The 60 best quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche

Genius or madman? The legacy of the German philosopher is absolutely extraordinary.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is considered one of the most influential Western philosophers and thinkers of his time.He always had a critical sense towards religion and its "enslaving" morality, as he himself would point out.

Nietzsche based his ideas on the criticism of the German Western culture, which in the nineteenth century were subdued by Christianity, accusing the Hegelian rationalism and conservatism that this entailed, thus undermining the more emotional development and earthly pleasure in society as a whole.

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Nietzsche's most outstanding quotes

Here we offer you a series of famous sentences that Friedrich Nietzsche pronounced in an intellectual life marked by his diminished state of health (he suffered from syphilis) and his failure in the field of love.

1. Not that you have lied to me, that I can no longer believe you, that terrifies me.

This is how the author described his distrust towards people who were not sincere.

2. The individual has always struggled not to be absorbed into the tribe. But no price is too high for the privilege of being oneself.

One should never be swayed by trends or social pressures. But do what you think is right for you.

3. Monkeys are too good for man to descend from them.

Nietzsche was very critical of the behavior of human beings and their warlike condition.

4. If you try, you will often be alone, and sometimes frightened.

We always fight against everyone and against prejudices when it comes to thinking differently from others.

5. Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs man's torment.

Friedrich was not given to pseudo-compassionate talk. He was rather a realist.

6. He who has a "why" to live can face all the "hows".

The author often wrote about how to lead a meaningful and fully happy life.

7. Without music, life would be a mistake

His passion was music and Wagner his most direct influence in his early theoretical years.

8. The destiny of men is made up of happy moments, all life has them, but not of happy times.

As we have mentioned above, Nietzsche had the theme of happiness very present in his works and thoughts.

9. Everything that is done for love is done beyond good and evil.

The human being is willing to do anything to conquer love.

10. The foulest word and the rudest letter are better; they are more polite than silence.

He was a direct, concise and politically correct character. It is necessary to speak loud and clear.

11. Those who have loved man the most have always done him the most harm.

A somewhat pessimistic interpretation of love.

12. Independence is not a right, it is a privilege that corresponds to a minority.

We are always subjugated to the values and tendencies of the society in which we live.

13. When suffering comes, look it in the face and face it.

We must be able to face adversity.

14. To seek happiness in faith is not to seek the truth.

Faith is not something that can be measured, nor does it respond to the truth of things.

15. In love there is always something of madness, and in madness there is always something of reason.

Love is not something irrational, as is often said.

16. Only when we build the future do we have the right to judge the past.

We have to be able to look forward, always.

17. The most common lie is the one by which people deceive themselves.

This is how critical Nietzsche is of people who lie.

18. Is man a failure of God, or God a failure of man?

The existence of God is denied by the author with this reflection.

19. Love is not blind, it is only blinded by the passion within it.

Fire and emotion is what drives us to be in love.

20. It was man who created God in his image and likeness.

Nietzsche believed that God is nothing more than a reflection of man, for wanting to dominate the masses.

21. Intellectuality is measured not by intelligence, but by the doses of humor one is able to use.

Although he suffered much in his life, he attached great importance to a sense of humor.

22. To become wise, it is necessary to experience certain, often dangerous, experiences.

We must face situations that make us uncomfortable and leave our comfort zone.

23. What does not kill me will make me stronger.

In the face of any adversity that is overcome, we must continue to fight.

24. I need living companions, not corpses to carry around.

The importance of being surrounded by positive and restless people.

25. The perfect woman is a human being superior to the best of men.

Friedrich described the ideal woman in this way. He regularly revered the female figure.

26. Life is too short to be boring.

Above all, positivism and enjoyment of life.

27. We are accustomed to life because we love love love.

Nietzsche thus justified the existence of the human being.

28. Hope is a much more powerful stimulant than luck.

Faith moves mountains, it is said. And hope is part of it.

29. Man has more character when he pursues his temperament, his instinct.

Society educates and indoctrinates us to be purely rational, leaving aside our human passions.

30. Sex is nothing more than a trap of nature to keep us from becoming extinct.

Perhaps because of the little success among women, Nietzsche formulated this reflection.

31. Remorse is like a dog biting a stone: stupidity.

There is no need to regret anything in this life. Everything happens for a reason.

32. Any idealism in the face of necessity is a delusion.

Friedrich was an entirely realistic entity, with his doses of passion and imagination.

To deny the existence of God will be the only salvation of the world.

This is how the German author believed that the world's problems would be solved.

34. God is dead, it seems that men have murdered him.

The author had little faith in divinity and its role in earthly life.

35. The age of marriage always comes before falling in love.

Sometimes people get married because of family and social pressures.

36. Only questions with answers are the ones we come to understand.

We only analyze what we understand and get an answer.

37. War makes the victor stupid and the vanquished spiteful.

Wars serve only to alienate and encourage hatred.

38. Politics is the field of work of certain mediocre minds.

This is how critical he was of political science, since it subjugates societies.

39. Politics divides people into two groups: the instruments and, secondly, the enemies.

Once again, he criticizes the instrumentalization of politics by human beings.

40. We have art so as not to die of the truth

Art is what allows us to have a more liberated and expressive society.

41. When you have many things to do, the day has 100 pockets.

There is no time to waste, the day has many hours.

42. Parents have to do a lot to justify having children.

His father died when he was 5 years old, perhaps this has affected him in making such a will.

43. There is nothing more hypocritical than eliminating hypocrisy.

Contradiction and hypocrisy are part of human society.

44. Man is a being who considers himself to be a lover par excellence

To love and to be loved seems to be the formula for existence.

45. Without art, life would also be a mistake.

Another affirmation in favor of art as an instrument for the liberation of people.

46. The mouth can lie, but the grimace of the moment reveals the truth.

A phrase to reflect on lying.

47. Marriage ends many short follies with a long stupidity.

Nietzsche constantly reflected on love relationships.

48. The way to all that is great is to be silent.

There is no need to boast of achievements. To walk with humility always.

49. I firmly believe that animals see in men a being equal to them.

Nietzsche was curious about the animal world and nature.

50. A bad conscience is easily cured. A bad reputation is not

A metaphor that can leave us thinking.

51. People who give their full confidence believe that they are therefore entitled to the confidence of others.

A good paradox that presents the relationships of trust.

52. No one learns, or even teaches, how to endure loneliness.

Loneliness as one of the great psychological problems.

53. It is perseverance that makes men great, not strength.

Power is in the mind, and not in the physical.

54. What we do is never understood, it is only received by praise or criticism.

Of what use is all that we do?

55. We come to love our desire, and not the object of our desire.

Man is tenacious only for the sake of achieving what he sets out to achieve, even if the end is not important.

56. A man's worth is measured by the amount of loneliness he endures.

Again, Nietzsche sees in solitude a mental strength.

57. The theory of reincarnation is the starting point of man's history.

He did not believe in God, but he believed in reincarnation.

58. Among individuals madness is not frequent. Groups, parties and peoples, it is the norm

One more criticism of the values imposed by the collective and society in general.

59. Only after a law has been instituted will it be possible to speak of justice or injustice.

It is not necessary to judge the laws before implementing them.

60. Every fearful person does not know what it is to be alone. Behind his shadow there is always an enemy

Solitude as a way of understanding the good conscience of those who enjoy it.