Dostoevsky, Napoleon or Nietzsche? Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."

Answer: Nietzsche

This is the first half of the famous 'When you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you' epigram from 'Beyond Good & Evil' (1886). Nietzsche used extreme language in his philosophy to try and (as he says) 'hammer' in new ways of thinking, but I can't help but feel he's sometimes just talking about himself - and not exaggerating.

2. "Those who will play with cats must expect to be scratched."

Answer: Someone else

This one is from Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616 - of 'Don Quixote' fame). A slightly more homely version of Nietzsche's 'monster' quote, I thought.

3. "It is remarkable that in France everything began under Louis XIV."

Answer: Dostoevsky

From Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'Winter Notes on Summer Impressions' - his account of a trip around western Europe in June 1862, published the following February in the Russian periodical Vremya (Time) - pub. M Dostoevsky, ed. F. Dostoevsky!

4. "No one would be foolish enough to choose war over peace - in peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons."

Answer: Someone else

This one's from Croesus of Lydia (as in "as rich as Croesus"). He knew what he was talking about - in 546BC, on the advice of an oracle who told him if he crossed the river into Persia he would 'destroy a kingdom', he did exactly that and, d'oh, lost - and the kingdom he destroyed was his own.

5. "Madness is rare in individuals - but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule."

Answer: Nietzsche

Do you think by 'parties' he means booze-ups, or political parties? Or both? Another epigram from 'Beyond Good & Evil'.

6. "I have made so many mistakes in my life that I am past blushing for them."

Answer: Napoleon

Napoleon revealing an unexpected nonmegalomaniacal side. His 'mistake' was "not suppos[ing] the Austrians would be so active", and although their activity had meant the planned invasion of England could not proceed, Napoleon shortly went on to the famous victories at Ulm (Oct) and Austerlitz (Dec 1805).

7. "Freedom, a new life, resurrection from the dead ... what a glorious moment!"

Answer: Dostoevsky

This is the last line of 'The House of the Dead' (1860) - coming as Dostoevsky is released from the Siberian prison camp in which he spent four years.

8. "It is surprising to see how the word 'Liberty' sets minds on fire that appeared to be demoralised."

Answer: Napoleon

Bonaparte writing in April 1789 - a couple of months before the storming of the Bastille.

9. "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Answer: Someone else

This one was Albert Einstein - and if it's him saying that, I'm not disagreeing.

10. "The Frenchman has no common sense and would indeed consider it the greatest misfortune to have it."

Answer: Dostoevsky

From 'Winter Notes on Summer Impressions' again. OK, I admit, I only put these in so you'd go for Napoleon.

11. "Men will accept misfortune if insult be not added."

Answer: Napoleon

So, he understood people as well as artillery. One of his many pearls of leaderly wisdom, distributed to the extended family he set up on various old and new thrones of Europe - this to his elder brother Joseph, who was 'King of Naples' at the time (1807).

12. "Under peaceful conditions a warlike man sets upon himself."

Answer: Nietzsche

Friedrich understood people too, albeit in his own super-cynical fashion. His philosophy regarding the 'will to power' included the idea that energy (within humans, for example) was always trying to expend itself, when in its natural circumstances. ('Beyond Good & Evil')

13. "The bad conscience is an illness, there is no doubt about that, but an illness as pregnancy is an illness."

Answer: Nietzsche

I don't think Nietzsche had heard of 'Girl Power'. His philosophy also included the idea that, although we were in a bit of a mess, we had the potential to go places (he didn't put it quite like that).

14. "Heaven suggests an idea of equality which saves the rich from being massacred by the poor...religion is a sort of inoculation or vaccine."

Answer: Napoleon

I thought this one sounded rather 'Nietzschesque'. Napoleon was careful to respect the various religions he encountered (e.g. in Egypt), but as he quite explicitly stated, for him this was to predispose the people in his favour, and to help keep them in line.

15. "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

Answer: Someone else

This one, a favourite of US Presidential speech writers, is allegedly from Alexis de Tocqueville, the great nineteenth century political writer/historian, although some people claim that's a lot of tosh.

16. "'I have done that,' says my memory. 'I cannot have done that,' says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually - memory yields."

Answer: Nietzsche

We've all been here! Well, I have, anyway. Another epigram from 'Beyond Good & Evil'.

17. "Where neither love nor hatred is in the game, a woman's game is mediocre."

Answer: Nietzsche

'BG&E' again. He's obviously never seen the Williams sisters play tennis, neither. Nietzsche never married, you know. Odd, that.

18. "The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine which sets even a wise man to singing and to laughing gently, and raises him up to dance and brings forth words which were better unspoken."

Answer: Someone else

I've been here too! This one's from Homer (no, not Homer Simpson, the one who wrote 'The Odyssey' and 'The Iliad'), which just goes to show 'plus �a change, plus �a m�me chose'.

19. "Chance will always remain a sealed mystery for average minds."

Answer: Napoleon

Arguably, Napoleon owed much of his success to his swift reactions to chance events. Written during the siege of Mantua (1796), his claim that he could calculate "almost mathematically, the factor of chance" was surprisingly borne out for the next 16 or so years, until things rather began to fall apart in the depths of Russia in 1812.

20. "Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."

Answer: Someone else

Good advice from the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
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References:
Napoleon quotations from 'In the Words of Napoleon' ed. R M Johnston.
Dostoevsky quotations from 'Winter Notes on Summer Impressions' & 'The House of the Dead'.
Nietzsche quotations from 'Basic Writings of Nietzsche' ed. Walter Kaufmann.
Most other quotations from website 'QUOTES AND OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS' collected by Bruce A. Emmons':- http://plymouth.ces.state.nc.us/staff/bemmons/quotestxt.html
(worth a look - there's loads of good ones.)

Source: Author gethinych

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Simple - I give you a quotation, you say who it's by - Dostoevsky, Napoleon, Nietzsche or someone else. I've tried to be a little tricksy, but even if you get 0/20, some of the quotes should hopefully be worth the effort.

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