“And when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” ~Friedrich Nietzsch
A footnote:
That Nietzsch quote above is preceded by this even more cryptic sentence: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”
H/t Break
~Eowyn
From his thinking on the classical world’s meaning for modern times, to his work on language and his ‘re-evaluation of all morals,’ Friedrich Nietzsche was a genius of unparalleled insights and originality. That he was also a writer of poetical cast, however, made it even more difficult for him to have a following in his lifetime, as few could agree on what it was that he meant in much of his writing. The most famous –even notorious when later mis-used by the Nazis– was his concept of the übermensch, usually translated as ‘superman’ in English, which isn’t very helpful in the greater context of his work.
The second best known was his description of the moral hazards when humans start to look upon their most horrific and negative behaviours, for which he coined the phrase of ‘looking into the abyss’. This is not to be confused w/Kierkegaard’s profound ‘night of infinite dread’, as it is an attempt to communicate how we confront and accept our worst aspects and failings without being so captivated by them that we become what we most reject. Such a quandary is more common than thought.
And to Hardnox: Yes, good advice indeed. I’ll stop now as I’m falling into my instructor mode, an abyss I prefer not to visit any more than necessary!
Many thanks for yr kind comments. Pls email me to carry on a discussion, as I’m semi-retired: jefasciani@shaw.ca
Cool pic!