Essays of Schopenhauer | Page 9

Two Frenchmen, M. Foucher de Careil and M. Challemel Lacour, who visited Schopenhauer during his last days, have given an account of their impressions of the interview, the latter in an article entitled, "Un Bouddhiste Contemporain en Allemagne," which appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes for March 15th, 1870. M. Foucher de Careil gives a charming picture of him:--
"Quand je le vis, pour la premi???re fois, en 1859, ??? la table de l'h???tel d'Angleterre, ??? Francfort, c'???tait d???j??? un vieillard, ??? l'oeil d'un bleu vif et limpide, ??? la l???vre mince et l???g???rement sarcastique, autour de laquelle errait un fin sourire, et dont le vaste front, estomp??? de deux touffes de cheveux blancs sur les c???t???s, relevait d'un cachet de noblesse et de distinction la physionomie petillante d'esprit et de malice. Les habits, son jabot de dentelle, sa cravate blanche rappelaient un vieillard de la fin du r???gne de Louis XV; ses mani???res ???taient celles d'un homme de bonne compagnie. Habituellement r???serv??? et d'un naturel craintif jusqu'??? la m???fiance, il ne se livrait qu'avec ses intimes ou les ???trangers de passage ??? Francfort. Ses mouvements ???taient vifs et devenaient d'une p???tulance extraordinaire dans la conversation; il fuyait les discussions et les vains combats de paroles, mais c'???tait pour mieux jouir du charme d'une causerie intime. Il poss???dait et parlait avec une ???gale perfection quatre langues: le fran???ais, l'anglais, l'allemand, l'italien et passablement l'espagnol. Quand il causait, la verve du vieillard brodait sur le canevas un peu lourd de l'allemand ses brilliantes arabesques latines, grecques, fran???aises, anglaises, italiennes. C'???tait un entrain, une pr???cision et des sailles, une richesse de citations, une exactitude de d???tails qui faisait couler les heures; et quelquefois le petit cercle de ses intimes l'???coutait jusqu'??? minuit, sans qu'un moment de fatigue se f???t peint sur ses traits ou que le feu de son regard se f???t un instant amorti. Sa parole nette et accentu???e captivait l'auditoire: elle peignait et analysait tout ensemble; une sensibilit??? d???licate en augmentait le feu; elle ???tait exacte et pr???cise sur toutes sortes de sujets."
Schopenhauer died on the 20th September 1860, in his seventy-third year, peacefully, alone as he had lived, but not without warning. One day in April, taking his usual brisk walk after dinner, he suffered from palpitation of the heart, he could scarcely breathe. These symptoms developed during the next few months, and Dr. Gwinner advised him to discontinue his cold baths and to breakfast in bed; but Schopenhauer, notwithstanding his early medical training, was little inclined to follow medical advice. To Dr. Gwinner, on the evening of the 18th September, when he expressed a hope that he might be able to go to Italy, he said that it would be a pity if he died now, as he wished to make several important additions to his Parerga; he spoke about his works and of the warm recognition with which they had been welcomed in the most remote places. Dr. Gwinner had never before found him so eager and gentle, and left him reluctantly, without, however, the least premonition that he had seen him for the last time. On the second morning after this interview Schopenhauer got up as usual, and had his cold bath and breakfast. His servant had opened the window to let in the morning air and had then left him. A little later Dr. Gwinner arrived and found him reclining in a corner of the sofa; his face wore its customary expression; there was no sign of there having been any struggle with death. There had been no struggle with death; he had died, as he had hoped he would die, painlessly, easily.
In preparing the above notice the writer has to acknowledge her indebtedness to Dr. Gwinner's Life and Professor Wallace's little work on the same subject, as well as to the few other authorities that have been available.--THE TRANSLATOR.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Wallace's Life, pp. 95, 96.
[2] Wallace, p. 108.
[3] Haldane and Kemp's The World as Will and Idea.
[4] Wallace, p. 145.

ESSAYS OF SCHOPENHAUER.

ON AUTHORSHIP AND STYLE.
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. The first kind have had thoughts or experiences which seem to them worth communicating, while the second kind need money and consequently write for money. They think in order to write, and they may be recognised by their spinning out their thoughts to the greatest possible length, and also by the way they work out their thoughts, which are half-true, perverse, forced, and vacillating; then also by their love of evasion, so that they may seem what they are not; and this is why their writing is lacking in definiteness and clearness.
Consequently, it is soon recognised that they write for the sake of filling up the paper, and