Friedriche Nietzsche – Beyond Good and Evil – Aphorism 146

“He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee”.

 

“He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster”.

I interpret this part of the quote as one’s way of thinking can lead to adopting that way of thinking and could potentially go against and possibly relinquish one’s values.  This leads me to recall a biblical scripture with similar meaning “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he”. Proverbs 23:7.

Although this quote was written in the 19^th century, it seems to gain increasing popularity today because in our political systems, corporate America, religious systems, personal lives, and much more, seem to be taking the approach that principles no longer matter.  What matters is getting to the top, that certain position, or reaching that goal that one is seeking at whatever cost whether it is moral or immoral. 

We can see this in our current political environment where specific groups preach about the good they plan to do and how their principles will perpetuate these intentions but in reality they are merely operating on a specified agenda and dogma and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.

Nietzsche, though an atheist, looks at issues from a highly ethical view.  Therefore, it appears that Nietzsche's quote was a mere claim for people stuck in moral nihilism, which happened when God died. To battle nihilism with nihilism is simply ineffective because one cannot escape from the condition one wants to get out of once that person assumed the monster.

I also view this as moral relativism.  You can be a monster (evil) for those who are monsters (evil) to you.  In addition, what is moral for you could be immoral for another.    

“And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee”.

For many decades, our spiritual teachers from Ghandi, Jesus, Buddha, and so on have taught us that what you think about and focus on expands and becomes reality. In other words, do not focus on the wrong things in life because they will take over our life and turn into emptiness and nothingness, thus being parallel to the abyss.  Without principles we have no code of conduct which will eventually lead one into an abyss.   Evil can corrupt you if you are in an environment among it and aren't careful and vigilant against its tempting nature.  Today, there are many reasons why religion is disregarded, and more and more people believe in nothing.  But let’s take Christianity as an example, where a spiritual leader, a pastor or a priest, teaches on the sin of homosexuality or prostitution, yet he is fighting his own monsters because he is guilty of that very sin and the abyss is gazing into him.