Friedrich Nietzsche is known for his profound and challenging ideas about life, morality, and human existence and also seducing quotes. Following are the 11 thought-provoking quotes from him, with simple explanations to their meaning:

1.”God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”

To Friedrich Nietzsche, “God is dead” means-the religion and its faith-are no more valid in the present world. The old religious and moral values, according to him, have lost their grip owing to the arising of science and modern thought. One has to seek new significance and values for themselve.

2.”He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

This quote is meant as a warning while dealing against the dangers of evil or chaos. Here, Friedrich Nietzsche says you may become that which you fight against. Too much exposure to dealing with darkness or meaninglessness can alter the person, and this shows the depth to which intense focus will affect one’s own mind and character.

3.”There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

Love is messy and crazy, but it has a deeper logic or purpose, as Friedrich Nietzsche said. The thing here is that although love may appear wild and unscripted, there often lies an underlying sense or meaning for it, setting up a mutual indifference that defines the coming together between mixed emotions and reason in relationships, thus indicating that even an apparently irrational action might carry with it a sensible reason behind it.

4.”To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”

For Friedrich Nietzsche this means, suffering forms an integral part of life. He states that pains and hardships are encountered, in any case, but it is due to seeking or finding some sort of meaning from that pain that one finds his way through it and learns to grow.

5.”What does not kill us makes us stronger.”

what Friedrich Nietzsche means, we become harder and stronger when we go through the adversities of life. To cope with hardships, we develop more character and strength.

6.”Man is the cruelest animal. At the sight of the dying, he even forgets to weep.”

Criticism by Friedrich Nietzsche: He makes a statement that says people, based on human nature, do show a peculiar sort of cruelty that other animals don’t. It refers, that we can be unmoved or indifferent even in the face of pain and death. It is about human behavior; it throws light upon a dark and disturbing nature of human behavior.

7.”The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.”

Friedrich Nietzsche notes that those to whom greatness beckons or who undergo great personal or intellectual growth may be distant or even incomprehensible to those who lack such aspirations within themselves. This quotation illustrates how great accomplishment will lead to the feelings of isolation and unfair treatment at the hands of others

8.”One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”

According to Friedrich Nietzsche, true creativity and profound creation emanate from chaos or a sense of turmoil from within. Making something new or exceptional comes only by embracing and utilizing the disorderly aspects of one’s mind and transforming them into something beautiful and innovative.

9.”The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.”

According to Friedrich Nietzsche, there appears to be a fight between the self and the tendency to go with what the majority wishes. Or in other words, the pressure of becoming one within what society wishes. But to avoid the losing of their individuality-or in other words, their free identity and freedom-they have to strive against it.

10.”We are always the same age inside.”

Friedrich Nietzsche reflects on how, just as we age and change in our outward body forms, the inner selves within us are preserved. Our selves and essential natures do not change with time, which presumes that, in our inner lives and perception, we are existent out of time.

11.”The greatest events—they are not our loudest but our stillest hours.”

According to Nietzsche, most of the more important and life-changing events are inherently silent and reflective rather than loud and dramatic. He points out that in as much as there are subtle, internal experiences, which take place and realizations that mark an individual’s life, these will probably constantly overshadow the flashy superficial externals that might seem the most interesting.

Conclusion

These quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche will really make you dig deep into life and make you find who you are. Check out other posts, on Ben Franklin for some mind-blowing ideas and reflections. What is your fav quote?