Meaning of “All that a man can do is to…”

Purpose gives thought a direction, turning ideas into a standard for choosing and completing useful work.

A clear goal can support self-correction because the learner can compare the result with the intended end and revise without waiting for every error to be externally identified.

The line makes development itself a source of satisfaction: people flourish, in Morris’s account, when their abilities are actively exercised instead of left unused.

Within his restrictive view of personality, Schopenhauer still assigns agency to choosing pursuits that use and develop one’s actual capacities rather than leaving them idle or mismatched.

Learning to write is presented as demanding practice rather than a shortcut: difficulty belongs to the training and does not by itself signal failure.

The comparison values active moral improvement above craving public praise, locating greater life in the direction of one’s striving rather than external applause.