# 109 explained — Beyond Good and Evil

> Chapter companion for Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.

## What happens

A brief aphorism exploring the psychology of the criminal, suggesting that criminals often lack the psychological stature to fully own their actions, instead diminishing or slandering the deed after the fact.

## Themes in this chapter

### Psychology as the Fundamental Science

The excerpt is a psychological observation about the internal state of the criminal, analyzing the disconnect between action and self-perception, which is core to Nietzsche's psychological method.

## Key lines

> The criminal is often enough not equal to his deed: he extenuates and maligns it.

A person who commits a crime frequently lacks the psychological strength to fully accept responsibility for it; they instead try to make it seem less serious or speak ill of the act itself.

_Highlights a psychological weakness or failure of character, where the doer cannot match the magnitude of their own action._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/109
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters