---
title: "8 Lacking Quotes By Friedrich Nietzsche"
description: "8 Lacking quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche. Plus more from Friedrich Nietzsche and more Lacking sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg"
---

> [The arrogance that accompanies merit offends us even more than the arrogance of people who are lacking in merit: since merit itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-offends-us-even-more-than-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg)

> [He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before they can obey themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obey-and-many-can-command/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/friedrich-nietzsche-15_action_he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obe_777576.jpg)

> [Nihilism: any aim is lacking, any answer to the question "why" is lacking. What does nihilism mean?--that the supreme values devaluate themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-to-the-question-why-is-lacking/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/friedrich-nietzsche-15_aim_nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-t_848387.jpg)

> [“The philosopher is lacking who interprets the deed and does not merely transpose it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interprets-the-deed-and-does-not/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_interpretation_the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interpret_1770297.jpg)

> [When self control is lacking in small things, the ability to apply it to matters of importance withers away. Every day in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-things-the-ability-to-apply-it/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ability_when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-th_1945300.jpg)

> [“Yet tell me, my brothers: if a goal for humanity is still lacking, is there not still lacking--humanity itself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-humanity-is-still-lacking-is/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/friedrich-nietzsche-15_brother_yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-hu_2181014.jpg)

> [We set no special value on the possession of a virtue until we percieve that it is entirely lacking in our adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possession-of-a-virtue-until-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/friedrich-nietzsche-15_adversaries_we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possessio_2334745.jpg)

> [Verily, I do not like them, the merciful who feel blessed in their pity: they are lacking too much in shame. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-who-feel-blessed-in-their-pity/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_blessed_verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-w_2398721.jpg)

## Other authors on Lacking

## More by Friedrich Nietzsche

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/#itemlist",
            "name": "8 Lacking Quotes By Friedrich Nietzsche",
            "numberOfItems": 8,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The arrogance that accompanies merit offends us even more than the arrogance of people who are lacking in merit: since merit itself offends us.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-offends-us-even-more-than-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The arrogance that accompanies merit offends us even more than the arrogance of people who are lacking in…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before they can obey themselves.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obey-and-many-can-command/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/friedrich-nietzsche-15_action_he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obe_777576.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/friedrich-nietzsche-15_action_he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obe_777576.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/friedrich-nietzsche-15_action_he-who-cannot-command-himself-should-obe_777576.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Nihilism: any aim is lacking, any answer to the question \"why\" is lacking. What does nihilism mean?--that the supreme values devaluate themselves.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-to-the-question-why-is-lacking/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/friedrich-nietzsche-15_aim_nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-t_848387.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/friedrich-nietzsche-15_aim_nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-t_848387.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/friedrich-nietzsche-15_aim_nihilism-any-aim-is-lacking-any-answer-t_848387.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Nihilism: any aim is lacking, any answer to the question \"why\" is lacking. What does nihilism mean?--that…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The philosopher is lacking who interprets the deed and does not merely transpose it.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interprets-the-deed-and-does-not/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_interpretation_the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interpret_1770297.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_interpretation_the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interpret_1770297.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_interpretation_the-philosopher-is-lacking-who-interpret_1770297.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The philosopher is lacking who interprets the deed and does not merely transpose it.” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "When self control is lacking in small things, the ability to apply it to matters of importance withers away. Every day in which one does not at least deny himself some trifle is badly spent and a threat to the day following.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-things-the-ability-to-apply-it/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ability_when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-th_1945300.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ability_when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-th_1945300.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ability_when-self-control-is-lacking-in-small-th_1945300.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“When self control is lacking in small things, the ability to apply it to matters of importance withers away…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Yet tell me, my brothers: if a goal for humanity is still lacking, is there not still lacking--humanity itself?”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-humanity-is-still-lacking-is/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/friedrich-nietzsche-15_brother_yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-hu_2181014.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/friedrich-nietzsche-15_brother_yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-hu_2181014.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/friedrich-nietzsche-15_brother_yet-tell-me-my-brothers-if-a-goal-for-hu_2181014.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Yet tell me, my brothers: if a goal for humanity is still lacking, is there not still lacking--humanity…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We set no special value on the possession of a virtue until we percieve that it is entirely lacking in our adversary.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possession-of-a-virtue-until-we/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/friedrich-nietzsche-15_adversaries_we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possessio_2334745.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/friedrich-nietzsche-15_adversaries_we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possessio_2334745.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/friedrich-nietzsche-15_adversaries_we-set-no-special-value-on-the-possessio_2334745.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We set no special value on the possession of a virtue until we percieve that it is entirely lacking in our…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Verily, I do not like them, the merciful who feel blessed in their pity: they are lacking too much in shame. If I must pity, at least I do not want it known; and if I do pity, it is preferably from a distance.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-who-feel-blessed-in-their-pity/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_blessed_verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-w_2398721.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_blessed_verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-w_2398721.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_blessed_verily-i-do-not-like-them-the-merciful-w_2398721.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Verily, I do not like them, the merciful who feel blessed in their pity: they are lacking too much in shame…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/",
            "name": "Lacking Quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accompany_the-arrogance-that-accompanies-merit-off_470135.jpg"
            },
            "description": "8 Lacking quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche. Plus more from Friedrich Nietzsche and more Lacking sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Lacking",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/friedrich-nietzsche/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```