Arthur Schopenhauer: Buying Books
on Saturday, June 27, 2020Arthur Schopenhauer Money Quote saying that books don’t come with the time it takes to read them but it isn’t likely so we pretend. Arthur Schopenhauer said:
“Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them; but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents” — Arthur Schopenhauer
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In this quote, Arthur Schopenhauer seems to be commenting on the tendency to accumulate books as a sign of intellect or learning, without actually taking the time to read and absorb their contents.
By stating that buying books would be good “if one could also buy the time to read them”, but that typically “the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents”, Schopenhauer implies that amassing a large library does not equate to true knowledge if one does not dedicate the hours required to meaningfully engage with each text.
The quote conveys Schopenhauer’s perspective that collecting books superficially through purchase is not equivalent to gaining their insights, as reading takes significant investment of one’s time and focus to gain full understanding and edification from written works.
Overall, Schopenhauer appears to be arguing that possession of written materials does not necessarily correlate to erudition, which only deep reading of texts can provide.