The World as Will and Idea, Vol. I — Arthur Schopenhauer, trans. Haldane & Kemp
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The translator’s English as printed (R. B. Haldane & J. Kemp). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
life.
From deficiency of proper insight into all this, many a man will make all kinds of abortive attempts, will do violence to his character in particulars, and yet, on the whole, will have to yield to it again ; and what he thus painfully attains will give him no pleasure ; what he thus learns will remain dead ; even in an ethical regard, a deed that is too noble for his character, that has not sprung from pure, direct impulse, but from a concept, a dogma, will lose all merit, even in his own eyes, through subsequent egoistical repentance.
Velle non disdtur. We only become conscious of the inflexibility of another person’s character through experience, and till then we childishly believe that it is possible, by means of rational ideas, by prayers and entreaties, by example and noblemindedness, ever to persuade any one to leave his own way, to change his course of conduct, to depart from his mode of thinking, or even to extend his capacities : so is it also with ourselves. We must first learn from experience what we desire and what we can do. Till then we know it not, we are without character, and must often be driven back to our own way by hard blows from without. But if we have finally learnt it, then we have attained to what in the world is called character, the axquired character. This is accordingly nothing but the most perfect knowledge possible of our own individuality. It is the abstract, and consequently distinct, knowledge of the unalterable qualities of our own empirical character, and of the measure and direction of our mental and physical powers, and thus of the whole strength and weakness of our own individuality. /This places us in a position to carry out deliberately and methodically the rdle which belongs to our own person, and to fill up the gaps which caprices or weaknesses
p. 394
THE WORLD WILL.
BK. IV.
produce in it, under the guidance of fixed conceptions. This r61e is in itself unchangeably determined once for all, but hitherto we have allowed it to follow its natural course without any rule.
We have now brought to distinct conscious maxims which are always present to us the form of conduct which is necessarily determined by our own individual nature, and now we conduct it in accordance with them as deliberately as if we had learned it ; without ever falling into error through the passing influence of the mood or the impression of the present, without being checked by the bitterness or sweetness of some particular thing we meet with on our path, without delay, without hesitation, without inconsistency.
We shall now no longer, as novices, wait, attempt, and grope about in order to see what we really desire and are able to do, but we know this once for all, And in every choice we have only to apply general principles to particular cases, and arrive at once at a decision.
We know our will in general, and do not allow ourselves to be led by the passing mood or by solicitations from without to resolve in particular cases what is contrary to it as a whole. We know in the same way the nature and the measure of our strength and our weakness, and thereby are spared much suffering.
For we experience no real pleasure except in the use and feeling of our own powers, and the greatest pain is the conscious deficiency of our powers where we need them. If, now, we have discovered where our strength and our'^'akness lie, we will endeavour to cultivate, employ7~and in every way make use of those talents whicb are naturally prominent in us.
W® always turn to those occupations in which they are valuable aii^ to the purpbser~an3“3®tirely avoid, even with selfr^unciation, those pursuits for which we have natura^ little aptitude ; we will beware of attempting that in ^IcH* we have ^o cbance of succeeding. Only he who has attained Ito this will constantly and with
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