Absurdity and perversity remain the masters of the world

 Arthur Schopenhauer (1815), portrait by Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl

Arthur Schopenhauer
Quotes

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.  
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.
The wise have always said the same things, and fools, who are the majority have always done just the opposite.
The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.

Treat a work of art like a prince. Let it speak to you first.
The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him.
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.
In the sphere of thought, absurdity and perversity remain the masters of the world, and their dominion is suspended only for brief periods.
Nature shows that with the growth of intelligence comes increased capacity for pain, and it is only with the highest degree of intelligence that suffering reaches its supreme point.