One of my favorite quotes of Nietzsche is about the ancient Greeks. It probably sounds more poetic in the original language. But here it is in English:
"What suffering this race must have endured in order to create such beauty."
This is a paraphrase, but the first English translation that I read was one I like better. It's the one which has stuck with me through the years:
"What suffering the Greeks must have endured to have become so beautiful."
Mind you, that most of this suffering is self-induced. I mean, when we don't fight against persians, ottomans or nazis, our favourite activity is civil war and murdering people like Socrates or Kapodistrias...
