“לא הסבל עצמו היווה את בעייתו [=של האדם], כי אם זה האלם הנורא מסביב, בזעקו את שאלתו 'מה בצע בסבל?'. האדם, האמיץ שבבעלי החיים, ויודע-סבל יותר מכולם, לא את הסבל עצמו הוא שולל; הוא רוצה בו, אף שוחר אותו, בתנאי שמראים לו טעם כלשהו לסבלו, איזה 'למען'. חוסר-השחר של הסבל, ולא הסבל עצמו, זו הייתה הקללה שרבצה עד כה על האנושות.”

German philosopher and writer

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher and writer. He began as a classical philologist, then turned to philosophy early in his academic career, and is known for a body of work that drew wide scholarly attention and lasting popular interest. In 1869 he became Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel, but he resigned in 1879 because of long-standing health problems. After that he lived as an independent writer, often in solitude and financial insecurity, moving between Switzerland, Italy, and southern France. He completed much of his main work in the following decade, before a neurological collapse in 1889 ended his working life.