Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
But he who is hated by the people, as the wolf by the dogs - is the free spirit, the enemy of fetters, the non-adorer, the dweller in the woods.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that those who are misunderstood or rejected by society often embody true freedom and individuality.
Friedrich Nietzsche articulates a stark contrast between societal acceptance and the state of being a 'free spirit.' He likens such an individual to a wolf, which is detested by dogs, to highlight how those who defy societal norms or expectations are often ostracized. This encapsulates Nietzsche's belief that true individuality and freedom often come with rejection and isolation from conventional society, portraying the free spirit as one who embraces solitude and self-authenticity.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about art and the artist's role in society.
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.
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No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.
And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five what remains?" "Three hundred and sixty-four, of course." Humpty Dumpty looked doubtful, "I'd rather see that done on paper," he said.
A church without women would be like the apostolic college without Mary. The Madonna is more important than the apostles, and the church herself is feminine, the spouse of Christ and a mother.
Everything in life is a metaphor.
The Court is most vulnerable and comes nearest to illegitimacy when it deals with judge-made constitutional law having little or no cognizable roots in the language or design of the Constitution.