Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Do not paint a picture either of God or the devil on your walls: this will ruin both your walls and the atmosphere.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that depicting ultimate concepts like God or the devil can distort our perception and environment.
Friedrich Nietzsche warns against the act of illustrating grand metaphysical concepts such as God or the devil, as he believes these depictions not only misrepresent the complexities of such ideas but also influence the surroundings negatively. This reflects his perspective on the limitations of human understanding and the importance of leaving certain truths undefined and open to interpretation.
Themes
PhilosophyGodDevilArtTruthPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on art and spirituality, one might cite this quote to highlight how representations can limit understanding.
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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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