--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great affliction of all Philistines is…" description: "\"A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from boredom they are always in need of realities...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg" --- # A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities… ![“A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from boredom they are always in need of realities.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg) > “A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from boredom they are always in need of realities.” [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques Philistines for lacking entertainment, turning to realities to escape boredom. **In simple terms:** Philistines lack entertainment, seek reality to avoid boredom. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful engagement beyond mere distraction. Themes boredom entertainment reality philosophy Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - art appreciation - intellectual pursuits - social commentary Key Concepts existential search cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What entertains you meaning? - How do you balance reality and escapism? A Different Perspective May generalize a group unfairly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Philistines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philistines/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“Love lasts as long as it’s meant to, it doesn’t matter in the end. But if you do want it to last, you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-lasts-as-long-as-it-s-meant-to-it-doesn-t-matter-in-the-end-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Outside of the mindless sitcoms that the networks thrive on, people able to think generally consider most entertainment is escape in one form or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gygax/outside-of-the-mindless-sitcoms-that-the-networks-thrive-on-people/) [Gary Gygax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gygax/) > [The audience enjoys a good action show, it's entertainment, escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-connors/the-audience-enjoys-a-good-action-show-it-s-entertainment-escape/) [Mike Connors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-connors/) > [Escape from boredom is one of the really powerful desires of almost all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/escape-from-boredom-is-one-of-the-really-powerful-desires-of-almost/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [To escape boredom, man works either beyond what his usual needs require, or else he invents play, that is, work that is designed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-escape-boredom-man-works-either-beyond-what-his-usual-needs/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Work is the world's easiest escape from boredom and the only surefire road to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marabel-morgan/work-is-the-world-s-easiest-escape-from-boredom-and-the-only-surefire/) [Marabel Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marabel-morgan/) > [“Most people, they’re trying to escape from boredom, but I’m trying to get into the thick of boredom. That’s why I’m not complaining when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/most-people-they-re-trying-to-escape-from-boredom-but-i-m-trying-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Most people, he muses, they're trying to escape from boredom, but I'm trying to get into the thick of boredom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/most-people-he-muses-they-re-trying-to-escape-from-boredom-but-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [A man who has no mental needs, because his intellect is of the narrow and normal amount, is, in the strict sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-man-who-has-no-mental-needs-because-his-intellect-is-of-the-narrow/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Everything about me is a contradiction, and so is everything about everybody else. We are made out of oppositions; we live between two poles.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/everything-about-me-is-a-contradiction-and-so-is-everything-about/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [It has been wisely said, "that well may thy guardian angel suffer thee to lose thy locks, when thou darest wilfully to lay thy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-porter/it-has-been-wisely-said-that-well-may-thy-guardian-angel-suffer-thee/) [Jane Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-porter/) > [I started to shed the monstrous aesthetic affectation of my youth so as to make room for the monstrous philistine postures of middle age,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-started-to-shed-the-monstrous-aesthetic-affectation-of-my-youth-so/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [When temptation comes your way, name that boastful, deceitful giant “Goliath!” and do with it as David did to the Philistine of Gath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/when-temptation-comes-your-way-name-that-boastful-deceitful-giant/) [Gordon B. 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Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) ## More by Arthur Schopenhauer > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. 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Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from boredom they are always in need of realities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is-that-idealities-afford-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affliction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is-that-idealities-afford-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/arthur-schopenhauer-226_affliction_a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is_135864.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great affliction of all Philistines is that idealities afford them no entertainment, but to escape from…” — Arthur Schopenhauer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great affliction of all Philistines...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is-that-idealities-afford-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-great-affliction-of-all-philistines-is-that-idealities-afford-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```