--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is an old illusion. It is called…" description: "\"There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg" --- # There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil. ![“There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg) > “There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil.” [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 concepts of good and evil are human-made constructs that may not reflect reality. **In simple terms:** Good/evil are illusions. Key Takeaway Question moral absolutes. Themes philosophy ethics relativism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - cultural debates - personal decisions - legal systems Key Concepts moral constructs subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you define good? - Can morality exist without labels? A Different Perspective Some societies rely on these concepts for order. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ## Related quotes > [“The fruit of youth or of the grape, the transitory magic of the brief passage from darkness to darkness - the old illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-fruit-of-youth-or-of-the-grape-the-transitory-magic-of-the-brief/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Good and evil - I don't believe that there is hanging out there, anywhere, something called good and something called evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/good-and-evil-i-don-t-believe-that-there-is-hanging-out-there/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [All names of good and evil are images; they do not speak out, they only hint. He is a fool who seeks knowledge from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-names-of-good-and-evil-are-images-they-do-not-speak-out-they-only/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Every high degree of power always involves a corresponding degree of freedom from good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-high-degree-of-power-always-involves-a-corresponding-degree-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [And he who must be a creator in good and evil: verily, he must be an annihilator first and demolish values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-he-who-must-be-a-creator-in-good-and-evil-verily-he-must-be-an/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“He sank back into his black-and-white world, his immobile world of inanimate drawings that had been granted the secret of motion, his death-world with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/he-sank-back-into-his-black-and-white-world-his-immobile-world-of/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [Life starts with an illusion called love and ends with the magic called death¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/life-starts-with-an-illusion-called-love-and-ends-with-the-magic/) [Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/) > [I called the world of phenomena an illusion, I called my eyes and my tongue an accident, valueless phenomena. No, that is all over;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-called-the-world-of-phenomena-an-illusion-i-called-my-eyes-and-my/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I don't want to be called a good loser. A good loser is still a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stu-ungar/i-don-t-want-to-be-called-a-good-loser-a-good-loser-is-still-a-loser/) [Stu Ungar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stu-ungar/) > [“We are not called upon to do all the good that is possible, but only that which we can do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/we-are-not-called-upon-to-do-all-the-good-that-is-possible-but-only/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [But then in what way are things called good? They do not seem to be like the things that only chance to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/but-then-in-what-way-are-things-called-good-they-do-not-seem-to-be/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Beware when wrong-doing is called good and right-doing is called evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/beware-when-wrong-doing-is-called-good-and-right-doing-is-called-evil/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [The invisible thing called a Good Name is made up of the breath of numbers that speak well of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-invisible-thing-called-a-good-name-is-made-up-of-the-breath-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are not called upon to do all the good possible, but only that which we can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/we-are-not-called-upon-to-do-all-the-good-possible-but-only-that/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The translation called good has original value as a work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedetto-croce/the-translation-called-good-has-original-value-as-a-work-of-art/) [Benedetto Croce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedetto-croce/) ## 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 Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [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/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-good-and-evil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-good-and-evil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/friedrich-nietzsche-15_evil_there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-go_1889738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil.” — 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": "There is an old illusion. It...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-good-and-evil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-is-an-old-illusion-it-is-called-good-and-evil/#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 } } ] } ```