Footnotes1.This chapter is connected with the last half of § 27 of the first volume.2.De Augm. Scient., L. vi. c. 3.3.This chapter is connected with § 23 of the first volume.4.This chapter and the following one are connected with § 28 of the first volume.5.Let me here remark in passing that, judging from the German literature since Kant, one would necessarily believe that Hume's whole wisdom had consisted in his obviously false scepticism with regard to the law of causality, for this alone is everywhere referred to. In order to know Hume one must read his“Natural History of Religion”and his“Dialogues on Natural Religion.”There one sees him in his greatness, and these, together with Essay 21“Of National Characters,”are the writings on account of which—I know of nothing that says more for his fame—even to the present day, he is everywhere hated by the English clergy.6.This chapter is connected with § 29 of the first volume.7.In theSiècle, 10th April 1859, there appears, very beautifully written, the story of a squirrel that was magically drawn by a serpent into its very jaws:“Un voyageur qui vient de parcourir plusieurs provinces de l'ile de Java cite un exemple remarqueable du pouvoir facinateur des serpens. Le voyageur dont il est question commençait à gravir Junjind, un des monts appelés par les Hollandais Pepergebergte. Après avoir pénétré dans une épaisse forêt, il aperçut sur les branches d'un kijatile un écureuil de Java à tête blanche, folâtrant avec la grâce et l'agilité qui distinguent cette charmante espèce de rongeurs. Un nid sphérique, formé de brins flexible et de mousse, placé dans les parties les plus élevées de l'arbre, a l'enfourchure de deux branches, et une cavité dans le tronc, semblaient les points de mire de ses jeux. A peine s'en était-il éloigné qu'il y revenait avec une ardeur extrême. On était dans le mois de Juillet, et probablement l'écureuil avait en haut ses petits, et dans le bas le magasin à fruits. Bientôt il fut comme saisi d'effroi, ces mouvemens devinrent désordonnés, on eut dit qu'il cherchait toujours à mettre un obstacle entre lui et certaines parties de l'arbre: puis il se tapit et resta immobile entre deux branches. Le voyageur eut le sentiment d'un danger pour l'innocente bête, mais il ne pouvait deviner lequel. Il approcha, et un examen attentif lui fit découvrir dans un creux du tronc une couleuvre lieu, dardant ses yeux fixes dans la direction de l'écureuil. Notre voyageur trembla pour le pauvre écureuil. La couleuvre était si attentive à sa proie qu'elle ne semblait nullement remarquer la présence d'un homme. Notre voyageur, qui était armé, aurait donc prevenir en aide à l'infortuné rongeur en tuant le serpent. Mais la science l'emporta sur la pitié, et il voulut voir quelle issue aurait le drame. Le dénoûment fut tragique. L'écureuil ne tarda point à pousser un cri plaintif qui, pour tous ceux qui le connaissent, dénote le voisinage d'un serpent. Il avança un peu, essaya de reculer, revint encore en avant, tâche de retourner en arrière. Mais s'approcha toujours plus du reptile. La couleuvre, roulée en spirale, la tête au dessus des anneaux, et immobile comme un morceau de bois, ne le quittait pas du regard. L'écureuil, de branche en branche, et descendant toujours plus bas, arriva jusqu'à la partie nue du tronc. Alors le pauvre animal ne tenta même plus de fuir le danger. Attiré par une puissance invincible, et comme poussé par le vertige, il se précipita dans la gueule du serpent, qui s'ouvrit tout à coup démesurément pour le recevoir. Autant la couleuvre avait été inerte jusque là autant elle devint active dès qu'elle fut en possession de sa proie. Déroulant ses anneaux et prenant sa course de bas en haut avec une agilité inconcevable, sa reptation la porta en un clin d'œil au sommet de l'arbre, où elle alla sans doute digérer et dormir.”In this example we see what spirit animates nature, for it reveals itself in it, and how very true is the saying of Aristotle quoted above (p. 106). This story is not only important with regard to fascination, but also as an argument for pessimism. That an animal is surprised and attacked by another is bad; still we can console ourselves for that; but that such a poor innocent squirrel sitting beside its nest with its young is compelled, step by step, reluctantly, battling with itself and lamenting, to approach the wide, open jaws of the serpent and consciously throw itself into them is revolting and atrocious. What monstrous kind of nature is this to which we belong!8.“Augustini de civit. Dei,”L. xi. c. 27, deserves to be compared as an interesting commentary on what is said here.9.This chapter is connected with §§ 30-32 of the first volume.10.This chapter is connected with §§ 33-34 of the first volume.11.This chapter is connected with § 36 of the first volume.12.There is nothing else in the world but the vulgar.13.In Medwin's“Conversations of Lord Byron,”p. 333.14.This chapter is connected with the second half of § 36 of the first volume.15.Rgya Tcher Rol Pa, Hist. de Bouddha Chakya Mouni, trad. du Tibétain, p.Foucaux, 1848, p. 91 et 99.16.In German inferiors are sometimes addressed asErinstead ofSie.—Trs.17.This chapter is connected with § 38 of the first volume.18.This chapter is connected with § 49 of the first volume.19.This chapter is connected with § 43 of the first volume.20.This chapter is connected with §§ 44-50 of the first volume.21.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.22.Lichtenberg (“Vermischte Schriften,”new edition, Göttingen, 1884, vol. iii. p. 19) quotes Stanislaus Leszczynski as having said,“La modestie devroit être la vertu de ceux, a qui les autres manquent.”23.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.24.Let me remark in passing that from this opposition of ποιησις and ἱστορια the origin, and also the peculiar significance, of the first word comes out with more than ordinary distinctness; it signifies that which is made, invented, in opposition to what is discovered.25.This chapter is connected with § 52 of the first volume.26.It would be a false objection that sculpture and painting are also merely in space; for their works are connected, not directly, but yet indirectly, with time, for they represent life, movement, action. And it would be just as false to say that poetry, as speech, belongs to time alone: this is also true only indirectly of the words; its matter is all existent, thus spatial.27.This chapter is connected with § 54 of the first volume.28.In gladiatoriis pugnis timidos et supplices, et, ut vivere liceat, obsecrantes etiam odisse solemus; fortes et animosos, et se acriter ipsos morti offerentes servare cupimus(Cic. pro Milone, c. 34).29.The suspension of theanimalfunctions is sleep, that of theorganicfunctions is death.30.There is onlyone present, and this is always: for it is the sole form of actual existence. One must attain to the insight that thepastis notin itselfdifferent from the present, but only in our apprehension, which has time as its form, on account of which alone the present exhibits itself as different from the past. To assist this insight, imagine all the events and scenes of human life, bad and good, fortunate and unfortunate, pleasing and terrible, as they successively present themselves in the course of time and difference of places, in the most checkered multifariousness and variety, asat once and together, and always present in theNunc stans, while it is only apparently that now this and now that is; then what the objectification of the will to live really means will be understood. Our pleasure also ingenrepainting depends principally upon the fact that it fixes the fleeting scenes of life. The dogma of metempsychosis has proceeded from the feeling of the truth which has just been expressed.31.This posthumous essay is to be found in the“Essays on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul”by the late David Hume, Basil, 1799, sold by James Decker. By this reprint at Bâle these two works of one of the greatest thinkers and writers of England were rescued from destruction, when in their own land, in consequence of the stupid and utterly contemptible bigotry which prevailed, they had been suppressed through the influence of a powerful and insolent priesthood, to the lasting shame of England. They are entirely passionless, coldly rational investigations of the two subjects named.32.Death says: Thou art the product of an act which should not have been; therefore to expiate it thou must die.33.Sancara, s. de theologumenis Vedanticorum, ed. F. H. H. Windischmann, p. 37;“Oupnekhat,”vol. i. p. 387etp. 78; Colebrooke's“Miscellaneous Essays,”vol. i. p. 363.34.The etymology of the word Nirvana is variously given. According to Colebrooke (“Transact. of the Royal Asiat. Soc.,”vol. i. p. 566) it comes fromva,“to blow,”like the wind, and the prefixed negativenir, and thus signifies a calm, but as an adjective“extinguished.”Obry, also,Du Nirvana Indien, p. 3, says:“Nirvanam en sanscrit signifie à la lettre extinction, telle que celle d'un feu.”According to the“Asiatic Journal,”vol. xxiv. p. 735, the word is really Neravana, fromnera,“without,”andvana,“life,”and the meaning would beannihilatio. In“Eastern Monachism,”by Spence Hardy, p. 295, Nirvana is derived fromvana,“sinful desires,”with the negativenir. J. J. Schmidt, in his translation of the history of the Eastern Mongolians, says that the Sanscrit word Nirvana is translated into Mongolian by a phrase which signifies“departed from misery,”“escaped from misery.”According to the learned lectures of the same in the St. Petersburg Academy, Nirvana is the opposite of Sanfara, which is the world of constant re-birth, of longings and desires, of illusion of the senses and changing forms, of being born, growing old, becoming sick, and dying. In the Burmese language the word Nirvana, according to the analogy of other Sanscrit words, becomes transformed into Nieban, and is translated by“complete vanishing.”See Sangermano's“Description of the Burmese Empire,”translated by Tandy, Rome, 1833, § 27. In the first edition of 1819 I also wrote Nieban, because we then knew Buddhism only from meagre accounts of the Burmese.35.“Disputatio de corporum habitudine, animæ, hujusque virium indice.”Harderov., 1789, § 9.36.Lichtenberg says in his miscellaneous writings (Göttingen, 1801, vol. ii. p. 447):“In England it was proposed to castrate thieves. The proposal is not bad: the punishment is very severe; it makes persons contemptible, and yet leaves them still fit for trades; and if stealing is hereditary, in this way it is not propagated. Moreover, the courage ceases, and since the sexual passion so frequently leads to thefts, this cause would also disappear. The remark that women would so much the more eagerly restrain their husbands from stealing is roguish, for as things are at present they risk losing them altogether.”37.I have not ventured to express myself distinctly here: the courteous reader must therefore translate the phrase into Aristophanic language.38.The fuller discussion of this subject will be found in the“Parerga,”vol. ii. § 92 of the first edition (second edition, pp. 167-170).39.[The appendix to this chapter was added only in the third edition of the German, and is meant to explain, in consistency with Schopenhauer's general principles, the wide prevalence of the practice of pederasty, among different nations and in different ages. It is omitted.—Trs.]40.This chapter is connected with § 60 of the first volume.41.This chapter is connected with §§ 56-59 of the first volume. Also chapters 11 and 12 of the second volume of the“Parerga and Paralipomena”should be compared with it.42.All that we lay hold of resists us because it has its own will, which must be overcome.43.This chapter is connected with §§ 55, 62, 67 of the first volume.44.This chapter is connected with § 68 of the first volume. Chapter 14 of the second volume of the Parerga should also be compared with it.45.If, on the contrary, asceticism is admitted, the list of the ultimate motives of human action, given in my prize essay on the foundation of morals, namely: (1) our own good, (2) the ill of others, and (3) the good of others, must be supplemented by a fourth, our own ill; which I merely mention here in passing in the interests of systematic consistency. In the essay referred to this fourth motive had to be passed over in silence, for the question asked was stated in the spirit of the philosophical ethics prevailing in Protestant Europe.46.Cf.F. H. H. Windischmann'sSancara, sive de theologumenis Vedanticorum, pp. 116, 117, 121; and alsoOupnekhat, vol. i. pp. 340, 356, 360.47.Cf.Die beiden Grundprobleme der Ethik, p. 274 (second edition, p. 271).48.If we keep in view the essential immanence of our knowledge and of all knowledge, which arises from the fact that it is a secondary thing which has only appeared for the ends of the will, it then becomes explicable to us that all mystics of all religions ultimately attain to a kind of ecstasy, in which all and every knowledge, with its whole fundamental form, object and subject, entirely ceases, and only in this sphere, which lies beyond all knowledge, do they claim to have reached their highest goal, for they have then attained to the sphere in which there is no longer any subject and object, and consequently no more knowledge, just because there is no more will, the service of which is the sole destiny of knowledge.Now, whoever has comprehended this will no longer regard it as beyond all measure extravagant that Fakirs should sit down, and, contemplating the tip of their nose, seek to banish all thought and perception, and that in many passages of the Upanischads instructions are given to sink oneself, silently and inwardly pronouncing the mysterious Oum, in the depths of one's own being, where subject and object and all knowledge disappear.49.S. Bonaventuræ vita S. Francisci, ch. 8. K. Hase,“Franz von Assisi,”ch. 10.“I cantici di S. Francesco,”editi da Schlosser e Steinle., Francoforto, s.M., 1842.50.Michælis de Molinos manuductio spiritualis; hispanice 1675, italice 1680, latine 1687, gallice in libro non adeo raro, cui titulus: Recueil de diverses pièces concernant le quiétisme, ou Molinos et ses disciples. Amstd., 1688.51.Matt. xix. 11seq.; Luke xx. (1 Thess. iv. 3; 1 John iii. 3); Rev. 35-37; 1 Cor. vii. 1-11 and 25-40, xiv. 4.52.Cf.“Ueber den Willen in der Natur,”second edition, p. 124; third edition, p. 135.53.For example, John xii. 25, 31, xiv. 30, xv. 18, 19, xvi. 33; Col. ii. 20; Eph. ii. 1-3; I John ii. 15-17, iv. 4, 5. On this opportunity one may see how certain Protestant theologians, in their efforts to misinterpret the text of the New Testament in conformity with their rationalistic, optimistic, and unutterably shallow view of life, go so far that they actually falsify this text in their translations. Thus H. A. Schott, in his new version given with the Griesbach text of 1805, has translated the word κοσμος, John xv. 18, 19, byJudœi, 1 John iv. 4, byprofani homines; and Col. ii. 20, στοιχεια του κοσμον byelementa Judaica; while Luther everywhere renders the word honestly and correctly by“Welt”(world).54.Unusquisque tantum juris habet, quantum potentiâ valet(Tract. pol., c. 2 § 8).Fides alicui data tamdiu rata manet, quamdiu ejus, qui fidem dedit, non mutatur voluntas(Ibid., § 12).Uniuscujusque jus potentiâ ejus definetur(Eth.iv.,pr.37,schol.1.) Especially chap. 16 of theTractatus theologico-politicusis the true compendium of the immorality of Spinoza's philosophy.55.[In preparing this Index Frauenstädt'sSchopenhauer-Lexikonhas been freely used.—Trs.]
Footnotes1.This chapter is connected with the last half of § 27 of the first volume.2.De Augm. Scient., L. vi. c. 3.3.This chapter is connected with § 23 of the first volume.4.This chapter and the following one are connected with § 28 of the first volume.5.Let me here remark in passing that, judging from the German literature since Kant, one would necessarily believe that Hume's whole wisdom had consisted in his obviously false scepticism with regard to the law of causality, for this alone is everywhere referred to. In order to know Hume one must read his“Natural History of Religion”and his“Dialogues on Natural Religion.”There one sees him in his greatness, and these, together with Essay 21“Of National Characters,”are the writings on account of which—I know of nothing that says more for his fame—even to the present day, he is everywhere hated by the English clergy.6.This chapter is connected with § 29 of the first volume.7.In theSiècle, 10th April 1859, there appears, very beautifully written, the story of a squirrel that was magically drawn by a serpent into its very jaws:“Un voyageur qui vient de parcourir plusieurs provinces de l'ile de Java cite un exemple remarqueable du pouvoir facinateur des serpens. Le voyageur dont il est question commençait à gravir Junjind, un des monts appelés par les Hollandais Pepergebergte. Après avoir pénétré dans une épaisse forêt, il aperçut sur les branches d'un kijatile un écureuil de Java à tête blanche, folâtrant avec la grâce et l'agilité qui distinguent cette charmante espèce de rongeurs. Un nid sphérique, formé de brins flexible et de mousse, placé dans les parties les plus élevées de l'arbre, a l'enfourchure de deux branches, et une cavité dans le tronc, semblaient les points de mire de ses jeux. A peine s'en était-il éloigné qu'il y revenait avec une ardeur extrême. On était dans le mois de Juillet, et probablement l'écureuil avait en haut ses petits, et dans le bas le magasin à fruits. Bientôt il fut comme saisi d'effroi, ces mouvemens devinrent désordonnés, on eut dit qu'il cherchait toujours à mettre un obstacle entre lui et certaines parties de l'arbre: puis il se tapit et resta immobile entre deux branches. Le voyageur eut le sentiment d'un danger pour l'innocente bête, mais il ne pouvait deviner lequel. Il approcha, et un examen attentif lui fit découvrir dans un creux du tronc une couleuvre lieu, dardant ses yeux fixes dans la direction de l'écureuil. Notre voyageur trembla pour le pauvre écureuil. La couleuvre était si attentive à sa proie qu'elle ne semblait nullement remarquer la présence d'un homme. Notre voyageur, qui était armé, aurait donc prevenir en aide à l'infortuné rongeur en tuant le serpent. Mais la science l'emporta sur la pitié, et il voulut voir quelle issue aurait le drame. Le dénoûment fut tragique. L'écureuil ne tarda point à pousser un cri plaintif qui, pour tous ceux qui le connaissent, dénote le voisinage d'un serpent. Il avança un peu, essaya de reculer, revint encore en avant, tâche de retourner en arrière. Mais s'approcha toujours plus du reptile. La couleuvre, roulée en spirale, la tête au dessus des anneaux, et immobile comme un morceau de bois, ne le quittait pas du regard. L'écureuil, de branche en branche, et descendant toujours plus bas, arriva jusqu'à la partie nue du tronc. Alors le pauvre animal ne tenta même plus de fuir le danger. Attiré par une puissance invincible, et comme poussé par le vertige, il se précipita dans la gueule du serpent, qui s'ouvrit tout à coup démesurément pour le recevoir. Autant la couleuvre avait été inerte jusque là autant elle devint active dès qu'elle fut en possession de sa proie. Déroulant ses anneaux et prenant sa course de bas en haut avec une agilité inconcevable, sa reptation la porta en un clin d'œil au sommet de l'arbre, où elle alla sans doute digérer et dormir.”In this example we see what spirit animates nature, for it reveals itself in it, and how very true is the saying of Aristotle quoted above (p. 106). This story is not only important with regard to fascination, but also as an argument for pessimism. That an animal is surprised and attacked by another is bad; still we can console ourselves for that; but that such a poor innocent squirrel sitting beside its nest with its young is compelled, step by step, reluctantly, battling with itself and lamenting, to approach the wide, open jaws of the serpent and consciously throw itself into them is revolting and atrocious. What monstrous kind of nature is this to which we belong!8.“Augustini de civit. Dei,”L. xi. c. 27, deserves to be compared as an interesting commentary on what is said here.9.This chapter is connected with §§ 30-32 of the first volume.10.This chapter is connected with §§ 33-34 of the first volume.11.This chapter is connected with § 36 of the first volume.12.There is nothing else in the world but the vulgar.13.In Medwin's“Conversations of Lord Byron,”p. 333.14.This chapter is connected with the second half of § 36 of the first volume.15.Rgya Tcher Rol Pa, Hist. de Bouddha Chakya Mouni, trad. du Tibétain, p.Foucaux, 1848, p. 91 et 99.16.In German inferiors are sometimes addressed asErinstead ofSie.—Trs.17.This chapter is connected with § 38 of the first volume.18.This chapter is connected with § 49 of the first volume.19.This chapter is connected with § 43 of the first volume.20.This chapter is connected with §§ 44-50 of the first volume.21.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.22.Lichtenberg (“Vermischte Schriften,”new edition, Göttingen, 1884, vol. iii. p. 19) quotes Stanislaus Leszczynski as having said,“La modestie devroit être la vertu de ceux, a qui les autres manquent.”23.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.24.Let me remark in passing that from this opposition of ποιησις and ἱστορια the origin, and also the peculiar significance, of the first word comes out with more than ordinary distinctness; it signifies that which is made, invented, in opposition to what is discovered.25.This chapter is connected with § 52 of the first volume.26.It would be a false objection that sculpture and painting are also merely in space; for their works are connected, not directly, but yet indirectly, with time, for they represent life, movement, action. And it would be just as false to say that poetry, as speech, belongs to time alone: this is also true only indirectly of the words; its matter is all existent, thus spatial.27.This chapter is connected with § 54 of the first volume.28.In gladiatoriis pugnis timidos et supplices, et, ut vivere liceat, obsecrantes etiam odisse solemus; fortes et animosos, et se acriter ipsos morti offerentes servare cupimus(Cic. pro Milone, c. 34).29.The suspension of theanimalfunctions is sleep, that of theorganicfunctions is death.30.There is onlyone present, and this is always: for it is the sole form of actual existence. One must attain to the insight that thepastis notin itselfdifferent from the present, but only in our apprehension, which has time as its form, on account of which alone the present exhibits itself as different from the past. To assist this insight, imagine all the events and scenes of human life, bad and good, fortunate and unfortunate, pleasing and terrible, as they successively present themselves in the course of time and difference of places, in the most checkered multifariousness and variety, asat once and together, and always present in theNunc stans, while it is only apparently that now this and now that is; then what the objectification of the will to live really means will be understood. Our pleasure also ingenrepainting depends principally upon the fact that it fixes the fleeting scenes of life. The dogma of metempsychosis has proceeded from the feeling of the truth which has just been expressed.31.This posthumous essay is to be found in the“Essays on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul”by the late David Hume, Basil, 1799, sold by James Decker. By this reprint at Bâle these two works of one of the greatest thinkers and writers of England were rescued from destruction, when in their own land, in consequence of the stupid and utterly contemptible bigotry which prevailed, they had been suppressed through the influence of a powerful and insolent priesthood, to the lasting shame of England. They are entirely passionless, coldly rational investigations of the two subjects named.32.Death says: Thou art the product of an act which should not have been; therefore to expiate it thou must die.33.Sancara, s. de theologumenis Vedanticorum, ed. F. H. H. Windischmann, p. 37;“Oupnekhat,”vol. i. p. 387etp. 78; Colebrooke's“Miscellaneous Essays,”vol. i. p. 363.34.The etymology of the word Nirvana is variously given. According to Colebrooke (“Transact. of the Royal Asiat. Soc.,”vol. i. p. 566) it comes fromva,“to blow,”like the wind, and the prefixed negativenir, and thus signifies a calm, but as an adjective“extinguished.”Obry, also,Du Nirvana Indien, p. 3, says:“Nirvanam en sanscrit signifie à la lettre extinction, telle que celle d'un feu.”According to the“Asiatic Journal,”vol. xxiv. p. 735, the word is really Neravana, fromnera,“without,”andvana,“life,”and the meaning would beannihilatio. In“Eastern Monachism,”by Spence Hardy, p. 295, Nirvana is derived fromvana,“sinful desires,”with the negativenir. J. J. Schmidt, in his translation of the history of the Eastern Mongolians, says that the Sanscrit word Nirvana is translated into Mongolian by a phrase which signifies“departed from misery,”“escaped from misery.”According to the learned lectures of the same in the St. Petersburg Academy, Nirvana is the opposite of Sanfara, which is the world of constant re-birth, of longings and desires, of illusion of the senses and changing forms, of being born, growing old, becoming sick, and dying. In the Burmese language the word Nirvana, according to the analogy of other Sanscrit words, becomes transformed into Nieban, and is translated by“complete vanishing.”See Sangermano's“Description of the Burmese Empire,”translated by Tandy, Rome, 1833, § 27. In the first edition of 1819 I also wrote Nieban, because we then knew Buddhism only from meagre accounts of the Burmese.35.“Disputatio de corporum habitudine, animæ, hujusque virium indice.”Harderov., 1789, § 9.36.Lichtenberg says in his miscellaneous writings (Göttingen, 1801, vol. ii. p. 447):“In England it was proposed to castrate thieves. The proposal is not bad: the punishment is very severe; it makes persons contemptible, and yet leaves them still fit for trades; and if stealing is hereditary, in this way it is not propagated. Moreover, the courage ceases, and since the sexual passion so frequently leads to thefts, this cause would also disappear. The remark that women would so much the more eagerly restrain their husbands from stealing is roguish, for as things are at present they risk losing them altogether.”37.I have not ventured to express myself distinctly here: the courteous reader must therefore translate the phrase into Aristophanic language.38.The fuller discussion of this subject will be found in the“Parerga,”vol. ii. § 92 of the first edition (second edition, pp. 167-170).39.[The appendix to this chapter was added only in the third edition of the German, and is meant to explain, in consistency with Schopenhauer's general principles, the wide prevalence of the practice of pederasty, among different nations and in different ages. It is omitted.—Trs.]40.This chapter is connected with § 60 of the first volume.41.This chapter is connected with §§ 56-59 of the first volume. Also chapters 11 and 12 of the second volume of the“Parerga and Paralipomena”should be compared with it.42.All that we lay hold of resists us because it has its own will, which must be overcome.43.This chapter is connected with §§ 55, 62, 67 of the first volume.44.This chapter is connected with § 68 of the first volume. Chapter 14 of the second volume of the Parerga should also be compared with it.45.If, on the contrary, asceticism is admitted, the list of the ultimate motives of human action, given in my prize essay on the foundation of morals, namely: (1) our own good, (2) the ill of others, and (3) the good of others, must be supplemented by a fourth, our own ill; which I merely mention here in passing in the interests of systematic consistency. In the essay referred to this fourth motive had to be passed over in silence, for the question asked was stated in the spirit of the philosophical ethics prevailing in Protestant Europe.46.Cf.F. H. H. Windischmann'sSancara, sive de theologumenis Vedanticorum, pp. 116, 117, 121; and alsoOupnekhat, vol. i. pp. 340, 356, 360.47.Cf.Die beiden Grundprobleme der Ethik, p. 274 (second edition, p. 271).48.If we keep in view the essential immanence of our knowledge and of all knowledge, which arises from the fact that it is a secondary thing which has only appeared for the ends of the will, it then becomes explicable to us that all mystics of all religions ultimately attain to a kind of ecstasy, in which all and every knowledge, with its whole fundamental form, object and subject, entirely ceases, and only in this sphere, which lies beyond all knowledge, do they claim to have reached their highest goal, for they have then attained to the sphere in which there is no longer any subject and object, and consequently no more knowledge, just because there is no more will, the service of which is the sole destiny of knowledge.Now, whoever has comprehended this will no longer regard it as beyond all measure extravagant that Fakirs should sit down, and, contemplating the tip of their nose, seek to banish all thought and perception, and that in many passages of the Upanischads instructions are given to sink oneself, silently and inwardly pronouncing the mysterious Oum, in the depths of one's own being, where subject and object and all knowledge disappear.49.S. Bonaventuræ vita S. Francisci, ch. 8. K. Hase,“Franz von Assisi,”ch. 10.“I cantici di S. Francesco,”editi da Schlosser e Steinle., Francoforto, s.M., 1842.50.Michælis de Molinos manuductio spiritualis; hispanice 1675, italice 1680, latine 1687, gallice in libro non adeo raro, cui titulus: Recueil de diverses pièces concernant le quiétisme, ou Molinos et ses disciples. Amstd., 1688.51.Matt. xix. 11seq.; Luke xx. (1 Thess. iv. 3; 1 John iii. 3); Rev. 35-37; 1 Cor. vii. 1-11 and 25-40, xiv. 4.52.Cf.“Ueber den Willen in der Natur,”second edition, p. 124; third edition, p. 135.53.For example, John xii. 25, 31, xiv. 30, xv. 18, 19, xvi. 33; Col. ii. 20; Eph. ii. 1-3; I John ii. 15-17, iv. 4, 5. On this opportunity one may see how certain Protestant theologians, in their efforts to misinterpret the text of the New Testament in conformity with their rationalistic, optimistic, and unutterably shallow view of life, go so far that they actually falsify this text in their translations. Thus H. A. Schott, in his new version given with the Griesbach text of 1805, has translated the word κοσμος, John xv. 18, 19, byJudœi, 1 John iv. 4, byprofani homines; and Col. ii. 20, στοιχεια του κοσμον byelementa Judaica; while Luther everywhere renders the word honestly and correctly by“Welt”(world).54.Unusquisque tantum juris habet, quantum potentiâ valet(Tract. pol., c. 2 § 8).Fides alicui data tamdiu rata manet, quamdiu ejus, qui fidem dedit, non mutatur voluntas(Ibid., § 12).Uniuscujusque jus potentiâ ejus definetur(Eth.iv.,pr.37,schol.1.) Especially chap. 16 of theTractatus theologico-politicusis the true compendium of the immorality of Spinoza's philosophy.55.[In preparing this Index Frauenstädt'sSchopenhauer-Lexikonhas been freely used.—Trs.]
Footnotes1.This chapter is connected with the last half of § 27 of the first volume.2.De Augm. Scient., L. vi. c. 3.3.This chapter is connected with § 23 of the first volume.4.This chapter and the following one are connected with § 28 of the first volume.5.Let me here remark in passing that, judging from the German literature since Kant, one would necessarily believe that Hume's whole wisdom had consisted in his obviously false scepticism with regard to the law of causality, for this alone is everywhere referred to. In order to know Hume one must read his“Natural History of Religion”and his“Dialogues on Natural Religion.”There one sees him in his greatness, and these, together with Essay 21“Of National Characters,”are the writings on account of which—I know of nothing that says more for his fame—even to the present day, he is everywhere hated by the English clergy.6.This chapter is connected with § 29 of the first volume.7.In theSiècle, 10th April 1859, there appears, very beautifully written, the story of a squirrel that was magically drawn by a serpent into its very jaws:“Un voyageur qui vient de parcourir plusieurs provinces de l'ile de Java cite un exemple remarqueable du pouvoir facinateur des serpens. Le voyageur dont il est question commençait à gravir Junjind, un des monts appelés par les Hollandais Pepergebergte. Après avoir pénétré dans une épaisse forêt, il aperçut sur les branches d'un kijatile un écureuil de Java à tête blanche, folâtrant avec la grâce et l'agilité qui distinguent cette charmante espèce de rongeurs. Un nid sphérique, formé de brins flexible et de mousse, placé dans les parties les plus élevées de l'arbre, a l'enfourchure de deux branches, et une cavité dans le tronc, semblaient les points de mire de ses jeux. A peine s'en était-il éloigné qu'il y revenait avec une ardeur extrême. On était dans le mois de Juillet, et probablement l'écureuil avait en haut ses petits, et dans le bas le magasin à fruits. Bientôt il fut comme saisi d'effroi, ces mouvemens devinrent désordonnés, on eut dit qu'il cherchait toujours à mettre un obstacle entre lui et certaines parties de l'arbre: puis il se tapit et resta immobile entre deux branches. Le voyageur eut le sentiment d'un danger pour l'innocente bête, mais il ne pouvait deviner lequel. Il approcha, et un examen attentif lui fit découvrir dans un creux du tronc une couleuvre lieu, dardant ses yeux fixes dans la direction de l'écureuil. Notre voyageur trembla pour le pauvre écureuil. La couleuvre était si attentive à sa proie qu'elle ne semblait nullement remarquer la présence d'un homme. Notre voyageur, qui était armé, aurait donc prevenir en aide à l'infortuné rongeur en tuant le serpent. Mais la science l'emporta sur la pitié, et il voulut voir quelle issue aurait le drame. Le dénoûment fut tragique. L'écureuil ne tarda point à pousser un cri plaintif qui, pour tous ceux qui le connaissent, dénote le voisinage d'un serpent. Il avança un peu, essaya de reculer, revint encore en avant, tâche de retourner en arrière. Mais s'approcha toujours plus du reptile. La couleuvre, roulée en spirale, la tête au dessus des anneaux, et immobile comme un morceau de bois, ne le quittait pas du regard. L'écureuil, de branche en branche, et descendant toujours plus bas, arriva jusqu'à la partie nue du tronc. Alors le pauvre animal ne tenta même plus de fuir le danger. Attiré par une puissance invincible, et comme poussé par le vertige, il se précipita dans la gueule du serpent, qui s'ouvrit tout à coup démesurément pour le recevoir. Autant la couleuvre avait été inerte jusque là autant elle devint active dès qu'elle fut en possession de sa proie. Déroulant ses anneaux et prenant sa course de bas en haut avec une agilité inconcevable, sa reptation la porta en un clin d'œil au sommet de l'arbre, où elle alla sans doute digérer et dormir.”In this example we see what spirit animates nature, for it reveals itself in it, and how very true is the saying of Aristotle quoted above (p. 106). This story is not only important with regard to fascination, but also as an argument for pessimism. That an animal is surprised and attacked by another is bad; still we can console ourselves for that; but that such a poor innocent squirrel sitting beside its nest with its young is compelled, step by step, reluctantly, battling with itself and lamenting, to approach the wide, open jaws of the serpent and consciously throw itself into them is revolting and atrocious. What monstrous kind of nature is this to which we belong!8.“Augustini de civit. Dei,”L. xi. c. 27, deserves to be compared as an interesting commentary on what is said here.9.This chapter is connected with §§ 30-32 of the first volume.10.This chapter is connected with §§ 33-34 of the first volume.11.This chapter is connected with § 36 of the first volume.12.There is nothing else in the world but the vulgar.13.In Medwin's“Conversations of Lord Byron,”p. 333.14.This chapter is connected with the second half of § 36 of the first volume.15.Rgya Tcher Rol Pa, Hist. de Bouddha Chakya Mouni, trad. du Tibétain, p.Foucaux, 1848, p. 91 et 99.16.In German inferiors are sometimes addressed asErinstead ofSie.—Trs.17.This chapter is connected with § 38 of the first volume.18.This chapter is connected with § 49 of the first volume.19.This chapter is connected with § 43 of the first volume.20.This chapter is connected with §§ 44-50 of the first volume.21.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.22.Lichtenberg (“Vermischte Schriften,”new edition, Göttingen, 1884, vol. iii. p. 19) quotes Stanislaus Leszczynski as having said,“La modestie devroit être la vertu de ceux, a qui les autres manquent.”23.This chapter is connected with § 51 of the first volume.24.Let me remark in passing that from this opposition of ποιησις and ἱστορια the origin, and also the peculiar significance, of the first word comes out with more than ordinary distinctness; it signifies that which is made, invented, in opposition to what is discovered.25.This chapter is connected with § 52 of the first volume.26.It would be a false objection that sculpture and painting are also merely in space; for their works are connected, not directly, but yet indirectly, with time, for they represent life, movement, action. And it would be just as false to say that poetry, as speech, belongs to time alone: this is also true only indirectly of the words; its matter is all existent, thus spatial.27.This chapter is connected with § 54 of the first volume.28.In gladiatoriis pugnis timidos et supplices, et, ut vivere liceat, obsecrantes etiam odisse solemus; fortes et animosos, et se acriter ipsos morti offerentes servare cupimus(Cic. pro Milone, c. 34).29.The suspension of theanimalfunctions is sleep, that of theorganicfunctions is death.30.There is onlyone present, and this is always: for it is the sole form of actual existence. One must attain to the insight that thepastis notin itselfdifferent from the present, but only in our apprehension, which has time as its form, on account of which alone the present exhibits itself as different from the past. To assist this insight, imagine all the events and scenes of human life, bad and good, fortunate and unfortunate, pleasing and terrible, as they successively present themselves in the course of time and difference of places, in the most checkered multifariousness and variety, asat once and together, and always present in theNunc stans, while it is only apparently that now this and now that is; then what the objectification of the will to live really means will be understood. Our pleasure also ingenrepainting depends principally upon the fact that it fixes the fleeting scenes of life. The dogma of metempsychosis has proceeded from the feeling of the truth which has just been expressed.31.This posthumous essay is to be found in the“Essays on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul”by the late David Hume, Basil, 1799, sold by James Decker. By this reprint at Bâle these two works of one of the greatest thinkers and writers of England were rescued from destruction, when in their own land, in consequence of the stupid and utterly contemptible bigotry which prevailed, they had been suppressed through the influence of a powerful and insolent priesthood, to the lasting shame of England. They are entirely passionless, coldly rational investigations of the two subjects named.32.Death says: Thou art the product of an act which should not have been; therefore to expiate it thou must die.33.Sancara, s. de theologumenis Vedanticorum, ed. F. H. H. Windischmann, p. 37;“Oupnekhat,”vol. i. p. 387etp. 78; Colebrooke's“Miscellaneous Essays,”vol. i. p. 363.34.The etymology of the word Nirvana is variously given. According to Colebrooke (“Transact. of the Royal Asiat. Soc.,”vol. i. p. 566) it comes fromva,“to blow,”like the wind, and the prefixed negativenir, and thus signifies a calm, but as an adjective“extinguished.”Obry, also,Du Nirvana Indien, p. 3, says:“Nirvanam en sanscrit signifie à la lettre extinction, telle que celle d'un feu.”According to the“Asiatic Journal,”vol. xxiv. p. 735, the word is really Neravana, fromnera,“without,”andvana,“life,”and the meaning would beannihilatio. In“Eastern Monachism,”by Spence Hardy, p. 295, Nirvana is derived fromvana,“sinful desires,”with the negativenir. J. J. Schmidt, in his translation of the history of the Eastern Mongolians, says that the Sanscrit word Nirvana is translated into Mongolian by a phrase which signifies“departed from misery,”“escaped from misery.”According to the learned lectures of the same in the St. Petersburg Academy, Nirvana is the opposite of Sanfara, which is the world of constant re-birth, of longings and desires, of illusion of the senses and changing forms, of being born, growing old, becoming sick, and dying. In the Burmese language the word Nirvana, according to the analogy of other Sanscrit words, becomes transformed into Nieban, and is translated by“complete vanishing.”See Sangermano's“Description of the Burmese Empire,”translated by Tandy, Rome, 1833, § 27. In the first edition of 1819 I also wrote Nieban, because we then knew Buddhism only from meagre accounts of the Burmese.35.“Disputatio de corporum habitudine, animæ, hujusque virium indice.”Harderov., 1789, § 9.36.Lichtenberg says in his miscellaneous writings (Göttingen, 1801, vol. ii. p. 447):“In England it was proposed to castrate thieves. The proposal is not bad: the punishment is very severe; it makes persons contemptible, and yet leaves them still fit for trades; and if stealing is hereditary, in this way it is not propagated. Moreover, the courage ceases, and since the sexual passion so frequently leads to thefts, this cause would also disappear. The remark that women would so much the more eagerly restrain their husbands from stealing is roguish, for as things are at present they risk losing them altogether.”37.I have not ventured to express myself distinctly here: the courteous reader must therefore translate the phrase into Aristophanic language.38.The fuller discussion of this subject will be found in the“Parerga,”vol. ii. § 92 of the first edition (second edition, pp. 167-170).39.[The appendix to this chapter was added only in the third edition of the German, and is meant to explain, in consistency with Schopenhauer's general principles, the wide prevalence of the practice of pederasty, among different nations and in different ages. It is omitted.—Trs.]40.This chapter is connected with § 60 of the first volume.41.This chapter is connected with §§ 56-59 of the first volume. Also chapters 11 and 12 of the second volume of the“Parerga and Paralipomena”should be compared with it.42.All that we lay hold of resists us because it has its own will, which must be overcome.43.This chapter is connected with §§ 55, 62, 67 of the first volume.44.This chapter is connected with § 68 of the first volume. Chapter 14 of the second volume of the Parerga should also be compared with it.45.If, on the contrary, asceticism is admitted, the list of the ultimate motives of human action, given in my prize essay on the foundation of morals, namely: (1) our own good, (2) the ill of others, and (3) the good of others, must be supplemented by a fourth, our own ill; which I merely mention here in passing in the interests of systematic consistency. In the essay referred to this fourth motive had to be passed over in silence, for the question asked was stated in the spirit of the philosophical ethics prevailing in Protestant Europe.46.Cf.F. H. H. Windischmann'sSancara, sive de theologumenis Vedanticorum, pp. 116, 117, 121; and alsoOupnekhat, vol. i. pp. 340, 356, 360.47.Cf.Die beiden Grundprobleme der Ethik, p. 274 (second edition, p. 271).48.If we keep in view the essential immanence of our knowledge and of all knowledge, which arises from the fact that it is a secondary thing which has only appeared for the ends of the will, it then becomes explicable to us that all mystics of all religions ultimately attain to a kind of ecstasy, in which all and every knowledge, with its whole fundamental form, object and subject, entirely ceases, and only in this sphere, which lies beyond all knowledge, do they claim to have reached their highest goal, for they have then attained to the sphere in which there is no longer any subject and object, and consequently no more knowledge, just because there is no more will, the service of which is the sole destiny of knowledge.Now, whoever has comprehended this will no longer regard it as beyond all measure extravagant that Fakirs should sit down, and, contemplating the tip of their nose, seek to banish all thought and perception, and that in many passages of the Upanischads instructions are given to sink oneself, silently and inwardly pronouncing the mysterious Oum, in the depths of one's own being, where subject and object and all knowledge disappear.49.S. Bonaventuræ vita S. Francisci, ch. 8. K. Hase,“Franz von Assisi,”ch. 10.“I cantici di S. Francesco,”editi da Schlosser e Steinle., Francoforto, s.M., 1842.50.Michælis de Molinos manuductio spiritualis; hispanice 1675, italice 1680, latine 1687, gallice in libro non adeo raro, cui titulus: Recueil de diverses pièces concernant le quiétisme, ou Molinos et ses disciples. Amstd., 1688.51.Matt. xix. 11seq.; Luke xx. (1 Thess. iv. 3; 1 John iii. 3); Rev. 35-37; 1 Cor. vii. 1-11 and 25-40, xiv. 4.52.Cf.“Ueber den Willen in der Natur,”second edition, p. 124; third edition, p. 135.53.For example, John xii. 25, 31, xiv. 30, xv. 18, 19, xvi. 33; Col. ii. 20; Eph. ii. 1-3; I John ii. 15-17, iv. 4, 5. On this opportunity one may see how certain Protestant theologians, in their efforts to misinterpret the text of the New Testament in conformity with their rationalistic, optimistic, and unutterably shallow view of life, go so far that they actually falsify this text in their translations. Thus H. A. Schott, in his new version given with the Griesbach text of 1805, has translated the word κοσμος, John xv. 18, 19, byJudœi, 1 John iv. 4, byprofani homines; and Col. ii. 20, στοιχεια του κοσμον byelementa Judaica; while Luther everywhere renders the word honestly and correctly by“Welt”(world).54.Unusquisque tantum juris habet, quantum potentiâ valet(Tract. pol., c. 2 § 8).Fides alicui data tamdiu rata manet, quamdiu ejus, qui fidem dedit, non mutatur voluntas(Ibid., § 12).Uniuscujusque jus potentiâ ejus definetur(Eth.iv.,pr.37,schol.1.) Especially chap. 16 of theTractatus theologico-politicusis the true compendium of the immorality of Spinoza's philosophy.55.[In preparing this Index Frauenstädt'sSchopenhauer-Lexikonhas been freely used.—Trs.]
In theSiècle, 10th April 1859, there appears, very beautifully written, the story of a squirrel that was magically drawn by a serpent into its very jaws:“Un voyageur qui vient de parcourir plusieurs provinces de l'ile de Java cite un exemple remarqueable du pouvoir facinateur des serpens. Le voyageur dont il est question commençait à gravir Junjind, un des monts appelés par les Hollandais Pepergebergte. Après avoir pénétré dans une épaisse forêt, il aperçut sur les branches d'un kijatile un écureuil de Java à tête blanche, folâtrant avec la grâce et l'agilité qui distinguent cette charmante espèce de rongeurs. Un nid sphérique, formé de brins flexible et de mousse, placé dans les parties les plus élevées de l'arbre, a l'enfourchure de deux branches, et une cavité dans le tronc, semblaient les points de mire de ses jeux. A peine s'en était-il éloigné qu'il y revenait avec une ardeur extrême. On était dans le mois de Juillet, et probablement l'écureuil avait en haut ses petits, et dans le bas le magasin à fruits. Bientôt il fut comme saisi d'effroi, ces mouvemens devinrent désordonnés, on eut dit qu'il cherchait toujours à mettre un obstacle entre lui et certaines parties de l'arbre: puis il se tapit et resta immobile entre deux branches. Le voyageur eut le sentiment d'un danger pour l'innocente bête, mais il ne pouvait deviner lequel. Il approcha, et un examen attentif lui fit découvrir dans un creux du tronc une couleuvre lieu, dardant ses yeux fixes dans la direction de l'écureuil. Notre voyageur trembla pour le pauvre écureuil. La couleuvre était si attentive à sa proie qu'elle ne semblait nullement remarquer la présence d'un homme. Notre voyageur, qui était armé, aurait donc prevenir en aide à l'infortuné rongeur en tuant le serpent. Mais la science l'emporta sur la pitié, et il voulut voir quelle issue aurait le drame. Le dénoûment fut tragique. L'écureuil ne tarda point à pousser un cri plaintif qui, pour tous ceux qui le connaissent, dénote le voisinage d'un serpent. Il avança un peu, essaya de reculer, revint encore en avant, tâche de retourner en arrière. Mais s'approcha toujours plus du reptile. La couleuvre, roulée en spirale, la tête au dessus des anneaux, et immobile comme un morceau de bois, ne le quittait pas du regard. L'écureuil, de branche en branche, et descendant toujours plus bas, arriva jusqu'à la partie nue du tronc. Alors le pauvre animal ne tenta même plus de fuir le danger. Attiré par une puissance invincible, et comme poussé par le vertige, il se précipita dans la gueule du serpent, qui s'ouvrit tout à coup démesurément pour le recevoir. Autant la couleuvre avait été inerte jusque là autant elle devint active dès qu'elle fut en possession de sa proie. Déroulant ses anneaux et prenant sa course de bas en haut avec une agilité inconcevable, sa reptation la porta en un clin d'œil au sommet de l'arbre, où elle alla sans doute digérer et dormir.”
In this example we see what spirit animates nature, for it reveals itself in it, and how very true is the saying of Aristotle quoted above (p. 106). This story is not only important with regard to fascination, but also as an argument for pessimism. That an animal is surprised and attacked by another is bad; still we can console ourselves for that; but that such a poor innocent squirrel sitting beside its nest with its young is compelled, step by step, reluctantly, battling with itself and lamenting, to approach the wide, open jaws of the serpent and consciously throw itself into them is revolting and atrocious. What monstrous kind of nature is this to which we belong!
If we keep in view the essential immanence of our knowledge and of all knowledge, which arises from the fact that it is a secondary thing which has only appeared for the ends of the will, it then becomes explicable to us that all mystics of all religions ultimately attain to a kind of ecstasy, in which all and every knowledge, with its whole fundamental form, object and subject, entirely ceases, and only in this sphere, which lies beyond all knowledge, do they claim to have reached their highest goal, for they have then attained to the sphere in which there is no longer any subject and object, and consequently no more knowledge, just because there is no more will, the service of which is the sole destiny of knowledge.
Now, whoever has comprehended this will no longer regard it as beyond all measure extravagant that Fakirs should sit down, and, contemplating the tip of their nose, seek to banish all thought and perception, and that in many passages of the Upanischads instructions are given to sink oneself, silently and inwardly pronouncing the mysterious Oum, in the depths of one's own being, where subject and object and all knowledge disappear.