Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, § 916, cited in Walter Kaufmann, Nietzsche, pp. 418-419

What has been spoilt through the abuse of the church: … the “monastery”: temporary isolation … a kind of deepest concentration on oneself and self-recovery—to avoid not “temptations” but “obligations” … away from the tyranny of stimuli and influences that condemns us to spend our strength in reactions, and does not permit us any more to let it accumulate to the point of spontaneous activity. (One should observe our scholars closely: they have reached the point where they think only “reactively,” i.e. they must read before they can think.)

— Friedrich Nietzsche on Monasticism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What has been spoilt through the abuse of the church: … the “monastery”: temporary isolation … a kind of deepest concentration on oneself and self-recovery—to avoid not “temptations” but “obligations” … away from the tyranny of stimuli and influences that condemns us to spend our strength in reactions, and does not permit us any more to let it accumulate to the point of spontaneous activity. (One should observe our scholars closely: they have reached the point where they think only “reactively,” i.e. they must read before they can think.)" in the context of "Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, § 916, cited in Walter Kaufmann, Nietzsche, pp. 418-419" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Monasticism" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Friedrich Nietzsche

About Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, writer, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. His critiques of contemporary culture, religion, and philosophy centered on a basic question regarding the foundation of values and morality.