The Art Of Literature — Arthur Schopenhauer

Writing is not just expression it is the art of clear thought In The Art of Literature Arthur Schopenhauer explores the craft purpose and philosophy of writing with the same penetrating insight that marks all his work Moving effortlessly between reflections on style originality authorship and the reading public he offers a timeless meditation on the relationship between thought and language Schopenhauer s essays speak both to writers seeking guidance and to readers who wish to understand the deeper currents of literature His observations witty exacting and often uncompromising strip away pretension and reveal the enduring principles that make great writing resonate across generations A celebration of intellectual clarity and artistic integrity The Art of Literature remains an essential companion for anyone who values the written word Genuine authors are those who write for the sake of what they have to say

There are first of all two kinds of authors those who write for the subject s sake and those who write for writing s sake While the one have had thoughts or experiences which seem to them worth communicating the others want money and so they write for money Their thinking is part of the business of writing They may be recognized by the way in which they spin out their thoughts to the greatest possible length then too by the very nature of their thoughts which are only half true perverse forced vacillating again by the aversion they generally show to saying anything straight out so that they may seem other than they are Hence their writing is deficient in clearness and definiteness and it is not long before they betray that their only object in writing at all is to cover paper This sometimes happens with the best authors now and then for example with Lessing in his Dramaturgie and even in many of Jean Paul s romances As soon as the reader perceives this let him throw the book away for time is precious The truth is that when an author begins to write for the sake of covering paper he is cheating the reader because he writes under the pretext that he has something to say

There are first of all two kinds of authors those who write for the subject s sake and those who write for writing s sake While the one have had thoughts or experiences which seem to them worth communicating the others want money and so they write for money Their thinking is part of the business of writing They may be recognized by the way in which they spin out their thoughts to the greatest possible length then too by the very nature of their thoughts which are only half true perverse forced vacillating again by the aversion they generally show to saying anything straight out so that they may seem other than they are Hence their writing is deficient in clearness and definiteness and it is not long before they betray that their only object in writing at all is to cover paper This sometimes happens with the best authors now and then for example with Lessing in his Dramaturgie and even in many of Jean Paul s romances As soon as the reader perceives this let him throw the book away for time is precious The truth is that when an author begins to write for the sake of covering paper he is cheating the reader because he writes under the pretext that he has something to say