Philosophers in Rags :: We dive deeper, and come up muddier.

Yes, sir.  I completely understand why the charms of certain women might drive you crazy like that.  There is a certain prototype that is most likely irresistible to any man with a pulse.  I sympathize with those who cannot help but fall to their knees and worship at her flowery alter.

And, yes, from what I read of Schopenhauer and his trips to Italy, he was not spared a troublesome libido.

As I must have said in the past, I have been spared much heartache mostly because I lack the prowess to attract the type of woman who I myself am attracted to.

I am totally in Schopenhauer's camp when he says toward the end of his life, "I have been very fond of women, but the feelings were never reciprocated."

This is related to your fears of facing some kind of punishment were you to "bark up the wrong tree."    I was forever barking up the wrong tree, and was usually forgiven for my transgressions, perhaps out of pity during my "Village Idiot" years.

PS:  A word to the wise.  Never, under any circumstances, pay a complement to a very young woman.   

It is quite natural to fantasize, and there is nothing illegal nor immoral about sexual fantasies.  Who on this earth of ours has the power or authority to deny a man the pleasure of fantasy?

Anyway, while I understand that my current "practice" is by no means for everyone, focusing on the analysis of algebraic or geometric information, and translating from one to the other is more often than not conducive to an equanimity that is, when push comes to shove, far more satisfying than any orgasmic release could be.  That's not to say that I do not succumb to sudden floods of carnal desire.  It's just that I do not seek it out.  I do not chase it or hunt for it.   Like the mythological  succubus, it takes me; I do not seek it out.

In India, the succubus is referred to as Yakshini, who are attendees of Hindu God of Wealth, Kubera and are considered to be guardians of hidden treasure in the earth. They are shown as beautiful, voluptuous females with wide hips and narrow waists, broad shoulders, and exaggerated spherical breasts. Yakshini's are believed to provide gratification to senses as they have extreme beauty and have power to delight the body. Thirty-six different types of Yakshini's are described in the texts of Tantras, who fulfill the different desires of human beings. They are believed to always remain young and beautiful, powerful, and effective, who if pleased can fulfill the materialistic desires of a person.   

Happy Birthday Captain HauserMay you find some amount of peace today.
Here is something for you on your birthday:

https://gofile.io/?c=tsisOx

I hope you continue to write and inspire all of us.

It was a very quick read, Holden.   You, yourself, can produce a far superior Pessimist's Handbook just from collecting some of your own notes on this existence.

Mike will get it done-this is the candidate Bloomberg's slogan and it reminded me of Herr Hauser.To understand the world the way he does it is a kind of a miracle.

It is not unfathomable in the least (that these girls really do love).  We were merely considering the ugly nature of this love, this want, this apparent need, longing, dissatisfaction, sense of lack.

Herr Hauser,

I hope that you experienced some peace today,on your birthday.

You are,to me, a kind of “Spiritual Arminius”. It is believed that Arminius was the first man ever to take back a territory that had been colonised by the Romans and he did so ,not when the decline had set in the Roman Empire, but when it was at the zenith of its power and influence.

I am not sure if I would have managed to withstand the repeated attacks of the Gortish forces, if not for your  great guidance and influence.

Someone once wrote the following:

"When a man's heart is breaking and his soul is plunged into the depths of despair, their great predecessors turn their eyes towards them from the dim shadows --those predecessors  who knew how to deal with anxiety and affliction, mental servitude and physical bondage--and extend their eternal hands in a gesture of encouragement to despairing souls. Woe to the man that is ashamed to clasp those hands."

Yours has been a hand as described in the paragraph above, I have merely tried to clasp it for dear life.
I have written this before and would gladly write it a zillion more times, before meeting you, though I was a rebel against the Gortish forces, I did not possess a strong Weltanschuaung and so was a sitting duck for them.
Well, thanks to you, now I do possess one and much to my surprise, now,even the best and the most cunning of the gorts fail to deceive me. I see through them. I see them through the eyeglasses I received from you and I see their true colours.

I humbly wish and pray that before I am no more, I manage to  develop some tiny fraction of the depth of understanding that you attained.

I hope that you remain free from toothache and all other bodily ailments and mental anguish so that you may continue to study mathematics and philosophy and ,if possible, help poor and lost souls like me.