“A man of intellect is like an artist who gives a concert without any help from anyone else, playing on a single instrument — a piano, say, which is a little orchestra in itself. Such a man is a little world in himself; and the effect produced by various instruments together, he produces single-handed, in the unity of his own consciousness. Like the piano, he has no place in a symphony; he is a soloist and performs by himself — in solitude, it may be; or if in the company with other instruments, only as principal; or for setting the tone, as in singing.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer, book Parerga and Paralipomena

Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Counsels and Maxims

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Arthur Schopenhauer261

German philosopher 1788–1860

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