today we read of Don Quixote with a bitter taste in the…
““today we read of Don Quixote with a bitter taste in the mouth, it is almost an ordeal, which would make us seem very strange and incomprehensible to the author and his contemporaries, – they read it with a clear conscience as the funniest of books, it made them nearly laugh themselves to death).To see suffering does you good, to make suffer, better still – that On the Genealogy of Morality 42 48 See below, Supplementary material, pp. 153–4. 49 See below, Supplementary material, pp. 137–9, pp. 140–1, pp. 143–4. 50 Don Quixote, Book II, chs 31–7. is a hard proposition, but an ancient, powerful, human-all-too-human proposition to which, by the way, even the apes might subscribe: as people say, in thinking up bizarre cruelties they anticipate and, as it were, act out a ‘demonstration’ of what man will do. No cruelty, no feast: that is what the oldest and longest period in human history teaches us – and punishment, too, has such very strong festive aspects! –””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Nietzsche critiques how people find pleasure in others' suffering and how cruelty is historically celebrated, suggesting moral values are shaped by such paradoxes.
In simple terms: People enjoy seeing pain and celebrate cruelty, revealing twisted moral foundations.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and reject the allure of suffering as entertainment.
Themes
morality
human nature
cruelty
philosophy
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- academic discussion
- personal reflection
- ethical debates
Key Concepts
Nietzschean critique
ethical relativism
social conditioning
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to find pleasure in others' pain?
- How can we cultivate empathy over cruelty?