QuoteProject
We have to be careful that in throwing out the devil, we don't throw out the best part of ourselves.
Friedrich Nietzsche
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Be cautious in rejecting negative aspects of oneself, as it may lead to losing valuable qualities.

Friedrich Nietzsche's quote reflects the idea that while it is important to eliminate harmful or negative traits, one must also be careful not to discard the positive and valuable aspects of their character. The 'devil' symbolizes the darker parts of ourselves, but those parts can also contribute significantly to our identity and humanity. Thus, a balance must be found to maintain both the good and the bad that make us whole.

Themes

Self-AwarenessIdentityBalanceSelf-ImprovementNihilism

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about personal growth, one might say, 'We have to be careful that in throwing out the devil, we don't throw out the best part of ourselves.'

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
Friedrich NietzscheRead

Similar quotes

Death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident. It is as common as life.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Democracy was the right of the people to choose their own tyrant.
James MadisonRead
Which is crueler, an old man's lost memories of a life lived, or a young man's lost memories of the life he meant to live?
Diane AckermanRead
If you try to use your head to think about things, people don't want to have anything to do with you
Haruki MurakamiRead
Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the contrary, it encourages him in his folly, it transports him to the supreme regions where he is master of his own destiny.
Marguerite DurasRead
I have to admit that the empty prestige and the stupid glory - yes, the horrible rush, the deadly sense of importance that war brings to life - are hard illusions to shake off. Look at me, a war correspondent.
Michael HastingsRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.