QuoteProject
I would only believe in a god who could dance. And when I saw my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound, and solemn: it was the spirit of gravity—through him all things fall. Not by wrath does one kill but by laughter. Come, let us kill the spirit of gravity!
Friedrich Nietzsche
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the joy and lightness of existence compared to the seriousness of oppressive forces.

Friedrich Nietzsche's quote highlights a dichotomy between the playful nature of divinity and the heavy, burdensome nature of the 'spirit of gravity,' which represents seriousness and the weight of existence. He advocates for embracing joy and laughter as a means of overcoming life's obstacles and negativity, suggesting that rather than succumbing to solemnness, one should cultivate a sense of lightness and levity in life.

Themes

LaughterGravityJoyLightnessSeriousness

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage people to embrace joy in their lives.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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

Similar quotes

There is no contradiction between effective law enforcement and respect for civil and human rights.
Dorothy HeightRead
The path up is the path down. The way forward is the way back. The universe inside is outside but the universe outside is inside.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
Since we do not take a man on his past history, we do not refuse him because of his past history. I never met a man who was thoroughly bad. There is always some good in him if he gets a chance.
Henry FordRead
The cooperative, loving side of existence goes hand in hand with coping and power, but neither the one nor the other can be neglected if life is to be gratifying.
Rollo MayRead
Indians do not hinder the progress of their dead by embalming or tight coffining. When the spirit has gone they give the body back to the earth. the earth welcomes the body-coaxes new life and beauty from it, hurries over what men shudder at. Lovely tender herbage bursts from the graves, swiftly, exulting over corruption.
Emily CarrRead
...knowing God is the condition for the sanctification of a human being by God's assistance and according to His intention. Wherever God is, there He is always creating... He wants to create a new human being. To need God is to become new. And to know God is the crucial thing.
Soren KierkegaardRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.