Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
For both parties in a controversy, the most disagreeable way of retaliating is to be vexed and silent; for the aggressor usually regards the silence as a sign of contempt.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Silence in the face of aggression can signify contempt and can be a frustrating response in conflicts.
Friedrich Nietzsche's quote suggests that in disputes, remaining silent when provoked can often infuriate the aggressor more than a direct response would. The silence can be interpreted as a lack of respect or acknowledgment of the aggressorβs actions, thus fueling further discord rather than resolving the tension.
Themes
SilenceContemptConflictRetaliationAggressionDispute
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about conflict resolution strategies during a seminar.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes βThat 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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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