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In order to read what is good one must make it a condition never to read what is bad; for life is short, and both time and strength limited.
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“In order to read what is good one must make it a condition never to read what is bad; for life is short, and both time and strength limited.”

Arthur Schopenhauer

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Source
Essays of Schopenhauer — On Books and Reading
Date
1851
Meaning

Meaning of “In order to read what is good one…”

Finite time makes selection unavoidable, so choosing worthwhile reading also requires declining material that does not deserve limited attention.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Essay “On Books and Reading”; Schopenhauer connects literary selection directly with limited time and strength.

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DecisionLife Is ShortPresent MomentReadingTimeWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellFocus
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the sum of knowledge for all of us.
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“the sum of knowledge for all of us.”

Thomas Carlyle · Latter-Day Pamphlets · 1850
Meaning & context

Carlyle says understanding the present includes asking what the present situation requires people to do, joining interpretation of one’s time with practical judgment.

Source details

Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. I “The Present Time”; Project Gutenberg #1140. The excerpt completes Carlyle’s sentence about knowing the present time and what it bids people do; the local political context remains essential.

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The art of not reading is highly important.
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“The art of not reading is highly important.”

Arthur Schopenhauer · Essays of Schopenhauer — On Books and Reading · 1851
Meaning & context

Selecting what not to read protects limited attention from being consumed by material that is merely fashionable, noisy, or low-value.

Source details

Essay “On Books and Reading”; the surrounding passage explains selective reading rather than hostility to books generally.

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Realise how much time there is, how long the day is.
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“Realise how much time there is, how long the day is.”

William Osler · A Way of Life · 1913
Meaning & context

The line reframes a day as a substantial block of usable time, encouraging deliberate attention rather than the constant feeling that useful work must be rushed.

Source details

A Way of Life, section IV, printed page 12, London: Constable & Company Ltd. (1913), Project Gutenberg #73116. Osler says “Realise how much time there is, how long the day is” while discussing deliberate control of the mind, study and avoidance of hurry and worry; this collection does not convert the period medical rhetoric into current clinical or productivity guidance.

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Our life is amply long for him who orders it properly.
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“Our life is amply long for him who orders it properly.”

Seneca · On the Shortness of Life · c. 49
Meaning & context

A finite life can still be sufficient when attention is deliberately ordered instead of being scattered across pursuits that do not deserve it.

Source details

On the Shortness of Life, Chapter I; John W. Basore translation, concluding Seneca’s opening comparison between life and wealth under a good guardian.

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