Twilight of the Idols
by Friedrich Nietzsche

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Luigi Cornaro Character Analysis

(1467–1566) Luigi Cornaro was an Italian nobleman and writer who, after surviving a near-fatal illness, wrote a book called Discorsi sulla vita sobria, or “Discourses On the Temperate Life” (1588). In the book, Cornaro argues that a restrictive diet can promote longevity. Nietzsche derides Cornaro, accusing him of mistaking the consequence for the cause (Cornaro’s slow metabolism required him to eat a spring diet and allowed him to live longer—it wasn’t the diet itself.) Nietzsche identifies mistaking consequence for cause as one of the four great errors of philosophy.

Luigi Cornaro Quotes in Twilight of the Idols

The Twilight of the Idols quotes below are all either spoken by Luigi Cornaro or refer to Luigi Cornaro. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
History and the Decline of Civilization  Theme Icon
).

The Four Great Errors Quotes

There is no more dangerous error than that of mistaking the consequence for the cause. I call it reason’s intrinsic form of corruption. None the less, this error is among the most ancient and most recent habits of mankind: it is even sanctified among us, it bears the names ‘religion’ and ‘morality’.

Related Characters: Friedrich Nietzsche (speaker), Luigi Cornaro
Page Number and Citation: 58
Explanation and Analysis:
In “The Four Great Errors,” Nietzsche identifies and examines what he considers to be the four main errors that philosophy has made throughout history. In this passage, Nietzsche discusses the first of these errors: the error “of mistaking the consequence for the cause,” or the error of confusing cause for effect, and vice versa. For Nietzsche, this error is the foundation of all commonly accepted moral codes. It’s also the most serious error. The way this error works is that the philosopher (or moralist or theologian) identifies a belief they want to uphold or condone. Then they manufacture a logical Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accus
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Luigi Cornaro Character Timeline in Twilight of the Idols

The timeline below shows where the character Luigi Cornaro appears in Twilight of the Idols. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Four Great Errors
History and the Decline of Civilization  Theme Icon
The Will to Power   Theme Icon
The Ideal vs. The Real  Theme Icon
...and moralizers are responsible for preaching it. He cites an example from the Book of Cornaro, in which Cornaro argues that a “meagre diet” leads to a happy, moral life. But... (full context)