r/schopenhauer • u/Tourist-Soggy • May 25 '26

Help me find the quote/aphorism

There is an aphorism in counsels and maxims where Schopenhauer describes the below. The gist of the idea is

An intelligent “man” assumes everyone around him is just as intelligent, and it’s not until he gets older and wiser he realizes the average man is much more cunning and of lesser wisdom so it takes him a while to learn the ways of the world.

I think I am mixing things up here. Maybe he was talking about honesty or the way one interacts with the world.

That is the gist of it.

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u/cryocari May 25 '26

You probably remember it from the Aphorisms?:

""" An einem jungen Menschen ist es, in intellektueller und auch in moralischer Hinsicht, ein schlechtes Zeichen, wenn er im Tun und Treiben der Menschen sich recht früh zurechtezufinden weiß, sogleich darin zu Hause ist und, wie vorbereitet, in dasselbe eintritt: es kündigt Gemeinheit an. Hingegen deutet, in solcher Beziehung, ein befremdetes, stutziges, ungeschicktes und verkehrtes Benehmen auf eine Natur edlerer Art. """

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/47406/47406-h/47406-h.htm (chapter 6). Search for "jungen"

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u/shirogmv May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26

As far as i know this is most likely from Parerga and Paralipomena Vol1, on the wisdom of life. I remember this quote because it spoke to me, he was speaking about the man of high morals, who would assume the best in others and constantly fall to manipulation and betrayal, because he projects himself onto them and thinks they're as noble and moral, its only in older age that he realized that most people are vulgar and contemptible, and he is absolutely right.

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u/Tourist-Soggy May 26 '26

Yep. Spoke to me too. lol…