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Our faith in others betrays that we would rather have faith in ourselves. Our longing for a friend is our betrayer. And often with our love we want merely to overcome envy. And often we attack and make ourselves enemies, to conceal that we are vulnerable.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on human relationships and the inner conflicts that drive our need for friendship and love.

Friedrich Nietzsche's quote explores the paradoxes of human emotions, suggesting that our trust in others often stems from a deeper desire to trust ourselves. It highlights the complexities of friendship and love, indicating that these relationships can sometimes arise from insecurities and a need to mask our vulnerabilities, rather than pure affection and connection.

Themes

FaithFriendshipVulnerabilityLoveEnvyHumanity

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on mental health, this quote could highlight the struggle of vulnerability in relationships.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

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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