Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Reckoned physiologically, everything ugly weakens and afflicts man. It recalls decay, danger, impotence; he actually suffers a loss of energy in its presence. The effect of the ugly can be measured with a dynamometer. Whenever man feels in any way depressed, he senses the proximity of something ugly. His feeling of power, his will to power, his courage, his pride - they decline with the ugly, they increase with the beautiful.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The ugly diminishes human strength and spirit, while beauty enhances them.
Friedrich Nietzsche's quote emphasizes the profound impact that aesthetics have on human psychology and vitality. It suggests that exposure to ugliness not only evokes a sense of decay and danger but also drains one's energy, will, and confidence, while beauty has the opposite effect, uplifting and empowering individuals. This perspective invites contemplation on the importance of beauty in our lives and its vital role in fostering human strength and joy.
Themes
BeautyUglinessEnergyPsychologyStrength
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about art and its impact on human emotions during a lecture.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes →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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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