"From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



individual catastrophes which are the common events 

 of life. 



It will suffice to take an average normal human life, 

 that of a man placed in ordinary circumstances and of 

 ordinary understanding; and to consider it coolly. 



What does his existence consist in ? 



During one quarter of a century he works to acquire 

 the means of livelihood ; for another quarter he struggles 

 amid perpetual anxieties to make these means of life 

 give a sufficient return; then he dies without knowing 

 exactly why he has lived at all. ' To will without motive, 

 always suffering, always struggling, then to die, and 

 so without end, century after century, until the crust 

 of the planet breaks into pieces ! ' cries Schopenhauer. 



What pains and sorrows, what anxieties and disap- 

 pointments during the short quarter century during 

 which the man * enjoys ' his gains; ephemeral youth 

 with its short-lived illusions; a life worn down by 

 preparation for living; hopes always disappointed and 

 always renewed; a few flowers culled by the wayside 

 of life and soon faded; a few instants of repose, and 

 then the weary march forward again. Personal anxieties; 

 family worries; heavy and ceaseless work; vexations, 

 disillusions, and deceptions; such is the common lot 

 of mortals. For those who have an ideal it is even 

 worse; some intoxications in the pursuit of illusions 

 and heart-breaking discovery of impotence to attain 

 them. Where is the man who, like the great Caliph, on 

 reckoning up his days of complete happiness could 

 count on finding eleven ? Who is he who could find 

 one single day of undiluted happiness. 



If we consider life as it actually is to be the summit 

 of evolution, Schopenhauer's pessimism is justified a 

 thousand times over. Yes, it is replied, but humanity 

 and life have as yet realised but a small part of their 

 possibilities of happiness. Progress is continuous. 

 Comparison with past centuries gives a glimpse of future 



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