--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Towards gnats and fleas we should show no…" description: "\"Towards gnats and fleas we should show no pity. We would do right to hang petty thieves, petty calumniators, and slanderers.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_capital-punishment_towards-gnats-and-fleas-we-should-show-n_2000240.jpg" --- # Towards gnats and fleas we should show no pity. We would… ![“Towards gnats and fleas we should show no pity. We would do right to hang petty thieves, petty calumniators, and slanderers.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_capital-punishment_towards-gnats-and-fleas-we-should-show-n_2000240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_capital-punishment_towards-gnats-and-fleas-we-should-show-n_2000240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_capital-punishment_towards-gnats-and-fleas-we-should-show-n_2000240.jpg) > “Towards gnats and fleas we should show no pity. We would do right to hang petty thieves, petty calumniators, and slanderers.” [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. Harsh judgment is justified against those who spread falsehoods and harm others. **In simple terms:** Punish liars and slanderers. Key Takeaway Do not tolerate deceit. Themes justice morality integrity Mood stern critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - legal proceedings - online harassment - defamation lawsuits - personal boundaries Key Concepts Nietzschean ethics retributive justice Questions to Reflect On - Is all speech equally punishable? - How to balance justice and mercy? A Different Perspective Might ignore context or proportionality of punishment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Fleas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleas/) [Fleas Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleas-pity-3514554/) [Gnats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gnats/) [Gnats Fleas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gnats-fleas-3514555/) [Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/petty/) [Petty Calumniators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/petty-calumniators-3514556/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Pity Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-right-3310823/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) ## Related quotes > [I go down the street, people see me: 'Hey, I pity-' right on, man, that's a compliment to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-t/i-go-down-the-street-people-see-me-hey-i-pity-right-on-man-that-s-a/) [Mr. T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-t/) > [I hope to leave my children a sense of empathy and pity and a will to right social wrongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/i-hope-to-leave-my-children-a-sense-of-empathy-and-pity-and-a-will-to/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [We must understand how to hide in darkness in order to escape the gnat-swarms of utterly annoying admirers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-must-understand-how-to-hide-in-darkness-in-order-to-escape-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth has become small, and on it hops the last man, who makes everything small. His race can no more be exterminated than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-has-become-small-and-on-it-hops-the-last-man-who-makes-2/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Linnæus, setting out for Lapland, surveys his "comb" and "spare shirt," "leathern breeches" and "gauze cap to keep off gnats," with as much complacency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/linn-us-setting-out-for-lapland-surveys-his-comb-and-spare-shirt/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is a reference in Aristotle to a gnat produced by larvae engendered in the slime of vinegar. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erk-russell/i-m-gonna-say-it-one-more-time-we-are-georgia-southern-our-colors-are/) [Erk Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erk-russell/) > [Example is a dangerous lure: where the wasp got through the gnat sticks fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/example-is-a-dangerous-lure-where-the-wasp-got-through-the-gnat/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) ## 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. 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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 Capital punishment quotes > [“The next time believers tell you that 'separation of church and state' does not appear in our founding document, tell them to stop using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/the-next-time-believers-tell-you-that-separation-of-church-and-state/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. 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The one who kills you in a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/capital-punishment-kills-immediately-whereas-lifetime-imprisonment/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-take-a-life-when-a-life-has-been-lost-is-revenge-not-justice/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [But now inquiry is being made concerning these issues. First, can any believer enlist in the military? 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