Résumé
Résumé de Les Essais d’Arthur Schopenhauer : Conseils et maximes
Go deeper: the whole of Les Essais d’Arthur Schopenhauer : Conseils et maximes
About 2 h 50 min to read.À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
Readers who enjoy pointed observations about human behavior will love this book, as will anyone drawn to practical guidance on solitude, friendship, luck and growing older.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Why does a man with a good meal, good company and a bright morning still feel that something is missing? Arthur Schopenhauer answers that the missing thing was never there to be found. In Counsels and Maxims he argues that happiness does not exist as a prize of its own. The wise person aims at a life with as little pain and boredom as possible.
Schopenhauer, a German philosopher who died in 1860, wrote this book late in his career as a loose gathering of practical advice. You get short, sharp sections on solitude, politeness, luck and the ages of life. We begin with the idea that holds the rest together: pain is what we feel, and pleasure is only its absence.
Dans ce résumé
- 1Aim at freedom from pain, not at pleasureFree
- 2Expect little and keep your wishes few
- 3Live in the present and keep worries in separate drawers
- 4Solitude is the safest road to peace of mind
- 5Accept people as they are and be polite
- 6Read friends by small things and by how they take bad news
- 7Luck steers more than skill, so prepare for change
- 8Each age of life has its own mind and its own gifts
Point clé 1 sur 8
Aim at freedom from pain, not at pleasure
Schopenhauer opens with a rule he takes from Aristotle. The wise man does not chase pleasure. He looks for freedom from pain. Pain is the positive thing in life, the thing we actually feel. Pleasure is only the moment when an obstacle is taken away.
Imagine a body that is healthy except for one sore spot. That single spot swallows our attention and spoils our whole sense of well-being. Affairs work the same way. If nine things go as we wish and one goes wrong, we brood on the one and forget the nine.
So to judge a life, he says, count the hardships avoided rather than the moments of pleasure. Life is given to us to get through, not to enjoy. The happiest lot is to close life without great pain. If freedom from boredom is added, the true conditions of earthly happiness are met.
We should never buy pleasure with pain, because that pays with something real for something that is only a shadow. Notice the troubles you have avoided this year, and give them the weight you usually give to your wishes.
Count the evils you avoid, and treat a quiet, tolerable life as the real prize.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Les Essais d’Arthur Schopenhauer : Conseils et maximes
About 2 h 50 min to read.Questions about Les Essais d’Arthur Schopenhauer : Conseils et maximes
What is Counsels and Maxims about?
It is a collection of practical advice on how to live. Schopenhauer covers happiness, solitude, dealing with people, luck, courage and the changes brought by age, always starting from the idea that avoiding pain matters more than chasing pleasure.
What does Schopenhauer mean by happiness being negative?
He means that pain is felt directly, while pleasure is only the absence of pain or the removal of an obstacle. So a good life is measured by evils escaped and not by pleasures enjoyed.
Is Counsels and Maxims part of a larger work?
It is a separate set of reflections on the wisdom of life, written late in Schopenhauer's career. He says in his preface that he does not aim to be complete or systematic, and he arranges the advice under a few headings.
What does Schopenhauer say about solitude?
He holds that being alone is the surest path to peace of mind for people with a rich inner life. He also suggests taking some solitude into company by keeping calm distance from others.
Is it easy to read in short sessions?
Yes, in the sense that it is divided into short numbered sections, each with its own idea, example or proverb. You can read one section at a time and stop wherever you like.
Cite this edition
Schopenhauer, Arthur. The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-counsels-and-maxims.
Schopenhauer, A. (2026). The essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; counsels and maxims. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-counsels-and-maxims (Original work published 1851)
Schopenhauer, Arthur. The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-counsels-and-maxims.
@book{schopenhauer2026essays,
author = {Schopenhauer, Arthur},
title = {The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-counsels-and-maxims},
note = {First published 1851}
}
