Very early in my life I took the question of the relation of art to truth seriously: even now I stand in holy dread in the face of this discordance. My first book was devoted to it. The Birth of Tragedy believes in art on the background of another belief

The aphorism, the apothegm, in which I am the first among the Germans to be a master, are the forms of “eternity”; it is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a book — what everyone else does not say in a book.

This is one of the stout-hearted old warriors: he is angry with civilization because he supposes that its aim is to make all goodthings--honors, treasures, beautiful women--accessible even to cowards.

One loves ultimately one's desires, not the thing desired.

whatever is profound loves masks; what is most profound even hates image and parable.

Some men have sighed over the abduction of their wives, but many more have sighed because no one wanted to abduct theirs.

The poison by which the weaker nature is destroyed is strengthening to the strong individual and he does not call it poison.