“ But great men are misunderstood when they are regarded from the wretched standpoint of public utility. ”
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (1889). copy citation
| Author | Friedrich Nietzsche |
|---|---|
| Source | Twilight of the Idols |
| Topic | utility public |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Anthony M. Ludovici |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52263/52263-h/52263-h.htm |
Context
“Is not the nineteenth century, at least in its closing years, merely an accentuated, brutalised eighteenth century,—that is to say a century of decadence? And has not Goethe been—not alone for Germany, but also for the whole of Europe,—merely an episode, a beautiful "in vain"? But great men are misunderstood when they are regarded from the wretched standpoint of public utility. The fact that no advantage can be derived from them—this in itself may perhaps be peculiar to greatness.
51
Goethe is the last German whom I respect: he had understood three things as I understand them.”
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