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It seems to me that to take a book of mine into his hands is one of the rarest distinctions that anyone can confer upon himself. I even assume that he removes his shoes when he does so-not to speak of boots.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Nietzsche expresses that reading his work is a rare honor and requires a level of respect.

In this quote, Friedrich Nietzsche emphasizes the significance he places on his writings and the act of reading them. He suggests that engaging with his ideas is a distinguished privilege that not everyone qualifies for, implying that it should be approached with reverence, almost as a ritual, which is symbolized by the metaphor of removing shoes. This underscores the gravity and value he attributes to both the reader and the act of reading itself.

Themes

ReadingBooksKnowledgeRespectPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

During a book club meeting discussing the importance of respecting the author's work.

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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 — as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne — 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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