And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

This aphoristic pair of sentences is widely attributed to Nietzsche’s middle-period work, where he experiments with a more “gay” (life-affirming, anti-ascetic) philosophical style. The sentiment aligns with his campaign against solemn, world-denying moralities and against philosophical “truths” that present themselves as heavy, joyless necessities. In this period Nietzsche repeatedly uses images of dancing, laughter, and lightness to symbolize intellectual freedom and a healthy relation to existence—contrasting them with the gravity of metaphysics, guilt, and ressentiment. The line circulates most often in English as a standalone quotation, typically drawn from a translated aphorism rather than from a speech or letter.

Nietzsche equates vitality with movement and play: “dancing” stands for embodied affirmation, spontaneity, and the capacity to say yes to life rather than merely endure it. The second sentence attacks solemnity as a false badge of profundity. A “truth” that cannot coexist with laughter is suspect because it may be a disguised moralism—an idea demanding reverence, obedience, or self-denial. Laughter here is not triviality but a test of strength: the ability to face even hard insights without becoming resentful or pious. The quote encapsulates Nietzsche’s ideal of a philosophy that is experimental, artistic, and life-enhancing rather than punitive.