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It is the business of the very few to be independent; it is a privilege of the strong.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True independence is rare and requires strength; it is not something everyone can attain.

In this quote, Friedrich Nietzsche highlights the concept that being truly independent is a rare quality that only a select few possess. He suggests that independence is not just a matter of personal will, but rather a privilege that comes with strength—whether that strength is physical, mental, or moral. In a society where most are reliant on others, the strong are able to stand alone, making true independence a mark of not only capability but also a distinct privilege.

Themes

IndependenceStrengthPrivilegeFewBusiness

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a motivational speech about personal empowerment.

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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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