---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They're so cold, these scholars! May…"
description: "\"They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire!\" — Friedrich Nietzsche"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg"
---

#  They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike…

![“They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire!” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg)

> “They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire!”

[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.

He criticizes scholars for being detached from real experience, wishing they would be forced to confront harsh reality.

**In simple terms:** Scholars are too abstract, need real challenges.

Key Takeaway

Embrace discomfort to gain true understanding.

Themes

education philosophy reality challenge growth

Mood

provocative critical thought‑provoking

Type

aphilosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic debates
- personal development
- creative problem solving
- cooking experiments

Key Concepts

existentialism critique of academia authenticity

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we make learning more experiential?
- What risks arise from forcing harsh lessons?

A Different Perspective

Scholars may adapt without violence; learning can be gentle.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Scholars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholars/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/)

## Related quotes

> [“To be knowledgeable, sit before scholars; to be wise, sit before life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/to-be-knowledgeable-sit-before-scholars-to-be-wise-sit-before-life/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [Academia is the death of cinema. It is the very opposite of passion. Film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/academia-is-the-death-of-cinema-it-is-the-very-opposite-of-passion/)

[Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/)

> [The Pew Biomedical Scholars are a synergistic community whose connections are reinforced over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mello/the-pew-biomedical-scholars-are-a-synergistic-community-whose/)

[Craig Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mello/)

> [Early Islam was a time of great creativity. Scholars excelled in sciences and literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basmah-bint-saud/early-islam-was-a-time-of-great-creativity-scholars-excelled-in/)

[Basmah bint Saud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basmah-bint-saud/)

> [Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hoff/now-scholars-can-be-very-useful-and-necessary-in-their-own-dull-and-2/)

[Benjamin Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hoff/)

> [Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/remember-that-our-nation-s-first-great-leaders-were-also-our-first/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [“Scholars sometimes use technical terms (i.e., Hypostases) for no good reason, other than the fact that they are the technical terms scholars use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-d-ehrman/scholars-sometimes-use-technical-terms-i-e-hypostases-for-no-good/)

[Bart D. Ehrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-d-ehrman/)

> [This is a landmark work in the history of African American studies and American intellectual history. Writing with verve, Jackson brings to life a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-sollors/this-is-a-landmark-work-in-the-history-of-african-american-studies/)

Werner Sollors

> [“I am a great scholar, my mind is full of wonders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/i-am-a-great-scholar-my-mind-is-full-of-wonders/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and up amusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hoff/now-scholars-can-be-very-useful-and-necessary-in-their-own-dull-and/)

[Benjamin Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hoff/)

> [I do think that I have been fortunate to make friendships with other scholars, and form reading groups where ideas are exchanged and papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/i-do-think-that-i-have-been-fortunate-to-make-friendships-with-other/)

[Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/)

> [Film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/film-is-not-the-art-of-scholars-but-of-illiterates/)

[Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/)

> [Scholars are wont to sell their birthright for a mess of learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/scholars-are-wont-to-sell-their-birthright-for-a-mess-of-learning/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [My school is attended by near three hundred scholars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lancaster/my-school-is-attended-by-near-three-hundred-scholars/)

[Joseph Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lancaster/)

> [Scholars and artists thrown together are often annoyed at the puzzle of where they differ. Both work from knowledge; but I suspectthey differ most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/scholars-and-artists-thrown-together-are-often-annoyed-at-the-puzzle/)

[Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/)

## 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 Cold quotes

> [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/)

[Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/)

> [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/)

[Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/)

> [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/)

[Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/)

> [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/)

[George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/)

> [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/)

[Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/)

> [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/)

Jimy Williams

> [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/)

[Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/)

> [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/)

[Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/)

> [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/)

[Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/)

> [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/)

[Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/)

> [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/)

Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville

> [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/)

[Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/)

[Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire!",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-lightning-strike-their-food-so/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cold"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-lightning-strike-their-food-so/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/friedrich-nietzsche-15_cold_they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-light_1035782.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire!” — 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": "They're so cold, these scholars! May...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-lightning-strike-their-food-so/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/they-re-so-cold-these-scholars-may-lightning-strike-their-food-so/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
