--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever…" description: "\"Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man is contained in the celebrated saying 'the ego is always hateful'; the most childish is the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg" --- # Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man… ![“Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man is contained in the celebrated saying 'the ego is always hateful'; the most childish is the even more celebrated 'love thy neighbor as thyself'. - In the former, knowledge of human nature has ceased, in the latter it has not yet even begun.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg) > “Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man is contained in the celebrated saying 'the ego is always hateful'; the most childish is the even more celebrated 'love thy neighbor as thyself'. - In the former, knowledge of human nature has ceased, in the latter it has not yet even begun.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts two extremes: a cynical view that dismisses humanity and a naïve moralism that ignores deeper self-awareness. **In simple terms:** Both extremes ignore true self‑knowledge. Key Takeaway Seek balanced self‑understanding. Themes philosophy human nature ethics Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts ego self‑awareness moral development Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when you’re dismissing humanity? - What steps foster realistic self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on ego can hinder empathy; over‑idealism can cause naiveté. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti Theses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-theses-5184215/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Hateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hateful/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Latter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latter/) [Love thy neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-thy-neighbor/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Saying Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-ego-5184216/) [Senile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senile/) [Senile Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senile-thing-5184214/) [Theses Senile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theses-senile-5184213/) [Thesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thesis/) [Thyself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thyself/) ## Related quotes > [“Do I advise you to love thy neighbor? I suggest rather to escape from thy neighbor and to love those who are the farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/do-i-advise-you-to-love-thy-neighbor-i-suggest-rather-to-escape-from/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/things-are-much-more-complicated-feminism-versus-pornography-for/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [What the object of senile avarice may be I cannot conceive. For can there be anything more absurd than to seek more journey money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/what-the-object-of-senile-avarice-may-be-i-cannot-conceive-for-can/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [You can keep your memory intact, preserve your brain's health, and minimize the risk of aging and senile dementia, things that are greatly feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/you-can-keep-your-memory-intact-preserve-your-brain-s-health-and/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“the houses all seemed a little senile, with arthritic hinges and window screens hanging at embarrassing angles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-houses-all-seemed-a-little-senile-with-arthritic-hinges-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [At twenty, a man feels awfully aged and blasé; at thirty, almost senile; at forty, "not so old"; and at fifty, positively skittish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/at-twenty-a-man-feels-awfully-aged-and-blas-at-thirty-almost-senile/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [Your wrinkles either show that you're nasty, cranky, and senile, or that you're always smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/your-wrinkles-either-show-that-you-re-nasty-cranky-and-senile-or-that/) [Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/) > [The vitality of thought is in adventure. Idea's won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-vitality-of-thought-is-in-adventure-idea-s-won-t-keep-something/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“Ex ‘Fleet man?” “He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.” “Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. If I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/ex-fleet-man-he-was-a-full-commander-last-i-heard-sir-interesting/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [Anyone who claimed that old age had brought them patience was either lying or senile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/anyone-who-claimed-that-old-age-had-brought-them-patience-was-either/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Autumn is the very soul of metamorphosis, a time when the world is poised at the door of winter - which is the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/autumn-is-the-very-soul-of-metamorphosis-a-time-when-the-world-is/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Only art is capable of dismantling the repressive effects of a senile social system that continues to totter along the deathline: to dismantle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-beuys/only-art-is-capable-of-dismantling-the-repressive-effects-of-a-senile/) [Joseph Beuys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-beuys/) > [When you become senile, you won't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-you-become-senile-you-won-t-know-it/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [He types his labored column - weary drudge! Senile fudge and solemn: spare, editor, to condemn these dry leaves of his autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/he-types-his-labored-column-weary-drudge-senile-fudge-and-solemn/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## 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/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Ego quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) > [Show me success without ego!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivana-trump/show-me-success-without-ego/) [Ivana Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivana-trump/) [Browse all 3,462 Ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man is contained in the celebrated saying 'the ego is always hateful'; the most childish is the even more celebrated 'love thy neighbor as thyself'. - In the former, knowledge of human nature has ceased, in the latter it has not yet even begun.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-thought-about-man-is-contained/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ego" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-thought-about-man-is-contained/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ego_anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-t_2257922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever thought about man is contained in the celebrated saying 'the ego is…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anti-theses.- The most senile thing ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-thought-about-man-is-contained/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/anti-theses-the-most-senile-thing-ever-thought-about-man-is-contained/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```