Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Every tradition grows continually more venerable, and the more remote its origins, the more this is lost sight of. The veneration paid the tradition accumulates from generation to generation, until it at last becomes holy and excites awe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Traditions gain respect over time, often losing sight of their original context and meaning.
Friedrich Nietzsche's quote speaks to the way traditions evolve and acquire a sense of reverence over time. As they are passed down through generations, the original meanings and contexts may become obscured, leading to a blind veneration that can elevate them to a status of holiness and awe, detached from their origins.
Themes
TraditionVenerationHistoryMeaningEvolution
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing cultural heritage that emphasizes the value of respecting traditions.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes →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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