Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
One should not wish to enjoy where one does not give joy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
One should not seek personal pleasure without also providing happiness to others.
This quote by Friedrich Nietzsche emphasizes the importance of reciprocity in relationships and interactions. It suggests that true enjoyment comes not merely from self-gratification, but from also contributing joy and happiness to the lives of others. This notion encourages a sense of responsibility towards those around us, reminding us that our actions impact the happiness of others and that fulfillment is often rooted in shared experiences and mutual joy.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about community service to inspire others to contribute to the happiness of those in need.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes βThat which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
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.
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.
The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
Similar quotes
Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.
Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.
Don't tire yourself more than need be, even at the price of founding a culture on the fatigue of your bones.
When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, "then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.
Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. None of us knows what fairy palaces we may build of beautiful thought-proof against all adversity. Bright fancies, satisfied memories, noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure houses of precious and restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty take away from us.
Do not worry about not holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role. Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing.