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There is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Admiration can be pure and innocent, especially for those who have not considered that they could also be admired.

This quote by Friedrich Nietzsche reflects on the nature of admiration as an innocent and untainted emotion, particularly in individuals who have not yet contemplated their own potential for being admired. It suggests that the act of looking up to others can stem from a place of purity, where the admirer simply appreciates the qualities in another without self-reflection on their own worth or desirability.

Themes

AdmirationInnocenceSelf-WorthReflectionPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'As Nietzsche stated, there is an innocence in admiration.'

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 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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