“When we read, another person thinks for us: we merely repeat his mental process. In learning to write, the pupil goes over with his pen what the teacher has outlined in pencil: so in reading; the greater part of the work of thought is already done for us. This is why it relieves us to take up a book after being occupied with our own thoughts. And in reading, the mind is, in fact, only the playground of another’s thoughts. So it comes about that if anyone spends almost the whole day in reading, and by way of relaxation devotes the intervals to some thoughtless pastime, he gradually loses the capacity for thinking; just as the man who always rides, at last forgets how to walk. This is the case with many learned persons: they have read themselves stupid.”
― Essays and Aphorisms
― Essays and Aphorisms
“The business of the novelist is not to relate great events, but to make small ones interesting.”
― The Works of Schopenhauer: The Wisdom of Life and Other Essays
― The Works of Schopenhauer: The Wisdom of Life and Other Essays
“If I maintain my silence about my secret it is my prisoner...if I let it slip from my tongue, I am ITS prisoner.”
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“To find out your real opinion of someone, judge the impression you have when you first see a letter from them.”
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“If the world were a paradise of luxury and ease, a land flowing with milk and honey, where every Jack obtained his Jill at once and without any difficulty, men would either die of boredom or hang themselves; or there would be wars, massacres, and murders; so that in the end mankind would inflict more suffering on itself than it has now to accept at the hands of Nature.”
― Studies in Pessimism
― Studies in Pessimism
2015 Reading Challenge
— 16 members
— last activity May 25, 2015 01:42PM
This is a list of books that you try to complete throughout the year. This group will allow us to share our choices for each category with one another ...more
Ha’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ha’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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