wisdom of life

Chapter 15 Anecdotes about Schopenhauer's Life
Wei Qichang

Arthur Schopenhauer was born in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) on February 1788, 2 in an unusually prominent wealthy businessman family.

The spelling of Arthur Schopenhauer's name is Arthur, which is a common name not only in Germany, but also in Italy, France and the United Kingdom; the spelling is exactly the same in the languages ​​of the above countries, but the pronunciation is slightly different.Schopenhauer's father (Heinrich Floris Schopenhauer), who is engaged in international trade and abides by the family motto "No freedom, no happiness", gave his son this multinational name, which is very likely to be its implication.Although Schopenhauer did not trade and make money across countries as a giant businessman when he grew up-as his father hoped, Schopenhauer's intellectual legacy spread across countries.This ending was definitely not what Schopenhauer's father had expected.

For several generations from Schopenhauer onwards, the family in Danzig has been distinguished by business.When Peter the Great and the Empress visited Danzig in 1716, they spent the night at the home of Schopenhauer's great-grandfather Andreas Schopenhauer.It is said that Schopenhauer's great-grandfather inspected the guest room before the arrival of the guests. When he found the room was a bit cold, the old Schopenhauer ordered his servants to sprinkle brandy on the ground and burn it to warm the room and fill the room with the fragrance of fine wine. .

Schopenhauer's mother, Johann Trosina Schopenhauer, married at a very young age the father of the much older businessman Schopenhauer.According to people's descriptions at the time, Schopenhauer's father "had a muscular figure, a square and broad face, a wide mouth, and a prominent chin."At first, the marriage was arranged by John Trosina's relatives and friends, and it also attracted "the envy of many people" (Schopenhauer's mother said).But the marriage did not seem very happy for John Trosina himself.However, as Schopenhauer said, "Happy marriages are rare . . . In making a marriage, either our individuality (if we think only of love) or the interests of the offspring of the species (if we think only of money) material interests), one of the two is bound to suffer ... for the combination of good material conditions and fanatical love is the rarest of good fortune."

Schopenhauer's mother is very talented in literature and art.Many German cultural celebrities at that time, including the Brothers Grimm who wrote Grimm's fairy tales, the Schlegel brothers, and Goethe were guests of the salon held by Schopenhauer's mother.The musician Schubert also composed music for a poem written by Johann Trossina Schopenhauer.Johann Trossina Schopenhauer himself wrote quite a few romantic novels.In most of her novels, the heroines were passionately in love when they were young, but unfortunately they had lovers who did not get married.They had no choice but to bury their longing for their sweetheart deep in their hearts, while obeying the call of reason, and married a man who was more rationally in line with their requirements.These novels are full of mournful emotions.Johann Trossina Schopenhauer enjoyed a certain literary name at the time.Even after Schopenhauer wrote the great work "The World as Will and Representation" for a long time, when people mentioned Schopenhauer, they would say from time to time, "That's John Trosina Schopenhauer's son."

Since he was a child, he didn't get along with his mother, and he didn't feel any maternal love from his mother for him.As an adult, Schopenhauer recalled more than once that when he was very young, when he was walking with his parents, his parents walked far ahead, while he faltered behind, "At that time, my heart was full of despair."After her father committed suicide, her mother was relieved and devoted herself to social salons in Weimar.Schopenhauer was even more disdainful of his mother's courteous behavior.And the mother didn't buy it for the son who had a serious face and pointed and criticized sharply from time to time.In a letter from his mother to Schopenhauer, Johann Trosina Schopenhauer wrote of her opinion of her son, "I do not fail to see the good in you, it is not your feelings that make me fear you , your inner being, but your outward style and conduct, your views, your comments... In a word, I have nothing in common with you as far as the external world is concerned. . . . Your austere appearance, And those bizarre assertions from your mouth, which are irrefutable like oracles, give me a lot of pressure... The stupidity of the world and the pain of life that you lament also make me depressed and give me nightmares at night .And I was hoping for a good night's sleep."

There is also a famous dialogue between Schopenhauer and his mother.Years later, Schopenhauer told this conversation to his good friend William Gwinner:
Mother: (picking up her son's philosophical work "On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason") This must be just a packaging for the pharmacist.

Son: Even when you can't find a single copy of your books in a junk room, they will still be read.

Mother: Those books of yours will also be piled up in the warehouse after they are printed.

Both mother and son's predictions proved to be very accurate afterwards.

In this way, in Schopenhauer's later works, there are many comments that do not make women feel comfortable. Although they are certainly not based on a narrow view of his mother, these comments still remind many people of the bad relationship between him and his mother. relation.What the philosopher saw and heard in his early life did provide material or proof for his original views.The following insights are often reminiscent of philosophers' early observations and feelings:

As in the case of animals, the original maternal love in man is purely instinctive, and therefore ends with the end of the child's helplessness.In its place is a love based on custom and reason; but this love often does not arise, especially when the mother has never loved the child's father.

In women's hearts, women think that a man's mission is to make money, and their mission is to squander the money. If possible, they will do this during a man's lifetime, and it goes without saying that they will do so after a man's death.

Disguise is thus inherent in women, it is almost a characteristic of women, whether they are stupid or intelligent.It is as natural to them to use camouflage at every opportunity as animals use their weapons when attacked.And, in doing so, they somehow think they are exercising their legitimate rights.For the same reason, women are especially able to see through the disguises of others.Therefore, it is not advisable to try to use disguise in front of women.

Schopenhauer even uttered such a classic sentence:

Calling women with short stature, narrow shoulders, broad hips, and short legs "beauties" and "beauties" can only be said by men who have been blinded by sexual desire.That is to say, all the beauty of women lies in this sexual desire.

Schopenhauer showed early on an unparalleled ability to think. He completed the famous philosophical work "On the Fourfold Roots of the Principle of Sufficient Reason" when he was around 25 years old, and "The World as Will and Representation" which established him as an immortal philosopher was also completed before the age of 29.Interestingly, although Schopenhauer's thought matured very early, and his erudition in his works is amazing, but before Schopenhauer was 19 years old, except for foreign languages, strictly speaking, Schopenhauer had no Careful and comprehensive mastery of a subject.

Schopenhauer traveled around the world with his parents since he was a child.Before going to university, from the age of 15 to 17, he traveled more specifically to European countries to receive edification on the ground in various languages ​​and cultural atmospheres, instead of just accepting book knowledge from the beginning like other scholars.His takeaway from this experience is, "Generally speaking, children should not learn about any aspect of life from copies of life until they have learned about it from prototypes. Put it in the hands of children...let them always extract concepts directly from the real world." And the eyes of philosophers "should always focus on things themselves, let nature, world affairs, and life, not books, become their Stuff for thinking."

Schopenhauer studied physics, mineralogy, natural history, and botany during his first and second years at university in Göttingen, and also attended lectures on physiology, astronomy, meteorology, ethnology, and law.The notebooks he left behind are densely filled with affirmations, denials, doubts, and impressions of the content of the lectures.Extensive and in-depth knowledge paved the way for him to become a philosopher in the future.Of course, he also listened to the valuable advice of his philosophy instructor Schultz, and read the works of Plato and Kant carefully, carefully and thoroughly.In the first two years of university, Schopenhauer has been very clear about the path he is destined to take in the future.He said to the elder litterateur Wieland:
Life is a terrible thing, and I have decided to spend my life pondering and exploring this terrible life.

He described this sense of mission in his early years as follows:

The man who is born destined for greatness secretly feels this truth in his heart from his youth.He will work hard to accomplish his mission like a worker bee building a hive.

Already in youth a man of high spiritual quality sets about accumulating material for his unique and original views and perceptions, that is to say, for the service he is destined to give to the world.

In the autumn of 1812, Schopenhauer entered the University of Berlin and listened to the lectures given by the famous German philosophy professors Fichte and Schleiermacher at that time, but was deeply disappointed.Coupled with his later experience of teaching philosophy at the university, Schopenhauer even more convinced:
For the vast majority of scholars, their knowledge is a means, not an end.This explains why these people never achieve greatness in their field of knowledge, for to do anything their knowledge or learning must be their end, and everything else, even their The existence itself is just a means.

The only people who can acquire new and great basic ideas are those who regard the pursuit of knowledge as the immediate purpose of their learning, and are indifferent to other purposes.

Schopenhauer has mastered 7 languages, Latin, Greek, French, English, German, Spanish, Italian.After visiting the library of Schopenhauer's home in Frankfurt, British scholar McGee wrote this impression:
Schopenhauer is used to taking notes on the books he reads, and often writes densely.He takes notes in whatever language the books he read are written in. ... Sometimes, because the words are written so forcefully, they almost go through the back of the paper.

In the salon run by his mother in Weimar, Schopenhauer met many cultural celebrities.He also really got to know Goethe better.Schopenhauer, who was only in his early twenties, and Goethe, who was in his 60s, had a long discussion on color theory.The experienced Goethe commented on the young Schopenhauer:
Look, this man (Schopenhauer) will be better than all of us.

In May 1814, Schopenhauer broke with his mother completely, left Weimar, and moved to Dresden (5-1814). He wrote the masterpiece "The World as Will and Appearance", which was published in 1818.In Schopenhauer's notebook, the birth process of this great book is recorded:
This writing takes shape gradually and slowly, like a child in the womb.I don't know when this started and when it ended.I saw a certain limb appear, and then a certain blood vessel appeared.That is to say, I write only what is in my head, regardless of the overall coherence of what I write, because I know that it all comes from the same source.This organic whole is thus formed...

In addition, in a transcript, Schopenhauer wrote about the process of brewing and writing his philosophical thoughts:
These philosophical theses of mine are true, and therefore immortal, in that they are not of my creation, but of their own formation.These things grow without my help; at such times, everything in me seems to be asleep...Only in this complete freedom from desire, things that appear in my mind, It was recorded by me with a pen and became my work.I am purely a bystander and witness.This guarantees the authenticity of these thoughts and keeps me from doubting myself when I don't get sympathy and approval.

It is precisely because of this that when Schopenhauer was nervous about writing this immortal work, he still chatted with friends and went to the theater to watch plays at night.

When Schopenhauer asked the publisher about the sales of this book 17 years after it was published, the publisher told him that the book hardly sold many copies.Schopenhauer's opinion on this is:

All true and good work, at all times and places, is engaged in a perpetual vicious struggle against the absurd and clumsy which always has the upper hand.

In this world meanness and malice reign universally, and the voice of stupidity cries loudest.

The judgment of the masses is perverted, and to create good works and avoid writing bad ones, creators must resist and despise the judgments of the masses and their representatives.

In January 1820, Schopenhauer was qualified as a lecturer at the University of Berlin. He firmly believed in the value of his thoughts. His proud and tenacious character also made it impossible for him to compromise on the issue of truth, although certain Flexible skills will help you spread your ideas.When he taught his own philosophy at the University of Berlin, he wanted to expand the influence of his philosophy by teaching his own philosophy to students.But he insisted on choosing the same teaching time as Hegel, who was very famous at the time and attracted a large number of students.He just wanted to confront this charlatan who he called "a charlatan who has only words but no thought".In this way he lost many of the audience he desperately needed at the time.In addition, the first sentence Schopenhauer said when he opened the class was:

Soon after Kant there appeared sophists who were full of words.They bored and bored the thinking minds of their time with incomprehensible words, and then drove them away from philosophy and from trusting it.But now, someone more capable of thinking will appear and restore philosophy to its honor.

In June 1833, the 6-year-old Schopenhauer settled down in Frankfurt until his death at the age of 45.From a notebook left by Schopenhauer, we see the considerations made by the philosopher when he chose Mannheim or Frankfurt as his residence.On the cover of the notebook, the philosopher wrote in English the advantages of each of the two cities for themselves.On one side there are "better foreign language bookstores", "better restaurants", on the other Frankfurt has "better theatres, operas, concerts" and "more British", "higher standard of dentists", "Doctors aren't that bad either".In the end, perhaps the "joyful atmosphere" in Frankfurt sealed the deal.

Schopenhauer's life is very regular.Get up between 7am and 8am.Drink a cup of coffee after a cold shower.Then I buried myself in writing until noon.This period of time he considers the most precious and is only used for thinking and writing.Therefore, he forbids anyone (including servants) from speaking and showing his face during this time.

The morning is without exception suitable for any mental or physical work.Everything is bright, fresh and light...we should not cut our mornings short by snoozing or wasting them with worthless work and small talk.

After intense mental work, Schopenhauer entertained himself with the flute for half an hour, a form of entertainment that lasted his entire life.After that, Schopenhauer put on a tuxedo and a crisp white tie and went out for lunch.He always wore the same clothes of his youth, and arrived at the same restaurant called The English Restaurant.After lunch, Schopenhauer returned to his room to read until 4 o'clock.Then, regardless of the weather, he decided to go out for a quick walk, accompanied by the poodle who later became famous with his owner and was called "Little Schopenhauer" by the nearby residents.

When Schopenhauer was taking a quick walk, if passers-by walking towards him did not follow the rules and walked on the right, he would hit the ground with his cane and mutter something in his mouth.This is how Schopenhauer can make a philosophical discussion about anything.Schopenhauer's eyes are short-sighted, and he doesn't like wearing glasses (thinking it hurts his eyes), and he doesn't look to both sides when he walks, and he just mumbles to himself from time to time.Therefore, some passers-by who met Schopenhauer thought that Schopenhauer was laughing at them.After learning of this, Schopenhauer raised his own hat whenever he saw people raising their hats during his walks, regardless of whether he knew them or not.

At 6 o'clock in the evening, Schopenhauer will arrive at the library on time.Schopenhauer reads the British "Times" in the reading room of the library.Schopenhauer quite agrees with his father's statement:

From The Times, you can know everything you want to know.

In the evening, Schopenhauer would go to the theater or a concert to watch a play or listen to music.According to Schopenhauer, "Not going to the theater is like dressing up without looking in the mirror." Beethoven's music is Schopenhauer's favorite.If Beethoven's symphony is finished and another musician enters, Schopenhauer will leave immediately.

After the show ended, Schopenhauer went to the "British Hotel" for dinner.If the guests at the dinner party are interested in listening, or if Schopenhauer is in the mood, he will talk endlessly about life, art, philosophy and current affairs, sometimes regardless of whether the listeners understand what he said. .Schopenhauer's friend Gwenner recounts his impressions of meeting Schopenhauer for the first time:

Schopenhauer violated the principle he set, that is, not to mix personal things, because the deeper Schopenhauer talked, the more personal he became.I was very young when I first heard him speak.I sat eating not far from him, but I didn't know him at that time, and I didn't know who he was.At the time, he was demonstrating the basics of logic.I can still recall the strange impression he left on me at that time: when he told the scene of A=A, the expression on his face was like a person talking about his lover.

But no matter how absorbed Schopenhauer was, he paid attention to the movement of his poodle.As soon as the puppy wants to go out or something, Schopenhauer will interrupt its abstract topic, let his dog fulfill the wish first, and then resume the interrupted topic.

There was a time when Schopenhauer put a gold coin on the table every time he took a seat in a restaurant, and put the gold coin back in his pocket when he left the restaurant.Someone asked him what the purpose of this was.Schopenhauer replied:
If I hear the officers here talk of anything more serious than women and horses, I'll give the gold to the poor.

He usually goes home around 9-10pm.Read a few pages of the ancient Indian Vedas in bed, because he thinks:
We learn more from a single page of the Vedas than from a whole volume of philosophy after Kant.

Then, Schopenhauer fell into a deep sleep and slept until dawn.

In the revolution (or "riot," as Schopenhauer called it) of 1848, rebels fortified the street in front of Schopenhauer's house and fought fiercely with government forces.Schopenhauer ordered the gates to be shut.Then there was a hasty knock on the door.Finally, the servant came in and whispered to Schopenhauer that it was the Bohemian soldiers who had come to reinforce the government army at the door. "I will immediately open the door to those dear friends," Schopenhauer described the situation in a letter:

Twenty blue-clad Bohemian soldiers poured in, shooting from windows at the mob below.But soon, they found that the next room was more conducive to shooting.From the second floor, an officer observes the mob in the street hiding behind the fortifications.I immediately lent them my opera-glass.

Schopenhauer also bequeathed a large bequest to the families of soldiers wounded and dead in the suppression of riots.Schopenhauer's point is clear:

People have always been deeply dissatisfied with government, laws, and public institutions, but it is mostly nothing more than people blaming government, institutions, etc. for the wretched misery that belongs to life.

A state is nothing more than a state established to protect the entire population from attacks by other states, or to protect members of a state from attacks by other members.The necessity of a state consists in the recognition that there is no justice among men.

Just think: in the heart of every human being lurks an infinitely inflated ego; how difficult it is to keep these millions within the bounds of peace, order, and law .It is this difficult task that the national government undertakes.In fact, it is really amazing to see that most of the people in the world can still live in order and peace.

The furnishings of Schopenhauer's house were extremely simple.The main decoration of the study is a Buddha statue on the desk covered with a thick layer of gold leaf.This statue of Buddha was bought back from India by Schopenhauer with a lot of money.Then, Schopenhauer asked people to plate gold leaf on the Buddha statue, "Gold should be thicker, don't save me money." Schopenhauer ordered the gold plater.Next to the golden Buddha statue is a bust of Kant.An oil portrait of Goethe hangs above the sofa.In addition, there are portraits of Shakespeare and Descartes, as well as photos and portraits of myself in various periods, and many sculptures of dogs.There are not many books in the library, which is a bit inconsistent with Schopenhauer's quotations in his works.But Schopenhauer has long said:

Mastering the art of recognizing what not to read is paramount when choosing what to read.

The stupidity and perversity of the mass of readers is unbelievable, because they neglect to read the most noble and rare works of thought that have been preserved in all ages and peoples, and they are preoccupied with picking up the works that are emerging every day. , A nonsense made up of mediocre minds, simply because these words were printed today, and the ink is not dry yet.

After finishing his final work, Appendices and Addenda, Schopenhauer wrote:
I will close the pen, and the rest is to wait and see.

When this work was published in 1851, Schopenhauer wrote again:
How happy I am to see the birth of my last little one.With the completion of this book, my mission in this world is finally completed.I do feel a sense of relief from a burden that has weighed heavily on my shoulders for 24 years.No one can imagine what this sense of relief means to me.

After Schopenhauer's final and sudden rise to fame in his later years, Schopenhauer believed in the role of luck all the more.He once said:
Compared with wisdom and strength, I believe that luck is more important.Our whole life can be compared to the voyage of a ship.Luck--good or bad--plays the part of the wind, and it can propel us swiftly on our course, or it can push us back a great distance;Our efforts and struggles are just oars.We swung the oars as hard as we could for hours, and finally made it a distance.At this time, a sudden gust of wind can push us back the same distance in one fell swoop.

After Schopenhauer became famous, his oil painting portrait was exhibited at the Frankfurt Fair in 1855 and attracted a large number of people.People also asked him to be a model, and they planned to make a bust of him.But many portraits and statues cannot vividly and vividly show Schopenhauer's wisdom.Only one Schopenhauer marble statue made by the American female sculptor Miss Ney is considered the best.This statue was made when Schopenhauer was 71 years old and is now kept in the Frankfurt Library.During the production days, Schopenhauer and Ms. Ney talked, joked and had coffee together.Schopenhauer joked that during this period, he felt married and at home.

On September 1860, 9, Schopenhauer convulsed when he got up, then fell to the ground and bruised his forehead.But otherwise, Schopenhauer felt no particular discomfort.He slept well that night.The next day, Schopenhauer got up early as usual and had breakfast.After his butler opened the window to let in the fresh air, he walked out of the room according to Schopenhauer's usual instructions, and no longer disturbed the philosopher's work.After a while, when Schopenhauer's doctor entered the room, Schopenhauer had passed away, and his body was leaning against a corner of the sofa in the room.To die without pain has always been what Schopenhauer craves:
Anyone who has lived a life alone like me knows better what it is to be alone.

A priest held a brief ceremony for Schopenhauer.Then Schopenhauer's close friend and admirer Gwenner addressed:

Now the extraordinary person lying quietly in this coffin has lived among people for a whole life, but he has never been known to anyone.Of all those present there was no blood relation to him; he died alone, as he had lived alone before.But at this moment, beside this man, something tells us: he is compensated for this loneliness.The eager desire to understand eternity is accompanied by this person's life; and for most people, this desire only rarely flashes across the mind like a dream when the god of death is approaching.This sincere lover of truth had, from his youth, loathed appearances, even though doing so alienated him from all social ties.This unfathomable man has a warm heart beating in his chest.All his life he hated fabrication and remained true to himself.He is alone and has been misunderstood by others.Helped by birth and education, this man of genius was freed from the burdens of life.He is grateful for this great gift.His only desire is to be worthy of this gift he has received.In order to fulfill his noble mission, he sacrificed all the fun that everyone else would have enjoyed.The laurel wreath on his head was finally put on his head at the twilight of his life.Even so, he has iron-like belief in the mission he wants to accomplish.In that long, unjust obscurity, he never strayed a step from his noble and solitary path.In the career he chose, he can really be said to have been in poverty for a long time.

According to Schopenhauer's wishes during his lifetime, there is no extra text on Schopenhauer's tombstone except for the name "Artur Schopenhauer" engraved on it.

(End of this chapter)