--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal…" description: "\"“The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it generally, that all the other interests of human life should, measured by its standard, appear..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg" --- # The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it… ![“The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it generally, that all the other interests of human life should, measured by its standard, appear petty and narrow; it explains epochs, nations, men, in reference to this one end; it forbids any other interpretation, any other end; it” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg) > ““The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it generally, that all the other interests of human life should, measured by its standard, appear petty and narrow; it explains epochs, nations, men, in reference to this one end; it forbids any other interpretation, any other end; it”” [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 ascetic ideal aims to make all other human interests seem insignificant, imposing a single ultimate purpose. **In simple terms:** Asceticism tries to diminish other values. Key Takeaway Question the dominance of a single moral standard. Themes ethics asceticism purpose Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - religious practice - personal ambition - cultural criticism Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist to a singular purpose? - How does asceticism affect personal freedom? A Different Perspective Can it suppress diverse human experiences? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim-goal-807655/) [Ascetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascetic/) [Ascetic Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascetic-ideal-1507689/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Ideal Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-aim-1507690/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Try for once to justify the meaning of your existence as it were a posteriori by setting yourself an aim, a goal... an exalted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/try-for-once-to-justify-the-meaning-of-your-existence-as-it-were-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ “\[The ideal aim of life is\] to learn, to teach, to serve, to enjoy!” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ward-howe/the-ideal-aim-of-life-is-to-learn-to-teach-to-serve-to-enjoy/) [Julia Ward Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-ward-howe/) > [The ascetic makes a necessity of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-makes-a-necessity-of-virtue/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In Basketball or in football, we have to concentrate on our aim/goal, so that we can win the match. Same in life, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chakshu-aggarwal/in-basketball-or-in-football-we-have-to-concentrate-on-our-aim-goal/) [Chakshu Aggarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chakshu-aggarwal/) > [Anything that could ever prevent me from achieving a goal, I put in a box, tape it up, throw it over my shoulder. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-achatz/anything-that-could-ever-prevent-me-from-achieving-a-goal-i-put-in-a/) [Grant Achatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-achatz/) > [Every manoeuvre must be the development of a scheme; it must aim at a goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-foch/every-manoeuvre-must-be-the-development-of-a-scheme-it-must-aim-at-a/) [Ferdinand Foch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-foch/) > [Awesome leaders, make it their aim, their goal and their business to catch their people doing the right thing and reward them for it!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-housham/awesome-leaders-make-it-their-aim-their-goal-and-their-business-to/) [Ricardo Housham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricardo-housham/) > [“To succeed in your mission, you must aim at your goal with dedication and devotion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabiso-monkoe/to-succeed-in-your-mission-you-must-aim-at-your-goal-with-dedication/) [Thabiso Monkoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabiso-monkoe/) > [“Asceticism is an antidote to the poison of self-centeredness common in our culture, which teaches us that satisfying our own desires is the key…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dreher/asceticism-is-an-antidote-to-the-poison-of-self-centeredness-common/) [Rob Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dreher/) > [“Darkness can inspire light, and light can inspire darkness, its just a difference of distant of these two contrasting forces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/darkness-can-inspire-light-and-light-can-inspire-darkness-its-just-a/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Ascetic spirituality is a symptom of the very disease which it intends to cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anodea-judith/ascetic-spirituality-is-a-symptom-of-the-very-disease-which-it/) [Anodea Judith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anodea-judith/) > [Everybody who does not live in a prostitute's bed and on a diet of cocaine snow is called an ascetic nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/everybody-who-does-not-live-in-a-prostitute-s-bed-and-on-a-diet-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I might become an ascetic, live in India. A little rice is about the best I can do now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-might-become-an-ascetic-live-in-india-a-little-rice-is-about-the/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The ascetic is often a sensualist who has reached the limit of his capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-ascetic-is-often-a-sensualist-who-has-reached-the-limit-of-his/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“ascetic, but his eyes had the cold”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ascetic-but-his-eyes-had-the-cold/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Ascetic quotes > [“ascetic, but his eyes had the cold”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ascetic-but-his-eyes-had-the-cold/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ascetic is often a sensualist who has reached the limit of his capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-ascetic-is-often-a-sensualist-who-has-reached-the-limit-of-his/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [I might become an ascetic, live in India. A little rice is about the best I can do now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-might-become-an-ascetic-live-in-india-a-little-rice-is-about-the/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Everybody who does not live in a prostitute's bed and on a diet of cocaine snow is called an ascetic nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/everybody-who-does-not-live-in-a-prostitute-s-bed-and-on-a-diet-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Asceticism is an antidote to the poison of self-centeredness common in our culture, which teaches us that satisfying our own desires is the key…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dreher/asceticism-is-an-antidote-to-the-poison-of-self-centeredness-common/) [Rob Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dreher/) > [“Darkness can inspire light, and light can inspire darkness, its just a difference of distant of these two contrasting forces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/darkness-can-inspire-light-and-light-can-inspire-darkness-its-just-a/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Ascetic spirituality is a symptom of the very disease which it intends to cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anodea-judith/ascetic-spirituality-is-a-symptom-of-the-very-disease-which-it/) [Anodea Judith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anodea-judith/) > [“...We have attempted to separate the spiritual and the erotic, thereby reducing the spiritual to a world of flattened affect, a world of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-have-attempted-to-separate-the-spiritual-and-the-erotic-thereby/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“In Nietzsche's usage, the word 'Christianity' does not even refer primarily to the religion; using it like a code word, he is thinking more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/in-nietzsche-s-usage-the-word-christianity-does-not-even-refer/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [Forgiveness is the true nature of the ascetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/forgiveness-is-the-true-nature-of-the-ascetic/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [No ascetic can be considered reliably sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/no-ascetic-can-be-considered-reliably-sane/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [“I have been against all that is ascetic; even that word was not known to me in those days, but I could smell something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/i-have-been-against-all-that-is-ascetic-even-that-word-was-not-known/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [I'm not an ascetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-m-not-an-ascetic/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“In the wake of his new division of ascetic opinion, Nietzsche not only stumbles upon the fundamental meaning of the practising life for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/in-the-wake-of-his-new-division-of-ascetic-opinion-nietzsche-not-only/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [The ascetic makes a necessity of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-makes-a-necessity-of-virtue/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 20 Ascetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it generally, that all the other interests of human life should, measured by its standard, appear petty and narrow; it explains epochs, nations, men, in reference to this one end; it forbids any other interpretation, any other end; it”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-is-putting-it-generally-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ascetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-is-putting-it-generally-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/friedrich-nietzsche-15_ascetic_the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-i_2549491.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ascetic ideal has an aim - this goal is, putting it generally, that all the other interests of human…” — 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": "“The ascetic ideal has an aim...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-is-putting-it-generally-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-ascetic-ideal-has-an-aim-this-goal-is-putting-it-generally-that/#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 } } ] } ```