Gazing into an abyss.

"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

"Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein."

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, German philosopher (1844 - 1900)

Section 146 of Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil," in the section entitled "Epigrams and Interludes".

The second half of the quote is an extension of the first, warning that when you seek to understand the "abyss," or the darker elements of life or truth, the abyss enters you as well.

The lover of knowledge cannot remain merely an observer. In observing the abyss, or "dangerous truths," you cannot avoid the consequences of this newfound knowledge.