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Source identified
“Otherwise, a man is the slave of what other people are pleased to think.”

Arthur Schopenhauer

Source
The Wisdom of Life
Date
1851
Attribution
Source identified
English wording
T. Bailey Saunders — Translator · from German
Meaning

What does this quote mean?

Dependence on approval can turn other people’s judgments into a form of control; self-respect requires allowing outside opinion to inform rather than govern one’s sense of worth.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Wisdom of Life; the sentence appears in Schopenhauer’s criticism of giving excessive weight to reputation and social opinion.

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Attribution

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This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.

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