--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So long as the priest, that professional…" description: "\"So long as the priest, that professional negator, slanderer and poisoner of life, is regarded as a superior type of human being, there cannot be any an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_answers_so-long-as-the-priest-that-professional_33149.jpg" --- # So long as the priest, that professional negator… ![“So long as the priest, that professional negator, slanderer and poisoner of life, is regarded as a superior type of human being, there cannot be any answer to the question: What is Truth?” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_answers_so-long-as-the-priest-that-professional_33149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_answers_so-long-as-the-priest-that-professional_33149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/friedrich-nietzsche-15_answers_so-long-as-the-priest-that-professional_33149.jpg) > “So long as the priest, that professional negator, slanderer and poisoner of life, is regarded as a superior type of human being, there cannot be any answer to the question: What is Truth?” [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. Nietzsche argues that when society elevates priests—who he sees as denying life and truth—to a superior status, it undermines any genuine pursuit of truth. **In simple terms:** Priests as truth‑obstructors Key Takeaway Powerful institutions can distort reality Themes philosophy religion truth power existentialism Mood skeptical critical provocative Type aphorism philosophical statement When to use this quote - academic debate - theological critique - cultural analysis Key Concepts authority nihilism morality Practical Applications - critical essays - philosophical lectures Questions to Reflect On - How does reverence for authority affect our understanding of truth? - Can truth exist without questioning dominant narratives? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Being there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-there/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Negator Slanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negator-slanderer-432885/) [Poisoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisoners/) [Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priest/) [Priest Professional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priest-professional-432884/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Question Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-truth-432883/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) ## Related quotes > [The superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the superman is to be the meaning of the earth! I beseech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-superman-is-the-meaning-of-the-earth-let-your-will-say-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I beg of you my brothers, remain true to the earth, believe not those who speak to you of otherworldly hopes! Poisoners are they.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-beg-of-you-my-brothers-remain-true-to-the-earth-believe-not-those/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I conjure you, my brethren, to remain faithful to earth, and do not believe those who speak unto you of super terrestrial hopes! Poisoners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-conjure-you-my-brethren-to-remain-faithful-to-earth-and-do-not/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The real question is: How much truth can I stand?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-real-question-is-how-much-truth-can-i-stand/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“So long as the priest, that denier, calumniator and poisoner of life by profession, still counts as a higher kind of human being, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/so-long-as-the-priest-that-denier-calumniator-and-poisoner-of-life-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The various languages placed side by side show that with words it is never a question of truth, never a question of adequate expression;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-various-languages-placed-side-by-side-show-that-with-words-it-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [the leading error of the human mind, - the bane of human happiness - the perverter of human virtue ... is Religion - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-leading-error-of-the-human-mind-the-bane-of-human-happiness-the/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [A good cook is a certain slow poisoner, if you are not temperate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-good-cook-is-a-certain-slow-poisoner-if-you-are-not-temperate/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [all men carry murder in their hearts, yet even so, the poisoner is beneath contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-carry-murder-in-their-hearts-yet-even-so-the-poisoner-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud stains from any region within fifty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/philosophy-astronomy-and-politics-were-marked-at-zero-i-remember/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual — the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/trouble-can-often-be-traced-to-a-single-strong-individual-the-stirrer/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [American fascism will not be really dangerous until there is a purposeful coalition among the cartelists, the deliberate poisoners of public information, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/american-fascism-will-not-be-really-dangerous-until-there-is-a/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the Ocean: "Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator. Look at it, rising up and rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/as-the-tide-washed-in-the-dutch-tulip-man-faced-the-ocean-conjoiner-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You can be a famous poisoner or a successful poisoner, but not both, and the same seems to apply to Great Train Robbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-anderson/you-can-be-a-famous-poisoner-or-a-successful-poisoner-but-not-both/) [Clive Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-anderson/) > [If we have to be cat burglars, I'm going to see what' to steal in the fridge." We're trying to find evidence she's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/if-we-have-to-be-cat-burglars-i-m-going-to-see-what-to-steal-in-the/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) ## 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. 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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? 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 Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. 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