quote · Legacy record
To use many words to communicate a few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakably sign of mediocrity. The gather much thought into a few words stamps the man of genius. In schools students gather information, and not always insight. In comparing two great men, injustice can be done to either of them. The impression made by a masterpiece varies with the capacity of mind to understand it. Many books are bad, and should have remained unwritten. The superiority of mind isolates a man. It is only by practicing restraint and self-denial that we can act and talk with other people. The man’s genuine superiority is that of mind and character. Innocence is in its very nature stupid. A man is wise only on condition of living in a world full of fools.
To use many words to communicate a few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakably sign of mediocrity. The gather much thought into a few words stamps the man of genius. In schools students gather information, and not always insight. In comparing two great men, injustice can be done to either of them. The impression made by a masterpiece varies with the capacity of mind to understand it. Many books are bad, and should have remained unwritten. The superiority of mind isolates a man. It is only by practicing restraint and self-denial that we can act and talk with other people. The man’s genuine superiority is that of mind and character. Innocence is in its very nature stupid. A man is wise only on condition of living in a world full of fools.
Approximate author period: c. 1824 AD · industrial
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- Author or tradition
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1824 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1788–1860)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 1043; PDF page 107; printed attribution: Arthur Schopenhauer
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