Schopenhauer, by his own admission, did not give much thought to politics, and several times he wrote proudly of how little attention he paid "to political affairs of day". In a life that spanned several revolutions in French and German government, and a few continent-shaking wars, he did maintain his position of "minding not the times but the eternities". He wrote many disparaging remarks about Germany and the Germans. A typical example is, "For a German it is even good to have somewhat lengthy words in his mouth, for he thinks slowly, and they give him time to reflect."