He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher and classical philologist, appointed professor at Basel at twenty-four. He wrote aphoristically, in fragments, and put nearly everything his age took for granted under attack — morality, religion, the idea of truth. He spent his last eleven years in mental collapse, unable to work.
About this theme: Growth
Growth is one of the few subjects the Stoics and modern psychologists agree on: a person is not a finished product. What shifts across the centuries is not the belief that we can change, but how comfortable that belief is made to sound. Ancient writers treat growth as a duty, almost severely — Seneca opens his letters by reproaching himself. Contemporary writing prefers the language of potential and possibility.
More by Friedrich Nietzsche
More on Growth
- An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.— Benjamin Franklin
- The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.— Confucius
- True life is lived when tiny changes occur.— Leo Tolstoy
- Associate with people who are likely to improve you.— Seneca
- He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.— Confucius