"Nietzsche was not a poseur, nor was he represented as a hero during his lifetime. Since his death, many who claim to be his disciples have pictured him as an archetypal hero. Defiant carriage of the head; a lofty brow furrowed with sombre thoughts; thick, wavy hair, clustering down to the strong column of the neck; two falcon eyes beneath bushy eyebrows; every feature of this masterful countenance taut with willpower, health and strength—such is the portrait usually given of him. Like a second Vercingetorix, he is shown with a heavy moustache falling manfully over the hard-set lips which surmount a prominent chin, and involuntarily the image called up is that of the barbarian warrior, a Viking of the Teutonic north striding forward sword in hand to victory, his hunting horn slung over his shoulder and a spear within easy reach. It is thus that our sculptors and painters delight in portraying him, a Germanic superman, a Prometheus bound, hoping thereby to render this great recluse more accessible to men of little faith who, corrupted by school books and stage presentations, are incapable of detecting tragedy unless it is draped in theatrical trappings. But genuine tragedy is never theatrical, and the true portrait of Nietzsche is far less picturesque than busts and paintings of him would have us believe."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Stefan Zweig, The Struggle with the Daemon: Holderlin, Kleist, and Nietzsche (1925), translated by Eden and Cedar Paul
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Friedrich Nietzsche
1844 – 1900
deutscher Philologe und Philosoph
637 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche →
Related Quotes
"There exists a right by which we take a man's life but none by which we take from him his death: this is mere cruelty."
"This is age of the masses, who prostrate themselves before everything built on a massive scale."
"The man whose task and practice is to investigate souls will use precisely this art in a number of different forms in…"
"Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity.…"
"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
"Låt inte gräset gro under fötterna."
"The homogenizing of European man ... requires a justification: it lies in serving a higher sovereign species that sta…"
"To those human beings who are of any concern to me I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill-treatment, indignities…"
"There is only nobility of birth, only nobility of blood. When one speaks of "aristocrats of the spirit," reasons are …"
"The possibility has been established for the production of...a master race, the future "masters of the earth"...made …"