--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I undertook something that not everyone…" description: "\"“I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I descended into the depths, I bored into the foundations”\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg" --- # I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I… ![“I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I descended into the depths, I bored into the foundations” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg) > ““I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I descended into the depths, I bored into the foundations”” [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 speaker claims a rare, daring descent into deep, foundational work that few would attempt. **In simple terms:** He did deep, foundational work. Key Takeaway Embrace challenging, foundational pursuits. Themes courage exploration philosophy Mood introspective serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - research - philosophical writing - personal transformation Key Concepts Existentialism depth foundations Questions to Reflect On - What foundations are you willing to explore? - How does depth affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Such depth can isolate the seeker from others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depths/) ## Related quotes > [“Slow is the experience of all deep fountains: long have they to wait until they know what has fallen into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/slow-is-the-experience-of-all-deep-fountains-long-have-they-to-wait/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“For that I must descend into the depths, as you do in the evening when you go below the sea and bring light also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/for-that-i-must-descend-into-the-depths-as-you-do-in-the-evening-when/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Deep is the well of truth and long does it take to know what has fallen into its depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/deep-is-the-well-of-truth-and-long-does-it-take-to-know-what-has/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/it-is-of-great-use-to-the-sailor-to-know-the-length-of-his-line/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [Drift beautifully on the surface, and you will die unbeautifully in the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ellmann/drift-beautifully-on-the-surface-and-you-will-die-unbeautifully-in/) Richard Ellmann > [On top of the world, or in the depths of despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/on-top-of-the-world-or-in-the-depths-of-despair/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Nearby, an old man was similarly engaged in finding the pattern of his life in the depths of his glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/nearby-an-old-man-was-similarly-engaged-in-finding-the-pattern-of-his/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I am one who has always been interested only in the edges of the body and the spirit, the outlying regions of the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/i-am-one-who-has-always-been-interested-only-in-the-edges-of-the-body/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [There's a certain rhythm to comedy that is almost like you're dancing and you just go on autopilot, so to speak. There's something just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolk/there-s-a-certain-rhythm-to-comedy-that-is-almost-like-you-re-dancing/) [James Wolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolk/) > [I've come back from the depths of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kotetsu-t-kaburagi/i-ve-come-back-from-the-depths-of-hell/) Kotetsu T Kaburagi > [In comics, there are depths that don't reveal themselves immediately, and the stuff that you might consider anal about 'Watching the Watchmen' - like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/in-comics-there-are-depths-that-don-t-reveal-themselves-immediately/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [“In the depths of the ocean; Dipped in love without expectations, We have stripped off our masks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/in-the-depths-of-the-ocean-dipped-in-love-without-expectations-we/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [Too often we forget that the great men of faith reached the heights they did only by going through the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/too-often-we-forget-that-the-great-men-of-faith-reached-the-heights/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [If you looked down to the bottom of my soul, you would understand fully the source of my longing and – pity me. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-looked-down-to-the-bottom-of-my-soul-you-would-understand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [''For the depths 'Of the the ocean ''Show the shrieks Of moulded yellow Vast is the eye that can see and the eye That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/for-the-depths-of-the-the-ocean-show-the-shrieks-of-moulded-yellow/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) ## 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 Depths quotes > [''For the depths 'Of the the ocean ''Show the shrieks Of moulded yellow Vast is the eye that can see and the eye That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/for-the-depths-of-the-the-ocean-show-the-shrieks-of-moulded-yellow/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [If you looked down to the bottom of my soul, you would understand fully the source of my longing and – pity me. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-looked-down-to-the-bottom-of-my-soul-you-would-understand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Too often we forget that the great men of faith reached the heights they did only by going through the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/too-often-we-forget-that-the-great-men-of-faith-reached-the-heights/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“In the depths of the ocean; Dipped in love without expectations, We have stripped off our masks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/in-the-depths-of-the-ocean-dipped-in-love-without-expectations-we/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [In comics, there are depths that don't reveal themselves immediately, and the stuff that you might consider anal about 'Watching the Watchmen' - like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/in-comics-there-are-depths-that-don-t-reveal-themselves-immediately/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [I've come back from the depths of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kotetsu-t-kaburagi/i-ve-come-back-from-the-depths-of-hell/) Kotetsu T Kaburagi > [There's a certain rhythm to comedy that is almost like you're dancing and you just go on autopilot, so to speak. There's something just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolk/there-s-a-certain-rhythm-to-comedy-that-is-almost-like-you-re-dancing/) [James Wolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolk/) > [I am one who has always been interested only in the edges of the body and the spirit, the outlying regions of the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/i-am-one-who-has-always-been-interested-only-in-the-edges-of-the-body/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“Nearby, an old man was similarly engaged in finding the pattern of his life in the depths of his glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/nearby-an-old-man-was-similarly-engaged-in-finding-the-pattern-of-his/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [On top of the world, or in the depths of despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/on-top-of-the-world-or-in-the-depths-of-despair/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Drift beautifully on the surface, and you will die unbeautifully in the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ellmann/drift-beautifully-on-the-surface-and-you-will-die-unbeautifully-in/) Richard Ellmann > [It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/it-is-of-great-use-to-the-sailor-to-know-the-length-of-his-line/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [May you savor your first Mother's Day. Depths are designed for delight, not protection. As passions sweep over the slightest objection, yielding a grace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-gordon/may-you-savor-your-first-mother-s-day-depths-are-designed-for-delight/) Nicholas Gordon > [I don't mind hidden depths but I insist that there be a surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nicoll/i-don-t-mind-hidden-depths-but-i-insist-that-there-be-a-surface/) [James Nicoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nicoll/) > [“Love can take one over the clouds, out to space And also to the depths of the Earth where you get trapped and coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luna-marym/love-can-take-one-over-the-clouds-out-to-space-and-also-to-the-depths/) Luna Marym [Browse all 185 Depths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I descended into the depths, I bored into the foundations”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone-may-undertake-i-descended/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone-may-undertake-i-descended/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/friedrich-nietzsche-15_depths_i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone_3226574.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I undertook something that not everyone may undertake: I descended into the depths, I bored into the…” — 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": "“I undertook something that not everyone...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone-may-undertake-i-descended/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-undertook-something-that-not-everyone-may-undertake-i-descended/#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 } } ] } ```