The World as Will and Idea, Vol. I — Arthur Schopenhauer, trans. Haldane & Kemp

* At the procession of Jagganath were instantly killed. (Letter of an in June 1840, eleven Hindus threw East Indian proprietor in the Timu themselves under the wheels, and of 30th December 1840.)

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iirely. And as an Indian .counterpart of this, we find in the precepts of Fo that the Saniassi, who ought to be without a dwelling and entirely without property, is further fina^^eryo^^d^^n^’^I^TayTnmsStt down often under ffie same tree, lest he should acquire a preference 3r inclinati<^ for~It~~aBove other treesT The Christian mystic and the teachfiiu)LJiiiIYidmita..Khilosophy a^^ in this respect also, they both regard all outward works ind religious exercises as superfluous lor Kim wKb'’‘Tia3 attained to~ 'perfection.' " Kd'ThucTr'a^ement in the^se of such different liges and natioM~is^ practical proof that what is expresse3~Tiere is not, as optimistic dulness likes to assert. an'^ccentnclty"~and~~perver8ity~df the mind, but an essential side of KumatT nature7~^icE only .app^ars so rarely because of its excellence.

I have now indicated the sources from which there may be obtained a direct knowledge, drawn from life itself, of the phenomena m which the denial oTtEe wnTto [ivT exHibits itself. In some respects this is the most important point of ou^ whole work; yet I have only ex^ined it quite generally, for it is better to refer to those who speak from direct experience, than to increase the size of this book unduly by weak repetitions of what is said by them.

I only wish to add a little to the general indication of the nature of this state. We saw above that the wicked man, by the vehemence of his volition, suffers constant, consuming, inward pain, and finally, if all objects of volition are exhausted, quenches the fiery thirst of his selfwill by the sight of the suflfering of others. He, on the contrary, who has attained to the denial of the will tc live, however poor, joyless, and full of privation his condition may appear when looked at externally, is yet filled with inward joy and the true peace of heaven. isjiot the restless stramToF life, the juKiIant delight which has keen suffering as its preceding or succeeding conditio^ m the experience of the man who loves life j^ut^JB a

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THE WORLD ^45 WILL.

BK. IV.

peace that; nannnh ha a deep rest and inward serenity, a state which we cannot behold without the greatest longing when it is brought before our eyes or our imagination, because we at once recognise it as that which alone is right, infinitely surpassing~everything else. upon whicETour better self cries within us the preat jgpm Then we^ feel that every gratification of our wishes won from the world is merely iike^e~~al5i3 which the beggar receiiy.eg.frQnL. life to-day that he may hunger again on the morrow; resignation,,_on_iyjie conS~^.i^~^^n]K^e3f"estate, it frees the owner for ever_fopm_^„CaEfiw

It will be remembered from the Third Book that the aestheSc Measure in the beautiful consists in great measure in the fact that in entering the state of pure contemplation we are lifted for the mbiheht ^oye~Sl wiliihg,Xc., all wishes and cares; we become, as it were, freed from ourseives,„ We are no longer the individual whose knowledge is subordinated to the service of its constant willing, “the correlative bf~£he particular thing" lb' wln^ pbjects are rngtiyes, but the eternal subjeat of knowing purified from will, the correlative of the Platonic Idea And we know that these momenta in which, delivered from the ardent strain of will, we seem to rise out of the heayx atmosphere of_ earth, are the, happiest which we experience. Prom this we can understand how bless^ the^life of "a^an.jimst .be whose. will is silenced, not merely for a moment, as in the enjoyment oFthe beautiful, but for ever, indeed altogether extinguished, except as regards the last glimmering spark that retains the body in life, and will be extinguished with its death. Such a m^, who, after many bitter struggles with his own nature, has finally cong^uered entirely, continues to exist only as a pure^ knowing being, the undimmed mirror of the world. Nothing caSTtroubie him more, nothing can» move him, for he" Has ^ut ail the thousand cords of will which hoTcT^usp. 505 bound to the world, and, as desire, fear, envy, anger, drag^'us h@er a^nl jbitW in constant pain. He now rooRTback smiling and, at rest m the delusions of this world^ which once were able to move and agonise his spirit also, but utterly indifferent to him, as the chess-men when the game is ended, ot as^in _the moniing,^^.t^ masquerading