---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In summa: the best things have been…"
description: "\"“In summa: the best things have been slandered because the weak or the immoderate swine have cast a bad light on them - and the best men have remained ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/friedrich-nietzsche-15_quote_in-summa-the-best-things-have-been-sland_1858675.jpg"
---

#  In summa: the best things have been slandered because the…

![“In summa: the best things have been slandered because the weak or the immoderate swine have cast a bad light on them - and the best men have remained hidden – and have often misunderstood themselves.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/friedrich-nietzsche-15_quote_in-summa-the-best-things-have-been-sland_1858675.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/friedrich-nietzsche-15_quote_in-summa-the-best-things-have-been-sland_1858675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/friedrich-nietzsche-15_quote_in-summa-the-best-things-have-been-sland_1858675.jpg)

> ““In summa: the best things have been slandered because the weak or the immoderate swine have cast a bad light on them - and the best men have remained hidden – and have often misunderstood themselves.””

[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.

Suggests that groundbreaking ideas are often maligned by the weak, while true merit remains hidden and misunderstood.

**In simple terms:** Great ideas are slandered; true merit stays hidden.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and protect valuable ideas.

Themes

misunderstanding power truth

Mood

critical reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- introducing innovations
- challenging norms
- defending ideas
- self‑reflection

Key Concepts

philosophical criticism social dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- Why are some ideas dismissed?
- How can you reveal hidden merit?

A Different Perspective

May overgeneralize the role of the weak in suppressing truth.

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> [ “No innocence can shield a man from the calumnies of the wicked. \[...\] As a shadow follows its substance, so envy pursues goodness. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/no-innocence-can-shield-a-man-from-the-calumnies-of-the-wicked-as-a/)

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> [Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-haven-putnam/neither-let-us-be-slandered-from-our-duty-by-false-accusations/)

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> [“Some few years since, the basest calumnies that were ever published in this country, uttered by one of the basest men that ever disgraced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/some-few-years-since-the-basest-calumnies-that-were-ever-published-in/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [To be slandered the way I get slandered is really uncalled for, but life goes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fat-joe/to-be-slandered-the-way-i-get-slandered-is-really-uncalled-for-but/)

[Fat Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fat-joe/)

> [Therefore, I bind these lies and slanderous accusations to my person as an ornament; it belongs to my Christian profession to be vilified, slandered,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/therefore-i-bind-these-lies-and-slanderous-accusations-to-my-person/)

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> [One does not permit one's friends to be slandered in time of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-parkinson-keyes/one-does-not-permit-one-s-friends-to-be-slandered-in-time-of-trouble/)

[Frances Parkinson Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-parkinson-keyes/)

> [“On September 9 the tour touched its nadir in St. Louis when Johnson, in another intemperate outburst, had the gall to blame Congress for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/on-september-9-the-tour-touched-its-nadir-in-st-louis-when-johnson-in/)

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[Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/)

> [Inasmuch as you pray with all your soul for the one who has slandered you, so much will God reveal the truth to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/inasmuch-as-you-pray-with-all-your-soul-for-the-one-who-has-slandered/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

## 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/)

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> [“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/)

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[Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

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> [Men who have slandered the opposite sex have usually known women who were cleverer and more virtuous than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-de-pizan/men-who-have-slandered-the-opposite-sex-have-usually-known-women-who/)

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Browse all 23 Slandered quotes

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