Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
In a man devoted to knowledge, pity seems almost ridiculous, like delicate hands on a cyclops.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nietzsche implies that pity is unnecessary and ineffective for those who seek knowledge.
In this quote, Nietzsche presents the idea that for a person deeply engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, feelings of pity can seem out of place or trivial, much like how delicate hands would be incongruous on a cyclops. This highlights the notion that intellectual pursuits may make certain emotional responses appear foolish, emphasizing the importance of rationality and understanding over sentimentality.
Themes
KnowledgePityWisdomIntellectPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture about the value of education, this quote can emphasize the focus on knowledge over emotion.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes βThat which does not kill us makes us stronger.
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Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
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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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