Best Quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche

Those who combat evil might also become evil themselves. I never really thought of it, but it can't be more true. Think about war. War changes people. An ordinary American civilian joins the military, and he is shipped to somewhere in Iraq. As he first starts out, he does not like the killing. He just wants to protect his country. But, after years of being in constant threat of dying, the killing becomes routine. He doesn't feel sympathy for the dead or dying anymore. He becomes a killing machine. That is what Nietzsche is trying to say. You should fight evil, but also remain true to yourself.

He goes on to say, "He draws most happily of all out of the profoundest depth of human happiness, and, as it were, out of its drained goblet, where the bitterest and most repulsive drops have finally and evilly run together with the sweetest."

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes because it describes my feelings towards music perfectly. There are a small number of musicians today that put every fiber of their being into their music and pour their heart out onto a piece of paper. Most just write lyrics in ten minutes, grab a catchy beat, and profit off of their so-called "art." Nietzsche was a big lover of music, mainly of Wagner, and I feel that most people, including myself, can relate.

I have, for the past year or so, been so fearful of death. I've never really considered my own mortality. I've always just gone to school, talked a little bit, come home, and slept, day after day.

Now that I actually consider myself dying, I go out of my comfort zone more often than I usually do. This is a good thing, but I also have so many fears about death. No one, no matter how right they say they are, knows where we go when we die. We will most likely never know. There might be a Heaven or a Hell, we might be reborn, we might find peace with ourselves, or there might be nothing at all. This is what has always scared me.

But Nietzsche states that we should not fear the inevitable, we should love it. We should love and be fascinated with death. After all, everyone has to die eventually. It's tragic, yes, but it's also beautiful. This has helped me to accept my fate and to actually, in a weird way, look forward to it. I mean that in a non-suicidal way, of course.

I cannot tell you how many times I have lied to myself. I lie frequently, and that is one of my many habits. But I never took into consideration how many times I've told myself that I'm alright whenever I'm not and that I have nothing to offer, even though I have so much potential. This quote helped me in so many ways, and I think that you could learn something from it too.

This doesn't need much explaining. Those who fear death suddenly turn to religion because, if what is said is true, then they have nothing to worry about. While there is nothing wrong with religion, turning to it out of fear is clearly the wrong thing to do. Like he said, you shouldn't fear death, you should be fascinated with it. One shouldn't get their hopes up for the afterlife when there is about a 1/100 chance of going to where you expected, as there are many different religions.

While I believe in a God, I completely agree with this statement. There are so many stuck-up religious people who only care about earning their way into Heaven, no matter how many people they've crushed to get where they are now. I can't tell you how many Christians I've seen saying that they are holy, even though they discriminate against same-sex couples, disrespect other religions, and make people convert out of fear of burning in Hell. We should all love each other, no matter what our religious views are.

One of my pet peeves is people who yell and scream at those who don't agree with them. You should try to find a common goal, not tear each other down. You should try to understand why that person believes in that subject, and if you believe they're wrong, then politely debate it. If they are right, learn from your mistakes.

This is fairly simple. Those who talk highly of themselves, most of the time, do so in order to improve their self-esteem. They need to brag because, without it, they feel worthless. Just remember that the next time someone stuck-up talks to you.