Quotation
Last reviewed:
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
Friedrich Nietzsche · Genealogy and perspectivism · Modern · 20th century
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What does it mean?
The poster says the dancers look mad only because the watchers cannot hear the music. It is a defence of the misunderstood eccentric. A rival reading says the sentiment is kind, so the false name does no harm. The name does the harm. It borrows a philosopher who distrusted pity and herd taste in order to bless a sentimental scene he did not write. Researchers have not found it in the books or the notebooks. It circulates because it sounds like a genius defending art.
Did Friedrich Nietzsche really say this?
The library’s label is Misattributed. Quotation researchers have not found this in Nietzsche's books or notebooks. It circulates as a poster line. The tone, dancers misunderstood by the unmusical, is a twentieth-century picture of the eccentric, not a section of The Gay Science. His real line about music is a different sentence and is sourced.
Where it comes from
No work by Nietzsche
Approximate date: 20th century.
How to use it
If you want the thought, that a practice can look mad from outside, say it yourself at a community hall in Bristol. Do not put his name under the DJ. The real music maxim is in Twilight of the Idols and can be read in a paragraph. The poster cannot be read in a paragraph because there is no paragraph.
A mindset reading
A poster line wants a fierce European name. The fiercer the reputation, the less the font is checked. That is the mechanism, and it is the same mechanism as the fake Einstein lines in this library.
Understand the philosophy
Misattributed means the sentence is not his, not that dancing is foolish. Keep the real aphorisms, which are argued, and leave this one anonymous. Anonymity is the accurate citation.
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FAQ
What does it mean?
The poster says the dancers look mad only because the watchers cannot hear the music. It is a defence of the misunderstood eccentric. A rival reading says the sentiment is kind, so the false name does no harm. The name does the harm. It borrows a philosopher who distrusted pity and herd taste in order to bless a sentimental scene he did not write. Researchers have not found it in the books or the notebooks. It circulates because it sounds like a genius defending art.
Did Friedrich Nietzsche really say this?
Misattributed. Quotation researchers have not found this in Nietzsche's books or notebooks. It circulates as a poster line. The tone, dancers misunderstood by the unmusical, is a twentieth-century picture of the eccentric, not a section of The Gay Science. His real line about music is a different sentence and is sourced.
Which work is it in?
No work by Nietzsche Approximate date: 20th century.