Conclusion

many authors conclude their books with a summary. I am not going to do that, as I cannot set out the main ideas of this book more briefly than in book form. Schopenhauer said of his main work that he only wanted to express in it a single idea, “but in spite of all my efforts I could find no shorter way of communicating it than this whole book”. I should like to repeat that with all respect. I am afraid I must disappoint anyone who hopes to find a summary or recapitulation which will give him the main content in a quarter of an hour, without his having to read the whole book.