--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many too many are born: for the…" description: "\"“Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the state devised!”\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg" --- # Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the… ![“Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the state devised!” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg) > ““Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the state devised!”” [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. Society creates unnecessary individuals, treating them as superfluous and burdensome. **In simple terms:** Society produces excess people deemed unnecessary. Key Takeaway Question societal roles and value of each individual. Themes society individuality excess value Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - political activism - education - community building Key Concepts philosophy social critique existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you define 'superfluous' in society? - What value does each person bring? A Different Perspective Not all excess is negative; diversity can be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born Superfluous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-superfluous-3112623/) [Ones State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ones-state-3112625/) [State Devised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-devised-1476967/) [Superfluous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superfluous/) [Superfluous Ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superfluous-ones-3112624/) ## Related quotes > [The rule of law bakes no bread, it is unable to distribute loaves or fishes (it has none), and it cannot protect itself against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-rule-of-law-bakes-no-bread-it-is-unable-to-distribute-loaves-or/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Those who show pity and are always ready to help during times of trouble are seldom the same ones who rejoice in our joy:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/those-who-show-pity-and-are-always-ready-to-help-during-times-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Full is the earth of the superfluous; marred is life by the many-too-many. May they be decoyed out of this life by the "life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/full-is-the-earth-of-the-superfluous-marred-is-life-by-the-many-too/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Historical refutation as the definitive refutation.- In former times, one sought to prove that there is no God - today one indicates how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/historical-refutation-as-the-definitive-refutation-in-former-times/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [To call the world God is not to explain it; it is only to enrich our language with a superfluous synonym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/to-call-the-world-god-is-not-to-explain-it-it-is-only-to-enrich-our/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want - or in the case of human beings, from vanity, the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/no-living-creature-is-naturally-greedy-except-from-fear-of-want-or-in/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/elegance-is-achieved-when-all-that-is-superfluous-has-been-discarded/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We are ignorant of things necessary, because we learn things superfluous and unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/we-are-ignorant-of-things-necessary-because-we-learn-things/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“Wherever poesie can be felt, all poetic touches are superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/wherever-poesie-can-be-felt-all-poetic-touches-are-superfluous/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [To recover the fatherhood idea, we must fashion a new cultural story of fatherhood. The moral of today's story is that fatherhoodis superfluous. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blankenhorn/to-recover-the-fatherhood-idea-we-must-fashion-a-new-cultural-story/) [David Blankenhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blankenhorn/) > [“The aim of all government is to make all government superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-fichte/the-aim-of-all-government-is-to-make-all-government-superfluous/) [Johann Fichte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-fichte/) > [It is almost superfluous to say that there is no such thing as a free and independent press among the mainstream news media today.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-baldwin/it-is-almost-superfluous-to-say-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free/) [Chuck Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-baldwin/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## 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 Superfluous quotes > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [It is almost superfluous to say that there is no such thing as a free and independent press among the mainstream news media today.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-baldwin/it-is-almost-superfluous-to-say-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free/) [Chuck Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-baldwin/) > [“The aim of all government is to make all government superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-fichte/the-aim-of-all-government-is-to-make-all-government-superfluous/) [Johann Fichte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-fichte/) > [To recover the fatherhood idea, we must fashion a new cultural story of fatherhood. The moral of today's story is that fatherhoodis superfluous. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blankenhorn/to-recover-the-fatherhood-idea-we-must-fashion-a-new-cultural-story/) [David Blankenhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blankenhorn/) > [“Wherever poesie can be felt, all poetic touches are superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/wherever-poesie-can-be-felt-all-poetic-touches-are-superfluous/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [We are ignorant of things necessary, because we learn things superfluous and unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/we-are-ignorant-of-things-necessary-because-we-learn-things/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/elegance-is-achieved-when-all-that-is-superfluous-has-been-discarded/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want - or in the case of human beings, from vanity, the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/no-living-creature-is-naturally-greedy-except-from-fear-of-want-or-in/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [To call the world God is not to explain it; it is only to enrich our language with a superfluous synonym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/to-call-the-world-god-is-not-to-explain-it-it-is-only-to-enrich-our/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [We can hardly expect the nation-state to make itself superfluous, at least not overnight. Rather what we must aim for is really nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-morgenthau-jr/we-can-hardly-expect-the-nation-state-to-make-itself-superfluous-at/) [Henry Morgenthau, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-morgenthau-jr/) > [All sorts of articles and letters appear in the papers about women. Profound questions are raised concerning them. Should they smoke? Should they work?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/all-sorts-of-articles-and-letters-appear-in-the-papers-about-women/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [Many a poem is marred by a superfluous word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/many-a-poem-is-marred-by-a-superfluous-word/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [For other things mild Heav'n a time ordains, And disapproves that care, though wise in show, That with superfluous burden loads the day, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/for-other-things-mild-heav-n-a-time-ordains-and-disapproves-that-care/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) [Browse all 223 Superfluous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superfluous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the state devised!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluous-ones-was-the-state-devised/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Superfluous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluous-ones-was-the-state-devised/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_superfluous_many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluo_2752844.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many too many are born: for the superfluous ones was the state devised!” — 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": "“Many too many are born: for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluous-ones-was-the-state-devised/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-too-many-are-born-for-the-superfluous-ones-was-the-state-devised/#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 } } ] } ```