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Beggars should be entirely abolished! Truly, it is annoying to give to them and annoying not to give to them.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Nietzsche critiques the existence of beggars, highlighting the discomfort that comes with the act of giving and not giving.

In this quote, Nietzsche expresses his disdain for the presence of beggars, suggesting that their existence creates a moral dilemma for those who encounter them. He presents the act of giving as an annoyance, indicating that it challenges societal values and personal ethics. The quote reflects deeper philosophical questions about charity, societal responsibility, and the complexities of human interactions concerning poverty.

Themes

BeggarsPhilosophyCharityMoralitySocial Responsibility

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about social welfare, this quote can illustrate the complexities of charity.

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Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
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That 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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