--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone thinks that the principal thing…" description: "\"Everyone thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/friedrich-nietzsche-15_facts_everyone-thinks-that-the-principal-thing_3126767.jpg" --- # Everyone thinks that the principal thing to the tree is… ![“Everyone thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/friedrich-nietzsche-15_facts_everyone-thinks-that-the-principal-thing_3126767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/friedrich-nietzsche-15_facts_everyone-thinks-that-the-principal-thing_3126767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/friedrich-nietzsche-15_facts_everyone-thinks-that-the-principal-thing_3126767.jpg) > “Everyone thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed.” [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 seed is the true essence of a tree, more vital than its fruit **In simple terms:** Essence precedes outcome Key Takeaway Focus on foundational values over superficial results Themes philosophy values essence Mood thoughtful serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Personal development - organizational culture - education Key Concepts Seed metaphor fundamental principle Questions to Reflect On - What core values drive your actions? - How can you nurture the ‘seed’ in a project? A Different Perspective Seeds may not guarantee fruit without nurturing ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal/) [Principal Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal-thing-490327/) [Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seed/) [Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeds/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-fruit-511482/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-in-the-bible/wisdom-is-the-principal-thing-therefore-get-wisdom/) [Proverbs In The Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverbs-in-the-bible/) > [A tree full of fruit always bends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/a-tree-full-of-fruit-always-bends/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [Discontent is the seed of ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/discontent-is-the-seed-of-ethics/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/because-of-them-i-can-now-live-the-dream-i-am-the-seed-of-the-free/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [The seed, swollen with moisture, burst asunder its covering of soil and out peers the blade of wheat, full of symbols. So faith, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/the-seed-swollen-with-moisture-burst-asunder-its-covering-of-soil-and/) [Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/) > [“You cannot occupy a proper place on earth without wisdom. It is the principal thing you must have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/you-cannot-occupy-a-proper-place-on-earth-without-wisdom-it-is-the/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [“Wisdom is the principal thing. The principle to discover the principal thing is "the fear of the Lord". Fear God and be wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/wisdom-is-the-principal-thing-the-principle-to-discover-the-principal/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The principal, the only, thing a man makes, is his condition of fate. Though commonly he does not know it, nor put up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-principal-the-only-thing-a-man-makes-is-his-condition-of-fate/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Wisdom Is The Principal Thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayode-infomart/wisdom-is-the-principal-thing/) [kayode Infomart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayode-infomart/) > [The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-principal-thing-in-this-world-is-to-keep-one-s-soul-aloft/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“You don't judge a tree by the name it Wears, you judge a tree by the fruit it Bears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/you-don-t-judge-a-tree-by-the-name-it-wears-you-judge-a-tree-by-the/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [“The riper a tree's fruit, the more stones people cast at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/the-riper-a-tree-s-fruit-the-more-stones-people-cast-at-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Judge of a tree by its fruit, not by its leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periander/judge-of-a-tree-by-its-fruit-not-by-its-leaves/) [Periander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periander/) > [Knowledge is the tree, its fruit neither dry nor shrink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/knowledge-is-the-tree-its-fruit-neither-dry-nor-shrink/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“No one tries to stone a tree whose fruit is not ripe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/no-one-tries-to-stone-a-tree-whose-fruit-is-not-ripe/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) ## 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. 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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? 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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 Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. 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