# 133 explained — Beyond Good and Evil

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

## What happens

A single aphorism contrasting the moral consequences of having an unattainable ideal versus having no ideal at all.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nobility and Order of Rank

Implies a hierarchy of failure: the person who fails to reach their ideal is judged more harshly (as 'frivolous' and 'shameless') than the person who never aspired to one.

### Psychology as the Fundamental Science

A psychological insight into the moral degradation that can result from the tension between a high ideal and personal failure to achieve it.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Delivers the aphoristic judgment on the condition of those who fail to live up to their ideals.

## Key lines

> He who cannot find the way to his ideal, lives more frivolously and shamelessly than the man without an ideal.

Failing to live up to a lofty standard leads to a worse, more irresponsible life than not having any standard at all.

_Core aphorism of the chapter, establishing a comparative moral critique._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/133
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters