The Wisdom of Life by Schopenhauer, Arthur

Introduction

Voltaire says we shall leave this world as foolish and as wicked as we found it on our arrival.

Chapter 1. Division Of The Subject

Aristotle divides the blessings of life into three classes—those which come to us from without, those of the soul, and those of the body. Keeping nothing of this division but the number, I observe that the fundamental differences in human lot may be reduced to three distinct classes: 

(1) What a man is: that is to say, personality, in the widest sense of the word; under which are included health, strength, beauty, temperament, moral character, intelligence, and education. 
(2) What a ma...