Quote Of The Day By Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: 'And Then The Years Pass More Quickly As We Become Older, And We Want To...'

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Arthur Schopenhauer is best known for his dark view of human nature. As the German philosopher saw it, people are driven by endless wanting, and the path to a more fruitful life, one that avoids suffering, is to turn away from that impulse and develop one's intellect instead. He was born on February 22, 1788, in what is now Gdańsk, Poland. Arthur was the son of a wealthy shipowner who expected him to follow in his footsteps. At 15, he made a deal with his father that allowed him to go and see Europe first, and when the trip was over, he would train to be a merchant. After touring several countries, the boy came home to keep his end of the deal, though Arthur ultimately found office life incredibly dull. 

Still, it took him until 19 to walk away from the trade for good, with his slice of the family fortune, following his father's death in 1805. This meant he could fund his new life of university lectures and books without ever needing a regular job. The years that followed weren't exactly easy, though. In May 1814, Arthur moved out of the home of his mother, much-read novelist Johanna Schopenhauer, and the two never reunited. In December 1818, his book, "The World as Will and Representation," arrived but was barely noticed. 

He lectured in Berlin and was hostile towards the legendary Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, booking his own lectures into Hegel's time slot. Arthur eventually made Frankfurt his home, and yet, fame only arrived in his 60s, when an  essay in London's Westminster Review finally made his name in 1853. But long before, he'd chosen the life of the mind over that of the body, which is why Arthur Schopenhauer is today's quote of the day.

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote, "And then the years pass more quickly as we become older, and we want to devote our remaining time to the intellectual rather than to the practical side of life." This line is taken from Section 9 of "Counsels and Maxims," in a chapter called "Our Relationship to Ourselves." The wording is courtesy of T. Bailey Saunders, a translator who focused on Schopenhauer and turned his dense essays into digestible English. The 19th-century German philosopher is making a case for how old age should affect our priorities, in that it should replace our practical urges with curiosity and reflection.

Arthur Schopenhauer's first sentence is a sentiment shared by practically anyone who has made it past 30: The years go by faster. When we're young, unburdened by the practical demands of adult life, everything feels new, and the days seem to stretch on forever. Even a summer feels like an eternity when you're a child, or as Schopenhauer put it elsewhere in his book, "The hours of the boy are longer than the days of the old man." In later years, you have to deal with all of the worries and demands that come with growing up — bills, jobs, errands, relationships, you name it — and whole seasons slip by unnoticed. The German philosopher posits that once time speeds up, the only way to slow it down is to spend your energy on understanding and making sense of things.

Schopenhauer isn't presenting the pursuit of intellect as a retreat, but rather a means of fighting back. Habit makes life a blur, and the practical side becomes routine. Learning something new and looking closely at it is the antidote to that monotony. The downside is that you're going to spend less time in the company of others. But dedicating some of that time to your own well-being makes you better company when you do see your friends and family, which is no small reward. The people who matter will still be there. If the years feel like they're flying by, look at where the hours go, and dedicate a few to intellectual pursuits, like learning a new language, field of study, or even reading a book. In reality, time won't slow down, but more of it will stick in your memories.

• "A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free."
• "Hence, youth is the time or poetry, and age is more inclined to philosophy."
• "For the more a man has in himself, the less he will want from other people, — the less, indeed, other people can be to him. This is why a high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial."
• "Riches, one may say, are like sea-water; the more you drink the thirstier you become; and the same is true of fame."
• "Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world."