Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Arrogance on the part of the meritorious is even more offensive to us than the arrogance of those without merit: for merit itself is offensive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Arrogance in those who possess merit can be more displeasing than in those who do not, as merit itself can carry an inherent offense.
Friedrich Nietzsche highlights a complex perspective on arrogance and merit, suggesting that when individuals who are deemed meritorious exhibit arrogance, it is especially grating. This implies that the very nature of merit can provoke discomfort, as it sets a standard that can feel exclusive or elitist, hence making the boisterous attitude of the 'meritorious' more offensive than that of the 'unmeritorious'.
Themes
ArroganceMeritOffensivenessPhilosophyNietzsche
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on meritocracy, one might use this quote to illustrate the pitfalls of arrogance among the successful.
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Watch them clamber, these swift monkeys! They clamber over one another and thus drag one another into the mud and the depth. They all want to get to the throne: that is their madness β as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne β and often the throne also on mud. Mad they all appear to me, clambering monkeys and overardent. Foul smells their idol, the cold monster: foul, they smell to me altogether, these idolators.
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Reason is the cause of our falsification of the evidence of the senses. In so far as the senses show becoming, passing away, change, they do not lie.
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The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
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