That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

Nietzsche’s line is a translation of an aphorism from his late work *Götzen-Dämmerung* (*Twilight of the Idols*, 1888), written during a highly productive final year before his mental collapse in early 1889. The book is a polemical “philosophizing with a hammer,” attacking what he saw as life-denying moralities and celebrating a harder, more affirmative stance toward existence. The aphorism appears in the section “Sprüche und Pfeile” (“Maxims and Arrows”), a set of compressed, epigrammatic statements meant to provoke rather than to comfort. It reflects Nietzsche’s broader preoccupation with suffering, struggle, and the cultivation of strength through adversity.

The saying condenses Nietzsche’s idea that hardship can be metabolized into greater vitality, resilience, and power—provided one responds actively rather than with resentment or self-pity. It is not a blanket claim that all suffering is beneficial, but a challenge to treat pain and setbacks as occasions for growth and self-overcoming. In Nietzschean terms, what matters is the capacity to transform obstacles into strength, integrating wounds into a stronger form of life. The aphorism also pushes against moral frameworks that sanctify weakness: instead of seeking protection from difficulty, one can cultivate a stance that affirms life even in its harshness.

Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens. — Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.

1) "What does not kill me makes me stronger." 2) "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." 3) "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."