I told myself to post something today, and I had almost given up hope on what to write about. Then I started reading and inspiration was found. Well, not so much on my end. I’ve been reading Beyond Good & Evil by Nietzsche and found two excerpts that I found wonderful.
“Cynicism is the only form in which base souls approach honesty.”
“Independence is for the very few; it is a privilege of the strong. And whoever attempts it even with the best right but without inner constraint proves that he is probably not only strong, but also daring to the point of recklessness. He enters into a labyrinth, he multiplies a thousandfold the dangers which life brings with it in any case, not the least of which is that no one can see how and where he loses his way, becomes lonely, and is torn piecemeal by some minotaur of conscience. Supposing one like that comes to grief, this happens so far from the comprehension of men that they neither feel it nor sympathize. And he cannot go back any longer. Nor can he go back to the pity of men.”
I found both of these to be provocative. The cynicism plays to my family, who never fail at approaching any situation with a laugh and a cynical remark. Plus I heard a saying about, “There’s a bit of truth in every joke”, of course referring to cut-down jokes. So I think that sort of fits into that a bit. But let us not forget that Neitzsche is a bit of a jerk, and this being one of his philosophies kind of brings everything full circle. The other quote is written so well and flows so fluently I couldn’t help but marvel it. More later.