Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“It would be a miserable existence which should make its value or want of value depend upon what other people think.”
- Source
- The Wisdom of Life
- Date
- 1851
- English wording
- T. Bailey Saunders — Translator · from German
Meaning of “It would be a miserable existence which should…”
A life whose value rises and falls with public opinion has no stable center; Schopenhauer argues for locating worth somewhere less volatile than other people’s changing judgments.
Where does it come from?
The Wisdom of Life; Schopenhauer criticizes the habit of measuring the value of one’s existence by reputation or the fluctuating opinions of others.
