Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
If we make sacrifices in doing good or in doing ill, it does not alter the ultimate value of our actions; even if we stake our life in the cause, as martyrs do for the sake of our church : it is a sacrifice to our longing for power, or for the purpose of conserving our sense of power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sacrifices made in the name of good or ill do not change the inherent worth of our actions.
Friedrich Nietzsche discusses the nature of sacrifices made by individuals for various causes, suggesting that whether actions stem from altruism or self-serving motives, the ultimate value remains unaffected. He emphasizes that even the most extreme sacrifices, such as martyrdom, can reflect a deeper longing for power rather than pure virtue, encouraging a critical examination of our motivations behind actions.
Themes
SacrificeActionPowerMotivationPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about moral integrity, one could quote Nietzsche to highlight the complexity of selfless actions.
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.
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