" 2^0 The Open Court. A HTEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE RELIGION OF SCIENCE. No. 339. (VoL.viii.-8.) CHICAGO, FEBRUARY 22, 1894. ( Two Dollars per Year. I Single Copies, 5 Cents. Copyright by The Open Court P litted only on condition of giving full credit to Author and Publisher. SCHOPENHAUER, THE MAN AND THE PHILOSOPHER. alism was in vogue in Germany. The universal reign of G. KOERNER. BY reason was proclaimed and it was found everywhere, in Several articles on Schopenhauer have been pub- "things" as well as in living and reasoning beings, in lished in the Revue des deux Mondes, the last of which is human existence, even in politics, in nature itself, on of special interest and appeared in September, 1893. earth as well as in heaven. It was said with Hegel Considering the chauvinism which since Sedan has " that everything that exists was rational, that history shown itself not only in the masses of the French peo- was a progressive evolution, the progress of conscious ple, but also in leading, otherwise respectable, journals, liberty." in books and speeches, the Revue des deux Mondes has A philosopher who proclaimed that the world was manifested upon treating German affairs and particu- created by the fatal mistake of a blind and unconscious larly German literature an impartiality worthy of its Will, which is the origin of the All, would at that time high standing. For several years past it has devoted have been considered as a sorry jester or a melancholic many pages to German philosophy, and Schopenhauer fool. In a passage in one of her books. Madam de has been reviewed by some of its best contributors, Stael had declared, just as Schopenhauer has, "that such as Brunetiere and Bourdeau. the will which is the life, the life which is also the will, The present paper in the Revue des deux Mondes, to contains the whole secret of the universe and of our- a translation of which I desire to invite the attention selves," but she had not said that the will is the mis- of the readers of Court, is, the title The Open as con- fortune and the original sin ; she had not reproved the fesses, not quite an original one, but is based in great creative Demon, she had not, as Schopenhauer, when part on the eighth volume of the " History of Modern pointing out to the creator his works, shouted "How Philosophy," by Kuno Fischer of Heidelberg, which didst thou dare to disturb the sacred quietude of the volume goes by the title of " Arthur Schopenhauer. nonentity {rieanf), to generate a world which is nothing " Schopenhauer, the Revue states, was born on the but a vale of miseries, of tears, and of crimes? 22d of February, 1788, and after a short life of roving I may be allowed to suggest very timidly (for I do and travelling, he took up, in 1831, his permanent not pretend to be at all versed in philosophical lore) abode in the city of Frankfort where he ended his days. that M. Volbert,* the author of the essaj', has done He was yet unknown, though he had in the month of Hegel an injustice respecting the dictum, that all that December, 1818, published his system in a book which is, is reasonable. It appears to me that Hegel did not has made an epoch in the history of philosophy. That mean to say that the present state of things could not book, from which at a later day so many thinkers, be any better, but simply that it is the inevitable result writers, and artists have drawn instruction and inspira- of all events since historical times and must therefore tion, did not meet with the slightest success. Of the be accepted as a necessity ; the very next sentence eight " hundred copies printed, ten years afterwards one quoted by M. Volbert from Hegel : that history is a hundred and fifty remained on hand, and one hundred progressive evolution," seems to sustain this view. It were cut up for waste-paper : the edition was never must be admitted, however, that Hegel, inasmuch as exhausted. he advanced his system early in the century when an As no man felt more vividly what he was worth absolute or paternal despotism prevailed throughout and was less master of his imaginings, Schopenhauer the greater part of Europe, was generally considered charged his misfortune to a vast learned conspiracy of by all liberal-minded people not only as an advocate of the University professors of philosophy, who had come conservatism, but of despotism. Yet his doctrine was to an understanding to kill him off by their silence, and in truth a double-edged sword. To-day a king might who forbade Germany to pronounce his name. He rule absolutely and on the morrow a popular rising would have done better if he had said to himself that might dethrone him and send both him and his adher- he had come too soon, that he had anticipated time. * G. Volbert is. I believe, the t -of Victor Cherbulli. During the first half of this century optimistic ration- 3984 THE OPEN COURT. " ents to the guillotine. That revolution would then ex- 'the emperor of German philosophy.' So, Monsieur ist and be as rational as the overthrown despotism. It Volbert. was not very long before the reactionary parties de- The writer of this paper, a native of Frankfort, lived nounced Hegel's philosophy as revolutionary, while it for more than a year not far from Schopenhauer's resi- was strongly advocated by the radicals. dence, after the latter had moved there in 1831, but "Times changed," M. Volbert continues, "and was not made aware of the vast ovations to the philos- doubts arose whether reason was the sole arbiter of opher which the essayist of the Revue des deux Mondes human destinies. The nations had by patient efforts so vividly describes. He probably refers to a later and in the sweat of their brows obtained a part of their period, but it is hardly probable that the ladies became liberties ; they had conquered claims, which, the mo- infatuated with his doctrines and smothered him with ment they had won them, they underrated, afterwards flowers and sent him presents and addresses, since he to wonder why they had wished for them, and to dis- has in all his works treated the fair sex almost brutally, cover that hope gives us more pleasure than fulfilment. hardly allowing them to have souls. But M. Volbert, Sciences had made marvellous progress ; they told the as far as style is concerned, is a typical Frenchman, people that history resembled fairy-tales and promised and like all Frenchmen delights in exaggeration and to transform the world. But in spite of their admirable high coloring. "The first time," continues the Re- inventions, it was found that the sum of good and bad view, "that one of his devotees thought it proper to remained nearly the same, that neither railroads nor kiss his hand he uttered an exclamation of surprise, telegraphs, nor chemistry nor physical knowledge could but soon accustomed himself to this kind of ceremony, cure heart-woes. Industry worked wonders, political and when he heard that some rich man, who had suc- economy was asked to do the same, but it declared it- ceeded in getting the philosopher's portrait, proposed self powerless. The old traditions, the old customs had to erect a chapel as a shrine for the sacred picture he ' been lost, and people became disgusted with the new merely observed : This is the first which is consecrated 2000?' " ideas as well as the old ones ; they did not know how to me; how many will there be in the year to replace them, but waited for something that did not After his death his glory continued to increase, and come. It seemed that anything was possible, and it was spread over the world ; his works were translated into as hard to be happy as before the invention of the all languages. But the Germans are a highly critical steam-engine. There was much dreaming, and in con- people, and their infatuations are often followed by rude sequence the nerves had become more irritable, the reversions. One is betrayed mostly by one's friends. imagination more excited and disturbed. Satisfied de- Mr. Gwinner, the testamentary executor of the illus- sires created new ones, at no time was the world more trious dead, thought it proper to write a minute and given up to pleasure and more sensible to privations. indiscreet biography of his master which looks much The sages who were content with little did not dare to like an indictment. What injured, however, Schopen- agree that they were content, and with a mixture of hauer still more, was the publication of his corre- vanity took glory in expressing an inexorable ennui. A spondence, wherein he paints himself as he was. The pessimistic philosophy was henceforth sure of winning man appeared unpleasant, and it was asked whether the public favor. Schopenhauer dethroned Hegel, be- his philosophy was to be taken in earnest. It was came the philosopher a la mode, and when he affirmed more closely examined and found incoherent and full that everything was fiction, lie, idle show, the proposi- of contradictions. It is easy to discover such incon- tion was easily admitted, and his dictum : sistencies in so very complex a system, where the ideal- 'Betrug ist A lies. Lug und Schein,' ism of Kant is amalgamated with the theories of Cab- was repeated by his followers.