«I would be jealous, because my wife would cheat on
me.»
«Why are you so sure of that?»
«Because I would deserve it.»
«Why is that?»
«Because I would have married.»
He also had sharp words to say about physicians, once
remarking that doctors have two different handwritings: a barely
legible one for prescriptions and a clear and proper one for their
bills.
A writer who visited the fifty–eight–year–old Schopenhauer
at lunch in 1846 described him thus:
Well built...invariably well dressed but an outmoded
cut...medium height with short silvery hair...amused and
exceedingly intelligent blue–flecked eyes...displayed an
introverted and, when he spoke, almost baroque nature,
whereby he daily supplied considerable material to the cheap
satire of...the table company. Thus, this often comically
disgruntled, but in fact harmless and good–naturedly gruff,
table companion became the butt of the jokes of insignificant
men who would regularly—though admittedly not ill–meaningly—make fun of him.
After lunch Schopenhauer habitually took a long walk, often
carrying on an audible monologue or a conversation with his dog
which elicited jeers from children. He spent evenings reading alone
in his rooms, never receiving visitors. There is no evidence of
romantic relationships during his years in Frankfurt, and in 1831,
at the age of forty–three, he wrote in «About Me,” «The risk of
living without work on a small income can be undertaken only in
celibacy.»
He never saw his mother after their break when he was
thirty–one, but twelve years later, in 1813, they began to exchange
a few business–related letters until her death in 1835. Once when
he was ill, his mother wrote a rare personal comment: «Two
months in your room without seeing a single person, that is not
good, my son, and saddens me. A man cannot and should not
isolate himself in that manner.»
Occasional letters passed back and forth between Arthur and
his sister, Adele, in which she again and again tried to move closer
to her brother, all the while offering reassurances that she would
never make demands on him. But he repeatedly backed away.
Adele, who never married, lived in great despair. When he told her
of moving from Berlin to escape cholera, she wrote back that she
would have welcomed getting the cholera which would have put an
end to her misery. But Arthur pulled away even farther, absolutely
refusing to be drawn into her life and her depression. After Arthur
left home, they saw each other only once, in 1840, in a brief and
unsatisfactory meeting, and Adele died nine years later.
Money was a continual source of concern throughout
Schopenhauer`s life. His mother left her small estate to Adele, and
Adele died with virtually no remaining estate. He tried, in vain, to
get a job as a translator, and until the very last years of his life his
books neither sold nor were reviewed by the press.
In short, Arthur lived without any of the comforts or rewards
that his culture held so necessary to equilibrium, even to survival.
How did he do it? What price did he pay? These, as we shall see,
were the secrets he confided to «About Me.»
32
_________________________
The monuments,
the ideas left
behind by
beings like me
are my greatest
pleasure in
life. Without
books I would
long ago have
been in
despair.
_________________________
Julius entered the group room the following week to an odd scene.
The members, sprawled in their seats, were intently studying
Philip`s parable. Stuart had placed his copy on a clipboard and
underlined as he read. Having forgotten his copy, Tony was
reading over Pam`s shoulder.
Rebecca, with a hint of exasperation in her voice, began the
meeting: «I`ve read this with due diligence.» She held up Philip`s
handout, then folded it and put it in her purse. «I`ve given it
enough time, Philip, in fact, too much time, and now I`d like you
to disclose the relevance of this text to me or the group or Julius.»
«I think it would be a richer exercise if the class discussed it
first,” responded Philip.
«Class? That`s what this feels like—a class assignment. Is
this the way you do counseling, Philip? she asked, snapping her
purse shut. «Like a teacher in a classroom? This is not why I`m
here; I came for treatment, not for adult education.»
Philip took no note of Rebecca`s huffiness. «At best there
exists only a vague boundary between education and therapy. The
Greeks—Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicureans—all
believed that education and reason were the tools needed to combat
human suffering. Most philosophical counselors consider
education to be the foundation of therapy. Almost all ascribe to
Leibniz`s mottoCaritas sapientis meaning вЂ?wisdom and care.`”
Philip turned toward Tony. «Leibniz was a German philosopher of
the seventeenth century.»
