On October 15, 2026, it will be 182 years since the birth of Friedrich Nietzsche - the philosopher who turned the short aphorism into a weapon against convenient truths. He was born in 1844 in Röcken, near Leipzig, into the family of a Lutheran pastor. His father died when Nietzsche was only four years old, and the future thinker grew up in Naumburg among his mother, sister, grandmother and two aunts.
As a student in Bonn, he began to study theology and classical philology, but after the first semester he gave up theology. In 1865 he followed his teacher Friedrich Richl in Leipzig and quickly established a reputation as an exceptionally capable scholar of ancient literature. At only 24 years old he was appointed professor of classical philology in Basel - an unusually early start for an academic career.
The Professor Who Leaves the University
Nietzsche's first major book, "The Birth of Tragedy", was published in 1872. In it, he examined Greek tragedy through the tension between the Apollonian principle - order and form - and the Dionysian - instinct, music and the vital element. The book caused heated debate among philologists because it distanced the author from the strict academic tradition.
During this period, Nietzsche was close to the composer Richard Wagner, whom he initially perceived as a cultural reformer. After 1876, their relationship fell apart. Wagner's theater and nationalist pathos increasingly diverged from the direction in which the philosopher was heading.
Health problems - severe headaches, visual disturbances and stomach complaints - forced Nietzsche to leave Basel in 1879. After that, he lived in various European cities and wrote almost always alone, often in the form of short, fragmented thoughts. This change in his life coincided with the most fruitful period of his work.
The books that made Nietzsche a classic
After “The Birth of Tragedy“ came “Human, All Too Human“, “Morning Dawn“ and “The Merry Science“. In the latter of these, the famous formula “God is dead“, uttered by the madman in the market place, appears. For Nietzsche, it is not just a slogan, but a description of a deep cultural crisis - the collapse of the old religious foundations and the question of what can replace them.
His most poetic book is “Thus Spoke Zarathustra“, published in four parts between 1883 and 1885. This is followed by “Beyond Good and Evil“ and “Towards the Genealogy of Morality“, in which Nietzsche explores the origins of moral judgments, guilt, conscience, and the idea of “good“ and “evil“. In 1888 he wrote „The Sunset of the Idols“, „The Antichrist“ and „The Essay Homo“ - his last great creative year.
Quotes that are often taken out of context
Nietzsche is among the most quoted philosophers, but his short sentences often become motivational messages, torn from the books in which they are written.
„That which does not kill me makes me stronger.“The phrase is from „The Sunset of the Idols“. In the same book we also find the thought: „He who has a reason to live can bear almost any how.“ “Without music, life would be a mistake“ is also from there.
“If you stare long into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.“This is an aphorism from “Beyond Good and Evil“. And the sentence “You must carry chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star“ is among the most popular passages from “Thus Spoke Zarathustra“. The wording may differ according to the Bulgarian translation, but their meaning remains recognizable.
The last years and the controversial legacy
In January 1889, Nietzsche collapsed mentally in Turin. After that, his mother, and later his sister Elisabeth, took care of him. He died in Weimar on 25 August 1900.
After his death, Elisabeth took control of the manuscripts and helped to publish “The Will to Power“ - a compilation of notes that did not constitute a finished book published by Nietzsche himself. Later scholars have pointed out that his sister's editorial intervention and political views contributed to his portrayal as a precursor to nationalism and fascism - a reading that simplified and distorted his complex relationship to the state, anti-Semitism and mass politics.
Today, Nietzsche remains important not because he offers easy answers, but because he insists that questions be asked again - even when the answers threaten our own beliefs.
Sources: theguardian.com, amp.dw.com