--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you look into an abyss, the abyss…" description: "\"When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/friedrich-nietzsche-15_abyss_when-you-look-into-an-abyss-the-abyss-al_2990161.jpg" --- # When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. ![“When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/friedrich-nietzsche-15_abyss_when-you-look-into-an-abyss-the-abyss-al_2990161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/friedrich-nietzsche-15_abyss_when-you-look-into-an-abyss-the-abyss-al_2990161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/friedrich-nietzsche-15_abyss_when-you-look-into-an-abyss-the-abyss-al_2990161.jpg) > “When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” [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. Confronting darkness reveals its impact on oneself **In simple terms:** Facing evil changes you Key Takeaway Recognize how challenges shape you Themes existence self reflection Mood introspective serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - ethical dilemmas - artistic creation Key Concepts nihilism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does the abyss represent for you? - How do you respond when confronted with inner darkness? A Different Perspective Ignoring the abyss can cause blind spots ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ## Related quotes > [“When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-you-look-into-the-abyss-the-abyss-also-looks-into-you/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. 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What abyss? The abyss that waits… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/as-if-the-next-thing-must-quickly-come-along-to-occupy-her-or-the/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [“Whoever fights monsters,” Nietzsche had said, “should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/whoever-fights-monsters-nietzsche-had-said-should-see-to-it-that-in/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“When I look down into the abyss, Down into the merciless blackness, Colder and deeper than Hades itself, There I see the Kraken rising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greig-beck/when-i-look-down-into-the-abyss-down-into-the-merciless-blackness/) [Greig Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greig-beck/) > [One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottom-an/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One mustn't look at the abyss,because there is at the bottoman inexpressible charm which attracts us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottoman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-stare-into-the-abyss-the-abyss-stares-back-at-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-when-you-gaze-long-enough-into-the-abyss-the-abyss-will-gaze-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## 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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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? 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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 Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. 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