1
.

the healthiest p erhaps e v en the most cheer ful man

, ,

may resolve upon d eath u n der certain circumstance s

when f or instance his su fferi ngs or his f ears of some

, , ,

inevitable mis f ort u ne reach such a pitch as to out

,

weigh the terrors of death T he only di fference l ies .

in the degree of su ffering necessary to bri n g about the

f atal act a degree which will be high in the case of a
,

cheerf ul and low in that of a gloomy man The

,
.

greater the melancholy the lower need the degree be

,

i n the end it may even sink to zero

,
But i f a m an .

is cheerf ul a n d his spirits are supported by good

,

health it requires a high degree of s nfl e i n g to make

,
r

him lay hands upon himself There a e countless . r

‘

steps in the scale between the two extremes of suicide ,

the suicide w hich spri n gs merely f rom a morbid

intensi fication of innate gloom an d the suicide of the ,

healthy and cheerf u l man who has e n tirely obj ective

,

grounds f o putting an end to his existence

r .

Beauty is partly an afl ai r of h eal th I t may be ’

reckoned as a p ersonal a dvant age ; th ough it does not ,

properly speaki n g co n tribute directly to our happi

,

n ess . I t does so indirectly by impressing other ,

people ; and it is no unimportant advantage even in ,

man Beauty is an open letter of recommendation

.
,

1
For a d e tai l ed d es c r i pti on of th i s c on d i ti on of m ind f
o .

Es qu i r ol D es m a l a di es m en ta les .
 P ER S O N ALIT Y ,
OR W HA T A MA N IS .

predisposing the heart to f avour the person who

prese n ts it A s is well said in those lines of Hom er
.
,

the gif t of beauty is not lightly to be thrown away ,

that glorious gif t which none can besto w save the

gods al on e
a r l 9 6 8V é t k v dé a Od a ,
"
oii ror dn dfihm E
'
.
p p .

bo v a K € V a br o t Odia w, é x ci w 8 O i i K (f r 7 1 9 !thou
' ’ ’

The most general survey shows us that the two f oes

of h uman happiness are pain and boredom We may .

go f urther and say that in the degree in which we

,

are f ortunate enough to get away f rom the one we ,

approach the other L i f e prese n ts in f act a more or .

, ,

less violent oscillation between the two The reason .

of this is that each of these two poles stands in a

double antagonis m to the other external or obj ective , ,

and inner or subj ective N eedy surroundings and .

poverty produce pain ; while i f a man is more than ,

wel l ofl he is bored A ccordi n gly whi le the lower

'

,
.
,

classes are engaged in a ceaseless struggle with need ,

in o ther words with pain the upper carry on a con

, ,

stant and of ten desperate battle with boredom T he 2

.

i n ner or subj ective antago n ism arises f rom the fact

that in the individual susceptibility to pain varies
, ,

inversely with susceptibility to boredom because sus ,

c epti b i li ty is directly proportionate to mental power .

Let me explain A dull mind is as a rule associated

.
,

with du l l sensibilities nerves which no stimulus can ,

1 I li a d 3, 6 5 .

2 A n d the ex trem es m e et f or th e l owes t s tate of c i v i l i z a ti on ,

a n om ad or wan d eri n g li f e, fi n d s i ts c ou n terp art i n th e hi ghes t,

wh er e e v eryon e is at ti m es a tou ri s t T he arli er s tage was a
.
e
of n ec es s i t th e l atter i s a re m e d f or b oredom
ca s e y y .
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

affect a temperament in short which does not f eel

, , ,

p i n or anxiety very much ho wever gr eat or terrible

a
'

it m ay be N ow i n tellectual dulness is at the

.
,

bottom O f that v c u i ty of ou l which is stamped on

a s

so m any faces a state of mind which betrays itsel f by

,

a constant and lively attention to all the trivial cir

c u m s tan c es in the external world This is the true .

source of boredom— a conti n ual panting af ter excite

men t in order to h ave a pretext f or giving the mind
,

and spirits something to occupy them The k ind .

of things people choose f or this purpose shows t h at

th ey are not very particular as witness the miserabl e ,

pastim es they have recourse to and their ideas of ,

social pleasure and conversation : or agai n the number ,

of p eople who gossip on the doorstep or gape out of

the wi n dow I t is mai n ly because of this inner

.

vacuity of soul that people go in qu es t of society ,

diversion amusement luxury of every sort w hich

, , ,

lead many to extravagance and misery N othing is .

so good a p rotection agai n st such mi s ery as inward

wealth the weal th of the mind because the greater it
, ,

grows the less room it l eav es f o boredom The i n

,
r .

exhaustible activity of thought ! fin di n g ever new

material to work upon i n the multif ario s phenomena u

of sel f an d natur e and able a n d ready to f orm n ew

,

—
combinations of them there you hav e som ethi n g ,

that invigorates the m ind and apart f rom moments of ,

relaxation sets it f a above the r each of boredom

,
r .

But on the other hand this hi gh degree of i n tel li

, ,

gence is rooted in a high d gree of susce ptibility e ,

greater stre n gth of will greater passionateness ; and ,

f rom the u m on of these qu a li ties comes an i ncreas ed

 P E R S O N A L I T Y, OR WHA T A MA N IS .

cap acity f or emotion an enhanced sensibility to all

,

menta l and even bodily pai n greater impatience of ,

obstacles greater resentment of interruption all of

,
—
which tend encies are augmented by the power of the
imagi n ation the vivid character of the whole range
,

of thought including what is disagreeable T his

,
.

applies in varyi n g degrees to every step in the long

, ,

scale of mental power f rom the veriest dunce to the

,

greatest genius that ev er lived There f ore the nearer .

anyone is either f rom a s u bj ective or f rom an objec

,

tive point of view to one of t hese sources of su ffering

,

in human li fe the f arther he is f rom the other A n d

, .

so a man s natural bent wil l lead him to make his

’

obj ective world con f orm to his subj ective as much as

possible ; that is to say he will take the greatest ,

measures against that f orm of su ffering to which he is

most liable The W i se man will above all strive after
.
, ,

f reedom f rom pain and a n noyance quiet and leisure , ,

consequently a tran quil modest li f e with as f ew en , ,

counters as m ay b e ; and so af ter a littl e experience ,

of his s o called f llow men he w ill elect to live in

-
e -
,

retirement or ev en ,i f he is a m a n of great intellect

, ,

in solitude For the more a man ha s in himsel f the

.
,

less he will want f rom oth er peopl e — the less indeed , , ,

other people can be to him This is why a high .

degree of i n tellect tends to make a m an unsocial .

True i f qu a l i ty of i n t ell ect co u ld be made up f or by

,

q u a n ti ty it might
, be w orth while to live even in the
great world but unf ortu n ately a hundred f ools
, ,

together will not mak e on e wise man .

But the individual who stands at the other end of

the scale is no sooner f ree f rom the pangs of n eed
 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

than he endeavours to get pastime and society at an y

cost tak ing up with the firs t person he meets and
, ,

avoiding nothing so much as himsel f For in solitude .

,

where every one is thrown upon his own resources ,

what a man has in hims el f comes to light ; the f ool in

fin e raiment groans under the burden of his miserable
personality a burden which he can never throw off
, ,

whi lst the man of talent peoples the waste places with
his animati n g thoughts S eneca declares that f olly is
its own bur den —
.

om n i s s tu lti ti a l a bor a t fa s ti d i o s u i
, ,

— a v ery true saying with which may be compared ,

the words of Jesus the son of S irach T he li fe of a fool

, ,

i s wor s e tha n d ea th A n d as a rule it will be f ound

.
1
, ,

that a man is sociable j ust in the degree in which he

is intellec tually poor and generally vulgar For one s .
’

choice in this world does not go much beyond solit u de

on one side and vulgarity on the other I t is said .

that the most sociable of all peo ple are the negroes ;
and they are at the bottom of the scale in intellect .

I re m ember readi n g once in a French paper that the 2

blacks in N orth A merica w hether f ree or enslaved , ,

are f ond of s hutting t hemselves u p in large numbers

in the smallest space because they cannot have too ,

much of one another s snub n osed company ’

-
.

The brain may be regarded as a kind of parasite of

the organ ism a pensioner as it were who dwells with
, , ,

the body : and leisure that is the time one has f or , ,

the f ree enj oyment of one s consciousness or indi ’

v i du al i ty is the f ruit or produce of the rest of exis t

,

ence which is in general o n ly labour and effort B u t

, .

1 E c c l e s i a s ti c u s, x x ii . 11 .

2
L e Com m erc e, O c t 1 9 th, 1 837 . .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

ward S ign th a t it is ban k rupt in thought Beca u s e .

people have no thoughts to deal i n they deal cards , ,

a n d try a n d win one another s money I diots ! But

’
.

I do not wish to be u njust so let me remark t h at it

may certai nly be said in de f ence of card p l ayi n g that -

it is a preparation f or the world a n d f o business lif e r ,

because one learn s t hereby how to m ake a clever use

of fortuitous but unalterable circumstances ( cards in , ,

this case) a n d to get as much out of th em as one can

,
:

a n d to do this a man must learn a little dissimulation ,

and how to put a good face upon a bad busi n ess But .
,

on the other han d it is exactly f or this reason that

,

card p l aying is so d emoralisi n g i n ce the whole obj ect

-
,
s

of it is to employ every kind of trick a n d machination

in order to wi n W hat belongs to a n other A n d a .

habit of this sort learnt at the card tabl e strikes root

,
-
,

and pushes i ts way i n to practical li fe a n d in the

affairs of every day a man gradually comes to regard
m eu m and tu u m in much the same li gh t as cards a n d ,

to consider that he m a y use to the utmost whatever

advantages he poss esse s so lon g as he does not come,

w i thi n the arm of th e l a w Exampl es of w hat I mean .

a e of daily occurre n ce i n m e rca n til e li fe

r S i n ce .
,

th en leisure i s the flower or rat her the f ruit of e

, , ,
x

i s ten c e a s it puts a m a n i n to p oss essio n of himse l f

, ,

those are hap py ind eed who poss s somethi g rea l i n es n

t hemselves But what do vou get f rom most p eo pl e s

.
’

—
l isure on ly a g ood f or no thi n g f ellow who is ter
e - -

ri bl
y bored and a burd en to himsel f Let us t h er e .
,

d ou b t, a thi n g of th e p as t, a t a n y rate a m o n gs t th e n a ti z ns of

n orth ern Eu rop e . T h e p re s e n t f as hi on i s rath er i n f a v ou r of a

d i l ettan te i n te res t i n art or li te ra tu re .

 P ER S O N AL IT Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N Is . 29

fore ,
rejoice de ar brethren
, ,
f or we a r e n ot c hi l d r en o
f
the bon dw om a n , bu t o
f the f r ee .

Further as no land is so well off as that which re

,

quires f ew imports or none at all so th e happies t man

, ,

is one who has enough in his own inner wealth and r e ,

q uires little or n othi n g f rom outside f or b is maintenance ,

f or imports are expensive things reveal dependence eu , ,

tail danger occasion troubl e and when all is said and

, , ,

d o n e are a poo substitute for home produce

,
r N 0 .

man ought to expect much f rom others or in general , , ,

fr om the external world What one human being .

c an be to ano ther is not a very great deal in the end

every one stands alone and the important thi n g is ,

who it is tha t stands alone Here then is another .

, ,

ap plication of the general truth which G oethe recog

n i s es in D i c ht n
g u n d W
u Bk
a hr hei t ( I I I ) that in .
,

everythi n g a man has ul timately to ap peal to himsel f ;

or as Goldsmith p u ts it in T he T r a vell e
,
r

S ti ll to ou rs el ves in ever y p l ac e c ons i n

g
’
d
Ou r ow n eli c i f ty we m a ke or fin d .

Himself is the source of the b es t and most a man

c a n be or achieve The m ore thi is s o— the more a
. s

man find s hi s sources of plea s ure in himsel f— the

happi er he will be There fore it is with great truth
.
,

that A ristotle says T o b ha pp y m e ns to be s elf

1
,
e a

s fi
u i c i en t For a l l other sources of happi n ess are in
.

their nature most uncertain precarious fleeti n g the , , ,

sport of chance and so even under the most favour

able circumstan ces they can easily be exhausted nay ,

this is unavoidable because they are not al ways ,

1
E th E u d
. .
,
vi i . 2
.

D
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

wi thin reach A n d i n old age these sources of h appi

.

—
n ess most necessarily dry p love leaves us th e n u z ,

a n d wit desire to travel

,
d elight i n horses a ptitud e
, ,

f or social intercourse ; f riends a n d relatio n s too a e , ,

r

taken from us by death Then more than ever it .

,

de pends u pon what a man has in himsel f ; f or this

wi ll stick to him lon gest and at any period of lif e it
it is the only genuin e and lasti n g source of happi n es s .

There is n ot much to be got anywhere in the world .

I t is filled wi th misery and pain ; and i f a m n a

escapes these boredom lies in wait f or hi m at every

,

corner N ay more it is evil which gen erally has the

.

upper hand and f olly makes the most n oise Fate is

, .

cruel and mankind pitiable I n such a world as this

,
.
,

a m an who is rich in himsel f is like a bright warm , ,

happy room at Christmastide while without are ,

the f rost and sno w of a D ecember n ight There fore .

,

without doubt the happiest d estiny on earth is to

,

have the rare gi f t of a rich i n dividuality and more , ,

e specially to b e p ossessed of a good endowme n t

,

of intellect ; this is the happiest d e sti n y though it ,

may not be after all a very brillian t one There was

, , .

great wisdom in that remark which ! ueen Christi n a

of S weden made in her ni n eteenth year about
, ,

D escartes who ha d then lived f o twenty years i n

,
r

the deep est soli tude in Hollan d and apa t f rom , ,

r

report was k n o wn to her on ly by a si n gle essay M

, : .

De sca r tes she said i s the h p p i es t of m en a n d hi s c o

, ,
a , n

d i ti o s eem s to m e m c h to be en v i ed
n O f course as
u .
1
,

was the case with D escartes external circumstances ,

must be f avourable e n ough to allow a man to be

1
Vi e dc D es c a rtes , par B ai l l et . Liv . v ii .
, c h 10. .
 PER S O N AL I T Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N IS .

master of his li f e and happiness ; or as we read in ,

E c c les i Wi s d om i s good together wi th a n i n her i

a s tes ,
1

ta n c e, an d pro
fi ta bl e u n to them tha t s ee the s u n The .

man to whom nature and f ate have granted the

blessi n g of W isdom will be most an xious and care f ul
,

to keep open the f ou n tains of happiness which he has

in himsel f an d f or this inde pende n ce an d leisure are ,

n ecessary To obtain them he will be willi n g to

.
,

moderate his desires and harbour his resources al l the ,

more because he is not like others restricted to , ,

the extern al world f or hi s pleasures S o he will not .

be misled by expectations of office or money or , ,

the f avour and applause of hi s f ellow men i n to sur -

,

rendering himsel f in order to con form to low desires

a n d vulgar tastes ; nay in such a case he wil l f ollow ,

the advice that Horace gives i n hi s epistle to

M aecenas I t is a gr eat piece of f olly to sacrifice th e
.
2

inner f or th e outer m an to give the whol e or the ,

greater part of one s quiet leisure and independence ’

f or s plendour rank pomp titles and honour

,
This is
, ,
.

w hat Goethe did My good luc k drew me quite in

.

the other direction .

The truth which I am insisti n g upon here the ,

truth namely that the chie f source of human happi

, ,

ness is internal is confirmed by that most a ccurate

,

observation of A ri s totle in the N i c hom a c he n E thi c s a

3
,

that every pleasure presupposes some sort of ac ti vity ,

1 vi i . 12
.
3
i . 7 an d vn . 1 3, 1 4 .

2
L ib l . .
,
ep . 7 .

N c c s om m mn p lebi s la u do, sa tu r a l ti li u m , n ec

O ti a di vi ti i s A m bu m li berri m a m u to .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

the applic ation of some sort of power without which ,

i t cannot exist The d octrine of A ristotle s that a ’

.
,

man s happiness consists in the free exer ise of hi s

’
c

highest f aculties is also enunciated by S tob aeu s in his

,

exposition of the P eripatetic phi l os 0 phy happ i n e s 1

: s ,

h e says m e n s v i gor o s a n d s c c e sf l a c ti v i ty i n a l l
,
a u u s u

n d e t ki gs ; and he explai n s that by vi go

n u r
y our u r a

( ai )
c l m he mea n s m a ter
y in any thing whatevs e r it be ,
.

N o w the original purpose of those f orces with which

,

nature has endowed man is to enabl e him to struggle

against the di fficulties which beset him on all sides .

B u t i f this struggle comes to an end his unemployed ,

f orces become a burden to hi m and h e has to set to

work a nd play with th em — use them I mean f or no , , ,

p urpose at all beyond avoiding

,
the other so u rce o f
human su ffering bor edom to which he is at o n ce ex
, ,

posed I t is the upper classes p eople of wealth who

.
, ,

are the greatest victims of boredom L ucretius lo n g .

ago desc ibed their miserable sta te and the truth of

r ,

his descri ption m ay be still recog n ised to day in the -

,

li f e of every great ca pital —where the rich man is

seldo m in his own halls because it bores him to be ,

there and still he returns thither because he is no

, ,

better off o u tside — or else he is away in p ost

haste to his house in the country as i f it were on fire ; ,

and he is no sooner arrived there than he is bored ,

again and seeks to f orget everything in sleep or else

, ,

hurries back to town once more .

E x i t s aepe f or a s m a gn i s ea: cedi bu s i lle,

E ss e dom i qu em p er taesu m es t, s u bi to u e r even ta t
q
! u i pp e f or i s ni hi l o m eli u s qu i s en ti a t ess e .

1
E el . e th . ii .
,
ch . 7 .
 P ER S O N A L I T Y ,
on WHA T A MA N 1s .

G u rri t, ag ens m a/nn os , a d vi lla m p r eei p i ta n ter ,

A u x i li u m tec ti s qu a s i f err e a r d en ti bu s i n s ta n s
O s c i ta t ex ternp lo, teti gi t gu u m li m i n a v i l l a e
A u t a bi t i n m gra vi s , a tqu e obli ri a qu a er i t
s om nu
1
A u t eti a m p r op er a n s a r hem p eti t a tqu e revi s i t .

I n their youth such p eople mus t have had a super

,

fiu i ty of muscular and Vital energy —powers w hich , ,

unlike those of the mi n d cannot maintain their f ul l ,

d egree of vigour very long ; an d in later years they

either have no mental powers at all or can not develope ,

any f or wan t of employme n t which would bring them

into play ; so that they are in a wretched plight .

Wi ll however they still possess f or this is the only

, , ,

power that is inexhaustible and they try to stimulate

their will by passio n ate excit ement such as games of ,

chance f or hig h s takes— undoubtedly a most degradi n g

f orm of Vic e A n d one may say g enerally that i f a
.

man finds himsel f with n othi n g to do he is sure to ,

choose some amuse m ent suited to the k ind of power

—
in which he excels bow 1s it m ay be or chess ; hunt
, , ,

ing or painti n g horse racin g or music cards or -

,

poetry heraldry philosop hy or some other dilettan te

, , ,

i n t erest We might classi f y these interests m ethodi

.

cally by reducing them to expressions of the three

,

f undamental powers the f actors t hat is to say which go

, , ,

to m ake up the physiological constitution of man and

f urther by consi d ering these powers by themselves
, ,

and apart from any of the definite aims which they

may subserve an d simply as aff rding three sources
,
o

of possi ble pleasure out of which every man will ,

choose what suits him according as he excels in one ,

direction or an othe r
.

1
III . 1 073
.
 —
T i I E wi s nori or L i Fii .

First of all come the pleasures of v i ta l en ergy ,

of f ood dri n k digestion rest a n d sleep

, ,
and th ere are ,

parts of the world w here it can be said that th ese are

ch aracteristic and national pleasures S econdly there .
,

are the pleasures of m u s c u la r en ergy such as walki n g , ,

running wr estli n g dan ci n g f encing riding and simil r

, , , , a

athletic pursuits w hich sometimes take the f orm of

,

sport and sometimes of a military li fe and real war

,

f are . Thirdly there are the pleasures of s en s i bi li ty

, ,

such as obs ervation thought f e eling or a taste f or , , ,

poetry or culture music learn ing readi n g meditation

, , , , ,

invention phi l os ol hy and the like A s regards the

,
i .

value relative worth an d duration of each of these

,

kinds of pl easure a great deal might be said which

, , ,

however I leave the rea d er to supply But every one

,
.

will see th at the nobler the power which is brought

i n to play the greater will be the pleasure w hich it
,

gives ; f or pleasure always involves the use of o n e s ’

own powers a n d happi n ess con ists in a f requen t

,
s

re p etition of pleasure N o one will deny that in this .

respect the p leasures of sensibility occu py a higher

place t han either of the other two f u n damental kinds ;
which exist in an equal n ay in a great er degree in , ,

brutes it is his preponderating amoun t of sensibility

which distinguishes m an f rom oth er an im als N ow '

.
,

our mental powers are f orms of sensibili ty and there ,

f ore a preponderating amount of it makes us capable

of that kind of pleasure which has to do with mind ,

s e called intellectual pleasure ; and the more sensi

-

bi l i ty predominates the greater the pleasure will b e , .

1

1
N atu r e ex hi bi ts a c on ti n u al r
p go r es s , s ta rti n g fr om the
m ec h an i c al an d c h em i c al ac ti v i ty of the i n orga n i c worl d .
p r o
 T HE WI S DO M O F LI FE .

constant excitement of the will is n ver an unmixed e

good to say the least ; in other words it involves

, ,

pain Card playing that u niversal occup a tion of

.
-
,

good society everywher is a device for providing e,

this kind of excitement and that too by means of , , ,

interests so small as to produce slight and momen

ta ry instead of real and permanent pain Card play
, ,
.
-

ing is in f act a mere tickl ing of the will

, ,
1
.

O n the other hand a man of powerf ul intellect is ,

ca pable of taking a vivid i n terest in thi ngs i n the

way of mere kn owl edge with no admixture of wi ll ; ,

nay such an interest is a n ecessity to hi m I t places

,
.

him in a sphere where pain is an alien a diviner air ,

where the gods live serene z

1
Vu lga ri ty i s , at b ottom , th e ki n d of c on s c i ou s n es s i n whi c h
th e wi ll c om p l etel y p r e d om i n a tes ov er th e i n te ll ec t, wh ere the
l a tter d oes n othi ng m or e tha n p e rf orm th e s e rv i c e of i ts m as ter,
th e wi ll . T heref or e, wh en the wi l l m ak es no d e m a n ds , su p pli es
no m oti ves , s tron g or weak , the i n tel l ec t en ti r el y l os es i ts p ower,
an d th e r es u lt i s c om
pl e te v a c a n c y o f m i nd . N ow wi ll wi thou t
i n tell ec t i s th e m os t v u l ga r an d c om m on th i n g i n the worl d ,

p os s e s s ed by e v ery b l oc kh ead , who , i n th e grati fi c a ti on of hi s

p a s s i on s , s h ows th e s tu ff of whi c h h e i s m a d e T hi s i s th e c on .

d i ti on of m i n d c al l e d vu l ga r i ty, i n wh i c h the on l y a c ti v e el em e n ts

a re th e organ s of s en s e , an d tha t s m al l a m ou n t of i n tel l ec t .

whi c h i s n ec e s s a ry f or appr eh en d i n g th e d ata of s en s e . A c c ord

i n gl y, th e vu l gar m an i s c on s ta n tl y op en to a l l s orts of i m p r es
s i on s , an d i m m edi a tel y p erc ei v es all th e li ttl e tri fli n g th i n gs
that go on i n hi s en vi ron m en t : the l i ghtes t whi s p er, the m os t
tri vi al c i rc u m s tan c e , i s su ffi c i en t to re u s e hi s a tten ti on ; he i s
’
ju st l i ke an an i m al . Su ch a m an s m e n ta l c on di ti on re v ea l s

i ts el f i n hi s f ac e, i n hi s wh ol e ex teri or an d hen c e that vu l gar,

r ep u l s i ve app earan c e , whi c h i s all th e m ore ofie n s i v e , i f, as is
u s u all th e c as e, hi s wi l l — th e on l y f ac tor i n hi s c on s c i o u s n e s s
y
is a b as e , s el fish a n d al toge th er bad on e .
 P ER S O N A L I T Y, O R ‘VHA T A MA N IS .

9 6 0 2 fi ei a !d
i e t/ 7 6 9 .
1

L ook on these two pictures —the li fe of the m a sses ,

one long dull record of str u ggl e and e ffort entirely

,

devoted to the petty in terests of personal welf are to ,

misery in all its f orms a li f e b eset by i ntolerable

,

boredom as soon as ever those a ims are satisfied and

the man is thrown back upo n himsel f whence he can ,

be reu s ed again to so m e sort of movement only by

the wild fire of passion O n the oth e r side you have
.

a man endo wed with a high degree of mental p ower ,

l eading an existence rich in t hought and f ul l of li f e

and meaning occupied by worthy and interesting
,

obj ects as soon as ever he is f ree to give himsel f to

them bearing n himsel f a source of the noblest plea

,
i

sure What external prom ptings he wants come f rom

.

th e works of nature and f ro m the contemplation of

,

human affairs and the ac hievements of the great of all

ages and countries which are thoroughly appreciated
,

by a man of this type alone as being the o n ly one ,

who can quite understand and f eel with them A n d .

so it is f o him alone that t hose great ones have really

r

lived ; it is to hi m that they mak e their appeal ; the

rest are but cas u al hearers who o n ly hal f und erstand
eith er them or t heir f ol lowers O f course this char .
,

a c te i s ti c of the intellectual m an implies that he has

r

one more need than the others the need of reading , ,

observing studying meditating practising the need

, , , , ,

in s hort of undisturbed leisure For as Voltaire has

, .
,

very rightly said ther e a re n o r ea l p lea s u r es wi thou t

,

r e l n eed s ; and the need of the m is why to such a

a

1
O dys s ey I V .
, 805 .
 T HE WI S DO M O F L I FE .

m an pl asures are acces ible wh i ch are denied to oth ers

e s

—the varied beauties of nature and art and literature

,

To heap thes e rou n d people who do not want them

and can not appreciate th em is like expecti n g grey ,

hairs to f all i n love A man who is privileged in this

.

respect leads two lives a pers on al and an i n tellectual

, ,

li fe ;an d the latter gradually comes to be looked upon

as the true on e and the f orm r as merely a means to
,
e

it O ther people make this shallow empty an d

.
,

troubled existence an end i n itsel f To the li f e of the .

intellect such a m an will give the pre f erence over all

his ot her O CCU pati on s : by the constant growth o f i n
sight a n d k n owledge this intellectual li f e like a
, ,

slowly f ormi ng work of art wil l acquire a co n sistency

-
, ,

a permanent inte n sity a n i ty whi c h becomes ever

,
u ‘

more and m ore compl ete ; compared with which a ,

li f e devoted to the attain m en t of personal com fort ,

a li f e that may broaden i n d eed b u t can never be ,

d eepen ed makes but a poor sho w and yet as I have

, ,

said people make this ba er sort of existence an end

,
s

in itsel f .

The ordi n ary li f e of every day so far as it is n ot ,

moved by pas io i s tedious a n d i n sipid an d i f it is

s n,

so moved it soon beco m es pain f ul Those alone are

,
.

hap p y whom nature ha s f avoured with so m e super

fi i ty of intellect somethi n g beyond w h t is just
u ,
a

necessary to carry out th e be h ests of th eir will f or i t

enables them to l ead a n i n tell ectual li fe as w ell a li f e ,

unattended by pain an d full of vivid interests M ere .

leisure that is to say intellect unoccupied in the ser

, ,

v ice of the will is not of itsel f su fficient : there must

,

be a real s u perfiu i ty of power set f ree f rom the ser ,

 Phas oN A L I T Y , on WHA T A MA N IS . 39

vice of the will and devoted to th at of the intel lect ;

f o as S eneca says oti u m s i n e l i tte i s m or s es t et v i v i
r, ,
r

hom i n i s s ep u l tu r a — illiterate leisure is a f orm of

d eat h a livi n g tomb
,
Varyi ng wit h the amount of
.

th e s u perfiu i ty there will be countless developments

,

i n t his second li fe the li f e of the mind ; it may be the

,

mere collection and labelling of insects bi rds mineral s , , ,

coins or the highest achieveme n ts of poetry and phil

,

osop hy The li fe of the mind is n ot only a protection

.

agai n st boredom it also wards off the p ernicious e ffects

,

of boredo m it k e e ps us f rom bad compan y f rom the ,

many dan gers misf ortunes losses and extravagances

, ,

w hich the man who places his happiness entirel y in

the obj ective world is sure to enco u nter My phil .

osophy for instance has n ever brought me in a six

, ,

p e n ce but it has sp a red me many an expense .

The ordinary man places hi s li fe s hap piness i n ’

things extern al to him in property rank wi f e and , , ,

children f riends society and the lik e so t hat wh en

, , , ,

h e loses them or finds t he m disap p oi n ting the f ou n da ,

tion of his happiness is destroyed I n other words .

,

his centre of gravity is not in hims el f ; it is constantly

chan ging its place with every wish and whim I f h e
, .

is a man of means one day it will be his house in the

,

country another buyi n g horses or e n tertai n ing f ri ends

, , ,

—
or travelli g a li fe in short of general luxury the
n , , , ,

reason b ei n g t hat he seeks his pleasure in t hi n gs b u t

side hi m Like on e w hose he alth an d strength are
.

go n e h e tries to regain by the use of j ellies and drugs

, ,

instead of by developing his own vital power the true ,

source of what he has lost Be f ore procee di n g to the .

O pposite let us com p ar e with thi

,
common typ e the s
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

man who comes midway bet ween the two endowed , ,

it may be not exactly with distinguished powers of

,

m ind but with somewhat more than the ordinary

,

amount of intellect He wil l take a dilettante interest

.

in art or devote his attent i on to some branch of

,

scie n ce— botan y f or example or physics astro n omy

“

, , , ,

his tory and find a great deal of pleasure in such

,

studies and amuse himsel f with them when external

,

sources of happiness are exhausted or fail to satisf y

him an y more O f a man like this it may be said that
.

his centre of gravity is partly in himsel f B t a . u

dilettante interest in art is a very different thing f rom

c reative activity ;and an amateur pursuit of science is

a t to be sup erficial and not to p enetrate to th e heart

p
o f the matter A man ca n n ot entirely ide n ti f y himsel f
.

with such pursuits or have his whole existence so

,

completely fill ed and p ermeat ed with them that he

loses al l interest in everythi n g else I t is only the .

high est intell ectual power what we call geni s that , u ,

attai n s to this degree of inte n sity making all time ,

and existence its theme and strivi n g to express its ,

p eculiar conception of the world whether it contem ,

plates li f e as the subj ect of poetry or of pl i lO S O p hy i .

Hence undist u rbed occupation with himsel f his own

, ,

thoughts and works is a matter of urgent necessity

,

to such a man ; solitude is welcome leisure is the ,

highest good and everythin g else is unnecess ary nay

, , ,

even burdensom e .

This is the o n ly type of man of whom it can be

said that his cen tre of gravity is e n tirely in himsel f
which explain s why it is that people of this sort
a d they are ver rare — no matter how excellent their
n
y
 P ER S O N A LIT Y . OR WHA T A MAN IS .

character may be do not show that warm and u n

,

limited i n terest i n f riends f amily and the community , ,

i n general of which others a e so o f ten capable ; f or

,
r

i f they have o n ly themselves they are n ot inco n solable

for the loss of e verythi n g else This gives an isola .

tion to their character Which is all the more e ffective,

since other people never really quite satisf y them as ,

being on the whole of a di ff erent nature : nay more

, , ,

since this di fference is constantly f orcing itself upon

their n otice th ey get accustomed to move about
,

amongst mankind as alien beings and in thinking of ,

humanity in general to say they instead of we ,

.

S o the conclusion we come to is that the m an

whom nature has endowed with in tellectual wealth is
the happiest ; so tru e i t is that the subj ective concern s
us more than the obj ective f or whatever the latter -

may be it can work only i n di ectly secon darily a n d

,
r , ,

—
through the me dium of the former a truth finely ex
pressed by Lucian
I I A oii r og 6 l v x rjs n hofiros p oi / 0 9 c a r i u en
’
i jg g ”m
'

f
‘
( s
’
T dhha S é x et dr nv a hei o va 7 6 V K r eoi vwv l

the wealt h of the s oul is the only t u e wealth f o r ,

with all other riches comes a ban e even great er t han

they The man of i n ner wealth wan ts nothi n g f rom
.

outside but the negative gi ft of u n disturbed l eisure ,

to d evelop and mature hi s intellectual f ac u l ties that ,

is to enj oy his wealth ; in shor t he wants permission

, ,

to he him s el f hi s w hole li f e long every day a n d every

, ,

h our . I f he is d esti n ed to im p re ss the character of

his mind upon a whole race he has only one measure ,

1 E p i gram m a ta , 1 2 .
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

of appiness or unhap piness— to succeed or f ail i n

h
perf ecti n g his p owers an d completi n g his work A l l .

else is of small consequence A ccordi n gly the greates t .

,

mi n ds of all ages have set the highest value upon

u n disturbed l eisure as worth exactly a s much as the
,

m an himsel f H pp i n es s a pp ea rs to c on s i s t i lei s r e
. a n u

says A ristotle ; and D iogenes L aerti u s reports that

1

S oc r a tes p r a i s ed lei s r e s the fa i es t of a ll p os s es s i o s

u a r n .

S o i n th e N i c hom a c hea E thi c s A ristotle conclude s

,
n ,

that a li fe devoted to p hilosophy is the happiest ; or ,

as he says i n the P oli ti c s the fr ee ex erc i s e of a y 2

,
n

p ow e r wh tev er i t m a
, a
y be i h pp i es s T h is again ,
s a n .
, ,

tallies with what Go ethe says in Wi lhel m M ei s ter : T he

m an who i s bor n wi th a ta l en t whi c h he i s m ea n t to
i n ds hi s gr ea tes t happ i n es s i n u s i n g i t
u s e,
f .

But to be in possession of undisturbed

leisure is ,

f ar f rom bei n g t he common lot ; nay it is something ,

alien to human nature for the ordinary man s desti n y ,

’

is to spend li f e in procuri n g what is necessary f or the

subsistence of hims el f an d his f amily ; he is a son of
struggle and ne ed n ot a f ree i n telligence S o people
,
.

as a rule soon get tired of u n disturbed leisure and it ,

becomes burde n some i f t here are no fictitious and

f orced aims to occupy it play pastime an d hobbies of , ,

every kind For this v ery reaso n it is f ull of possible

.

dan ger and d i fii c i l i s i n oti o gu i es is a true saying

, ,

— i t is di ffi c u lt to keep quiet i f you have nothing to

do O n the other hand a measure of intellect f a r
.
,

surpassing the ordinary is as unnatural as it is

'

abnormal But i f it exists an d the man endowed

.
,

with it is to be hap py he will want precisely that ,

2
1
E th N i c h om
. . x . 7 . iv 11. .
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

hears it said and said too wi th some plausibility

, , , ,

that th e narrow minded man is at bottom the -

happiest even though his f ortun e is unenviable I

, .

shall make no attempt to forestal l the reader s own ’

u dgment on this point ; more especially as S ophocles

j
hi m self has given uttera n ce to two diametrically
opposite O pinio n s
II O AN Z
) T O
ppovei v efida tp ov i a g
(

71 0
7 63
7 0 11 i nroi px eu l

he says in one place—wisdom is the gre atest part of

happiness and aga n m another passage he declares i , ,

that the li f e of the thoughtless is the most pleasan t

of all

v fi dw r os
;bp
’
Eu rt ( ovei v d
y p ;mdé

The philosophers of the O ld T es ta m en t fin d th em

selves i n a like contradiction .

T he li fe o f a f ool i s wors e tha n d ea th 3

and
I n mu ch w i s dom i s m u ch gri e f ;
and he tha t i n c rea s eth kn owledge i n c rea s eth s orr o w .
4

I remark however that a man who has n o

m ay , ,

mental needs because hi s i n tellect is of the narrow

,

and normal amount is in the strict sense of the word , , ,

—
what is called a p hi l i s ti n e an ex p ression at firs t
peculiar to the German language a kind of slang t erm ,

a t the Universities af terwards used by analogy in a , , ,

3 E c c l es i a s ti c u
1
A n ti gon e , 1 347 8 -
. s, x x ii . 11 .

4
2 A j ax ,
554 . E c c l es i as te s , i . 18.
 PER S O N AL IT Y ,
O R WHA T A MA N IS .

higher sense thou gh still in its ori g nal meani n g as

,
i ,

de n oti n g one who is not a S on of the M u s es A .

philistine I S an d remains ii / ii m I should pre fe r

( L ove os
'

( i/ o
.

to take a higher point of V iew a n d a pply the term ,

h i l i s ti n e to peopl e w ho are always seriously occupied

p
with realities which are no realities ; but as such a
definition would be a transcen dental one and th ere ,

f ore not generally intelligible it would hardly b e in ,

place in the present treatise which aims at bei n g ,

p opular .The other d efinition can be more easily

elucidated indicati n g as it does satisf actorily enough
, , , ,

the essential nature of all t hose qualities w h ich dis

ti n gu i h the philistine
s He is defined to be a
.

m a n wi thou t m en ta l n eeds From this it f ollo ws .

,

firstly i n r ela ti on to hi m s elf that he has n o i n tel

, ,

l ec tu a l p l eas u r es ; f or as was remarked be fore there

, ,

are n o real p l easures without real needs The philis .

ti n e s li f e is an imated by no desire to gain knowledge

’

an d i n sight f or their own sake or to experience that ,

true aesthe tic pleasure which is so n early akin to them .

I f pl easures of this kind are f ashio n able and the ,

philistine fi n ds himsel f comp elled to pay attention to

them he will f orce himsel f to do so but he will take as
, ,

little i n ter est in them as possi ble Hi s on l y real pleasures .

are O f a sensual ki n d an d he thinks that these in d em n i fy

,

him f or the loss of the oth ers To him oysters and cham .

pag n e are the h ei ght of existen ce ; the aim of his li fe

is to procure what will con tribute to his bodily w el f are ,

and he is i n deed i n a happy way i f this causes hi m some

tro u ble I f the luxuries of li fe are hea p ed upon him
.
,

he will inevita bly be bored a n d against boredom he ,

has a great many f ancied remedies balls theatres , , .

E
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

parties cards gambli n g horses women drinking

, , , , , ,

tra elling and so on ; all o f which can not protect a

v

man f rom being bored f or wh ere there are no intel ,

lectual needs no intellectual pleasures are possible

,
.

The peculiar characteristic of the philistin e is a dull ,

dry kind of grav ity aki n to that of animals N othi n g

,
.

really p l eases or excites or i n terests him f or sensual

, , ,

pleasure is q uickly exhausted and the society of ,

p hilistines soon becomes burdensome and one may ,

eve n get tired of playi n g cards True the pleasures .

,

of van i ty are le f t pl ea s u res whi c h he e nj oys in his

,

own way either by f eeli n g himsel f superior in poi n t

,

of wealth or ra n k or i n fl u ence and po wer to other

, ,

people who thereupon pay him honour ; or at an y

, ,

rat e by going abou t with those who have a super

,

fi i ty of t hese blessings sunni n g himsel f i n the

u ,

re flection of their splendour—what the English call

a s n ob .

From the essential nature of the philistine it f ol lows ,

secon dly i n r ega r d to other s that as he possesses n o

, , ,

intellectual but only physical nee ds he will se ek the

, ,

society of those who can satis f y the latter but not ,

the f ormer The last thing he will expect f rom his

.

f riends is the possession of any sort of intell ectual

capacity ; nay i f he chances to meet with it it will
, ,

rouse hi s an tipathy and even hatred simply because

in addition to an unpleasant sense of in f eriority he ,

experiences in his heart a dull kind of envy which

, , ,

has to be care f ully concealed eve n from himself .

N evertheless it sometimes grows into a secret f eeling

,

of ra n cour But f or all that it will never occur to

.
,

h i m to make his own id eas of worth or value con f orm

 P ER S O N A L I T Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N IS .

to the standard of such qualities he will continue to

give the pre f erence to rank and riches po wer and ,

influen ce which in his eyes see m to be the o n ly

,

genuine advantages in the world ; and hi s wish will

be to excel in t hem himsel f A ll this is the c on s e.

u en c e o f hi s bei n g a man wi thou t i n tel l ec tu a l n eed s

q .

The great affl ic tion of all philisti n es s th at th ey ha ve I

no interest in i deas and that to escape bei n g bored

, , ,

they are i n constant need of r ea li ti es N ow r alities . e

are either unsa tis f actory or dangerous ; when they

lose their i nterest they become f atigui n g But the

, .

ideal world is illimitable and calm ,

s om ethi n g a a rf
From the sp her e of ou r s orr ow .

N O TE —I these remarks on the personal qual ities

n

which go to make ha ppiness I have be e n mainly c on

,

cern ed with the physical a n d intell ect al n tur e of u a

m an . For an account of the direct a n d imm diate e

i n flue n ce of m or a li ty u pon hap pi n ess let me re f e to , r

my pri z e e s y on s a Fou n d a ti on (S e c .
 C HA P T ER III .

P R O P ER T Y ,
O R WHA T A MA N HA S .

EPI C U R U S divides the needs of mankind into three

classes and the di v ision made by this great prof essor
,

of happi n ess is a tr u e and a fine on e First come .

natural and necessary needs such as when not satis , ,

fied produce pai n — f ood a n d clothi n g v i c tu s et

, , ,

a m i c t s needs which can easily be satisfied

u ,
S e condly .
,

there are those needs which though natural are n o t , ,

nec essary such as the gra tification of certain of the

,

sen s es I may add however that in the report given

.
, ,

by D iogen es L a e ti u s E picurus do e s not mentio nr ,

which of the sen ses he means ; so that on this poi n t

my account of his do tri n e is somewhat more defi n ite c

and exact t han th e origi n al T hese are needs rath er .

more di fficult to satis fy T he third class consis ts O f .

needs which are neither natural nor n ecessary the ,

need of luxury and prodigality show and splendour , ,

which never com e to an en d and are ve y hard to ,

r

satis fy .
1

I t is di fficult i f not impossible to define the limits

, , ,

whic h reaso n should impose on the desire fo wealth r

fo th ere i s no absolute or defi n ite amou n t of wealt h

‘

which will satis f y a man T he amou n t is al ways .

relative that is to say just so much a s will mai n tai n

, ,

1
C f D i ogen es L
. ae r ti u s , Bk . x .
,
c h . x x vn .
, p p 1.27 an d 1 49
al s o C i c ero de f i n i bu s
,
i . 13 .
 P R O P ER T Y , O R WHA T A MA N HA S .

th e proportion bet ween what he wants and what he

gets ;f or to measure a m n s happiness only by what he a
’

gets a n d not also by what he expects to get is as f util e

, ,

as to try and ex press a f raction which shall have a

numerator but no denominator A man n ever f eel s .
“

the loss of things which it never occurs to him to as k

fo ; he is j ust as happy wit hout th e m ; whilst a n
r

other who m ay have a hu n dred tim es as much f eel s

, ,

miserabl e becaus e he has not got the on e thi n g wh ich

he wants I n f act here too every man ha s a n horiz on
.
, ,

of hi s own and he will expect just as much as he

,

thinks it possible f or him to get I f an O bj ect withi n .

his horizon looks as though he could co n fidently

reckon on getting it h e is happy ; b u t i f difficul ties
,

come in the way he is miserable W hat lies beyond

, .

hi s horizon has no e ffect at all upon him S O it is .

that the va t possessio n s of the rich do ot agitate

s n

the p oor and con versely that a w ealthy man is n ot

, ,

co n soled by all his wealth f or the failure of his hopes .

R iches one may say are like sea water ;the more yo u
, ,
-

drink the thirstier you bec ome and the same is true
,

of f ame The loss of wealth and pros p rit leave s a

. e y

m n as soon as the firs t p n gs of grie f are over in

a ,
a ,

very much the same habitual tem per as bef ore ; and
the reason of this is that as soo n as f ate dimi n ishes
,

the amount of his po s session s he himsel f immediat ely ,

r educes the amoun t of hi s claims But wh en m i f or . s

tune comes upon u s to reduc e the amou n t of our ,

claims is just what is most painf ul ;once that we have

don e so the pai n becomes less a n d less an d is f elt no
, ,

more ; like an O ld wou n d which has healed C on .

v ers ely when a piece of good f ortune be f alls us our

, ,
50 THE WI S D O M O F L I FE

cl aims mount higher and higher as there is nothing ,

to regulate them ; it is in t hi f eeli n g of expansio n s

t hat the delight of it lies But i t l a sts no longer than

.

the process itsel f an d when the expan ion is complete

,
s ,

the delight c eases ; we h ave becom e accustomed to the

increase in our cl aims and consequen tly i n di fferent to
,

the amount o f wealth which satisfie s them Th ere is .

a passage i n the O d ys s ey illustrati n g t his truth of

1
,

which I may quote the last two lin es

60 9 écr r i v eov l wv o v fi oi n wv
’
T o to; ydp V en t
'

x i p
'

O i ov 34
>
fip p y
a d et n ar i yp oi vdp cii v 76 96 6 V 76 .

the thoughts of man that d wells on the earth are as

the day granted him by the f ather of gods n d men a .

Disco n tent springs f rom a constant endeavour to i n

crease the amount of ou r claims when we are power ,

less to increase the amount w hi ch will satisf y them .

When we consider how f ull of needs the human

race is how its whole existence is based upon them it
, ,

is n ot a matter f or surprise that wea l th is held in

more sincere esteem nay in greater honour tha n
, , ,

an yt hi g else i n the world nor ought w e to wond er

n

that gain is m ad e the on ly goal of li fe and everythin g ,

that does not lead to it pu shed aside or thrown over

board— p hilosophy f o i nstan c e by those who pro f ess
,
r ,

it P eople are O ft en rep oached f o w ishi n g for mo n ey

. r r

above all things an d f o loving it more than anythi n g

,
r

els e but it is natural and even i n e itable f or p eople v

to love that which like an un wearied P roteus is

, ,

always ready to turn itsel f into what ever O bj ct their e

wan derin g wishes or m a ni f ld desires may f or the o

1
x v i ii . 1 30 7 -
.
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

m en ; moreover th e kind of work

,
t hey do is alway s

i n deman d ; so t hat what the proverb says is quite

tr u e a u s efu l tr a de i s a m i n e of gol d But with
,
.

artists a n d prof essionals of every kind the case s 1

quite di fferent and that is the reaso n why th ey a re

,

well paid They ought to bu ild up a capita l out of

.

thei r earn ings ; but they recklessly look upon t he m

a s merely i n terest and en d in rui n O n the other
,
.

h n d p eo pl e who inherit mon y kno w at least how

a ,
e , ,

to dis tinguish between capital and interest and most ,

of them try to make t heir capital secure a n d n o t

encroach u p on it ; n ay i f they can they put by at , ,

l east an eigh th of their interest in ord er to m et e

f uture conti n gencies S o most of th e m maintain

.

th eir position T hese f ew remarks about capital and

.

interes t are not applicable to commercial li f e for ,

merchants look upon money only as a means of

f u rt h er gain j ust as a workman regards hi s tool s so
,

even i f their capital has been entirely the result of

th eir own efforts they try to preserve and increase it
,

by usi ng it A ccordi gly wealth is nowhere so much

. n ,

at home as in the m erc han t class .

I t will generally be f ound that those who know

what it is to have been in need and destitution are
very much less afraid of it and co n se quently more ,

inclin ed to extravagance than those who know poverty ,

only by hearsay P eople who ha v e been born a n d

.

bred in good circums tances are as a rule much more

care f ul about the f u ture more economical in f act , , ,

than those who by a pi ece of good luck have sud ,

d en ly pas ed f rom pov erty to wealth

s This look s as .

i f pover ty were not really such a very wretched thing

 P R O P ER T Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N HA S .

as it appears f rom a distance The true reason .

,

however is rather the f act that the man who has

,

been born i n to a p osition of wealth comes to look

upon it as something wit hout which he could no more
liv e than he could live without air ; he guards it as
he does his v ery li f e ; and so he is generally a lover
of order prudent and eco n omical
,
But the man who .

ha s been born into a poor posi tio n look s upon it as

the n atural one and i f by any chance he comes in f or
,

a f ortune he r gards it as a s u pe fl u i ty S omething to

,
e r ,

be enjoyed or was ted because i f i t comes to an e d

, ,
n ,

he can get on just as well as b ef ore with on e an xi ety ,

the less or as S hakespeare says i n Henry VI

,
.
1
,

the a da ge mu st be veri f i ed
T ha t begga rs m ou n ted ru n thei r hors e to dea th .

But it S hould be said that peopl e of this ki n d have a

firm an d excessive trust partly in fate partly in the, ,

peculiar mean s which have already raised them out

o f need and poverty — a trust not o n ly of the head but
, ,

of the heart also ; and so they do n ot like the man ,

born rich look upon the shallows O f poverty as

,

bottomless but consol e themselv es with the thought

,

that once they have touched ground agai n th ey can ,

t ake anoth er u pward flight I t is this trait in human .

character which explains the fa ct that women who

w ere poor be f ore their marriage of ten make gr eater
claims and are more extravagant than those who
, ,

have brought their husbands a rich dowry ; because

as a rule rich girls bri n g with them not on ly a
, ,

f ortune but also more eager n ess nay more of the

, , ,

1
P ar t I I I .
,
A c t 1, S o 4 . .
 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

inherited instinct to preserve it than poor girl s do , ,

.

I f a n yone dou bts the truth of this and t hi n ks that it ,

is j ust the opposite he will fin d authority for hi s ,

view in A ri os to s first S atire ; but on the other hand

’

, ,

Dr J ohnson agrees with my O pinio n A wom a n of

.

f or tu n e he says bei n
, g u s ed to the ha n d l i n g o m on e
, f y ,

s
p en ds j d i c i oit
u sl
y ; bu t
u a w om a n w h o g ets the

c om m a n d of m on ey f or the f i r s t ti m e u p on her m a r

r i a ge ha s s u c h a gu s to i n sp en d i n g i t tha t s he thr ow s
, ,

i t a wa y wi th gr ea t p r ofu any case let s i on :

1
A nd in
me advise anyone who marries a poor gi rl not to
l eave he the capital but o n ly the interest and to
r ,

take especial care that S h e has not the management

of the c h ildre n s f ortu n e
’

I do not by a n y means thi n k tha t I am touchi n g

u pon a subj ect w hich is not worth my while to
me n tio n when I rec ommend people to be care f ul to
preserve what th ey have earn ed or inherited For to .

start li f e wi th jus t as much as will make one inde

pendent that is allo w on e to live com fortably with
, ,

out havi n g to work — even i f o e has on ly just enough n

f or onesel f not to s peak o f a f amily — is a n advan tag e

,

which cannot be over estimated ; for it means ex em p -

tion and immunity f rom that chronic disease of

p n ury which f ast ns on the lif e of man like a
e ,
e

plague ; it is eman cipation f rom t hat f orced labour

which is the natural l o t of ev ery mortal O nly und er .

a favourable f ate like this c a n a man be said to be

born f ree to be in the proper sens e o f the word s u i

, , ,

r i s m ast er of his o wn time a n d powers and able to

j u , ,

s ay ev e ry morning T hi s d a y i m y own A n d j ust ,

s .

1 B os well s
’
L i f e of John s on ann 1 776 , aetat : 6 7 .
 PR O P ER TY ,
OR WHA T A MA N HA S .

f or the same reason the di fference between th e man

wh o has a hundred a year and the man who has a
thousand is infini tely smaller than the di fference b e
,

tw een the f ormer and a m a n who has nothing at all .

But in herit ed wealth reaches its utmost value when it

f alls to the indivi dual endowed with mental p owers
of a high ord e r who is resolved to pursue a line of
,

li fe not compatible with the m aking of money ; f or

h e is then doubly endowed by f ate and can live f or
his gen ius ; and he will pay his debt to m ankind a
hundred times by achieving what n o other could
,

achieve b y pro ducin g some work which c ontributes

,

to the ge n eral good and redounds to th e honour of

,

humani ty at large A nother again may use his

.
, ,

w ealth to f u rther phi la n thr O pi c schemes and make ,

himsel f well deserving O f his f ellow men But a man

- -
.

who does none of these things who does not even try ,

to do them who never attem pts to study thoroughly

,

some one branch of knowledge so that he may at

least do what he can towards promoting i t— such a
on e,
born as he is i nto ric hes is a mere idl r a d ,
e n

thie f of time a conte m ptible f ello w He will not

,
.

eve n be happy because i n his ease exemption f rom

, , ,

need delivers hi m up to the ot her extreme of human

su ffering boredom which is such martyrdom to h i m
, , ,

that he would have b en better O ff i f poverty hade

given hi m somethi n g to do A n d as he is bor d he is . e

apt to be extravagant and so lose the a d an t ge of

,
v a

w hich he sho wed hims lf unworthy Cou n tless numbers

e .

O f people find t h e ms lv s in want S imply because when

e e , ,

t hey had mo n ey they spe n t it on ly to get m ome n tary

,

reli f f rom the f eeling of boredom which oppressed them

e .
 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

I t is quite another matter i f obj ect is success in ’

on e S

poli tical li f e where f a v our f rien ds an d connections

, ,

are all im porta n t in ord er to mou n t by their aid st ep

-
,

by step on the ladder of promotion and perhaps gai n ,

the topmost ru n g I n t his ki n d of li f e it is much

.
,

better to be ca st on the world with ou t a pen ny and

i f the aspirant is not of noble f am ily b t is a man of ,
u

some talent it will re dound to hi s advan tage to b e an

,

absolute paup er For what every on e most aims at

.

in ordi n ary co n tact with his f ellows is to prove th em

i n f erior to himsel f ; and how much more is this the
case in politics N ow it is only an absolute .
,

pau per who has such a thorough conviction of his

own com plete p ro found a n d positive inf eriority f ro m
,

every point of View of his own utter i n s i gn i fic a n c e ,

and worth lessness that he can take hi s place quietly ,

in the political machine He is the only on e who

1
.

c a n keep on bowi n g low enough a n d even go righ t ,

down upon his f ac e i f n eces s ary ; he alon e c an sub

mit to ev ery thing and la gh at it he alone kn ows the u

entire worthlessn ess of m erit ; he alone uses hi s

loudest oice and his boldest type whenever he has to
v

s peak or writ e of thes e who are placed over his h ead ,

or occu py any position of i n fluence and i f they do a

little scribbli n g he is ready to applaud it as a maste r
,

work He alone understands how to beg and so

.
,

1
T ra n s la tor s
’
N eta —S c hop en hau er i s p rob ab l y h er e m aki n g
on e of h i s m an y v i r u l en t attac k s u p on Hegel ; i n thi s c as e on
’
ac c ou n t of what he thou gh t to b e th e p hi l os op h er s ab j ec t
s erv i l i ty to the gov ern m en t of h i s d ay T h ou gh th e Hegeli an .

s ys tem ha s b een the f ru i tf u l m oth er of m an y l i b eral i d eas , th ere

c an be no d ou b t th a t Hegel s ’
i nflu e n c e, i n hi s own l i f e ti m e, wa s
-

an eff e c ti v e s u ort of P ru s s i an bu reau c rac y

p p .
 PR O PE R T Y ,
OR WHA T A MA N HA S . 57

betimes when he is hardly out of his boyhood he

, ,

becomes a hi gh priest of that hidden mystery which

Goethe brings to lig ht
Ueber s N i edertr ac hti ge
’

N i em a n d s i eh bekla ge
D en n es i s t da s M ac hti ge
Wa s m a n di r au c h s a ge

—
i t is no to complain of low aims ; f or whatever
u se ,

pe opl e may say they rule the world

, .

O n the other han d the m an who is born with ,

enough to live upon is gen eral ly of a somewhat inde

pe n dent turn of mind he is accustomed to keep his
head up ; he has n ot learned all the arts of the
beggar ; perhaps he eve n presumes a little upon the
poss ession of talents which as h e ought to kno w can , ,

nev er compete with cringi n g mediocrity ; in the lon g

run he comes to recog n ise the i n feriority of those who
are placed over his head and whe n they try to put ,

insults upon hi m he becomes ref ra c tory and s hy

, .

This is not the way to get on i n the world N y . a ,

such a man may at last i n cli n e to the opi n ion fre ely
expressed by Voltaire : We ha ve on ly two d ays to l i ve
i t is n ot w or th ou r whi l e to sp en d them i n c ri n i
g gn to

c on tem p ti ble But alas let m e obs erve by th e

r as c a ls .

way that c on tem p ti bl e s c a l is an attribute which

,
ra

may be predicated of an abomi n able n umb er of people .

Wh Jt v
a en a lusays — i t is d i fli c u l t to ise i f your r

poverty is greater than your tal en t

Ha u d f a c i le em ergu nt m v i r tu ti bu s obs ta t
) qu oru
f
,

R es a ngu s ta d om i

is more ap plicable to a c areer of art and lit erature

than to political and social ambitio n
b a ¢
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE
.

Wi f e and children I have not reckoned amon gst a

man s possessio n s : he is rather in t heir possession I t
’
.

would be easier to include f riends under that head ;

but a m an s f rie n ds belo ng to him not a whit more
’

th an he belongs to the m .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

If the f eeling of honour rests upon this peculiarity

of human nature it may have a very salutary e ff ect
,

upon the wel fare of a great many people as a s u bs ti ,

tute f or morality ; but upon th eir ha ppiness more ,

especially upon that peace of mi n d and independ en ce

which are so essential to hap pi n ess its e ffect will be ,

disturbing an d prej udicial rather than salutary .

T heref ore it is advisable f rom our point O f view , ,

to set limits to this weak n ess and duly to con ,

sider and rightly to estimate the relative value of a d

van tages and thus temper as fa r as possible this great
, , ,

susceptibility to o ther people s opinion W hether the ’

opinion be one flattering to our vanity or whether it ,

causes us pain ; f or in either case it is the same f eel

ing which is touched O therwise a man is the slave of
.
,

what other people are pleased to think —a n d how ,

little it requires to disconcert or soothe the mind that

is gree dy of praise
S i c lec e, s i c p a rvu m es t, a n i m u m qu ad l a n di s ava m m
'

1
S a bra i t ac r efic i t .

Therefore it will ve ry much conduce to our happi

n ess i f we duly compare the val e of what a man is u

in and f o himsel f with what he is in the eyes of

r

others Under the f ormer comes everyt hing that fills

.

up the sp an of our existence and m akes it w hat it is ,

in shor t all the advantages already consider ed and

,

summed up under the heads O f person ality a n d pro

p erty and the sphere in which all t h is tak e s place is

the man s own consciousness O n the other hand the

’
.
,

1
Horac e ,
E pi s t II ,
1 , 1 80 .
 R E PU T A T I O N .

sphere of t we are for other people is their con

W ha
s c i ou s n es s not ours it is the kind of figure we make
,

in their eyes together with the though ts which this

,

arouses But this is som ething which has no direct

.
1

a n d immediate existence f or us but can a ffect us o n ly ,

mediately a n d i n directly so f r t hat is as other ,

a , ,

e opl e s be haviour towards us is d irected by it ; and

’

p
eve n t hen it ough t to affect us only i n so f a as it can r

move us to modi f y wha t we a r e i n a n d f or ou r s elves .

A p art f rom t his what goes on in other people s con

’

s c i ou s n es s is as such a matter of indi fferen ce to us

, ,

and in time we get really i n di fferent to it when we ,

come to see how superfi c ial n d futile are most people s a

’

t houghts ho w n arrow their id eas how mean their

, ,

sen tim ents how perverse their O pinion s and ho w

, ,

much O f erro there is in most of them ; when w e

r

learn by experi en ce with what depreciation a man

wil l speak of his f ellow when he is not obliged to f ear ,

hi m or thi n ks t hat w h at h e says will not come to his

,

ears A n d i f ev r we have had an O p portu n ity of

. e

s eeing how the gr eat est of m en will meet with n othi n g

bu t slight f rom h al f a doz e n blockheads w e shall - -

u n derstand that to lay great value upon what other

people say is to pay them too much honour .

A t all even ts a man is in a very bad way who fin ds

, ,

n o source of happi n ess in the first two classes of bl e ss

i ngs already treated of but has to see k i t in the third

,

i n other wor ds not in w hat h e is in hims el f b t i n

, ,
u

1
L et m e r em ark
th at p eop l e i n th e hi gh e s t p os i ti on s i n li f e ,
wi th a ll th ei r b ri l l i an c e, p om p , d i s p l a y, m agn i fi c en c e an d gen era l
s h ow, m ay well s ay —O u r h app i n e s s li e s en ti r el o u ts i d e u s , f or
y
it ex i s ts on l y i n th e hea ds of others .

F
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

what he is in the opi n ion o f others For a fter all .

, ,

the f oundation of our whole nature and ther ef ore of , , ,

our happiness is our physi que and the most esse n tial
, ,

f actor in hap pi n ess is health and next in importance , ,

af ter healt h th e abili ty to maintain ourselves in inde

,

p en d en c e and f reedom f rom care There can be no .

competition or compen sation bet ween these essential

f actors on the one side and honour pomp rank n d
, , ,
a

reputation on the other ho wever much value we may

,

set upon the latter N o one would hesitate to sacri

.

fic e the latter f or the f ormer i f it were necessary ,

.

We should add very much to our happiness by a

timely recognition of the sim pl e truth that every
m an s chie f and real existe n ce is i n his own skin a n d
’

n o t in other pe e ple s opinions ;and consequently that

’

, ,

the actual co n dition s of our personal li fe — h ealth , ,

temperament capacity i n com e wi f e children f riend

, , , , ,
s
,

home are a hundred times more im p ortant f or our

,

hap pi n ess than what other people are pleased to think

o f us otherwis e we shall be m iserable
: A n d i f people .

i n sist that ho n our is dearer than li fe itsel f w hat t hey ,

really mean is that existence and well bei n g are as -

nothing compared wi th other people s O pi n ions O f ’

.

c ourse this may b e on ly a n exaggerated way of stat

,

i n g the prosaic truth that rep tation that is the u , ,

O pi n ion others have of us is i n dispensable i f we are

,

to mak e any progress in the world but I shall come

back to t hat presently W he n we see that almost
.

everythi n g m en devote their lives to at tai n spari n g ,

n o e ffor t and encount eri n g a thousand toils and da g e rs n

i n th e proc ess h a i n th e en d n o f urther obj ec t t ha n

’

,
s, ,

to raise themselv es i n the estimation of others whe n

 R EP UT A T I O N . 63

we s ee that not o n ly O ffic es ti tle decorati ons but also ,

s, ,

wealth n y ev en k n owl edge a n d art are striven f or

,
a ,
1
,

only to obtai n as the ultimate goal O f al l eff ort

,
.
,

g reater respect f rom one s f ellow m en —is n ot this a

’
-

lamentable proof of the extent to which human f olly

can go ? To set much too high a value on other
p ople s O p n on 1 s a common error everywhere ; an
e
’
i l

error it may be rooted in human nature itsel f or the

, , ,

result of civilisation and social arran g ements gener

ally ; but whatever its source it exercises a very
, ,

immoderate i n fluence on all we d o an d is v ery p eju ,

r

d i i al to our happiness
c We can trace it f rom a .

timorous an d slavish regard for what other people

will say u p to th e f e eli n g whic h made Vi gi n i u s
,
r

plu n ge the dagger into his daughter s h eart or induces ’

ma n y a m a n to sacrifice quiet rich es health and even , ,

li fe its el f for posthumous glory Un doubtedly this

,
.

f eeling is a very conveni ent instrume n t in the hands

of those who h ave the co n trol or direction of their

f ellow men ; an d accordi n gly we fin d that i n every

-

sc heme f or trai n i n g p human ity i n the way it should u

go the mainten ance an d stre n gthen i n g of the f eeli n g

,

of hon our occ pies a n important place u But it is .

quit e a di ffere n t matter in its e ff ct on human happiness e ,

O f which it is h ere our o bj ect to tre at ; and we should

rather b e care f ul to dissua de p eopl e f rom s etti n g too

much store by what others thi k of them D aily ex n .

i n c e shows us however that t his is j ust the mis

p e r e , ,

take p eopl e persist i n making ; m ost men set the

utmost value precis ely on what other people think ,

1
S c i re m a m n i hi l es t n i s i te s c i re
'
hoe s c i a t a lter ,
( si u
P e r s i 27)
.

-
kn owl edge i s n o u s e u n l es s others kn ow that you hav e i t .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE
.

and are more concerned about it than about what go es

on i n th eir own co n s i usness which is the thi n g most
c o ,

immediately and directly pres ent to them Th ey .

reverse the natural o der —regarding the O pinions of

r ,

others as real existence and their own consciousness

as som ething shadowy ; making the derivative and
secon dary into the pri n cipal and consid ering the ,

picture they present to the world of more importance

than their own selves By thus trying to get a direct
.

a n d immediate result out of what has no really direct

or immediate existen c e th ey f all into the kind of folly

,

which is called v a n i ty— the ap propriate t erm f or that

which has no solid or intrinsic value Like a miser .
,

such people f org et the end in th eir eag erness to O btain

the means .

T he tr u th i s t h at the value we set upon the opi n ion

of oth e rs and our co n stant endeavour i n r e sp c t o f it
,
e ,

are each quit e out of proportion to an y result we may

reaso n ably hope to attai n ; so that this attention to
other peO ple s attitude may be regarded as a kind of
’

universal mania which everyone i n herits I n al l we .

do almost the firs t thi n g we thi n k about is what will

, ,

people say ; a n d n early hal f the troubl es a d bothers n

O f li fe may b e traced to our anxiety on t his score it

is the an xi ety which is at the bottom of all that
f eeling of s el f importan ce w h ich is so o f ten mortified
-
,

because it is so very morbidly sensitive I t is solici .

tud ab ou t what others will say t hat underli es all our

‘

van ity a n d pretension yes and al l our show and , ,

swagger too Without it there would not be a tenth

.
,

part O f th e luxury w hich exists P rid e in every f orm .

,

i cl hon n ea r and i i however varied their

’

p o n t p u n c t l o ,
 R E P UT A T I O N .

ki n d or sphere are at bottom nothing but this

,

an xiety about what others will say— and what sacri

fic es it o ften costs ! O n e can see i t even in a c hild ;
and though it exists at every period of li f e it is ,

strongest in age ; because when the capacity f or ,

sensual pleasure f ails vanity and pride have only

,

avarice to share their domi n io n Fren hmen perhaps . c , ,

a fford the best exam ple of this f eeling and amongst ,

them it is a regular e pidemic appeari n g sometimes in ,

the most absurd ambition or in a ridiculous kind of ,

national va ity an d the most shameless boasti n g

n .

Ho we v er they frustrate their own ai ms for other

, ,

people make fu n of th em and call them l a gr a n de

n a ti on .

By way of specially illustrati n g this perverse an d

exu berant respec t f or other p eo ple s O pinion let me ’

take a passage f rom the T i m es of March 31 s t 1 846 , ,

giving a d etailed account of the execution of one

Thomas Wi x an appre n tice who f rom motives O f
, ,

vengean ce had murdered his master Here we have

, .

very unusual circumstances and an extraordi n ary

cha acter though one very suitable f or our pur pos e ;
r ,

and these combine to give a stri ki n g picture of this

f olly which is so deeply rooted in huma n n ature a n d
, ,

allow us to f orm a n accurate notio n O f the ex tent to

which it will go O n the mor ni n g of the ex ecution
.
,

says th e report the r ev or d i n a r y wa s ea r l y i n

, .

a tten d a n c e u
p on hi m , bu t Wi a '

,
beyon d a q i et u

d em ea n ou r, betr a yed no i n ter es t i n hi s m i n i s tr a ti on s ,

app ea r i n g to feel a n x i ou s on l y to a c qu i t hi m self

“
br a v ely befor e the sp ec ta tor s of hi s i gn om i n i ou s

en d . I n the p r oc es s i on Wi ec fel l i n to hi s
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE

ro e l a c e wi th a la c r i ty, a n d , as he en ter ed the

p p r
p
Chap el ya r d r em a r ked s u fi c i en tl y l ou d to be hea r d
-
, ,

by s ev er a l p er s on s n ea r hi m N ow then as Dr Dodd
“
.
, , ,

kn ow the gr a n d On h
”
s ai d, I s ha ll s oon s ec r et . r ea c

i n g the sc a
f ol d , the m i s er a bl e wr etc h m ou n ted the
dr op wi thou t the s li ht s t a s s i s ta n c e a n d when he
g e ,

got to the c en tr e, he bowed to the sp ec ta tor s twi c e a ,

p r oc eed n g i whi c h c a ll ed fo rt h a tr em en d ou s c heer

fr om the degr a ded c r owd ben ea th .

T his is an admirable example of the way in which a

m an with death in the most dread f ul f orm be f ore his
,

very eyes an d eternity b eyond it wil l care f or

, ,

not hi ng but the impression he makes upon a crowd of

gapers and the opi n ion he leaves behind him in their
,

heads There was much the same kind of thing in

.

the case of L ecomte who was executed a t Frank f urt , ,

also in 1 846 f o an attempt on the ki n g s li f e A t the

,
r
’
.

trial he was very muc h annoyed that h e was not

allowed to ap pear in decent attire bef ore the U pper
, ,

House ; a n d on the day of the executio n it was a

special grie f to him that he was not permitte d to
shave I t is not only i n recent times that this kind
.

of thi n g has b een k n own to happe n M at eo A leman .

t ells us i n the I n tro duction to his c elebrate d roman ce

, ,

Gu z m a n d e A lf a r a c he th at many i n f atuat ed crimi n als

, ,

i nstead of d e voti n g t h eir l ast hours to the w el f are of

their souls a th ey ought to have do n e n egl ect this
,
s ,

duty f o the purpose of preparing and committi n g to

r

memory a s p eech to b e made f rom the scaff ol d .

I take thes e extre m e cases a s being the b est illus

t a ti on s of what I m ean
r f or t h ey give us a magn ified
refl c tion of our own n atu re
e T he anx ieti es of all of .
68 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

f rom this univers al f olly the result would be such an ,

addition to our peace of mind and cheer ful n ess as at

present seem s inconc eivabl ; people would present a e

firmer and more con fident f ro n t to the world an d ,

gen erally behave with less em barrassment and re

strai n t I t is obs ervabl e that a retired mode of li f e
.

has an exceedi n gly be n eficial infl u ence on our peace of

mind and this is mainly because we thus escape
,

having to live constantly i n the sight of others a n d ,

p y
a everlasting r egard to their casual O pi n ions in a
word we are abl e to return upon ourselves A t the
,
.

same time a good deal of positive misf ortune might be

avoide d which we are now drawn into by strivi n g
,

af ter shadows or to s peak more correctly by i n d u lg

, , ,

ing a mischievous piece of f olly ; an d we should con

seque n tly have mor e attention to give to solid realities
a n d en joy them with less i n terruption than at prese n t .

But x h d d hi —what is worth doing is hard to do

a en 1 K at e .

S ec ti on 2
.
-
P r i de .

The f olly of our nat re which we are discussing u

p ts f orth thre e sh oots ambition va n ity and pride

u , ,
.

T he d i ffe r ence betw e en the last two i s this : p r i d e is

an established con viction of o n e s o wn paramou n t ’

w orth in some particular respect while va n i ty is the

desire of rousing such a con viction in others a n d it is ,

generally accompan ied by the s ecr et hope of ul ti

mately comi g to the same convictio n on esel f P rid e
n .

work s fr om w i thi n ; it is the direct appreciation of

o n esel f Van ity is the de s ire to arrive at this a ppre
.

n r ctl w tho t o w e find that vai n

c i ati on i d i e
yf r om i S
,
u .
 PR I D E .

people are talkative and proud taciturn B u t the

, , .

vai n person ought to be aware that the good opinion

o f ot h ers whic h h e striv e s f o
,
may be obtained much
r,

more easily a n d c ertainly by persisten t silence than by

speech even t hough he has very g ood things to say
, .

A n yone who wish e s to a ff ect pri de is not there f ore a

proud man ; b u t he will soon have to dro p this as ,

ev ery other assum ed c haracter

,
.

I t is o n ly a firm u n shakeable conviction of pr e

'

emine n t worth an d special value wh i c h makes a man

proud in the true sense of the word —a conviction ,

which may n o doubt be a mis taken one or rest on

, ,

adva ntages which are of an adventi tious a n d c on v en

ti on al c harac ter still pride is not the l e ss prid e for
:

all that so long as it be prese n t in real earnest A n d

, .

si n ce p rid e is thus rooted i n convicti on i t resembles ,

every other f orm of knowledge in not b ei n g withi n

our own arbitrament P ride s worst f oe I mean its
.
’

,
-

—
greatest O bstacle is vanity which courts the a p
, ,

l a u s e of the world in order to gain the necessary

p
f ou n datio n f or a high opinion of on e s own worth
’

whilst prid e is based upon a pre existin g convictio n -

o f it
.

I t is q u ite true t hat pride is something which is

gen erally f oun d f ault with an d cried dow n ; but ,

usually I imagin e by t hose who hav e nothi n g upon

, ,

w hic h th ey c a n pride th emselves I n view of the .

i m pudence and f oolhardi n e s of most peo ple an yo n e

s ,

w h o poss es es a n y kind of superiority or merit will

s

d o w el l to ke ep his eyes fixed on i t i f he does n ot ,

wan t it to b e e n tire ly f orgotte n ; f o i f a man is good r

na tured e n o gh to ignore his own privileges an d

u .
70 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

hob n ob with the g enerality of oth er people as i f he

-
,

were quite on their l ev el t h ey will be sur e to treat

,

hi m f rankly
,
nd can didly as one of the m s elves
a , .

This is a piec e of advice I would specially o ffer to

those whose superiority is of the highest k ind— real
su periority I mean of a purely personal nature
, ,

which can not like orders and titles app eal to the eye
, ,

or ear at every moment as otherwise th ey will fin d , ,

that f amiliarity breeds contempt or as the R omans , ,

used to say s u s M i n er va m Joke w i th a s l a ve a n d

,
.
,

he l l s oon s how hi s heel s is an excelle n t A rabian

’

proverb nor ought we to despise w hat Horace says ,

S a me p erbi a m
su

a esi ta m m eri ti s .

—usurp the f ame you have deserved . N o d oubt ,

when modesty was m a de a virtue it was a very a d ,

v a n tageou s thing f or the f ools for everyb ody is

expected to speak of himsel f as i f he were one T his .

is lev llin g down indeed ! f or it comes to look as i f

e

there w ere nothing b u t f ools in the world .

T h e cheapest sort of pride is natio n al pride f or i f

a man is proud of his own nation it argu es that he ,

ha s no qualities of his own of w h ich h e can be pro d ; u

otherwise he would not have recours e to those w hic h

,

he shares with so man y millions of his f ellow m en -

.

The man who is endowed with important perso n al

qualiti es will be o n ly too ready to see clearly i n w hat
respect s his own nation f alls short S ince their f aili n gs ,

will b con stantly bef ore his ey

e B t every miser es . u

able f ool who has nothing at all O f w hich he can be

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

na m e f or the particular form which the l ittl en ess ,

perversity and baseness O f manki n d take i n ev ery

country I f we become disgusted with one we praise
.
,

another until we get disgusted with this too E very

,
.

n atio n mocks at ot h er nations and all are right , .

The contents of this chapter which treats as I , ,

have said of what we represent in the world or what

, ,

w e are in the eyes of oth e rs may be f urther d i s t i ,

r

buted under three heads ho n our rank and f ame , .

S ec ti on 3 — R . ank .

L et us tak e rank first as it may be dismissed in a ,

f ew words although it plays an important part in

,

the eyes of the masses and of the philistines and is a ,

most se ful wheel in the machinery of the S tate

u .

I t h as a purely conventional value S trictly .

speaki n g it is a sham ; its method is to exact an

,

artificial respect and as a m atter of fact the whole

, , ,

thing is a mer f arc e e .

O rders it may be said are bills of exchan ge drawn

, ,

on publ ic opinion and the m easur e of th eir value is

,

the credit of the drawer O f course as a substitute .

,

f or pensions they save the S tate a good deal of

,

money and besid es they serve a very use f ul purpose

, , ,

i f t hey are distributed with discriminatio n and judg

m ent For people in ge n eral have eyes and c ars it is
.
,

true but not much else very little judgment indeed , ,

or even m emory There are many services to the

.

S ta te quite beyond the range of their u nderstan di n g

oth ers agai n are appreciated an d mad e much of f or a
, ,

ti m e an d t hen soon forgotten I t seems to me th ere

,
.
,
 HO N O U R .
73

f ore, very proper that a cross or a star should

,

proclaim to the mass of people a l ways and every

where T hi s m a n i s n ot l i ke you ; he ha s d on e
,

s om ethi n g But orders lose their value when th ey

.

are distributed unjustly or without due sel ection or , ,

i n too great numbers : a prince should be as care f ul in

.

con ferring them as a man of business is in signi n g

a bill I t is a pleo n as m to inscribe on any order f or
.

d i s ti n gu i s hed s er v i c e f or e very order ought to be f or

distinguished servic e That stan ds to reason . .

S ec ti on —
h Hon ou r .

Hon our is a much larger questio n than rank and ,

more di ffi c lt to discuss Let us begi n by trying to

u .

d efi n e it .

I f I w ere to say Hon ou r i s ex ter n a l c on s c i en c e ,

a n d c on s c i en c e i s i n wa r d hon o r no doubt a good u ,

‘

man y people would assen t ; but there would be more

show than reality about such a definitio n and it ,

would hardly go to the root O f the matter I pre f er .

to say Ho ou r i s on i ts obj ec ti ve i de other p eop l e s

,
n ,
s ,
’

op i n i on o f wha t we are wor th ; on i ts su bj ec ti v e s i d e ,

i t i s the p r es ec t From the

we p a y to thi s op i n i on .

latter point of view to be a m a n of hon ou r is to ,

exercise w hat is o f ten a v ery whol esom e but by no ,

m ean s a purel y m oral i n flu en ce ,

.

The f eeli n gs O f hon our and Sham e e ist i n every x

m a n who is n ot utterly depraved a n d honour is ,

everywhere r ec ogn i s ed as som ethi n g par ticularly

,

valuable T he r ea on of this is a s f ollo ws By an d

. s .

in himsel f a man can accomplish v ery little ; he

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE
.

is like R obi n s on C rusoe on a desert island I t is onl y .

in soci ety that a man s p o wers c n be called into f ull

’
a

activity He v ery soon fin ds this out when his

.

consciousness b egi n s to develo p and there arises i n ,

him the desire to b e looked upon as a usef l member u

o f society as on e that is who is capable of playing

, , ,

his part as a man —p o p a rte vi r i li — thereby a c qu i r

r

i n g a right to the be n efits of social li f e N ow to be .

,

a usef ul member of society one must do two things ,

:

firstly what everyone is expected to do everywh ere ;

,

and secondly wha t one s own particular position in the

, ,
’

world demands and re q uires .

But a man soon discovers that everythi n g de

pends upon hi s b eing us ef ul not in his own O pinion , ,

but in the O pi n ion of oth ers ; and so he tries his best

to mak tha t f avourabl e impression upon the world
e ,

to which he attaches such a hi gh val e Hen ce this u .

,

primitive and in n ate characteristic of human nature ,

which is called th e fe eling of honour or und r , ,

e

an other aspect the f eeli n g of shame —v er ec u n di a I t

, .

is this which bri n gs a blush to his cheek at the

tho u ght of havi n g sudd en ly to f all i n the estimatio n
of ot h e rs ev en wh e n h e k n ows t h at he is in n ocent
, ,

na , y even i f his remiss n ess extends to no absolute

obligation but o nl y to on e which he ha s taken upon

,

himsel f of his own f ree will C onversely nothing in

.
,

li f e gives a man so much courage as the attainment

or ren ewal of the conviction that other people regard
him with f av our ; b ecause it mean s that everyone
j oi n s to give him help and protection which is an ,

i n finitely stron ger bulwark against the ills of li f e

than an ything he c a n do himself .
 T HE WI S D O M OF L I FE
.

no more than mere abuse is a ki n d of summary slander

,

with a su ppression O f the reasons What I mean may .

be w ell pu t in the Greek phrase — not quoted f rom

any author é w j h d p S /8 W]
'
r
‘
rr i O
et oI t is
'
ta ta 01 O U VT O LL
‘

I
‘
S .

true that i f a man abuses another he is simply S ho w ,

i n g that he has no real or true causes of complaint

against him ; as o therwise he woul d bri ng these
, ,

f orward as the pr e mises and rely upon his hearers ,

to draw the conclusion themselves : i n stead of which ,

he gives the co n clusion an d leaves out th e premises ,

trusting t hat p eople wil l suppose that he has done so

only f or the sake of being brie f .

O i v i c honour draws its existence and name f rom

the middl e classes ; but it appli es equally to all not ,

e xcepti n g the hig h est N O man can disregard it a n d

.
,

it is a very s erious thing of which every one s hould ,

be care f ul not to make light The man who breaks .

confidence has for ev er f orf eited con fid en ce whatever ,

he may do and whoever he may be ; a n d the bitter

,

cons equences of the loss of confid en ce can nev er be

averted .

T here is a s ense in w hic h honour may b e said to

have a n ega ti e c haracter in opposition to the p os i ti ve
v

character of fame For honour i s n t the opinion

. o

people have of particular qualities which a man may

happen to poss e s exclusively it is rath er the opinion
s :

th ey have of the qualiti es which a man may be ex

c ted to exhibit a n d to which he s h ould n o t p rove
p e ,

f alse
. Ho n our t here f or e means t hat a m a n is n o t
, ,

exceptio n al ; f ame that he is Fam e is som et hi ng

,
.

which must be won ; hon our on ly something w hich ,

mus t not b e lost The absence of f ame is obscuri ty

.
,
 HO N O UR .

which is only a negative but l es s of honour is S hame ,

which is a positive quality Thi s negative character .

O f honour m u st not be co n f used with anything p as s i ve

for honour is above all things active in its working It .

is the only qual ity whi ch proceeds di r ec tly f rom the

man who exhibits it : it is concerned entirely with
what he does and leaves undone and has nothing to ,

do with the actions O f others or the obstacles they

place in hi s way I t is somethi n g entirely in our own
.

power— d é t iynw This distinction as we shall see

r v c
’ ’
v .
,

presently mark s off t rue honour f rom the sham honour

,

of chi v alry .

S lander is the only weapon by which honour can be

attacked f rom without ; and the only way to repel
the attack is to co n fute the slander with the proper
amount of publicity and a due unmasking of him who ,

utters it .

The reason why respec t is paid to age is that old

people have necessarily shown in the course of their
lives whether or not they have been able to maintain
their honour unble m ished ;while that of young people
has not yet been put to the proof though they are ,

credited with the possession of it For neither length .

of years , equalled as it is and even excelled in the

-
, , ,

c ase o some
f of —
the lower animals nor again ex peri , , ,

ence w hich is only a closer knowledge of the world s

,
’

ways can be any su fficient reas on f or the respect

,

which the youn g are everywhere required to S ho w

towards the old : for i f it were merely a matter of
y ears the weak ness which attends on age would call
,

rather f or consideration than f or respect I t is how .

,

ever a r emarkable fact that white hair always com

,

G
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

mands reverence—a reverence really innate and i n

s ti n c ti v e Wrinkles—a much surer S ign of old age
.

command no reverence at all you never hear any one :

speak of ven er a ble wri n kles but v ener ble whi te ha i r a

is a common expression .

Honour has o n ly an indirect value For as I ex .

,

plained at the begi n n ing of this chapter what other ,

people thi n k of us i f it a ff ects us at all c an affect us

, ,

only in so f a r as it governs their behaviour towards

us and only j ust so long as we live with or have to
, ,

do with them But it is to society alone that we owe

,
.

that saf ety which we and our possessions e nj oy in a

state of civilisation in all we do we need the help of
others and they i n their turn must have confidence
, , ,

in u S bef ore they c a n have anything to do with us .

A ccordingly their O p ni on of us is indirectly a matter

,
i , ,

of great importance though I cann ot see how it can

have a direct or immediate value This is an opinion .

also held by C icero I qu i te agr ee he writes wi th .

, ,

wha t Chr ys i pp u an d D i ogen es u s ed

'
s to sa
y th
, a t a

good p
re u ta ti on is n ot wor th r a i s i n g a f i n ger to obta i n ,
i f i t wer e n ot f l T his truth has
tha t i t i s s o u se u .
1

been insisted upon at great length by Hel v e ti u s in hi s

chie f work D e l E sp r i t the conclusion of which is
’

,
2

th at we l ove es teem n ot f or i ts own s a ke bu t s ol el y f or ,

the a dv a n ta ges whi c h i t br i n gs A n d as the means .

c a n never be more t h a n the end that saying of which , ,

so much is made Hon ou r i s de a r er tha n l i fe i ts elf i s

, , ,

as I have remarked a very ex aggerated s tatement , .

S o much then f or civic ho n our

, , .

1 D efin i bu s iii .
,
17 .

2
D is c : iii .
,
13 .
 T HE WI S D O M OF L I FE
.

S ub ordi n ate to the honou r of o fficial personages

comes that of those who serve the S tate in any other
capacity as doctors lawyers teachers a n yone in
, , , , ,

short who by graduati ng in any subject or by any

, ,

other public declaration t hat he is qualified to ex er

cise some S pecial S kill claims to prac tise i t ; in a
,

word the honour of all those who tak e any

,

pub lic pledges whatever Under this head comes .

military honour in the tr u e sense of the word the

'

, ,

opinion that people who have bound thems elv es to

de f e n d their country really possess the requis i te
qualities which will e n able them to do so especially ,

courage personal bravery and strength and that they

, ,

are perf ectly ready to def end their country to the

d eath and never and under no circumstances desert
,

the flag to which they have O nce sworn allegiance I .

have here taken o fficial honour in a wider sense than

that i n which it is generally used namely the respect , ,

due by citizens to an O ffi ce itsel f .

I n treating of s ex u a l hon ou r and the principles on

which it rests a little more attention and a n alysis are
,

necessary and what I shall say will support my con

-

te n tion that all honour really rests upon a utilitarian

basis There are two n atural divisions of the subj ect
.

—the hon our of wom en and the hon our of men in ,

either side issui n g in a well understood esp r i t de c orps

-
.

T h e f ormer is by f ar the more important of the two ,

because the most essen tial f eature in woman s li f e is ’

her relation to man .

Female honour is the general O pinion in regard to a

girl that S he is pure an d in regard to a wi f e that S he
,

is f aith ful T he i mportance of this opinion re ts upon

. s
 Honou R .

th e f ollowi n g considerations Women depend upon

.

men i n all the relations of li f e ; men u pon women it ,

might be said in one only S o an arrangement is

, .

made f or mutual interdependence— man underta king

responsibility f or all woman s needs and also for the
’

—
children that spring f rom their union an arrange
ment on which is based the wel fare of the whole
f emale race To carry out this plan women have to
.
,

ban d together wit h a S how of esp r i t d e c orp s and ,

present one undivided f ront to their common enemy ,

m an — who possesses all the good things of the earth in

, ,

v irtue of his superior physical and intellectual power ,

i n order to lay S iege to and conquer him and so get ,

possession of him and a share O f those good things .

To this end the honour of all women d epends upon

the en force m ent of the rule that no woman S hould give
hersel f to a man except in marriage in order that ,

every man may be forced as it were to surrender and

, ,

ally himself with a woman ; by this arrangement pro

vision is made for the whole of the f emale race This .

is a result however which can be obtained only by a

, ,

strict observance of the rule and accordingly women , ,

every where S how true esp r i t de c orp s in care f ully i n

sisting upon its maintenance A n y girl who commits
.

a breach of the rule b trays the whole f emale race

e ,

because its wel fare would be destroyed i f every woman

were to do likewise so S he is cast out with s hame as
one who has lost her honour N o woman will have
.

anythi n g more to do with her ; she is avoided like

the plague The same doom is awarded to a woman
.

who breaks the marriage tie ; f or in so doi n g she is

f alse to the terms upon which the man capitulated ;
 THE WI S D O M OF L I FE .

and as her conduct is such as to frighten other men

from making a similar s urrender it imperils the wel ,

f are O f all her sisters N ay more this deception and

.

coarse breach of troth is a crime punishable by the

loss not only O f personal but also of civic honour
, , .

T his is why we minimise the shame of a girl but not ,

of a wi f e ; because in the f ormer case m arriage can

, ,

restore honour while in the latter no atonemen t can

, ,

be made for the breach of contract .

O n ce this esp r i t d e c orp s is acknowledged to be the

f ou n dation of f emale honour and is seen to be a ,

wholesome nay a necessary arrangement as at bottom

, , ,

a matter of prudence and interest its extreme import ,

ance f or the wel f are of wome n will be recognised But .

it does not possess an ything more than a relative

value I t is no absolute end lying beyond all other
.
,

aims of existence and valued above li f e itsel f I n .

this view there will be nothing to applaud in the

,

f orced and extravagan t conduc t of a L ucretia or a

Vi rgi n i u s — conduct which can easily degenerate i n to
tragic f arce and produce a terri ble feeli n g of revulsion
,
.

The conclusion of E m i li a Ga lotti f or instance makes , ,

one leav e the theatre completely ill at ease and on the ,

other hand all the rules of f emale honour cannot pre

,

vent a certain sympathy with Clara in Egm on t To .

carry this principle of f emale hon our too f ar is to

f orget the end in thi n king of the means—a n d th i s i s
j u st what peo ple O f ten do ; fo such exaggeration r

suggests that the value of sexual hono u r is absolu te

while the truth is that it is more relative than any
other kind O n e might go so f ar as to say that its
.

value is purely conventional when one se es fro m ,

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

the Government of the country From her point of .

view s h e occupies an exceptional position and does ,

not come under the ordinary rules of sexual honour

f or she has merely given hersel f to a man who loves
her and who m S he loves but cannot marry A n d in
, .

general the f act that the principle of f emale honour

,

has no origi n in nature is sho wn by the many bloody

sacrifices which have been offered to i t —the murder
,

of children and the mother s s u icid e N o doubt a girl

’
.

who contravenes the code commits a breach of f aith

against her whole sex but this f aith is one which is
only secretl y taken f or granted and not sworn to ,
.

A n d S ince i n most cases her own prospects su ffer

, ,

most immediately her folly is infinitely greater than

,

her crime .

The corresponding virtue in men is a product of

the one I have been discussing I t is their esp r i t de .

c orp s which d emands that once a man has made that

, ,

surrender of himsel f in marriage which is so a dv an

tageou s to his con q ueror he shal l take care that the
,

terms of the treaty are maintained ; both in order

that the agreement itsel f may lose none of its f orce
by the p ermission of a n y laxity in its observance and ,

that m en havi n g given up everythi n g may at least

, , , ,

be assured of their bargain namely exclusive posses , ,

sion A ccordi n gly it is p art of a man s honour to

.
,
’

resent a breach of the marriage tie on the part of his

wi f e and to punish it at the very least by separating
, ,

from h er I f he condones the o ffence his f ellow men

.
,
-

cry shame upon hi m ; but the shame in this case is

not nearl y so f oul as that of the woman who has lost
her honour ; the stain is by no means of so deep a
 HO N O UR .

—
dye l evi or i s la ;—because
a man s relatio n ’
n ota e m ac u

to woman is subordi n at e to many oth er a n d more

important afl a i rs in his li f e The two great dramatic
'

poets of modern times have each taken man s honour ’

as the theme of two plays ; S hakespeare in O thel l o

and T he Wi n ter s T a le and Calderon in E l m edi c o de
’

s u hon r a ( ,
the P hysician of his Honour) and A s ec eto ,
r

a gr a vi o s ec r eta ven ga n z a (for S ecret I ns u lt S,

ecre t

Vengeance ) I t S hould be said however that honour

.
, ,

deman d s the punishment of the wi fe only to pu n ish

her p aramour too is a work of supererogation This
,
.

confirms the Vie w I have tak en that a man s honour ,

’

origi n ates in esp r i t de c orp s

°

The k ind of honour which I have been discussing

hith erto has always existed in its various f orms and
principles amongst all nations and at al l times ;
althou gh the history of f emale honour shows that its
principles have u ndergone certain local modifications
at di fferent periods But there is another species of
.

honour which di ffers from this entirely a species of ,

honour of w hich the Greeks and R omans had no con

c e ti on and up to this day it is perf ectly unknown
p ,

amongst Chinese Hi n doos or Mohammedans I t is a

, .

kind of honour which arose only in the Middle A ge ,

and is indigenous only to C hristian Europe nay only , ,

to an extrem ely small portion of the populatio n that ,

i s to say the higher classes of society and those who

,

ape them I t is kn i ghtl y hon ou r or p oi n t d hon n eu r

.
,
’
.

I ts principles are quite di fferent f rom those w hic h

underlie the kind of honour I have been treating
u n til now and in some respects are even opposed to
,

the m The sort I am ref erring to produces the

.
86 T HE WI S DO M O F LI FE .

c av a l i erwhile the other k ind creates the m a n of

;
hon owr .A s this is so I S hall proceed to give an
,

explan ation of its principles a s a k ind of code or ,

mirror of k nightly courtesy .

To begin with ho nour of this sort c onsists not

, ,

in other peopl e s O pinion of what we are worth but

’

wholly and e n tirely in whether they express i t or not ,

no matter W hether they really have any O pinion at all ,

let alone whether they kn o w of reasons for having

one O ther people m ay entertain the worst O pinion
.

of us in consequence of what we do and may despise ,

us as much as they like ; so long as no one dares to

g ive expression to his opi n ion our honour remains ,

untarnished S o i f our actions and qualities compel

.

the highest respect f rom other p eople and they have ,

no option but to give this respect — as soon as anyone , ,

no matter how wicked or f oolish he may be utters ,

somethin g depreciatory of us our honour is o ffended , ,

nay gone for ever unless we can manage to restore it

, , .

A su perfluous proo f of what I say namely that , ,

k nightly honour de p ends not upon what people thi n k

, ,

but upon what they say is f urnished by the f act that

,

insu l ts can be withdraw n or i f necessary f orm the

, , ,

subj ect of an apology w hich mak es them as though

,

they had never been uttered Whether the O pinion .

which underlay the expression has also been rectified ,

and why the expression S hould ever have been use d ,

are questions which are perf ectly unimportant : so

long as the statem ent is wit hdrawn all i s well The ,
.

truth is that conduct of t his kind aims not at earning ,

respect but at extorti ng it

,
.

I n the second place t hi s s ort of honour rests

, ,
 T HE WI SD O M or L I FE .

become your f riends ,

i f your whole being is a standing
reproach to them
Wa s kla gs t du u ber Fei n de
S oll ten S olc he je werden F reu n de

D en en d a s Wesen ,
wi e da bi s t,
I m s ti ll en ei n ewi ger Vor wu f
r i st?

I t is
obvious that people of this wor thless des c ri p
tion have good cause to be thankf ul to the principle
of honour because it puts them on a level with people
,

who in every ot her respect stand far above them I f .

a f ellow likes to insult any one attribute to hi m f or , ,

example some bad quality this is taken p r i m a fa c i e

, ,

as a well founded opinion true in f act ; a decree as it

-
, ,

were with all the f orce of law ; n ay i f it is not at

, ,

once wiped out in blood it is a j udgment which ,

holds good and valid to all time I n other words the .

,

—
man who is insulted remains i n the eyes of all
hon ou r a ble p eop le— what the man who uttered the
insult— even though he were the greatest wr etch on
earth— was p l eas ed to call hi m ; f or he has p u t u p
wi th the insult the technical term I believe , .

A ccordingly all hon ou r a ble p eop le will have nothi n g

,

more to do with him an d treat him like a leper and

, , ,

it may be ref use to go into any compan y where he

,

may be f ound and S O on , .

This wi e procee di ng may I think be traced back

s , ,

to the fact that in the Middle A ge up to the fi fteenth ,

century it was not the accuser i n any cri mi n al

,

process who had to prove the guil t of the accused but ,

the accused who had to prov e his innocence This .

1

1
S ee 0 G . . v on Wac htei ’
s B ei trage z u /r deu tsc hen Ges c hi c hte,
e s p ec i all y th e c hap te r on c ri m i n al l aw .
 HO N O UR .

he could do by swearing he was not guilty ; and his

— —
backers c on s a c r a m en ta es had to come and swear
l
that in their O pinion h e was incapable of perjury I f .

he could find no one to hel p h i m in this way or the ,

accuser took objection to his backers recourse was ,

had to trial by the Ju dgm en t of God which generally ,

m eant a d u el For the accused was now i n di s gr a c e

.
1
,

and had to clear himsel f Here then is the origin of .

, ,

the notion of disgrace and of that whole system ,

which prevails now a days amongst hon ou r a ble p eop le

- -

—only that the oath is omitted This is also the

,

explanation of that deep f eel ing of indignation which

hon ou r a ble p eop le are called upon to S how i f they are
g iven the lie ; it is a reproach which they say must
be wiped out in blood I t seldo m comes to this .

pass however though lies are of common occur

, ,

rence ; bu t in En gland more than elsewhere it i s a , ,

superstition which has taken very deep root A s a .

matter of order a man who threatens to kill another

,

f or telling a lie S hould never have told one himsel f .

The f act is that the criminal trial of the Middle A ge

,

also admitted of a S horter f orm I n reply to the charge .

,

the accused answered : T ha t i s a li e; whereupon it was

l e f t to be decided by the J dgm e t of God Hence u n .
,

the code of knightly honour prescribes that when the ,

lie is given an appeal to arms f ollows as a matter of

,

cours e S o much t he n f or the theory of insult

.
, , .

But there is something even worse t han insult ,

1 T ra n s la tor s
’
N ote . I t is tru e tha t thi s pr es s i on h as
ex

a n oth e r an d s p ec i al m eani n g i n the te c hn i c al te rm i n ol ogy of

C hi v al ry, b u t i t i s the n ea re s t E n gl i s h e qu i v al en t whi c h I c an fin d
f or the Ge rni a n —ei n B es c holten er.
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

something so dread f ul that I must b eg pardon of all

hon ou r a ble p eop le f or so much as me n tioning it in
this code of k nightly honour ; for I know they will
shiver and their hair wil l stand on end at the very
, ,

thought of i t— the s u m m u m m a l m the greatest evil u ,

on earth worse than death and damnation A man

, .

may give another— hor r i bi le d i c tu ! —a slap or a blow .

This is such an aw f ul thi n g and so utterly f atal to all ,

honour that while any other S pecies of insult may be

, ,

healed by blood letting t his can be cured only by the

-
,

c ou d e gr d c e
p
- -
.

I n thethird place this kind of honour has ,

absol utely nothing to do with what a man may be in

and fo himsel f or again with the ques tion whether
r , ,

his moral charact er can ever b ecome better or worse ,

and all such pedan tic inquiries I f your honour .

happens to be attacked or to all appearan ces gone it

, ,

can very soo n be restored in i ts entirety i f you are

only quick enough in having recourse to the one
—
universal remedy a d u el But i f the aggressor does .

not belon g to the classes w hich recognise the code of

kn i ghtly honour or has him s el f once o ffended against
,

it there is a saf er way of meeting a n y atta k pon

,
c u

your honour whether it consists in blows or merely

, ,

in words I f you are armed you can s trike down

.
,

your opponent on the spot or perhaps an hour later , .

This w ill restore your hon our .

But i f you wish to avoid such an extrem e step f rom ,

f ear of any u npleas an t con sequences arising there from ,

or f rom uncertainty as to whether the aggressor is

subj e ct to the laws of knightly honour or not there is ,

anoth er m eans of making your position goo d namely , ,

 T HE WI S D O M OF L I FE .

we can at once annul his superiority and our own

shallowness and in our turn be superior to him by
, ,

bei n g i nsulting and off ensive For rudeness is better .

than any argument ; it totally eclipses intellect I f .

our op ponent does not care f or our mode of attack ,

and will not answer still more r u dely so as to p l unge ,

us into the ignoble rivalry of the A va n tage we ,

are the victors and honour is on our side Truth .

,

knowledge understanding intellect wi t must beat

, , , ,

a retreat an d leave the field to this almighty

insolence .

Hon o r a bl e p eop le immediately mak e a S h ow of

u

mounting th ir wa r horse i f anyone utters an opinion

e -
,

adverse to theirs or shows more intelligence than they

,

can muster ; and i f in any controversy they are at

a loss f or a reply they loo k about f or some weapon of
,

rudeness which will serve as well and come readier to

,

hand so they retire masters of the position I t must .

now b e obvious that people are quite right in applaud

ing this principle of honour as having ennobled the
tone of society This principle springs f rom another
.
,

which f orms the heart and soul of the en tire code .

Fif thly the code implies that the highest court

,

to which a man can appeal in a n y di ff erences he may

have with another on a point of honour is the court
of p hysical f orce that is of brutality
,
Every piece of
,
.

rudeness is strictly speak ing an appeal to brutality

, ,

f or it is a declaration that intellectual stre n gth and

moral insight are incom petent to decide and that the
battle must be fought out by physical f orce —a
,

struggle which in the case of m an whom Franklin

, ,

defines as a tool m a ki n g a ni m a l is decided by the

-
,
 HO N O UR .

weapons peculiar to the species ; and the decision is

irrevocable This is the well known principle of the
.
-

r —
i ght of m i ght irony of course like the wi t of a fool
, , ,

a parallel phrase The honour of a knight may be

.

called the glory of might .

L astly i f as we s a w above civic honour is very

, , ,

scrupulous in the matter of m eu m and t m payi n g u u ,

great respec t to obligations and a promise onc e made ,

the cod e we are here discussi n g displays on the oth er ,

hand the n oblest li berality There is only one word

, .

which may not be broken the wo d of honou — upon ,

r r

no ,
—
my ho u r as people say the presum ption bei n g of ,

co u rse that every other f orm of promise may be brok en

, .

N a y i f the worst comes to the worst it is easy to brea k

, ,

even one s word of hono u r and still remain honour

’

able— again by ado ptin g that un i versal remedy the ,

duel an d fighti n g wit h those who maintain that we

,

pledged our word Further there is one debt and

.
, ,

on e alone that under n o circumstances must be le f t

,

unpaid— a gambling debt w hich has accordingly been ,

cal led a d ebt of honou I n all other kinds of debt you

r .

may cheat Jews and Christians are much as you

like ; and your knightly honour remains without a
stain.

The unprej udice d reader will see at once that such

a strange sav age and ridiculous code of honour as
,

this has no f ou n dation in human nature nor an y ,

warrant in a healthy vi ew of human aff airs The .

extremely narro w sphere of its O peration ser v es only

to inte n si f y the f eeli n g w hich is excl u siv ely confined
,

to Euro pe since the Middle A ge and the n on ly to the ,

upp er classes O fli c ers and soldiers and people who

, ,

H
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

i mitate them N either Gre eks nor R omans k n ew

.

anyt hing of this code of honour or of its pri n ciples ;

nor the highly civilised nations of A sia ancient or ,

m odern .A m on gst them no other kind of honour is

recogn ised but that which I di cussed first in v irtue s ,

o f w h ic h a m an is w h at he shows himsel f to b e by hi s

actio n s n ot what any waggin g to n gue is pleas ed to

,

say of hi m They thought that what a man said or

.

did might perhaps affect hi s own hon our but n ot a n y ,

other man s To them a blow was but a bl ow — an d

’
.
,

any horse or don key could give a harder one— a blow

.

w hich un der certain circumstances m ight m ake a man

an gry a n d d eman d imme diate ven gean ce ; but it ha d
nothi n g to do with honour N o on e kept account of .

blows or insulti n g words or of the s a ti sf a c ti on which,

was demanded or omitted to be dem an ded Y et in .

personal brav ery an d contempt of death the an cients ,

were certa nly n ot in f erior to the nation s of C hristian

i

Euro pe , T he Greeks and R oman s were thorough

heroes i f you like ;but they knew n othi n g about
,

p oi nt d hon n eu r
’
I f they had an.
y idea of a due l it ,

was totally uncon n ected with the li f e of the nobles

it was merel y the exhibi tion of mercenary gladiators ,

slav e s d e vot ed to sla ght r co ndem n ed crimi n als

u e , ,

wh o alt ernately with wild b easts w ere s et to butc her

, ,

on e a n other to make a R oman h oliday When Chris ,

ti an i ty was introduced gladiatorial shows w er e d on e

,

away with and th eir place take n i C hristia n times

, ,
n ,

b y the d ue l w h ic h was a way of settli n g d i fficulti e s

,

by the J u dgm en t of God I f the gladiatorial figh t was

.

a cruel sacrifice to the prevaili n g d esire f or great

spectacles d u elli n g is a cruel sacr ifice to existi ng pre
,
 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

and he bore it all mildly O n ce f or instance when .

, ,

somebody kicked hi m the patience with which he ,

took the insult surprised one of hi s friends D o you .

thi nk said S ocrates th t i f a n a s s h pp en ed to ki k m e

, ,
a a c ,

I s hou l d r es en t i t ? 1
O n another oc c asion when he ,

was asked Has n ot th tf ellow a bu s ed a n d i n s u lted you ?

, a

N o was his answer wh t he s a ys i s n ot a dd r es s ed to

, ,
a

me .
2
S tob aeu s has preserved a long passage f rom
Mu s on i u s from which we can see how the ancients
,

treated insults They kn ew no other f orm of satis

.

f actio n than that which the law p rovided and wise ,

people despised even this I f a Greek received a box .

on the ear he could get satisf action by the aid of the

,

law ; a s is evident f r om P lato s Gorgi where ’

a s,

S ocrates o pinion may be f ound The same thi n g

’
.

may be seen in the account given by Gel li u s of one

L ucius Vera ti u s who had the audacity to give some
,

R oman citizens whom he met on the road a box on

the ear without any provocation w hatever ;but to avoid
,

any ulterior consequences he told a slave to bri n g a ,

bag of small money and on the spot paid the trivial ,

legal penalty to the men whom he had astonished by

his conduct .

Crates the celebrated Cy n ic philosopher got such

, ,

a box on the ear f rom N i c odrom u s the musician that , ,

his f ace swelled up and became black and blue ;

whereupon he put a label on his forehead with the ,

inscription N i c odr om u s fec i t which brought much

, ,

disgrace to the fl u tepl ayer who had committed such

a piece of brutality u pon the man whom all A thens
aerti u s , ii
1 Di oge n es L 21 .
.
,
2
I bi d 36 .
 HO N O UR .

hon oured as a household god A n d in a letter to .

1

Mel es i ppu s D iogenes of S inope tells us that he got a

,

beati n g f rom the drunken sons of the A t hen ian s but

he adds that it was a matter of no importanc e A n d .
2

S eneca devotes the las t f e w chap ters of his D e Con

s ta n ti a to a leng thy discussion on —
insult c on tu m eli a ;
in order to S how that a wise man will ta k e n o not i ce
of it . I n Chapter ! I V he says Wha t s ha l l a wi e .
,
s

m a n d o, i f he i s gi v en a bl ow 2
. Wha t Ca to d i d , when
s om e on e s tr u c k hi m on the m ou th — n ot f i r e u p or

a ven ge the i n su l t, or even r etu rn the bl ow, bu t s i m p l y

i gn or e i t .

Y es , you say b t thes e , w u m en er e p hi l os op her s —A nd

you are f ools eh P recisely
,
.

I t is clear that the whole code of knightly honour

was utterly unknown to the an cients f or the S imple
reason that they al ways took a natural and u n pre
u di c ed V iew of human a ff airs and did not allow
j ,

themselves to be influenced by any s u c h vicious a n d

abomi n able f olly A blow in the face was to th em a
.

blow and nothing more a trivial physical inj ury ,

whereas the moderns make a catastro phe out of it a ,

theme f or a tragedy ; as f or i n stance in the Ci d of , ,

Corneille or in a re cent German come dy of middle

,

class li fe called T he P ower of Ci r c u m s ta n c e which

, ,

should have been entitled T he P ower of P r ej di c e I f a u .

member of the N ational A ssembly at P aris got a blow

on the ear it would resound from one end of Europe
,

to the other T he examples which I have given of

.

the way i n which such an occurrence would have been

1
D i ogen es L a erti u s , v i . 87,
A p u l : F l or : p 1 26
an d . .

2
Cf C as a u b on
’
. s N ote , a d D i og L a er t , v i 33
. . . .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

treated in classic times may not suit the ideas of

hon ou r a bl e p eop l e ; so let me recommend to their
n otice as a ki n d of antidote the s tory of Monsieur
, ,

D es gl a n d s in D iderot s masterpiece J a c q es l e fa ta
’
,
u

l i s te I t is an exc elle n t specime n of modern k n igh tly

.

honour which n o doubt they will find enj oyable and

, , ,

edi f yi ng .
1

From what I have said it must be quite evide n t

that the principle of knightly honour has no essential
and S pon taneous origin in h u man nature I t is an
. .

artificial product an d its source is not hard to fin d

,
.

I ts existence O bviously dates f ro m the time when

people used t heir fists more than their heads when ,

priestcraf t ha d e n chained the human i n t ellec t the ,

much bepraised Middle A ge with its sy te m of ,

s

chivalry That was the time when peo ple let the
.

N to whi c h S c h op en h au
1 ’
T r a n s la tor s ote. T he s tory er h er e
re f ers i s b ri efl y T wo gen tl em en , on e o f whom wa s
as f ol l ows :

n a m ed D es gl an d s , wer e p ayi n g c ou r t to th e s a m e l a d y As .

th ey s a t a t tab l e s i d e b y s i d e , wi th th e l ad y opp os i te, D e s gl an d s

di d hi s b es t to c ha rm h er wi th hi s c on v e rs ati on ; bu t s he p re
ten d e d n ot to h ear hi m , an d k ep t l ooki n g at hi s r i val . I n th e
agon y of j eal ou
y, D e s gl a n
s d s ,
a s h e was h old i n g a f re s h e gg i n h i s

ha n d , i n v ol u n tari l y c ru s h ed i t ; th e S hel l b r ok e , an d i ts c on ten ts

b es pa ttere d hi s ri v a l s f ac e S eei n g h i m r ai s e hi s han d , D es
’
.

gl a n d s s ei z e d it an d whi s p ere d : S i r, I ta ke i t as gi ven . T he

n ex t d ay D es gl an d s a pp ear e d wi th a l a rge p i ec e s ti c k
o f b l ac k

i n g p l as ter u p on hi s
-
r i gh t c heek . I n th e d u el wh i c h f oll o wed ,
D e s gl an d s s ev erel y wou n d ed hi s ri v al u p on whi c h h e r ed u c e d

th e siz e of th e p l as ter . W h en hi s r i v al r e c ov er e d , th ey ha d
a n oth er du el D e s gl an d s d r e w b l ood a ga i n , a n d agai n m ad e hi s

p l a s ter a l i ttl e s m all er a n d s o on f or fiv e or s i x ti m es . A fter

el D es gl an d s p l as ter gr ew l es s an d l es s u n ti l at l as t hi s
’
ev e ry du
ri v a l was ki l ed l
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

you were to p rove the warmth of your room by holding

your hand on the thermometer and so make it rise .

I n f act the ke nel of the matter is this : whereas

,
r

civic honour aims at peaceable intercourse and con ,

sists in the O pinion of other people that we des erve

fu l l c onfiden c e because we pay unconditional respec t
,

to t heir rights ; kn ightly honour on the other hand , ,

lays down that we a r e to be fea r ed as being deter ,

mined a t all costs to maintain our own .

A s not much reliance can be placed upon human

integ i ty the principle that it is more essential to
r ,

arouse fear than to invite confidence wou l d n ot ,

perhaps be a f alse one i f we were livi n g in a state of

, ,

nature where every man would have to protect him

,

sel f a n d directly maintain his own rights But i n .

civilised li fe where the S tate undertakes the prote o

,

tion of our person and prop erty the principle is no ,

longer ap pl icable : it stands like the castles and ,

w atch towers of the age when might was right a

-
,

useless and forlorn obj ect amidst well tilled fields and
,
-

f re q uented roads or even rail ways

,
.

A ccordi n gly the a pplication o f knightly honour

, ,

which stil l r ecogn ises this pri n ciple is confined to ,

those small cases of personal assault which meet with

but slight pu n ishment at the han ds of the law or ,

even none at all f r de m i n i m i s o

o ,
n n — mere trivial ,

wrongs committed s om e times only in j est The con

,
.

sequence of this limited application of the pri n ipl e is c

that it has f orced itsel f into an ex aggerated respect

f o the v alue of the perso n
r a respect utterly alie n to
,
-

,
f —
the nature constit u tion or destiny o man which it
h as elevated into a species of sanctity and as it con
 HO N O UR .

siders that the S tate has imposed a very insu fficient

pe n alty on the com m ission of suc h trivial i nj uries it ,

takes upon itsel f to punish them by attacking the

aggressor in lif e or limb The whole thing mani festly .

rests upon an excessive degree o f arrogant pride ,

which completely f orgetting what man really is

, ,

claims that he shall be absolutely free f rom all attack

or even censure T hose who determine to carry ou t
.

this principle by main force and announce as their , ,

rule of action whoeve i n u lts o s t i ke m e s ha l l d i e !

,
r s r r s

ought f or their pains to be banished the country 1

.

A S a palliative to this rash arrogance people are ,

in the habit of giving way on everything I f two .

intrepid persons meet and neither will give way the , ,

1
K n i ghtl y hon ou r i s th e c hi l d of p ri d e an d f ol l y, an d i t i s n eed,
n ot p ri d e , whi c h i s th e h eri tage of th e h u m an rac e I t i s a v ery
.

r em arkab l e f ac t th a t thi s ex tr e m e f orm of p ri d e s hou l d b e f ou n d

ex c l u s i v el y a m on gs t th e a dhe r e n ts of th e reli gi on whi c h teac h es

th e d e ep es t h u m i li ty . S ti l l , thi s pr i d e m u s t n ot b e p u t d own to
r el i gi on , b u t, rathe r, to th e f e u dal s ys tem , whi c h m a d e ev ery
n ob l e m an a p etty s ov ere i gn who r ec ogn i s ed no h u m an ju d ge,
an d l earn ed to re gard hi s p ers on a s s ac red a n d i n v i ol abl e , a n d
an y atta c k u p on i t, or an y b l o w o r i n s u l ti n g word , a s a n offe n c e

p u n i s h a b l e b y d ea th T h e p ri n c i p l e of k n i ghtl y h on ou r a n d of
.

th e d u el wa s a t fi rs t c on fi n e d to th e n ob l e s , a n d , l a te r on , al s o to

of fi c ers i n the a rmy ,

w h o ,
e n j oy gi n a k i n d o f off a n d o n r el a ti on
- -

s hi p wi th th e u pp e r c l as s e s ,
t h o u gh th ey w e re n e v er i n c orp orate d

wi th them , were an x i ou s n ot to b e b ehi n d th em . I t i s tru e tha t

du wer e th e p rodu c t of the ol d ord eal s ; b u t the l atter ar e n ot
el s

th e f ou n d ati on , b u t rath er th e c on s e qu en c e a n d a p p l i c ati on of

th e p ri n c i pl e of hon ou r th e m an who rec ogn i s e d no hu m an
ju dge app e al ed to th e d i v i n e . O rd eal s , however , ar e n ot p eou
l i ar to C hri s ten d om th ey m ay b e f ou nd i n great f orc e am on g
th e Hi n d oos , es p e c i al l y of an c i en t ti m es ; an d the re are trac es of
them ev en n o w ,
 T HE W I S D O M OF LI FE .

s lightest di fference may cause a shower of abuse then ,

fis ti c u ffs and finally a f atal blow : so that it would

, , ,

really be a more decorous proceeding to omit the

intermediate steps and appeal to arms a t once A n .

appeal to arms has its own S pecial formalities ; a n d

t hese have developed into a rigid and precise system
of laws and regulations together f orming the most,

sol emn f arce there is —a regular temple of honour ,

dedicated to f olly ! For i f two intrepid persons dis

pute over some triv i al matter (more important affairs ,

are dealt with by law) one of t hem the cleverer of the

, ,

two wi l l of course yield ;an d they will agree to di ffer

,
.

That t his is so is proved by the f act that common

p eople ,
—or rather the numero u s cla s e s o f the com
, ,
s

mu n ity who do not acknowledge the principle of

knightly honour let any dispute run its natural
,

course A mongst these class es homicide is a hu n dred

.

f old rarer than among those — a n d they amount per ,

haps in all to hardly one in a thousan d —who pay

, , ,

hom age to the princi ple : and even blows are of no

very f requent occurrence .

Then it has b een said that the manners an d ton e of

good society are ultimately based upon this pri n ciple
of honour which w ith its system of duels is m ade out
, , ,

to be a bulwark against the assaults of savage y and r

rudeness But A thens Corinth and R ome could

.
,

a ssuredly boast of good na excellent society and

y , , ,

manne s an d tone of a high order without an y sup

r ,

port from the bogey of k n ightly honour I t is true .

that women did not occu py that promi n ent place in

an cien t society w hich th ey hold n ow w h en conversa ,

ti on has taken on a f i volous an d tri fl ing charact er to

r ,
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

i n the s haft of en v
y that even m en f
o wi s dom and wor th
f i n d i ts wou nd a f p and
ai n u l nowhere
on e ;i n the

world except perhaps in a f ew religious sects is an

, , , ,

insult or a blow taken with e q uanimity A n d yet a .

natural view of either would in no case demand any

thi n g more than a re qu i tal proportionate to the offence ,

and would never go the length of assigning de th as a

the proper penalty f o anyone who a ccuses anot h er of

r

lyi n g or s tupidity or cowardice The old Germ an .

theory of blood f o a blow is a revolting superstition

r

of the age of chivalry A n d i n any case the return

.

or requital of an insult is dictated by anger and not ,

by any such obligation of honour a n d duty as the a d

v oc ates of chivalry seek to attach to it The fact is .

that the greater the truth the greater the slander ;

, ,

a n d it is clear that the slightest hint of some real

delinqu ency will give much greater offence than a

most terrible accusation which is perf ectly baseless :
so that a m an who is quite sure that he ha s done
nothing to deserve a reproach may treat it with con
tempt and will be saf e in doing so The theory of
,
.

honour demands that he shal l S how a suscep tibility

w h ich he does not possess an d take bloody vengeance
,

f or insults which h e can n ot f e l A man m ust hi m

e .

s el f h ave but a poor O pinion of his own worth who

hastens to preve n t the utterance of an unf avourable
O pinion by giving hi s enemy a blac k eye .

True appreciation of his own value will mak e a man

really indi fferent to insult but i f he cannot h elp resent
ing it a little shrewdnes s and culture will enable hi m
,

to save appearances and dissemble hi s an ger I f we .

c o u ld only get rid of thi s su perstition about hono u r

 HO N O UR .

the idea I m ean that it disappears when you are i n

, ,

s u l te d and can be restored by returning the insult ;

,

i f we could o n ly stop peo ple f rom t hinking that wron g ,

brutality and insolence can be legalised by expressi n g

readiness to give satisf action that is to fight in de
, ,

f ence of it we S h ould all soon come to the general

,

O pinion t h at insult and depreciation are like a battle in

which the loser wins ;and that as Vince n zo M onti says

, ,

abuse resembles a church procession because it always

-
,

returns to the point f rom which it set out I f we .

could only get p eo ple to look upon i n sult in this light ,

we should no lon ger have to say som ething rude in

order to prove that we are in the right N ow u n .
,

f ortunately i f we wan t to take a seri ous v iew of any

,

question we have first of all to consider whether it

,

will not give o ff ence in some way or other to the

dullard who generally shows alarm and resentment at
,

the merest S i gn of intelligence : and it may easily

happen that the head which contains the i ntelligent
view has to be pitted against the noddle which is
empty of everything but narrowness and stupidity .

I f all t his were done away wi th intellectual s u peri o

,

rity could take the leadi n g p l ace i n soci ety w h ich is

its due — a place now occupied though people do not
,

like to conf ess it by excellence of physique mere

, ,

fightin g pluck in f act : and the natural effect of such

,

a c hange wou ld be that the best kind of people would

have one rea son the l es s f or withdrawing f rom society .

T his would p ave the way f or the introduction of real

courtesy and genu nely good society such as u n
i ,

doubtedly existed in A thens Corinth and R ome , .

I f anyone wants to see a good example of what

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

I mean ,
I should like him to read :
! enophon s
’

B a n qu et .

T helast argument in d ef ence of k n ightly honour

no doubt is that but f or its existence the world
, , ,

aw ful thought I— would be a regular bear garden To -

.

which I may briefly re pl y that nine h u ndred and

ninety nine people out o f a thousand who do not re
-

cogn ise the code have o f ten giv en and received a blow
,

without any fatal conse quences : whereas amongst the

adherents of the code a blo w usually means death to
one of the parties But let me examine this argument
.

more closely .

I have o f ten tried to find some tenable or at any ,

—
rate plausible basis other than a merely conventional
,

—
one some positive reasons t hat is to say f or the , ,

rooted conviction which a portion of man kind enter

tains that a blow is a very dread f ul thing but I have
,

looked for it in vain either in the animal or in the

,

ration al side of human nature A blow is and always .

,

will be a trivial physical i njury which one man can

,

do to another ; provi n g thereby n othing more than

, ,

his superiority in strength or skill or that his enemy ,

was off hi s guard A n alysis will carry us no f urther

. .

The same knight who regards a blow from the human

han d as the greatest of evils i f h e gets a ten tim es ,

harder blow f rom his horse will give you the assur ance , ,

as he limps away in suppressed pain that it is a ,

matter o f no conseq ence whatever S o I have come

u .

to think that it is the human hand which i s at the

bottom of the mischief A n d yet i n a battle th e .

kn ight may get cuts and thrusts f rom the same h an d ,

and sti ll assure you that hi s wounds are n ot worth

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

imaginary misf ortun es which bring real ones in their

,

trai n : and yet this is the precise e ff ect of the super

s ti ti on w hich thus prove s itsel f at once stupid and
,

malign .

I t does not seem to me wise of governments and

legislative bodies to promote any such f olly by
attempting to do away with floggi ng as a punishme n t
in civil or military li f e Their idea is that they are
.

acti n g in the interests of humanity ; but in point of ,

fact they are doi n g j ust the op p osite ; f or the abolition

,

of flogging will serve only to stre n gthen this i n human

and abominable superstitio n to which so many sacri ,

fic es have already been m ade For all o ffences except

.
,

the worst a beati n g is the obvious and theref ore the

, ,

natural penalty ; and a man who will not listen to

reason will yield to blows I t seems to me right and
.

proper to administer corporal pu n ishment to the man

who possesses not hing and theref ore can not be fine d ,

or cannot be put in prison because his master s interests ’

would su ff r by the l oss of his services There are

e .

really no arguments against it only mere talk about

the d i g i ty of m a n — tal k whic h proceeds not f rom
n ,

any clear notions on the subj ect but from the per ,

n i c i ou s superstition I h ave been describi n g That it ;

is a superstition which lies at the bottom of the whole

business is p roved by an almost laughable example .

N ot long ago in the m ilitary discipli n e of man y

,

countries the cat was replaced by the stick I n either

,
.

case the obj ect was to produce p hysical pain but the
latter method involved no disgrace and was not ,

derogatory to hono r u .

By promoting this superstition the S tate is playing ,

 HO N O UR .

into the hands of th e principle of k nightly honour ,

and theref ore of the duel while at the same time it

is trying or at a n y rate it pretends that it is trying
, ,

to abolis h th e duel by l egislative enactment A s a .

natural consequence we find that this fragme n t of the

theory that m i ght i s fi ght which has come down to ,

us from the most savage days of the M idd l e A ge has ,

still in this ni n eteenth century a good d eal of li f e le f t

in i t— more shame to us ! I t is high time f or the
principle to be driven out bag and baggage N o w a .
-

days no one is al lowed to set dogs or cocks to fight

,

—
each other at any rate in Englan d it is a penal
, ,

o ffence but men are plunged into deadly stri f e

,
-
,

against their will by the operation of this ridiculo u s

, ,

superstitious a n d absurd principle which imposes ,

upon us the obligation as its narro w minded sup

,
- ~

porters and advocates declare of fighting with one ,

another like gladiators f or any little trifle Let me

,
.

recommend our purists to adopt the expression ba i ti n g 1

,

i n stead of du c t which probably comes to us not f ro m

, ,

the Latin du el lu m but f rom the S panis h du el o

, ,

mean ing su ffering nuisance annoyance

, ,
.

I n any case we may well l a u gh at the pedantic

,

excess to which this foolish system ha s been carried .

I t is really revolting that this principle with its absurd ,

code can form a power within the S tate — i m p er i a m

,
’

n —
i i p er i o a p ower too easily put in m otion which
m , ,

recogn isi n g no right but might tyran nises over the ,

classes which come withi n its ran ge by keepi n g u p a ,

sort of i n quisition bef ore whi ch any one may be haled

,

on the most flimsy pretext and ther e and then b e ,

1
R i tterhetz e .
 '

T HE WI S D O M or L I FE .

tried on an issue of lif e and death between himsel f and

his opponent This i s the lurking place f rom which
.

every rascal i f he only belongs to the cl asses in ques

,

tion may men ace and even exterminate th e noblest and

,

best of men who as such must of course be an obj ect

, , ,

of hatred to him O u r system o f j ustice and police

.

protection ha s made it impossible in these days for

any scoundrel i n the street to attack u s with— Y o u r

m o ey o you
n li fe ! and common sens e ought now to
r r

be able to prevent rogues disturbing the peaceable

intercourse of society by comi n g at us with — Y ou r

hon ou r or you r li fe A n end should be put to the

burden which w ighs upon the higher classes— the e

burden I mean of having to be ready every moment

, ,

to expose li f e and limb to the mercy of anyone who

takes i t i n to his rascally head to be coarse rude -

, ,

f oolish or malicious I t is perf ectly atrocious that a

.

pair of silly passionate boys should be wounded

, ,

maimed or even killed si m ply because they have had ,

a f ew words .

The stre n gth of this tyrannical power wi thin the

S tate and th e f orce of the superstition may be
, ,

measured by t he f act that peo ple who are prevented

’

from restoring their knightly honour by the superior

or i n f erior rank of their aggressor or anything else ,

that puts the persons on a di ffe rent level o f ten come ,

to a tragic comic end by committing suicide in sheer

-

despair Y ou may generally know a thing to be

.

f alse and ridiculous by finding that i f it is carried to ,

its logical conclusion it results in a contradiction ; ,

an d here too we have a very glaring absurdity

, ,
For .

an ofli c er is f orbidden to tak e part i n a duel ; but i f

 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE
.

of me to try first of all whether he c an shoot or fence

better than I ; as i f he c an he will not onl y have
, ,

wronged me but have taken my li f e into the bargain

, .

I t is R ousseau s O pinion that the proper way to

’

avenge an i n sult is not to fight a du el with your

,

aggr essor but to assassinate him an opinion h o wever

, ,
-
, ,

which he is cautious enough only to barely i n dicate in a

mysterious note to one of the books of his E m i le .

T his shows the philosop h er so completely under the

influence of the medi aeval super tition of knightly s

honour that he considers it justifiable to murder a

man who accuses you of lying : whilst he must have
known that every man and himsel f especially has , ,

deserved to have the lie given him times without

number .

The prejudice which justifies the killing of your

adversary so long as it is done in an open contest and
,

with equal weapons obviously looks upon might as

,

really ri ght and a duel as the i n ter f ere n ce o f God

,
.

The I talian who in a fit of rage f alls upon his

, ,

aggressor wherever he finds him and despatches him ,

without any ceremony acts at an y rate consistently

, , ,

and naturally he may be cleverer but he is n ot

: ,

worse than the duellist I f you say I a m j ustified

, .
,

in killing my adversary in a d u el because he is at the ,

moment doi n g his best to kill me I can reply that i t

is your chal l en ge which has placed him under the
necessity of d ef e n di n g hims l f an d that by mut u ally
e

putting it on the grou n d of s el f de fence the combat -

ants are seeki n g a plausibl e pretext f or committi n g

murd er I should rather justi fy the de ed by the l egal
.

maxim Volenti n on fit i nj i ; because the parties u r a

 HO N O UR .

mutually agree to set their li f e upon the issue This .

argument may however be rebutted by showi n g that

, ,

the injured party is not inj ured v ol en because it is s

this tyran nical principle of knightly honour with i ts ,

absurd code which forcibly drags one at least of the

,

combatants bef ore a bl oody in quisition .

I have been rather prolix on the subj ect of k n i ghtly

ho n our but I had good reasons f or being so because
, ,

th e A ugean stable of moral and intellectual enormity

i n t his world can be cleaned out only with the
besom of philosophy There are two things w hich
.

mor e than all else serve to make the social arrange

ments of modern lif e compare unf avourably with
those of anti q uity by giving our age a gloomy dark
, ,

and sinister aspect f rom wh i ch an tiquity f resh

, , ,

natural a n d as it were in the morn ing of li f e is com

, , ,

l tely f ree ; I mean modern honour and moder

p e n

,
—
disease p n obi le fr a tr u m
ar —
which have combined
to poison all the relations of li f e wh ether public or ,

private T he second of this noble pair extends its

.

influen c e much f arther than at first appears to be the

case as being not merely a physical but also a moral
, ,

disease From the time that poisoned arrows have

.

been fou n d in Cupid s quiver an estran ging hostile

’

, , ,

nay devilish element has entered into the relatio n s of

,

men and women like a sinister thread of fear and

,

mistrust in the warp and woo f of their i n tercourse ;

i n dir ectly shaking the foundations of hu m an f ellow
ship and so more or less aff ecting the whole tenor of
,

existence B u t it would be beside my present purpose

.

to pursue the subject f urther .

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

A n influen ce an alogous to this though working on ,

other lines is exerted by the principle of knightly

,

—
honour that solemn farce u nknown to the ancient
, ,

world which makes modern society sti ff gloomy and

, ,

timid f orci n g us to keep the strictest watch on every

,

word that falls N or is this all T he principl e is a

. .

uni versal Minotaur ; and the goodly compan y of the

sons of noble houses which it d emands in yearly
tribute comes not f rom one country alone as of old
, , , ,

but f rom every l and i n Europe I t is high time to .

mak e a regular attack upon this f oolish system ; and

this 1 8 what I am trying to do n o w Would that .

these two monsters of the modern world might di s

appear bef ore the end of the century
Let us hope that medicine may be able to fin d som e
means of preventi n g the one and that by cl eari n g , ,

our ideas philosophy may put an end to the other ;

,

f or it is only by clearing our ideas t hat the evil c an

be eradicated Governments have tried to do s o by
.

legislation and f ailed

,
.

S till i f they are really concerned to suppress the

,

duellin g system ; and i f the small success that has

atten ded their e ff rts is really due only to their i n
o

ability to cope with the evil I do not mind proposing ,

a l a w the success of which I am prepared to guaran tee .

I t will involve no sanguinary measures and can be ,

put into operation without recourse either to the

scaffold or the gallows or to imprisonment for lif e
,
.

I t is a smal l homoeopathic pilule with no serious ,

af ter efl ec ts I f any man send or acc ept a challen ge

. ,

let the corporal take hi m be fore the guard house,a n d

there give him in broad daylight twelve strokes with
, ,
 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

allowed to p ass u n heeded . It is a combi n ation of

civic and of k n ightly honour .

S ec ti on —
5 Fa ni e
. .

U n der the headi n g of pl ac e in the estimation of the

world we have p u t Fa m e and this we must now
proceed to consider .

Fame and honour are twins ; and twins too lik e , ,

Castor and P ollux of vrhom the one was mortal and

,

the other was not Fame i s the undyi n g brother of

.

e phemeral ho n our I sp eak of co u rse of the highest

.
, ,

k ind of fame t hat is of f ame i n the true and genuine

, ,

sense of the word ; f or to be sure there are man y

, ,

sorts of f ame some of which last but a day Hon our

,
.

is concern ed merely with such q u al ities as every

one m ay be ex pected to show under similar circum
stances ; f ame on ly of those which cannot be required
of any m an . Ho n our is of qualities which everyone
has a ri gh t to a ttribute to himsel f ; f ame o n ly of
those which should be le ft to others to attribu te .

Whilst our honour extends as f a r as people hav e

knowledge of us ; f ame runs in advance and makes ,

us known wherever it finds its way Every one .

can make a claim to honour ; v ery f ew to fame as ,

bei n g attainable only in virtue of extraordi n ary

achievements .

These achievemen ts m ay b e of two kinds either ,

a c ti on s or wo ks ; a n d so to fame there are two pat hs

r

open O n the path of actio n s a great h eart is the

.
,

chie f recom m endation ;on that of works a great head , .

Each of the two paths has its own pecu l iar advan tages
 FA ME .

an d d etrime n ts ; the chi ef di fference betwee n

an d

them is th at action are fleeti n g whil e works remai n s

, .

T he i n fluence of an action be it never so n oble can , ,

last but a short tim e ; but a work of g en ius is a livi n g

i n flu en ce be n eficial and ennobli n g throughout the
,

ages A l l that can r emai n of actions is a m emory

.
,

an d that becomes weak a n d disfigur d by time a

e —
matterof i n diff ere n ce to us until at last it is e ti n ,
x

u i s h ed altogether ; u n les s i n deed history takes it up

g , , ,

and presents it f ossilized to posterity Works are

, , .

immortal i n thems elv es and o n ce co m mitt ed to writ ,

ing may l i ve for ever O f A lexander the Great we

,
.

have but the name and the record but P lato and :

A ristotle Homer and Horace are alive and as directly

, ,

at work to day as they were in their own li f e time

- -
.

The Veda a n d their Up a n i ha ds are still with U S

s, s ,
‘

but of all cont emporaneous actio n s n ot a trace has

come down to u s .
1

1
A c c ord i n gl y it is a p oor c om p l i m e n t, thou gh s om eti m es a

f as hi on ab l e on e , to try to p ay h on ou r to a work b y c alli n g i t an

ac ti on . F or a work i s s om ethi n g es s en ti all y h i gher i n i ts n a tu re .

A n ac ti on i s a l ways s om ethi n g b a s ed on m oti v e, an d , th er ef or e ,

f ragm en tary a n d fl e eti n g—a p art, i n f ac t, of th at Wi ll whi c h i s
th e u n i v e rs al an d o ri gi n al el e m en t i n th e c on s ti tu ti on of th e
world . B u t
gr ea t
a an d b eau ti f u l work has a p e rm a n e n t c h a r

ac ter , as b ei n g of u n i v e rs al s i gn i fi c an c e ,
an d s ru n
p g f rom the
I n tel l ec t, wh i c h r i s es , l i ke a p erf u m e, ab ov e th e fa u l ts an d f ol l i es
of th e world of Wi ll .

T he fa m e of agr eat ac ti on has th i s a d van tage , that i t gen e

r al l y s tarts wi th a l ou d ex p l os i on ; s o l ou d , i n d e ed , as to b e
h eard all ov er Eu rop e wher ea s th e fa m e of a g eat
r work i s slo w
an d grad u al i n i ts b egi n n i n gs the n oi s e i t m ak e s i s a t fi rs t s l i ght,
b u t i t go es on gr owi n g greater , u n ti l a t l a s t, a f ter a hu n d re d

erh i t a tta i n s i ts f u l l f orc e ; b u t then i t rem ai n s ,

y e ars p ap s ,
 T HE WI S D O M O F L I FE .

A noth er disadvan tage u nder which actions labour is

’

that they depend u p on chance for the possibility of

comi ng into existence ; and hence the f ame they wi n ,

does not fl ow entirely f rom their intrinsic value but ,

also f rom the circumstances w hich happened to lend

them importance and lustre A gain the fame of .
,

actions i f as in war they are purely personal depends

, , , ,

upon the testimony of f ewer witnesses ; and these are

not always present and even i f prese n t are not always
, ,

j ust or unbiassed obs ervers This disadvantage how .

,

ever is counterbalanced by the fact that actions have

,

the advantage of being of a practical character an d , ,

there f ore within the range of general human i n tel l i

,

gence ; so that o n ce the facts have been correctly re

ported j ustice is immediatel y done unless indeed the
, , ,

motive underlying the ac tion is not at first properl y

understood or appreciated N o action c an be really .

understood apart f rom the motive which prompted it .

I t is j ust the contrary with works Their inception .

does not depend upon chance but wholly and entirely ,

upon their author ; a n d whatever they are in an d for

themselves that they remain as long as they live
,

Further there is a di fficulty i n pro perly judging them

, ,

which becomes all the harde the hi gher their character ; r,

o f ten there are no pers ons competent to understand

the work and o ften no unbiassed or hon est critics
, .

T heir f ame however does not depend upon on e ju dge

, ,

b ec au se th e works rem a i n , f or thou s a n d s of years . B u t i n th e

oth er c as e , wh en th e fi rs t expl os i on i s ov er, th e n oi s e i t m ake s

grows l e s s an d l e s s , an d i s h eard b y f ewer a n d f e wer p ers on s ;

u n ti l i t en d s b y th e ac ti on ha v i n g on l y a s had owy ex i s ten c e i n
th e page s of hi s tory
.
 T HE WI S DO M O F L I FE .

f avour
the bad : it is an art well u n d erstood in our
day too man if esting its el f both then and now in a n
, , , ,

en v i ou s c on sp i r a c y o f si l en c e .

A a general rule the longer a man s f ame is li k ely

s ,
’

to last the l ater it will be in comi n g f o all excellent

,
r

products require time f or their development The .

f ame which lasts to posterity is like an oak of very ,

slow growth and that which endures but a little

while like plants which sprin g up in a y ear and then
,

die ; w hilst f alse f ame is like a fungus shooting u p in ,

a night and peri hing as soon s .

A n d why For this reason ; the more a man

belongs to posterity in other words to human ity in
, ,

general the more of an alien he is to his con tem

,

o ari es ; si n ce his work is not meant f or them as

p r

such but only fo them in so fa r as th ey f orm part of

,
r .

mankind at large there i n on e of that familiar local

s

colour about hi s p roductions which wo u ld appeal to

them ;and so what he does f ails of recognition becau se
,

it is stran ge P eople are more likely to appreciate

.

the man who serves the circumstances o f his own brie f

hou r or the temper of the moment — b elon gi n g to it
, , ,

and living and dyi n g with it .

T he genera l history of art and literature shows that

the high est achiev emen ts of the human mi nd are as a ,

r le not f avourably received at first ; but remain in

u ,

obscurity u n til they wi n noti ce f rom intelligence of a

higher order by whose i n flue n ce they are brought
,

into a positio n which they then maintain in virtue of ,

the authority thus given them .

I f the reason of this should be asked it will be ,

f ound that ultimately a m an c a n really understa n d

,
 F A ME .

an d appreciate those things o n ly w hich are of like

nature with hims el f The du ll person will lik e what .

is dull and the common p erson what is common ; a

,

m an whose ideas are mixed will be attracted by con

f usion of thought ; and folly will appeal to him who
has no brains at all ; but best of all a man will like ,

his own work s as being of a character thoroughly a t

,

one with hims el f T his is a truth as old as Epi c ha r

.

mus of f abulous memory

ea vu 382 50 7 5la c dv fl
’
aa r
‘
bv 01 1/
-
r ov rw
‘
hé ygw ‘

K a i dvddvew i i i i 80 K e
'

arf o o i -
w a r r m s, K a .

é va v i ydp 6 no w v
'

K a koi s n ec v k
t Ka K i
t kw r ov elyev ( al m/ c r a b, K a
p i .
fi fi o s
3 0 ?
’
t hw rdv [ go n ]
' ’
8 ci t ’ -
u ,
fi g 8 i i i .

The sen se of this passage— f or it should not be lost

is that we should not be surprised i f people are pleased
with themselves an d f ancy that they are in good case ;
,

f o to a dog the best t hing in th e world is a dog ; to

r

an ox an ox to an ass an ass an d to a s ow a sow

, , ,
.

The stron gest arm is unavaili n g to give impetus to

a f eather weight f or ins tead of speedi n g on its way
-
,

and hitti ng its mark with e ffect it will soon f all to the ,

ground having e xpend ed what little energy was given

,

to it an d possessi n g no mass of its own to be the

,

vehicle of momentum S o it i s with great and noble .

thou ghts n ay with the very masterpieces of ge n ius

, , ,

when there are no n e but little weak and perverse , ,

—
minds to appreciate them a f act which has been ,

de plored by a chorus of the wise in all ages Jesus .

,

the son of S irach f o instance declar es t hat He tha t

,
r ,
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

tell eth a ta l e to a fool p

s ea keth to on e i n s lu m ber :

when he ha th tol d hi s ta le he wi ll s a y Wha t i s the , ,

m a tter ? 1
A n d Hamlet s ays A kn a vi s h sp eec h s l eep s ,

i n a fool s ea r A n d Goethe is of the same opini on

’
2
.
,

t hat a dull ear mocks at the wisest word ,

D as gl u c kli c hs te Wort es wi r d verhb hn t,

‘

Wen n der B orer ei n S c hi ef ohr i s t

‘

and again that we should not be discouraged i f people

,

are stupid for you can m ake no rings i f you thro w

,

your s tone into a mars h . .

D u wi rkes t n i c ht, A lles blei bt s o s tu mp f

S c i gu ter Di n ge
D er S tei n i n S u mpf
M ac ht kei n e R i ngs .

L ichtenberg asks : When a hea d a nd a book c om e

i n to c oll i s i on , a n d on e s ou n d s holl ow i s i t a lwa ys the

,

book ? A nd in another place : Wor ks l i ke thi s are as

a m i rr or ; i f a n as s l ooks i n, you c a n n ot ex p ec t a n

a os tl e to l ook ou t
p Wshould do well to rem emb er
e .

old Gellert s fine and touching lamen t that the best

’

gi f ts of a ll find the f ewest ad m irers an d that most ,

m en mistake the bad f or the good — a da i l v evil that ,

nothi n g can prevent like a p l ague which no remedy

,

can cure There is but on e thing to be done though

.
,

ho w di fficult —the oolish must become wise and

f — ,

that they can n ever be The value of li f e they never .

know ; they s ee with the outer eye but never with

1
Ec c l es i as ti c u s, x x u .
,
8
.

2
A ct iv .
,
80
. 2 .
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

lived at all ; f rom their desire to appear im portant

themselves people gladly ignore our very existence
,

Hti tte i c h gez a u d ert z u werd en ,

B i s m a n m i r s L eben gegonn t,
’ ‘

I c h ware n oc h n i c ht a u f E rden ,
'

l Vi e i h/r begreif en kenn t,

‘

Wen n i hr s eht, wi e s i c s i c h geberden ,

'

Di e, u m etwas z u s c hei n en ,
M i c h gern e m oc hten vern ei nen
’

Honour on the contrary generally meets with fair

, ,

appreciation and is not ex posed to the onslaught of

,

envy ; nay every man is credited with the possession

,

of it until the contrary is prove d But fame has to .

be won in despite of envy and the tribunal which ,

awar ds the laurel is composed of j udges biassed

against the applicant f rom the very firs t Honour is
something which w
.

e are able and r ady to share with e

everyone f ame suffers encroachment a n d is rendered

more unattainable in proportion as more people come
by it Fur ther the di fficulty of winni n g f ame by any
.
,

given work stands in inverse ratio to the number of

people who are likely to re ad i t ; and hence it is
so much harder to become famous as the author of a
learned work than as a writer who aspires only to
amuse I t is hardes t of all in the case of phi los o
.

h i al works because the resu l t at which they aim is

p c ,

rather vague and at the same tim e useless f rom a

, , ,

material point of view ; they appeal chiefly to readers

who are working on the same lines themselves .

I t is clear then f rom what I have said as to the

, ,

di fficul ty of wi n ni n g f ame that those who labour not

, ,

out of love f or their subj ect n o f rom pleasure i n ,

r
 FA M E .

pursu i ng it but u n der the stimulus of ambition rarely

, ,

or never leav e mankind a legacy of imm ortal works .

The man who seeks to do what is good and genuine ,

must avoid what is bad and be ready to def y the ,

opinion s of the mob nay even to despise it and its

, ,

misleaders Hence the truth of the remark (es pec i

.
,

ally insisted upon byO s ori u s d e Glori a )tha t f ame shuns ,

t hose who seek it and seeks those who shun it ; f or

,

the one adapt themsel ves to the taste of their c on

temporaries and the others work in defiance of it
, .

But di fficult though it be to acquire f ame it is an

, ,

easy thing to keep it when once acquired Here .

,

again f ame is i n dir ct opposition to honour with

,
e ,

which everyone is presumably to be accredited .

Honour has not to be won ; it must only not be lost .

But t here lies the di fficulty ! For by a single u n

worthy action it is gone irretrievably But fame in
,
.
,

the proper sense of the word can never disa ppear ; ,

f or the action or work by which it was acquired c a n

never be u n done ; and f ame attaches to its aut hor ,

even though he does nothing to deserve it an ew The .

f ame whic h van ishes or is outlived p roves itsel f , ,

thereby to have been spurious in other words u n , ,

m erited and due to a momentary over estimate of a

,
-

m an s work ; not to speak of the kind of f ame whic h

’

Hegel enj oyed and which Lichten berg describes a s

,

tr u m p eted for th by a c li qu e of a dm i r i n g u n d er

gra d u a tes — the r es ou n di n g ec ho o

f em p ty hea d s
su ch a fa m e as wi ll m a ke p os ter i ty s m i l e when i t li ghts
u p on a r otes qu e a r c hi
g tec tu re o f wor ds , a
fi n e n es t

wi th the d 8 l on g a go fl own i t wi ll kn oc k a t the

door of thi s d ec a yed s tr u c tu r e of c on v en ti on a l i ti es
x
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

an d nd
fi it u tter l y em t
p y
-
n ot even a tr a c e f
o

thou ght ther e to i n vi te the p a s s er by -

.

The truth is that f ame means nothing b u t what a

man is in comparison with others I t is ess entially .

relative in character and theref ore only indirectly

valuable ; f or it van sh es the mo ment other people
i

become what the f amous man is A bsolute value c a n . .

be predicated only of what a man possesses under any

and all circumstances — h ere what a man is directly ,

and in himsel f I t is the pm s es s i on of a g eat heart or a

. r

great head and not the mere f ame of it which i s

, ,

worth having and conducive to happiness N ot

, .

f ame but that which deserves to be f amous is what

, ,

a man should hold i n esteem This is as it were the .

, ,

true underlying substance and fame is o n ly an acci,

dent affecting its su bj ect chie fl y as a kind of external

,

symptom which serves to confirm his o wn opinion of

,

himsel f Light is not visible unless it meets with

.

something to reflect it ; and talent is su re of itsel f

only whe n its f ame is noised abroad But fame is not .

a certain symptom of merit ; because you can have

the one without the oth er or as L essi n g nicely puts ,

it S om e p eop le obta i n fa m e a n d others d es er ve i t

, , .

I t would be a miserable existence which shoul d

make its value or want of value de p end u pon wh a t
other people think ; but such would be the lif e of a
hero or a genius i f its worth con isted in f am e t hat s ,

is in the applause of the world Every m an lives

,
.

and exists on his own accoun t and there f ore mai n ly , , ,

i n a n d f or himsel f ; an d w h a t he is an d the whole

manner of his bein g co n cern himsel f more than an y
one els e so i f he is n o t worth much in this respect ,
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

an u nreasonable value is set upon other people s ’

opinion and one quite dispropor tionate to its real

,

worth Hobbes has some strong r emarks on this s u b

.

ec t ; and no doubt he is quite ri ght M l l

j en ta p eas u /re .
,

he writes a nd ec s tasy of a ny ki n d ari s e when on c om

, , ,

p i
ar n
g ou rs elv es wi th other s , we c om e to the l
c on c u s on i
tha t we m ay thi nk well we can easily of ou l
rs e v es . So
understand the great value which is always attached
to f ame as worth any sacrifices i f there is the slightest
,

hope of attai n i n g it .

F a m e i s the sp u r tha t the c lean sp i ri t doth :

ra i s e

(T ha t l as t i nfirm i ty of n obl e m i n d )
To s c orn d eli ghts a nd li ve l a bori ou s da ys .
1

A nd again
How ha rd i t i s to c li m b
T he hei ghts where Fa m e s p r ou d temp le s h i n es
’
a arf

We can thus und erstand how it that the vainest is

p eople in the world are a l ways talking about l a gl oi r e ,

wi th the mos t implicit f aith in it as a stimulus to

great actions and great works B u t there can be no .

doubt that f ame is something secondary in its char

acter a mere echo or refl ec ti on —as it were a shadow
, ,

or symptom— of merit and in any ca s e what excites : , ,

admiration must be of more value th an the admiration

itself The truth is that a man is made happy not
.
,

by f ame but by that which brings him f am e by his

, ,

m erits or to speak more correctly by th e disposition

, ,

a n d capacity f rom which his merits proceed whet h er ,

they be moral or i n tellectual T he best side of a .

1
M i l ton . L yc i da s
 FA M E .

man s nature must of n ecessity be more important f or

’

him than f or anyone else : the r eflection of it the ,

opi n ion w hich exists in the heads of others is a m atter ,

t hat c a n affect him o n ly in a v ery subordinate d egree .

He who deserves f ame wit hout getting it poss esses by

f a the more important element of happiness whic h
r ,

should consol e him f o the loss of the other I t is not

r .

that a man is thought to be great by m asses of i n

c ompetent and of ten i n fatu ated people but that he
°

really is great which should move us to envy hi s

,

position ; an d his happiness lies not in the f act that ,

posterity will hear of him but that he is the creator

,

of thoughts wort h y to be treasured up and studied

for hu n dreds of years .

Besides i f a man has done this he possesses some

, ,

thing which cannot be wrested from him ; and unlike ,

f ame it is a possession depen d ent entirely upon

,

h imsel f I f admiration were hi s chief aim ther e

.
,

would be n othing in him to admire This is just .

what happen s in the case of f alse that is un m erited , , ,

f ame f or its recipie n t liv e s upon it without actually

possessing the solid substratum of which f ame is th e
outward and visible sign False f ame m ust of ten put
.

its possessor out of conceit with hims el f ; f or the

time may come when in spite of the illusion s born of
,

sel f love he will f eel gid dy on the heights w hich he

-
,

was never meant to climb or look upon himsel f as ,

spurious coin ; and in the an guish of threatened

discovery and well merited degradatio n he will read
-
,

the sentence of posterity on the f oreheads of the wise

—li k e a man who owes his property to a f orged wil l
,
.

T he tru est fa m e the f ame that comes a f ter d eath

, ,
 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE .

is never heard of by its recipient ; and yet he is

called a happy man Hi s happiness lay both in the .

possession of those great qualities which won hi m

f ame and in the o p portunity that was granted him
,

of d evelopi n g them —the leisure he had to a c t as he

pleased to dedicate himsel f to his f avourite pursuits

, .

I t is o n ly work done f rom the heart that ever gains

the laurel .

Greatness of soul or w eal th of intellect is wha t

, ,

makes a m an happy — intellect such as when stamped , ,

on its productions will rec eive the admiration of c en

,

t u ri es to com a
— thoughts which made him happy at
the time a n d will i n their tu rn be a source of study
,

and delight to the n oblest mi n ds of the most remote

p ost e rity T.h e value o f posthumous f ame lies in
deserving it ; and t his is its own reward Whether .

works destined to f ame attain i t in the lif etime of

their author is a chance affair of no v ery g eat i m ,
r

portance For the average man has no critical pow r

. e

of his own a n d is absolutely i n capable of appreciati n g

,

th e di fficulty of a great work P eople are al ways .

s wayed by autho ri ty a n d where f m e i s widespread a ,

it mean s that ni n ety nine ou t of a hundred take it -

on faith lon e I f a m an i s f amed f a and wide i n

a . r

hi s own li f e time he will i f he is wise n o t set too

-
, , ,

much valu e upon it because it is no more than the,

echo of a few voices which the chance of a day has,

touched in his f avour .

Woul d a musician feel fla ttered by the loud ap

p lua se o f an audience i f he kne w that they were
n early all deaf an d tha t to conc eal their i n firmity
, , ,

th ey set to work to clap vigorously as soon as ever

 T HE WI S D O M OF LI FE
.

wint er Fame is as it were the fruit that must grow

.
, ,

a l l the summer be fore it can be enj oyed at Y ule .

There is no greater consolation in age than the f eeling

of having u t the W hole f orce of one s youth into
’

p
works w hich still remain young .

Finally let us examine a little more clos ely the

,

kinds of f ame which attach to various intellectual

pursuits ; f or it is wi th f ame of th s sort that my re i

marks are more immediately concerned .

I t hink it may be said broadly that the intellectual

supe iority it denotes consists in f ormi n g theories
r ,

that is new combinations of certain f acts These

,
.

f acts may be of very di fferent kinds ; but the b ett e r

they are known and the more they come within
,

everyday ex p erience the greater and w ider will be

,

the fame which is to be won by theorising abou t them .

For instance i f the f acts in question a e n umbers or

,
r

lin es or special branches of scie n ce such as physics , ,

zoology botany a natomy or corrupt passages in

, , ,

ancient authors or undecipherable inscription s written

, , ,

it may be in some unknown al phabet or obsc u re points

, ,

in history ; the kind of f ame which may be obtained

by correctly manipulating such f acts wi ll not extend
much beyon d th ose who make a study of them a -

small number of persons most of whom live retired

,

lives and are envious of oth ers w ho become famous in

their special branch of k nowledge .

But i f the f acts be suc h as a e k n own to everyone

r ,

f or example the f undamental charact eristics of the

,

human mind or the human heart which are shared by ,

a l l alike ; or the great physical agencies which are

c onstantly in o peration be f o re our eyes or the general ,

 FA M E .

course of natural laws the kind of f ame which is to

be won by spreading the li ght of a new and man i
f es tly tru e theory in regard to t hem is such as in time ,

will extend almost all over the civilised world for i f :

the f acts be such as everyo n e can grasp the theory ,

also will be generally intelligibl e But th e extent of .

the f ame will d epend upon the di fficulties overcome ;

and the more gen erally known the facts are the harder ,

it will be to f orm a theory that s hall be both n e w and

true : because a great man y heads will have been
occupied with them and there will be little or no possi
,

b i l i ty of saying a nything that has not been said b ef or e .

O n the other hand f acts which are not accessibl e to

,

e v e rybody and can be got at only a f ter much di ffi

,

culty and labour nearly always admit of n ew combi

,

nations and theories so that i f sound u nderstan ding

: ,

and judgment are brought to bear upon them— quali

ties which do not involve very high intelle c tual power
— a m a n may easily be so f ortunate as to light upon

s ome new theory in regard to them w hich shall be

also true . But fame won on such paths d oes not ex
tend much beyond those who possess a knowledge of
the facts in question To solve problems of this sort
.

requires no doubt a great deal of study and labour

, , ,

i f only to get at the facts ; whilst on the path where

the greatest an d most widespread f ame is to be won ‘

the facts may be grasped without a n y labour at all .

But just in proportion as less labour is necessary more ,

talent or genius is required ; and betwee n such quali

ties a n d the drudgery of research no com parison is
possible in respect either of their intri n sic value or of
, ,

the es timation i n which they a e held r ,

 T HE WI S D O M O F LI FE .

A nd so people who feel that they possess solid i n

tell ec tu al capacity and a sound j u dgmen t and yet ,

cannot claim the highest mental powers should not ,

be a fraid of laborious study ; f o by its aid th ey may r

work themselves above th e great mob of humanity

who have the f acts cons tantly be fore th ei eyes and r ,

reach those secluded spots which are accessible to

learned toil For this is a sphere where there are
.

infinitely fewer rivals and a man of only moderate ,

capacity may so on find an opportunity of proclaimi n g

a theory that shall be both new an d true ; nay the ,

merit of his discov ery will partly rest u pon the di th

culty of coming at the f acts But a pplause f rom on e s .
’

f ellow students wh o are the only perso n s wi th a

-
,

knowle dge of the subject sounds very f ai n t to the ,

f a off multitude
r-
A n d i f we f ollow up this sort of
.

fame f ar enough we shall at last come to a point

,

where f acts very d i fficult to get at are in themselves

su fficient to la y a f oundation of f am e wi thout any ,

f nr —
necessity fo ormi g a theory travels f o i n stanc e ,
r ,

in remote and little kn own countries which make a

-

man f amous by what he ha s seen not by what he has ,

though t The grea t a dvantage of t his kind of f ame

.

is that to relate what one has seen s much easier i

than to impart one s thoughts and people are apt to

’

u nderstand descriptions better than ideas reading ,

the one more readily than the other : for as A smus ,

says ,

I Vhen
'
on e goes f or th a voya gi n g
-

He ha s a ta le to tel l .

A n d yet f or ,
all that a , personal ac q uaintance with
 SU H INS lIBRARY [ll PH
ILOSOPH
Y
’
NSG
NNE E .

E d it ed by J H M.U I R HE A D M .
, . A .

I N T R O D UC T I O N ‘

T HE HI S T O R Y O F P HI L O S O P HY . B y Dr . JE . . ER D M A NN .

E ngl i s h T r a ns la ti on b y s e v eral E n gl i s h an d A m eri c a n S c hol ars .

E d i ted b y P rofes s or I V S HO U G H, i n 3 v ol s Vol s i an d i i , ea c h . . . . . .

1 53 . v ol . iii .
, 1 23 .

A S ec on d Ed i ti on, rev i s ed , is n ow rea d y .

N O T I C ES O F T HE P R ES S .

I t i s m atter g
l ati on , i n th e d ear t s ti l l of ori i n al E n l i s or A m eri c an
o f real c on ratu h g g h
k
wor ov e r th e w ol e h
el d of fi
i s tori c al h
i l os o ph y, t a t b y th e s i d e of th e on e i m ortan t ph h p
G erm an c om e n d o f t i s p h g
en era ti on th e o t er, s o wel l h tted to s erve as i ts c om l em en t, i s fi p
—
.

n ow m a d e a c c es s i l e to th e E n l i sb s ea i n g h p k g
s tu d en t s -
d . .

I t i s n ot n ec es s ary to s ea of th e reat m eri ts of E rd m an n s Hi s tory of P hi l os op hy

p k g
“ ’
.

k b
I ts rem a r a l e c l earn es s a n d c om re en s i v en es s are wel l p h n own T h e tra n s l a ti on i s a k
—P
.

g h
ood , f a i t f u l r en d eri n a n d i n s om e g arts ev en reac es a
, i p
li terary l ev el
"
rof es s or h h gh .

JO HN W A T S O N i n T he Week .

T h e tran s l ati on of E rd m ann i s an i m ortan t ev en t i n i ts el f , a n d i n th e f a c t t at i t i s p h

fi
th e rs t i n s talm en t of an u n d erta i n of rea t s i n i c an c e f or th e s tu d y o f k g g g fi
i l os o yin ph ph
h
t i s c ou n try Mr U I R H E A D h asM ers u ad e d m en w os e wor p in i l os o h
y h as won f or k ph ph
P
. .

h g p
t e m a reat re u tati on , to c on tri u te to th e s eri es He h as got rof es s or A I R D , D r
b . C .

W A R D , & c , & c t es e a re s u f c i e n t to s ow th e c arac ter of th e wor to b e d o n e, a n d th e

. . h fi h h k
h gh
i a i m o f th e ed i tor a n d u l i s ers p b h
A l l the wri ters av e d on e ood wor , t ou t ei r h g k h gh h
re m ai n s to b e d on e —S p ec ta tor
.

b es t wor k . .

p p b
A s l en d i d m on u m e n t of ati en t l a ou r, c ri ti ca l ac u m en , an d a d m i ra l e m et od i c al b h
treatm en t I t i s n ot too m u c
. to h p
red i c t t at, f or th e l i rary of th e s a va n t, f or th e h b
a c a d e m i c al s tu d en t, a n d f o r th e l i te rary d i l e ttan te , t es e v ol u m es wi l l a t o n c e ec om e a h b
n ec es s i ty f or p p
u r os es a t l eas t, o f r e fere n c e , i t n ot of ac tu a l s tu d y W e os s es s n ot i n p h g
t at c a n ear a n y c om ari s on wi t i t i n oi n t of c om l ete n es s — a l l P M
.
,

h b p h p a ll a z ette p . G .

I t h a s e en l o nb n o wn , i gk h gh
l y es teem e d , a n d i n i ts s u c c es s i ve ed i ti o n s h as s ou t to gh
k h
m a e i ts el f m ore wort y of th e s u c c es s i t h as ju s tl y ac i ev ed E rd m a n n s wor i s ex c el h .
’

k
l en t . h
Hi s i s tory of m ed i aev a l i l os o ph
y es ec i al l y d es erv es atten ti on an d ph p
ra i s e f or i ts p
p
c om a ra ti v e f u l n es s a n d i ts a d m i ra l e s c ol a rs i S c ots m a nb h hp .
”
-
.

b
T h e c om i n a ti on o f q u al i ti es n ec es s a ry to rod u c e a wor of th e s c o e an d rad e of p k p g
E rd m a n n s i s ra re
'

I n d u s try, a c c u ra c y, a n d a fa i r d e ree of
. i l os o i c u n d ers ta n d i n g ph ph g
g
m ay i v e u s a wor l i e U e b erweg s k k b u t E rd rn a n n s i s tory, w i l e i n n o wa y s u ers ed i n
’ ’
h h p g
h b k
U eb erweg s a s a an d oo f or en eral u s e , ye t oc c u i es a d i ff e ren t os i ti on
’

g E rd m ann p p .

b k b k
wrote hi s oo , n ot a s a ref eren c e o o , to i ve i n ri ef c om a s s a d i es t o f th e wri ti n s o f g b p g g
v a ri o u s a u t ors h b u t as a , en u i n e i s tory o f g i l os o y, trac i n h in a ph
e n e ti c wa y the ph g g
p
d ev e l o m en t of t ou h gh
t i n i ts trea tm en t o f i l os o ic ro l e m s I ts ph
u r os e i s to ph p b . p p
p ph
d ev e l o i los o ph g
i c i n tell i en c e ra t e r t an to f u rn i s h
i n f orm a ti on h W en we a d d t a t, h . h h
h
to th e s u c c es s f u l ex ec u ti on of t i s i n ten ti on , E r d m a n n u n i tes a m i n u te a n d ex a u s ti ve h
k g
n owl ed e of p h i I O S O p h i c s ou rc es a t rs t an d , e q u a l l ed o ver th e en ti refi h el d of i l os o y fi ph ph
p b b h
ro a l y b y n o ot er on e m a n , w e a re i n a c o n d i ti o n to f or m s om e i d ea o f th e v a l u e of the
b koo . h
T o th e s tu d en t wh o W i s es , n ot s i m l y a en eral i d ea of th e c o u rs e of p g
i l os o y, ph ph
h h
n or a s u m m ary of w at t i s a n d t a t m a n h as s a i d , b u t a s om e w at d eta i l ed h n owl ed e o f h k g
th e ev ol u ti on of t ou h gh
t, a n d of w at t i s a n d th e ot e r wri ter h h
av e c on tri u ted to i t, h h b
p b
E rd m a n n i s i n d i s en s a l e ; t ere i s n o s u s ti tu te h rof ess or J O HN b
E W E Y , i n T he .
—P D
A nd over R ev i ew .

k h p
f or th e ord i n ary s tu d ent, a nd f u l l en ou gh
— gh
“
I t i s a wor t at i s at on c e c om ac t en ou
f or th e read er of l i tera tu re A t on c e s ys tem ati c an d i n teres ti ng
.
"
Jou rna l qf E du ca ti on . .
 L IS T O F WO R KS IN P R EP A R A T IO N

FO R

EIN S L I BRARY OF PH
S ONNENSCH ILOSOPH
’

Y .

FI R S T S E R I E S

EA R L I DEA LI S M D es c artes to L e i bn i tz
Y B y W L C O UR T N E Y , M A , . . . . .

Hon L L D (S t A n d rew s ), Fell ow of N ew C ol l ege , O x f ord

. .
’
. . .

GER MA N I DEA L I S TS K an t to Hegel B y W M W A LL A CE , M A , I Vhyte . . . .

P r ofes s or of M oral P hi l os ophy, Un i v ers i ty of O x f or d .

MO DER N R EA L I S TS L otz e , & c By A Herb art

R E W S ET H, M A , P ro , . ND . .

f es s or of L ogi c a n d E n gl i s h L i tera tu r e, U n i v ers i ty of S t A n d rew s

’
. .

S EN S A TI O N A L /S TS : L oc k e to M i l l B y W S HO U G H, P h M , A s s i s tan t . . . . .

P rof e s s or of M en tal a n d M oral P h i l os ophy, U n i v e rs i ty of M i n n es ota ,

U S A
. . .

THE E THI CS O F I DEA L I S M : K an t a n d Hegel B y HE N R Y J O ES , M A , . N . .

P rof es s or of M en tal an d M oral P h i l os op hy, U n i v ers i ty C ol l ege , B an go r .

THE UTI L I TA R /A N S : Hu m e to C on te m p ora r y W ri te rs B y W R S O R LEY , . . .

M A , Fel l ow of T ri n i ty C oll ege , C am b ri dge, an d P r of es s or of P h i l o

. .

s op hy i n U n i v e rs i ty C ol l ege , C ar d i ff .

MO RA L S EN S E WR I TER S S haf tes b u ry to M arti n eau B y W I LL I A M .

N
K I G HT , M A , P rof es s or of M oral P hi l os op h y, S t A n d re w s , N B
. .
’
. . .

PRI N CI P L E O F E VO L UTI O N I N I TS S CI EN TI FI C A N D P HI L O S O P HI CA L
A S P EC TS . N
B y J O H W A T S O , L L D , P r of es s or of M oral P hi l os ophy, N . .

U n i v ers i ty of ! u e en s C ol lege, K i n gs ton , C a n a d a

’
.

S E CO N D S E R I E S .

THE HI S TO R Y O F P S YCHO L O C Y :—Em p i ri c a l an d R a ti on al B y R O B ER T

D
A A MS O , M A N
L L D , P rofe s s or o f L ogi c a n d P ol i ti c a l E c on om y,
. .
, . .

O wen s C ol l ege , M an c h e s ter

’
.

THE HI S TO R Y O F P O L I TI CA L P HI L O S O P HY B y D G R I T CHI E, M A , . . . . .

Fell ow of J es u s C oll ege , O x fo r d .

P HI L O S O P HY A N D ECO N O MI CS I N THEI R HI S TO R I CA L R EL A TI O N S By
N
.

J BO A R , M A , L L D
. . . . .

THE HI S TO R Y O F I ZES THETI CS B y B ER A R B O S A ! U E T , M A , l ate . N D N . .

Fel l ow of Un i v e rs i ty C ol l e ge , O x f ord .

THE DE VEL O P MEN T O F R A TI O N A L THEO L O GY s i n c e K an t B y P rof os

D
.

s or O T T O P FL E I E R E R , of B erl i n [ R ea d y . .

T HI R D S E R I E S

THE THEO R Y O F ETHI CS B y E WA R CA I R , L L D Profe s s or . D D D . of

M oral P hi l os ophy i n th e U n i ver s i ty of G l a s gow .

EPI S TEMO L O GY, O R THE THEO R Y O F KN O WL EDGE B y J A M ES WA R . D ,

B s e , L L D , Fel l o w an d L ec tu r er o f T ri n i ty C ol l ege, C a m b r i dge
. . . . .

S WA N S O N N EN S C HEI N CO L O N DO N .
 S O C IA L S C I EN C E S ER I ES .

S c a rl et .
Cl ot/z , ea c /z 2 s . 6d .

1 . Wo r k a n d Wa g e s P rof JE T HO R O L D R O G E R S . . . . .

N othi n g th at P rof es s or R ogers wri tes c an f ai l to b e of i n teres t to th o gh t

“

f u l p eop l e —A t/
u .

"
m . ze n ee u .

2 C i v i l i s ati o n : i ts C a u s e a nd C u re E WA D R DC A RPE N T ER
—S
. . .

“
N o p as s i n g pi ec e of p ol em i c s , bu t a p erm anent p os s es s i on . c ottzs l¢
R ev i e w .

3 ! u i nte s s e n c e of S o c i a li s m D r S C I I A FF L E
—
.
. . .

“
an d wi s e
"
P rec i s el y th e m an u B ri ef , l u B r z tzs k
' ’

al n eed ed . ci d , f ai r, .

4 Da rw i n i s m
. and P ol i ti c s . D . G . R IT C HI E , M A . .
(O x on . )
N ew E d i ti on , wi t h two d di ti o al E ys o H m a n ss a n u an E vol u ti on
gges ti ve b ooks we h ave m et wi th —L
.

O n e of th e m os t s u
"
Wor l d
'

. z 1er a ry .

5 R e li g i o n
. of S o c i a li s m . E . B E L FO R T BA! .

h Ethi c s of S oc i a l i s m E B EL FO R I BA!
’ ‘
C . . .

M r B ax i s b y f ar the
. a bl est of the E n l i s g h ex p on en ts of S oc i ali s m .
”

I Ves tm ev i ew .
’

z n s te r R

7 T he Dri n k
.
! u es ti o n . Dr K AT . E M I T C HE LL .

P l en ty of i n teres ti n g m atter f or refl ec ti on —Gm pki . e .

8 . P r o m o ti o n of G e n e ra l Ha p p i n e s s . P rof M M A C M I LL A N
. . .

gh te
A reas on ed ac c ou n t of th e m os t ad v an c ed an d m os t enl i
— ti l i tari an
n ed u
d oc tri n e i n a c l ear a n d read a l e f orm
”
S c ots m cm b . .

9 . En g la n d
’
s I d e a l, & c . E WA D R DC A R PE N T ER .

“
T h e l i terary ower i s p u n m i s ta k abl e th ei r f res h n es
,
s of s tyl e, t h ei r hu m ou r,
h
a n d t ei r en t u s i as m
"
h .

I O . S oc i a li s m i n E n g la n d . SI DN EY WEB B ,
LL B .

T h e es t b gen eral vi ew of th e su b jec t f rom the m od ern S oc i al i s t si de .

A t/ze n wu m .

I I . P ri n c e B i s m a rc k and S tate S oc i a li s m . W H DA WSO N

. . .

A s u c c i n c t, wel l di -
g es ted revi e w of G erm an s oc i al an d ec onom i c g
l e i s l ati on
s i nc e —S a tu r d ay R ev i e w .

12 . G o d wi n
’
s P o l i ti c a l Ju s ti c e (O n P r o p e r ty) .

E d i ted b y H S . . SA LT .

S h ow God wi at h i s b es t ; wi th an i n teres ti n g an d i n f orm i n g I n trod u c

—Gl g w H l d
s n
ti on . as o er a .

13 T h e S to ry of t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u ti o n E B E L FO R T BA! .

s twor t y ou tl i n e —S eots m a n
. . .

A tru
”
h . .

I 4 T he C o- O p e r a ti v e C o m m o n w e a lth L A UR E NC E GR O N L —ND U
M
. . .

“
i n de A n pe n d en t ex pos i ti o n of th e S oc i al i s m of th e ar x Sc h ool .
"
C orz
ev z ew .
'

temp or a ry R

15 . Es s ays a nd A d d re s s es . B ER N A R D U ET , M A B O SA N! . .
(O x on .
)
Ou gh t to b e i n th e ha nd s of ev ery s tu d en t of th e i n eteen t N h Ce n tu ry
S p i ri t
"
. E c i zo
-
.

N0 o pl ai n of n ot b ei n g abl e to u n d ers tan d wha t M

—
n e c an c om B os a r. n q u et
P a 11 Ma ll Ga ette
"
m ean s . z . [ O VE R