Almost always, not much is needed for a big decision. But it is necessary to make it and stick to it; it is necessary to honor it. The greatest effort, therefore, is subsequent, and involves converting a state of mind into practice, transmuting an impression into value. This cannot be done without an effective inner change: it is then easy to see that the great decision transforms, and is great because of the lasting effect that follows it and does not allow itself to be corrupted.
Tag: philosophy
Something That Distinguishes the Character…
Something that distinguishes the character is the perfect notion that the devil is always walking, always at the side, lurking in wait for the slightest falter. Lose fear of him for an instant and the fall is almost certain. Only fools do not realize it. And those who are not foolish, sometimes well aware that there is nothing to joke about, experience the indescribable distress and terror that comes from realizing how weak the flesh is and how low, for how little, it can descend. To have character is, to a large extent, to become accustomed to incessant vigilance.
Nothing Lasting and Concrete Can Be Achieved…
There is no point: nothing lasting and concrete can be achieved without the spirit constantly turning towards it. Even affliction itself is only consolidated by habit. And just as it grows to monstrosity when regularly fed, so does its opposite when cultivated with courage and constancy. Life always ends up tending towards what repetition has clamored for it to become.
An Authentic Philosopher
The impression we get after going through these almost six hundred pages of Schopenhauer’s biography signed by David Cartwright is just one: Schopenhauer is an authentic philosopher. This can be seen because, for anyone familiar with Schopenhauer’s work, his biography holds no surprises, which is tantamount to saying that his life was consistent with his philosophy or, rather, that his philosophy was real. To measure the difficulty, and perhaps the greatness of this feat, it is enough to compare it to the abundant miseries described by Paul Johnson in the lives of his intellectuals. In Schopenhauer, we see a personality engraved in every act, in every reaction; we see a man who, despite what can be said about him, neither betrayed nor falsified himself. Such integrity, which is extremely rare, deserves the highest recognition.