Esoteric Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche
““One not only wants to be understood when one writes, but also quite as certainly not to be understood. It is by no means an objection to a book when someone finds it unintelligible: perhaps this might just have been the intention of its author, perhaps he did not want to be understood by "anyone”. A distinguished intellect and taste, when it wants to communicate its thoughts, always selects its hearers; by selecting them, it at the same time closes its barriers against "the others". It is there that all the more refined laws of style have their origin: they at the same time keep off, they create distance, they prevent "access" (intelligibility, as we have said,) while they open the ears of those who are acoustically related to them.””
About This Quote
Nietzsche argues that some writers intentionally make their work obscure, selecting an elite audience and creating distance, which both blocks general readers and deepens connection with a specific, intellectually aligned group.
In simple terms: Writers may write obscurely to target a select audience.
Key Takeaway
Understand that some texts are meant for a specific, elite readership.
Themes
elitism
communication
style
accessibility
intelligibility
Mood
critical
analytical
thought‑provoking
Type
philosophical
literary
theoretical
When to use this quote
- academic writing
- philosophical treatise
- literary criticism
- elite discourse
Key Concepts
intellectual exclusivity
authorial intent
style theory
Questions to Reflect On
- Why might an author choose incomprehensibility?
- How does selective communication affect literary value?
A Different Perspective
Obscurity can alienate broader audiences.
