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Aphorisms on Love and Hate
'We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from our earliest youth ... Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater'
This volume contains a selection of Nietzsche's brilliant and challenging aphorisms, examining the pleasures of revenge, the falsity of pity, and the incompatibility of marriage with the philosophical life.
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Nietzsche's works available in Penguin Classics are A Nietzsche Reader, Beyond Good and Evil, Ecce Homo, Human, All Too Human, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Birth of Tragedy, The Portable Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twilight of Idols and Anti-Christ.
This volume contains a selection of Nietzsche's brilliant and challenging aphorisms, examining the pleasures of revenge, the falsity of pity, and the incompatibility of marriage with the philosophical life.
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Nietzsche's works available in Penguin Classics are A Nietzsche Reader, Beyond Good and Evil, Ecce Homo, Human, All Too Human, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Birth of Tragedy, The Portable Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twilight of Idols and Anti-Christ.
55 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1878
About the author
Friedrich Nietzsche
3,646 books22.8k followersFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture, who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He became the youngest person to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in 1869 at the age of 24, but resigned in 1879 due to health problems that plagued him most of his life; he completed much of his core writing in the following decade. In 1889, at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterward a complete loss of his mental faculties, with paralysis and probably vascular dementia. He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897 and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900, after experiencing pneumonia and multiple strokes.
Nietzsche's work spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favour of perspectivism; a genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and a related theory of master–slave morality; the aesthetic affirmation of life in response to both the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; the notion of Apollonian and Dionysian forces; and a characterisation of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and his doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health. His body of work touched a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, music, religion, tragedy, culture, and science, and drew inspiration from Greek tragedy as well as figures such as Zoroaster, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Wagner, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
After his death, Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth became the curator and editor of his manuscripts. She edited his unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly opposed to antisemitism and nationalism. Through her published editions, Nietzsche's work became associated with fascism and Nazism. 20th-century scholars such as Walter Kaufmann, R.J. Hollingdale, and Georges Bataille defended Nietzsche against this interpretation, and corrected editions of his writings were soon made available. Nietzsche's thought enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1960s and his ideas have since had a profound impact on 20th- and early 21st-century thinkers across philosophy—especially in schools of continental philosophy such as existentialism, postmodernism, and post-structuralism—as well as art, literature, music, poetry, politics, and popular culture.
Nietzsche's work spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favour of perspectivism; a genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and a related theory of master–slave morality; the aesthetic affirmation of life in response to both the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; the notion of Apollonian and Dionysian forces; and a characterisation of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and his doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health. His body of work touched a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, music, religion, tragedy, culture, and science, and drew inspiration from Greek tragedy as well as figures such as Zoroaster, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Wagner, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
After his death, Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth became the curator and editor of his manuscripts. She edited his unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly opposed to antisemitism and nationalism. Through her published editions, Nietzsche's work became associated with fascism and Nazism. 20th-century scholars such as Walter Kaufmann, R.J. Hollingdale, and Georges Bataille defended Nietzsche against this interpretation, and corrected editions of his writings were soon made available. Nietzsche's thought enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1960s and his ideas have since had a profound impact on 20th- and early 21st-century thinkers across philosophy—especially in schools of continental philosophy such as existentialism, postmodernism, and post-structuralism—as well as art, literature, music, poetry, politics, and popular culture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 495 reviews
February 15, 2016
This review is exclusively for the edition and not for the work itself. This is because when reading this shortened version, of his full work, it is very difficult to comprehend what Nietzsche is trying to say. I blame the editors for this, as they have simply pulled out the key facts, or Aphorisms, from the main work. The result is a series of points that do not seem to connect with each other.
I’m sure for those that have read much of his work this may be a very concise edition, but for those that haven’t read anything by Nietzsche this is a poor example of his philosophising. I recommend starting with a full edition of something he has written, like The Birth of Tragedy, rather than this.
Penguin Little Black Classic- O5
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
I’m sure for those that have read much of his work this may be a very concise edition, but for those that haven’t read anything by Nietzsche this is a poor example of his philosophising. I recommend starting with a full edition of something he has written, like The Birth of Tragedy, rather than this.
Penguin Little Black Classic- O5
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
April 6, 2022
Great thoughts on abstract ideas, however ultimately a sexist piece of work that is unable to view woman without a context to men.
June 1, 2024
Nietzsche applies a ruthless and dispassionate logic to questions of human nature and expresses his conclusions with a trenchant assertiveness that is hard to love.
February 7, 2018
"No life without pleasure; the struggle for pleasure is the struggle for life."
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Aphorisms on Love and Hate
Vol 5 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. "Aphorisms of Love and Hate" is a collection of approximately ~100 maxims on love, marriage, pity, gratitude, revenge, etc., taken from Human, All Too Human. The style of this book is modeled a bit on La Rochefoucauld's Maxims aka Sentences et maximes.
I haven't read much Nietzsche in 25+ years, so it took a while to get back into his evocative and hyper-certain groove. The book was interesting, but the aphorisms/maxims were a tad uneven. Some were quite good. I seemed to discover a "truth" about almost every member of my family. I would read one page and identify something that reminded me of me, my wife, my dad, my mom, my brother, etc. But I'd read another page and quickly remember why I don't read Nietzsche that much. Sometimes, like Foucault, and other college philosophy favorites, N-dog gets to be a bit much. It was probably also a mistake tonight to read Nietzsche while listening to Wagner. Oh, well.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Aphorisms on Love and Hate
Vol 5 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. "Aphorisms of Love and Hate" is a collection of approximately ~100 maxims on love, marriage, pity, gratitude, revenge, etc., taken from Human, All Too Human. The style of this book is modeled a bit on La Rochefoucauld's Maxims aka Sentences et maximes.
I haven't read much Nietzsche in 25+ years, so it took a while to get back into his evocative and hyper-certain groove. The book was interesting, but the aphorisms/maxims were a tad uneven. Some were quite good. I seemed to discover a "truth" about almost every member of my family. I would read one page and identify something that reminded me of me, my wife, my dad, my mom, my brother, etc. But I'd read another page and quickly remember why I don't read Nietzsche that much. Sometimes, like Foucault, and other college philosophy favorites, N-dog gets to be a bit much. It was probably also a mistake tonight to read Nietzsche while listening to Wagner. Oh, well.
May 25, 2019
The ability to wait. Being able to wait is so hard that the greatest poets did not disdain to make the inability to wait the theme of their poetry. Thus Shakespeare in his Othello, Sophocles in his Ajax, who, as the oracle suggests, might not have thought his suicide necessary, if only he had been able to let his feeling cool for one day more. He probably would have outfoxed the terrible promptings of his wounded vanity and said to himself: ‘Who, in my situation, has never once taken a sheep for a warrior? Is that so monstrous? On the contrary, it is something universally human.’ Ajax might have consoled himself thus.
*
Too close. If we live in too close proximity to a person, it is as if we kept touching a good etching with our bare fingers; one day we have poor, dirty paper in our hands and nothing more. A human being’s soul is likewise worn down by continual touching; at least it finally appears that way to us – we never see its original design and beauty again.
One always loses by all-too-intimate association with women and friends; and sometimes one loses the pearl of his life in the process.
Two of the most memorable passages for me. Especially the second one, which is dedicated to those who think it's a rather peculiar way to see relationships. See? It's not. Though I'll probably shouldn't mention where I found it.
As for the rest - superiority, controversial justifications, the rationalization of evil, obnoxious and yet predictable sexism - nothing to be done but forget. I'm not known for my optimism but I can't take hard-core pessimism that lacks a witty and inventive use of language. Moreover, some passages were simply appalling, probably because they were out of context since this is the shorter version of Human, All Too Human. I'd like to think so.
May 9, 19
* Actual rating: 2.5 stars.
** Later on my blog.
June 7, 2019
When writing Human, All Too Human, Nietzsche was 33 and had recently split up with Richard Wagner after a turbulent friendship. His book, as a reaction against the “German Spirit”, is under the auspices of the French, Voltaire, La Bruyère and La Rochefoucauld. As such, it is written in the form of maxims and aphorisms, and its substance is, for the most part, about ethics. Most importantly, Nietzsche, now emancipated from the weighty influence of Wagner and Schopenhauer (also an outstanding aphorist), writes with a renewed energy, crispness, audacity, unwarranted cynicism and sense of provocation.
This abbreviated version focuses on moral and psychological topics such as friendship, love, marriage, power struggles, joy, pain, cruelty, revenge. However, it does not approach any of the great concepts — such as the Will to power, the Death of God or the Eternal return —, that Nietzsche would later come to develop.
This abbreviated version focuses on moral and psychological topics such as friendship, love, marriage, power struggles, joy, pain, cruelty, revenge. However, it does not approach any of the great concepts — such as the Will to power, the Death of God or the Eternal return —, that Nietzsche would later come to develop.
November 15, 2017
2.5 stars.
Not the greatest Penguin Little Black Classic I've read, but not the worst. This collection contains excerpts from Nietzsche's book Human, All Too Human, published in 1878, and covers a variety of topics including marriage, love, jealousy, friendship, and more.
Nietzsche was around 34 years old when writing these aphorisms, but he comes across a lot of time as though he were a cantankerous old man. He doesn't seem to have a very positive view on either marriage or women, and I have to admit that I didn't agree with him on many of the points that he raised in this collection, but at times he did make me stop and think and reread some sections. I don't know if this is down to his writing itself or to the fairly readable and seamless translation by Marion Faber and Stephen Lehmann, but it's kind of making me want to give one of his full collections a try at some point.
Not as difficult to read as I had initially expected, and with some gems throughout, but I'm not sure I can say I'm either a fan or not a fan at this stage. Colour me intrigued though.
Not the greatest Penguin Little Black Classic I've read, but not the worst. This collection contains excerpts from Nietzsche's book Human, All Too Human, published in 1878, and covers a variety of topics including marriage, love, jealousy, friendship, and more.
Nietzsche was around 34 years old when writing these aphorisms, but he comes across a lot of time as though he were a cantankerous old man. He doesn't seem to have a very positive view on either marriage or women, and I have to admit that I didn't agree with him on many of the points that he raised in this collection, but at times he did make me stop and think and reread some sections. I don't know if this is down to his writing itself or to the fairly readable and seamless translation by Marion Faber and Stephen Lehmann, but it's kind of making me want to give one of his full collections a try at some point.
Not as difficult to read as I had initially expected, and with some gems throughout, but I'm not sure I can say I'm either a fan or not a fan at this stage. Colour me intrigued though.
May 31, 2022
The hour-hand of life. Life consists of rare, isolated moments of the greatest significance, and of innumerably many intervals, during which at best the silhouettes of those moments hover about us. Love, springtime, every beautiful melody, mountains, the moon, the sea – all these speak completely to the heart but once, if in fact they ever do get a chance to speak completely. For many men do not have those moments at all, and are themselves intervals and intermissions in the symphony of real life.
April 27, 2021
Some of Mr. Nietzsches points were agreeable and i enjoyed having thoughts that I can now put into words, however, most of his opinions are rubbish. He needs to experience life and stop trying to read women like they were to be newspaper articles.
February 26, 2015
these are 80p so clearly not to be passed up, but Nietzsche is hella dickish in this.
May 16, 2018
I finally took a stab at reading Friedrich Nietzsche. This book is an abridged version of his maxims from 'Human, all too Human', but, it gives you a great start to reading a genre of anthropology, behavioral economics and metaphysics(somewhat).
In this book Nietzsche analyses the conundrum within the human psyche quite ruthlessly and with a dispassionate logic on topics like Love, hate, pity, marriage,revenge, etc. Even though Nietzsche belongs to the 19th century, his insights are still quite powerfully resounding in today's world. In fact, the insights & advice could be very well used for marketing firms for branding and understanding consumer behavior. His views on women are something I'd definitely not echo with, but, would give him the benefit of doubt for being the product of his time.
Having said above, the book is not an easy-breezy read for sure. It contains around 100 most popular maxims from the philosopher.One might have to re-read and maybe research the interpretation of some of the maxims.
I will attempt to elaborate my 3 favorite aphorisms from the book:
1) Psychological Observation: Nietzsche criticizes a man's disability to psychologically dissect and calculate a situation(public events, personalities, etc). By exercising this art, man can entertain himself in any unhappy situation. He advises the man to have an analytical perspective to things by observing ones actions and motives and drawing a maxim out of it.
2)Gratitude and Revenge : Gratitude is a milder form of revenge, and they both are fundamentally the same according to Nietzsche(Sounds cynical, right?!). The powerful man has been weakened by an act of kindness by his benefactor. By offering his gratitude he avenges himself on his benefactor. Therefore, in a society, the good men(powerful men) prioritize practicing gratitude.
3)Judge Not: History is frightful and inhuman. But, Nietzsche advises to not judge the past too quickly, as the instinct of justice was not so widely developed then. Also, the views and the ideas accepted in the past were socially and morally more dominant then and the same would be considered cruel in today's time. Surge ahead, don't linger or draw conclusions from the past.
Yes, caustic is his writing! However, some of the maxims still leave you gaping at his wisdom.
Definitely a read worthy!
In this book Nietzsche analyses the conundrum within the human psyche quite ruthlessly and with a dispassionate logic on topics like Love, hate, pity, marriage,revenge, etc. Even though Nietzsche belongs to the 19th century, his insights are still quite powerfully resounding in today's world. In fact, the insights & advice could be very well used for marketing firms for branding and understanding consumer behavior. His views on women are something I'd definitely not echo with, but, would give him the benefit of doubt for being the product of his time.
Having said above, the book is not an easy-breezy read for sure. It contains around 100 most popular maxims from the philosopher.One might have to re-read and maybe research the interpretation of some of the maxims.
I will attempt to elaborate my 3 favorite aphorisms from the book:
1) Psychological Observation: Nietzsche criticizes a man's disability to psychologically dissect and calculate a situation(public events, personalities, etc). By exercising this art, man can entertain himself in any unhappy situation. He advises the man to have an analytical perspective to things by observing ones actions and motives and drawing a maxim out of it.
2)Gratitude and Revenge : Gratitude is a milder form of revenge, and they both are fundamentally the same according to Nietzsche(Sounds cynical, right?!). The powerful man has been weakened by an act of kindness by his benefactor. By offering his gratitude he avenges himself on his benefactor. Therefore, in a society, the good men(powerful men) prioritize practicing gratitude.
3)Judge Not: History is frightful and inhuman. But, Nietzsche advises to not judge the past too quickly, as the instinct of justice was not so widely developed then. Also, the views and the ideas accepted in the past were socially and morally more dominant then and the same would be considered cruel in today's time. Surge ahead, don't linger or draw conclusions from the past.
Yes, caustic is his writing! However, some of the maxims still leave you gaping at his wisdom.
Definitely a read worthy!
May 4, 2019
29/4/19
A very interesting read!! I spoke about this today on my Instagram and I felt it was very eye opening with regards to the underlying foundations of our society as well as of our emotions and feelings. I am however not well versed when it comes to philosophy so there were times that I struggled. There were also a few statements that in my opinion were rather archaic, but then again this is 19th century writing XD Despite this I am giving this four stars, because I am fascinated by Nietzsche's observations and by how a lot of them (I feel) are still very relevant today. I do have to say though that there were parts that were misogynistic. Either way I will be doing a review on my Youtube channel soon! :D
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A very interesting read!! I spoke about this today on my Instagram and I felt it was very eye opening with regards to the underlying foundations of our society as well as of our emotions and feelings. I am however not well versed when it comes to philosophy so there were times that I struggled. There were also a few statements that in my opinion were rather archaic, but then again this is 19th century writing XD Despite this I am giving this four stars, because I am fascinated by Nietzsche's observations and by how a lot of them (I feel) are still very relevant today. I do have to say though that there were parts that were misogynistic. Either way I will be doing a review on my Youtube channel soon! :D
You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website
June 21, 2023
Why do straight men hate their wives?!
February 6, 2022
Basically what I imagine Nietzsche’s twitter feed would have looked like. There’s a great quote on more or less every page of this little book, but, as indicated by the title, this is not so much a cohesive piece of philosophical writing as it is a collection of random, easily digestible and relatable thoughts – thoughts that range from mildly humorous to propa deep. I was hoping for something a bit heavier and more mind-altering from my first read of this Mt Everest sized author. I suppose I probably ought to stop being such a coward and dive into Beyond Good and Evil if I’m looking for the full experience.
December 30, 2021
'We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from our earliest youth ... Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured if one wishes to become a proficient hater.'
This book contains a selection of Nietzsche's philosophical and challenging aphorisms, exploring the satisfaction of revenge, the falsehood of pity, and the incompatibility of marriage with the intellectual life.
This piece tree stands me it's more like a dictionary of words and how Nietzsche has explained them, and I think that especially for a man of his time, those are pretty modern ideas and were interesting to read. I don't believe that this focus for anyone; nevertheless, I do think that if you enjoy Nietzsche's work, I am sure you will like it.
This book contains a selection of Nietzsche's philosophical and challenging aphorisms, exploring the satisfaction of revenge, the falsehood of pity, and the incompatibility of marriage with the intellectual life.
This piece tree stands me it's more like a dictionary of words and how Nietzsche has explained them, and I think that especially for a man of his time, those are pretty modern ideas and were interesting to read. I don't believe that this focus for anyone; nevertheless, I do think that if you enjoy Nietzsche's work, I am sure you will like it.
March 24, 2018
A collection of quotes from Nietzsche that make you think and reflect on your own views. Loved it.
August 25, 2021
so, i finished this and i liked it. though i feel like it's not the best if you are just starting out with nietzsche or with philosophy in general. it can give you a brief perception on what his book "human, all too human" is about, but there is a reason why the full book is way longer. (not that i read that book either)
it had some really good ideas which i resonated with, the morality, revenge, pity parts are good, really good BUT oh boy why does every single philosophy book that i enjoy have to include some misogynistic ideas? ah yes patriarchy, history of male privilege. it's 19th century literature, i understand, but still-
/// Our present morality has grown up on the ground of the ruling clans and castes.
/// We recognize that there are no sins in the metaphysical sense; but, in the same sense, neither are there any virtues; we recognize that this entire realm of moral ideas is in a continual state of fluctuation, that there are higher and deeper concepts of good and evil, moral and immoral.
/// The idea of pain is not the same as the suffering of it.
/// No life without pleasure; the struggle for pleasure is the struggle for life. Whether the individual fights this battle in ways such that men call him good or evil is determined by the measure and makeup of his intellect.
/// Finally, when the whole tablet of his soul is written full with experiences, he will neither despise and hate existence nor love it, but rather lie above it, now with a joyful eye, now with a sorrowful eye and, like nature, be now of summery, now of autumnal disposition.
/// Free-spirited people, living for knowledge alone
/// Whatever labyrinths he may wander thorough, among whatever rocks his river may at times have forced its tortured course - once he gets to the light, he goes his way brightly, lightly, and almost soundlessly, and lets the sunshine play down to his depths.
/// there is this inner inevitability of opinions, due to the indissoluble interweaving of character, occupation, talent, and environment
/// By knowing ourselves and regarding our nature itself as a changing sphere of opinions and moods [...] And so let us bear with each other, since we do in fact bear with ourselves; and perhaps each man will some day know in the more joyful hour in which he says:
'Friends, there are no friends!' the dying wise man shouted.
'Enemies, there is no enemy!' shout I, the living fool.
it had some really good ideas which i resonated with, the morality, revenge, pity parts are good, really good BUT oh boy why does every single philosophy book that i enjoy have to include some misogynistic ideas? ah yes patriarchy, history of male privilege. it's 19th century literature, i understand, but still-
/// Our present morality has grown up on the ground of the ruling clans and castes.
/// We recognize that there are no sins in the metaphysical sense; but, in the same sense, neither are there any virtues; we recognize that this entire realm of moral ideas is in a continual state of fluctuation, that there are higher and deeper concepts of good and evil, moral and immoral.
/// The idea of pain is not the same as the suffering of it.
/// No life without pleasure; the struggle for pleasure is the struggle for life. Whether the individual fights this battle in ways such that men call him good or evil is determined by the measure and makeup of his intellect.
/// Finally, when the whole tablet of his soul is written full with experiences, he will neither despise and hate existence nor love it, but rather lie above it, now with a joyful eye, now with a sorrowful eye and, like nature, be now of summery, now of autumnal disposition.
/// Free-spirited people, living for knowledge alone
/// Whatever labyrinths he may wander thorough, among whatever rocks his river may at times have forced its tortured course - once he gets to the light, he goes his way brightly, lightly, and almost soundlessly, and lets the sunshine play down to his depths.
/// there is this inner inevitability of opinions, due to the indissoluble interweaving of character, occupation, talent, and environment
/// By knowing ourselves and regarding our nature itself as a changing sphere of opinions and moods [...] And so let us bear with each other, since we do in fact bear with ourselves; and perhaps each man will some day know in the more joyful hour in which he says:
'Friends, there are no friends!' the dying wise man shouted.
'Enemies, there is no enemy!' shout I, the living fool.
January 25, 2019
I dipped a toe into Nietzsche and it turns out the water is a bit too cold for me. Or maybe the water is a bit too... shallow. Sips tea. That may be the failing of this bite-size edition rather than the man himself, but it's probably a good thing that me and Nietzsche don't seem to have much in common.
This is something I would have loved to have read with a friend and discussed. It's surprisingly readable, which is something I didn't expect. It helps that this collection is only a small sample of Human, All Too Human, I'm sure it would be a different story had I committed to the whole text. I've read reviews that have said that this edition isn't an easy way to get a feel for Nietzsche and that the format makes everything confusing but I didn't find that at all (and I say this as someone completely new to Nietzsche). This edition breaks the original text down into key quotes which, granted, don't really marry together but for me the disjointed nature makes it easier to get through. Quotes can be read in isolation, chewed over, and set aside. I don't think of it is a text to be read all at once, it's more of a dip-in-dip-out bag. To me it's kind of like reading the collected bath thoughts by someone with a university education.
There were some pretty hilarious out-of-touch passages on women too which were so absurd I couldn't even be mad at. Oh the modern woman, you do such a lot! You have so much you have to do and keep a handle on in your day. How could you possibly -- with such a full schedule, with such responsibility and new education -- be expected to keep up with a man's voracious sexual appetites as well? Buy your man a prostitute today! You know, for your own good. Lulz. What a smoothie.
TLDR: Moments of brilliance interposed with lot of murk and bitterness. From the tiniest taste of Nietzsche I got with this edition I wouldn't mind another curious bite.
This is something I would have loved to have read with a friend and discussed. It's surprisingly readable, which is something I didn't expect. It helps that this collection is only a small sample of Human, All Too Human, I'm sure it would be a different story had I committed to the whole text. I've read reviews that have said that this edition isn't an easy way to get a feel for Nietzsche and that the format makes everything confusing but I didn't find that at all (and I say this as someone completely new to Nietzsche). This edition breaks the original text down into key quotes which, granted, don't really marry together but for me the disjointed nature makes it easier to get through. Quotes can be read in isolation, chewed over, and set aside. I don't think of it is a text to be read all at once, it's more of a dip-in-dip-out bag. To me it's kind of like reading the collected bath thoughts by someone with a university education.
There were some pretty hilarious out-of-touch passages on women too which were so absurd I couldn't even be mad at. Oh the modern woman, you do such a lot! You have so much you have to do and keep a handle on in your day. How could you possibly -- with such a full schedule, with such responsibility and new education -- be expected to keep up with a man's voracious sexual appetites as well? Buy your man a prostitute today! You know, for your own good. Lulz. What a smoothie.
TLDR: Moments of brilliance interposed with lot of murk and bitterness. From the tiniest taste of Nietzsche I got with this edition I wouldn't mind another curious bite.
September 1, 2022
Too close. If we live in too close proximity to a person, it is as if we keep touching a good etching with our bare fingers; one day we have poor, dirty paper in our hands and nothing more. A human being's soul is likewise worn down by continual touching; at least it finally appears that way to us -- we never see its original design and beauty again.
One always loses by all-too-intimate association with women and friends; and sometimes one loses the pearl of his life in the process.
One always loses by all-too-intimate association with women and friends; and sometimes one loses the pearl of his life in the process.
March 9, 2017
Limit of human love. Any man who has once declared the other man to be a fool, a bad fellow, is annoyed when that man ends by showing that he is not.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
April 9, 2015
Great writing style, a real treat. I know these books are very short but i felt a bit more context would have been helpful.
July 29, 2023
koledze zdarza się fajnie myśleć
December 22, 2017
3.5/5
" Gratitude and revenge.
The powerful man feels gratitude for the following reason: through his good deed, his benefactor has, as it were, violated the powerful man’s sphere and penetrated it. Now through his act of gratitude the powerful man requites himself by violating the sphere of the benefactor. It is a milder form of revenge. Without the satisfaction of gratitude, the powerful man would have shown himself to be unpowerful and henceforth would be considered such. For that reason, every society of good men (that is, originally, of powerful men) places gratitude among its first duties. "
----
" Pity more intense than suffering.
There are cases where pity is more intense than actual suffering. When one of our friends is guilty of something ignominious, for example, we feel it more painfully than when we ourselves do it. For we believe in the purity of his character more than he does. Thus our love for him (probably because of this very belief) is more intense than his own love for himself. Even if his egoism suffers more than our egoism, in that he has to feel the bad consequences of his fault more intensely, our selflessness (this word must never be taken literally, but only as a euphemism) is touched more intensely by his guilt than is his selflessness. "
----
" Goodwill.
Among the small but endlessly abundant and therefore very effective things that science ought to heed more than the great, rare things, is goodwill. I mean those expressions of a friendly disposition in interactions, that smile of the eye, those handclasps, that ease which usually envelops nearly all human actions. Every teacher, every official brings this ingredient to what he considers his duty. It is the continual manifestation of our humanity, its rays of light, so to speak, in which everything grows. Especially within the narrowest circle, in the family, life sprouts and blossoms only by this goodwill. Good nature, friendliness, and courtesy of the heart are ever-flowing tributaries of the selfless drive and have made much greater contributions to culture than those much more famous expressions of this drive, called pity, charity, and self-sacrifice. But we tend to underestimate them, and in fact there really is not much about them that is selfless. The sum of these small doses is nevertheless mighty; its cumulative force is among the strongest of forces.
Similarly, there is much more happiness to be found in the world than dim eyes can see, if one calculates correctly and does not forget all those moments of ease which are so plentiful in every day of every human life, even the most oppressed. "
----
" Pity does not aim at the pleasure of others any more than malice (as we said above) aims at the pain of others, per se. For in pity at least two (maybe many more) elements of personal pleasure are contained, and it is to that extent self-enjoyment: first of all, it is the pleasure of the emotion (the kind of pity we find in tragedy) and second, when it drives us to act, it is the pleasure of our satisfaction in the exercise of power. If, in addition, a suffering person is very close to us, we reduce our own suffering by our acts of pity. "
----
" Means of compensation.
If we have injured someone, giving him the opportunity to make a joke about us is often enough to provide him personal satisfaction, or even to win his good will. "
----
" Motive for attack.
We attack not only to hurt a person, to conquer him, but also, perhaps, simply to become aware of our own strength. "
----
" To offend and be offended. It is much more agreeable to offend and later ask forgiveness than to be offended and grant forgiveness. The one who does the former demonstrates his power and then his goodness. The other, if he does not want to be thought inhuman, must forgive; because of this coercion, pleasure in the other’s humiliation is slight "
----
" In many people, incidentally, the gift of having good friends is much greater than the gift of being a good friend. "
----
" Different sighs.
A few men have sighed because their women were abducted; most, because no one wanted to abduct them. "
----
" Unity of place, and drama.
If spouses did not live together, good marriages would be more frequent. "
----
" Marriage as a long conversation.
When entering a marriage, one should ask the question: do you think you will be able to have good conversations with this woman right into old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory, but most of the time in interaction is spent in conversation. "
----
" Wanting to be loved.
The demand to be loved is the greatest kind of arrogance. "
----
" Learning to love.
We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from earliest youth; if education or chance give us no opportunity to practice these feelings, our soul becomes dry and unsuited even to understanding the tender inventions of loving people. Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater: otherwise the germ for that, too, will gradually wither. "
" Gratitude and revenge.
The powerful man feels gratitude for the following reason: through his good deed, his benefactor has, as it were, violated the powerful man’s sphere and penetrated it. Now through his act of gratitude the powerful man requites himself by violating the sphere of the benefactor. It is a milder form of revenge. Without the satisfaction of gratitude, the powerful man would have shown himself to be unpowerful and henceforth would be considered such. For that reason, every society of good men (that is, originally, of powerful men) places gratitude among its first duties. "
----
" Pity more intense than suffering.
There are cases where pity is more intense than actual suffering. When one of our friends is guilty of something ignominious, for example, we feel it more painfully than when we ourselves do it. For we believe in the purity of his character more than he does. Thus our love for him (probably because of this very belief) is more intense than his own love for himself. Even if his egoism suffers more than our egoism, in that he has to feel the bad consequences of his fault more intensely, our selflessness (this word must never be taken literally, but only as a euphemism) is touched more intensely by his guilt than is his selflessness. "
----
" Goodwill.
Among the small but endlessly abundant and therefore very effective things that science ought to heed more than the great, rare things, is goodwill. I mean those expressions of a friendly disposition in interactions, that smile of the eye, those handclasps, that ease which usually envelops nearly all human actions. Every teacher, every official brings this ingredient to what he considers his duty. It is the continual manifestation of our humanity, its rays of light, so to speak, in which everything grows. Especially within the narrowest circle, in the family, life sprouts and blossoms only by this goodwill. Good nature, friendliness, and courtesy of the heart are ever-flowing tributaries of the selfless drive and have made much greater contributions to culture than those much more famous expressions of this drive, called pity, charity, and self-sacrifice. But we tend to underestimate them, and in fact there really is not much about them that is selfless. The sum of these small doses is nevertheless mighty; its cumulative force is among the strongest of forces.
Similarly, there is much more happiness to be found in the world than dim eyes can see, if one calculates correctly and does not forget all those moments of ease which are so plentiful in every day of every human life, even the most oppressed. "
----
" Pity does not aim at the pleasure of others any more than malice (as we said above) aims at the pain of others, per se. For in pity at least two (maybe many more) elements of personal pleasure are contained, and it is to that extent self-enjoyment: first of all, it is the pleasure of the emotion (the kind of pity we find in tragedy) and second, when it drives us to act, it is the pleasure of our satisfaction in the exercise of power. If, in addition, a suffering person is very close to us, we reduce our own suffering by our acts of pity. "
----
" Means of compensation.
If we have injured someone, giving him the opportunity to make a joke about us is often enough to provide him personal satisfaction, or even to win his good will. "
----
" Motive for attack.
We attack not only to hurt a person, to conquer him, but also, perhaps, simply to become aware of our own strength. "
----
" To offend and be offended. It is much more agreeable to offend and later ask forgiveness than to be offended and grant forgiveness. The one who does the former demonstrates his power and then his goodness. The other, if he does not want to be thought inhuman, must forgive; because of this coercion, pleasure in the other’s humiliation is slight "
----
" In many people, incidentally, the gift of having good friends is much greater than the gift of being a good friend. "
----
" Different sighs.
A few men have sighed because their women were abducted; most, because no one wanted to abduct them. "
----
" Unity of place, and drama.
If spouses did not live together, good marriages would be more frequent. "
----
" Marriage as a long conversation.
When entering a marriage, one should ask the question: do you think you will be able to have good conversations with this woman right into old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory, but most of the time in interaction is spent in conversation. "
----
" Wanting to be loved.
The demand to be loved is the greatest kind of arrogance. "
----
" Learning to love.
We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from earliest youth; if education or chance give us no opportunity to practice these feelings, our soul becomes dry and unsuited even to understanding the tender inventions of loving people. Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater: otherwise the germ for that, too, will gradually wither. "
November 24, 2017
I think it's important to point out that I read this little black book backwards. Don't ask me why, I read a few pages in the front then a few pages in the back. But then I keep reading from the back, I guess I found it was more interesting that way. Either way Nietzsche had some intriguing thoughts in here that stood out to me because they seem relevant in a way to me.
April 14, 2024
Nietzsche tiene una gran capacidad para hacer que me gusten sus libros incluso estando en desacuerdo con todo, pero todo, lo que ha escrito en este ensayo.
Por decirlo claro, top libros más misóginos que he leído en mi vida. Este tío tenía una cosa clara y esa era ser machista xd
Por decirlo claro, top libros más misóginos que he leído en mi vida. Este tío tenía una cosa clara y esa era ser machista xd
November 24, 2021
Ótimo. Nietzsche em doses pequenas e (quase) não falando de si mesmo a cada parágrafo.
December 16, 2021
Malice is rare. Most men are much too concerned with themselves to be malicious.
I picked this book up because I wanted to read something by Nietzsche but was intimidated by the reviews of his books. So I thought a book of his quotes might be a good way to dip my toes in.
I enjoyed this reading experience much more than I expected to! I could barely put it down and wanted to bookmark every other page. Nietzsche's musings were interesting. Despite the title, romantic love and hate weren't the focus of it. There were perhaps 2 pages about marriage towards the end. For the most part, the book is about morality, virtue, societal questions, and other such things you expect philosophers to write about.
Penguin's Little Black Classics editions are rather tiny but perfect for getting a taste of an author, which is what I was going for. The book is just a collection of aphorisms - no preface, no notes, no sections, no even an indication of which book the quote is taken from or the year it was written in. So bear that in mind if these things matter to you. I appreciate such things, but their absence wasn't a problem for me in this case.
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February 4, 2017
A collection of the German Philosopher Nietzche's thoughts on love, the human condition, feelings and marriage, set in short, devourable segments.
This was a marvellous collection. I swept through this as if my life dependended upon it: and perhaps it does.
There are segments which are truer than others, and some which are obviously products of the time Nietzche was writing in. It seemed a confusing batch at times, too, for I'm not sure Nietzche really, truly believed all he was writing, as hypocrisy was often rife within. It is quotable and will provide conversions aplenty, though perhaps we should forgive a man from a different time his views on women, paradoxical as they were.
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This was a marvellous collection. I swept through this as if my life dependended upon it: and perhaps it does.
There are segments which are truer than others, and some which are obviously products of the time Nietzche was writing in. It seemed a confusing batch at times, too, for I'm not sure Nietzche really, truly believed all he was writing, as hypocrisy was often rife within. It is quotable and will provide conversions aplenty, though perhaps we should forgive a man from a different time his views on women, paradoxical as they were.
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April 11, 2018
"We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from earliest youth... Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater."
_______________________
Publisher: penguin classics
Origin: Germany
Genre: philosophy, Non-Fiction
Rating: 2/5
__________________________
Aphorisms on Love and Hate contains samples taken from Human, All Too Human by German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, showcasing his brilliant and thought-provoking maxims on revenge, false pity and the drawbacks of marriage.
_________________________
Perhaps this was a big feat for the editors to condense such a heavy topic, that it presents itself as a shallow and difficult read. The ideas that Nietzsche presents are brilliant and he writes them well. However, there was no key elements to unify and connect each passage, it was hard to comprehend Nietzsche's ideas. I suggest reading a full volume by Nietzsche to really grasp his thoughts, having read his work other, this isn't the best representation of the philosopher. I love the collection that Penguin has chosen but I don't think this one should have been included.
_______________________
Publisher: penguin classics
Origin: Germany
Genre: philosophy, Non-Fiction
Rating: 2/5
__________________________
Aphorisms on Love and Hate contains samples taken from Human, All Too Human by German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, showcasing his brilliant and thought-provoking maxims on revenge, false pity and the drawbacks of marriage.
_________________________
Perhaps this was a big feat for the editors to condense such a heavy topic, that it presents itself as a shallow and difficult read. The ideas that Nietzsche presents are brilliant and he writes them well. However, there was no key elements to unify and connect each passage, it was hard to comprehend Nietzsche's ideas. I suggest reading a full volume by Nietzsche to really grasp his thoughts, having read his work other, this isn't the best representation of the philosopher. I love the collection that Penguin has chosen but I don't think this one should have been included.
April 17, 2019
"Letting oneself be loved. Because one of the two loving people is usually the lover, the other the beloved, the belief has arisen that in every love affair the amount of love is constant: the more of it one of the two grabs to himself, the less remains for the other person. Sometimes, exceptionally, it happens that vanity convinces each of the two people that he is the one who has to be loved, so that both want to let themselves be loved: in marriage, especially, this results in some half-droll, half-absurd scenes."
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