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

" According to what has been said, the denial of the will to live, which is just what is called absolute, entire resignation, or holiness, always proceeds from that quieter of the will which the knowledge of its inner conflict and essential vanity, expressing themselves in the suffering of all living things, becomes. The difierepc^ we have represented as two paths, consists in whether that Ivnowledge is called up by suffering wliich is merely and'^pii^ly and is freely appropriated by means of the penetration of the ^riiicipium individuaticniis, or by suffering which is directly^/^ by a niau himself. True salvation, deliverance from life and suffering, cannot wen beHrmagiiied without complej^e denial of t^^^^ , Tfil

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TtiU WOkLt> WILL.

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then, every one ^ simply this will itself, whose manifestation is an ephemeraTexistence^ a constantly vaTnand empty s^^i^'ahTthXworTJ ofsulierihXW'elja.yili^Ws^ to which all irrevocably and in like manner belo^. For we found above that life is always assured to the will to live, and ite one real form is the' present, from' which they can never escape, since birth and deani~’'fer^"Tn the phenomenal world.

The Indian mythus express^ this by saying “ they are born again.

The great ethical difference of character means this, that the bad man is infinitely far from the attainment of the knowledge from which the denial of the will proceeds, and therefore he is in truth actually exposed to all the miseries wl)ich appear in life as possible; for even the present fortunate condition of liis personality is merely a phenomenon produced by the principium individuationis, and a delusion of Mâyft. the happy dream of a beggar.

The sufferings which in the vehemence and” ardour of his will he inflicts upon others are the measure of the suffering, the experience of which in his own person cannot break his will, and plainly lead it to the denial of itself.

All true and pure love, on the other hand, and even all free justice, proceed from the penetration of the. principium individuationis, which, if it appears with its full power, results in perfect sanctification and salvation, the phenomenon of which is the state of resignation described above, the unbroken peace which accompanies it, and the greatest delight in death.*

§ 69. Suicide, the actual doing away with the individual manifestation of will, differs most widely from the denial of the will to live, which is the single outstanding act of free-will in the manifestation, and is therefore, as Asmus calls it, the transcendental change. This last has been fully considered in the course of our work. Far from being denial of the will, suicide is a phenomenon of strong assertion of will ; for the essence of negation lies * Cf, Cli. xlviii. of the Supplement.

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