STREET DOGS: Subject, love or money?
Michel Pireu: German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s advice on what to read
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) on what to read: [There are 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, they may be recognised by their spinning out their thoughts to the greatest possible length, and … their writing is lacking in definiteness and clearness. Writing for money is, at bottom, the ruin of literature. It is only the man who writes absolutely for the sake of the subject that writes anything worth writing. The problem is these bad writers, offering little timeless value, monopolise the time and attention of people that could be otherwise spent on more profitable pursuits. They are not only useless, but they do positive harm. Nine-tenths of the whole of our present literature aims solely at taking a few shillings ou...
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