Mental illness Quote by Milan Kundera
““Another image comes to mind: Nietzsche leaving his hotel in Turin. Seeing a horse and a coachman beating it with a whip, Nietzsche went up to the horse and, before the coachman’s very eyes, put his arms around the horse’s neck and burst into tears. That took place in 1889, when Nietzsche, too, had removed himself from the world of people. In other words, it was at the time when his mental illness had just erupted. But for that very reason I feel his gesture has broad implications: Nietzsche was trying to apologize to the horse of Descartes. His lunacy (that is, his final break with mankind) began at the very moment he burst into tears over the horse.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, 1984
Nietzsche’s emotional outburst over a horse reflects his alienation and empathy amid mental collapse.
In simple terms: Even a philosopher can feel deep empathy in crisis.
Key Takeaway
Empathy can surface in moments of personal breakdown.
Themes
philosophy
mental health
empathy
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- artistic creation
- personal crisis
- ethical reflection
- animal welfare
Key Concepts
existentialism
human-animal bond
psychosis
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this gesture reveal about Nietzsche’s inner turmoil?
- Can empathy arise from suffering?
A Different Perspective
Interpretation may project modern ideas onto historical events.
![“[Friedrich] Nietzsche said something marvellous, he said "Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty but of certainty", and this is fanaticism.” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c8e/elie-wiesel-341_certainty_friedrich-nietzsche-said-something-marve_89498.jpg)
![“We believe, as Nietzsche put it, that 'higher is not allowed to grow out of the lower, is not allowed to have grown at all .. everything first-rate must be causa sui [the cause of itself].” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e46/alain-de-botton-221_nietzsche_we-believe-as-nietzsche-put-it-that-high_56367.jpg)
