Assorted Opinions and Maxims

by Friedrich Nietzsche

1879

Aphorisms that extend the free spirit’s scrutiny of art, morality, and culture.

Vermischte Meinungen und Sprüche

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In Nietzsche’s life

When it was written

Written: c. 1878
Publication: 1879; later part of Human, All Too Human II

A second collection of aphorisms sharpens the experimental style of Human, All Too Human. Brief observations take the place of a continuous philosophical system.

“A good aphorism is too hard for the tooth of time”

§168 Paul V. Cohn translation

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What it’s about

First issued as a supplement to Human, All Too Human, this collection later became the first part of its second volume. It develops Nietzsche’s experimental and psychologically attentive style.

Key ideas

1
Art and judgment
Taste and artistic authority can be examined historically.
2
Moral observation
Everyday actions reveal competing motives.
3
Intellectual experiment
An aphorism invites testing rather than passive agreement.

Who it’s for

Readers exploring Nietzsche’s thought
Anyone interested in philosophy, culture, and the history of values

About the author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a philosopher, classical philologist, poet, and cultural critic. His writings question inherited morality and explore art, self-overcoming, and the possibility of affirming life.