Top 18 Friedrich Nietzsche Quotes
A selection of Nietzsche’s spikiest lines - plus one that’s surprisingly sweet
In Case You Missed It…
12 Things Everyone Should Know About the Psychology of Victimhood
The Latest from Mars and Venus: Eight New Findings on Sex Differences
This is the latest in my quotes collection series. Check out the full collection here.
My Substack is called The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter, but if you’ve been following along, you’ll have noticed a distinct lack of Nietzsche. People have asked me about that. The truth is, I’m not actually a card-carrying Nietzschean. The Nietzsche in the title is there for the alliteration, and as a nod to my love of philosophy in general, rather than Nietzsche specifically.
But although I don’t carry a copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra around with me in a leather satchel, I do think Nietzsche was a great writer, not to mention a world-class aphorist. His best lines are like espresso shots for the brain: short, sharp, and likely to leave you feeling unsettled.
In this post, I’ve gathered together 18 of my favorites. Most are spiky, a few are bleakly funny - and one of them (the last one) is almost tender. Yep, I’m as surprised as you are!
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
“There is a point in the history of society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it.”
“They muddy the water, to make it seem deep.”
“A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies.”
“Faith means not wanting to know what is true.”
“Formerly one sought the feeling of grandeur of man by pointing to his divine origin: this has now become a forbidden way, for at its portal stands the ape, together with other gruesome beasts, grinning knowingly as if to say: no further in this direction!”
“Is man one of God’s blunders? Or is God one of man’s blunders?”
“Although the most acute judges of the witches and even the witches themselves, were convinced of the guilt of witchery, the guilt nevertheless was non-existent. It is thus with all guilt.”
“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”
“The value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it, but in what one pays for it - what it costs us.”
“Under peaceful conditions the warlike man attacks himself.”
“He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures.”
“Nothing helps; I must help myself, or I am finished.”
“Look at your habits of which it consists: are they the product of numberless little acts of cowardice and laziness, or of your bravery and inventive reason?”
“There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!”
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
“The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either.”
“Marriage as a long conversation. When marrying you should ask yourself this question: do you believe you are going to enjoy talking with this woman into your old age? Everything else in a marriage is transitory, but most of the time that you’re together will be devoted to conversation.”
Follow me on Twitter/X for more psychology, evolution, science, and philosophy.
Coming Soon to The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter…
Cognitive Chicanery: Five Ways We Dodge Facts That Offend Us
The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter Linkfest for July 2025
Free Will, Part 1 (“It was always going to be the case that I would write this post…”)
The latest edition of my “12 Things Everyone Should Know” series
Some big news about my next book, A Billion Years of Sex Differences
How You Can Support the Newsletter
This post was free to read for all. If you like what I’m doing with The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter and would like to support my work, there are several ways you can help.
Like and Restack - Click the buttons at the top or bottom of the page to boost the post’s visibility on Substack.
Share - Send the post to friends or share it on social media.
Upgrade to a Paid Subscription - If you can afford it, a paid subscription will get you:
Full access to all new posts and the archive
Exclusive content such as my “12 Things Everyone Should Know” series, Linkfests, and other regular features
The ability to post comments and engage with the N3 Newsletter community.
If you could do any of the above, I’d be hugely grateful. Your support makes this newsletter possible.
Thanks!
Steve Stewart-Williams
“They muddy the water, to make it seem deep.”
I love this so much.
Great stuff. I think you are a superb Substacker and merit a wide audience.