,,the ,,twilight ,,of ,,the ,,idols     
,,by    ,,friedrich ,,nietzsche    ,or1 
,how to ,philosophise with the ,hammer  
,,the ,,antichrist    ,,notes ,,to      
,,zarathustra1 ,,and ,,eternal          
,,recurrence      ,,translated ,,by     
,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici      ,the      
,complete ,works of ,friedrich          
,nietzsche    ,the ,first ,complete and 
,authorised ,english ,translation       
,edited by ,dr ,oscar ,levy    ,volume  
,sixteen    ,t4,n4 ,,foulis    #ac  #ae 
,,frederick ,,street    ,,edinburgh3    
,,and ,,london    #aiaa                 
,,contents        ,,twilight ,,of ,,the 
,,idols        ,,translator',s ,,preface
      ,,preface      ,,maxims ,,and     
,,missiles      ,,the ,,problem ,,of    
,,socrates      8,,reason0 ,,in         
,,philosophy      ,,how ,,the 8,,true   
,,world0 ,,ultimately ,,became ,a       
,,fable      ,,morality ,,as ,,the      
,,enemy ,,of ,,nature      ,,the ,,four 
,,great ,,errors      ,,the             
8,,improvers0 ,,of ,,mankind            

,,things ,,the ,,germans ,,lack         
,,skirmishes ,,in ,a ,,war ,,with ,,the 
,,act      ,,things ,i ,,owe ,,to ,,the 
,,ancients        ,,the ,,antichrist    
,,eternal ,,recurrence        ,,notes   
,,to ,,zarathustra                      
,,translator',s ,,preface      ,the     
,twilight of the ,idols was written     
towards the end of the summer  of #ahhh1
 its composition seems to have occupied 
only a few days1--so  few indeed that1  
in ,ecce ,homo 7p4 #aah71 ,nietzsche    
says he hesitates  to give their number2
 but1 in any case1 we know it was       
completed on the  #crd of ,september in 
,sils ,maria4 ,the manuscript which was 
dispatched to  the printers on the #gth 
of ,september bore the title3 8,idle    
,hours of a  ,psychologist02 this1      
however1 was abandoned in favour of the 
present  title1 while the work was going
 through the press4 ,during ,september  
and the early part of ,october #ahhh1   
,nietzsche added to the original        
contents of the book by inserting the   

whole section entitled 8,things  the    
,germans ,lack10 and aphorisms #cb-dc of
 8,skirmishes in a ,war with the  ,age02
 and the book1 as it now stands1        
represents exactly the form in  which   
,nietzsche intended to publish it in the
 course of the year #ahhi4              
,unfortunately its author was already   
stricken down with illness when  the    
work first appeared at the end of       
,january #ahhi1 and he was denied  the  
joy of seeing it run into nine editions1
 of one thousand each1  before his death
 in #aijj4    ,of ,the ,twilight of the 
,idols1 ,nietzsche says in ,ecce ,homo  
7p4  #aah73--8;,if anyone should desire 
to obtain a rapid sketch of how         
everything before my time was standing  
on its head1 he should begin  reading me
 in this book4 ,that which is called    
#8,idols' on the title-page  is simply  
the old truth that has been believed in 
hitherto4 ,in plain  ,english1 ,the     
,twilight of the ,idols means that the  
old truth is on its  last legs40        

,certain it is that1 for a rapid survey 
of the whole of ,nietzsche's  doctrine1 
no book1 save perhaps the section       
entitled 8,of ,old and ,new  ,tables0 in
 ,thus ,spake ,zarathustra1 could be of 
more real value than  ,the ,twilight of 
the ,idols4 ,here ,nietzsche is quite at
 his best4 ,he  is ripe for the         
marvellous feat of the transvaluation of
 all values4  ,nowhere is his           
language--that marvellous weapon which  
in his hand  became at once so supple   
and so murderous--more forcible and more
  condensed4 ,nowhere are his thoughts  
more profound4 ,but all this does  not  
by any means imply that this book is the
 easiest of ,nietzsche's  works4 ,on the
 contrary1 ,i very much fear that1      
unless the reader is  well prepared1 not
 only in ,nietzscheism1 but also in the 
habit of  grappling with uncommon and   
elusive problems1 a good deal of the    
contents of this work will tend rather  
to confuse than to enlighten  him in    
regard to what ,nietzsche actually      

wishes to make clear in these  pages4   
,how much prejudice1 for instance1 how  
many traditional and deep-seated        
opinions1 must be uprooted1 if we are to
 see even so much as an  important note 
of interrogation in the section entitled
 8,the ,problem  of ,socrates0--not to  
speak of such sections as 8,morality as 
the ,enemy  of ,nature10 8,the ,four    
,great ,errors10 c4 ,the errors exposed 
in these  sections have a tradition of  
two thousand years behind them2 and only
 a  fantastic dreamer could expect them 
to be eradicated by a mere casual  study
 of these pages4 ,indeed1 ,nietzsche    
himself looked forward only to  a       
gradual change in the general view of   
the questions he discussed2 he  knew    
only too well what the conversion of    
8light heads0 was worth1 and  what kind 
of man would probably be the first to   
rush into his arms2  and1 grand         
psychologist that he was1 he guarded    
himself beforehand  against bad company 
by means of his famous warning3--8,the  

first  adherents of a creed do not prove
 anything against it40    ,to the       
aspiring student of ,nietzsche1 however1
 it ought not to be  necessary to become
 an immediate convert in order to be    
interested in  the treasure of thought  
which ,nietzsche here lavishes upon us4 
,for  such a man it will be quite       
difficult enough to regard the questions
  raised in this work as actual         
problems4 ,once1 however1 he has        
succeeded  in doing this1 and has given 
his imagination time to play round these
  questions as problems1 the particular 
turn or twist that ,nietzsche  gives to 
their elucidation1 may then perhaps     
strike him1 not only as  valuable1 but  
as absolutely necessary4    ,with regard
 to the substance of ,the ,twilight of  
the ,idols1 ,nietzsche  says in ,ecce   
,homo 7p4 #aai73--8,there is the waste  
of an all-too-rich  autumn in this book3
 you trip over truths4 ,you even crush  
some to  death1 there are too many of   
them40    ,and what are these truths8   

,they are things that are not yet held  
to  be true4 ,they are the utterances of
 a man who1 as a single exception1      
escaped for a while the general insanity
 of ,europe1 with its blind  idealism in
 the midst of squalor1 with its         
unscrupulous praise of  so-called       
8,progress0 while it stood knee-deep in 
the belittlement  of 8,man10 and with   
its vulgar levity in the face of        
effeminacy and  decay2--they are the    
utterances of one who voiced the hopes1 
the  aims1 and the realities of another 
world1 not of an ideal world1 not  of a 
world beyond1 but of a real world1 of   
this world regenerated  and reorganised 
upon a sounder1 a more virile1 and a    
more orderly  basis1--in fact1 of a     
perfectly possible world1 one that has  
already  existed in the past1 and could 
exist again1 if only the stupendous     
revolution of a transvaluation of all   
values were made possible4    ,this then
 is the nature of the truths uttered by 
this one sane man in  the whole of      

,europe at the end of last century2 and 
when1 owing to his  unequal struggle    
against the overwhelming hostile forces 
of his time1  his highly sensitive      
personality was at last forced to       
surrender itself  to the enemy and      
become one with them--that is to say1   
insane6--at  least the record of his    
sanity had been safely stored away1     
beyond the  reach of time and change1 in
 the volumes which constitute his       
life-work4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,nietzsche must 
have started upon the 8,antichrist10    
immediately after  having dispatched the
 8,idle ,hours of a ,psychologist0 to   
the printers1  and the work appears to  
have been finished at the end of        
,september  #ahhh4 ,it was intended by  
,nietzsche to form the first book of a  
large  work entitled 8,the              
,transvaluation of all ,values02 but1   
though this work  was never completed1  
we can form some idea from the substance
 of the  8,antichrist0 and from the     

titles of the remaining three books1    
which  alas6 were never written1 of what
 its contents would have been4 ,these   
titles are3--,book ,,ii4 ,the ,free     
,spirit4 ,a ,criticism of ,philosophy as
 a  ,nihilistic ,movement4 ,book ,,iii4 
,the ,immoralist4 ,a ,criticism of the  
most  ,fatal ,kind of                   
,ignorance1--,morality4 ,book ,,iv4     
,dionysus4 ,the ,philosophy  of ,eternal
 ,recurrence4    ,nietzsche calls this  
book 8,an ,attempted ,criticism of      
,christianity40  ,modest as this        
sub-title is1 it will probably seem not 
quite modest  enough to those who think 
that ,nietzsche fell far short of doing 
justice to their ,holy ,creed4 ,be this 
as it may1 there is the solution  of a  
certain profound problem in this book1  
which1 while it is the key  to all      
,nietzscheism1 is also the justification
 and the sanctification  of ,nietzsche's
 cause4 ,the problem stated quite       
plainly is this3 8,to  what end did     
,christianity avail itself of           

falsehood80    ,many readers of this    
amazing little work1 who happen to be   
acquainted  with ,nietzsche's doctrine  
of ,art and of ,ruling1 will probably   
feel  slightly confused at the constant 
deprecation of falsehood1 of  deception1
 and of arbitrary make-believe1 which   
seems to run through  this book like a  
litany in praise of a certain ,absolute 
,truth4    ,remembering ,nietzsche's    
utterance in volume ii4 7p4 #bf7 of the 
,will  to ,power1 to wit3--8,the        
prerequisite of all living things and of
  their lives is3 that there should be a
 large amount of faith1 that  it should 
be possible to pass definite judgments  
on things1 and  that there should be no 
doubt at all concerning values4 ,thus it
 is  necessary that something should be 
assumed to be true1 not that it  is     
true20--remembering these words1 as ,i  
say1 the reader may stand  somewhat     
aghast before all those passages in the 
second half of this  volume1 where the  
very falsehoods of ,christianity1 its   

assumptions1 its  unwarrantable claims  
to ,truth1 are declared to be           
pernicious1 base and  corrupt4    ,again
 and again1 if we commit the error of   
supposing that ,nietzsche  believed in a
 truth that was absolute1 we shall find 
throughout his  works reasons for       
charging him with apparently the very   
same crimes  that he here lays at the   
door of ,christianity4 ,what then is the
  explanation of his seeming            
inconsistency8    ,it is simple enough4 
,nietzsche's charge of falsehood against
  ,christianity is not a moral one1--in 
fact it may be taken as a general  rule 
that ,nietzsche scrupulously avoids     
making moral charges1 and that  he      
emains throughout faithful to his       
position ,beyond ,good and ,evil  7see1 
for instance ,aph4 #f 7,antichrist7     
where he repudiates all moral  prejudice
 in charging humanity with corruption74 
,a man who maintained  that 8truth is   
that form of error which enables a      
particular species to  prevail10 could  

not make a moral charge of falsehood    
against any one1  or any institution2   
but he could do so from another         
standpoint ,he could  well say1 for     
instance1 8falsehood is that kind of    
error which causes a  particular species
 to degenerate and to decay40    ,thus  
the fact that ,christianity 8lied0      
becomes a subject of alarm  to          
,nietzsche1 not owing to the fact that  
it is immoral to lie1 but  because in   
this particular instance1 the lie was   
harmful1 hostile to  life1 and dangerous
 to humanity2 for 8a belief might be    
false and yet  life-preserving0 7,beyond
 ,good and ,evil1 pp4 #h1 #i74          
,suppose1 therefore1 we say with        
,nietzsche that there is no absolute    
truth1 but that all that has been true  
in the past which has been  the means of
 making the 8plant man flourish         
best0--or1 since the  meaning of 8best0 
is open to some debate1 let us say1     
flourish in a  ,nietzschean sense1 that 
is to say1 thanks to a mastery of life1 

and  to a preponderance of all those    
qualities which say yea to existence1   
and which suggest no flight from this   
world and all its pleasure and  pain4   
,and suppose we add that1 wherever we   
may find the plant man  flourishing1 in 
this sense1 we should there suspect the 
existence of  truth8--,i ,if we say this
 with ,nietzsche1 any sort of assumption
 or  arbitrary valuation which aims at a
 reverse order of things1 becomes a     
dangerous lie in a super-moral and      
purely physiological sense4    ,with    
these preparatory remarks we are now    
prepared to read aphorism  #ef with a   
complete understanding of what          
,nietzsche means1 and  to recognise in  
this particular aphorism the key to the 
whole of  ,nietzsche's attitude towards 
,christianity4 ,it is at once a solution
 of  our problem1 and a justification of
 its author's position4 ,naturally1  it 
still remains open to ,nietzsche's      
opponents to argue1 if they  choose1    
that man has flourished best under the  

sway of nihilistic  religions--religions
 which deny life1--and that consequently
 the  falsehoods of ,christianity are   
not only warrantable but also in the    
highest degree blessed2 but1 in any     
case1 the aphorism in question          
completely exonerates ,nietzsche from a 
charge of inconsistency in the  use of  
the terms 8truth0 and 8falsehood0       
throughout his works1 and  it moreover  
settles once and for all the exact      
altitude from which  our author looked  
down upon the religions of the world1   
not only to  criticise them1 but also to
 place them in the order of their merit 
as  disciplinary systems aiming at the  
cultivation of particular types of  men4
    ,nietzsche says in aphorism         
#ef3--8;,after all1 the question is1 to 
what  end are falsehoods perpetrated8   
,the fact that1 in ,christianity1       
#8holy'  ends are entirely absent1      
constitutes my objection to the means it
  employs4 ,its ends are only bad ends3 
the poisoning1 the calumniation  and the

 denial of life1 the contempt of the    
body1 the degradation and               
self-pollution of man by virtue of the  
concept sin1--consequently its  means   
are bad as well40    ,thus1 to repeat it
 once more1 it is not because           
,christianity availed  itself of all    
kinds of lies that ,nietzsche condemns  
it2 for the ,book  of ,manu--which he   
admires--is just as full of falsehood as
 the ,semitic  ,book of ,laws2 but1 in  
the ,book of ,manu the lies are         
calculated to  preserve and to create a 
strong and noble type of man1 whereas in
  ,christianity the opposite type was   
the aim1--an aim which has been         
achieved in a manner far exceeding even 
the expectations of the  faithful4      
,this then is the main argument of the  
book and its conclusion2 but1 in  the   
course of the general elaboration of    
this argument1 many important           
side-issues are touched upon and        
developed1 wherein ,nietzsche reveals   
himself as something very much more     

valuable than a mere iconoclast4  ,of   
course1 on every page of his            
philosophy1--whatever his enemies may   
maintain to the contrary1--he never once
 ceases to construct1 since he  is      
incessantly enumerating and emphasising 
those qualities and types  which he fain
 would rear1 as against those he fain   
would see destroyed2  but it is in      
aphorism #eg of this book that          
,nietzsche makes the  plainest and most 
complete statement of his actual taste  
in ,sociology1  and it is upon this     
aphorism that all his followers and     
disciples will  ultimately have to      
build1 if ,nietzscheism is ever to      
become something  more than a merely    
intellectual movement4    ,,anthony ,m4 
,,ludovici4          ,,preface      ,to 
maintain a cheerful attitude of mind in 
the midst of a gloomy and  exceedingly  
responsible task1 is no slight artistic 
feat4 ,and yet1 what  could be more     
necessary than cheerfulness8 ,nothing   
ever succeeds which  exuberant spirits  

have not helped to produce4 ,surplus    
power1 alone1  is the proof of          
power4--,a transvaluation of all        
values1--this note  of interrogation    
which is so black1 so huge1 that it     
casts a shadow  even upon him who       
affixes it1--is a task of such fatal    
import1 that  he who undertakes it is   
compelled every now and then to rush out
 into  the sunlight in order to shake   
himself free from an earnestness that   
becomes crushing1 far too crushing4     
,this end justifies every means1  every 
event on the road to it is a windfall4  
,above all war4 ,war has  always been   
the great policy of all spirits who have
 penetrated too  far into themselves or 
who have grown too deep2 a wound        
stimulates the  recuperative powers4    
,for many years1 a maxim1 the origin of 
which ,i  withhold from learned         
curiosity1 has been my motto3           
increscunt animi1 virescit volnere      
virtus4    ,at other times another means
 of recovery which is even more to my   

taste1 is to cross-examine idols4 ,there
 are more idols than realities  in the  
world3 this constitutes my 8evil eye0   
for this world3 it is  also my 8evil    
ear40 ,to put questions in this quarter 
with a hammer1 and  to hear perchance   
that well-known hollow sound which tells
 of blown-out  frogs1--what a joy this  
is for one who has ears even behind his 
ears1  for an old psychologist and ,pied
 ,piper like myself in whose presence   
precisely that which would fain be      
silent1 must betray itself4    ,even    
this treatise--as its title shows--is   
above all a recreation1  a ray of       
sunshine1 a leap sideways of a          
psychologist in his leisure  moments4   
,maybe1 too1 a new war8 ,and are we     
again cross-examining new  idols8 ,this 
little work is a great declaration of   
war2 and with regard  to the            
cross-examining of idols1 this time it  
is not the idols of the  age but eternal
 idols which are here struck with a     
hammer as with  a tuning fork1--there   

are certainly no idols which are older1 
more  convinced1 and more inflated4     
,neither are there any more hollow4     
,this  does not alter the fact that they
 are believed in more than any others1  
besides they are never called idols1--at
 least1 not the most exalted  among     
their number4    ,,friedrich            
,,nietzsche4    ,,turin1 the #cjth      
,september #ahhh4      on the day when  
the first      book of the              
,transvaluation      of all ,values was 
finished4          ,,maxims ,,and       
,,missiles      #a    ,idleness is the  
parent of all psychology4 ,what8 ,is    
psychology then  a--vice8      #b       
,even the pluckiest among us has but    
seldom the courage of what he  really   
knows4      #c    ,aristotle says that  
in order to live alone1 a man must be   
either an  animal or a god4 ,the third  
alternative is lacking3 a man must be   
both--a philosopher4      #d    8,all   
truth is simple40--,is not this a double
 lie8      #e    ,once for all ,i wish  

to be blind to many things4--,wisdom    
sets bounds  even to knowledge4      #f 
,a man recovers best from his           
exceptional nature--his                 
intellectuality--by giving his animal   
instincts a chance4      #g    ,which is
 it8 ,is man only a blunder of ,god8 ,or
 is ,god only a blunder of  man8      #h
    ,from the military school of        
life4--,that which does not kill me1    
makes  me stronger4      #i    ,help    
thyself1 then everyone will help thee4  
,a principle of  neighbour-love4        
#aj    ,a man should not play the coward
 to his deeds4 ,he should not repudiate 
them once he has performed them4 ,pangs 
of conscience are indecent4      #aa    
,can a donkey be tragic8--,to perish    
beneath a load that one can neither     
bear nor throw off8 ,this is the case of
 the ,philosopher4      #ab    ,if a man
 knows the wherefore of his existence1  
then the manner of it  can take care of 
itself4 ,man does not aspire to         
happiness2 only the  ,englishman does   

that4      #ac    ,man created          
woman--out of what8 ,out of a rib of his
 god1--of his  8ideal40      #ad        
,what8 ,art thou looking for something8 
,thou wouldst fain multiply  thyself    
tenfold1 a hundredfold8 ,thou seekest   
followers8 ,seek ciphers6      #ae      
,posthumous men1 like myself1 are not so
 well understood as men who  reflect    
their age1 but they are heard with more 
respect4 ,in plain  ,english3 we are    
never understood--hence our authority4  
#af    ,among women4--8,truth8 ,oh1 you 
do not know truth6 ,is it not an outrage
  on all our pudeurs80--      #ag       
,there is an artist after my own heart1 
modest in his needs3 he really  wants   
only two things1 his bread and his      
art--panem et ,circem4      #ah    ,he  
who knows not how to plant his will in  
things1 at least endows them  with some 
meaning3 that is to say1 he believes    
that a will is already  present in them4
 7,a principle of faith47      #ai      
,what8 ,ye chose virtue and the heaving 

breast1 and at the same time  ye squint 
covetously at the advantages of the     
unscrupulous4--,but  with virtue ye     
renounce all 8advantages0 444 7to be    
nailed to an  ,antisemite's door74      
#bj    ,the perfect woman perpetrates   
literature as if it were a petty vice3  
as  an experiment1 en passant1 and      
looking about her all the while to  see 
whether anybody is noticing her1 hoping 
that somebody is noticing  her4      #ba
    ,one should adopt only those        
situations in which one is in no need of
  sham virtues1 but rather1 like the    
tight-rope dancer on his tight rope1  in
 which one must either fall or stand--or
 escape4      #bb    8,evil men have no 
songs40#a--;,how is it that the         
,russians have songs8      #bc          
8,german intellect02 for eighteen years 
this has been a contradictio in         
adjecto4      #bd    ,by seeking the    
beginnings of things1 a man becomes a   
crab4 ,the  historian looks backwards3  
in the end he also believes backwards4  

#be    ,contentment preserves one even  
from catching cold4 ,has a woman who    
knew  that she was well-dressed ever    
caught cold8--,no1 not even when she had
  scarcely a rag to her back4      #bf  
,i distrust all systematisers1 and avoid
 them4 ,the will to a system1  shows a  
lack of honesty4      #bg    ,man thinks
 woman profound--why8 ,because he can   
never fathom her depths4  ,woman is not 
even shallow4      #bh    ,when woman   
possesses masculine virtues1 she is     
enough to make you run  away4 ,when she 
possesses no masculine virtues1 she     
herself runs away4    #bi    8,how often
 conscience had to bite in times gone   
by6 ,what good teeth it  must have had6 
,and to-day1 what is amiss80--,a        
dentist's question4      #cj    ,errors 
of haste are seldom committed singly4   
,the first time a man  always docs too  
much4 ,and precisely on that account he 
commits a second  error1 and then he    
does too little4      #ca    ,the       
trodden worm curls up4 ,this testifies  

to its caution4 ,it thus  reduces its   
chances of being trodden upon again4 ,in
 the language of  morality3 ,humility4--
      #cb    ,there is such a thing as a
 hatred of lies and dissimulation1 which
 is  the outcome of a delicate sense of 
humour2 there is also the selfsame      
hatred but as the result of cowardice1  
in so far as falsehood is  forbidden by 
,divine law4 ,too cowardly to lie4444   
#cc    ,what trifles constitute         
happiness6 ,the sound of a bagpipe4     
,without  music life would be a mistake4
 ,the ,german imagines even ,god as a   
songster4      #cd    ,on ne peut penser
 et crire qu'assis 7,g4 ,flaubert74     
,here ,i have got  you1 you nihilist6 ,a
 sedentary life is the real sin against 
the ,holy  ,spirit4 ,only those thoughts
 that come by walking have any value4   
#ce    ,there are times when we         
psychologists are like horses1 and grow 
fretful4 ,we see our own shadow rise and
 fall before us4 ,the  psychologist must
 look away from himself if he wishes to 

see anything  at all4      #cf    ,do we
 immoralists injure virtue in any way8  
,just as little as the  anarchists      
injure royalty4 ,only since they have   
been shot at do princes  sit firmly on  
their thrones once more4 ,moral3        
morality must be shot  at4      #cg     
,thou runnest ahead8--,dost thou do so  
as a shepherd or as an  exception8 ,a   
third alternative would be the          
fugitive4444 ,first question  of        
conscience4      #ch    ,art thou       
genuine or art thou only an actor8 ,art 
thou a representative  or the thing     
represented1 itself8 ,finally1 art thou 
perhaps simply a  copy of an actor8 444 
,second question of conscience4      #ci
    ,the disappointed man speaks3--,i   
sought for great men1 but all ,i found  
were the apes of their ideal4      #dj  
,art thou one who looks on1 or one who  
puts his own shoulder to the            
wheel8--,or art thou one who looks away1
 or who turns aside8444 ,third  question
 of conscience4      #da    ,wilt thou  

go in company1 or lead1 or go by        
thyself8444 ,a man should  know what he 
desires1 and that he desires            
something4--,fourth question  of        
conscience4      #db    ,they were but  
rungs in my ladder1 on them ,i made my  
ascent3--to that  end ,i had to go      
beyond them4 ,but they imagined that ,i 
wanted to lay  myself to rest upon them4
      #dc    ,what matters it whether ,i
 am acknowledged to be right6 ,i am much
 too  right4 ,and he who laughs best    
to-day1 will also laugh last4      #dd  
,the formula of my happiness3 a ,yea1 a 
,nay1 a straight line1 goal4444      #a 
,this is a reference to ,seume's poem   
8,die ,gesnge10 the first verse  of     
which is3--        8,wo man singet1 lass
 dich ruhig nieder1      ,ohne ,furcht1 
was man im ,lande glaubt2      ,wo man  
singet1 wird kein ,mensch beraubt3      
,bsewichter haben keine ,lieder40       
7,wherever people sing thou canst safely
 settle down without a qualm  as to what
 the general faith of the land may be   

,wherever people sing1  no man is ever  
robbed2 rascals have no songs47 ,popular
 tradition1  however1 renders the lines 
thus3--        8,wo man singt1 da lass  
dich ruhig nieder2      ,base ,menschen 
evil men haben keine ,lieder40          
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,socrates      #a 
,in all ages the wisest have always     
agreed in their judgment of life3  it is
 no good4 ,at all times and places the  
same words have been  on their          
lips1--words full of doubt1 full of     
melancholy1 full of  weariness of life1 
full of hostility to life4 ,even        
,socrates' dying  words were3--8,to     
live--means to be ill a long while3 ,i  
owe a cock to  the god sculapius40 ,even
 ,socrates had had enough of it4 ,what  
does that  prove8 ,what does it point   
to8 ,formerly people would have said    
7--oh1  it has been said1 and loudly    
enough too2 by our ,pessimists loudest  
of  all673 8,in any case there must be  
some truth in this6 ,the consensus      
sapientium is a proof of truth40--,shall

 we say the same to-day8 ,may  we do so8
 8,in any case there must be some       
sickness here10 we make  reply4 ,these  
great sages of all periods should first 
be examined more  closely6 ,is it       
possible that they were1 everyone of    
them1 a little  shaky on their legs1    
effete1 rocky1 decadent8 ,does wisdom   
perhaps  appear on earth after the      
manner of a crow attracted by a slight  
smell  of carrion8      #b    ,this     
irreverent belief that the great sages  
were decadent types1 first  occurred to 
me precisely in regard to that case     
concerning which both  learned and      
vulgar prejudice was most opposed to my 
view4 ,i recognised  ,socrates and      
,plato as symptoms of decline1 as       
instruments in the  disintegration of   
,hellas1 as pseudo-,greek1 as           
anti-,greek 78,the ,birth  of ,tragedy10
 #ahgb74 ,that consensus sapientium1 as 
,i perceived ever  more and more        
clearly1 did not in the least prove that
 they were right  in the matter on which

 they agreed4 ,it proved rather that    
these sages  themselves must have been  
alike in some physiological particular1 
in  order to assume the same negative   
attitude towards life--in order to  be  
bound to assume that attitude4 ,after   
all1 judgments and valuations  of life1 
whether for or against1 cannot be true3 
their only value lies  in the fact that 
they are symptoms2 they can be          
considered only as  symptoms1--per se   
such judgments are nonsense4 ,you must  
therefore  endeavour by all means to    
reach out and try to grasp this         
astonishingly  subtle axiom1 that the   
value of life cannot be estimated4 ,a   
living  man cannot do so1 because he is 
a contending party1 or rather the very  
object in the dispute1 and not a judge2 
nor can a dead man estimate  it--for    
other reasons4 ,for a philosopher to see
 a problem in the value  of life1 is    
almost an objection against him1 a note 
of interrogation  set against his       
wisdom--a lack of wisdom4 ,what8 ,is it 

possible that all  these great sages    
were not only decadents1 but that they  
were not even  wise8 ,let me however    
return to the problem of ,socrates4     
#c    ,to judge from his origin1        
,socrates belonged to the lowest of the 
low3  ,socrates was mob4 ,you know1 and 
you can still see it for yourself1  how 
ugly he was4 ,but ugliness1 which in    
itself is an objection1 was  almost a   
refutation among the ,greeks4 ,was      
,socrates really a ,greek8  ,ugliness is
 not infrequently the expression of     
thwarted development1  or of development
 arrested by crossing4 ,in other cases  
it appears  as a decadent development4  
,the anthropologists among the criminal 
specialists declare that ,i the typical 
criminal is ugly3 monstrum  in fronte1  
monstrum in animo4 ,but the criminal is 
a decadent8#a  ,was ,socrates a typical 
criminal8--,at all events this would not
 clash  with that famous physiognomist's
 judgment which was so repugnant to     
,socrates' friends4 ,while on his way   

through ,athens a certain foreigner  who
 was no fool at judging by looks1 told  
,socrates to his face that  he was a    
monster1 that his body harboured all the
 worst vices and  passions4 ,and        
,socrates replied simply3 8,you know me1
 sir60--      #d    ,not only are the   
acknowledged wildness and anarchy of    
,socrates'  instincts indicative of     
decadence1 but also that preponderance  
of the  logical faculties and that      
malignity of the misshapen which was his
  special characteristic4 ,neither      
should we forget those aural delusions  
which were religiously interpreted as   
8the demon of ,socrates40  ,everything  
in him is exaggerated1 buffo1           
caricature1 his nature is  also full of 
concealment1 of ulterior motives1 and of
 underground  currents4 ,i try to       
understand the idiosyncrasy from which  
the ,socratic  equation3--,reason       
,virtue  ,happiness1 could have arisen3 
the  weirdest equation ever seen1 and   
one which was essentially opposed to    

all the instincts of the older          
,hellenes4      #e    ,with ,socrates   
,greek taste veers round in favour of   
dialectics3 what  actually occurs8 ,in  
the first place a noble taste is        
vanquished3  with dialectics the mob    
comes to the top4 ,before ,socrates'    
time1  dialectical manners were avoided 
in good society3 they were regarded  as 
bad manners1 they were compromising4    
,young men were cautioned  against them4
 ,all such proffering of one's reasons  
was looked upon with  suspicion4 ,honest
 things like honest men do not carry    
their reasons  on their sleeve in such  
fashion4 ,it is not good form to make a 
show  of everything4 ,that which needs  
to be proved cannot be worth much4      
,wherever authority still belongs to    
good usage1 wherever men do not  prove  
but command1 the dialectician is        
regarded as a sort of clown4  ,people   
laugh at him1 they do not take him      
seriously4 ,socrates was a  clown who   
succeeded in making men take him        

seriously3 what then was the  matter8   
#f    ,a man resorts to dialectics only 
when he has no other means to hand4     
,people know that they excite suspicion 
with it and that it is not  very        
convincing4 ,nothing is more easily     
dispelled than a dialectical  effect3   
this is proved by the experience of     
every gathering in which  discussions   
are held4 ,it can be only the last      
defence of those who have  no other     
weapons4 ,one must require to extort    
one's right1 otherwise one  makes no use
 of it4 ,that is why the ,jews were     
dialecticians4 ,reynard  the ,fox was a 
dialectician3 what8--and was ,socrates  
one as well8      #g    ,is the         
,socratic irony an expression of revolt1
 of mob resentment8  ,does ,socrates1 as
 a creature suffering under oppression1 
enjoy his  innate ferocity in the       
knife-thrusts of the syllogism8 ,does he
 wreak  his revenge on the noblemen he  
fascinates8--,as a dialectician a man   
has a merciless instrument to wield2 he 

can play the tyrant with it3  he        
compromises when he conquers with it4   
,the dialectician leaves it to  his     
opponent to prove that he is no idiot3  
he infuriates1 he likewise  paralyses4  
,the dialectician cripples the intellect
 of his opponent4 ,can  it be that      
dialectics was only a form of revenge in
 ,socrates8      #h    ,i have given you
 to understand in what way ,socrates was
 able to repel3  now it is all the more 
necessary to explain how he             
fascinated4--,one  reason is that he    
discovered a new kind of ,agon1 and that
 he was the  first fencing-master in the
 best circles in ,athens4 ,he fascinated
 by  appealing to the combative instinct
 of the ,greeks1--he introduced a       
variation into the contests between men 
and youths4 ,socrates was also a  great 
erotic4      #i    ,but ,socrates       
divined still more4 ,he saw right       
through his noble  ,athenians2 he       
perceived that his case1 his peculiar   
case1 was no  exception even in his     

time4 ,the same kind of degeneracy was  
silently  preparing itself everywhere3  
ancient ,athens was dying out4 ,and     
,socrates  understood that the whole    
world needed him1--his means1 his       
remedy1 his  special artifice for       
self-preservation4 ,everywhere the      
instincts were  in a state of anarchy2  
everywhere people were within an ace of 
excess3  the monstrum in animo was the  
general danger4 8,the instincts would   
play the tyrant2 we must discover a     
counter-tyrant who is stronger than     
they40 ,on the occasion when that       
physiognomist had unmasked ,socrates1   
and had told him what he was1 a crater  
full of evil desires1 the great  ,master
 of ,irony let fall one or two words    
more1 which provide the key  to his     
nature4 8,this is true10 he said1 8but  
,i overcame them all40 ,how  did        
,socrates succeed in mastering himself8 
,his case was at bottom only  the       
extreme and most apparent example of a  
state of distress which  was beginning  

to be general3 that state in which no   
one was able to  master himself and in  
which the instincts turned one against  
the other4  ,as the extreme example of  
this state1 he fascinated--his          
terrifying  ugliness made him           
conspicuous to every eye3 it is quite   
obvious that he  fascinated still more  
as a reply1 as a solution1 as an        
apparent cure of  this case4      #aj   
,when a man finds it necessary1 as      
,socrates did1 to create a tyrant out   
of reason1 there is no small danger that
 something else wishes to play  the     
tyrant4 ,reason was then discovered as a
 saviour2 neither ,socrates  nor his    
8patients0 were at liberty to be        
rational or not1 as they  pleased2 at   
that time it was de rigueur1 it had     
become a last shift4  ,the fanaticism   
with which the whole of ,greek thought  
plunges into  reason1 betrays a critical
 condition of things3 men were in       
danger2  there were only two            
alternatives3 either perish or else be  

absurdly  rational4 ,the moral bias of  
,greek philosophy from ,plato onward1 is
 the  outcome of a pathological         
condition1 as is also its appreciation  
of  dialectics4 ,reason  ,virtue        
,happiness1 simply means3 we must       
imitate  ,socrates1 and confront the    
dark passions permanently with the light
  of day--the light of reason4 ,we must 
at all costs be clever1 precise1  clear3
 all yielding to the instincts1 to the  
unconscious1 leads  downwards4      #aa 
,i have now explained how ,socrates     
fascinated3 he seemed to be a  doctor1 a
 ,saviour4 ,is it necessary to expose   
the errors which lay in  his faith in   
8reason at any price08--,it is a piece  
of self-deception  on the part of       
philosophers and moralists to suppose   
that they can  extricate themselves from
 degeneration by merely waging war upon 
it4  ,they cannot thus extricate        
themselves2 that which they choose as a 
means1 as the road to salvation1 is in  
itself again only an expression  of     

degeneration--they only modify its mode 
of manifesting itself3  they do not     
abolish it4 ,socrates was a             
misunderstanding4 ,the whole  of the    
morality of amelioration--that of       
,christianity as well--was  a           
misunderstanding4 ,the most blinding    
light of day3 reason at any  price2 life
 made clear1 cold1 cautious1 conscious1 
without instincts1  opposed to the      
instincts1 was in itself only a disease1
 another kind  of disease--and by no    
means a return to 8virtue10 to 8health10
 and to  happiness4 ,to be obliged to   
fight the instincts--this is the formula
 of  degeneration3 as long as life is in
 the ascending line1 happiness is  the  
same as instinct4      #ab    --,did he 
understand this himself1 this most      
intelligent of  self-deceivers8 ,did he 
confess this to himself in the end1 in  
the  wisdom of his courage before death4
 ,socrates wished to die4 ,not ,athens1 
but his own hand gave him the draught of
 hemlock2 he drove ,athens to  the      

poisoned cup4 8,socrates is not a       
doctor10 he whispered to himself1       
8death alone can be a doctor here4444   
,socrates himself has only been ill  a  
long while40      #a ,it should be borne
 in mind that ,nietzsche recognised two 
types of  criminals1--the criminal from 
strength1 and the criminal from         
weakness4  ,this passage alludes to the 
latter1 ,aphorism #de1 p4 #ajc1 alludes 
to the  former4--,,tr4                  
8,,reason0 ,,in ,,philosophy      #a    
,you ask me what all idiosyncrasy is in 
philosophers8 444 ,for instance  their  
lack of the historical sense1 their     
hatred even of the idea of  ,becoming1  
their ,egyptianism4 ,they imagine that  
they do honour to a  thing by divorcing 
it from history sub specie terni1--when 
they  make a mummy of it4 ,all the ideas
 that philosophers have treated for     
thousands of years1 have been mummied   
concepts2 nothing real has ever  come   
out of their hands alive4 ,these        
idolaters of concepts merely  kill and  

stuff things when they worship1--they   
threaten the life of  everything they   
adore4 ,death1 change1 age1 as well as  
procreation and  growth1 are in their   
opinion objections1--even refutations4  
,that which  is cannot evolve2 that     
which evolves is not4 ,now all of them  
believe1  and even with desperation1 in 
,being4 ,but1 as they cannot lay hold of
  it1 they try to discover reasons why  
this privilege is withheld from  them4  
8,some merely apparent quality1 some    
deception must be the cause  of our not 
being able to ascertain the nature of   
,being3 where is the  deceiver80 8,we   
have him10 they cry rejoicing1 8it is   
sensuality60 ,these  senses1 which in   
other things are so immoral1 cheat us   
concerning the  true world4 ,moral3 we  
must get rid of the deception of the    
senses1 of  ,becoming1 of history1 of   
falsehood4--,history is nothing more    
than the  belief in the senses1 the     
belief in falsehood4 ,moral3 we must say
 8no0  to everything in which the senses

 believe3 to all the rest of mankind3   
all that belongs to the 8people40 ,let  
us be philosophers1 mummies1            
monotono-theists1 grave-diggers6--,and  
above all1 away with the body1  this    
wretched ide fixe of the senses1        
infected with all the faults  of logic  
that exist1 refuted1 even impossible1   
although it be impudent  enough to pose 
as if it were real6      #b    ,with a  
feeling of great reverence ,i except the
 name of ,heraclitus4  ,if the rest of  
the philosophic gang rejected the       
evidences of the  senses1 because the   
latter revealed a state of              
multifariousness and  change1 he        
rejected the same evidence because it   
revealed things as if  they possessed   
permanence and unity4 ,even ,heraclitus 
did an injustice  to the senses4 ,the   
latter lie neither as the ,eleatics     
believed them  to lie1 nor as he        
believed them to lie1--they do not lie  
at all4 ,the  interpretations we give to
 their evidence is what first introduces

  falsehood into it2 for instance the   
lie of unity1 the lie of matter1  of    
substance and of permanence4 ,reason is 
the cause of our falsifying  the        
evidence of the senses4 ,in so far as   
the senses show us a state  of          
,becoming1 of transiency1 and of change1
 they do not lie4 ,but in  declaring    
that ,being was an empty illusion1      
,heraclitus will remain  eternally      
right4 ,the 8apparent0 world is the only
 world3 the 8true  world0 is no more    
than a false adjunct thereto4      #c   
,and what delicate instruments of       
observation we have in our senses6      
,this human nose1 for instance1 of which
 no philosopher has yet spoken  with    
reverence and gratitude1 is1 for the    
present1 the most finely  adjusted      
instrument at our disposal3 it is able  
to register even such  slight changes of
 movement as the spectroscope would be  
unable to  record4 ,our scientific      
triumphs at the present day extend      
precisely  so far as we have accepted   

the evidence of our senses1--as we have 
sharpened and armed them1 and learned to
 follow them up to the  end4 ,what      
remains is abortive and not yet         
science--that is to say1  metaphysics1  
theology1 psychology1 epistemology1 or  
formal science1 or  a doctrine of       
symbols1 like logic and its applied form
 mathematics4  ,in all these things     
reality does not come into consideration
 at all1  even as a problem2 just as    
little as does the question concerning  
the  general value of such a convention 
of symbols as logic4      #d    ,the    
other idiosyncrasy of philosophers is no
 less dangerous2 it  consists in        
confusing the last and the first things4
 ,they place that  which makes its      
appearance last--unfortunately6 for it  
ought not  to appear at all6--the       
8highest concept10 that is to say1 the  
most  general1 the emptiest1 the last   
cloudy streak of evaporating reality1   
at the beginning as the beginning4 ,this
 again is only their manner of          

expressing their veneration3 the highest
 thing must not have grown out  of the  
lowest1 it must not have grown at       
all4444 ,moral3 everything  of the first
 rank must be causa sui4 ,to have been  
derived from  something else1 is as good
 as an objection1 it sets the value of a
  thing in question4 ,all superior      
values are of the first rank1 all the   
highest concepts--that of ,being1 of the
 ,absolute1 of ,goodness1 of  ,truth1   
and of ,perfection2 all these things    
cannot have been evolved1  they must    
therefore be causa sui4 ,all these      
things cannot however be  unlike one    
another1 they cannot be opposed to one  
another4 ,thus they  attain to their    
stupendous concept 8,god40 ,the last1   
most attenuated and  emptiest thing is  
postulated as the first thing1 as the   
absolute cause1  as ens realissimum4    
,fancy humanity having to take the brain
 diseases  of morbid cobweb-spinners    
seriously6--,and it has paid dearly for 
having  done so4      #e    --,against  

this let us set the different manner in 
which we 7--you  observe that ,i am     
courteous enough to say 8we07 conceive  
the problem of  the error and           
deceptiveness of things4 ,formerly      
people regarded change  and evolution in
 general as the proof of appearance1 as 
a sign of the  fact that something must 
be there that leads us astray4 ,to-day1 
on  the other hand1 we realise that     
precisely as far as the rational bias   
forces us to postulate unity1 identity1 
permanence1 substance1 cause1           
materiality and being1 we are in a      
measure involved in error1 driven       
necessarily to error2 however certain we
 may feel1 as the result of a  strict   
examination of the matter1 that the     
error lies here4 ,it is just  the same  
here as with the motion of the sun3 ,in 
its case it was our  eyes that were     
wrong2 in the matter of the concepts    
above mentioned it  is our language     
itself that pleads most constantly in   
their favour4  ,in its origin language  

belongs to an age of the most           
rudimentary  forms of psychology3 if we 
try to conceive of the first conditions 
of  the metaphysics of language1 i4e4 in
 plain ,english1 of reason1 we          
immediately find ourselves in the midst 
of a system of fetichism4 ,for  here1   
the doer and his deed are seen in all   
circumstances1 will is  believed in as a
 cause in general2 the ego is taken for 
granted1 the  ego as ,being1 and as     
substance1 and the faith in the ego as  
substance  is projected into all        
things--in this way1 alone1 the concept 
8thing0  is created4 ,being is thought  
into and insinuated into everything as  
cause2 from the concept 8ego10 alone1   
can the concept 8,being0 proceed4  ,at  
the beginning stands the tremendously   
fatal error of supposing the  will to be
 something that actuates1--a faculty4   
,now we know that it  is only a word4#a 
,very much later1 in a world a thousand 
times more  enlightened1 the assurance1 
the subjective certitude1 in the        

handling  of the categories of reason   
came into the minds of philosophers as a
  surprise4 ,they concluded that these  
categories could not be derived  from   
experience1--on the contrary1 the whole 
of experience rather  contradicts them4 
,whence do they come therefore8 ,in     
,india1 as in  ,greece1 the same mistake
 was made3 8we must already once have   
lived  in a higher world 7--instead of  
in a much lower one1 which would have   
been the truth671 we must have been     
divine1 for we possess reason60  444    
,nothing indeed has exercised a more    
simple power of persuasion  hitherto    
than the error of ,being1 as it was     
formulated by the ,eleatics  for        
instance3 in its favour are every word  
and every sentence that we              
utter6--,even the opponents of the      
,eleatics succumbed to the seductive    
powers of their concept of ,being4      
,among others there was ,democritus in  
his discovery of the atom4 8,reason0 in 
language6--oh what a deceptive  old     

witch it has been6 ,i fear we shall     
never be rid of ,god1 so long as  we    
still believe in grammar4      #f       
,people will feel grateful to me if ,i  
condense a point of view1 which  is at  
once so important and so new1 into four 
theses3 by this means  ,i shall         
facilitate comprehension1 and shall     
likewise challenge  contradiction4      
,proposition ,one4 ,the reasons upon    
which the apparent nature of 8this0     
world have been based1 rather tend to   
prove its reality1--any other  kind of  
reality defies demonstration4           
,proposition ,two4 ,the characteristics 
with which man has endowed  the 8true   
,being0 of things1 are the              
characteristics of non-,being1 of       
nonentity4 ,the 8true world0 has been   
erected upon a contradiction of  the    
real world2 and it is indeed an apparent
 world1 seeing that it is  merely a     
moralo-optical delusion4    ,proposition
 ,three4 ,there is no sense in spinning 
yarns about another  world1 provided1 of

 course1 that we do not possess a mighty
 instinct  which urges us to slander1   
belittle1 and cast suspicion upon this  
life3  in this case we should be        
avenging ourselves on this life with the
  phantasmagoria of 8another10 of a     
8better0 life4    ,proposition ,four4   
,to divide the world into a 8true0 and  
an 8apparent0  world1 whether after the 
manner of ,christianity or of ,kant     
7after all  a ,christian in disguise71  
is only a sign of decadence1--a symptom 
of  degenerating life4 ,the fact that   
the artist esteems the appearance  of a 
thing higher than reality1 is no        
objection to this statement4 ,for       
8appearance0 signifies once more reality
 here1 but in a selected1  strengthened 
and corrected form4 ,the tragic artist  
is no pessimist1--he  says ,yea to      
everything questionable and terrible1 he
 is ,dionysian4      #a ,nietzsche here 
refers to the concept 8free will0 of the
 ,christians2  this does not mean that  
there is no such thing as will--that is 

to say  a powerful determining force    
from within4--,,tr4      ,,how ,,the    
8,,true ,,world0 ,,ultimately ,,became  
,a ,,fable    ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,an 
,,error    #a4 ,the true world1         
attainable to the sage1 the pious man   
and the man of  virtue1--he lives in it1
 he is it4        7,the most ancient    
form of the idea was relatively clever1 
simple1 convincing4 ,it was a paraphrase
 of the proposition      8,i1 ,plato1 am
 the truth407      #b4 ,the true world  
which is unattainable for the moment1 is
 promised to  the sage1 to the pious man
 and to the man of virtue 78to the      
sinner who  repents074        7,progress
 of the idea3 it becomes more subtle1   
more      insidious1 more evasive1--,it 
becomes a woman1 it becomes             
,christian47      #c4 ,the true world is
 unattainable1 it cannot be proved1 it  
cannot  promise anything2 but even as a 
thought1 alone1 it is a comfort1 an     
obligation1 a command4        7,at      
bottom this is still the old sun2 but   

seen through mist      and scepticism3  
the idea has become sublime1 pale1      
northern1      ,knigsbergian47#a        
#d4 ,the true world--is it unattainable8
 ,at all events it is unattained4  ,and 
as unattained it is also unknown4       
,consequently it no longer  comforts1   
nor saves1 nor constrains3 what could   
something unknown  constrain us to8     
7,the grey of dawn4 ,reason stretches   
itself and yawns for the      first     
time4 ,the cock-crow of positivism47    
#e4 ,the 8true world0--an idea that no  
longer serves any purpose1 that  no     
longer constrains one to anything1--a   
useless idea that has become  quite     
superfluous1 consequently an exploded   
idea3 let us abolish it6        7,bright
 daylight2 breakfast2 the return of     
common sense      and of cheerfulness2  
,plato blushes for shame and all        
free-spirits kick up a shindy47      #f4
 ,we have suppressed the true world3    
what world survives8 the apparent  world
 perhaps8444 ,certainly not6 ,in        

abolishing the true world we have  also 
abolished the world of appearance6      
7,noon2 the moment of the shortest      
shadows2 the end of the      longest    
error2 mankind's zenith2 ,incipit       
,zarathustra47      #a ,kant was a      
native of ,knigsberg and lived there all
 his life4 ,did  ,nietzsche know that   
,kant was simply a ,scotch ,puritan1    
whose family had  settled in ,germany8  
,,morality ,,as ,,the ,,enemy ,,of      
,,nature      #a    ,there is a time    
when all passions are simply fatal in   
their action1  when they wreck their    
victims with the weight of their        
folly1--and  there is a later period1 a 
very much later period1 when they marry 
with  the spirit1 when they             
8spiritualise0 themselves4 ,formerly1   
owing to the  stupidity inherent in     
passion1 men waged war against passion  
itself3  men pledged themselves to      
annihilate it1--all ancient             
moral-mongers  were unanimous on this   
point1 8il faut tuer les passions40 ,the

  most famous formula for this stands in
 the ,new ,testament1 in that  ,sermon  
on the ,mount1 where1 let it be said    
incidentally1 things are  by no means   
regarded from a height4 ,it is said     
there1 for instance1  with an           
application to sexuality3 8if thy eye   
offend thee1 pluck it  out03 fortunately
 no ,christian acts in obedience to this
 precept4  ,to annihilate the passions  
and desires1 simply on account of their 
stupidity1 and to obviate the unpleasant
 consequences of their  stupidity1 seems
 to us to-day merely an aggravated form 
of stupidity4  ,we no longer admire     
those dentists who extract teeth simply 
in order  that they may not ache again4 
,on the other hand1 it will be admitted 
with some reason1 that on the soil from 
which ,christianity grew1 the  idea of  
the 8spiritualisation of passion0 could 
not possibly have been  conceived4 ,the 
early ,church1 as everyone knows1       
certainly did wage war  against the     
8intelligent10 in favour of the 8poor in

 spirit0 ,in these  circumstances how   
could the passions be combated          
intelligently8 ,the  ,church combats    
passion by means of excision of all     
kinds3 its practice1  its 8remedy10 is  
castration4 ,it never inquires 8how can 
a desire  be spiritualised1 beautified1 
deified80--,in all ages it has laid the 
weight of discipline in the process of  
extirpation 7the extirpation  of        
sensuality1 pride1 lust of dominion1    
lust of property1 and  revenge74--,but  
to attack the passions at their roots1  
means attacking  life itself at its     
source3 the method of the ,church is    
hostile to life4      #b    ,the same   
means1 castration and extirpation1 are  
instinctively chosen  for waging war    
against a passion1 by those who are too 
weak of will1  too degenerate1 to impose
 some sort of moderation upon it2 by    
those  natures who1 to speak in metaphor
 7--and without metaphor71 need  la     
,trappe1 or some kind of ultimatum of   
war1 a gulf set between  themselves and 

a passion4 ,only degenerates find       
radical methods  indispensable3 weakness
 of will1 or more strictly speaking1 the
  inability not to react to a stimulus1 
is in itself simply another form  of    
degeneracy4 ,radical and mortal         
hostility to sensuality1 remains a      
suspicious symptom3 it justifies one in 
being suspicious of the general  state  
of one who goes to such extremes4       
,moreover1 that hostility and  hatred   
reach their height only when such       
natures no longer possess  enough       
strength of character to adopt the      
radical remedy1 to renounce  their inner
 8,satan40 ,look at the whole history of
 the priests1 the  philosophers1 and the
 artists as well3 the most poisonous    
diatribes  against the senses have not  
been said by the impotent1 nor by the   
ascetics2 but by those impossible       
ascetics1 by those who found it         
necessary to be ascetics4      #c       
,the spiritualisation of sensuality is  
called love3 it is a great  triumph over

 ,christianity4 ,another triumph is our 
spiritualisation of  hostility4 ,it     
consists in the fact that we are        
beginning to realise  very profoundly   
the value of having enemies3 in short   
that with them  we are forced to do and 
to conclude precisely the reverse of    
what  we previously did and concluded4  
,in all ages the ,church wished to      
annihilate its enemies3 we1 the         
immoralists and ,antichrists1 see our   
advantage in the survival of the        
,church4 ,even in political life1       
hostility has now become more           
spiritual1--much more cautious1 much    
more thoughtful1 and much more moderate4
 ,almost every party sees its           
self-preservative interests in          
preventing the ,opposition from going   
to pieces2 and the same applies to      
politics on a grand scale4 ,a new       
creation1 more particularly1 like the   
new ,empire1 has more need  of enemies  
than friends3 only as a contrast does it
 begin to feel  necessary1 only as a    

contrast does it become necessary4 ,and 
we behave  in precisely the same way to 
the 8inner enemy03 in this quarter too  
we  have spiritualised enmity1 in this  
quarter too we have understood its      
value4 ,a man is productive only in so  
far as he is rich in contrasted         
instincts2 he can remain young only on  
condition that his soul does  not begin 
to take things easy and to yearn for    
peace4 ,nothing has  grown more alien to
 us than that old desire--the 8peace of 
the soul10  which is the aim of         
,christianity4 ,nothing could make us   
less envious  than the moral cow and the
 plump happiness of a clean conscience4 
,the  man who has renounced war has     
renounced a grand life4 ,in many cases1 
of course1 8peace of the soul0 is merely
 a misunderstanding1--it is  something  
very different which has failed to find 
a more honest name  for itself4 ,without
 either circumlocution or prejudice ,i  
will suggest a  few cases4 8,peace of   
the soul0 may for instance be the sweet 

effulgence  of rich animality in the    
realm of morality 7or religion74 ,or the
 first  presage of weariness1 the first 
shadow that evening1 every kind of      
evening1 is wont to cast4 ,or a sign    
that the air is moist1 and that  winds  
are blowing up from the south4 ,or      
unconscious gratitude for a  good       
digestion 7sometimes called 8brotherly  
love074 ,or the serenity  of the        
convalescent1 on whose lips all things  
have a new taste1 and  who bides his    
time4 ,or the condition which follows   
upon a thorough  gratification of our   
strongest passion1 the well-being of    
unaccustomed  satiety4 ,or the senility 
of our will1 of our desires1 and of our 
vices4  ,or laziness1 coaxed by vanity  
into togging itself out in a moral garb4
  ,or the ending of a state of long     
suspense and of agonising uncertainty1  
by a state of certainty1 of even        
terrible certainty4 ,or the expression  
of ripeness and mastery in the midst of 
a task1 of a creative work1 of  a       

production1 of a thing willed1 the calm 
breathing that denotes that  8freedom of
 will0 has been attained4 ,who          
knows8--maybe ,the ,twilight  of the    
,idols is only a sort of 8peace of the  
soul40      #d    ,i will formulate a   
principle4 ,all naturalism in           
morality--that is to  say1 every sound  
morality is ruled by a life             
instinct1--any one of  the laws of life 
is fulfilled by the definite canon 8thou
 shalt10  8thou shalt not10 and any sort
 of obstacle or hostile element in the  
road of life is thus cleared away4      
,conversely1 the morality which is      
antagonistic to nature--that is to say1 
almost every morality that has  been    
taught1 honoured and preached hitherto1 
is directed precisely  against the      
life-instincts1--it is a condemnation1  
now secret1 now  blatant and impudent1  
of these very instincts4 ,inasmuch as it
 says 8,god  sees into the heart of     
man10 it says ,nay to the profoundest   
and most  superior desires of life and  

takes ,god as the enemy of life4 ,the   
saint  in whom ,god is well pleased1 is 
the ideal eunuch4 ,life terminates where
  the 8,kingdom of ,god0 begins4      #e
    ,admitting that you have understood 
the villainy of such a mutiny  against  
life as that which has become almost    
sacrosanct in ,christian  morality1 you 
have fortunately understood something   
besides2 and that  is the futility1 the 
fictitiousness1 the absurdity and the   
falseness  of such a mutiny4 ,for the   
condemnation of life by a living        
creature is  after all but the symptom  
of a definite kind of life3 the question
 as  to whether the condemnation is     
justified or the reverse is not even    
raised4 ,in order even to approach the  
problem of the value of life1  a man    
would need to be placed outside life1   
and moreover know it as  well as one1 as
 many1 as all in fact1 who have lived it
 ,these are  reasons enough to prove to 
us that this problem is an inaccessible 
one  to us4 ,when we speak of values1 we

 speak under the inspiration1 and       
through the optics of life3 life itself 
urges us to determine values3  life     
itself values through us when we        
determine values4 ,from which it        
follows that even that morality which is
 antagonistic to life1 and  which       
conceives ,god as the opposite and the  
condemnation of life1 is  only a        
valuation of life--of what life8 of what
 kind of life8 ,but ,i  have already    
answered this question3 it is the       
valuation of declining1  of enfeebled1  
of exhausted and of condemned life4     
,morality1 as it has  been understood   
hitherto--as it was finally formulated  
by ,schopenhauer  in the words 8,the    
,denial of the ,will to ,life10 is the  
instinct of  degeneration itself1 which 
converts itself into an imperative3 it  
says3  8,perish60 ,it is the death      
sentence of men who are already doomed4 
#f    ,let us at last consider how      
exceedingly simple it is on our part to 
say3 8,man should be thus and thus60    

,reality shows us a marvellous  wealth  
of types1 and a luxuriant variety of    
forms and changes3 and yet  the first   
wretch of a moral loafer that comes     
along cries 8,no6 ,man  should be       
different60 ,he even knows what man     
should be like1 does this  sanctimonious
 prig3 he draws his own face on the wall
 and declares3  8ecce homo60 ,but even  
when the moralist addresses himself only
 to the  individual and says 8thus and  
thus shouldst thou be60 he still makes  
an ass of himself4 ,the individual in   
his past and future is a piece of  fate1
 one law the more1 one necessity the    
more for all that is to come  and is to 
be4 ,to say to him 8change thyself10 is 
tantamount to saying  that everything   
should change1 even backwards as well4  
,truly these have  been consistent      
moralists1 they wished man to be        
different1 i4e41  virtuous2 they wished 
him to be after their own image1--that  
is to say  sanctimonious humbugs4 ,and  
to this end they denied the world6 ,no  

slight  form of insanity6 ,no modest    
form of immodesty6 ,morality1 in so far 
it  condemns per se1 and not out of any 
aim1 consideration or motive of  life1  
is a specific error1 for which no one   
should feel any mercy1 a  degenerate    
idiosyncrasy1 that has done an          
unutterable amount of harm4  ,we others1
 we immoralists1 on the contrary1 have  
opened our hearts  wide to all kinds of 
comprehension1 understanding and        
approbation4#a  ,we do not deny readily1
 we glory in saying yea to things4 ,our 
eyes  have opened ever wider and wider  
to that economy which still employs  and
 knows how to use to its own advantage  
all that which the sacred  craziness of 
priests and the morbid reason in        
priests1 rejects2 to  that economy in   
the law of life which draws its own     
advantage even out  of the repulsive    
race of bigots1 the priests and the     
virtuous1--what  advantage8--,but we    
ourselves1 we immoralists1 are the reply
 to this  question4    #a ,cf4 ,spinoza1

 who says in the ,tractatus politico    
7#afgg71 ,chap4  ,i1  #d3 8,sedulo      
curavi1 humanas actiones non ridere1 non
 tugert1  negue detestari1 sed          
intelligere0 78,i have carefully        
endeavoured not  to deride1 or deplore1 
or detest human actions1 but to         
understand  them4074--,,tr4             
,,the ,,four ,,great ,,errors      #a   
,the error of the confusion of cause and
 effect4--,there is no more  dangerous  
error than to confound the effect with  
the cause3 ,i call  this error the      
intrinsic perversion of reason4         
,nevertheless this error  is one of the 
most ancient and most recent habits of  
mankind4 ,in one  part of the world it  
has even been canonised2 and it bears   
the name of  8,religion0 and            
8,morality40 ,every postulate formulated
 by religion and  morality contains it4 
,priests and the promulgators of moral  
laws are the  promoters of this         
perversion of reason4--,let me give you 
an example4  ,everybody knows the book  

of the famous ,cornaro1 in which he     
recommends  his slender diet as the     
recipe for a long1 happy and also       
virtuous  life4 ,few books have been so 
widely read1 and to this day many       
thousand  copies of it are still printed
 annually in ,england4 ,i do not doubt  
that  there is scarcely a single book   
7the ,bible of course excepted7 that    
has worked more mischief1 shortened more
 lives1 than this well-meant  curiosity4
 ,the reason of this is the confusion of
 effect and cause4  ,this worthy        
,italian saw the cause of his long life 
in his diet3 whereas  the prerequisites 
of long life1 which are exceptional     
slowness of  molecular change1 and a low
 rate of expenditure in energy1 were the
  cause of his meagre diet ,he was not  
at liberty to eat a small or a  great   
amount4 ,his frugality was not the      
result of free choice1 he would  have   
been ill had he eaten more4 ,he who does
 not happen to be a carp1  however1 is  
not only wise to eat well1 but is also  

compelled to do so4  ,a scholar of the  
present day1 with his rapid consumption 
of nervous  energy1 would soon go to the
 dogs on ,cornaro's diet4 ,crede        
experto4--      #b    ,the most general 
principle lying at the root of every    
religion and  morality1 is this3 8,do   
this and that and avoid this and        
that--and  thou wilt be happy4          
,otherwise----40 ,every morality and    
every  religion is this ,imperative--,i 
call it the great original sin of       
reason1--immortal unreason4 ,in my mouth
 this principle is converted  into its  
opposite--first example of my           
8,transvaluation of all ,values03  a    
well-constituted man1 a man who is one  
of 8,nature's lucky strokes10  must     
perform certain actions and             
instinctively fear other actions2  he   
introduces the element of order1 of     
which he is the physiological           
manifestation1 into his relations with  
men and things4 ,in a formula3  his     
virtue is the consequence of his good   

constitution4 ,longevity  and plentiful 
offspring are not the reward of virtue1 
virtue itself  is on the contrary that  
retardation of the metabolic process    
which1  among other things1 results in a
 long life and in plentiful offspring1  
in short in ,cornarism4 ,the ,church and
 morality say3 8,a race1 a  people      
perish through vice and luxury40 ,my    
reinstated reason says3  when a people  
are going to the dogs1 when they are    
degenerating  physiologically1 vice and 
luxury 7that is to say1 the need of ever
  stronger and more frequent stimuli    
such as all exhausted natures are       
acquainted with7 are bound to result4   
,such and such a young man grows  pale  
and withered prematurely4 ,his friends  
say this or that illness  is the cause  
of it ,i say3 the fact that he became   
ill1 the fact that  he did not resist   
illness1 was in itself already the      
outcome of  impoverished life1 of       
hereditary exhaustion4 ,the newspaper   
reader says3  such and such a party by  

committing such an error will meet its  
death4  ,my superior politics say3 a    
party that can make such mistakes1 is in
  its last agony--it no longer possesses
 any certainty of instinct4 ,every      
mistake is in every sense the sequel to 
degeneration of the instincts1  to      
disintegration of the will4 ,this is    
almost the definition of evil1          
,everything valuable is instinct--and   
consequently easy1 necessary1  free4    
,exertion is an objection1 the god is   
characteristically different  from the  
hero 7in my language3 light feet are the
 first attribute of  divinity74      #c 
,the error of false causality4 ,in all  
ages men have believed that  they knew  
what a cause was3 but whence did we     
derive this knowledge1  or more         
accurately1 this faith in the fact that 
we know8 ,out of the  realm of the      
famous 8inner facts of consciousness10  
not one of which  has yet proved itself 
to be a fact ,we believed ourselves to  
be causes  even in the action of the    

will2 we thought that in this matter at 
least we caught causality red-handed4   
,no one doubted that all the            
antecedentia of an action were to be    
sought in consciousness1 and  could be  
discovered there--as 8motive0--if only  
they were sought4  ,otherwise we should 
not be free to perform them1 we should  
not have  been responsible for them4    
,finally who would have questioned that 
a  thought is caused8 that the ego      
causes the thought8 ,of these three     
8facts of inner consciousness0 by means 
of which causality seemed to  be        
guaranteed1 the first and most          
convincing is that of the will as       
cause2 the conception of consciousness  
78spirit07 as a cause1 and  subsequently
 that of the ego 7the 8subject07 as a   
cause1 were merely  born afterwards1    
once the causality of the will stood    
established  as 8given10 as a fact of   
experience4 ,meanwhile we have come to  
our  senses4 ,to-day we no longer       
believe a word of all this4 ,the 8inner 

world0 is full of phantoms and          
will-o'-the-wisps3 the will is one of   
these4 ,the will no longer actuates1    
consequently it no longer explains      
anything--all it does is to accompany   
processes2 it may even be absent4  ,the 
so-called 8motive0 is another error4 ,it
 is merely a ripple on  the surface of  
consciousness1 a side issue of the      
action1 which is  much more likely to   
conceal than to reveal the antecedentia 
of the  latter4 ,and as for the ego6 ,it
 has become legendary1 fictional1 a     
play upon words3 it has ceased utterly  
and completely from thinking1  feeling1 
and willing6 ,what is the result of it  
all8 ,there are no such  things as      
spiritual causes4 ,the whole of popular 
experience on this  subject went to the 
devil6 ,that is the result of it all4   
,for we had  blissfully abused that     
experience1 we had built the world upon 
it as a  world of causes1 as a world of 
will1 as a world of spirit4 ,the most   
antiquated and most traditional         

psychology has been at work here1 it    
has done nothing else3 all phenomena    
were deeds in the light of this         
psychology1 and all deeds were the      
result of will2 according to it the     
world was a complex mechanism of agents1
 an agent 7a 8subject07 lay  at the root
 of all things4 ,man projected his three
 8inner facts of  consciousness10 the   
will1 the spirit1 and the ego in which  
he believed  most firmly1 outside       
himself4 ,he first deduced the concept  
,being out  of the concept ,ego1 he     
supposed 8things0 to exist as he did    
himself1  according to his notion of the
 ego as cause4 ,was it to be wondered at
  that later on he always found in      
things only that which he had laid  in  
them8--,the thing itself1 ,i repeat1 the
 concept thing was merely a  reflex of  
the belief in the ego as cause4 ,and    
even your atom1 my dear  good           
,mechanists and ,physicists1 what an    
amount of error1 of rudimentary         
psychology still adheres to it6--,not to

 speak of the 8thing-in-itself10  of the
 horrendum pudendum of the              
metaphysicians6 ,the error of spirit    
regarded as a cause1 confounded with    
reality6 ,and made the measure of       
reality6 ,and called ,god6      #d      
,the ,error of imaginary ,causes4       
,starting out from dreamland1 we  find  
that to any definite sensation1 like    
that produced by a distant  cannon shot 
for instance1 we are wont to ascribe a  
cause after the  fact 7very often quite 
a little romance in which the dreamer   
himself  is1 of course1 the hero74      
,meanwhile the sensation becomes        
protracted  like a sort of continuous   
echo1 until1 as it were1 the instinct of
  causality allows it to come to the    
front rank1 no longer however as a      
chance occurrence1 but as a thing which 
has some meaning4 ,the cannon  shot     
presents itself in a causal manner1 by  
means of an apparent  reversal in the   
order of time4 ,that which occurs last1 
the motivation1  is experienced first1  

often with a hundred details which flash
 past  like lightning1 and the shot is  
the result4 ,what has happened8 ,the    
ideas suggested by a particular state of
 our senses1 are misinterpreted  as the 
cause of that state4 ,as a matter of    
fact we proceed in precisely  the same  
manner when we are awake4 ,the greater  
number of our general  sensations--every
 kind of obstacle1 pressure1 tension1   
explosion in  the interplay of the      
organs1 and more particularly the       
condition of  the nervus                
sympathies--stimulate our instinct of   
causality3 we will  have a reason which 
will account for our feeling thus or    
thus1--for  feeling ill or well4 ,we are
 never satisfied by merely ascertaining 
the fact that we feel thus or thus3 we  
admit this fact--we become  conscious of
 it--only when we have attributed it to 
some kind of  motivation4 ,memory1      
which1 in such circumstances            
unconsciously becomes  active1 adduces  
former conditions of a like kind1       

together with the  causal               
interpretations with which they are     
associated1--but not their  real cause4 
,the belief that the ideas1 the         
accompanying processes  of              
consciousness1 have been the causes1 is 
certainly produced by  the agency of    
memory4 ,and in this way we become      
accustomed to a  particular             
interpretation of causes which1 truth to
 tell1 actually  hinders and even       
utterly prevents the investigation of   
the proper  cause4      #e    ,the      
,psychological ,explanation of the above
 ,fact4 ,to trace something  unfamiliar 
back to something familiar1 is at once a
 relief1 a comfort  and a satisfaction1 
while it also produces a feeling of     
power4 ,the  unfamiliar involves danger1
 anxiety and care1--the fundamental     
instinct  is to get rid of these painful
 circumstances4 ,first principle3 any   
explanation is better than none at all4 
,since1 at bottom1 it is  only a        
question of shaking one's self free from

 certain oppressive  ideas1 the means   
employed to this end are not selected   
with overmuch  punctiliousness3 the     
first idea by means of which the        
unfamiliar is  revealed as familiar1    
produces a feeling of such comfort that 
it is  8held to be true40 ,the proof of 
happiness 78of power07 as the criterion 
of truth4 ,the instinct of causality is 
therefore conditioned and  stimulated by
 the feeling of fear4 ,whenever         
possible1 the question  8why80 should   
not only educe the cause as cause1 but  
rather a certain  kind of cause--a      
comforting1 liberating and reassuring   
cause4 ,the first  result of this need  
is that something known or already      
experienced1 and  recorded in the       
memory1 is posited as the cause4 ,the   
new factor1 that  which has not been    
experienced and which is unfamiliar1 is 
excluded  from the sphere of causes4    
,not only do we try to find a certain   
kind  of explanation as the cause1 but  
those kinds of explanations are         

selected and preferred which dissipate  
most rapidly the sensation of           
strangeness1 novelty and                
unfamiliarity1--in fact the most        
ordinary  explanations4 ,and the result 
is that a certain manner of postulating 
causes tends to predominate ever more   
and more1 becomes concentrated  into a  
system1 and finally reigns supreme1 to  
the complete exclusion  of all other    
causes and explanations4 ,the banker    
thinks immediately of  business1 the    
,christian of 8sin10 and the girl of her
 love affair4      #f    ,the whole     
,domain of ,morality and ,religion may  
be classified under the  ,rubric        
8,imaginary ,causes40 ,the 8explanation0
 of general unpleasant  sensations4     
,these sensations are dependent upon    
certain creatures who  are hostile to us
 7evil spirits3 the most famous example 
of this--the  mistaking of hysterical   
women for witches74 ,these sensations   
are  dependent upon actions which are   
reprehensible 7the feeling of 8sin10    

8sinfulness0 is a manner of accounting  
for a certain physiological             
disorder--people always find reasons for
 being dissatisfied with  themselves74  
,these sensations depend upon           
punishment1 upon compensation  for      
something which we ought not to have    
done1 which we ought not  to have been  
7this idea was generalised in a more    
impudent form by  ,schopenhauer1 into   
that principle in which morality appears
 in its real  colours1--that is to say1 
as a veritable poisoner and slanderer of
  life3 8all great suffering1 whether   
mental or physical1 reveals what  we    
deserve3 for it could not visit us if we
 did not deserve it10 8,the  ,world as  
,will and ,idea10 vol4 #b1 p4 #fff74    
,these sensations are the  outcome of   
ill-considered actions1 having evil     
consequences1 7--the  passions1 the     
senses1 postulated as causes1 as guilty4
 ,by means of  other calamities         
distressing physiological conditions are
 interpreted  as 8merited074--,the      

8explanation0 of pleasant sensations4   
,these  sensations are dependent upon a 
trust in ,god4 ,they may depend upon    
our consciousness of having done one or 
two good actions 7a so-called  8good    
conscience0 is a physiological          
condition1 which may be the  outcome of 
good digestion74 ,they may depend upon  
the happy issue of  certain undertakings
 7--an ingenuous mistake3 the happy     
issue of an  undertaking certainly does 
not give a hypochondriac or a ,pascal   
any  general sensation of pleasure74    
,they may depend upon faith1 love and   
hope1--the ,christian virtues4 ,as a    
matter of fact all these pretended      
explanations are but the results of     
certain states1 and as it were          
translations of feelings of pleasure and
 pain into a false dialect3 a  man is in
 a condition of hopefulness because the 
dominant physiological  sensation of his
 being is again one of strength and     
wealth2 he trusts  in ,god because the  
feeling of abundance and power gives him

 a peaceful  state of mind4 ,morality   
and religion are completely and utterly 
parts  of the psychology of error3 in   
every particular case cause and effect  
are confounded2 as truth is confounded  
with the effect of that which is        
believed to be true2 or a certain state 
of consciousness is confounded  with the
 chain of causes which brought it about4
      #g    ,the ,error of ,free-,will4 
,at present we no longer have any mercy 
upon  the concept 8free-will03 we know  
only too well what it is--the most      
egregious theological trick that has    
ever existed for the purpose of  making 
mankind 8responsible0 in a theological  
manner1--that is to  say1 to make       
mankind dependent upon theologians4 ,i  
will now explain  to you only the       
psychology of the whole process of      
inculcating the  sense of               
responsibility4 ,wherever men try to    
trace responsibility  home to anyone1 it
 is the instinct of punishment and of   
the desire  to judge which is active4   

,becoming is robbed of its innocence    
when  any particular condition of things
 is traced to a will1 to intentions  and
 to responsible actions4 ,the doctrine  
of the will was invented  principally   
for the purpose of punishment1--that is 
to say1 with  the intention of tracing  
guilt4 ,the whole of ancient psychology1
  or the psychology of the will1 is the 
outcome of the fact that its            
originators1 who were the priests at the
 head of ancient communities1  wanted to
 create for themselves a right to       
administer punishments--or  the right   
for ,god to do so4 ,men were thought of 
as 8free0 in order that  they might be  
judged and punished--in order that they 
might be held  guilty3 consequently     
every action had to be regarded as      
voluntary1  and the origin of every     
action had to be imagined as lying in   
consciousness7--in this way the most    
fundamentally fraudulent character  of  
psychology was established as the very  
principle of psychology  itself74 ,now  

that we have entered upon the opposite  
movement1 now that  we immoralists are  
trying with all our power to eliminate  
the concepts  of guilt and punishment   
from the world once more1 and to cleanse
  psychology1 history1 nature and all   
social institutions and customs  of all 
signs of those two concepts1 we         
recognise no more radical  opponents    
than the theologians1 who with their    
notion of 8a moral order  of things10   
still continue to pollute the innocence 
of ,becoming with  punishment and guilt 
,christianity is the metaphysics of the 
hangman4      #h    ,what then1 alone1  
can our teaching be8--,that no one gives
 man his  qualities1 neither ,god1      
society1 his parents1 his ancestors1 nor
  himself 7--this nonsensical idea which
 is at last refuted here1 was  taught as
 8intelligible freedom0 by ,kant1 and   
perhaps even as early  as ,plato        
himself74 ,no one is responsible for the
 fact that he exists  at all1 that he is
 constituted as he is1 and that he      

happens to be in  certain circumstances 
and in a particular environment4 ,the   
fatality of  his being cannot be        
divorced from the fatality of all that  
which has  been and will be4 ,this is   
not the result of an individual         
intention1  of a will1 of an aim1 there 
is no attempt at attaining to any 8ideal
  man10 or 8ideal happiness0 or 8ideal  
morality0 with him1--it is absurd  to   
wish him to be careering towards some   
sort of purpose4 ,we invented  the      
concept 8purpose02 in reality purpose is
 altogether lacking4 ,one  is necessary1
 one is a piece of fate1 one belongs to 
the whole1 one is  in the whole1--there 
is nothing that could judge1 measure1   
compare1  and condemn our existence1 for
 that would mean judging1 measuring1    
comparing and condemning the whole4 ,but
 there is nothing outside the  whole6   
,the fact that no one shall any longer  
be made responsible1 that  the nature of
 existence may not be traced to a causa 
prima1 that the  world is an entity     

neither as a sensorium nor as a         
spirit--this alone  is the great        
deliverance1--thus alone is the         
innocence of ,becoming  restored4444    
,the concept 8,god0 has been the        
greatest objection to  existence        
hitherto4444 ,we deny ,god1 we deny     
responsibility in ,god3 thus  alone do  
we save the world4--          ,,the     
8,,improvers0 ,,of ,,mankind      #a    
,you are aware of my demand upon        
philosophers1 that they should take  up 
a stand ,beyond ,good and ,evil1--that  
they should have the illusion  of the   
moral judgment beneath them4 ,this      
demand is the result of a  point of view
 which ,i was the first to formulate3   
that there are no  such things as moral 
facts4 ,moral judgment has this in      
common with  the religious one1 that it 
believes in realities which are not     
real4  ,morality is only an             
interpretation of certain phenomena3 or1
 more  strictly speaking1 a             
misinterpretation of them4 ,moral       

judgment1 like  the religious one1      
belongs to a stage of ignorance in which
 even the  concept of reality1 the      
distinction between real and imagined   
things1  is still lacking3 so that      
truth1 at such a stage1 is applied to a 
host  of things which to-day we call    
8imaginary40 ,that is why the moral     
judgment must never be taken quite      
literally3 as such it is sheer          
nonsense4 ,as a sign code1 however1 it  
is invaluable3 to him at least  who     
knows1 it reveals the most valuable     
facts concerning cultures and  inner    
conditions1 which did not know enough to
 8understand0 themselves4  ,morality is 
merely a sign-language1 simply          
symptomatology3 one must  already know  
what it is all about in order to turn it
 to any use4      #b    ,let me give you
 one example1 quite provisionally4 ,in  
all ages there  have been people who    
wished to 8improve0 mankind3 this above 
all  is what was called morality4 ,but  
the most different tendencies  are      

concealed beneath the same word4 ,both  
the taming of the beast  man1 and the   
rearing of a particular type of man1    
have been called  8improvement03 these  
zoological termini1 alone1 represent    
real  things--real things of which the  
typical 8improver10 the priest1         
naturally knows nothing1 and will know  
nothing4 ,to call the taming  of an     
animal 8improving0 it1 sounds to our    
ears almost like a joke4  ,he who knows 
what goes on in menageries1 doubts very 
much whether an  animal is improved in  
such places4 ,it is certainly weakened1 
it is  made less dangerous1 and by means
 of the depressing influence of fear1   
pain1 wounds1 and hunger1 it is         
converted into a sick animal4 ,and the  
same holds good of the tamed man whom   
the priest has 8improved40 ,in  the     
early years of the ,middle ,ages1 during
 which the ,church was most  distinctly 
and above all a menagerie1 the most     
beautiful examples of  the 8blond beast0
 were hunted down in all                

directions1--the noble  ,germans1 for   
instance1 were 8improved40 ,but what did
 this 8improved0  ,german1 who had been 
lured to the monastery look like after  
the  process8 ,he looked like a         
caricature of man1 like an abortion3 he 
had  become a 8sinner10 he was caged up1
 he had been imprisoned behind a  host  
of apparling notions4 ,he now lay there1
 sick1 wretched1 malevolent  even toward
 himself3 full of hate for the instincts
 of life1 full of  suspicion in regard  
to all that is still strong and happy4  
,in short a  8,christian40 ,in          
physiological terms3 in a fight with an 
animal1 the  only way of making it weak 
may be to make it sick4 ,the ,church    
undersood  this3 it ruined man1 it made 
him weak1--but it laid claim to having  
8improved0 him4      #c    ,now let us  
consider the other case which is called 
morality1 the  case of the rearing of a 
particular race and species4 ,the most  
magnificent example of this is offered  
by ,indian morality1 and is  sanctioned 

religiously as the 8,law of ,manu40 ,in 
this book the task  is set of rearing no
 less than four races at once3 a        
priestly race1  a warrior race1 a       
merchant and agricultural race1 and     
finally a race  of servants--the        
,sudras4 ,it is quite obvious that we   
are no longer  in a circus watching     
tamers of wild animals in this book4 ,to
 have  conceived even the plan of such a
 breeding scheme1 presupposes the       
existence of a man who is a hundred     
times milder and more reasonable  than  
the mere lion-tamer4 ,one breathes more 
freely1 after stepping out  of the      
,christian atmosphere of hospitals and  
prisons1 into this more  salubrious1    
loftier and more spacious world4 ,what a
 wretched thing the  ,new ,testament is 
beside ,manu1 what an evil odour hangs  
around it6--,but  even this organisation
 found it necessary to be terrible1--not
 this  time in a struggle with the      
animal-man1 but with his opposite1 the  
non-caste man1 the hotch-potch man1 the 

,chandala4 ,and once again it  had no   
other means of making him weak and      
harmless1 than by making  him sick1--it 
was the struggle with the greatest      
8number40 ,nothing  perhaps is more     
offensive to our feelings than these    
measures of  security on the part of    
,indian morality4 ,the third edict1 for 
instance  7,avadana-,sastra ,i471 which 
treats 8of impure vegetables10 ordains  
that  the only nourishment that the     
,chandala should be allowed must consist
  of garlic and onions1 as the holy     
scriptures forbid their being given     
corn or grain-bearing fruit1 water and  
fire4 ,the same edict declares  that the
 water which they need must be drawn    
neither out of rivers1  wells or ponds1 
but only out of the ditches leading to  
swamps and out  of the holes left by the
 footprints of animals4 ,they are       
likewise  forbidden to wash either their
 linen or themselves since the water    
which is graciously granted to them must
 only be used for quenching  their      

thirst4 ,finally ,sudra women are       
forbidden to assist ,chandala  women at 
their confinements1 while ,chandala     
women are also forbidden to  assist each
 other at such times4 ,the results of   
sanitary regulations of  this kind could
 not fail to make themselves felt2      
deadly epidemics and  the most ghastly  
venereal diseases soon appeared1 and in 
consequence  of these again 8the ,law of
 the ,knife10--that is to say           
circumcision1  was prescribed for male  
children and the removal of the small   
labia  from the females4 ,manu himself  
says3 8the ,chandala are the fruit of   
adultery1 incest1 and crime 7--this is  
the necessary consequence of the  idea  
of breeding74 ,their clothes shall      
consist only of the rags torn  from     
corpses1 their vessels shall be the     
fragments of broken pottery1  their     
ornaments shall be made of old iron1 and
 their religion shall be  the worship of
 evil spirits2 without rest they shall  
wander from place  to place4 ,they are  

forbidden to write from left to right or
 to use  their right hand in writing3   
the use of the right hand and writing   
from  left to right are reserved to     
people of virtue1 to people of race40   
#d    ,these regulations are instructive
 enough3 we can see in them the         
absolutely pure and primeval humanity of
 the ,aryans1--we learn that  the notion
 8pure blood10 is the reverse of        
harmless4 ,on the other hand  it becomes
 clear among which people the hatred1   
the ,chandala hatred  of this humanity  
has been immortalised1 among which      
people it has  become religion and      
genius4 ,from this point of view the    
gospels are  documents of the highest   
value2 and the ,book of ,enoch is still 
more  so4 ,christianity as sprung from  
,jewish roots and comprehensible only   
as grown upon this soil1 represents the 
counter-movement against that  morality 
of breeding1 of race and of             
privilege3--it is essentially an        
anti-,aryan religion3 ,christianity is  

the transvaluation of all ,aryan        
values1 the triumph of ,chandala values1
 the proclaimed gospel of the  poor and 
of the low1 the general insurrection of 
all the down-trodden1  the wretched1 the
 bungled and the botched1 against the   
8race10--the  immortal revenge of the   
,chandala as the religion of love4      
#e    ,the morality of breeding and the 
morality of taming1 in the means which  
they adopt in order to prevail1 are     
quite worthy of each other3 we may  lay 
down as a leading principle that in     
order to create morality a  man must    
have the absolute will to immorality4   
,this is the great and  strange problem 
with which ,i have so long been         
occupied3 the psychology  of the        
8,improvers0 of mankind4 ,a small1 and  
at bottom perfectly  insignificant fact1
 known as the 8pia fraus10 first gave me
 access  to this problem3 the pia fraus1
 the heirloom of all philosophers and   
priests who 8improve0 mankind4 ,neither 
,manu1 nor ,plato1 nor ,confucius1  nor 

the teachers of ,judaism and            
,christianity1 have ever doubted their  
right to falsehood4 ,they have never    
doubted their right to quite a  number  
of other things ,to express oneself in a
 formula1 one might  say3--all means    
which have been used heretofore with the
 object of  making man moral1 were      
through and through immoral4            
,,things ,,the ,,germans ,,lack      #a 
,among ,germans at the present day it   
does not suffice to have intellect2  one
 is actually forced to appropriate it1  
to lay claim to it4    ,maybe ,i know   
the ,germans1 perhaps ,i may tell them a
 few home-truths4  ,modern ,germany     
represents such an enormous store of    
inherited and  acquired capacity1 that  
for some time it might spend this       
accumulated  treasure even with some    
prodigality4 ,it is no superior culture 
that has  ultimately become prevalent   
with this modern tendency1 nor is it by 
any  means delicate taste1 or noble     
beauty of the instincts2 but rather a   

number of virtues more manly than any   
that other ,european countries can      
show4 ,an amount of good spirits and    
self-respect1 plenty of firmness  in    
human relations and in the reciprocity  
of duties2 much industry and  much      
perseverance--and a certain inherited   
soberness which is much more  in need of
 a spur than of a brake4 ,let me add    
that in this country  people still obey 
without feeling that obedience          
humiliates4 ,and no one  despises his   
opponent4    ,you observe that it is my 
desire to be fair to the ,germans3 and  
in this  respect ,i should not like to  
be untrue to myself1--,i must therefore 
also state my objections to them4 ,it   
costs a good deal to attain to a        
position of power2 for power stultifies4
 ,the ,germans--they were once  called a
 people of thinkers3 do they really     
think at all at present8  ,nowadays the 
,germans are bored by intellect1 they   
mistrust intellect2  politics have      
swallowed up all earnestness for really 

intellectual  things--8,germany1        
,germany above all40#a ,i fear this was 
the death-blow  to ,german philosophy4  
8,are there any ,german philosophers8   
,are there any  ,german poets8 ,are     
there any good ,german books80 people   
ask me abroad4 ,i  blush2 but with that 
pluck which is peculiar to me1 even in  
moments of  desperation1 ,i reply3      
8,yes1 ,bismarck60--,could ,i have dared
 to confess  what books are read to-day8
 ,cursed instinct of mediocrity6--      
#b    ,what might not ,german intellect 
have been6--who has not thought sadly   
upon this question6 ,but this nation has
 deliberately stultified itself  for    
almost a thousand years3 nowhere else   
have the two great ,european  narcotics1
 alcohol and ,christianity1 been so     
viciously abused as in  ,germany4       
,recently a third opiate was added to   
the list1 one which in  itself alone    
would have sufficed to complete the ruin
 of all subtle  and daring intellectual 
animation1 ,i speak of music1 our       

costive and  constipating ,german music4
 ,how much peevish ponderousness1       
paralysis1  dampness1 dressing-gown     
languor1 and beer is there not in       
,german  intelligence6    ,how is it    
really possible that young men who      
consecrate their whole  lives to the    
pursuit of intellectual ends1 should not
 feel within them  the first instinct of
 intellectuality1 the self-preservative 
instinct  of the intellect--and should  
drink beer8 ,the alcoholism of learned  
youths does not incapacitate them for   
becoming scholars--a man quite  devoid  
of intellect may be a great             
scholar1--but it is a problem in  every 
other respect4 ,where can that soft     
degeneracy not be found1 which  is      
produced in the intellect by beer6 ,i   
once laid my finger upon a case  of this
 sort1 which became almost famous1--the 
degeneration of our  leading ,german    
free-spirit1 the clever ,david ,strauss1
 into the author  of a suburban gospel  
and ,new ,faith4 ,not in vain had he    

sung the praises  of 8the dear old brown
 liquor0 in verse--true unto death4     
#c    ,i have spoken of ,german         
intellect4 ,i have said that it is      
becoming  coarser and shallower4 ,is    
that enough8--,in reality something very
  different frightens me1 and that is   
the ever steady decline of  ,german     
earnestness1 ,german profundity1 and    
,german passion in things  intellectual4
 ,not only intellectuality1 but also    
pathos has altered4  ,from time to time 
,i come in touch with ,german           
universities2 what  an extraordinary    
atmosphere prevails among their         
scholars6 what  barrenness6 and what    
self-satisfied and lukewarm             
intellectuality6 ,for  any one to point 
to ,german science as an argument       
against me would show  that he grossly  
misunderstood my meaning1 while it would
 also prove  that he had not read a word
 of my writings4 ,for seventeen years ,i
  have done little else than expose the 
de-intellectualising influence  of our  

modern scientific studies4 ,the severe  
slavery to which every  individual      
nowadays is condemned by the enormous   
range covered by the  sciences1 is the  
chief reason why fuller1 richer and     
profounder natures  can find no         
education or educators that are fit for 
them4 ,nothing  is more deleterious to  
this age than the superfluity of        
pretentious  loafers and fragmentary    
human beings2 our universities are      
really  the involuntary forcing houses  
for this kind of withering-up of the    
instincts of intellectuality4 ,and the  
whole of ,europe is beginning  to know  
this--politics on a large scale deceive 
no one4 ,germany is  becoming ever more 
and more the ,flat-land of ,europe4 ,i  
am still in  search of a ,german with   
whom ,i could be serious after my own   
fashion4  ,and how much more am ,i in   
search of one with whom ,i could be     
cheerful  --,the ,twilight of the       
,idols3 ah6 what man to-day would be    
capable  of understanding the kind of   

seriousness from which a philosopher is 
recovering in this work6 ,it is our     
cheerfulness that people understand     
least4      #d    ,let us examine       
another aspect of the question3 it is   
not only obvious  that ,german culture  
is declining1 but adequate reasons for  
this decline  are not lacking4 ,after   
all1 nobody can spend more than he      
has3--this  is true of individuals1 it  
is also true of nations4 ,if you spend  
your strength in acquiring power1 or in 
politics on a large scale1  or in       
economy1 or in universal commerce1 or in
 parliamentarism1 or  in military       
interests--if you dissipate the modicum 
of reason1 of  earnestness1 of will1 and
 of self-control that constitutes your  
nature  in one particular fashion1 you  
cannot dissipate it in another4 ,culture
  and the state--let no one be deceived 
on this point--are antagonists3  ,a     
8culture-state0#b is merely a modern    
idea4 ,the one lives upon  the other1   
the one flourishes at the expense of the

 other4 ,all great  periods of culture  
have been periods of political decline2 
that which  is great from the standpoint
 of culture1 was always                 
unpolitical--even  anti-political4      
,goethe's heart opened at the coming of 
,napoleon--it  closed at the thought of 
the 8,wars of ,liberation40 ,at the very
 moment  when ,germany arose as a great 
power in the world of politics1 ,france 
won new importance as a force in the    
world of culture4 ,even at this  moment 
a large amount of fresh intellectual    
earnestness and passion  has emigrated  
to ,paris2 the question of pessimism1   
for instance1  and the question of      
,wagner2 in ,france almost all          
psychological and  artistic questions   
are considered with incomparably more   
subtlety and  thoroughness than they are
 in ,germany1--the ,germans are even    
incapable  of this kind of earnestness4 
,in the history of ,european culture the
  rise of the ,empire signifies1 above  
all1 a displacement of the centre  of   

gravity4 ,everywhere people are already 
aware of this3 in things that  really   
matter--and these after all constitute  
culture1--the ,germans  are no longer   
worth considering4 ,i ask you1 can you  
show me one single  man of brains who   
could be mentioned in the same breath   
with other  ,european thinkers1 like    
your ,goethe1 your ,hegel1 your         
,heinrich ,heine1  and your             
,schopenhauer8--,the fact that there is 
no longer a single  ,german philosopher 
worth mentioning is an increasing       
wonder4      #e    ,everything that     
matters has been lost sight of by the   
whole of the  higher educational system 
of ,germany3 the end quite as much as   
the  means to that end4 ,people forget  
that education1 the process of          
cultivation itself1 is the end--and not 
8the ,empire0--they forget that  the    
educator is required for this end--and  
not the public-school  teacher and      
university scholar4 ,educators are      
needed who are themselves  educated1    

superior and noble intellects1 who can  
prove that they are  thus qualified1    
that they are ripe and mellow products  
of culture  at every moment of their    
lives1 in word and in gesture2--not the 
learned louts who1 like 8superior       
wet-nurses10 are now thrust upon the    
youth of the land by public schools and 
universities4 ,with but rare            
exceptions1 that which is lacking in    
,germany is the first prerequisite  of  
education--that is to say1 the          
educators2 hence the decline of  ,german
 culture4 ,one of those rarest          
exceptions is my highly respected       
friend ,jacob ,burckhardt of ,ble3 to   
him above all is ,ble indebted  for its 
foremost position in human culture ,what
 the higher schools  of ,germany really 
do accomplish is this1 they brutally    
train a vast  crowd of young men1 in the
 smallest amount of time possible1 to   
become  useful and exploitable servants 
of the state4 8,higher education0  and a
 vast crowd--these terms contradict each

 other from the start4  ,all superior   
education can only concern the          
exception3 a man must be  privileged in 
order to have a right to such a great   
privilege4 ,all  great and beautiful    
things cannot be a common possession3   
pulchrum  est paucorum hominum4--,what  
is it that brings about the decline of  
,german culture8 ,the fact that 8higher 
education0 is no longer a special       
privilege--the democracy of a process of
 cultivation that has become  8general10
 common4 ,nor must it be forgotten that 
the privileges of  the military         
profession by urging many too many to   
attend the higher  schools1 involve the 
downfall of the latter4 ,in modern      
,germany nobody  is at liberty to give  
his children a noble education3 in      
regard to  their teachers1 their        
curricula1 and their educational aims1  
our higher  schools are one and all     
established upon a fundamentally        
doubtful  mediocre basis4 ,everywhere1  
too1 a hastiness which is unbecoming    

rules  supreme2 just as if something    
would be forfeited if the young man were
  not 8finished0 at the age of          
twenty-three1 or did not know how to    
reply to the most essential question1   
8which calling to choose80--,the        
superior kind of man1 if you please1    
does not like 8callings10  precisely    
because he knows himself to be called4  
,he has time1 he takes  time1 he cannot 
possibly think of becoming              
8finished10--in the matter  of higher   
culture1 a man of thirty years is a     
beginner1 a child4 ,our  overcrowded    
public-schools1 our accumulation of     
foolishly manufactured  public-school   
masters1 are a scandal3 maybe there are 
very serious  motives for defending this
 state of affairs1 as was shown quite   
recently by the professors of           
,heidelberg2 but there can be no reasons
  for doing so4      #f    ,in order to 
be true to my nature1 which is          
affirmative and which  concerns itself  
with contradictions and criticism only  

indirectly  and with reluctance1 let me 
state at once what the three objects    
are for which we need educators4 ,people
 must learn to see2 they  must learn to 
think1 and they must learn to speak and 
to write3 the  object of all three of   
these pursuits is a noble culture4 ,to  
learn  to see--to accustom the eye to   
calmness1 to patience1 and to allow     
things to come up to it2 to defer       
judgment1 and to acquire the habit  of  
approaching and grasping an individual  
case from all sides4 ,this  is the first
 preparatory schooling of               
intellectuality4 ,one must not  respond 
immediately to a stimulus2 one must     
acquire a command of the  obstructing   
and isolating instincts4 ,to learn to   
see1 as ,i understand  this matter1     
amounts almost to that which in popular 
language is  called 8strength of will03 
its essential feature is precisely not  
to wish to see1 to be able to postpone  
one's decision4 ,all lack of            
intellectuality1 all vulgarity1 arises  

out of the inability to resist  a       
stimulus3--one must respond or react1   
every impulse is indulged4 ,in  many    
cases such necessary action is already a
 sign of morbidity1 of  decline1 and a  
symptom of exhaustion4 ,almost          
everything that coarse  popular language
 characterises as vicious1 is merely    
that physiological  inability to refrain
 from reacting4--,as an instance of what
 it means  to have learnt to see1 let me
 state that a man thus trained will as a
  learner have become generally slow1   
suspicious1 and refractory4 ,with       
hostile calm he will first allow every  
kind of strange and new thing  to come  
right up to him1--he will draw back his 
hand at its approach4  ,to stand with   
all the doors of one's soul wide open1  
to lie slavishly  in the dust before    
every trivial fact1 at all times of the 
day to be  strained ready for the leap1 
in order to deposit one's self1 to      
plunge  one's self1 into other souls and
 other things1 in short1 the famous     

8objectivity0 of modern times1 is bad   
taste1 it is essentially vulgar  and    
cheap4      #g    ,as to learning how to
 think--our schools no longer have any  
notion  of such a thing4 ,even at the   
universities1 among the actual scholars 
in philosophy1 logic as a theory1 as a  
practical pursuit1 and as a  business1  
is beginning to die out4 ,turn to any   
,german book3 you will  not find the    
remotest trace of a realisation that    
there is such a  thing as a technique1 a
 plan of study1 a will to mastery1 in   
the  matter of thinking1--that thinking 
insists upon being learnt1 just  as     
dancing insists upon being learnt1 and  
that thinking insists upon  being learnt
 as a form of dancing4 ,what single     
,german can still say he  knows from    
experience that delicate shudder which  
light footfalls  in matters intellectual
 cause to pervade his whole body and    
limbs6  ,stiff awkwardness in           
intellectual attitudes1 and the clumsy  
fist in  grasping--these things are so  

essentially ,german1 that outside       
,germany  they are absolutely confounded
 with the ,german spirit4 ,the ,german  
has no fingers for delicate nuances4    
,the fact that the people of  ,germany  
have actually tolerated their           
philosophers1 more particularly  that   
most deformed cripple of ideas that has 
ever existed--the great  ,kant1 gives   
one no inadequate notion of their native
 elegance4 ,for1  truth to tell1 dancing
 in all its forms cannot be excluded    
from the  curriculum of all noble       
education3 dancing with the feet1 with  
ideas1  with words1 and1 need ,i add    
that one must also be able to dance with
  the pen--that one must learn how to   
write8--,but at this stage ,i should    
become utterly enigmatical to ,german   
readers4      #a ,the ,german national  
hymn3 8,deutschland1 ,deutschland ber   
alles4--0 ,,tr4    #b ,the word         
,kultur-,staat 8culture-state0 has      
become a standard  expression in the    
,german language1 and is applied to the 

leading  ,european ,states4--,,tr4      
,,skirmishes ,,in ,a ,,war ,,with ,,the 
,,age      #a    ,my ,impossible        
,people4--,seneca1 or the toreador of   
virtue---,rousseau1  or the return to   
nature1 in impuris                      
naturalibus4--,schiller1 or the         
,moral-,trumpeter of                    
,sackingen4--,dante1 or the hyna that   
writes poetry  in tombs4--,kant1 or cant
 as an intelligible character4--,victor 
,hugo1 or the lighthouse on the sea of  
nonsense4--,liszt1 or the  school of    
racing--after women4--,george ,sand1 or 
lactea ubertas1  in plain ,english3 the 
cow with plenty of beautiful            
milk4--,michelet1  or enthusiasm in its 
shirt sleeves4--,carlyle1 or ,pessimism 
after  undigested meals4--,john ,stuart 
,mill1 or offensive lucidity4--,the     
brothers ,goncourt1 or the two ,ajaxes  
fighting with ,homer4 ,music by         
,offenbach4--,zola1 or the love of      
stinking4      #b    ,renan4--,theology1
 or the corruption of reason by original

 sin  7,christianity74 ,proof of        
this1--,renan who1 even in those rare   
cases  where he ventures to say either  
,yes or ,no on a general question1      
invariably misses the point with painful
 regularity4 ,for instance1  he would   
fain associate science and nobility3 but
 surely it must be  obvious that science
 is democratic4 ,he seems to be actuated
 by a  strong desire to represent an    
aristocracy of intellect3 but1 at the   
same time he grovels on his knees1 and  
not only on his knees1 before  the      
opposite doctrine1 the gospel of the    
humble4 ,what is the good of  all       
free-spiritedness1 modernity1 mockery   
and acrobatic suppleness1  if in one's  
belly one is still a ,christian1 a      
,catholic1 and even a  priest6 ,renan's 
forte1 precisely like that of a ,jesuit 
and ,father  ,confessor1 lies in his    
seductiveness4 ,his intellectuality is  
not  devoid of that unctuous complacency
 of a parson1--like all priests1 he     
becomes dangerous only when he loves4   

,he is second to none in the art  of    
skilfully worshipping a dangerous thing4
 ,this intellect of ,renan's1  which in 
its action is enervating1 is one        
calamity the more1 for poor1  sick      
,france with her will-power all going to
 pieces4      #c                        
,sainte-,beuve4--,there is naught of man
 in him2 he is full of petty  spite     
towards all virile spirits4 ,he wanders 
erratically2 he is subtle1  inquisitive1
 a little bored1 for ever with his ear  
to key-holes1--at  bottom a woman1 with 
all woman's revengefulness and          
sensuality4 ,as a  psychologist he is a 
genius of slander2 inexhaustively rich  
in means  to this end2 no one           
understands better than he how to       
introduce a  little poison into praise4 
,in his fundamental instincts he is     
plebeian  and next of kin to ,rousseau's
 resentful spirit3 consequently he is  a
 ,romanticist--for beneath all          
romanticism ,rousseau's instinct for    
revenge grunts and frets4 ,he is a      

revolutionary1 but kept within  bounds  
by 8funk40 ,he is embarrassed in the    
face of everything that is  strong      
7public opinion1 the ,academy1 the      
court1 even ,port ,royal74 ,he  is      
embittered against everything great in  
men and things1 against  everything that
 believes in itself4 ,enough of a poet  
and of a female to  be able to feel     
greatness as power2 he is always turning
 and twisting1  because1 like the       
proverbial worm1 he constantly feels    
that he is  being trodden upon4 ,as a   
critic he has no standard of judgment1  
no  guiding principle1 no backbone4     
,although he possesses the tongue of    
the ,cosmopolitan libertine which can   
chatter about a thousand things1  he has
 not the courage even to acknowledge his
 libertinage4 ,as a  historian he has no
 philosophy1 and lacks the power of     
philosophical  vision1--hence his       
refusal to act the part of a judge1 and 
his adoption  of the mask of            
8objectivity0 in all important matters4 

,his attitude  is better in regard to   
all those things in which subtle and    
effete  taste is the highest tribunal3  
in these things he really does have  the
 courage of his own personality--he     
really does enjoy his own  nature--he   
actually is a master1--,in some respects
 he is a prototype  of ,baudelaire4     
#d    8,the ,imitation of ,christ0 is   
one of those books which ,i cannot even 
take hold of without physical loathing3 
it exhales a perfume of the  eternally  
feminine1 which to appreciate fully one 
must be a ,frenchman  or a ,wagnerite4  
,this saint has a way of speaking about 
love which  makes even ,parisiennes feel
 a little curious4--,i am told that that
  most intelligent of ,jesuits1 ,auguste
 ,comte1 who wished to lead his         
compatriots back to ,rome by the        
circuitous route of science1 drew his   
inspiration from this book4 ,and ,i     
believe it3 8,the religion of the       
heart40      #e    ,g4 ,eliot4--,they   
are rid of the ,christian ,god and      

therefore  think it all the more        
incumbent upon them to hold tight to    
,christian  morality3 this is an        
,english way of reasoning2 but let us   
not take it  ill in moral females  la   
,eliot4 ,in ,england1 every man who     
indulges  in any trifling emancipation  
from theology1 must retrieve his honour 
in the most terrifying manner by        
becoming a moral fanatic4 ,that is how  
they do penance in that country4--,as   
for us1 we act differently4 ,when  we   
renounce the ,christian faith1 we       
abandon all right to ,christian         
morality4 ,this is not by any means     
self-evident and in defiance of         
,english shallow-pates the point must be
 made ever more and more plain4         
,christianity is a system1 a complete   
outlook upon the world1 conceived  as a 
whole4 ,if its leading concept1 the     
belief in ,god1 is wrenched  from it1   
the whole is destroyed2 nothing vital   
remains in our grasp4  ,christianity    
presupposes that man does not and cannot

 know what is  good or bad for him3 the 
,christian believes in ,god who1 alone1 
can  know these things4 ,christian      
morality is a command1 its origin is    
transcendental4 ,it is beyond all       
criticism1 all right to criticism2  it  
is true only on condition that ,god is  
truth1--it stands or falls  with the    
belief in ,god4 ,if the ,english really 
believe that they know  intuitively1 and
 of their own accord1 what is good and  
evil2 if1  therefore1 they assert that  
they no longer need ,christianity as a  
guarantee of morality1 this in itself is
 simply the outcome of the  dominion of 
,christian valuations1 and a proof of   
the strength and  profundity of this    
dominion4 ,it only shows that the origin
 of ,english  morality has been         
forgotten1 and that its exceedingly     
relative right to  exist is no longer   
felt4 ,for ,englishmen morality is not  
yet a problem4      #f    ,george       
,sand4--,i have been reading the first  
8,lettres d'un  ,voyageur30 like        

everything that springs from ,rousseau's
 influence  it is false1 made-up1 blown 
out1 and exaggerated6 ,i cannot endure  
this bright wall-paper style1 any more  
than ,i can bear the vulgar  striving   
after generous feelings4 ,the worst     
feature about it is  certainly the      
coquettish adoption of male attributes  
by this female1  after the manner of    
ill-bred schoolboys4 ,and how cold she  
must have  been inwardly all the while1 
this insufferable artist6 ,she wound    
herself up like a clock--and wrote4 ,as 
cold as ,hugo and ,balzac1 as  cold as  
all ,romanticists are as soon as they   
begin to write6 ,and how                
self-complacently she must have lain    
there1 this prolific ink-yielding  cow4 
,for she had something ,german in her   
7,german in the bad sense71  just as    
,rousseau1 her master1 had2--something  
which could only have  been possible    
when ,french taste was declining6--and  
,renan adores her6444      #g    ,a     
,moral for ,psychologists4 ,do not go in

 for any note-book psychology6  ,never  
observe for the sake of observing6 ,such
 things lead to a false  point of view1 
to a squint1 to something forced and    
exaggerated4  ,to experience things on  
purpose--this is not a bit of good4 ,in 
the  midst of an experience a man should
 not turn his eyes upon himself2  in    
such cases any eye becomes the 8evil    
eye40 ,a born psychologist              
instinctively avoids seeing for the sake
 of seeing4 ,and the same holds  good of
 the born painter4 ,such a man never    
works 8from nature10--he  leaves it to  
his instinct1 to his camera obscura to  
sift and to  define the 8fact10         
8nature10 the 8experience40 ,the general
 idea1  the conclusion1 the result1 is  
the only thing that reaches his         
consciousness4 ,he knows nothing of that
 wilful process of deducing  from       
particular cases4 ,what is the result   
when a man sets about this  matter      
differently8--when1 for instance1 after 
the manner of ,parisian  novelists1 he  

goes in for note-book psychology on a   
large and small  scale8 ,such a man is  
constantly spying on reality1 and every 
evening  he bears home a handful of     
fresh curios4444 ,but look at the       
result6--a  mass of daubs1 at best a    
piece of mosaic1 in any case something  
heaped  together1 restless and garish4  
,the ,goncourts are the greatest sinners
  in this respect3 they cannot put three
 sentences together which are not       
absolutely painful to the eye--the eye  
of the psychologist4 ,from an  artistic 
standpoint1 nature is no model4 ,it     
exaggerates1 distorts1 and  leaves gaps4
 ,nature is the accident4 ,to study     
8from nature0 seems to  me a bad sign3  
it betrays submission1 weakness1        
fatalism--this lying  in the dust before
 trivial facts is unworthy of a thorough
 artist4 ,to  see what is--is the       
function of another order of intellects1
 the  anti-artistic1 the matter-of-fact4
 ,one must know who one is4      #h     
,concerning the psychology of the artist

 ,for art to be possible at  all--that  
is to say1 in order that an sthetic mode
 of action and of  observation may      
exist1 a certain preliminary            
physiological state is  indispensable   
ecstasy4#a ,this state of ecstasy must  
first have  intensified the             
susceptibility of the whole machine3    
otherwise1 no art  is possible4 ,all    
kinds of ecstasy1 however differently   
produced1 have  this power to create    
art1 and above all the state dependent  
upon sexual  excitement--this most      
venerable and primitive form of ecstasy4
 ,the same  applies to that ecstasy     
which is the outcome of all great       
desires1  all strong passions2 the      
ecstasy of the feast1 of the arena1 of  
the  act of bravery1 of victory1 of all 
extreme action2 the ecstasy of  cruelty2
 the ecstasy of destruction2 the ecstasy
 following upon certain  meteorological 
influences1 as for instance that of     
spring-time1 or upon  the use of        
narcotics2 and finally the ecstasy of   

will1 that ecstasy  which results from  
accumulated and surging                 
will-power4--,the essential  feature of 
ecstasy is the feeling of increased     
strength and abundance4  ,actuated by   
this feeling a man gives of himself to  
things1 he  forces them to partake of   
his riches1 he does violence to         
them--this  proceeding is called        
idealising4 ,let us rid ourselves of a  
prejudice  here3 idealising does not    
consist1 as is generally believed1 in a 
suppression or an elimination of detail 
or of unessential features4  ,a         
stupendous accentuation of the principal
 characteristics is by  far the most    
decisive factor at work1 and in         
consequence the minor  characteristics  
vanish4      #i    ,in this state a man 
enriches everything from out his own    
abundance3  what he sees1 what he wills1
 he sees distended1 compressed1 strong1 
overladen with power4 ,he transfigures  
things until they reflect his           
power1--until they are stamped with his 

perfection4 ,this compulsion  to        
transfigure into the beautiful is--,art4
 ,everything--even that which  he is    
not1--is nevertheless to such a man a   
means of rejoicing over  himself2 in    
,art man rejoices over himself as       
perfection4--,it is  possible to imagine
 a contrary state1 a specifically       
anti-artistic  state of the             
instincts1--a state in which a man      
impoverishes1  attenuates1 and draws the
 blood from everything4 ,and1 truth to  
tell1  history is full of such          
anti-artists1 of such creatures of low  
vitality who have no choice but to      
appropriate everything they see  and to 
suck its blood and make it thinner4     
,this is the case with the  genuine     
,christian1 ,pascal for instance4 ,there
 is no such thing as a  ,christian who  
is also an artist 444 ,let no one be so 
childish as to  suggest ,raphael or any 
homeopathic ,christian of the nineteenth
 century  as an objection to this       
statement3 ,raphael said ,yea1 ,raphael 

did  ,yea1--consequently ,raphael was no
 ,christian4      #aj    ,what is the   
meaning of the antithetical concepts    
,apollonian and  ,dionysian which ,i    
have introduced into the vocabulary of  
sthetic1 as  representing two distinct  
modes of ecstasy8--,apollonian ecstasy  
acts  above all as a force stimulating  
the eye1 so that it acquires the power  
of vision4 ,the painter1 the sculptor1  
the epic poet are essentially           
visionaries4 ,in the ,dionysian state1  
on the other hand1 the whole  system of 
passions is stimulated and intensified1 
so that it discharges  itself by all the
 means of expression at once1 and vents 
all its power  of representation1 of    
imitation1 of transfiguration1 of       
transformation1  together with every    
kind of mimicry and histrionic display  
at the same  time4 ,the essential       
feature remains the facility in         
transforming1  the inability to refrain 
from reaction 7--a similar state to that
 of  certain hysterical patients1 who at

 the slightest hint assume any  rle74   
,it is impossible for the ,dionysian    
artist not to understand any            
suggestion2 no outward sign of emotion  
escapes him1 he possesses the  instinct 
of comprehension and of divination in   
the highest degree1  just as he is      
capable of the most perfect art of      
communication4 ,he  enters into every   
skin1 into every passion3 he is         
continually changing  himself4 ,music as
 we understand it to-day is likewise a  
general  excitation and discharge of the
 emotions2 but1 notwithstanding this1 it
  is only the remnant of a much richer  
world of emotional expression1 a  mere  
residuum of ,dionysian histrionism4 ,for
 music to be made possible  as a special
 art1 quite a number of senses1 and     
particularly the  muscular sense1 had to
 be paralysed 7at least relatively3 for 
all  rhythm still appeals to our muscles
 to a certain extent73 and thus man  no 
longer imitates and represents          
physically everything he feels1 as  soon

 as he feels it4 ,nevertheless that is  
the normal ,dionysian state1  and in any
 case its primitive state4 ,music is the
 slowly attained  specialisation of this
 state at the cost of kindred           
capacities4      #aa    ,the actor1 the 
mime1 the dancer1 the musician1 and the 
lyricist1 are  in their instincts       
fundamentally related2 but they have    
gradually  specialised in their         
particular branch1 and become           
separated--even  to the point of        
contradiction4 ,the lyricist remained   
united with the  musician for the       
longest period of time2 and the actor   
with the dancer4  ,the architect        
manifests neither a ,dionysian nor an   
,apollonian state3 ,in  his case it is  
the great act of will1 the will that    
moveth mountains1  the ecstasy of the   
great will which aspires to art4 ,the   
most powerful  men have always inspired 
architects2 the architect has always    
been  under the suggestion of power4 ,in
 the architectural structure1 man's     

pride1 man's triumph over gravitation1  
man's will to power1 assume  a visible  
form4 ,architecture is a sort of oratory
 of power by means  of forms4 ,now it is
 persuasive1 even flattering1 and at    
other times  merely commanding4 ,the    
highest sensation of power and security 
finds  expression in grandeur of style4 
,that power which no longer requires to 
be proved1 which scorns to please2 which
 responds only with difficulty2  which  
feels no witnesses around it2 which is  
oblivious of the fact  that it is being 
opposed2 which relies on itself         
fatalistically1 and  is a law among     
laws3--such power expresses itself quite
 naturally in  grandeur of style4       
#ab    ,i have been reading the life of 
,thomas ,carlyle1 that unconscious and  
involuntary farce1 that heroico-moral   
interpretation of dyspeptic             
moods4--,carlyle1 a man of strong words 
and attitudes1 a rhetorician by         
necessity1 who seems ever to be         
tormented by the desire of finding some 

kind of strong faith1 and by his        
inability to do so 7--in this respect  a
 typical ,romanticist674 ,to yearn for a
 strong faith is not the proof  of a    
strong faith1 but rather the reverse4   
,if a man have a strong faith  he can   
indulge in the luxury of scepticism2 he 
is strong enough1 firm  enough1         
well-knit enough for such a luxury4     
,carlyle stupefies something  in himself
 by means of the fortissimo of his      
reverence for men of a  strong faith1   
and his rage over those who are less    
foolish3 he is in  sore need of noise4  
,an attitude of constant and passionate 
dishonesty  towards himself--this is his
 proprium2 by virtue of this he is and  
remains interesting4--,of course1 in    
,england he is admired precisely  on    
account of his honesty4 ,well1 that is  
,english2 and in view of the  fact that 
the ,english are the nation of          
consummate cant1 it is not only         
comprehensible but also very natural4   
,at bottom1 ,carlyle is an ,english     

atheist who makes it a point of honour  
not to be one4      #ac                 
,emerson4--,he is much more enlightened1
 much broader1 more versatile1  and more
 subtle than ,carlyle2 but above all1 he
 is happier4 ,he is one  who            
instinctively lives on ambrosia and who 
leaves the indigestible  parts of things
 on his plate4 ,compared with ,carlyle  
he is a man of  taste4--,carlyle1 who   
was very fond of him1 nevertheless      
declared that  8he does not give us     
enough to chew40 ,this is perfectly true
 but  it is not unfavourable to         
,emerson4--,emerson possesses that      
kindly  intellectual cheerfulness which 
deprecates overmuch seriousness2 he  has
 absolutely no idea of how old he is    
already1 and how young he will  yet     
be1--he could have said of himself1 in  
,lope de ,vega's words3 8yo  me sucedo a
 mi mismo40 ,his mind is always finding 
reasons for being  contented and even   
thankful2 and at times he gets          
preciously near to  that serene         

superiority of the worthy bourgeois who 
returning from an  amorous rendezvous   
tamquam re bene gesta1 said gratefully  
8,ut desint  vires1 tamen est laudanda  
voluptas40--      #ad                   
,anti-,darwin4--,as to the famous       
8struggle for existence10 it seems to   
me1 for the present1 to be more of an   
assumption than a fact4 ,it does  occur1
 but as an exception4 ,the general      
condition of life is not one  of want or
 famine1 but rather of riches1 of lavish
 luxuriance1 and even  of absurd        
prodigality1--where there is a struggle1
 it is a struggle  for power4 ,we should
 not confound ,malthus with             
nature4--,supposing1  however1 that this
 struggle exists1--and it does indeed   
occur1--its  result is unfortunately the
 very reverse of that which the         
,darwinian  school seems to desire1 and 
of that which in agreement with them we 
also might desire3 that is to say1 it is
 always to the disadvantage  of the     
strong1 the privileged1 and the happy   

exceptions4 ,species  do not evolve     
towards perfection3 the weak always     
prevail over the  strong--simply because
 they are the majority1 and because they
 are also  the more crafty4 ,darwin     
forgot the intellect 7--that is         
,english671 the  weak have more         
intellect4 ,in order to acquire         
intellect1 one must be in  need of it4  
,one loses it when one no longer needs  
it4 ,he who possesses  strength flings  
intellect to the deuce 7--8let it go    
hence60#b  say the ,germans of the      
present day1 8the ,empire will remain074
  ,as you perceive1 intellect to me     
means caution1 patience1 craft1         
dissimulation1 great self-control1 and  
everything related to mimicry  7what is 
praised nowadays as virtue is very      
closely related the latter74      #ae   
,casuistry of a ,psychologist4--,this   
man knows mankind3 to what purpose  does
 he study his fellows8 ,he wants to     
derive some small or even  great        
advantages from them1--he is a          

politician6444 ,that man yonder  is also
 well versed in human nature3 and ye    
tell me that he wishes to  draw no      
personal profit from his knowledge1 that
 he is a thoroughly  disinterested      
person8 ,examine him a little more      
closely6 ,maybe he  wishes to derive a  
more wicked advantage from his          
possession2 namely1  to feel superior to
 men1 to be able to look down upon them1
 no longer  to feel one of them4 ,this  
8disinterested person0 is a despiser of 
mankind2 and the former is of a more    
humane type1 whatever appearances  may  
seem to say to the contrary4 ,at least  
he considers himself the  equal of those
 about him1 at least he classifies      
himself with them4      #af    ,the     
psychological tact of ,germans seems to 
me to have been set in  doubt by a whole
 series of cases which my modesty       
forbids me to  enumerate4 ,in one case  
at least ,i shall not let the occasion  
slip  for substantiating my contention3 
,i bear the ,germans a grudge for       

having made a mistake about ,kant and   
his 8backstairs philosophy10 as  ,i call
 it4 ,such a man was not the type of    
intellectual uprightness4  ,another     
thing ,i hate to hear is a certain      
infamous 8and03 the ,germans  say1      
8,goethe and ,schiller10--,i even fear  
that they say1 8,schiller  and ,goethe40
 444 ,has nobody found ,schiller out    
yet8--,but there are  other 8ands0 which
 are even more egregious4 ,with my own  
ears ,i have  heard--only among         
,university professors1 it is true6--men
 speak of  8,schopenhauer and           
,hartmann40 444#c      #ag    ,the most 
intellectual men1 provided they are also
 the most courageous1  experience the   
most excruciating tragedies3 but on that
 very account  they honour life1 because
 it confronts them with its most        
formidable  antagonism4      #ah        
,concerning 8the ,conscience of the     
,intellect0 ,nothing seems to me  more  
uncommon to-day than genuine hypocrisy4 
,i strongly suspect that  this growth is

 unable to flourish in the mild climate 
of our culture4  ,hypocrisy belongs to  
an age of strong faith1--one in which   
one does  not lose one's own faith in   
spite of the fact that one has to make  
an outward show of holding another      
faith4 ,nowadays a man gives it  up2 or1
 what is still more common1 he acquires 
a second faith1--in  any case1 however1 
he remains honest4 ,without a doubt it  
is possible  to have a much larger      
number of convictions at present1 than  
it was  formerly3 possible--that is to  
say1 allowable1--that is to say1        
harmless4 ,from this there arises an    
attitude of toleration towards  one's   
self4 ,toleration towards one's self    
allows of a greater number  of          
convictions3 the latter live comfortably
 side by side1 and they  take jolly good
 care1 as all the world does to-day1 not
 to compromise  themselves4 ,how does a 
man compromise himself to-day8 ,when he 
is  consistent2 when he pursues a       
straight course2 when he has anything   

less than five faces2 when he is        
genuine4444 ,i very greatly fear that   
modern man is much too fond of comfort  
for certain vices2 and the  consequence 
is that the latter are dying out4       
,everything evil which  is the outcome  
of strength of will--and maybe there is 
nothing evil  without the strengh of    
will1--degenerates1 in our muggy        
atmosphere1  into virtue4 ,the few      
hypocrites ,i have known only imitated  
hypocrisy3  like almost every tenth man 
to-day1 they were actors4--      #ai    
,beautiful and ,ugly3--,nothing is more 
relative1 let us say1 more  restricted1 
than our sense of the beautiful4 ,he who
 would try to  divorce it from the      
delight man finds in his fellows1 would 
immediately  lose his footing4 8,beauty 
in itself10 is simply a word1 it is not 
even  a concept4 ,in the beautiful1 man 
postulates himself as the standard of   
perfection2 in exceptional cases he     
worships himself as that standard4  ,a  
species has no other alternative than to

 say 8yea0 to itself alone1  in this    
way4 ,its lowest instinct1 the instinct 
of self-preservation and                
self-expansion1 still radiates in such  
sublimities4 ,man imagines the  world   
itself to be overflowing with           
beauty1--he forgets that he is the      
cause of it all4 ,he alone has endowed  
it with beauty4 ,alas6 and only  with   
human all-too-human beauty6 ,truth to   
tell man reflects himself in  things1 he
 thinks everything beautiful that throws
 his own image back  at him4 ,the       
judgment 8beautiful0 is the 8vanity of  
his species40 444  ,a little demon of   
suspicion may well whisper into the     
sceptic's ear3  is the world really     
beautified simply because man thinks it 
beautiful8  ,he has only humanised      
it--that is all4 ,but nothing1          
absolutely nothing  proves to us that it
 is precisely man who is the proper     
model of  beauty4 ,who knows what sort  
of figure he would cut in the eyes of a 
higher judge of taste8 ,he might seem a 

little outr8 perhaps even  somewhat     
amusing8 perhaps a trifle arbitrary8 8,o
 ,dionysus1 thou divine  one1 why dost  
thou pull mine ears80 ,ariadne asks on  
one occasion of  her philosophic lover1 
during one of those famous conversations
 on the  island of ,naxos4 8,i find a   
sort of humour in thine ears1 ,ariadne3 
why  are they not a little longer80     
#bj    ,nothing is beautiful2 man alone 
is beautiful3 all sthetic rests on  this
 piece of ingenuousness1 it is the first
 axiom of this science4  ,and now let us
 straightway add the second to it3      
nothing is ugly save  the degenerate    
man1--within these two first principles 
the realm of  sthetic judgments is      
confined4 ,from the physiological       
standpoint1  everything ugly weakens and
 depresses man4 ,it reminds him of      
decay1  danger1 impotence2 he literally 
loses strength in its presence4 ,the    
effect of ugliness may be gauged by the 
dynamometer4 ,whenever man's  spirits   
are downcast1 it is a sign that he      

scents the proximity of  something      
8ugly40 ,his feeling of power1 his will 
to power1 his courage  and his          
pride--these things collapse at the     
sight of what is ugly1 and  rise at the 
sight of what is beautiful4 ,in both    
cases an inference is  drawn2 the       
premises to which are stored with extra 
ordinary abundance  in the instincts4   
,ugliness is understood to signify a    
hint and a  symptom of degeneration3    
that which reminds us however remotely  
of  degeneracy1 impels us to the        
judgment 8ugly40 ,every sign of         
exhaustion1  of gravity1 of age1 of     
fatigue2 every kind of constraint1 such 
as  cramp1 or paralysis2 and above all  
the smells1 colours and forms           
associated with decomposition and       
putrefaction1 however much they may     
have been attenuated into symbols1--all 
these things provoke the same  reaction 
which is the judgment 8ugly40 ,a certain
 hatred expresses  itself here3 what is 
it that man hates8 ,without a doubt it  

is the  decline of his type4 ,in this   
regard his hatred springs from the      
deepest instincts of the race3 there is 
horror1 caution1 profundity and         
far-reaching vision in this hatred1--it 
is the most profound hatred  that       
exists4 ,on its account alone ,art is   
profound4      #ba                      
,schopenhauer4--,schopenhauer1 the last 
,german who is to be reckoned  with     
7--who is a ,european event like        
,goethe1 ,hegel1 or ,heinrich ,heine1   
and who is not merely local1 national71 
is for a psychologist a case  of the    
first rank3 ,i mean as a malicious      
though masterly attempt to  enlist on   
the side of a general nihilistic        
depreciation of life1 the  very forces  
which are opposed to such a             
movement1--that is to say1 the  great   
self-affirming powers of the 8will to   
live10 the exuberant forms  of life     
itself4 ,he interpreted ,art1 heroism1  
genius1 beauty1 great  sympathy1        
knowledge1 the will to truth1 and       

tragedy1 one after the  other1 as the   
results of the denial1 or of the need of
 the denial1 of  the 8will0--the        
greatest forgery1 ,christianity always  
excepted1 which  history has to show4   
,examined more carefully1 he is in this 
respect  simply the heir of the         
,christian interpretation2 except that  
he knew  how to approve in a ,christian 
fashion 7i4e41 nihilistically7 even  of 
the great facts of human culture1 which 
,christianity completely  repudiates4   
7,he approved of them as paths to       
8salvation10 as  preliminary stages to  
8salvation10 as appetisers calculated to
 arouse  the desire for 8salvation407   
#bb    ,let me point to one single      
instance4 ,schopenhauer speaks of beauty
 with  melancholy ardour1--why in sooth 
does he do this8 ,because in beauty  he 
sees a bridge on which one can travel   
further1 or which stimulates  one's     
desire to travel further4 ,according to 
him it constitutes a  momentary         
emancipation from the 8will0--it lures  

to eternal salvation4  ,he values it    
more particularly as a deliverance from 
the 8burning core  of the will0 which is
 sexuality1--in beauty he recognises the
 negation  of the procreative instinct4 
,singular ,saint6 ,some one contradicts 
thee2  ,i fear it is ,nature4 ,why is   
there beauty of tone1 colour1 aroma1 and
  of rhythmic movement in ,nature at    
all8 ,what is it forces beauty to the   
fore8 ,fortunately1 too1 a certain      
philosopher contradicts him4 ,no less   
an authority than the divine ,plato     
himself 7thus does ,schopenhauer  call  
him71 upholds another proposition3 that 
all beauty lures to  procreation1--that 
this precisely is the chief             
characteristic of its  effect1 from the 
lowest sensuality to the highest        
spirituality4      #bc    ,plato goes   
further4 ,with an innocence for which a 
man must be ,greek  and not             
8,christian10 he says that there would  
be no such thing as  ,platonic          
philosophy if there were not such       

beautiful boys in ,athens3  it was the  
sight of them alone that set the soul of
 the philosopher  reeling with erotic   
passion1 and allowed it no rest until it
 had  planted the seeds of all lofty    
things in a soil so beautiful4 ,he  was 
also a singular saint6--,one scarcely   
believes one's ears1 even  supposing one
 believes ,plato4 ,at least one realises
 that philosophy was  pursued           
differently in ,athens2 above all1      
publicly4 ,nothing is less  ,greek than 
the cobweb-spinning with concepts by an 
anchorite1 amor  intellectualis dei     
after the fashion of ,spinoza4          
,philosophy according  to ,plato's style
 might be defined rather as an erotic   
competition1 as a  continuation and a   
spiritualisation of the old agonal      
gymnastics and  the conditions on which 
they depend4444 ,what was the ultimate  
outcome  of this philosophic eroticism  
of ,plato's8 ,a new art-form of the     
,greek  ,agon1 dialectics4--,in         
opposition to ,schopenhauer and to the  

honour of  ,plato1 ,i would remind you  
that all the higher culture and         
literature of  classical ,france1 as    
well1 grew up on the soil of sexual     
interests4 ,in  all its manifestations  
you may look for gallantry1 the senses1 
sexual  competition1 and 8woman10 and   
you will not look in vain4      #bd     
,l',art pour l',art4--,the struggle     
against a purpose in art is always a    
struggle against the moral tendency in  
art1 against its subordination  to      
morality4 ,l'art pour l'art means1 8let 
morality go to the devil60  --,but even 
this hostility betrays the              
preponderating power of the moral       
prejudice4 ,if art is deprived of the   
purpose of preaching morality  and of   
improving mankind1 it does not by any   
means follow that art is  absolutely    
pointless1 purposeless1 senseless1 in   
short l'art pour  l'art--a snake which  
bites its own tail4 8,no purpose at all 
is better  than a moral purpose60--thus 
does pure passion speak4 ,a             

psychologist1  on the other hand1 puts  
the question3 what does all art do8 does
 it  not praise8 does it not glorify8   
does it not select8 does it not  bring  
things into prominence8 ,in all this it 
strengthens or weakens  certain         
valuations4 ,is this only a secondary   
matter8 an accident8  something in which
 the artist's instinct has no share8 ,or
 is it not  rather the very prerequisite
 which enables the artist to accomplish 
something8444 ,is his most fundamental  
instinct concerned with art8  ,is it not
 rather concerned with the purpose of   
art1 with life8 with  a certain         
desirable kind of life8 ,art is the     
great stimulus to life2  how can it be  
regarded as purpose less1 as pointless1 
as l'art pour  l'art8--,there still     
remains one question to be answered3    
,art also  reveals much that is ugly1   
hard and questionable in life1--does it 
not thus seem to make life              
intolerable8--,and1 as a matter of fact1
  there have been philosophers who have 

ascribed this function to art4          
,according to ,schopenhauer's doctrine1 
the general object of art was to  8free 
one from the ,will02 and what he        
honoured as the great utility  of       
tragedy1 was that it 8made people more  
resigned40--,but this1 as  ,i have      
already shown1 is a pessimistic         
standpoint2 it is the 8evil  eye03 the  
artist himself must be appealed to4     
,what is it that the soul  of the tragic
 artist communicates to others8 ,is it  
not precisely his  fearless attitude    
towards that which is terrible and      
questionable8  ,this attitude is in     
itself a highly desirable one2 he who   
has once1  experienced it honours it    
above everything else4 ,he communicates 
it4 ,he  must communicate1 provided he  
is an artist and a genius in the art of 
communication4 ,a courageous and free   
spirit1 in the presence of a mighty     
foe1 in the presence of a sublime       
misfortune1 and face to face with a     
problem that inspires horror--this is   

the triumphant attitude which  the      
tragic artist selects and which he      
glorifies4 ,the martial elements  in our
 soul celebrate their ,saturnalia in    
tragedy2 he who is used to  suffering1  
he who looks out for suffering1 the     
heroic man1 extols his  existence by    
means of tragedy1--to him alone does the
 tragic artist  offer this cup of       
sweetest cruelty4--      #be    ,to     
associate in an amiable fashion with    
anybody2 to keep the house of  one's    
heart open to all1 is certainly liberal3
 but it is nothing else4  ,one can      
recognise the hearts that are capable of
 noble hospitality1 by  their wealth of 
screened windows and closed shutters3   
they keep their  best rooms empty4      
,whatever for8--,because they are       
expecting guests who  are somebodies4   
#bf    ,we no longer value ourselves    
sufficiently highly when we communicate 
our soul's content4 ,our real           
experiences are not at all garrulous4   
,they  could not communicate themselves 

even if they wished to4 ,they are at a  
loss to find words for such confidences4
 ,those things for which we find  words1
 are things wehave already overcome4 ,in
 all speech there lies  an element of   
contempt4 ,speech1 it would seem1 was   
only invented for  average1 mediocre and
 communicable things4--,every spoken    
word proclaims  the speaker             
vulgarised--7,extract from a moral code 
for deaf-and-dumb  people and other     
philosophers47      #bg    8,this       
picture is perfectly beautiful60#d ,the 
dissatisfied and  exasperated literary  
woman with a desert in her heart and in 
her belly1  listening with agonised     
curiosity every instant to the          
imperative  which whispers to her from  
the very depths of her being3 aut       
liberi1  aut libri3 the literary woman1 
sufficiently educated to understand the 
voice of nature1 even when nature speaks
 ,latin1 and moreover enough  of a      
peacock and a goose to speak even       
,french with herself in secret  8,je me 

verrai1 je me lirai1 je m'extasierai et 
je dirai3 ,possible1 que  j'aie eu tant 
d'esprit80 444      #bh    ,the         
objective ones speak4--8,nothing comes  
more easily to us1 than to  be wise1    
patient1 superior4 ,we are soaked in the
 oil of indulgence and  of sympathy1 we 
are absurdly just1 we forgive           
everything4 ,precisely on  that account 
we should be severe with ourselves2 for 
that very reason  we ought from time to 
time to go in for a little emotion1 a   
little  emotional vice4 ,it may seem    
bitter to us2 and between ourselves we  
may  even laugh at the figure which it  
makes us cut ,but what does it matter8  
,we have no other kind of self-control  
left4 ,this is our asceticism1 our      
manner of performing penance40 ,to      
become personal--the virtues of the     
8impersonal and objective one40      #bi
    ,extract from a doctor's examination
 paper4--8,what is the task of all      
higher schooling80--,to make man into a 
machine4 8,what are the means           

employed80--,he must learn how to be    
bored4 8,how is this achieved80--,by    
means of the concept duty4 8,what       
example of duty has he before his       
eyes80--,the philologist3 it is he who  
teaches people how to swat4  8,who is   
the perfect man80--,the ,government     
official4 8,which philosophy  furnishes 
the highest formula for the ,government 
official80--,kant's  philosophy3 the    
,government official as thing-in-itself 
made judge over  the ,government        
official as appearance4      #cj    ,the
 right to ,stupidity4--,the worn-out    
worker1 whose breath is  slow1 whose    
look is good-natured1 and who lets      
things slide just as  they please3 this 
typical figure which in this age of     
labour 7and  of 8,empire607 is to be met
 with in all classes of society1 has now
  begun to appropriate even ,art1       
including the book1 above all the       
newspaper1--and how much more so        
beautiful nature1 ,italy6 ,this man  of 
the evening1 with his 8savage instincts 

lulled10 as ,faust has it2  needs his   
summer holiday1 his sea-baths1 his      
glacier1 his ,bayreuth4  ,in such ages  
,art has the right to be purely         
foolish1--as a sort of  vacation for    
spirit1 wit and sentiment4 ,wagner      
understood this4 ,pure  foolishness#e is
 a pick-me-up4444      #ca    ,yet      
another problem of diet4--,the means    
with which ,julius ,csar  preserved     
himself against sickness and headaches3 
heavy marches1  the simplest mode of    
living1 uninterrupted sojourns in the   
open  air1 continual                    
hardships1--generally speaking these are
 the  self-preservative and             
self-defensive measures against the     
extreme  vulnerability of those subtle  
machines working at the highest         
pressure1 which are called geniuses4    
#cb    ,the ,immoralist                 
speaks4--,nothing is more distasteful to
 true  philosophers than man when he    
begins to wish4444 ,if they see man only
  at his deeds2 if they see this        

bravest1 craftiest and most enduring  of
 animals even inextricably entangled in 
disaster1 how admirable he  then appears
 to them6 ,they even encourage him4444  
,but true philosophers  despise the man 
who wishes1 as also the 8desirable0     
man--and all the  desiderata and ideals 
of man in general4 ,if a philosopher    
could be a  nihilist1 he would be one2  
for he finds only nonentity behind all  
human  ideals4 ,or1 not even nonentity1 
but vileness1 absurdity1 sickness1      
cowardice1 fatigue and all sorts of     
dregs from out the quaffed goblets  of  
his life4444 ,how is it that man1 who as
 a reality is so estimable1  ceases from
 deserving respect the moment he begins 
to desire8 ,must he  pay for being so   
perfect as a reality8 ,must he make up  
for his deeds1  for the tension of      
spirit and will which underlies all his 
deeds1 by an  eclipse of his powers in  
matters of the imagination and in       
absurdity8  ,hitherto the history of his
 desires has been the partie honteuse of

  mankind3 one should take care not to  
read too deeply in this history4  ,that 
which justifies man is his reality1--it 
will justify him to all  eternity4 ,how 
much more valuable is a real man than   
any other man  who is merely the phantom
 of desires1 of dreams of stinks and of 
lies8--than any kind of ideal man8 444  
,and the ideal man1 alone1 is  what the 
philosopher cannot abide4      #cc      
,the ,natural ,value of                 
,egoism4--,selfishness has as much value
 as the  physiological value of him who 
practises it3 its worth may be great1   
or it may be worthless and contemptible4
 ,every individual may be  classified   
according to whether he represents the  
ascending or the  descending line of    
life4 ,when this is decided1 a canon is 
obtained  by means of which the value of
 his selfishness may be determined4  ,if
 he represent the ascending line of     
life1 his value is of course            
extraordinary--and for the sake of the  
collective life which in him  makes one 

step forward1 the concern about his     
maintenance1 about  procuring his       
optimum of conditions may even be       
extreme4 ,the human  unit1 the          
8individual10 as the people and the     
philosopher have always  understood him1
 is certainly an error3 he is nothing in
 himself1 no  atom1 no 8link in the     
chain10 no mere heritage from the       
past1--he  represents the whole direct  
line of mankind up to his own life4444  
,if he represent declining development1 
decay1 chronic degeneration1  sickness  
7--illnesses are on the whole already   
the outcome of decline1  and not the    
cause thereof71 he is of little worth1  
and the purest  equity would have him   
take away as little as possible from    
those who  are lucky strokes of nature4 
,he is then only a parasite upon        
them4444      #cd    ,the ,christian and
 the ,anarchist4--,when the anarchist1  
as the  mouthpiece of the decaying      
strata of society1 raises his voice in  
splendid indignation for 8right10       

8justice10 8equal rights10 he  is only  
groaning under the burden of his        
ignorance1 which cannot  understand why 
he actually suffers1--what his poverty  
consists  of--the poverty of life4 ,an  
instinct of causality is active in  him3
 someone must be responsible for his    
being so ill at ease4 ,his  8splendid   
indignation0 alone relieves him         
somewhat1 it is a pleasure  for all poor
 devils to grumble--it gives them a     
little intoxicating  sensation of power4
 ,the very act of complaining1 the mere 
fact that one  bewails one's lot1 may   
lend such a charm to life that on that  
account  alone1 one is ready to endure  
it4 ,there is a small dose of revenge in
  every lamentation4 ,one casts one's   
afflictions1 and1 under certain         
circumstances1 even one's baseness1 in  
the teeth of those who are  different1  
as if their condition were an injustice1
 an iniquitous  privilege4 8,since ,i am
 a blackguard you ought to be one too40 
,it is  upon such reasoning that        

revolutions are based4--,to bewail one's
 lot  is always despicable3 it is always
 the outcome of weakness4 ,whether  one 
ascribes one's afflictions to others or 
to one's self1 it is all  the same4 ,the
 socialist does the former1 the         
,christian1 for instance1  does the     
latter4 ,that which is common to both   
attitudes1 or rather  that which is     
equally ignoble in them both1 is the    
fact that somebody  must be to blame if 
one suffers--in short that the sufferer 
drugs  himself with the honey of revenge
 to allay his anguish4 ,the objects     
towards which this lust of vengeance1   
like a lust of pleasure1 are  directed1 
are purely accidental causes4 ,in all   
directions the sufferer  finds reasons  
for cooling his petty passion for       
revenge4 ,if he is a  ,christian1 ,i    
repeat1 he finds these reasons in       
himself4 ,the ,christian  and the       
,anarchist--both are decadents4 ,but    
even when the ,christian  condemns1     
slanders1 and sullies the world1 he is  

actuated by precisely  the same instinct
 as that which leads the socialistic    
workman to curse1  calumniate and cast  
dirt at society4 ,the last 8,judgment0  
itself is  still the sweetest solace to 
revenge--revolution1 as the socialistic 
workman expects it1 only thought of as a
 little more remote4444 ,the  notion of 
a 8,beyond10 as well--why a ,beyond1 if 
it be not a means of  splashing mud over
 a 8,here10 over this world8 444        
#ce    ,a ,criticism of the ,morality of
 ,decadence4--,an 8altruistic0          
morality1 a morality under which        
selfishness withers1 is in all          
circumstances a bad sign4 ,this is true 
of individuals and above  all of        
nations4 ,the best are lacking when     
selfishness begins to be  lacking4      
,instinctively to select that which is  
harmful to one1 to be  lured by         
8disinterested0 motives1--these things  
almost provide the  formula for         
decadence4 8,not to have one's own      
interests at heart0  --this is simply a 

moral fig-leaf concealing a very        
different fact1 a  physiological one1 to
 wit3--8,i no longer know how to find   
what is to my  interest40444            
,disintegration of the instincts6--,all 
is up with man when  he becomes         
altruistic4--,instead of saying         
ingenuously 8,i am no longer  any good10
 the lie of morality in the decadent's  
mouth says3 8,nothing  is any           
good1--life is no good40--,a judgment of
 this kind ultimately  becomes a great  
danger2 for it is infectious1 and it    
soon flourishes  on the polluted soil of
 society with tropical luxuriance1 now  
as a  religion 7,christianity71 anon as 
a philosophy 7,schopenhauerism74 ,in    
certain circumstances the mere effluvia 
of such a venomous vegetation1          
springing as it does out of the very    
heart of putrefaction1 can poison  life 
for thousands and thousands of years4   
#cf    ,a moral for doctors4--,the sick 
man is a parasite of society4 ,in       
certain cases it is indecent to go on   

living4 ,to continue to vegetate  in a  
state of cowardly dependence upon       
doctors and special treatments1  once   
the meaning of life1 the right to life1 
has been lost1 ought to  be regarded    
with the greatest contempt by society4  
,the doctors1 for  their part1 should be
 the agents for imparting this          
contempt1--they  should no longer       
prepare prescriptions1 but should every 
day administer  a fresh dose of disgust 
to their patients4 ,a new responsibility
  should be created1 that of the        
doctor--the responsibility of ruthlessly
  suppressing and eliminating degenerate
 life1 in all cases in which  the       
highest interests of life itself1 of    
ascending life1 demand such  a          
course--for instance in favour of the   
right of procreation1 in  favour of the 
right of being born1 in favour of the   
right to live4  ,one should die proudly 
when it is no longer possible to live   
proudly4  ,death should be chosen       
freely1--death at the right time1 faced 

clearly  and joyfully and embraced while
 one is surrounded by one's children    
and other witnesses4 ,it should be      
affected in such a way that a proper    
farewell is still possible1 that he who 
is about to take leave of us  is still  
himself1 and really capable not only of 
valuing what he  has achieved and willed
 in life1 but also of summing-up the    
value  of life itself4 ,everything      
precisely the opposite of the ghastly   
comedy which ,christianity has made of  
the hour of death4 ,we should  never    
forgive ,christianity for having so     
abused the weakness of the  dying man as
 to do violence to his conscience1 or   
for having used  his manner of dying as 
a means of valuing both man and his     
past--,in  spite of all cowardly        
prejudices1 it is our duty1 in this     
respect1  above all to reinstate the    
proper--that is to say1 the             
physiological1  aspect of so-called     
natural death1 which after all is       
perfectly  8unnatural0 and nothing else 

than suicide4 ,one never perishes       
through  anybody's fault but one's own4 
,the only thing is that the death which 
takes place in the most contemptible    
circumstances1 the death that  is not   
free1 the death which occurs at the     
wrong time1 is the death  of a coward4  
,out of the very love one bears to life1
 one should wish  death to be different 
from this--that is to say1 free1        
deliberate1 and  neither a matter of    
chance nor of surprise4 ,finally let me 
whisper a  word of advice to our friends
 the pessimists and all other decadents4
  ,we have not the power to prevent     
ourselves from being born3 but this     
error--for sometimes it is an error--can
 be rectified if we choose4 ,the  man   
who does away with himself1 performs the
 most estimable of deeds3  he almost    
deserves to live for having done so4    
,society--nay1 life  itself1 derives    
more profit from such a deed than from  
any sort of life  spent in renunciation1
 anmia and other virtues1--at least the 

suicide  frees others from the sight of 
him1 at least he removes one objection  
against life4 ,pessimism pur et vert1   
can be proved only by the               
self-refutation of the pessimists       
themselves3 one should go a step        
further in one's consistency2 one should
 not merely deny life with  8,the ,world
 as ,will and ,idea10 as ,schopenhauer  
did2 one should in the  first place deny
 ,schopenhauer4 444 ,incidentally1      
,pessimism1 however  infectious it may  
be1 does not increase the morbidness of 
an age or of  a whole species2 it is    
rather the expression of that           
morbidness4 ,one  falls a victim to it  
in the same way as one falls a victim to
 cholera2  one must already be          
predisposed to the disease4 ,pessimism  
in itself  does not increase the number 
of the world's decadents by a single    
unit4 ,let me remind you of the         
statistical fact that in those years in 
which cholera rages1 the total number of
 deaths does not exceed that of  other  

years4      #cg    ,have we become more 
moral8--,as might have been expected1   
the whole  ferocity of moral            
stultification1 which1 as is well known1
 passes  for morality itself in         
,germany1 hurled itself against my      
concept  8,beyond ,good and ,evil40 ,i  
could tell you some nice tales about    
this4  ,above all1 people tried to make 
me see the 8incontestable superiority0  
of our age in regard to moral sentiment1
 and the progress we had  made in these 
matters4 ,compared with us1 a ,csar     
,borgia was by no  means to be          
represented as 8higher man10 the sort of
 ,superman1  which ,i declared him to   
be4 ,the editor of the ,swiss paper the 
,bund  went so far as not only to       
express his admiration for the courage  
displayed by my enterprise1 but also to 
pretend to 8understand0 that  the       
intended purpose of my work was to      
abolish all decent feeling4  ,much      
obliged6--,in reply1 ,i venture to raise
 the following question3  have we really

 become more moral8 ,the fact that      
everybody believes  that we have is     
already an objection to the belief4 ,we 
modern men1  so extremely delicate and  
susceptible1 full of consideration one  
for  the other1 actually dare to suppose
 that the pampering fellow-feeling      
which we all display1 this unanimity    
which we have at last acquired  in      
sparing and helping and trusting one    
another marks a definite step  forward1 
and shows us to be far ahead of the man 
of the ,renaissance4  ,but every age    
thinks the same1 it is bound to think   
the same4 ,this  at least1 is certain1  
that we should not dare to stand amid   
the  conditions which prevailed at the  
,renaissance1 we should not even dare   
to imagine ourselves in those           
conditions3 our nerves could not endure 
that reality1 not to speak of our       
muscles4 ,the inability to do this      
however does not denote any progress2   
but simply the different and  more      
senile quality of our particular nature1

 its greater weakness1  delicateness1   
and susceptibility1 out of which a      
morality more rich  in consideration was
 bound to arise4 ,if we imagine our     
delicateness  and senility1 our         
physiological decrepitude as            
non-existent1 our  morality of          
8humanisation0 would immediately lose   
all value--no  morality has any value   
per se--it would even fill us with      
scorn4 ,on  the other hand1 do not let  
us doubt that we moderns1 wrapped as we 
are  in the thick cotton wool of our    
humanitarianism which would shrink  even
 from grazing a stone1 would present a  
comedy to ,csar ,borgia's               
contemporaries which would literally    
make them die of laughter4 ,we are      
indeed1 without knowing it1 exceedingly 
ridiculous with our modern  8virtues40  
444 ,the decline of the instincts of    
hostility and of  those instincts that  
arouse suspicion1--for this if anything 
is what  constitutes our progress--is   
only one of the results manifested by   

the general decline in vitality3 it     
requires a hundred times more  trouble  
and caution to live such a dependent and
 senile existence4  ,in such            
circumstances everybody gives everybody 
else a helping hand1  and1 to a certain 
extent1 everybody is either an invalid  
or an  invalid's attendant4 ,this is    
then called 8virtue03 among those men   
who knew a different life--that is to   
say1 a fuller1 more prodigal1  more     
superabundant sort of life1 it might    
have been called by another             
name1--possibly 8cowardice10 or         
8vileness10 or 8old woman's morality40  
444 ,our mollification of morals--this  
is my cry2 this it you will is  my      
innovation--is the outcome of our       
decline2 conversely hardness  and       
terribleness in morals may be the result
 of a surplus of life4  ,when the latter
 state prevails1 much is dared1 much is 
challenged1  and much is also           
squandered4 ,that which formerly was    
simply the  salt of life1 would now be  

our poison4 ,to be indifferent--even    
this  is a form of strength--for that1  
likewise1 we are too senile1 too        
decrepit3 our morality of               
fellow-feeling1 against which ,i was the
  first to raise a finger of warning1   
that which might be called moral        
impressionism1 is one symptom the more  
of the excessive physiological          
irritability which is peculiar to       
everything decadent4 ,that movement     
which attempted to introduce itself in a
 scientific manner on the  shoulders of 
,schopenhauer's morality of pity--a very
 sad attempt6--is  in its essence the   
movement of decadence in morality1 and  
as such  it is intimately related to    
,christian morality4 ,strong ages and   
noble cultures see something            
contemptible in pity1 in the 8love of   
one's neighbour10 and in a lack of      
egoism and of self-esteem4--,ages       
should be measured according to their   
positive forces2--valued  by this       
standard that prodigal and fateful age  

of the ,renaissance1  appears as the    
last great age1 while we moderns with   
our anxious  care of ourselves and love 
of our neighbours1 with all our         
unassuming  virtues of industry1 equity1
 and scientific method--with our lust of
  collection1 of economy and of         
mechanism--represent a weak age4444     
,our virtues are necessarily determined1
 and are even stimulated1 by our        
weakness4 8,equality10 a certain        
definite process of making everybody    
uniform1 which only finds its expression
 in the theory of equal rights1  is     
essentially bound up with a declining   
culture3 the chasm between  man and man1
 class and class1 the multiplicity of   
types1 the will to  be one's self1 and  
to distinguish one's self--that1 in     
fact1 which ,i  call the pathos of      
distance is proper to all strong ages4  
,the force  of tension1--nay1 the       
tension itself1 between extremes grows  
slighter  every day1--the extremes      
themselves are tending to become        

obliterated  to the point of becoming   
identical4 ,all our political theories  
and  state constitutions1 not by any    
means excepting 8,the ,german ,empire10 
are the logical consequences1 the       
necessary consequences of decline2  the 
unconscious effect of decadence has     
begun to dominate even the  ideals of   
the various sciences4 ,my objection to  
the whole of ,english  and ,french      
sociology still continues to be this1   
that it knows only  the decadent form of
 society from experience1 and with      
perfectly  childlike innocence takes the
 instincts of decline as the norm1 the  
standard1 of sociological valuations4   
,descending life1 the decay  of all     
organising power--that is to say1 of all
 that power which  separates1 cleaves   
gulfs1 and establishes rank above and   
below1  formulated itself in modern     
sociology as the ideal4 ,our socialists 
are decadents3 but ,herbert ,spencer was
 also a decadent1--he saw  something to 
be desired in the triumph of            

altruism6444      #ch    ,my ,concept of
 ,freedom4--,sometimes the value of a   
thing does not lie  in that which it    
helps us to achieve1 but in the amount  
we have to  pay for it1--what it costs  
us4 ,for instance1 liberal institutions 
straightway cease from being liberal1   
the moment they are soundly             
established3 once this is attained no   
more grievous and more thorough  enemies
 of freedom exist than liberal          
institutions6 ,one knows1 of  course1   
what they bring about3 they undermine   
the ,will to ,power1  they are the      
levelling of mountain and valley exalted
 to a morality1  they make people small1
 cowardly and pleasure-loving1--by means
 of  them the gregarious animal         
invariably triumphs4 ,liberalism1 or1 in
  plain ,english1 the transformation of 
mankind into cattle4 ,the  same         
institutions1 so long as they are fought
 for1 produce quite  other results2 then
 indeed they promote the cause of       
freedom quite  powerfully4 ,regarded    

more closely1 it is war which produces  
these  results1 war in favour of liberal
 institutions1 which1 as war1 allows    
the illiberal instincts to subsist4 ,for
 war trains men to be free4  ,what in   
sooth is freedom8 ,freedom is the will  
to be responsible  for ourselves4 ,it is
 to preserve the distance which         
separates us  from other men4 ,to grow  
more indifferent to hardship1 to        
severity1  to privation1 and even to    
life itself4 ,to be ready to sacrifice  
men for one's cause1 one's self         
included4 ,freedom denotes that the     
virile instincts which rejoice in war   
and in victory1 prevail over  other     
instincts2 for instance1 over the       
instincts of 8happiness40  ,the man who 
has won his freedom1 and how much more  
so1 therefore1  the spirit that has won 
its freedom1 tramples ruthlessly upon   
that  contemptible kind of comfort which
 tea-grocers1 ,christians1 cows1  women1
 ,englishmen and other democrats worship
 in their dreams4 ,the  free man is a   

warrior4--,how is freedom measured in   
individuals  as well as in nations8     
,according to the resistance which has  
to be  overcome1 according to the pains 
which it costs to remain uppermost4     
,the highest type of free man would have
 to be sought where the  greatest       
resistance has continually to be        
overcome3 five paces away  from tyranny1
 on the very threshold of the danger of 
thraldom4 ,this  is psychologically true
 if1 by the word 8,tyrants0 we mean     
inexorable  and terrible instincts which
 challenge the maximum amount of        
authority and discipline to oppose      
them--the finest example of this  is    
,julius ,csar2 it is also true          
politically3 just examine the course  of
 history4 ,the nations which were worth 
anything1 which got to  be worth        
anything1 never attained to that        
condition under liberal  institutions3  
great danger made out of them something 
which deserves  reverence1 that danger  
which alone can make us aware of our    

resources1  our virtues1 our means of   
defence1 our weapons1 our genius1--which
  compels us to be strong4 ,first       
principle3 a man must need to be        
strong1 otherwise he will never attain  
it4--,those great forcing-houses  of the
 strong1 of the strongest kind of men   
that have ever existed on  earth1 the   
aristocratic communities like those of  
,rome and ,venice1  understood freedom  
precisely as ,i understand the word3 as 
something  that one has and that one has
 not1 as something that one will have   
and that one seizes by force4      #ci  
,a ,criticism of ,modernity4--,our      
institutions are no longer any good2  on
 this point we are all agreed4 ,but the 
fault does not lie with  them2 but with 
us4 ,now that we have lost all the      
instincts out  of which institutions    
grow1 the latter on their part are      
beginning  to disappear from our midst  
because we are no longer fit for them4  
,democracy has always been the death    
agony of the power of organisation3     

already in 8,human ,all-too-,human10    
,part ,i41 ,aph4 #dgb1 ,i pointed out   
that modern democracy1 together with its
 half-measures1 of which the  8,german  
,empire0 is an example1 was a decaying  
form of the ,state4 ,for  institutions  
to be possible there must exist a sort  
of will1 instinct1  imperative1 which   
cannot be otherwise than antiliberal to 
the point of  wickedness3 the will to   
tradition1 to authority1 to             
responsibility  for centuries to come1  
to solidarity in long family lines      
forwards  and backwards in infinitum4   
,if this will is present1 something is  
founded which resembles the imperium    
,romanum2 or ,russia1 the only  great   
nation to-day that has some lasting     
power and grit in her1 that  can bide   
her time1 that can still promise        
something4--,russia the  opposite of all
 wretched ,european petty-statism and   
neurasthenia1  which the foundation of  
the ,german ,empire has brought to a    
crisis4 ,the  whole of the ,occident no 

longer possesses those instincts from   
which  institutions spring1 out of which
 a future grows3 maybe nothing is  more 
opposed to its 8modern spirit0 than     
these things4 ,people live  for the     
present1 the live at top speed1--they   
certainly live without  any sense of    
responsibility2 and this is precisely   
what they call  8freedom40 ,everything  
in institutions which makes them        
institutions1  is scorned1 loathed and  
repudiated3 everybody is in mortal fear 
of a  new slavery1 wherever the word    
8authority0 is so much as whispered4    
,the decadence of the valuing instinct1 
both in our politicians and in  our     
political parties1 goes so far1 that    
they instinctively prefer  that which   
acts as a solvent1 that which           
precipitates the final  catastrophe4444 
,as an example of this behold modern    
marriage4 ,all  reason has obviously    
been divorced from modern marriage3 but 
this is  no objection to matrimony      
itself but to modernity4 ,the rational  

basis  of marriage--it lay in the       
exclusive legal responsibility of the   
man3  by this means some ballast was    
laid in the ship of matrimony1 whereas  
nowadays it has a list1 now on this     
side1 now on that4 ,the rational  basis 
of marriage--it lay in its absolute     
indissolubleness3 in this way  it was   
given a gravity which knew how to make  
its influence felt1 in  the face of the 
accident of sentiment1 passion and      
momentary impulse3  it lay also in the  
fact that the responsibility of choosing
 the parties  to the contract1 lay with 
the families4 ,by showing ever more and 
more  favour to love-marriages1 the very
 foundation of matrimony1 that which    
alone makes it an institution1 has been 
undermined4 ,no institution  ever has   
been nor ever will be built upon an     
idiosyncrasy2 as ,i say1  marriage      
cannot be based upon 8love40 ,it can be 
based upon sexual  desire2 upon the     
instinct of property 7wife and child as 
possessions72  upon the instinct of     

dominion1 which constantly organises for
 itself  the smallest form of           
dominion1--the family which requires    
children  and heirs in order to hold    
fast1 also in the physiological sense1  
to  a certain quantum of acquired power1
 influence and wealth1 so as to  prepare
 for lasting tasks1 and for solidarity  
in the instincts from  one century to   
another4 ,marriage as an institution    
presupposes the  affirmation of the     
greatest and most permanent form of     
organisation2 if  society cannot as a   
whole stand security for itself into the
 remotest  generations1 marriage has no 
meaning whatsoever4--,modern marriage   
has  lost its meaning2 consequently it  
is being abolished4      #dj    ,the    
question of the ,working-man4--,the mere
 fact that there is such  a thing as the
 question of the working-man is due to  
stupidity1 or at  bottom to degenerate  
instincts which are the cause of all the
 stupidity  of modern times4 ,concerning
 certain things no questions ought to be

  put3 the first imperative principle of
 instinct4 ,for the life of me  ,i      
cannot see what people want to do with  
the working-man of ,europe1  now that   
they have made a question of him4 ,he is
 far too comfortable  to cease from     
questioning ever more and more1 and with
 ever less  modesty4 ,after all1 he has 
the majority on his side4 ,there is now 
not the slightest hope that an          
unassuming and contented sort of man1   
after the style of the ,chinaman1 will  
come into being in this quarter3  and   
this would have been the reasonable     
course1 it was even a dire  necessity4  
,what has been done8 ,everything has    
been done with the view  of nipping the 
very pre-requisite of this              
accomplishment in the bud1  --with the  
most frivolous thoughtlessness those    
selfsame instincts by  means of which a 
working-class becomes possible1 and     
tolerable even  to its members          
themselves1 have been destroyed root and
 branch4 ,the  working-man has been     

declared fit for military service2 he   
has been  granted the right of          
combination1 and of voting3 can it be   
wondered at  that he already regards his
 condition as one of distress 7expressed
  morally1 as an injustice78 ,but1 again
 ,i ask1 what do people want8 ,if  they 
desire a certain end1 then they should  
desire the means thereto4  ,if they will
 have slaves1 then it is madness to     
educate them to be  masters4      #da   
8,the kind of freedom ,i do not         
mean44440#f--;,in an age like the       
present1 it simply adds to one's perils 
to be left to one's instincts4  ,the    
instincts contradict1 disturb1 and      
destroy each other2 ,i have  already    
defined modernism as physiological      
self-contradiction4 ,a  reasonable      
system of education would insist upon at
 least one of  these instinct-systems   
being paralysed beneath an iron         
pressure1 in  order to allow others to  
assert their power1 to grow strong1 and 
to  dominate4 ,at present1 the only     

conceivable way of making the individual
  possible would be to prune him3--of   
making him possible--that is to  say1   
whole4 ,the very reverse occurs4        
,independence1 free development1  and   
laisser aller are clamoured for most    
violently precisely by  those for whom  
no restraint could be too severe--this  
is true in  politics1 it is true in     
,art4 ,but this is a symptom of         
decadence3 our  modern notion of        
8freedom0 is one proof the more of the  
degeneration of  instinct4      #db     
,where faith is necessary4--,nothing is 
more rare among moralists and  saints   
than uprightness2 maybe they say the    
reverse is true1 maybe  they even       
believe it4 ,for1 when faith is more    
useful1 more effective1  more convincing
 than conscious hypocrisy1 by instinct  
that hypocrisy  forthwith becomes       
innocent3 first principle towards the   
understanding  of great saints4 ,the    
same holds good of philosophers1 that   
other order  of saints2 their whole     

business compels them to concede only   
certain  truths--that is to say1 those  
by means of which their particular trade
  receives the public sanction1--to     
speak 8,kantingly03 the truths of       
practical reason4 ,they know what they  
must prove2 in this respect  they are   
practical1--they recognise each other by
 the fact that  they agree upon 8certain
 truths40--8,thou shalt not lie0--in    
plain  ,english3--,beware1 ,mr          
,philosopher1 of speaking the truth4444 
#dc    ,a quiet hint to                 
,conservatives4--,that which we did not 
know  formerly1 and know now1 or might  
know if we chose1--is the fact that  a  
retrograde formation1 a reversion in any
 sense or degree1 is  absolutely        
impossible4 ,we physiologists1 at least1
 are aware of this4  ,but all priests   
and moralists have believed in it1--they
 wished to  drag and screw man back to a
 former standard of virtue4 ,morality   
has  always been a ,procrustean bed4    
,even the politicians have imitated  the

 preachers of virtue in this matter4    
,there are parties at the  present day  
whose one aim and dream is to make all  
things adopt the  crab-march4 ,but not  
everyone can be a crab4 ,it cannot be   
helped3 we  must go forward1--that is to
 say step by step further and further   
into  decadence 7--this is my definition
 of modern 8progress074 ,we can hinder  
this development1 and by so doing dam up
 and accumulate degeneration  itself and
 render it more convulsive1 more        
volcanic3 we cannot do  more4      #dd  
,my concept of ,genius4--,great men1    
like great ages1 are explosive          
material1 in which a stupendous amount  
of power is accumulated2  the first     
conditions of their existence are always
 historical and  physiological2 they are
 the outcome of the fact that for long  
ages  energy has been collected1 hoarded
 up1 saved up and preserved for their   
use1 and that no explosion has taken    
place4 ,when1 the tension in the  bulk  
has become sufficiently excessive1 the  

most fortuitous stimulus  suffices in   
order to call 8genius10 8great deeds10  
and momentous  fate into the world4     
,what then is the good of all           
environment1  historical periods1       
8,zeitgeist0 7,spirit of the age7 and   
8public  opinion08--,take the case of   
,napoleon4 ,france of the ,revolution1  
and still more of the period preceding  
the ,revolution1 would have  brought    
forward a type which was the very       
reverse of ,napoleon3 it  actually did  
produce such a type4 ,and because       
,napoleon was something  different1 the 
heir of a stronger1 more lasting and    
older civilisation  than that which in  
,france was being smashed to atoms he   
became master  there1 he was the only   
master there4 ,great men are necessary1 
the age  in which they appear is a      
matter of chance2 the fact that they    
almost  invariably master their age is  
accounted for simply by the fact that   
they are stronger1 that they are older1 
and that power has been stored  longer  

for them4 ,the relation of a genius to  
his age is that which  exists between   
strength and weakness and between       
maturity and youth3  the age is         
relatively always very much younger1    
thinner1 less mature1  less resolute and
 more childish4 ,the fact that the      
general opinion in  ,france at the      
present day1 is utterly different on    
this very point 7in  ,germany too1 but  
that is of no consequence72 the fact    
that in that  country the theory of     
environment--a regular neuropathic      
notion--has  become sacrosanct and      
almost scientific1 and finds acceptance 
even  among the physiologists1 is a very
 bad1 and exceedingly depressing  sign4 
,in ,england too the same belief        
prevails3 but nobody will be  surprised 
at that4 ,the ,englishman knows only two
 ways of understanding  the genius and  
the 8great man03 either democratically  
in the style  of ,buckle1 or religiously
 after the manner of ,carlyle4--,the    
danger  which great men and great ages  

represent1 is simply extraordinary2     
every kind of exhaustion and of         
sterility follows in their wake4 ,the   
great man is an end2 the great age--the 
,renaissance for instance1--is  an end4 
,the genius--in work and in deed1--is   
necessarily a squanderer3  the fact that
 he spends himself constitutes his      
greatness4 ,the instinct  of            
self-preservation is as it were         
suspended in him2 the overpowering      
pressure of out-flowing energy in him   
forbids any such protection and         
prudence4 ,people call this             
8self-sacrifice10 they praise his       
8heroism10  his indifference to his own 
well-being1 his utter devotion to an    
idea1  a great cause1 a father-land3    
,all misunderstandings4444 ,he flows    
out1  he flows over1 he consumes        
himself1 he does not spare himself1--and
  does all this with fateful necessity1 
irrevocably1 involuntarily1 just  as a  
river involuntarily bursts its dams4    
,but1 owing to the fact that  humanity  

has been much indebted to such          
explosives1 it has endowed them  with   
many things1 for instance1 with a kind  
of higher morality4444  ,this is indeed 
the sort of gratitude that humanity is  
capable of3 it  misunderstands its      
benefactors4      #de    ,the criminal  
and his like4--,the criminal type is the
 type of the  strong man amid           
unfavourable conditions1 a strong man   
made sick4 ,he  lacks the wild and      
savage state1 a form of nature and      
existence which  is freer and more      
dangerous1 in which everything that     
constitutes  the shield and the sword in
 the instinct of the strong man1 takes  
a place by right4 ,society puts a ban   
upon his virtues2 the most  spirited    
instincts inherent in him immediately   
become involved with  the depressing    
passions1 with suspicion1 fear and      
dishonour4 ,but this  is almost the     
recipe for physiological degeneration4  
,when a man has  to do that which he is 
best suited to do1 which he is most fond

 of  doing1 not only clandestinely1 but 
also with long suspense1 caution and    
ruse1 he becomes anmic2 and inasmuch as 
he is always having to pay  for his     
instincts in the form of danger1        
persecution and fatalities1  even his   
feelings begin to turn against these    
instincts--he begins to  regard them as 
fatal4 ,it is society1 our tame1        
mediocre1 castrated  society1 in which  
an untutored son of nature who comes to 
us from his  mountains or from his      
adventures at sea1 must necessarily     
degenerate  into a criminal4 ,or almost 
necessarily3 for there are cases in     
which  such a man shows himself to be   
stronger than society3 the ,corsican    
,napoleon is the most celebrated case of
 this4 ,concerning the problem  before  
us1 ,dostoiewsky's testimony is of      
importance--,dostoiewsky who1           
incidentally1 was the only psychologist 
from whom ,i had anything  to learn3 he 
belongs to the happiest windfalls of my 
life1 happier  even than the discovery  

of ,stendhal4 ,this profound man1 who   
was  right ten times over in esteeming  
the superficial ,germans low1 found  the
 ,siberian convicts among whom he lived 
for many years1--those  thoroughly      
hopeless criminals for whom no road back
 to society stood  open--very different 
from what even he had expected1--that is
 to say  carved from about the best1    
hardest and most valuable material that 
grows on ,russian soil4#g ,let us       
generalise the case of the criminal2    
let us imagine creatures who for some   
reason or other fail to meet  with      
public approval1 who know that they are 
regarded neither as  beneficent nor     
useful1--the feeling of the ,chandala1  
who are aware  that they are not looked 
upon as equal1 but as proscribed1       
unworthy1  polluted4 ,the thoughts and  
actions of all such natures are tainted 
with a subterranean mouldiness2         
everything in them is of a paler hue    
than in those on whose existence the sun
 shines4 ,but almost all those          

creatures whom1 nowadays1 we honour and 
respect1 formerly lived in this         
semi-sepulchral atmosphere3 the man of  
science1 the artist1 the genius1  the   
free spirit1 the actor1 the business    
man1 and the great explorer4  ,as long  
as the priest represented the highest   
type of man1 every  valuable kind of man
 was depreciated4444 ,the time is       
coming--this ,i  guarantee--when he will
 pass as the lowest type1 as our        
,chandala1 as  the falsest and most     
disreputable kind of man4444 ,i call    
your attention  to the fact that even   
now1 under the sway of the mildest      
customs and  usages which have ever     
ruled on earth or at least in ,europe1  
every  form of standing aside1 every    
kind of prolonged1 excessively prolonged
  concealment1 every unaccustomed and   
obscure form of existence tends to      
approximate to that type which the      
criminal exemplifies to perfection4     
,all pioneers of the spirit have1 for a 
while1 the grey and fatalistic  mark of 

the ,chandala on their brows3 not       
because they are regarded as  ,chandala1
 but because they themselves feel the   
terrible chasm which  separates them    
from all that is traditional and        
honourable4 ,almost  every genius knows 
the 8,catilinarian life0 as one of the  
stages in his  development1 a feeling of
 hate1 revenge and revolt against       
everything  that exists1 that has ceased
 to evolve4444 ,catiline--the early     
stage of  every ,csar4      #df    ,here
 the outlook is free4--,when a          
philosopher holds his tongue it may  be 
the sign of the loftiness of his soul3  
when he contradicts himself  it may be  
love2 and the very courtesy of a knight 
of knowledge may  force him to lie4 ,it 
has been said1 and not without          
subtlety3--il  est indigne des grands   
curs de rpandre le trouble qu'ils       
ressentent#h3 but it is necessary to add
 that there may also be  grandeur de cur
 in not shrinking from the most         
undignified  proceeding4 ,a woman who   

loves sacrifices her honour2 a knight of
  knowledge who 8loves10 sacrifices     
perhaps his humanity2 a ,god who  loved1
 became a ,jew4444      #dg    ,beauty  
no accident--,even the beauty of a race 
or of a family1  the charm and          
perfection of all its movements1 is     
attained with  pains3 like genius it is 
the final result of the accumulated work
  of generations4 ,great sacrifices must
 have been made on the altar  ol good   
taste1 for its sake many things must    
have been done1 and  much must have been
 left undone--the seventeenth century in
 ,france  is admirable for both of these
 things1--in this century there must    
have been a principle of selection in   
respect to company1 locality1  clothing1
 the gratification of the instinct of   
sex2 beauty must have  been preferred to
 profit1 to habit1 to opinion and to    
indolence4 ,the  first rule of          
all3--nobody must 8let himself go10 not 
even when he is  alone4--,good things   
are exceedingly costly32 and in all     

cases the law  obtains that he who      
possesses them is a different person    
from him who  is acquiring them4        
,everything good is an inheritance3 that
 which is  not inherited is imperfect1  
it is simply a beginning4 ,in ,athens at
  the time of ,cicero--who expresses his
 surprise at the fact--the men  and     
youths were by far superior in beauty to
 the women3 but what hard  work and     
exertions the male sex had for centuries
 imposed upon itself  in the service of 
beauty6 ,we must not be mistaken in     
regard to the  method employed here3 the
 mere discipline of feelings and        
thoughts  is little better than nil     
7--it is in this that the great error of
  ,german culture1 which is quite       
illusory1 lies73 the body must be       
persuaded first4 ,the strict maintenance
 of a distinguished and tasteful        
demeanour1 the obligation of frequenting
 only those who do not 8let  themselves 
go10 is amply sufficient to render one  
distinguished and  tasteful3 in two or  

three generations everything has already
 taken  deep root4 ,the fate of a people
 and of humanity is decided according   
to whether they begin culture at the    
right place--not at the 8soul0  7as the 
fatal superstition of the priests and   
half-priests would have  it73 the right 
place is the body1 demeanour1 diet1     
physiology--the rest  follows as the    
night the day4444 ,that is why the      
,greeks remain the  first event in      
culture--they knew and they did what was
 needful4  ,christianity with its       
contempt of the body is the greatest    
mishap that  has ever befallen mankind4 
#dh    ,progress in my sense4--,i also  
speak of a 8return to nature10 although 
it is not a process of going back but of
 going up--up into lofty1 free  and even
 terrible nature and naturalness2 such a
 nature as can play  with great tasks   
and may play with them4444 ,to speak in 
a parable4  ,napoleon was an example of 
a 8return to nature10 as ,i understand  
it  7for instance in rebus tacticis1 and

 still more1 as military experts  know1 
in strategy74 ,but ,rousseau--whither   
did he want to return8  ,rousseau this  
first modern man1 idealist and canaille 
in one person2  who was in need of moral
 8dignity10 in order even to endure the 
sight  of his own person1--ill with     
unbridled vanity and wanton             
self-contempt2  this abortion1 who      
planted his tent on the threshold of    
modernity1  also wanted a 8return to    
nature02 but1 ,i ask once more1 whither 
did  he wish to return8 ,i hate         
,rousseau1 even in the ,revolution      
itself3  the latter was the historical  
expression of this hybrid of idealist   
and canaille4 ,the bloody farce which   
this ,revolution ultimately  became1 its
 8immorality10 concerns me but slightly2
 what ,i loathe  however is its         
,rousseauesque morality--the so-called  
8truths0 of the  ,revolution1 by means  
of which it still exercises power and   
draws all  flat and mediocre things over
 to its side4 ,the doctrine of equality6

  444 ,but there is no more deadly      
poison than this2 for it seems to       
proceed from the very lips of justice1  
whereas in reality it draws  the curtain
 down on all justice4444 8,to equals    
equality1 to unequals  inequality0--that
 would be the real speech of justice and
 that which  follows from it 8,never    
make unequal things equal40 ,the fact   
that so  much horror and blood are      
associated with this doctrine of        
equality1  has lent this 8modern idea0  
par excellence such a halo of fire and  
glory1 that the ,revolution as a drama  
has misled even the most noble          
minds4--,that after all is no reason for
 honouring it the more4--,i can  see    
only one who regarded it as it should be
 regarded--that is to say1  with        
loathing2 ,i speak of ,goethe4      #di 
,goethe4--,no mere ,german1 but a       
,european event3 a magnificent attempt  
to overcome the eighteenth century by   
means of a return to nature1 by  means  
of an ascent to the naturalness of the  

,renaissance1 a kind of  self-overcoming
 on the part of the century in          
question4--,he bore the  strongest      
instincts of this century in his breast3
 its sentimentality1  and idolatry of   
nature1 its anti-historic1 idealistic1  
unreal1 and  revolutionary spirit 7--the
 latter is only a form of the unreal74  
,he  enlisted history1 natural science1 
antiquity1 as well as ,spinoza1 and     
above all practical activity1 in his    
service4 ,he drew a host of very        
definite horizons around him2 far from  
liberating himself from life1 he        
plunged right into it2 he did not give  
in2 he took as much as he could  on his 
own shoulders1 and into his heart4 ,that
 to which he aspired was  totality2 he  
was opposed to the sundering of reason1 
sensuality1  feeling and will 7as       
preached with most repulsive            
scholasticism  by ,kant1 the antipodes  
of ,goethe72 he disciplined himself into
 a  harmonious whole1 he created        
himself4 ,goethe in the midst of an age 

of unreal sentiment1 was a convinced    
realist3 he said yea to everything  that
 was like him in this regard1--there was
 no greater event in his  life than that
 ens realissimum1 surnamed ,napoleon4   
,goethe conceived  a strong1            
highly-cultured man1 skilful in all     
bodily accomplishments1  able to keep   
himself in check1 having a feeling of   
reverence for  himself1 and so          
constituted as to be able to risk the   
full enjoyment  of naturalness in all   
its rich profusion and be strong enough 
for this  freedom2 a man of tolerance1  
not out of weakness but out of strength1
  because he knows how to turn to his   
own profit that which would ruin  the   
mediocre nature2 a man unto whom nothing
 is any longer forbidden1  unless it be 
weakness either as a vice or as a       
virtue4 ,such a spirit1  become free1   
appears in the middle of the universe   
with a feeling  of cheerful and         
confident fatalism2 he believes that    
only individual  things are bad1 and    

that as a whole the universe justifies  
and1 affirms  itself--,he no longer     
denies4444 ,but such a faith is the     
highest ,of  all faiths3 ,i christened  
it with the name of ,dionysus4      #ej 
,it might be said that1 in a certain    
sense1 the nineteenth century  also     
strove after all that ,goethe himself   
aspired to3 catholicity in              
understanding1 in approving2 a certain  
reserve towards everything1  daring     
realism1 and a reverence for every fact4
 ,how is it that  the total result of   
this is not a ,goethe1 but a state of   
chaos1 a  nihilistic groan1 an inability
 to discover where one is1 an instinct  
of fatigue which in praxi is            
persistently driving ,europe to hark    
back to the eighteenth century8 7--,for 
instance in the form of maudlin         
romanticism1 altruism1                  
hyper-sentimentality1 pessimism in      
taste1  and socialism in politics74 ,is 
not the nineteenth century1 at least  in
 its closing years1 merely an           

accentuated1 brutalised eighteenth      
century1--that is to say a century of   
decadence8 ,and has not ,goethe         
been--not alone for ,germany1 but also  
for the whole of ,europe1--merely  an   
episode1 a beautiful 8in vain08 ,but    
great men are misunderstood when  they  
are regarded from the wretched          
standpoint of public utility4 ,the  fact
 that no advantage can be derived from  
them--this in itself may  perhaps be    
peculiar to greatness4      #ea         
,goethe is the last ,german whom ,i     
respect3 he had understood three  things
 as ,i understand them4 ,we also agree  
as to the 8cross40#i ,people  often ask 
me why on earth ,i write in ,german3    
nowhere am ,i less read  than in the    
,fatherland4 ,but who knows whether ,i  
even desire to be  read at present8--,to
 create things on which time may try its
 teeth in  vain2 to be concerned both in
 the form and the substance of my       
writing1  about a certain degree of     
immortality--never have ,i been modest  

enough  to demand less of myself4 ,the  
aphorism1 the sentence1 in both of      
which ,i1 as the first among ,germans1  
am a master1 are the forms of           
8eternity02 it is my ambition to say in 
ten sentences what everyone  else says  
in a whole book1--what everyone else    
does not say in a  whole book4    ,i    
have given mankind the deepest book it  
possesses1 my ,zarathustra2  before long
 ,i shall give it the most independent  
one4      #a ,the ,german word ,rausch  
as used by ,nietzsche here1 suggests a  
blend of our two ,english words         
8intoxication0 and 8elation40--,,tr4    
#b ,an allusion to a verse in ,luther's 
hymn3 8,lass fahren dahin 444  das      
,reich muss uns doch bleiben10 which    
,nietzsche applies to the  ,german      
,empire4--,,tr4    #c ,a disciple of    
,schopenhauer who blunted the sharpness 
of his  master's ,pessimism and who     
watered it down for modern              
requirements4--,,tr4    #d ,quotation   
from the ,libretto of ,mozart's 8,magic 

,flute0 ,act ,i1 ,sc4  #c4--,,tr4    #e 
,this alludes to ,parsifal4 ,see my note
 on p4 #if1 vol4 i41 8,the ,will  to    
,power40--,,tr4    #f ,this is a playful
 adaptation of ,max von ,schenkendorfs  
poem  8,freiheit0 ,the proper line      
reads3 8,freiheit die ich meine0 7,the  
freedom that ,i do mean74--,,tr4    #g  
,see 8,memoirs of a ,house of the       
,dead10 by ,dostoiewsky 7translation  by
 ,marie von ,thilo3 8,buried            
,alive074--,,tr4    #h ,clothilde de    
,veaux4--,,tr4    #i ,see my note on p4 
#adg of ,vol4 ,i4 of the ,will to       
,power4--,,tr4          ,,things ,i     
,,owe ,,to ,,the ,,ancients      #a     
,in conclusion ,i will just say a word  
concerning that world to which ,i  have 
sought new means of access1 to which ,i 
may perhaps have found a  new           
passage--the ancient world4 ,my taste1  
which is perhaps the reverse  of        
tolerant1 is very far from saying yea   
through and through even to  this world3
 on the whole it is not over eager to   

say ,yea1 it would  prefer to say ,nay1 
and better still nothing whatever4444   
,this is true  of whole cultures2 it is 
true of books1--it is also true of      
places  and of landscapes4 ,truth to    
tell1 the number of ancient books that  
count for something in my life is but   
small2 and the most famous are  not of  
that number4 ,my sense of style1 for the
 epigram as style1 was  awakened almost 
spontaneously upon my acquaintance with 
,sallust4 ,i have  not forgotten the    
astonishment of my respected teacher    
,corssen1 when  he was forced to give   
his worst ,latin pupil the highest      
marks1--at one  stroke ,i had learned   
all there was to learn4 ,condensed1     
severe1 with as  much substance as      
possible in the background1 and with    
cold but roguish  hostility towards all 
8beautiful words0 and 8beautiful        
feelings0--in  these things ,i found my 
own particular bent4 ,in my writings up 
to my  8,zarathustra10 there will be    
found a very earnest ambition to attain 

to the ,roman style1 to the 8re         
perennius0 in style4--,the same  thing  
happened on my first acquaintance with  
,horace4 ,up to the present  no poet has
 given me the same artistic raptures as 
those which from  the first ,i received 
from an ,horatian ode4 ,in certain      
languages it  would be absurd even to   
aspire to what is accomplished by this  
poet4  ,this mosaic of words1 in which  
every unit spreads its power to the     
left and to the right over the whole1 by
 its sound1 by its place in  the        
sentence1 and by its meaning1 this      
minimum in the compass and  number of   
the signs1 and the maximum of energy in 
the signs which is  thereby             
achieved--all this is ,roman1 and1 if   
you will believe me1 noble  par         
excellence4 ,by the side of this all the
 rest of poetry becomes  something      
popular1--nothing more than senseless   
sentimental twaddle4      #b    ,i am   
not indebted to the ,greeks for anything
 like such strong  impressions2 and1 to 

speak frankly1 they cannot be to us what
 the  ,romans are4 ,one cannot learn    
from the ,greeks--their style is too    
strange1 it is also too fluid1 to be    
imperative or to have the effect  of a  
classic4 ,who would ever have learnt    
writing from a ,greek6 ,who  would ever 
have learned it without the ,romans6444 
,do not let anyone  suggest ,plato to   
me4 ,in regard to ,plato ,i am a        
thorough sceptic1 and  have never been  
able to agree to the admiration of      
,plato the artist1  which is traditional
 among scholars4 ,and after all1 in this
 matter1  the most refined judges of    
taste in antiquity are on my side4 ,in  
my  opinion ,plato bundles all the forms
 of style pell-mell together1  in this  
respect he is one of the first decadents
 of style3 he has  something similar on 
his conscience to that which the ,cynics
 had  who invented the satura ,menippea4
 ,for the ,platonic dialogue--this      
revoltingly self-complacent and childish
 kind of dialectics--to  exercise any   

charm over you1 you must never have read
 any good ,french  authors1--,fontenelle
 for instance4 ,plato is boring4 ,in    
reality my  distrust of ,plato is       
fundamental4 ,i find him so very much   
astray  from all the deepest instincts  
of the ,hellenes1 so steeped in moral   
prejudices1 so pre-existently           
,christian--the concept 8good0 is       
already  the highest value with         
him1--that rather than use any other    
expression  ,i would prefer to designate
 the whole phenomenon ,plato with the   
hard  word 8superior bunkum10 or1 if you
 would like it better1 8idealism40      
,humanity has had to pay dearly for this
 ,athenian having gone to school  among 
the ,egyptians 7--or among the ,jews in 
,egypt84447 ,in the great  fatality of  
,christianity1 ,plato is that           
double-faced fascination  called the    
8ideal10 which made it possible for the 
more noble natures  of antiquity to     
misunderstand themselves and to tread   
the bridge  which led to the 8cross40   

,and what an amount of ,plato is still  
to be  found in the concept 8church10   
and in the construction1 the system  and
 the practice of the church6--,my       
recreation1 my predilection1 my  cure1  
after all ,platonism1 has always been   
,thucydides4 ,thucydides and  perhaps   
,machiavelli's principe are most closely
 related to me owing  to the absolute   
determination which they show of        
refusing to deceive  themselves and of  
seeing reason in reality1--not in       
8rationality10  and still less in       
8morality40 ,there is no more radical   
cure than  ,thucydides for the          
lamentably rose-coloured idealisation of
 the  ,greeks which the                 
8classically-cultured0 stripling bears  
with him into  life1 as a reward for his
 public school training4 ,his writings  
must be  carefully studied line by line1
 and his unuttered thoughts must be read
  as distinctly as what he actually     
says4 ,there are few thinkers so rich   
in unuttered thoughts4 ,in him the      

culture 8of the ,sophists0--that is to  
say1 the culture of realism1 receives   
its most perfect expression3 this       
inestimable movement in the midst of the
 moral and idealistic knavery  of the   
,socratic ,schools which was then       
breaking out in all directions4  ,greek 
philosophy is the decadence of the      
,greek instinct3 ,thucydides is  the    
great summing up1 the final             
manifestation of that strong1 severe    
positivism which lay in the instincts of
 the ancient ,hellene4 ,after  all1 it  
is courage in the face of reality that  
distinguishes such  natures as          
,thucydides from ,plato3 ,plato is a    
coward in the face of                   
reality--consequently he takes refuge in
 the ideal3 ,thucydides is  master of   
himself1--consequently he is able to    
master life4      #c    ,to rout up     
cases of 8beautiful souls10 8golden     
means0 and other  perfections among the 
,greeks1 to admire1 say1 their calm     
grandeur1  their ideal attitude of mind1

 their exalted simplicity--from this    
8exalted simplicity10 which after all is
 a piece of niaiserie  allemande1 ,i was
 preserved by the psychologist within   
me4 ,i saw their  strongest instinct1   
the ,will to ,power1 ,i saw them        
quivering with the  fierce violence of  
this instinct1--,i saw all their        
institutions grow  out of measures of   
security calculated to preserve each    
member of  their society from the inner 
explosive material that lay in his      
neighbour's breast ,this enormous       
internal tension thus discharged  itself
 in terrible and reckless hostility     
outside the state3 the  various states  
mutually tore each other to bits1 in    
order that each  individual state could 
remain at peace with itself4 ,it was    
then  necessary to be strong2 for danger
 lay close at hand1--it lurked in       
ambush everywhere4 ,the superb          
suppleness of their bodies1 the daring  
realism and immorality which is peculiar
 to the ,hellenes1 was a  necessity not 

an inherent quality4 ,it was a result1  
it had not been  there from the         
beginning4 ,even their festivals and    
their arts were but  means in producing 
a feeling of superiority1 and of showing
 it3 they  are measures of              
self-glorification2 and in certain      
circumstances of  making one's self     
terrible4444 ,fancy judging the ,greeks 
in the ,german  style1 from their       
philosophers2 fancy using the suburban  
respectability  of the ,socratic schools
 as a key to what is fundamentally      
,hellenic6444  ,the philosophers are of 
course the decadents of ,hellas1 the    
counter-movement directed against the   
old and noble taste--7against the       
agonal instinct1 against the ,polls1    
against the value of the race1  against 
the authority of tradition71 ,socratic  
virtues were preached to  the ,greeks1  
because the ,greeks had lost virtue3    
irritable1 cowardly1  unsteady1 and all 
turned to play-actors1 they had more    
than sufficient  reason to submit to    

having morality preached to them4 ,not  
that it  helped them in any way2 but    
great words and attitudes are so        
becoming  to decadents4      #d    ,i   
was the first who1 in order to          
understand the ancient1 still rich and  
even superabundant ,hellenic instinct1  
took that marvellous phenomenon1  which 
bears the name of ,dionysus1 seriously3 
it can be explained only  as a          
manifestation of excessive energy4      
,whoever had studied the ,greeks1  as   
that most profound of modern            
connoisseurs of their culture1 ,jakob   
,burckhardt of ,ble1 had done1 knew at  
once that something had been  achieved  
by means of this interpretation4 ,and in
 his 8,cultur der  ,griechen0           
,burckhardt inserted a special chapter  
on the phenomenon  in question4 ,if you 
would like a glimpse of the other side1 
you have  only to refer to the almost   
laughable poverty of instinct among     
,german  philologists when they approach
 the ,dionysian question4 ,the          

celebrated  ,lobeck1 especially1 who    
with the venerable assurance of a worm  
dried up  between books1 crawled into   
this world of mysterious states1        
succeeded  inconvincing himself that he 
was scientific1 whereas he was simply   
revoltingly superficial and             
childish1--,lobeck1 with all the pomp of
  profound erudition1 gave us to        
understand that1 as a matter of fact1   
there was nothing at all in all these   
curiosities4 ,truth to tell1 the        
priests may well have communicated not a
 few things of value to the             
participators in such orgies2 for       
instance1 the fact that wine provokes   
desire1 that man in certain             
circumstances lives on fruit1 that      
plants  bloom in the spring and fade in 
the autumn4 ,as regards the astounding  
wealth of rites1 symbols and myths which
 take their origin in the orgy1  and    
with which the world of antiquity is    
literally smothered1 ,lobeck  finds that
 it prompts him to a feat of even       

greater ingenuity than  the foregoing   
phenomenon did4 8,the ,greeks10 he says1
 7,aglaophamus1  ,i4 p4 #fgb71 8when    
they had nothing better to do1 laughed1 
sprang and  romped about1 or1 inasmuch  
as men also like a change at times1 they
  would sit down1 weep and bewail their 
lot ,others then came up who tried  to  
discover some reason for this strange   
behaviour2 and thus1 as an  explanation 
of these habits1 there arose an         
incalculable number of  festivals1      
legends1 and myths4 ,on the other hand  
it was believed that  the farcical      
performances which then perchance began 
to take place  on festival days1        
necessarily formed part of the          
celebrations1 and  they were retained as
 an indispensable part of the           
ritual40--,this is  contemptible        
nonsense1 and no one will take a man    
like ,lobeck seriously  for a moment ,we
 are very differently affected when we  
examine the  notion 8,hellenic10 as     
,winckelmann and ,goethe conceived it1  

and find it  incompatible with that     
element out of which ,dionysian art     
springs--,i  speak of orgiasm4 ,in      
reality ,i do not doubt that ,goethe    
would have  completely excluded any such
 thing from the potentialities of the   
,greek  soul4 ,consequently ,goethe did 
not understand the ,greeks4 ,for it is  
only in the ,dionysian mysteries1 in the
 psychology of the ,dionysian  state1   
that the fundamental fact of the        
,hellenic instinct--its 8will  to       
life0--is expressed4 ,what did the      
,hellene secure himself with these      
mysteries8 ,eternal life1 the eternal   
recurrence of life2 the future  promised
 and hallowed in the past2 the          
triumphant ,yea to life despite  death  
and change2 real life conceived as the  
collective prolongation  of life through
 procreation1 through the mysteries of  
sexuality4  ,to the ,greeks1 the symbol 
of sex was the most venerated of        
symbols1  the really deep significance  
of all the piety of antiquity4 ,all the 

details of the act of procreation1      
pregnancy and birth gave rise to  the   
loftiest and most solemn feelings4 ,in  
the doctrine of mysteries1  pain was    
pronounced holy3 the 8pains of          
childbirth0 sanctify pain in            
general1--all becoming and all growth1  
everything that guarantees the  future  
involves pain4444 ,in order that there  
may be eternal joy in  creating1 in     
order that the will to life may say ,yea
 to itself in all  eternity1 the 8pains 
of childbirth0 must also be eternal4    
,all this is  what the word ,dionysus   
signifies3 ,i know of no higher         
symbolism than  this ,greek symbolism1  
this symbolism of the ,dionysian        
phenomenon4 ,in  it the profoundest     
instinct of life1 the instinct that     
guarantees the  future of life and life 
eternal1 is understood religiously1--the
 road  to life itself1 procreation1 is  
pronounced holy1 444 ,it was only       
,christianity which1 with its           
fundamental resentment against life1    

made  something impure out of sexuality3
 it flung filth at the very basis1  the 
very first condition of our life4       
#e    ,the psychology of orgiasm        
conceived as the feeling of a           
superabundance  of vitality and         
strength1 within the scope of which even
 pain acts  as a stimulus1 gave me the  
key to the concept tragic feeling1      
which has been misunderstood not only by
 ,aristotle1 but also even  more by our 
pessimists4 ,tragedy is so far from     
proving anything in  regard to the      
pessimism of the ,greeks1 as            
,schopenhauer maintains1  that it ought 
rather to be considered as the          
categorical repudiation  and            
condemnation thereof4 ,the saying of    
,yea to life1 including  even its most  
strange and most terrible problems1 the 
will to life  rejoicing over its own    
inexhaustibleness in the sacrifice of   
its  highest types--this is what ,i     
called ,dionysian1 this is what ,i      
divined as the bridge leading to the    

psychology of the tragic poet4  ,not in 
order to escape from terror and pity1   
not to purify one's self  of a dangerous
 passion by discharging it with         
vehemence--this is how  ,aristotle      
understood it--but to be far beyond     
terror and pity and to  be the eternal  
lust of ,becoming itself--that lust     
which also involves  the lust of        
destruction4 ,and with this ,i once more
 come into touch  with the spot from    
which ,i once set out---the 8,birth of  
,tragedy0 was  my first transvaluation  
of all values3 with this ,i again take  
my stand  upon the soil from out of     
which my will and my capacity           
spring--,i1 the  last disciple of the   
philosopher ,dionysus1--,i1 the prophet 
of eternal  recurrence4      ,,the      
,,end4          ,,the ,,hammer          
,,speaketh      8,why so hard60--said   
the diamond once unto the charcoal2 8are
 we then  not next of kin80    8,why so 
soft8 ,o my brethren2 this is my        
question to you4 ,for are ye  not--my   

brothers8    8,why so soft1 so servile  
and yielding8 ,why are your hearts so   
fond of  denial and self-denial8 ,how is
 it that so little fate looketh out from
  your eyes8    8,and if ye will not be 
men of fate and inexorable1 how can ye  
hope one  day to conquer with me8       
8,and if your hardness will not sparkle1
 cut and divide1 how can ye hope  one   
day to create with me8    8,for all     
creators are hard4 ,and it must seem to 
you blessed to stamp  your hand upon    
millenniums as upon wax1--    --,blessed
 to write upon the will of millenniums  
as upon brass1--harder  than brass1     
nobler than brass4--,hard through and   
through is only the  noblest4    ,this  
new table of values1 ,o my brethren1 ,i 
set over your heads3 ,become  hard40    
--8,thus ,spake ,zarathustra10          
,,iii41 #bi4          ,,the ,,antichrist
    ,an ,attempted ,criticism of        
,christianity          ,,preface        
,this book belongs to the very few4     
,maybe not one of them is yet alive2    

unless he be of those who understand my 
,zarathustra4 ,how can ,i  confound     
myself with those who to-day already    
find a hearing8--,only the  day after   
to-morrow belongs to me4 ,some are born 
posthumously4    ,i am only too well    
aware of the conditions under which a   
man  understands me1 and then           
necessarily understands4 ,he must be    
intellectually upright to the point of  
hardness1 in order even to  endure my   
seriousness and my passion4 ,he must be 
used to living on  mountain-tops1--and  
to feeling the wretched gabble of       
politics and  national egotism beneath  
him4 ,he must have become indifferent2  
he  must never inquire whether truth is 
profitable or whether it may  prove     
fatal4444 ,possessing from strength a   
predilection for questions  for which no
 one has enough courage nowadays2 the   
courage for the  forbidden2 his         
predestination must be the labyrinth4   
,the experience  of seven solitudes4    
,new ears for new music4 ,new eyes for  

the most  remote things4 ,a new         
conscience for truths which hitherto    
have  remained dumb4 ,and the will to   
economy on a large scale3 to husband    
his strength and his enthusiasm4444 ,he 
must honour himself1 he must  love      
himself2 he must be absolutely free with
 regard to himself4444  ,very well then6
 ,such men alone are my readers1 my     
proper readers1  my preordained readers3
 of what account are the rest8--the rest
 are  simply--humanity4--,one must be   
superior to humanity in power1 in       
loftiness of soul1--in contempt4        
,,friedrich ,,nietzsche4      #a    ,let
 us look each other in the face4 ,we are
 hyperboreans1--we know  well enough how
 far outside the crowd we stand4 8,thou 
wilt find the  way to the ,hyperboreans 
neither by land nor by water03 ,pindar  
already  knew this much about us4       
,beyond the north1 the ice1 and         
death--our  life1 our happiness4444 ,we 
discovered happiness2 we know the way2  
we  found the way out of thousands of   

years of labyrinth4 ,who else would     
have found it8--,not the modern man1    
surely8--8,i do not know where ,i  am or
 what ,i am to do2 ,i am everything that
 knows not where it is or  what to      
do10--sighs the modern man4 ,we were    
made quite ill by this  modernity1--with
 its indolent peace1 its cowardly       
compromise1 and the  whole of the       
virtuous filth of its ,yea and ,nay4    
,this tolerance and  largeur de cur     
which 8forgives0 everything because it  
8understands0  everything1 is a ,sirocco
 for us4 ,we prefer to live amid ice    
than to  be breathed upon by modern     
virtues and other southerly winds6444   
,we  were brave enough2 we spared       
neither ourselves nor others3 but we    
were very far from knowing whither to   
direct our bravery4 ,we were  becoming  
gloomy2 people called us fatalists4 ,our
 fate--it was the  abundance1 the       
tension and the storing up of power4 ,we
 thirsted for  thunderbolts and great   
deeds2 we kept at the most respectful   

distance  from the joy of the weakling1 
from 8resignation40 444 ,thunder was in 
our air1 that part of nature which we   
are1 became overcast--for we had  no    
direction4 ,the formula of our          
happiness3 a ,yea1 a ,nay1 a straight   
line1 a goal4      #b    ,what is good8 
,all that enhances the feeling of power1
 the ,will to  ,power1 and power itself 
in man4 ,what is bad8--,all that        
proceeds  from weakness4 ,what is       
happiness8--,the feeling that power is  
increasing1--that resistance has been   
overcome4    ,not contentment1 but more 
power2 not peace at any price1 but war2 
not  virtue1 but efficiency#a 7virtue in
 the ,renaissance sense1 virtu1  free   
from all moralic acid74 ,the weak and   
the botched shall perish3  first        
principle of our humanity4 ,and they    
ought even to be helped to  perish4     
,what is more harmful than any          
vice8--,practical sympathy with all the 
botched and the weak--,christianity4    
#c    ,the problem ,i set in this work  

is not what will replace mankind in the 
order of living being6 7--,man is an    
end--72 but1 what type of man  must be  
reared1 must be willed1 as having the   
higher value1 as  being the most worthy 
of life and the surest guarantee of the 
future4    ,this more valuable type has 
appeared often enough already3 but as a 
happy accident1 as an exception1 never  
as willed4 ,he has rather been          
precisely the most feared2 hitherto he  
has been almost the terrible in         
itself2--and from out the very fear he  
provoked there arose the will  to rear  
the type which has how been reared1     
attained3 the domestic  animal1 the     
gregarious animal1 the sick animal      
man1--the ,christian4      #d           
,mankind does not represent a           
development towards a better1 stronger  
or higher type1 in the sense in which   
this is supposed to occur to-day4       
8,progress0 is merely a modern          
idea--that is to say1 a false idea4#b   
,the modern ,european is still far below

 the ,european of the ,renaissance  in  
value4 ,the process of evolution does   
not by any means imply  elevation1      
enhancement and increasing strength4    
,on the other hand isolated and         
individual cases are continually        
succeeding in different places on earth1
 as the outcome of the most  different  
cultures1 and in these a higher type    
certainly manifests  itself3 something  
which by the side of mankind in general1
 represents a  kind of superman4 ,such  
lucky strokes of great success have     
always been  possible and will perhaps  
always be possible4 ,and even whole     
races1  tribes and nations may in       
certain circumstances represent such    
lucky  strokes4      #e    ,we must not 
deck out and adorn ,christianity3 it has
 waged a deadly  war upon this higher   
type of man1 it has set a ban upon all  
the  fundamental instincts of this type1
 and has distilled evil and the  devil  
himself out of these instincts3--the    
strong man as the typical  pariah1 the  

villain4 ,christianity has sided with   
everything weak1 low1  and botched2 it  
has made an ideal out of antagonism     
towards all the  self-preservative      
instincts of strong life3 it has        
corrupted even the  reason of the       
strongest intellects1 by teaching that  
the highest values  of intellectuality  
are sinful1 misleading and full of      
temptations4  ,the most lamentable      
example of this was the corruption of   
,pascal1 who  believed in the perversion
 of his reason through original sin1    
whereas  it had only been perverted by  
his ,christianity4      #f    ,a painful
 and ghastly spectacle has just risen   
before my eyes4 ,i tore  down the       
curtain which concealed mankind's       
corruption4 ,this word in  my mouth is  
at least secure from the suspicion that 
it contains a moral  charge against     
mankind4 ,it is--,i would fain emphasise
 this again--free  from moralic acid3 to
 such an extent is this so1 that ,i am  
most  thoroughly conscious of the       

corruption in question precisely in     
those  quarters in which hitherto people
 have aspired with most determination   
to 8virtue0 and to 8godliness40 ,as you 
have already surmised1 ,i  understand   
corruption in the sense of decadence4   
,what ,i maintain is  this1 that all the
 values upon which mankind builds its   
highest hopes  and desires are decadent 
values4    ,i call an animal1 a species1
 an individual corrupt1 when it loses   
its  instincts1 when it selects and     
prefers that which is detrimental to    
it4 ,a history of the 8higher feelings10
 of 8human ideals0--and it is  not      
impossible that ,i shall have to write  
it--would almost explain why  man is so 
corrupt4 ,life itself1 to my mind1 is   
nothing more nor less  than the instinct
 of growth1 of permanence1 of           
accumulating forces1  of power3 where   
the will to power is lacking1           
degeneration sets in4  ,my contention is
 that all the highest values of mankind 
lack this  will1--that the values of    

decline and of nihilism are exercising  
the  sovereign power under the cover of 
the holiest names4      #g              
,christianity is called the religion of 
pity4--,pity is opposed to  the tonic   
passions which enhance the energy of the
 feeling of life3  its action is        
depressing4 ,a man loses power when he  
pities4 ,by  means of pity the drain on 
strength which suffering itself already 
introduces into the world is multiplied 
a thousandfold4 ,through pity1          
suffering itself becomes infectious2 in 
certain circumstances it may  lead to a 
total loss of life and vital energy1    
which is absurdly  put of proportion to 
the magnitude of the cause 7--the case  
of the  death of the ,nazarene74 ,this  
is the first standpoint2 but there is a 
still more important one4 ,supposing one
 measures pity according to  the value  
of the reactions it usually stimulates1 
its danger to life  appears in a much   
more telling light ,on the whole1 pity  
thwarts the  law of development which is

 the law of selection4 ,it preserves    
that  which is ripe for death1 it fights
 in favour of the disinherited and  the 
condemned of life2 thanks to the        
multitude of abortions of all  kinds    
which it maintains in life1 it lends    
life itself a sombre and  questionable  
aspect4 ,people have dared to call pity 
a virtue 7--in  every noble culture it  
is considered as a weakness--72 people  
went  still further1 they exalted it to 
the virtue1 the root and origin  of all 
virtues1--but1 of course1 what must     
never be forgotten is the  fact that    
this was done from the standpoint of a  
philosophy which  was nihilistic1 and on
 whose shield the device ,the ,denial of
 ,life  was inscribed4 ,schopenhauer was
 right in this respect3 by means of     
pity1 life is denied and made more      
worthy of denial1--pity is  the praxis  
of ,nihilism4 ,i repeat1 this depressing
 and infectious  instinct thwarts those 
instincts which aim at the preservation 
and  enhancement of the value life3 by  

multiplying misery quite as much  as by 
preserving all that is miserable1 it is 
the principal agent in  promoting       
decadence1--pity exhorts people to      
nothing1 to nonentity6  ,but they do not
 say 8nonentity0 they say 8,beyond10 or 
8,god10 or 8the  true life02 or         
,nirvana1 or ,salvation1 or             
,blessedness1 instead4 ,this  innocent  
rhetoric1 which belongs to the realm of 
the religio-moral  idiosyncrasy1        
immediately appears to be very much less
 innocent if  one realises what the     
tendency is which here tries to drape   
itself in  the mantle of sublime        
expressions--the tendency of hostility  
to life4  ,schopenhauer was hostile to  
life3 that is why he elevated pity to a 
virtue4444 ,aristotle1 as you know1     
recognised in pity a morbid and         
dangerous state1 of which it was wise to
 rid one's self from time to  time by a 
purgative3 he regarded tragedy as a     
purgative4 ,for the sake  of the        
instinct of life1 it would certainly    

seem necessary to find some  means of   
lancing any such morbid and dangerous   
accumulation of pity1 as  that which    
possessed ,schopenhauer 7and            
unfortunately the whole of our  literary
 and artistic decadence as well1 from   
,st ,petersburg to ,paris1  from        
,tolstoi to ,wagner71 if only to make it
 burst4444 ,nothing is  more unhealthy  
in the midst of our unhealthy modernity1
 than ,christian  pity4 ,to be doctors  
here1 to be inexorable here1 to wield   
the knife  effectively here1-- all this 
is our business1 all this is our  kind  
of love to our fellows1 this is what    
makes us philosophers1 us               
hyperboreans6--      #h    ,it is       
necessary to state whom we regard as our
 antithesis3--the  theologians1 and all 
those who have the blood of theologians 
in their  veins--the whole of our       
philosophy4444 ,a man must have had his 
very  nose upon this fatality1 or better
 still he must have experienced it  in  
his own soul2 he must almost have       

perished through it1 in order  to be    
unable to treat this matter lightly     
7--the free-spiritedness  of our friends
 the naturalists and physiologists is1  
in my opinion1  a joke1--what they lack 
in these questions is passion1 what they
  lack is having suffered from these    
questions--74 ,this poisoning  extends  
much further than people think3 ,i      
unearthed the 8arrogant0  instinct of   
the theologian1 wherever nowadays people
 feel themselves  idealists1--wherever1 
thanks to superior antecedents1 they    
claim the  right to rise above reality  
and to regard it with suspicion4444     
,like  the priest the idealist has every
 grandiloquent concept in his hand      
7--and not only in his hand671 he wields
 them all with kindly contempt  against 
the 8understanding10 the 8senses10      
8honours10 8decent living10  8science02 
he regards such things as beneath him1  
as detrimental and  seductive forces1   
upon the face of which1 8the ,spirit0   
moves in pure  absoluteness3--as if     

humility1 chastity1 poverty1 in a word  
holiness1  had not done incalculably    
more harm to life hitherto1 than any    
sort of  horror and vice4444 ,pure      
spirit is pure falsehood4444 ,as long as
 the  priest1 the professional denier1  
calumniator and poisoner of life1 is    
considered as the highest kind of man1  
there can be no answer to the  question1
 what is truth8 ,truth has already been 
turned topsy-turvy1  when the conscious 
advocate of nonentity and of denial     
passes as the  representative of        
8truth40      #i    ,it is upon this    
theological instinct that ,i wage war4  
,i find traces  of it everywhere4       
,whoever has the blood of theologians in
 his veins1  stands from the start in a 
false and dishonest position to all     
things4  ,the pathos which grows out of 
this state1 is called ,faith3 that is   
to say1 to shut one's eyes once and for 
all1 in order not to suffer  at the     
sight of incurable falsity4 ,people     
convert this faulty view of  all things 

into a moral1 a virtue1 a thing of      
holiness4 ,they endow  their distorted  
vision with a good conscience1--they    
claim that no  other point of view is   
any longer of value1 once theirs has    
been  made sacrosanct with the names    
8,god10 8,salvation10 8,eternity40 ,i   
unearthed the instinct of the theologian
 everywhere3 it is the most  universal1 
and actually the most subterranean form 
of falsity on earth4  ,that which a     
theologian considers true1 must of      
necessity be false3  this furnishes     
almost the criterion of truth4 ,it is   
his most profound  self-preservative    
instinct which forbids reality ever to  
attain to  honour in any way1 or even to
 raise its voice4 ,whithersoever the    
influence of the theologian extends1    
valuations are topsy-turvy1  and the    
concepts 8true0 and 8false0 have        
necessarily changed places3  that which 
is most deleterious to life1 is here    
called 8true10 that  which enhances it1 
elevates it1 says ,yea to it1 justifies 

it and  renders it triumphant1 is called
 8false40 444 ,if it should happen that 
theologians1 via the 8conscience0 either
 of princes or of the people1  stretch  
out their hand for power1 let us not be 
in any doubt as to  what results        
therefrom each time1 namely3--the will  
to the end1 the  nihilistic will to     
power4444      #aj    ,among ,germans ,i
 am immediately understood when ,i say1 
that philosophy  is ruined by the blood 
of theologians4 ,the ,protestant        
minister is  the grand-father of ,german
 philosophy1 ,protestantism itself is   
the  latter's peccatum originale4       
,definition of ,protestantism3 the      
partial paralysis of ,christianity--and 
of reason4444 ,one needs only to        
pronounce the words 8,tbingen           
,seminary10 in order to understand what 
,german philosophy really is at bottom1 
theology in disguise4444 ,the  ,swabians
 are the best liars in ,germany1 they   
lie innocently4444 ,whence  came all the
 rejoicing with which the appearance of 

,kant was greeted  by the scholastic    
world of ,germany1 three-quarters of    
which consist of  clergymen's and       
schoolmasters' sons8 ,whence came the   
,german conviction1  which finds an echo
 even now1 that ,kant inaugurated a     
change for the  better8 ,the            
theologian's instinct in the ,german    
scholar divined what  had once again    
been made possible4444 ,a back-staircase
 leading into  the old ideal was        
discovered1 the concept 8true world10   
the concept  morality as the essence of 
the world 7--those two most vicious     
errors  that have ever existed671 were1 
thanks to a subtle and wily scepticism1 
once again1 if not demonstrable1 at     
least no longer refutable4444  ,reason1 
the prerogative of reason1 does not     
extend so far4444 ,out of  reality they 
had made 8appearance02 and an absolutely
 false world--that  of being--had been  
declared to be reality4 ,kant's success 
is merely a  theologian's success4 ,like
 ,luther1 and like ,leibniz1 ,kant was  

one brake  the more upon the already    
squeaky wheel of ,german uprightness4   
#aa    ,one word more against ,kant as a
 moralist4 ,a virtue must be our        
invention1 our most personal defence and
 need3 in every other sense it  is      
merely a danger4 ,that which does not   
constitute a condition of our  life1 is 
merely harmful to it3 to possess a      
virtue merely because one  happens to   
respect the concept 8virtue10 as ,kant  
would have us do1 is  pernicious4       
8,virtue10 8,duty10 8,goodness in       
itself10 goodness stamped  with the     
character of impersonality and universal
 validity--these  things are mere mental
 hallucinations1 in which decline the   
final  devitalisation of life and       
,knigsbergian ,chinadom find expression4
 ,the  most fundamental laws of         
preservation and growth1 demand         
precisely the  reverse1 namely3--that   
each should discover his own virtue1 his
 own  ,categorical ,imperative4 ,a      
nation goes to the dogs when it         

confounds  its concept of duty with the 
general concept of duty4 ,nothing is    
more  profoundly1 more thoroughly       
pernicious1 than every impersonal       
feeling  of duty1 than every sacrifice  
to the ,moloch of abstraction4--,fancy  
no  one's having thought ,kant's        
,categorical ,imperative dangerous to   
life6  444 ,the instinct of the         
theologist alone took it under its      
wing6--,an  action stimulated by the    
instinct of life1 is proved to be a     
proper  action by the happiness that    
accompanies it3 and that nihilist with  
the  bowels of a ,christian dogmatist   
regarded happiness as an objection  4444
 ,what is there that destroys a man more
 speedily than to work1  think1 feel1 as
 an automaton of 8duty10 without        
internal promptings1  without a profound
 personal predilection1 without joy8    
,this is the  recipe par excellence of  
decadence and even of idiocy4444 ,kant  
became  an idiot--,and he was the       
contemporary of ,goethe6 ,this fatal    

spider was  regarded as the ,german     
philosopher1--is still regarded as      
such6444 ,i  refrain from saying what ,i
 think of the ,germans4444 ,did ,kant   
not see in  the ,french ,revolution the 
transition of the ,state from the       
inorganic to  the organic form8 ,did he 
not ask himself whether there was a     
single  event on record which could be  
explained otherwise than as a moral     
faculty of mankind2 so that by means of 
it1 8mankind's tendency towards  good10 
might be proved once and for all8       
,kant's reply3 8that is the             
,revolution40 ,instinct at fault in     
anything and everything1 hostility to   
nature as an instinct1 ,german decadence
 made into philosophy--that is  ,kant6  
#ab    ,except for a few sceptics1 the  
respectable type in the history of      
philosophy1 the rest do not know the    
very first pre-requisite of             
intellectual uprightness4 ,they all     
behave like females1 do these great     
enthusiasts and animal prodigies1--they 

regard 8beautiful feelings0  themselves 
as arguments1 the 8heaving breast0 as   
the bellows of  divinity1 and conviction
 as the criterion of truth4 ,in the end1
  even ,kant1 with 8,teutonic0          
innocence1 tried to dress this lack of  
intellectual conscience up in a         
scientific garb by means of the concept 
8practical reason40 ,he deliberately    
invented a kind of reason which  at     
times would allow one to dispense with  
reason1 that is to say when  8morality10
 when the sublime command 8thou shalt10 
makes itself heard4  ,when one remembers
 that in almost all nations the         
philosopher is only a  further          
development of the priestly type1 this  
heirloom of priesthood1  this fraud     
towards one's self1 no longer surprises 
one4 ,when a man  has a holy life-task1 
as for instance to improve1 save1 or    
deliver  mankind1 when a man bears ,god 
in his breast1 and is the mouthpiece of 
imperatives from another world1--with   
such a mission he stands beyond  the    

pale of all merely reasonable           
valuations4 ,he is even sanctified by   
such a taste1 and is already the type of
 a higher order6 ,what does a  priest   
care about science6 ,he stands too high 
for that6--,and until now  the priest   
has ruled6--,he it was who determined   
the concept 8true  and false40      #ac 
,do not let us undervalue the fact that 
we ourselves1 we free spirits1  are     
already a 8transvaluation of all        
values10 an incarnate declaration  of   
war against all the old concepts 8true0 
and 8untrue0 and of a  triumph over     
them4 ,the most valuable standpoints are
 always the last  to be found3 but the  
most valuable standpoints are the       
methods4 ,,ah the  methods and the first
 principles of our modern scientific    
procedure1  had for years to encounter  
the profoundest contempt3 association   
with them meant exclusion from the      
society of decent people--one was       
regarded as an 8enemy of ,god10 as a    
scoffer at truth and as 8one            

possessed40 ,with one's scientific      
nature1 one belonged to the ,chandala4  
,we have had the whole feeling of       
mankind against us2 hitherto their      
notion of that which ought to be truth1 
of that which ought to serve  the       
purpose of truth3 every 8thou shalt10   
has been directed against  us4444 ,our  
objects1 our practices1 our calm1       
cautious distrustful  manner--everything
 about us seemed to them absolutely     
despicable and  beneath contempt ,after 
all1 it might be asked with some        
justice1  whether the thing which kept  
mankind blindfold so long1 were not an  
sthetic taste3 what they demanded of    
truth was a picturesque effect1  and    
from the man of science what they       
expected was that he should make  a     
forcible appeal to their senses4 ,it was
 our modesty which ran  counter to their
 taste so long 444 ,and oh6 how well    
they guessed this1  did these divine    
turkey-cocks6--      #ad    ,we have    
altered our standpoint4 ,in every       

respect we have become  more modest ,we 
no longer derive man from the 8spirit10 
and from the  8godhead02 we have thrust 
him back among the beasts4 ,we regard   
him as  the strongest animal1 because he
 is the craftiest3 one of the results   
thereof is his intellectuality4 ,on the 
other hand we guard against the  vain   
pretension1 which even here would fain  
assert itself3 that man is  the great   
arrire pense of organic evolution6 ,he  
is by no means the  crown of creation1  
beside him1 every other creature stands 
at the same  stage of perfection4444    
,and even in asserting this we go a     
little too  far2 for1 relatively        
speaking1 man is the most botched and   
diseased  of animals1 and he has        
wandered furthest from his instincts4   
,be all  this as it may1 he is certainly
 the most interesting6 ,as regards      
animals1 ,descartes was the first1 with 
really admirable daring1 to  venture the
 thought that the beast was machina1 and
 the whole of  our physiology is        

endeavouring to prove this proposition4 
,moreover1  logically we do not set man 
apart1 as ,descartes did3 the extent  to
 which man is understood to-day goes    
only so far as he has been  understood  
mechanistically4 ,formerly man was given
 8free will10 as his  dowry from a      
higher sphere2 nowadays we have robbed  
him even of will1  in view of the fact  
that no such faculty is any longer      
known4 ,the only  purpose served by the 
old word 8will10 is to designate a      
result1 a  sort of individual reaction  
which necessarily follows upon a host of
  partly discordant and partly          
harmonious stimuli3--the will no longer 
8effects0 or 8moves0 anything4444       
,formerly people thought that man's     
consciousness1 his 8spirit10 was a proof
 of his lofty origin1 of his  divinity4 
,with the idea of perfecting man1 he was
 conjured to draw his  senses inside    
himself1 after the manner of the        
tortoise1 to cut off all  relations with
 terrestrial things1 and to divest      

himself of his mortal  shell4 ,then the 
most important thing about him1 the     
8pure spirit10  would remain over4 ,even
 concerning these things we have        
improved our  standpoint ,consciousness1
 8spirit10 now seems to us rather a     
symptom of  relative imperfection in the
 organism1 as an experiment1 a groping1 
a  misapprehension1 an affliction which 
absorbs an unnecessary quantity of      
nervous energy4 ,we deny that anything  
can be done perfectly so long as  it is 
done consciously4 8,pure spirit0 is a   
piece of 8pure stupidity03  if we       
discount the nervous system1 the senses 
and the 8mortal shell10  we have        
miscalculated--that it is all6444       
#ae    ,in ,christianity neither        
morality nor religion comes in touch at 
all  with reality4 ,nothing but         
imaginary causes 7,god1 the soul1 the   
ego1  spirit1 free will--or even        
non-free will72 nothing but imaginary   
effects 7sin1 salvation1 grace1         
punishment1 forgiveness of sins74       

,imaginary beings are supposed to have  
intercourse 7,god1 spirits1  souls72    
imaginary ,natural ,history             
7anthropocentric3 total lack of  the    
notion 8natural causes072 an imaginary  
psychology 7nothing  but                
misunderstandings of self1              
interpretations of pleasant or          
unpleasant general feelings2 for        
instance of the states of the nervus    
sympathicus1 with the help of the sign  
language of a religio-moral             
idiosyncrasy1--repentance1 pangs of     
conscience1 the temptation of  the      
devil1 the presence of ,god72 an        
imaginary teleology 7the ,kingdom  of   
,god1 the ,last ,judgment1 ,everlasting 
,life74--,this purely fictitious  world 
distinguishes itself very unfavourably  
from the world of  dreams3 the latter   
reflects reality1 whereas the former    
falsifies1  depreciates and denies it   
,once the concept 8nature0 was taken to 
mean  the opposite of the concept ,god1 
the word 8natural0 had to acquire the   

meaning of abominable1--the whole of    
that fictitious world takes its  root in
 the hatred of nature 7--reality6--71 it
 is the expression of  profound         
discomfiture in the presence of         
reality4444 ,but this explains          
everything4 ,what is the only kind of   
man who has reasons for wriggling  out  
of reality by lies8 ,the man who suffers
 from reality4 ,but in  order to suffer 
from reality one must be a bungled      
portion of it4 ,the  preponderance of   
pain over pleasure is the cause of that 
fictitious  morality and religion3 but  
any such preponderance furnishes the    
formula  for decadence4      #af    ,a  
criticism of the ,christian concept of  
,god inevitably leads to the  same      
conclusion4--,a nation that still       
believes in itself1 also has  its own   
,god4 ,in him it honours the conditions 
which enable it to  remain              
uppermost1--that is to say1 its virtues4
 ,it projects its joy  over itself1 its 
feeling of power1 into a being1 to whom 

it can be  thankful for such things4 ,he
 who is rich1 will give of his riches3 a
  proud people requires a ,god1 unto    
whom it can sacrifice things4444        
,religion1 when restricted to these     
principles1 is a form of gratitude4  ,a 
man is grateful for his own existence2  
for this he must have a  ,god4--,such a 
,god must be able to benefit and to     
injure him1 he must be  able to act the 
friend and the foe4 ,he must be esteemed
 for his good  as well as for his evil  
qualities4 ,the monstrous castration of 
a ,god  by making him a ,god only of    
goodness1 would lie beyond the pale of  
the  desires of such a community4 ,the  
evil ,god is just as urgently needed  as
 the good ,god3 for a people in such a  
form of society certainly does  not owe 
its existence to toleration and         
humaneness4444 ,what would be  the good 
of a ,god who knew nothing of anger1    
revenge1 envy1 scorn1  craft1 and       
violence8--who had perhaps never        
experienced the rapturous  ardeurs of   

victory and of annihilation8 ,no one    
would understand such  a ,god3 why      
should one possess him8--,of course1    
when a people is on  the road to ruin2  
when it feels its belief in a future1   
its hope of  freedom vanishing for ever2
 when it becomes conscious of submission
  as the most useful quality1 and of the
 virtues of the submissive as           
self-preservative measures1 then its    
,god must also modify himself4  ,he then
 becomes a tremulous and unassuming     
sneak2 he counsels 8peace  of the soul10
 the cessation of all hatred1 leniency  
and 8love0 even  towards friend and foe4
 ,he is for ever moralising1 he crawls  
into  the heart of every private virtue1
 becomes a ,god for everybody1 he       
retires from active service and becomes 
a ,cosmopolitan4444 ,formerly  he       
represented a people1 the strength of a 
people1 everything  aggressive and      
desirous of power lying concealed in the
 heart of a  nation3 now he is merely   
the good ,god4444 ,in very truth ,gods  

have no  other alternative1 they are    
either the ,will to ,power--in which    
case  they are always the ,gods of whole
 nations1--or1 on the other hand1 the   
incapacity for power--in which case they
 necessarily become good4      #ag      
,wherever the ,will to ,power1 no matter
 in what form1 begins to decline1  a    
physiological retrogression1 decadence1 
always supervenes4 ,the  godhead of     
decadence1 shorn of its masculine       
virtues and passions  is perforce       
converted into the ,god of the          
physiologically degraded1  of the weak4 
,of course they do not call themselves  
the weak1 they  call themselves 8the    
good40 444 ,no hint will be necessary to
 help you  to understand at what moment 
in history the dualistic fiction of a   
good and an evil ,god first became      
possible4 ,with the same instinct by    
which the subjugated reduce their ,god  
to 8,goodness in itself10 they  also    
cancel the good qualities from their    
conqueror's ,god2 they avenge           

themselves on their masters by          
diabolising the latter's ,god4--,the    
good  ,god and the devil as well3--both 
the abortions of decadence4--,how  is it
 possible that we are still so indulgent
 towards the simplicity  of ,christian  
theologians to-day1 as to declare with  
them that the  evolution of the concept 
,god1 from the 8,god of ,israel10 the   
,god of  a people1 to the ,christian    
,god1 the quintessence of all goodness1 
marks a step forward8--,but even ,renan 
does this4 ,as if ,renan had  a right to
 simplicity6 ,why the very contrary     
stares one in the face4  ,when the      
pre-requisites of ascending life1 when  
everything strong1  plucky1 masterful   
and proud has been eliminated from the  
concept  of ,god1 and step by step he   
has sunk down to the symbol of a staff  
for the weary1 of a last straw for all  
those who are drowning2 when  he becomes
 the pauper's ,god1 the sinner's ,god1  
the sick man's ,god  par excellence1 and
 the attribute 8,saviour10 8,redeemer10 

remains  over as the one essential      
attribute of divinity3 what does such a 
metamorphosis1 such an abasement of the 
godhead imply8--,undoubtedly1  8the     
kingdom of ,god0 has thus become larger4
 ,formerly all he had was  his people1  
his 8chosen0 people4 ,since then he has 
gone travelling  over foreign lands1    
just as his people have done2 since then
 he has  never rested anywhere3 until   
one day he felt at home everywhere1 the 
,great ,cosmopolitan1--until he got the 
8greatest number10 and half the  world  
on his side4 ,but the ,god of the       
8greatest number10 the democrat  among  
gods1 did not become a proud heathen god
 notwithstanding3 he  remained a ,jew1  
he remained the ,god of the back        
streets1 the ,god of  all dark corners  
and hovels1 of all the unwholesome      
quarters of the  world6444 ,his         
universal empire is now as ever a       
netherworld empire1  an infirmary1 a    
subterranean empire1 a ghetto-empire4444
 ,and he  himself is so pale1 so weak1  

so decadent 444 ,even the palest of the 
pale were able to master him--our       
friends the metaphysicians1 those       
albinos of thought4 ,they spun their    
webs around him so long that  ultimately
 he was hypnotised by their movements   
and himself became a  spider1 a         
metaphysician4 ,thenceforward he once   
more began spinning the  world out of   
his inner being--sub specie             
,spinoz1--thenceforward  he transfigured
 himself into something ever thinner and
 ever more  anmic1 became 8ideal10      
became 8pure spirit10 became 8absotutum0
 and  8thing-in-itself40 444 ,the       
decline and fall of a god3 ,god became  
the  8thing-in-itself40      #ah    ,the
 ,christian concept of ,god--,god as the
 deity of the sick1 ,god as a  spider1  
,god as spirit--is one of the most      
corrupt concepts of ,god that  has ever 
been attained on earth4 ,maybe it       
represents the low-water  mark in the   
evolutionary ebb of the godlike type    
,god degenerated into  the contradiction

 of life1 instead of being its          
transfiguration and  eternal ,yea6 ,with
 ,god war is declared on life1 nature1  
and the will to  life6 ,god is the      
formula for every calumny of this world 
and for every  lie concerning a beyond6 
,in ,god1 nonentity is deified1 and the 
will to  nonentity is declared holy6    
#ai    ,the fact that the strong races  
of ,northern ,europe did not repudiate  
the ,christian ,god1 certainly does not 
do any credit to their religious  power1
 not to speak of their taste ,they ought
 to have been able  successfully to cope
 with such a morbid and decrepit        
offshoot of  decadence4 ,and a curse    
lies on their heads2 because they were  
unable to  cope with him3 they made     
illness1 decrepitude and contradiction a
 part  of all their instincts1--since   
then they have not created any other    
,god6 ,two thousand years have passed   
and not a single new ,god6 ,but still   
there exists1 and as if by right1--like 
an ultimum and maximum of  god-creating 

power1--the creator spiritus in man1    
this miserable ,god  of ,christian      
monotono-theism6 ,this hybrid creature  
of decay1 nonentity1  concept and       
contradiction1 in which all the         
instincts of decadence1 all  the        
cowardices and languors of the soul find
 their sanction6----      #bj    ,with  
my condemnation of ,christianity ,i     
should not like to have done  an        
injustice to a religion which is related
 to it and the number of  whose         
followers is even greater2 ,i refer to  
,buddhism4 ,as nihilistic  religions1   
they are akin1--they are religions of   
decadence1--while  each is separated    
from the other in the most extraordinary
 fashion4  ,for being able to compare   
them at all1 the critic of ,christianity
 is  profoundly grateful to ,indian     
scholars4--,buddhism is a hundred times 
more realistic than ,christianity1--it  
is part of its constitutional  heritage 
to be able to face problems objectively 
and coolly1 it is  the outcome of       

centuries of lasting philosophical      
activity4 ,the  concept 8,god0 was      
already exploded when it appeared4      
,buddhism is  the only really positive  
religion to be found in history1 even   
in its epistemology 7which is strict    
phenomenalism7--it no longer  speaks of 
the 8struggle with sin0 but fully       
recognising the true  nature of reality 
it speaks of the 8struggle with pain40  
,it already  has--and this distinguishes
 it fundamentally from                  
,christianity1--the  self-deception of  
moral concepts beneath it1--to use my   
own  phraseology1 it stands ,beyond     
,good and ,evil4 ,the two physiological 
facts upon which it rests and upon which
 it bestows its attention  are3 in the  
first place excessive irritability of   
feeling1 which  manifests itself as a   
refined susceptibility to pain1 and also
 as  super-spiritualisation1 an         
all-too-lengthy sojourn amid concepts   
and  logical procedures1 under the      
influence of which the personal instinct

  has suffered in favour of the         
8impersonal40 7--,both of these states  
will be known to a few of my readers1   
the objective ones1 who1 like  myself1  
will know them from experience47 ,thanks
 to these physiological  conditions1 a  
state of depression set in1 which       
,buddha sought to combat  by means of   
hygiene4 ,against it1 he prescribes life
 in the open1 a life  of travel2        
moderation and careful choice in food2  
caution in regard to  all intoxicating  
liquor1 as also in regard to all the    
passions which  tend to create bile and 
to heat the blood2 and he deprecates    
care  either on one's own or on other   
people's account ,he recommends ideas   
that bring one either peace or good     
cheer1--he invents means whereby  the   
habit of contrary ideas may be lost ,he 
understands goodness--being  good--as   
promoting health4 ,prayer is out of the 
question1 as is  also asceticism2 there 
is neither a ,categorical ,imperative   
nor any  discipline whatsoever1 even    

within the walls of a monastery 7--it is
  always possible to leave it if one    
wants to74 ,all these things would  have
 been only a means of accentuating the  
excessive irritability  already referred
 to4 ,precisely on this account he does 
not exhort his  followers to wage war   
upon those who do not share their views2
 nothing  is more abhorred in his       
doctrine than the feeling of revenge1 of
  aversion1 and of resentment 7--8not   
through hostility doth hostility  end03 
the touching refrain of the whole of    
,buddhism44447 ,and in this  he was     
right2 for it is precisely these        
passions which are thoroughly  unhealthy
 in view of the principal dietetic      
object ,the mental fatigue  which he    
finds already existent and which        
expresses itself in  excessive          
8objectivity0 7i4e41 the enfeeblement of
 the individual's  interest--loss of    
ballast and of 8egoism071 he combats by 
leading  the spiritual interests as well
 imperatively back to the individual    

,in ,buddha's doctrine egoism is a duty3
 the thing which is above all           
necessary1 i4e41 8how canst thou be rid 
of suffering0 regulates  and defines the
 whole of the spiritual diet 7--let     
anyone but think  of that ,athenian who 
also declared war upon pure             
8scientificality10  ,socrates1 who made 
a morality out of personal egoism even  
in the realm  of problems74      #ba    
,the pre-requisites for ,buddhism are a 
very mild climate1 great  gentleness and
 liberality in the customs of a people  
and no  militarism4 ,the movement must  
also originate among the higher and     
even learned classes4 ,cheerfulness1    
peace and absence of desire1 are  the   
highest of inspirations1 and they are   
realised4 ,buddhism is not  a religion  
in which perfection is merely aspired   
to3 perfection is  the normal case4 ,in 
,christianity all the instincts of the  
subjugated  and oppressed come to the   
fore3 it is the lowest classes who seek 
their salvation in this religion4 ,here 

the pastime1 the manner of  killing time
 is to practise the casuistry of sin1   
self-criticism1 and  conscience         
inquisition4 ,here the ecstasy in the   
presence of a powerful  being1 called   
8god10 is constantly maintained by means
 of prayer2  while the highest thing is 
regarded as unattainable1 as a gift1 as 
an  act of 8grace0 ,here plain dealing  
is also entirely lacking3 concealment   
and the darkened room are ,christian4   
,here the body is despised1 hygiene  is 
repudiated as sensual2 the church       
repudiates even cleanliness 7--the      
first ,christian measure after the      
banishment of the ,moors was the        
closing of the public baths1 of which   
,cordova alone possessed #bgj74  ,a     
certain spirit of cruelty towards one's 
self and others is also  ,christian3    
hatred of all those who do not share    
one's views2 the will  to persecute     
,sombre and exciting ideas are in the   
foreground2 the most  coveted states and
 those which are endowed with the finest

 names1 are  really epileptic in their  
nature2 diet is selected in such a way  
as  to favour morbid symptoms and to    
over-excite the nerves4 ,christian1     
too1 is the mortal hatred of the earth's
 rulers1--the 8noble10--and  at the same
 time a sort of concealed and secret    
competition with them  7the subjugated  
leave the 8body0 to their master--all   
they want is  the 8soul074 ,christian is
 the hatred of the intellect1 of pride1 
of  courage1 freedom1 intellectual      
libertinage2 ,christian is the hatred   
of the senses1 of the joys of the       
senses1 of joy in general4      #bb     
,when ,christianity departed from its   
native soil1 which consisted of the     
lowest classes1 the submerged masses of 
the ancient world1 and set  forth in    
quest of power among barbaric nations1  
it no longer met with  exhausted men but
 inwardly savage and self-lacerating    
men--the strong  but bungled men4 ,here1
 dissatisfaction with one's self1       
suffering  through one's self1 is not as

 in the case of ,buddhism1 excessive    
irritability and susceptibility to pain1
 but rather1 conversely1 it  is an      
inordinate desire for inflicting pain1  
for a discharge of the  inner tension in
 hostile deeds and ideas4 ,christianity 
was in need of  barbaric ideas and      
values1 in order to be able to master   
barbarians3  such are for instance1 the 
sacrifice of the first-born1 the        
drinking  of blood at communion1 the    
contempt of the intellect and of        
culture2  torture in all its forms1     
sensual and non-sensual2 the great pomp 
of  the cult ,buddhism is a religion for
 senile men1 for races which  have      
become kind1 gentle1 and over-spiritual1
 and which feel pain too  easily        
7--,europe is not nearly ripe for it    
yet--72 it calls them back  to peace and
 cheerfulness1 to a regimen for the     
intellect1 to a certain  hardening of   
the body4 ,christianity aims at         
mastering beasts of prey2  its expedient
 is to make them ill1--to render feeble 

is the ,christian  recipe for taming1   
for 8civilisation40 ,buddhism is a      
religion for the  close and exhaustion  
of civilisation2 ,christianity does not 
even find  civilisation at hand when it 
appears1 in certain circumstances it    
lays  the foundation of civilisation4   
#bc    ,buddhism1 ,i repeat1 is a       
hundred times colder1 more truthful1    
more objective4 ,it no longer requires  
to justify pain and its  susceptibility 
to suffering by the interpretation of   
sin1--it simply  says what it thinks1   
8,i suffer40 ,to the barbarian1 on the  
other hand1  suffering in itself is not 
a respectable thing3 in order to        
acknowledge  to himself that he suffers1
 what he requires1 in the first place1  
is  an explanation 7his instinct directs
 him more readily to deny his           
suffering1 or to endure it in silence74 
,in his case1 the word 8devil0  was a   
blessing3 man had an almighty and       
terrible enemy1--he had no  reason to be
 ashamed of suffering at the hands of   

such an enemy4--    ,at bottom there are
 in ,christianity one or two subtleties 
which belong  to the ,orient ,in the    
first place it knows that it is a matter
 of  indifference whether a thing be    
true or not2 but that it is of the      
highest importance that it should be    
believed to be true4 ,truth and  the    
belief that something is true3 two      
totally separate worlds of  interest1   
almost opposite worlds1 the road to the 
one and the road to  the other lie      
absolutely apart ,to be initiated into  
this fact almost  constitutes one a sage
 in the ,orient3 the ,brahmins          
understood it thus1  so did ,plato1 and 
so does every disciple of esoteric      
wisdom4 ,if for  example it give anyone 
pleasure to believe himself delivered   
from sin1  it is not a necessary        
prerequisite thereto that he should be  
sinful1  but only that he should feel   
sinful4 ,if1 however1 faith is above    
all necessary1 then reason1 knowledge1  
and scientific research must be  brought

 into evil repute3 the road to truth    
becomes the forbidden  road4--,strong   
hope is a much greater stimulant of life
 than any  single realised joy could be4
 ,sufferers must be sustained by a hope 
which no actuality can contradict1--and 
which cannot ever be realised3  the hope
 of another world4 7,precisely on       
account of this power that  hope has of 
making the unhappy linger on1 the       
,greeks regarded it as  the evil of     
evils1 as the most mischievous evil3 it 
remained behind  in ,pandora's box47 ,in
 order that love may be possible1 ,god  
must be a  person4 ,in order that the   
lowest instincts may also make their    
voices  heard ,god must be young4 ,for  
the ardour of the women a beautiful     
saint1  and for the ardour of the men a 
,virgin ,mary has to be pressed into the
  foreground4 ,all this on condition    
that ,christianity wishes to rule  over 
a certain soil1 on which ,aphrodisiac or
 ,adonis cults had already  determined  
the notion of a cult4 ,to insist upon   

chastity only  intensifies the vehemence
 and profundity of the religious        
instinct--it  makes the cult warmer1    
more enthusiastic1 more soulful4--,love 
is the  state in which man sees things  
most widely different from what they    
are4 ,the force of illusion reaches its 
zenith here1 as likewise the  sweetening
 and transfiguring power4 ,when a man is
 in love he endures  more than at other 
times2 he submits to everything4 ,the   
thing was to  discover a religion in    
which it was possible to love3 by this  
means  the worst in life is overcome--it
 is no longer even seen4--,so much  for 
three ,christian virtues ,faith1 ,hope1 
and ,charity3 ,i call them the  three   
,christian precautionary                
measures4--,buddhism is too full of aged
  wisdom1 too positivistic to be shrewd 
in this way4      #bd    ,here ,i only  
touch upon the problem of the origin of 
,christianity4  ,the first principle of 
its solution reads3 ,christianity can be
  understood only in relation to the    

soil out of which it grew1--it is  not a
 counter-movement against the ,jewish   
instinct1 it is the rational  outcome of
 the latter1 one step further in its    
appalling logic4 ,in  the formula of the
 ,saviour3 8for ,salvation is of the    
,jews40--,the  second principle is3 the 
psychological type of the ,galilean is  
still  recognisable1 but it was only in 
a state of utter degeneration 7which  is
 at once a distortion and an overloading
 with foreign features7 that  he was    
able to serve the purpose for which he  
has been used1--namely1  as the type of 
a ,redeemer of mankind4    ,the ,jews   
are the most remarkable people in the   
history of the world1  because when they
 were confronted with the question of   
,being or  non-,being1 with simply      
uncanny deliberateness1 they preferred  
,being  at any price3 this price was the
 fundamental falsification of all       
,nature1 all the naturalness and all the
 reality1 of the inner quite  as much as
 of the outer world4 ,they hedged       

themselves in behind all  those         
conditions under which hitherto a people
 has been able to live1  has been       
allowed to live2 of themselves they     
created an idea which was  the reverse  
of natural conditions1--each in turn1   
they twisted first  religion1 then the  
cult1 then morality1 history and        
psychology1 about  in a manner so       
perfectly hopeless that they were made  
to contradict  their natural value4 ,we 
meet with the same phenomena again1 and 
exaggerated to an incalculable degree1  
although only as a copy3--the           
,christian ,church as compared with the 
8chosen people10 lacks all  claim to    
originality4 ,precisely on this account 
the ,jews are the most  fatal people in 
the history of the world3 their ultimate
 influence  has falsified mankind to    
such an extent1 that even to this day   
the  ,christian can be anti-,semitic in 
spirit1 without comprehending that he   
himself is the final consequence of     
,judaism4    ,it was in my 8,genealogy  

of ,morals0 that ,i first gave a        
psychological exposition of the idea of 
the antithesis noble and                
resentment-morality1 the latter having  
arisen out of an attitude  of negation  
to the former3 but this is              
,judo-,christian morality  heart and    
soul4 ,in order to be able to say ,nay  
to everything that  represents the      
ascending movement of life1 prosperity1 
power1  beauty1 and self-affirmation on 
earth1 the instinct of resentment1      
become genius1 bad to invent another    
world1 from the standpoint  of which    
that ,yea-saying to life appeared as the
 most evil and  most abominable thing4  
,from the psychological standpoint the  
,jewish  people are possessed of the    
toughest vitality4 ,transplanted amid   
impossible conditions1 with profound    
self-preservative intelligence1  it     
voluntarily took the side of all the    
instincts of decadence1--not  as though 
dominated by them1 but because it       
detected a power in them  by means of   

which it could assert itself against    
8the world40 ,the  ,jews are the        
opposite of all decadents3 they have    
been forced to  represent them to the   
point of illusion1 and with a non plus  
ultra of  histrionic genius1 they have  
known how to set themselves at the head 
of all decadent movements 7,st ,paul and
 ,christianity for instance71 in  order 
to create something from them which is  
stronger than every party  saying ,yea  
to life4 ,for the category of men which 
aspires to power in  ,judaism and       
,christianity1--that is to say1 for the 
sacerdotal class1  decadence is but a   
means2 this category of men has a vital 
interest  in making men sick1 and in    
turning the notions 8good0 and 8bad10   
8true0  and 8false10 upside down in a   
manner which is not only dangerous to   
life1 but also slanders it4      #be    
,the history of ,israel is invaluable as
 the typical history of every           
denaturalization of natural values3 let 
me point to five facts  which relate    

thereto4 ,originally1 and above all in  
the period of  the kings1 even ,israel's
 attitude to all things was the right   
one  --that is to say1 the natural one4 
,its ,jehovah was the expression of  its
 consciousness of power1 of its joy over
 itself1 of its hope for  itself3       
victory and salvation were expected from
 him1 through him it  was confident that
 ,nature would give what a people       
requires--above  all rain4 ,jehovah is  
the ,god of ,israel1 and consequently   
the ,god  of justice3 this is the       
reasoning of every people which is in   
the  position of power1 and which has a 
good conscience in that position4 ,in   
the solemn cult both sides of this      
self-affirmation of a people find       
expression3 it is grateful for the great
 strokes of fate by means of  which it  
became uppermost2 it is grateful for the
 regularity in the  succession of the   
seasons and for all good fortune in the 
rearing of  cattle and in the tilling of
 the soil4--,this state of affairs      

remained  the ideal for some            
considerable time1 even after it had    
been swept away  in a deplorable manner 
by anarchy from within and the          
,assyrians from  without ,but the people
 still retained1 as their highest       
desideratum1  that vision of a king who 
was a good soldier and a severe judge2  
and he who retained it most of all was  
that typical prophet 7--that  is to say1
 critic and satirist of the age71       
,isaiah4--,but all hopes  remained      
unrealised4 ,the old ,god was no longer 
able to do what he had  done formerly4  
,he ought to have been dropped4 ,what   
happened8 ,the idea  of him was         
changed1--the idea of him was           
denaturalised3 this was the  price they 
paid for retaining him4--,jehovah1 the  
,god of 8,justice10--is  no longer one  
with ,israel1 no longer the expression  
of a people's  sense of dignity3 he is  
only a god on certain conditions4444    
,the  idea of him becomes a weapon in   
the hands of priestly agitators who     

henceforth interpret all happiness as a 
reward1 all unhappiness as a  punishment
 for disobedience to ,god1 for 8sin03   
that most fraudulent  method of         
interpretation which arrives at a       
so-called 8moral order  of the          
,universe10 by means of which the       
concept 8cause0 and 8effect0  is turned 
upside down4 ,once natural causation has
 been swept out of  the world by reward 
and punishment1 a causation hostile to  
nature  becomes necessary2 whereupon all
 the forms of unnaturalness follow4  ,a 
,god who demands1--in the place of a    
,god who helps1 who advises1  who is at 
bottom only a name for every happy      
inspiration of courage  and of          
self-reliance4444 ,morality is no longer
 the expression of the  conditions of   
life and growth1 no longer the most     
fundamental instinct  of life1 but it   
has become abstract1 it has become the  
opposite of  life1--,morality as the    
fundamental perversion of the           
imagination1  as the 8evil eye0 for all 

things4 ,what is ,jewish morality1 what 
is  ,christian morality8 ,chance robbed 
of its innocence2 unhappiness  polluted 
with the idea of 8sin02 well-being      
interpreted as a danger1 as  a          
8temptation02 physiological             
indisposition poisoned by means of the  
canker-worm of conscience4444      #bf  
,the concept of ,god falsified2 the     
concept of morality falsified3 but  the 
,jewish priesthood did not stop at this4
 ,no use could be made of  the whole    
history of ,israel1 therefore it must   
go6 ,these priests  accomplished that   
miracle of falsification1 of which the  
greater part  of the ,bible is the      
document3 with unparalleled contempt and
 in the  teeth of all tradition and     
historical facts1 they interpreted their
 own  people's past in a religious      
manner1--that is to say1 they converted 
it into a ridiculous mechanical process 
of salvation1 on the principle  that all
 sin against ,jehovah led to punishment1
 and that all pious  worship of ,jehovah

 led to reward4 ,we would feel this     
shameful act of  historical             
falsification far more poignantly if the
 ecclesiastical  interpretation of      
history through millenniums had not     
blunted almost  all our sense for the   
demands of uprightness in historicis4   
,and  the church is seconded by the     
philosophers3 the of 8a moral order  of 
the universe0 permeates the whole       
development even of more modern         
philosophy4 ,what does a 8moral order of
 the universe0 mean8 ,that once  and for
 all there is such a thing as a will of 
,god which determines  what man has to  
do and what he has to leave undone2 that
 the value  of a people or of an        
individual is measured according to how 
much or  how little the one or the other
 obeys the will of ,god2 that in the    
destinies of a people or of an          
individual1 the will of ,god shows      
itself dominant1 that is to say it      
punishes or rewards according to  the   
degree of obedience4 ,in the place of   

this miserable falsehood1  reality says3
 a parasitical type of man1 who can     
flourish only at the  cost of all the   
healthy elements of life1 the priest    
abuses the name  of ,god3 he calls that 
state of affairs in which the priest    
determines  the value of things 8the    
,kingdom of ,god02 he calls the means   
whereby  such a state of affairs is     
attained or maintained1 8the ,will of   
,god02  with cold-blooded cynicism he   
measures peoples1 ages and individuals  
according to whether they favour or     
oppose the ascendancy of the            
priesthood4 ,watch him at work3 in the  
hands of the ,jewish priesthood  the    
,augustan ,age in the history of ,israel
 became an age of decline2  the exile1  
the protracted misfortune transformed   
itself into eternal  punishment for the 
,augustan ,age--that age in which the   
priest did not  yet exist ,out of the   
mighty and thoroughly free-born figures 
of the  history of ,israel1 they made1  
according to their requirements1 either 

wretched bigots and hypocrites1 or      
8godless ones03 they simplified  the    
psychology of every great event to the  
idiotic formula 8obedient  or           
disobedient to ,god40--,a step further3 
the 8,will of ,god10 that is  to say the
 self-preservative measures of the      
priesthood1 must be  known--to this end 
a 8revelation0 is necessary4 ,in plain  
,english3 a  stupendous literary fraud  
becomes necessary1 8holy scriptures0 are
  discovered1--and they are published   
abroad with all hieratic pomp1  with    
days of penance and lamentations over   
the long state ,of 8sin40  ,the 8,will  
of ,god0 has long stood firm3 the whole 
of the trouble  lies in the fact that   
the 8,holy ,scriptures0 have been       
discarded4444  ,moses was already the   
8,will of ,god0 revealed4444 ,what had  
happened8  ,with severity and pedantry1 
the priest had formulated once and for  
all--even to the largest and smallest   
contributions that were to be  paid to  
him 7--not forgetting the daintiest     

portions of meat2 for the  priest is a  
consumer of beef-steaks7--what he       
wanted1 8what the ,will  of ,god was40  
444 ,hence-forward everything became so 
arranged that the  priests were         
indispensable everywhere4 ,at all the   
natural events of  life1 at birth1 at   
marriage1 at the sick-bed1 at           
death1--not to speak  of the sacrifice  
78the meal071--the holy parasite appears
 in order  to denaturalise1 or in his   
language1 to 8sanctify10 everything4444 
,for this should be understood3 every   
natural custom1 every natural           
institution 7the ,state1 the            
administration of justice1 marriage1 the
  care of the sick and the poor71 every 
demand inspired by the instinct  of     
life1 in short everything that has a    
value in itself1 is rendered  absolutely
 worthless and even dangerous through   
the parasitism of the  priest 7or of the
 8moral order of the universe073 a      
sanction after  the fact is required1--a
 power which imparts value is necessary1

  which in so doing says1 ,nay to       
nature1 and which by this means alone   
creates a valuation4444 ,the priest     
depreciates and desecrates nature3  it  
is only at this price that he exists at 
all4--,disobedience to ,god1  that is to
 say1 to the priest1 to the 8law10 now  
receives the name of  8sin02 the means  
of 8reconciling one's self with ,god0   
are of course  of a nature which render 
subordination to the priesthood all the 
more fundamental3 the priest alone is   
able to 8save40 444 ,from the           
psychological standpoint1 in every      
society organised upon a hieratic       
basis1 8sins0 are indispensable3 they   
are the actual weapons of power1  the   
priest lives upon sins1 it is necessary 
for him that people  should 8sin40 444  
,supreme axiom3 8,god forgiveth him that
 repenteth0--in  plain ,english3 him    
that submitteth himself to the priest4  
#bg    ,christianity grew out of an     
utterly false soil1 in which all nature1
  every natural value1 every reality had

 the deepest instincts of the  ruling   
class against it2 it was a form of      
deadly hostility to reality  which has  
never been surpassed4 ,the 8holy people0
 which had retained  only priestly      
values and priestly names for all       
things1 and which1 with  a logical      
consistency that is terrifying1 had     
divorced itself from  everything still  
powerful on earth as if it were         
8unholy10 8worldly10  8sinful10--this   
people created a final formula for its  
instinct which  was consistent to the   
point of self-suppression2 as           
,christianity it  denied even the last  
form of reality1 the 8holy people10 the 
8chosen  people10 ,jewish reality       
itself4 ,the case is of supreme         
interest3  the small insurrectionary    
movement christened with the name of    
,jesus  of ,nazareth1 is the ,jewish    
instinct over again1--in other words1   
it is the sacerdotal instinct which can 
no longer endure the priest  as a fact2 
it is the discovery of a kind of life   

even more fantastic  than the one       
previously conceived1 a vision of life  
which is even  more unreal than that    
which the organisation of a church      
stipulates4  ,christianity denies the   
church4#c    ,i fail to see against whom
 was directed the insurrection of which 
rightly or wrongly ,jesus is understood 
to have been the promoter1  if it were  
not directed against the ,jewish        
church1--the word 8church0  being used  
here in precisely the same sense in     
which it is used to-day4  ,it was an    
insurrection against the 8good and the  
just10 against  the 8prophets of        
,israel10 against the hierarchy of      
society--not  against the latter's      
corruption1 but against caste1          
privilege1 order1  formality4 ,it was   
the lack of faith in 8higher men10 it   
was a 8,nay0  uttered against everything
 that was tinctured with the blood of   
priests  and theologians4 ,but the      
hierarchy which was set in question if  
only  temporarily by this movement1     

formed the construction of piles upon   
which1 alone1 the ,jewish people was    
able to subsist in the midst of the     
8waters02 it was that people's last     
chance of survival wrested from  the    
world at enormous pains1 the residuum of
 its political autonomy3  to attack this
 construction was tantamount to         
attacking the most  profound popular    
instinct1 the most tenacious national   
will to live  that has ever existed on  
earth4 ,this saintly anarchist who      
called the  lowest of the low1 the      
outcasts and 8sinners10 the ,chandala of
 ,judaism1  to revolt against the       
established order of things 7and in     
language  which1 if the gospels are to  
be trusted1 would get one sent to       
,siberia  even to-day7--this man was a  
political criminal in so far as         
political  criminals were possible in a 
community so absurdly non-political4    
,this  brought him to the cross3 the    
proof of this is the inscription found  
thereon4 ,he died for his sins--and no  

matter how often the contrary  has been 
asserted there is absolutely nothing to 
show that he died for  the sins of      
others4      #bh    ,as to whether he   
was conscious of this contrast1 or      
whether he was  merely regarded as such1
 is quite another question4 ,and here1  
alone1  do ,i touch upon the problem of 
the psychology of the ,saviour4--,i     
confess there are few books which ,i    
have as much difficulty in reading  as  
the gospels4 ,these difficulties are    
quite different from those which        
allowed the learned curiosity of the    
,german1 mind to celebrate one  of its  
most memorable triumphs4 ,many years    
have now elapsed since ,i1  like every  
young scholar1 with the sage            
conscientiousness of a refined          
philologist1 relished the work of the   
incomparable ,strauss4 ,i was then      
twenty years of age2 now ,i am too      
serious for that sort of thing4 ,what   
do ,i care about the contradictions of  
8tradition08 ,how can saintly  legends  

be called 8tradition0 at all6 ,the      
stories of saints constitute  the most  
ambiguous literature on earth3 to apply 
the scientific method  to them1 when    
there are no other documents to hand1   
seems to me to be  a fatal procedure    
from the start--simply learned fooling4 
#bi    ,the point that concerns me is   
the psychological type of the ,saviour4 
,this type might be contained in the    
gospels1 in spite of the gospels1  and  
however much it may have been mutilated1
 or overladen with  foreign features3   
just as that of ,francis of ,assisi is  
contained  in his legends in spite of   
his legends4 ,it is not a question of   
the truth concerning what he has done1  
what he has said1 and how he  actually  
died2 but whether his type may still be 
conceived in any way1  whether it has   
been handed down to us at all8--,the    
attempts which  to my knowledge have    
been made to read the history of a      
8soul0 out  of the gospels1 seem to me  
to point only to disreputable levity in 

psychological matters4 ,m4 ,renan1 that 
buffoon in psychologies1 has            
contributed the two most monstrous ideas
 imaginable to the explanation  of the  
type of ,jesus3 the idea of the genius  
and the idea of the  hero 78hros074 ,but
 if there is anything thoroughly        
unevangelical  surely it is the idea of 
the hero4 ,it is precisely the reverse  
of all  struggle1 of all consciousness  
of taking part in the fight1 that has   
become instinctive here3 the inability  
to resist is here converted into  a     
morality 78resist not evil10 the        
profoundest sentence in the whole of    
the gospels1 their key in a certain     
sense71 the blessedness of peace1  of   
gentleness1 of not being able to be an  
enemy4 ,what is the meaning  of 8glad   
tidings08--,true life1 eternal life has 
been found--it is not  promised1 it is  
actually here1 it is in you2 it is life 
in love1 in  love free from all         
selection or exclusion1 free from all   
distance4  ,everybody is the child of   

,god--,jesus does not by any means claim
  anything for himself alone1--as the   
child of ,god everybody is equal to     
everybody else4444 ,fancy making ,jesus 
a hero6--,and what a tremendous         
misunderstanding the word 8genius0 is6  
,our whole idea of 8spirit10  which is a
 civilised idea1 could have had no      
meaning whatever in the  world in which 
,jesus lived4 ,in the strict terms of   
the physiologist1 a  very different word
 ought to be used here4444 ,we know of a
 condition of  morbid irritability of   
the sense of touch1 which recoils       
shuddering  from every kind of contact1 
and from every attempt at grasping a    
solid  object4 ,any such physiological  
habitus reduced to its ultimate  logical
 conclusion1 becomes an instinctive     
hatred of all reality1 a  flight into   
the 8intangible10 into the              
8incomprehensible02 a repugnance  to all
 formul1 to every notion of time and    
space1 to everything that  is           
established such as customs1            

institutions1 the church2 a feeling  at 
one's ease in a world in which no sign  
of reality is any longer  visible1 a    
merely 8inner0 world1 a 8true0 world1 an
 8eternal0 world4444  8,the ,kingdom of 
,god is within you0444      #cj    ,the 
instinctive hatred of reality is the    
outcome of an extreme  susceptibility to
 pain and to irritation1 which can no   
longer endure to  be 8touched0 at all1  
because every sensation strikes too     
deep4    ,the instinctive exclusion of  
all aversion1 of all hostility1 of all  
boundaries and distances in feeling1 is 
the outcome of an extreme               
susceptibility to pain and to           
irritation1 which regards all           
resistance1  all compulsory resistance  
as insufferable anguish7--that is to    
say1  as harmful1 as deprecated by the  
self-preservative instinct71 and  which 
knows blessedness 7happiness7 only when 
it is no longer obliged  to offer       
resistance to anybody1 either evil or   
detrimental1--love as  the ,only        

ultimate possibility of life4444        
,these are the two physiological        
realities upon which and out of which   
the doctrine of salvation has grown4 ,i 
call them a sublime further  development
 of hedonism1 upon a thoroughly morbid  
soil4 ,epicureanism1  the pagan theory  
of salvation1 even though it possessed a
 large  proportion of ,greek vitality   
and nervous energy1 remains the most    
closely related to the above4 ,epicurus 
was a typical decadent3 and ,i  was the 
first to recognise him as such4--,the   
terror of pain1 even of  infinitely     
slight pain--such a state cannot        
possibly help culminating  in a religion
 of love4444      #ca    ,i have given  
my reply to the problem in advance4 ,the
 prerequisite  thereto was the admission
 of the fact that the type of the       
,saviour has  reached us only in a very 
distorted form4 ,this distortion in     
itself  is extremely feasible3 for many 
reasons a type of that kind could not   
be pure1 whole1 and free from additions4

 ,the environment in which  this strange
 figure moved1 must have left its mark  
upon him1 and the  history1 the destiny 
of the first ,christian communities must
 have  done so to a still greater       
degree4 ,thanks to that destiny1 the    
type  must have been enriched           
retrospectively with features which can 
be  interpreted only as serving the     
purposes of war and of propaganda  ,that
 strange and morbid world into which the
 gospels lead us--a  world which seems  
to have been drawn from a ,russian      
novel1 where  the scum and dross of     
society1 diseases of the nerves and     
8childish0  imbecility seem to have     
given each other rendezvous--must in any
 case  have coarsened the type3 the     
first disciples especially must have    
translated an existence conceived       
entirely in symbols and abstractions    
into their own crudities1 in order at   
least to be able to understand          
something about it1--for them the type  
existed only after it had  been cast in 

a more familiar mould4444 ,the prophet1 
the ,messiah1 the  future judge1 the    
teacher of morals1 the thaumaturgist1   
,john the  ,baptist--all these were but 
so many opportunities of                
misunderstanding  the type4444 ,finally1
 let us not under-rate the proprium of  
all great  and especially sectarian     
veneration3 very often it effaces from  
the  venerated object1 all the original 
and frequently painfully un-familiar    
traits and idiosyncrasies--it does not  
even see them4 ,it is greatly  to be    
deplored that no ,dostoiewsky lived in  
the neighbourhood of this  most         
interesting decadent1--,i mean someone  
who would have known how to  feel the   
poignant charm of such a mixture of the 
sublime1 the morbid1  and the childlike4
 ,finally1 the type1 as an example of   
decadence1 may  actually have been      
extraordinarily multifarious and        
contradictory3  this1 as a possible     
alternative1 is not to be altogether    
ignored4  ,albeit1 everything seems to  

point away from it2 for1 precisely in   
this  case1 tradition would necessarily 
have been particularly true and         
objective3 whereas we have reasons for  
assuming the reverse4 ,meanwhile  a     
yawning chasm of contradiction separates
 the mountain1 lake1 and  pastoral      
preacher1 who strikes us as a ,buddha on
 a soil only very  slightly ,hindu1 from
 that combative fanatic1 the mortal     
enemy of  theologians and priests1 whom 
,renan's malice has glorified as 8le    
grand matre en ironie40 ,for my part1 ,i
 do not doubt but what the  greater part
 of this venom 7and even of esprit7 was 
inoculated into  the type of the ,master
 only as the outcome of the agitated    
condition  of ,christian propaganda4    
,for we have ample reasons for knowing  
the  unscrupulousness of all sectarians 
when they wish to contrive their own    
apology out of the person of their      
master4 ,when the first ,christian      
community required a discerning1        
wrangling1 quarrelsome1 malicious and   

hair-splitting theologian1 to oppose    
other theologians1 it created its       
8,god0 according to its needs2 just as  
it did not hesitate to put upon  his    
lips those utterly unevangelical ideas  
of 8his second coming10 the  8last      
judgment10--ideas with which it could   
not then dispense1--and  every kind of  
expectation and promise which happened  
to be current4      #cb    ,i can only  
repeat that ,i am opposed to the        
importation of the fanatic  into the    
type of the ,saviour3 the word          
8imprieux10 which ,renan  uses1 in      
itself annuls the type4 ,the 8glad      
tidings0 are simply that  there are no  
longer any contradictions1 that the     
,kingdom of ,heaven is  for the         
children2 the faith which raises its    
voice here is not a  faith that has been
 won by a struggle1--it is to hand1 it  
was there  from the beginning1 it is a  
sort of spiritual return to             
childishness4  ,the case of delayed and 
undeveloped puberty in the organism1 as 

the  result of degeneration is at least 
familiar to physiologists4 ,a faith  of 
this sort does not show anger1 it does  
not blame1 neither does it  defend      
itself3 it does not bring 8the          
sword10--it has no inkling of  how it   
will one day establish feuds between man
 and man4 ,it does not  demonstrate     
itself1 either by miracles1 or by reward
 and promises1 or  yet 8through the     
scriptures03 it is in itself at every   
moment its own  miracle1 its own reward1
 its own proof1 its own 8,kingdom of    
,god40 ,this  faith cannot be           
formulated--it lives1 it guards against 
formulas4 ,the  accident of environment1
 of speech1 of preparatory culture1     
certainly  determines a particular      
series of conceptions3 early            
,christianity deals  only in            
,judo-,semitic conceptions 7--the eating
 and drinking at the  last supper form  
part of these1--this idea which like    
everything ,jewish  has been abused so  
maliciously by the church74 ,but one    

should guard  against seeing anything   
more than a language of signs1          
semiotics1 an  opportunity for parables 
in all this4 ,the very fact that no word
 is to  be taken literally1 is the only 
condition on which this ,anti-realist   
is able to speak at all4 ,among ,indians
 he would have made use of the  ideas of
 ,sankhyara1 among ,chinese1 those of   
,lao-tze--and would not  have been aware
 of any difference4 ,with a little      
terminological laxity  ,jesus might be  
called a 8free spirit0--he cares not a  
jot for anything  that is established3  
the word killeth1 everything fixed      
killtth4  ,the idea1 experience1 8life0 
as he alone knows it1 is1 according to  
him1 opposed to every kind of word1     
formula1 law1 faith and dogma4 ,he      
speaks only of the innermost things3    
8life0 or 8truth10 or 8light10 is  his  
expression for the innermost            
thing1--everything else1 the whole of   
reality1 the whole of nature1 language  
even1 has only the value of a  sign1 of 

a simile for him4--,it is of paramount  
importance not to make  any mistake at  
this point1 however great may be the    
temptation thereto  that lies in        
,christian--,i mean to say1             
ecclesiastical prejudice4 ,any  such    
essential symbolism stands beyond the   
pale of all religion1 all  notions of   
cult1 all history1 all natural science1 
all experience of  the world1 all       
knowledge1 all politics1 all psychology1
 all books and  all ,art--for his       
8wisdom0 is precisely the complete      
ignorance#d of the  existence of such   
things4 ,he has not even heard speak of 
culture1 he  does not require to oppose 
it1--he does not deny it4444 ,the same  
holds  good of the state1 of the whole  
of civil and social order1 of work  and 
of war--he never had any reason to deny 
the world1 he had not the  vaguest      
notion of the ecclesiastical concept    
8the world40 444 ,denying  is precisely 
what was quite impossible to            
him4--,dialectic is also  quite absent1 

as likewise the idea that any faith1 any
 8truth0 can be  proved by argument     
7--his proofs are inner 8lights10 inward
 feelings of  happiness and             
self-affirmation1 a host of 8proofs of  
power0--74 ,neither  can such a doctrine
 contradict1 it does not even realise   
the fact that  there are or can be other
 doctrines1 it is absolutely incapable  
of  imagining a contrary judgment4444   
,wherever it encounters such things1    
from a feeling of profound sympathy it  
bemoans such 8blindness10--for  it sees 
the 8light10--but it raises no          
objections4      #cc    ,the whole      
psychology of the 8gospels0 lacks the   
concept of guilt and  punishment1 as    
also that of reward4 8,sin10 any sort of
 aloofness  between ,god and man1 is    
done away with1--this is precisely what 
constitutes the 8glad tidings04 ,eternal
 bliss is not promised1 it is  not bound
 up with certain conditions2 it is the  
only reality--the rest  consists only of
 signs wherewith to speak about it4444  

,the results of such a state project    
themselves into a new practice  of life1
 the actual evangelical practice4 ,it is
 not a 8faith0 which  distinguishes the 
,christians3 the ,christian acts1 he    
distinguishes  himself by means of a    
different mode of action4 ,he does not  
resist  his enemy either by words or in 
his heart ,he draws no distinction      
between foreigners and natives1 between 
,jews and ,gentiles 78the  neighbour0   
really means the co-religionist1 the    
,jew74 ,he is angry with  no one1 he    
despises no one4 ,he neither shows      
himself at the tribunals  nor does he   
acknowledge any of their claims 78,swear
 not at all074  ,he never under any     
circumstances divorces his wife1 even   
when her  infidelity has been           
proved4--,all this is at bottom one     
principle1 it is  all the outcome of one
 instinct--    ,the life of the ,saviour
 was naught else than this              
practice1--neither  was his death4 ,he  
no longer required any formul1 any rites

 for his  relations with ,god--not even 
prayer4 ,he has done with all the       
,jewish  teaching of repentance and of  
atonement2 he alone knows the mode  of  
life which makes one feel 8divine10     
8saved10 8evangelical10 and  at all     
times a 8child of ,god40 ,not           
8repentance10 not 8prayer and           
forgiveness0 are the roads to ,god3 the 
evangelical mode of life  alone leads to
 ,god1 it is 8,god40--,that which the   
gospels abolished  was the ,judaism of  
the concepts 8sin10 8forgiveness of     
sin10 8faith10  8salvation through      
faith10--the whole doctrine of the      
,jewish church was  denied by the 8glad 
tidings40    ,the profound instinct of  
how one must live in order to feel 8in  
,heaven10 in order to feel 8eternal10   
while in every other respect  one feels 
by no means 8in ,heaven03 this alone is 
the psychological  reality of           
8,salvation40--,a new life and not a new
 faith4444      #cd    ,if ,i understand
 anything at all about this great       

symbolist1 it is  this that he regarded 
only inner facts as facts1 as           
8truths10--that  he understood the rest1
 everything natural1 temporal1 material 
and historical1 only as signs1 as       
opportunities for parables4 ,the        
concept 8the ,son of ,man10 is not a    
concrete personality belonging to       
history1 anything individual and        
isolated1 but an 8eternal0 fact1  a     
psychological symbol divorced from the  
concept of time4 ,the same  is true1 and
 in the highest degree1 of the ,god of  
this typical  symbolist1 of the         
8,kingdom of ,god10 of the 8,kingdom of 
,heaven10 and  of the 8,sonship of      
,god40 ,nothing is more un-,christlike  
than the  ecclesiastical crudity of a   
personal ,god1 of a ,kingdom of ,god    
that  is coming1 of a 8,kingdom of      
,heaven0 beyond1 of a 8,son of ,god0 as 
the  second person of the ,trinity4 ,all
 this1 if ,i may be forgiven the        
expression1 is as fitting as a square   
peg in a round hole--and oh6  what a    

hole6--the gospels3 a world-historic    
cynicism in the scorn  of symbols4444   
,but what is meant by the signs         
8,father0 and 8,son10 is  of course     
obvious--not to everybody1 ,i admit3    
with the word 8,son10  entrance into the
 feeling of the general transfiguration 
of all  things 7beatitude7 is expressed1
 with the word 8,father10 this feeling  
itself the feeling of eternity and of   
perfection4--,i blush to have to  remind
 you of what the ,church has done with  
this symbolism3 has it not  set an      
,amphitryon story at the threshold of   
the ,christian 8faith08 ,and  a dogma of
 immaculate conception into the         
bargain8444 ,but by so doing  it defiled
 conception4----    ,the 8,kingdom of   
,heaven0 is a state of the heart--not   
something  which exists 8beyond this    
earth0 or comes to you 8after death40   
,the  whole idea of natural death is    
lacking in the gospels4 ,death is not  a
 bridge1 not a means of access3 it is   
absent because it belongs to  quite a   

different and merely apparent world the 
only use of which is  to furnish signs1 
similes4 ,the 8hour of death0 is not a  
,christian  idea--the 8hour10 time in   
general1 physical life and its crises do
 not  exist for the messenger of 8glad  
tidings40 444 ,the 8,kingdom of ,god0 is
  not some thing that is expected2 it   
has no yesterday nor any day after      
to-morrow1 it is not going to come in a 
8thousand years0--it is an  experience  
of a human heart2 it is everywhere1 it  
is nowhere4444      #ce    ,this        
8messenger of glad tidings0 died as he  
lived and as he  taught--not in order   
8to save mankind10 but in order to show 
how one  ought to live4 ,it was a mode  
of life that he bequeathed to mankind3  
his  behaviour before his judges1 his   
attitude towards his executioners1  his 
accusers1 and all kinds of calumny and  
scorn1--his demeanour on  the cross4 ,he
 offers no resistance2 he does not      
defend his rights2  he takes no step to 
ward off the most extreme consequences1 

he does  more1--he provokes them4 ,and  
he prays1 suffers and loves with those1 
in  those1 who treat him ill4444 ,not to
 defend one's self1 not to show  anger1 
not to hold anyone responsible4444 ,but 
to refrain from resisting  even the evil
 one1--to love him4444      #cf         
--,only we spirits that have become     
free1 possess the necessary  condition  
for understanding something which       
nineteen centuries have                 
misunderstood1--that honesty which has  
become an instinct and a passion  in us1
 and which wages war upon the 8holy lie0
 with even more vigour  than upon every 
other lie4444 ,mankind was unspeakably  
far from our  beneficent and cautious   
neutrality1 from that discipline of the 
mind1  which1 alone1 renders the        
solution of such strange and subtle     
things  possible3 at all times1 with    
shameless egoism1 all that people sought
  was their own advantage in these      
matters1 the ,church was built up out   
of contradiction to the gospel4444      

,whoever might seek for signs pointing  
to the guiding fingers of an  ironical  
deity behind the great comedy of        
existence1 would find no  small argument
 in the huge note of interrogation that 
is called  ,christianity4 ,the fact that
 mankind is on its knees before the     
reverse  of that which formed the       
origin1 the meaning and the rights of   
the gospel2 the fact that1 in the idea  
8,church10 precisely that is  pronounced
 holy which the 8messenger of glad      
tidings0 regarded as  beneath him1 as   
behind him--one might seek in vain for a
 more  egregious example of             
world-historic irony---      #cg        
--,our age is proud of its historical   
sense3 how could it allow  itself to be 
convinced of the nonsensical idea that  
at the beginning  ,christianity         
consisted only of the clumsy fable of   
the thaumaturgist  and of the ,saviour1 
and that all its spiritual and symbolic 
side was only developed later8 ,on the  
contrary3 the history of                

,christianity--from the death on the    
cross onwards--is the history of  a     
gradual and ever coarser                
misunderstanding of an original         
symbolism4  ,with every extension of    
,christianity over ever larger and ruder
  masses1 who were ever less able to    
grasp its first principles1 the  need of
 vulgarising and barbarising it         
increased proportionately--it  absorbed 
the teachings and rites of all the      
subterranean cults of the  imperium     
,romanum1 as well as the nonsense of    
every kind of morbid  reasoning4 ,the   
fatal feature of ,christianity lies in  
the necessary  fact that its faith had  
to become as morbid1 base and vulgar as 
the  needs to which it had to minister  
were morbid1 base and vulgar4 ,morbid   
barbarism at last braces itself together
 for power in the form of the           
,church--the ,church1 this deadly       
hostility to all honesty1 to all        
loftiness of the soul1 to all discipline
 of the mind1 to all frank and  kindly  

humanity4--,christian and noble values3 
only we spirits who  have become free   
have re-established this contrast in    
values which is  the greatest that has  
ever existed on earth6--      #ch       
--,i cannot1 at this point1 stifle a    
sigh4 ,there are days when ,i  am       
visited by a feeling blacker than the   
blackest melancholy--the  contempt of   
man4 ,and in order that ,i may leave you
 in no doubt as  to what ,i despise1    
whom ,i despise3 ,i declare that it is  
the man of  to-day1 the man with whom ,i
 am fatally contemporaneous4 ,the man of
  to-day1 ,i am asphyxiated by his foul 
breath4444 ,towards the past1 like  all 
knights of knowledge1 ,i am profoundly  
tolerant1--that is to say1  ,i exercise 
a sort of generous self-control3 with   
gloomy caution ,i  pass through whole   
millennia of this mad-house world1 and  
whether it  be called 8,christianity10  
8,christian ,faith10 or 8,christian     
,church10 ,i  take care not to hold     
mankind responsible for its mental      

disorders4  ,but my feeling suddenly    
changes1 and vents itself the moment ,i 
enter  the modern age1 our age4 ,our age
 knows4444 ,that which formerly  was    
merely morbid1 is now positively        
indecent ,it is indecent nowadays  to be
 a ,christian4 ,and it is here that my  
loathing begins4 ,i look  about me3 not 
a word of what was formerly known as    
8truth0 has remained  standing2 we can  
no longer endure to hear a priest even  
pronounce the  word 8truth40 ,even he   
who makes but the most modest claims    
upon truth1  must know at present1 that 
a theologian1 a priest1 or a pope1 not  
only errs but actually ties1 with every 
word that he utters1--and  that he is no
 longer able to lie from 8innocence10   
from 8ignorance40  ,even the priest     
knows quite as well as everybody else   
does that there  is no longer any       
8,god10 any 8sinner0 or any 8,saviour10 
and that 8free  will10 and 8a moral     
order of the universe0 are lies4        
,seriousness1  the profound             

self-conquest of the spirit no longer   
allows anyone to  be ignorant about     
this4444 ,all the concepts of the       
,church have been  revealed in their    
true colours--that is to say1 as the    
most vicious  frauds on earth1          
calculated to depreciate nature and all 
natural  values4 ,the priest himself has
 been recognised as what he is--that is 
to say1 as the most dangerous kind of   
parasite1 as the actual venomous  spider
 of existence4444 ,at present we know1  
our conscience knows1  the real value of
 the gruesome inventions which the      
priests and the  ,church have made1 and 
what end they served4 ,by means of them 
that  state of self-profanation on the  
part of man has been attained1 the      
sight of which makes one heave4 ,the    
concepts 8,beyond10 8,last ,judgment10  
8,immortality of the ,soul10 the 8soul0 
itself1 are merely so many  instruments 
of torture1 so many systems of cruelty1 
on the strength  of which the priest    
became and remained master4444          

,everybody knows  this1 and nevertheless
 everything remains as it was4 ,whither 
has  the last shred of decency1 of      
self-respect gone1 if nowadays even  our
 statesmen--a body of men who are       
otherwise so unembarrassed1 and  such   
thorough anti-,christians in deed--still
 declare themselves  ,christians and    
still flock to communion8#e4444 ,fancy a
 prince at the  head of his legions1    
magnificent as the expression of the    
egoism and  self-exaltation of his      
people1--but shameless enough to        
acknowledge  himself a ,christian6444   
,what then does ,christianity deny8     
,what does  it call 8world08 8,the      
world0 to ,christianity means that a man
 is a  soldier1 a judge1 a patriot1 that
 he defends himself1 that he values  his
 honour1 that he desires his own        
advantage1 that he is proud4  444 ,the  
conduct of every moment1 every instinct1
 every valuation that  leads to a deed1 
is at present anti-,christian3 what an  
abortion of  falsehood modern man must  

be1 in order to be able without a blush 
still to call himself a ,christian6---- 
#ci    --,i will retrace my steps1 and  
will tell you the genuine  history of   
,christianity4--,the very word          
8,christianity0 is a                    
misunderstanding1--truth to tell1 there 
never was more than one  ,christian1 and
 he died on the ,cross4 ,the 8gospel0   
died on the  cross4 ,that which         
thenceforward was called 8gospel0 was   
the reverse  of that 8gospel0 that      
,christ had lived3 it was 8evil         
tidings10 a  dysangel ,it is false to   
the point of nonsense to see in 8faith10
  in the faith in salvation through     
,christ1 the distinguishing trait  of   
the ,christian3 the only thing that is  
,christian is the ,christian  mode of   
existence1 a life such as he led who    
died on the ,cross4444 ,to  this day a  
life of this kind is still possible2 for
 certain men1 it  is even necessary3    
genuine1 primitive ,christianity will be
 possible  in all ages4444 ,not a faith1

 but a course of action1 above all a    
course of inaction1 non-interference1   
and a different life4444 ,states  of    
consciousness1 any sort of faith1 a     
holding of certain things  for true1 as 
every psychologist knows1 are indeed of 
absolutely no  consequence1 and are only
 of fifth-rate importance compared with 
the  value of the instincts3 more       
exactly1 the whole concept of           
intellectual  causality is false4 ,to   
reduce the fact of being a ,christian1  
or of  ,christianity1 to a holding of   
something for true1 to a mere phenomenon
  of consciousness1 is tantamount to    
denying ,christianity4 ,in fact  there  
have never been any ,christians4 ,the   
8,christian10 he who for two  thousand  
years has been called a ,christian1 is  
merely a psychological  misunderstanding
 of self4 ,looked at more closely1 there
 ruled in  him1 notwithstanding all his 
faith1 only instincts--and what         
instincts6--8,faith0 in all ages1 as for
 instance in the case of  ,luther1 has  

always been merely a cloak1 a pretext1 a
 screen1 behind  which the instincts    
played their game1--a prudent form of   
blindness  in regard to the dominion of 
certain instincts4 8,faith0 ,i have     
already characterised as a piece of     
really ,christian cleverness2 for       
people have always spoken of 8faith0 and
 acted according to their  instincts4444
 ,in the ,christian's world of ideas    
there is nothing which  even touches    
reality3 but ,i have already recognised 
in the instinctive  hatred of reality   
the actual motive force1 the only       
driving power at  the root of           
,christianity4 ,what follows therefrom8 
,that here1 even  in psychologicis1     
error is fundamental1--that is to say   
capable  of determining the spirit of   
things1--that is to say1 substance4     
,take one idea away from the whole1 and 
put one realistic fact in its           
stead1--and the whole of ,christianity  
tumbles into nonentity6--,surveyed  from
 above1 this strangest of all facts1-a  

religion not only dependent  upon error1
 but inventive and showing signs of     
genius only in those  errors which are  
dangerous and which poison life and the 
human  heart--remains a spectacle for   
gods1 for those gods who are at the     
same time philosophers and whom ,i met  
for instance in those celebrated        
dialogues on the island of ,naxos4 ,at  
the moment when they get rid  of their  
loathing 7--and we do as well671 they   
will be thankful  for the spectacle the 
,christians have offered3 the wretched  
little  planet called ,earth perhaps    
deserves on account of this curious     
case alone1 a divine glance1 and divine 
interest4444 ,let us not  therefore     
underestimate the ,christians3 the      
,christian1 false to the  point of      
innocence in falsity1 is far above the  
apes1--in regard to  the ,christians a  
certain well-known theory of ,descent   
becomes a mere  good-natured compliment4
      #dj    --,the fate of the gospel  
was decided at the moment of the        

death1--it  hung on the 8cross40 444 ,it
 was only death1 this unexpected and    
ignominious death2 it was only the cross
 which as a rule was reserved  simply   
for the canaille1--only this appalling  
paradox which  confronted the disciples 
with the actual riddle3 ,who was that8  
what  was that8--,the state produced by 
the excited and profoundly wounded      
feelings of these men1 the suspicion    
that such a death might imply the       
refutation of their cause1 and the      
terrible note of interrogation3  8why   
precisely thus80 will be understood only
 too well4 ,in this case  everything    
must be necessary1 everything must have 
meaning1 a reason1  the highest reason4 
,the love of a disciple admits of no    
such thing as  accident4 ,only then did 
the chasm yawn3 8who has killed him80   
8who was  his natural enemy80--this     
question rent the firmament like a flash
 of  lightning4 ,reply3 dominant        
,judaism1 its ruling class4             
,thenceforward  the disciple felt       

himself in revolt against established   
order2 he  understood ,jesus1 after the 
fact1 as one in revolt against          
established  order4 ,heretofore this    
warlike1 this nay-saying and nay-doing  
feature  in ,christ had been lacking2   
nay more1 he was its contradiction4 ,the
  small primitive community had         
obviously understood nothing of the     
principal factor of all1 which was the  
example of freedom and of  superiority  
to every form of resentment which lay in
 this way of  dying4 ,and this shows how
 little they understood him altogether6 
,at  bottom ,jesus could not have       
desired anything else by his death than 
to  give the strongest public example   
and proof of his doctrine4444  ,but his 
disciples were very far from forgiving  
this death--though if  they had done so 
it would have been in the highest sense 
evangelical  on their part1--neither    
were they prepared1 with a gentle and   
serene  calmness of heart1 to offer     
themselves for a similar death4444      

,precisely the most unevangelical       
feeling1 revenge1 became once more      
ascendant4 ,it was impossible for the   
cause to end with this death3           
8compensation0 and 8judgment0 were      
required 7--and forsooth1 what could  be
 more unevangelical than 8compensation10
 8punishment10 8judgment067  ,the       
popular expectation of a ,messiah once  
more became prominent2  attention was   
fixed upon one historical moment3 the   
8,kingdom of ,god0  descends to sit in  
judgment upon his enemies4 ,but this    
proves that  everything was             
misunderstood3 the 8,kingdom of ,god0   
regarded as the last  scene of the last 
act1 as a promise6 ,but the ,gospel had 
clearly been  the living1 the           
fulfilment1 the reality of this         
8,kingdom of ,god40  ,it was precisely a
 death such as ,christ's that was this  
8,kingdom of  ,god40 ,it was only now   
that all the contempt for the ,pharisees
 and the  theologians1 and all bitter   
feelings towards them1 were introduced  

into the character of the ,master1--and 
by this means he himself was  converted 
into a ,pharisee and a theologian6 ,on  
the other hand1 the  savage veneration  
of these completely unhinged souls could
 no longer  endure that evangelical     
right of every man to be the child of   
,god1  which ,jesus had taught3 their   
revenge consisted in elevating ,jesus in
  a manner devoid of all reason1 and in 
separating him from themselves3  just   
as1 formerly1 the ,jews1 with the view  
of revenging themselves on  their       
enemies1 separated themselves from their
 ,god1 and placed him high  above them4 
,the ,only ,god1 and the ,only ,son of  
,god3--both were products  of           
resentment4      #da    --,and from this
 time forward an absurd problem rose    
into prominence3  8how could ,god allow 
it to happen80 ,to this question the    
disordered  minds of the small community
 found a reply which in its absurdity   
was literally terrifying3 ,god gave his 
,son as a sacrifice for the  forgiveness

 of sins4 ,alas6 how prompt and sudden  
was the end of  the gospel6 ,expiatory  
sacrifice for guilt1 and indeed in its  
most  repulsive and barbaric form1--the 
sacrifice of the innocent for  the sins 
of the guilty6 ,what appalling          
,paganism6--,for ,jesus himself  had    
done away with the concept 8guilt10--he 
denied any gulf between  ,god and man1  
he lived this unity between ,god and    
man1 it was this  that constituted his  
8glad tidings40 444 ,and he did not     
teach it  as a                          
privilege6--,thenceforward there was    
gradually imported into the  type of the
 ,saviour the doctrine of the ,last     
,judgment1 and of the  8second coming10 
the doctrine of sacrificial death1 and  
the doctrine  of ,resurrection1 by means
 of which the whole concept             
8blessedness10  the entire and only     
reality of the gospel1 is conjured      
away--in favour  of a state after       
death6444 ,st ,paul1 with that rabbinic 
impudence  which characterises all his  

doings1 rationalised this conception1   
this  prostitution of a conception1 as  
follows3 8if ,christ did not rise from  
the dead1 our faith is vain40--,and1 in 
a trice1 the most contemptible  of all  
unrealisable promises1 the impudent     
doctrine of personal  immortality1 was  
woven out of the gospel4444 ,st ,paul   
even preached this  immortality as a    
reward4      #db    ,you now realise    
what it was that came to an end with the
 death on the  cross3 a new and         
thoroughly original effort towards a    
,buddhistic  movement of peace1 towards 
real and not merely promised happiness  
on earth4 ,for1 as ,i have already      
pointed out1 this remains the           
fundamental difference between the two  
religions of decadence3  ,buddhism      
promises little but fulfils more1       
,christianity promises  everything but  
fulfils nothing4--,the 8glad tidings0   
were followed  closely by the absolutely
 worst tidings--those of ,st ,paul4     
,paul is  the incarnation of a type     

which is the reverse of that of the     
,saviour2  he is the genius in hatred1  
in the standpoint of hatred1 and in the 
relentless logic of hatred4 ,and alas   
what did this dysangelist not  sacrifice
 to his hatred6 ,above all the ,saviour 
himself3 he nailed him  to his cross4   
,christ's life1 his example1 his        
doctrine and death1  the sense and the  
right of the gospel--not a vestige of   
alt this  was left1 once this forger1   
prompted by his hatred1 had understood  
in it only that which could serve his   
purpose4 ,not reality3 not  historical  
truth6 444 ,and once more1 the          
sacerdotal instinct of  the ,jew1       
perpetrated the same great crime against
 history1--he  simply cancelled the     
yesterday1 and the day before that1 out 
of  ,christianity2 he contrived of his  
own accord a history of the birth  of   
,christianity4 ,he did more3 he once    
more falsified the history of  ,israel1 
so as to make it appear as a prologue to
 his mission3 all the  prophets had     

referred to his 8,saviour40 444 ,later  
on the ,church even  distorted the      
history of mankind so as to convert it  
into a prelude to  ,christianity4444    
,the type of the ,saviour1 his teaching1
 his life1 his  death1 the meaning of   
his death1 even the sequel to his       
death--nothing  remained untouched1     
nothing was left which even remotely    
resembled  reality4 ,st ,paul simply    
transferred the centre of gravity of the
 whole  of that great life1 to a place  
behind this life1--in the lie of  the   
8resuscitated0 ,christ4 ,at bottom1 he  
had no possible use for the  life of the
 ,saviour1--he needed the death on the  
cross1 and something  more4 ,to regard  
as honest a man like ,st ,paul 7a man   
whose home was the  very headquarters of
 ,stoical enlightenment7 when he devises
 a proof  of the continued existence of 
the ,saviour out of a hallucination2 or 
even to believe him when he declares    
that he had this hallucination1  would  
amount to foolishness on the part of a  

psychologist3 ,st ,paul  desired the    
end1 consequently he also desired the   
means4444 ,even what  he himself did not
 believe1 was believed in by the idiots 
among whom  he spread his               
doctrine4--,what he wanted was power2   
with ,st ,paul the  priest again aspired
 to power1--he could make use only of   
concepts1  doctrines1 symbols with which
 masses may be tyrannised over1 and     
with which herds are formed4 ,what was  
the only part of ,christianity  which   
was subsequently borrowed by ,muhamed8  
,st ,paul's invention1 his  expedient   
for priestly tyranny and to the         
formation of herds3 the  belief in      
immortality--that is to say1 the        
doctrine of the 8,last  ,judgment40 444 
#dc    ,when the centre of gravity of   
life is laid1 not in life1 but in a     
beyond--in nonentity1--life is utterly  
robbed of its balance4 ,the  great lie  
of personal immortality destroys all    
reason1 all nature in  the              
instincts1--everything in the instincts 

that is beneficent1 that  promotes life 
and that is a guarantee of the future1  
henceforward  aroused suspicion4 ,the   
very meaning of life is now construed as
 the  effort to live in such a way that 
life no longer has any point4444 ,why   
show any public spirit8 ,why be grateful
 for one's origin and one's  forebears8 
,why collaborate with one's fellows1 and
 be confident8 ,why  be concerned about 
the general weal or strive after it8444 
,all these  things are merely so many   
8temptations10 so many deviations from  
the  8straight path40 8,one thing only  
is necessary40 444 ,that everybody1 as  
an 8immortal soul10 should have equal   
rank1 that in the totality of  beings1  
the 8salvation0 of each individual may  
lay claim to eternal  importance1 that  
insignificant bigots and                
three-quarter-lunatics may  have the    
right to suppose that the laws of nature
 may be persistently  broken on their   
account1--any such magnification of     
every kind  of selfishness to infinity1 

to insolence1 cannot be branded with    
sufficient contempt ,and yet it is to   
this miserable flattery of  personal    
vanity that ,christianity owes its      
triumph1--by this means  it lured all   
the bungled and the botched1 all        
revolting and revolted  people1 all     
abortions1 the whole of the refuse and  
offal of humanity1  over to its side4   
,the 8salvation of the soul0--in plain  
,english3 8the  world revolves around   
me0 444 ,the poison of the doctrine     
8equal  rights for all0--has been       
dispensed with the greatest thoroughness
 by  ,christianity3 ,christianity1      
prompted by the most secret recesses of 
bad instincts1 has waged a deadly war   
upon all feeling of reverence  and      
distance between man and man--that is to
 say1 the prerequisite  of all          
elevation1 of every growth in culture2  
out of the resentment  of the masses it 
wrought its principal weapons against   
us1 against  everything noble1 joyful1  
exalted on earth1 against our happiness 

on  earth4444 ,to grant 8immortality0 to
 every ,st ,peter and ,st ,paul1 was    
the greatest1 the most vicious outrage  
upon noble humanity that has  ever been 
perpetrated4--,and do not let us        
underestimate the fatal  influence      
which1 springing from ,christianity1 has
 insinuated itself  even into politics6 
,nowadays no one has the courage of     
special rights1  of rights of t         
dominion1 of a feeling of self-respect  
and of respect  for his equals1--of     
pathos of distance4 ,our politics are   
diseased  with this lack of             
courage6--,the aristocratic attitude of 
mind has been  most thoroughly          
undermined by the lie of the equality of
 souls2 and if  the belief in the       
8privilege of the greatest number0      
creates and will  continue to create    
revolutions1--it is ,christianity1 let  
there be no  doubt about it1 and        
,christian values1 which convert every  
revolution  into blood and crime6       
,christianity is the revolt of all      

things that  crawl on their bellies     
against everything that is lofty3 the   
gospel of  the 8lowly0 lowers4444       
#dd    --,the ,gospels are invaluable as
 a testimony of the corruption which    
was already persistent within the first 
,christian communities4 ,that  which ,st
 ,paul1 with the logician's cynicism of 
a ,rabbi1 carried to its  logical       
conclusion1 was nevertheless merely the 
process of decay which  began with the  
death of the ,saviour4--,these gospels  
cannot be read  too cautiously2         
difficulties lurk behind every word they
 contain4 ,i  confess1 and people will  
not take this amiss1 that they are      
precisely  on that account a joy of the 
first rank for a psychologist1--as the  
reverse of all naive perversity1 as     
refinement par excellence1 as  a        
masterpiece of art in psychological     
corruption4 ,the gospels stand  alone4  
,altogether the ,bible allows of no     
comparison4 ,the first thing  to be     
remembered if we do not wish to lose the

 scent here1 is1 that  we are among     
,jews4 ,the dissembling of holiness     
which1 here1 literally  amounts to      
genius1 and which has never been even   
approximately achieved  elsewhere either
 by books or by men1 this fraud in word 
and pose  which in this book is elevated
 to an ,art1 is not the accident of  any
 individual gift1 of any exceptional    
nature4 ,these qualities are  a matter  
of race4 ,with ,christianity1 the art of
 telling holy lies1  which constitutes  
the whole of ,judaism1 reaches its final
 mastership1  thanks to many centuries  
of ,jewish and most thoroughly serious  
training  and practice4 ,the ,christian1
 this ultima ratio of falsehood1 is the 
,jew over again--he is even three times 
a ,jew4444 ,the fundamental will  only  
to make use of concepts1 symbols and    
poses1 which are demonstrated  by the   
practice of the priests1 the instinctive
 repudiation of every  other kind of    
practice1 every other standpoint of     
valuation and of  utility--all this is  

not only tradition1 it is hereditary2   
only as  an inheritance is it able to   
work like nature4 ,the whole of mankind1
  the best brains1 and even the best    
ages--7one man only excepted who  is    
perhaps only a monster7--have allowed   
themselves to be deceived4  ,the gospels
 were read as the book of innocence 444 
this is no  insignificant sign of the   
virtuosity with which deception has been
  practised here4--,of course1 if we    
could only succeed in seeing all  these 
amazing bigots and pretended saints1    
even for a moment1 all  would be at an  
end--and it is precisely because ,i can 
read no  single word of theirs1 without 
seeing their pretentious poses1 that  ,i
 have made an end of them4444 ,i cannot 
endure a certain way they  have of      
casting their eyes                      
heavenwards4--,fortunately for          
,christianity1  books are for the       
greatest number1 merely literature4 ,we 
must not let  ourselves be led away3    
8judge not60 they say1 but they dispatch

 all  those to hell who stand in their  
way4 ,inasmuch as they let ,god do the  
judging1 they themselves1 judge2        
inasmuch as they glorify ,god1 they     
glorify themselves2 inasmuch as they    
exact those virtues of which  they      
themselves happen to be capable--nay    
more1 of which they are in  need in     
order to be able to remain on top at    
all2--they assume the  grand airs of    
struggling for virtue1 of struggling for
 the dominion of  virtue4 8,we live1 we 
die1 we sacrifice ourselves for the     
good0 7--8the  ,truth10 8the ,light10   
8the ,kingdom of ,god073 as a matter of 
fact they  do only what they cannot help
 doing4 ,like sneaks they have to play a
  humble part2 sit away in corners1 and 
remain obscurely in the shade1  and they
 make all this appear a duty2 their     
humble life now appears as  a duty1 and 
their humility is one proof the more of 
their piety6444  ,oh1 what a humble1    
chaste and compassionate kind of        
falsity6 8,virtue  itself shall bear us 

testimony40 444 ,only read the gospels  
as books  calculated to seduce by means 
of morality3 morality is appropriated by
  these petty people1--they know what   
morality can do6 ,the best way of       
leading mankind by the nose is with     
morality6 ,the fact is that the most    
conscious conceit of people who believe 
themselves to be chosen1  here simulates
 modesty3 in this way they1 the         
,christian community1 the  8good and the
 just0 place themselves once and for all
 on a certain  side1 the side 8of       
,truth0--and the rest of mankind1 8the  
world0 on  the other4444 ,this was the  
most fatal kind of megalomania that had 
ever yet existed on earth3 insignificant
 little abortions of bigots  and liars  
began to lay sole claim to the concepts 
8,god10 8,truth10  8,light10 8,spirit10 
8,love10 8,wisdom10 8,life10 as if these
 things were1  so to speak1 synonyms of 
themselves1 in order to fence themselves
 off  from 8the world02 little          
ultra-,jews1 ripe for every kind of     

madhouse1  twisted values round in order
 to suit themselves1 just as if the     
,christian1 alone1 were the meaning1 the
 salt1 the standard and even the        
8ultimate tribunal0 of all the rest of  
mankind4444 ,the whole fatality  was    
rendered possible only because a kind of
 megalomania1 akin to this  one and     
allied to it in race1--the ,jewish      
kind--was already to hand in  the world3
 the very moment the gulf between ,jews 
and ,judo-,christians  was opened1 the  
latter had no alternative left1 but to  
adopt the same  self-preservative       
measures as the ,jewish instinct        
suggested1 even  against the ,jews      
themselves1 whereas the ,jews1          
theretofore1 had  employed these same   
measures only against the ,gentiles4    
,the ,christian  is nothing more than an
 anarchical ,jew4      #de    --,let me 
give you a few examples of what these   
paltry people have  stuffed into their  
heads1 what they have laid on the lips  
of their  ,master3 quite a host of      

confessions from 8beautiful souls40--   
8,and whosoever shall not receive you1  
nor hear you1 when ye depart  thence1   
shake off the dust under your feet for a
 testimony against  them4 ,verily ,i say
 unto you1 ,it shall be more tolerable  
for ,sodom  and ,gomorrah in the day of 
judgment1 than for that city40 7,mark   
vi4  #aa47--;,how evangelical6444       
8,and whosoever shall offend one of     
these little ones that believe in  me1  
it is better for him that a millstone   
were hanged about his neck1  and he were
 cast into the sea40 7,mark ix4         
#db47--;,how evangelical6444    8,and if
 thine eye offend thee1 pluck it out3 it
 fa better for thee to  enter into the  
kingdom of ,god with one eye1 than      
having two eyes to be  cast into hell   
fire3 where their worm dieth not1 and   
the fire is not  quenched40 7,mark ix4  
#dg1 #dh47--,the eye is not precisely   
what is meant  in this passage4444      
8,verily ,i say unto you1 ,that there be
 some of them that stand here1  which   

shall not taste of death1 till they have
 seen the kingdom of ,god  come with    
power40 7,mark ix4 #a47--,well lied1    
lion6#f 444    8,whosoever will come    
after me1 let him deny himself1 and take
 up his  cross1 and follow me4 ,for 4440
 7,a psychologist's comment4 ,christian 
morality is refuted by its 8,for's03 its
 8reasons0 refute1--this is             
,christian47 7,mark viii4 #cd47         
8,judge not1 that ye be not judged4 ,for
 with what judgment ye judge1  ye shall 
be judged40 7,matthew vii4 ,i1          
#b47--,what a strange notion of  justice
 on the part of a 8just0 judge6444      
8,for if ye love them which love you1   
what reward have ye8 do not even  the   
publicans the same8 ,and if ye salute   
your brethren only1 what do ye  more    
than others8 do not even the publicans  
so80 7,matthew v4 #df1 #dg47  ,the      
principle of 8,christian love03 it      
insists upon being well paid4444        
8,but if ye forgive not men their       
trespasses neither will your ,father    

forgive your trespasses40 7,matthew vi4 
#ae47--,very compromising for the       
8,father0 in question4    8,but seek ye 
first the kingdom of ,god1 and his      
righteousness2 and all  these things    
shall be added unto you40 7,matthew vi4 
#cc7--8;,all these  things0--that is to 
say1 food1 clothing1 all the necessities
 of life4  ,to use a moderate           
expression1 this is an error 4444       
,shortly before  this ,god appears as a 
tailor1 at least in certain cases4444   
8,rejoice ye in that day1 and leap for  
joy3 for1 behold1 your reward  is great 
in heaven3 for in the like manner did   
their fathers unto  the prophets40      
7,luke vi4 #bc47--;,impudent rabble6    
,they dare to compare  themselves with  
the prophets4444    8,know ye not that  
ye are the temple of ,god and that the  
,spirit of ,god  dwelleth in you8 ,if   
any man defile the temple of ,god1 him  
shall ,god  destroy2 for the temple of  
,god is holy1 which temple ye are40 7,st
  ,paul1 ,i ,corinthians iii4 #af1      

#ag47--,one cannot have too much        
contempt  for this sort of thing4444    
8,do ye not know that the saints shall  
judge the world8 and if the world  shall
 be judged by you1 are ye unworthy to   
judge the smallest matters80  7,st      
,paul1 ,i ,corinthians vi4              
#b47--,unfortunately this is not merely 
the  speech of a lunatic4444 ,this      
appalling impostor proceeds thus3 8,know
  ye not that we shall judge angels8 how
 much more things that pertain to  this 
life80    8,hath not ,god made foolish  
the wisdom of this world8 ,for after    
that in  the wisdom of ,god1 the world  
by wisdom knew not ,god1 it pleased ,god
 by  the foolishness of preaching to    
save them that believe 444 not many     
wise men after the flesh1 not many      
mighty1 not many noble are called2  ,but
 ,god hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world to confound the  wise2 and    
,god hath chosen the weak things of the 
world to confound  the things which are 
mighty2 ,and base things of the world1  

and things  which are despised1 hath    
,god chosen2 yea1 and things which are  
not1  to bring to nought things that    
are3 ,that no flesh should glory in  his
 presence40 7,st ,paul1 ,i ,corinthians 
i4 #bj et seq47--,in order to           
understand this passage1 which is of the
 highest importance as an  example of   
the psychology of every ,chandala       
morality1 the reader should  refer to my
 ,genealogy of ,morals3 in this book1   
the contrast between  a noble and a     
,chandala morality born of resentment   
and impotent  revengefulness1 is brought
 to light for the first time4 ,st ,paul 
was the  greatest of all the apostles of
 revenge4444      #df    ,what follows  
from this8 ,that one does well to put on
 one's gloves  when reading the ,new    
,testament ,the proximity of so much    
pitch almost  defiles one4 ,we should   
feel just as little inclined to hobnob  
with  8the first ,christians0 as with   
,polish ,jews3 not that we need explain 
our objections4444 ,they simply smell   

bad4--,in vain have ,i sought for a     
single sympathetic feature in the ,new  
,testament2 there is not a trace  of    
freedom1 kindliness1 open-heartedness   
and honesty to be found in  it4         
,humaneness has not even made a start in
 this book1 while cleanly  instincts are
 entirely absent from it4444 ,only evil 
instincts are to be  found in the ,new  
,testament1 it shows no sign of courage1
 these people  lack even the courage of 
their evil instincts4 ,all is cowardice1
 all is  a closing of one's eyes and    
self-deception4 ,every book becomes     
clean1  after one has just read the ,new
 ,testament3 for instance1 immediately  
after laying down ,st ,paul1 ,i read    
with particular delight that most       
charming and most wanton of scoffers1   
,petronius1 of whom someone might  say  
what ,domenico ,boccaccio wrote to the  
,duke of ,parma about ,csar  ,borgia3 8 
tutto festo0--immortally healthy1       
immortally cheerful  and                
well-constituted4 444 ,these petty      

bigots err in their calculations  and in
 the most important thing of all4 ,they 
certainly attack2 but  everything they  
assail is1 by that very fact alone1     
distinguished4  ,he whom a 8primitive   
,christian0 attacks1 is not thereby     
sullied4444  ,conversely it is an honour
 to be opposed by 8primitive            
,christians40  ,one cannot read the ,new
 ,testament without feeling a preference
 for  everything in it which is the     
subject of abuse--not to speak of the   
8wisdom of this world10 which an        
impudent windbag tries in vain to       
confound 8by the foolishness of         
preaching40 ,even the ,pharisees and the
  ,scribes derive advantage from such   
opposition3 they must certainly  have   
been worth something in order to have   
been hated in such a  disreputable way4 
,hypocrisy--as if this were a reproach  
which the  8first ,christians0 were at  
liberty to make6--,after all the        
,scribes  and ,pharisees were the       
privileged ones2 this was quite enough1 

the  hatred of the ,chandala requires no
 other reasons4 ,i very much fear  that 
the 8first ,christian0--as also the     
8last ,christian0 whom ,i may  yet be   
able to meet1-- is in his deepest       
instincts a rebel against  everything   
privileged2 he lives and struggles      
unremittingly for 8equal  rights06444   
,regarded more closely1 he has no       
alternative4444 ,if one's  desire be    
personally to represent 8one of the     
chosen of ,god0--or a  8temple of ,god10
 or 8a judge of angels10--then every    
other principle  of selection1 for      
instance that based upon a standard of  
honesty1  intellect1 manliness and      
pride1 or upon beauty and freedom of    
heart1  becomes the 8world10--evil in   
itself4 ,moral3 every word on the lips  
of a 8first ,christian0 is a lie1 every 
action he does is an instinctive        
falsehood1--all his values1 all his aims
 are pernicious2 but the man  he1 hates1
 the thing he hates1 has value4 444 ,the
 ,christian1 more  particularly the     

,christian priest1 is a criterion of    
values--,do ,i  require to add that in  
the whole of the ,new ,testament only   
one figure  appears which we cannot help
 respecting8 ,pilate1 the ,roman        
,governor4 ,to  take a ,jewish quarrel  
seriously was a thing he could not get  
himself  to do4 ,one ,jew more or       
less--what did it matter8444 ,the noble 
scorn  of a ,roman1 in whose presence   
the word 8truth0 had been shamelessly   
abused1 has enriched the ,new ,testament
 with the only saying which is  of      
value1--and this saying is not only the 
criticism1 but actually the  shattering 
of that ,testament3 8,what is truth60444
      #dg    --,that which separates us 
from other people is not the fact that  
we can discover no ,god1 either in      
history1 or in nature1 or behind        
nature1--but that we regard what has    
been revered as 8,god10 not as          
8divine10 but as wretched1 absurd1      
pernicious2 not as an error1 but as  a  
crime against life4 444 ,we deny ,god as

 ,god4444 ,if the existence  of this    
,christian ,god were proved to us1 we   
should feel even less  able to believe  
in him4--,in a formula3 deus qualem     
,paulus creavit1  dei negatio4--,a      
religion such as ,christianity which    
never once comes  in touch with reality1
 and which collapses the very moment    
reality  asserts its rights even on one 
single point1 must naturally be a mortal
  enemy of the 8wisdom of this          
world0--that is to say1 science4 ,it    
will call all those means good with     
which mental discipline1 lucidity  and  
severity in intellectual matters1       
nobility and freedom of the  intellect  
may be poisoned1 calumniated and        
decried4 8,faith0 as an  imperative is a
 veto against science1--in praxi1 it    
means lies  at any price4 ,st ,paul     
understood that falsehood--that 8faith0 
was  necessary2 subsequently the ,church
 understood ,st ,paul4--,that 8,god0    
which ,st ,paul invented for himself1 a 
,god who 8confounds0 the 8wisdom  of    

this world0 7in a narrower sense1 the   
two great opponents of all              
superstition1 philology and medicine71  
means1 in very truth1 simply ,st        
,paul's firm resolve to do so3 to call  
his own will 8,god01 thora1  that is    
arch-,jewish4 ,st ,paul insists upon    
confounding the 8wisdom of  this world03
 his enemies are the good old           
philologists and doctors of  the        
,alexandrine schools2 it is on them that
 he wages war4 ,as a matter  of fact no 
one is either a philologist or a doctor1
 who is not also an  ,antichrist4 ,as a 
philologist1 for instance1 a man sees   
behind the  8holy books10 as a doctor he
 sees behind the physiological          
rottenness  of the typical ,christian4  
,the doctor says 8incurable10 the       
philologist  says 8forgery40      #dh   
--,has anybody ever really understood   
the celebrated story which stands  at   
the beginning of the ,bible1--concerning
 ,god's deadly panic over  science8 444 
,nobody has understood it ,this         

essentially sacerdotal  book naturally  
begins with the great inner difficulty  
of the priest3  he knows only one great 
danger1 consequently 8,god0 has only one
  great danger4--    ,the old ,god1     
entirely 8spirit10 a high-priest through
 and through1 and  wholly perfect1 is   
wandering in a leisurely fashion round  
his garden2  but he is bored4 ,against  
boredom even the gods themselves        
struggle in  vain4#g ,what does he do8  
,he invents man1--man is                
entertaining4444 ,but1  behold1 even man
 begins to be bored4 ,god's compassion  
for the only  form of misery which is   
peculiar to all paradises1 exceeds all  
bounds3  so forthwith he creates yet    
other animals4 ,god's first mistake3 man
  did not think animals                 
entertaining1--he dominated them1 he did
 not even  wish to be an 8animal40      
,consequently ,god created woman4 ,and  
boredom did  indeed cease from that     
moment1--but many other things ceased as
 well6  ,woman was ,god's second        

mistake4--8,woman in her innermost      
nature is a  serpent1 ,heva0--every     
priest knows this3 8all evil came into  
this world  through woman10--every      
priest knows this too4 8,consequently   
science  also comes from woman40 444    
,only through woman did man learn to    
taste  of the tree of knowledge4--,what 
had happened8 ,panic had seized the  old
 ,god ,man himself had been his greatest
 mistake1 he had created  a rival for   
himself1 science makes you equal to     
,god1--it is all up  with priests and   
gods when man becomes                   
scientific6--,moral3 science is  the    
most prohibited thing of all1--it alone1
 is forbidden4 ,science is  the first1  
the germ of all sins1 the original sin4 
,this alone is  morality4--8,thou shalt 
not know03--the rest follows as a matter
 of  course1 ,god's panic did not       
deprive him of his intelligence4 ,how   
can  one guard against science8 ,for    
ages this was his principal problem4    
,reply3 man must be kicked out of       

paradise6 ,happiness1 leisure leads to  
thinking1--all thoughts are bad         
thoughts4444 ,man must not think4--,and 
the 8priest-per-se0 proceeds to invent  
distress1 death1 the vital  danger of   
pregnancy1 every kind of misery1        
decrepitude1 and affliction1  and above 
all disease1--all these are but weapons 
employed in the  struggle with science6 
,trouble prevents man from thinking4444 
,and  notwithstanding all these         
precautions6 ,oh1 horror6 the work of   
science  towers aloft1 it storms heaven 
itself1 it rings the death-knell of the 
gods1--what's to be done8--,the old ,god
 invents war2 he separates the  nations1
 and contrives to make men destroy each 
other mutually 7--the  priests have     
always been in need of war44447 ,war1   
among other things1  is a great         
disturber of science6--,incredible6     
,knowledge1 the rejection  of the       
sacerdotal yoke1 nevertheless           
increases4--,so the old ,god  arrives at
 this final decision3 8,man has become  

scientific1--there is  no help for it1  
he must be drowned60 444      #di       
,you have understood me ,the beginning  
of the ,bible contains the whole        
psychology of the priest--,the priest   
knows only one great danger1 and  that  
is science1--the healthy concept of     
cause and effect ,but1 on the  whole1   
science flourishes onlyunder happy      
conditions1--a man must  have time1 he  
must also have superfluous mental energy
 in order to  8pursue knowledge0 444    
8,consequently man must be made         
unhappy10--this  has been the argument  
of the priest of all ages4--,you have   
already  divined what1 in accordance    
with such a manner of arguing1 must     
first have come into the world3--8sin40 
444 ,the notion of guilt and            
punishment1 the whole 8moral order of   
the universe10 was invented  against    
science1--against the deliverance of man
 from the priest4444  ,man must not cast
 his glance upon the outer world1 he    
must turn it  inwards into himself2 he  

must not as a learner look cleverly and 
cautiously into things2 he must not see 
at all3 he must suffer4  444 ,and he    
must suffer1 so that he may be in need  
of the priest every  minute4--,away with
 doctors6 ,what is needed is a          
,saviour6--,the notion of  guilt and    
punishment1 including the doctrine of   
8grace10 of 8salvation0  and of         
8forgiveness0--all lies through and     
through without a shred  of             
psychological reality--were invented in 
order to destroy man's  sense of        
causality3 they are an attack on the    
concept of cause and  effect6--,and not 
an attack with the fist1 with the knife1
 with  honesty in hate and love6 ,but   
one actuated by the most cowardly1 most 
crafty1 and most ignoble instincts6 ,a  
priests attack6 ,a parasite's  attack6  
,a vampyrism of pale subterranean       
leeches6--444 ,when the natural         
consequences of an act are no longer    
8natural10 but are thought to  be       
conjured up by phantom concepts of      

superstition1 by 8,god10 by  8spirits10 
and by 8souls10 as merely moral         
consequences1 in the form  of rewards1  
punishments1 hints1 and educational     
means1--then the whole  basis of        
knowledge is destroyed1--then the       
greatest crime against man  has been    
perpetrated4--,sin1 ,i repeat1 this form
 of self-pollution par  excellence on   
the part of man1 was invented in order  
to make science1  culture and every     
elevation and noble trait in man quite  
impossible2 by  means of the invention  
of sin the priest is able to rule4      
#ej    --,i cannot here dispense with a 
psychology of 8faith0 and of the        
8faithful10 which will naturally be to  
the advantage of the 8faithful40  ,if   
to-day there are still many who do not  
know how very indecent it  is to be a   
8believer0--or to what extent such a    
state is the sign  of decadence1 and of 
the broken will to ,life1--they will    
know it no  later than to-morrow4 ,my   
voice can make even those hear who are  

hard  of hearing4--,if perchance my ears
 have not deceived me1 it seems that    
among ,christians there is such a thing 
as a kind of criterion of truth1  which 
is called 8the proof of power40 8,faith 
saveth2 therefore it  is true40--,it    
might be objected here that it is       
precisely salvation  which is not proved
 but only promised3 salvation is bound  
up with  the condition 8faith10--one    
shall be saved1 because one has         
faith4444 ,but how prove that that which
 the priest promises to the  faithful   
really will take place1 to wit3 the     
8,beyond0 which defies  all             
demonstration8--,the assumed 8proof of  
power0 is at bottom once  again only a  
belief in the fact that the effect which
 faith promises  will not fail to take  
place4 ,in a formula3 8,i believe that  
faith  saveth2--consequently it is      
true40--,but with this we are at the end
  of our tether4 ,this 8consequently0   
would be the absurdum itself as  a      
criterion of truth4--,let us be         

indulgent enough to assume1 however1    
that salvation is proved by faith 7--not
 only desired1 and not  merely promised 
by the somewhat suspicious lips of a    
priest73 could  salvation--or1 in       
technical terminology1 happiness--ever  
be a proof  of truth8 ,so little is it  
so that1 when pleasurable sensations    
make  their influence felt in replying  
to the question 8what is true10 they    
furnish almost the contradiction of     
truth1 or at any rate they make  it in  
the highest degree suspicious4 ,the     
proof through 8happiness10  is a proof  
of happiness--and nothing else2 why in  
the world should  we take it for granted
 that true judgments cause more pleasure
 than  false ones1 and that in          
accordance with a pre-established       
harmony1 they  necessarily bring        
pleasant feelings in their wake8--,the  
experience of  all strict and profound  
minds teaches the reverse4 ,every inch  
of  truth has been conquered only after 
a struggle1 almost everything to  which 

our heart1 our love and our trust in    
life cleaves1 has had to be  sacrificed 
for it ,greatness of soul is necessary  
for this3 the service  of truth is the  
hardest of all services4--,what then is 
meant by honesty  in things             
intellectual8 ,it means that a man is   
severe towards his own  heart1 that he  
scorns 8beautiful feelings10 and that he
 makes a matter  of conscience out of   
every ,yea and ,nay6---,faith saveth3   
consequently  it lies4444      #ea      
,the fact that faith may in certain     
circumstances save1 the fact that       
salvation as the result of an ide fixe  
does not constitute a true  idea1 the   
fact that faith moves no mountains1 but 
may very readily  raise them where      
previously they did not exist--all these
 things are  made sufficiently clear by 
a mere casual stroll through a lunatic  
asylum4 ,of course no priest would find 
this sufficient3 for he  instinctively  
denies that illness is illness or that  
lunatic asylums  are lunatic asylums4   

,christianity is in need of illness1    
just as  ,ancient ,greece was in need of
 a superabundance of health4 ,the actual
  ulterior motive of the whole of the   
,church's system of salvation  is to    
make people ill4 ,and is not the ,church
 itself the ,catholic  madhouse as an   
ultimate ideal8--,the earth as a whole  
converted into a  madhouse8--,the kind  
of religious man which the ,church aims 
at producing  is a typical decadent ,the
 moment of time at which a religious    
crisis  attains the ascendancy over a   
people1 is always characterised by      
nerve-epidemics2 the 8inner world0 of   
the religious man is ridiculously  like 
the 8inner world0 of over-irritable and 
exhausted people2 the  8highest0 states 
which ,christianity holds up to mankind 
as the value  of values1 are epileptic  
in character1--the ,church has          
pronounced only  madmen or great        
swindlers in majorem dei honorem holy4  
,once ,i  ventured to characterise the  
whole of the ,christian training of     

penance  and salvation 7which nowadays  
is best studied in ,england7 as a folie 
circulaire methodically generated upon a
 soil which1 of course1 is  already     
prepared for it1--that is to say1 which 
is thoroughly morbid4  ,not every one   
who likes can be a ,christian3 no man is
 8converted0  to ,christianity1--he must
 be sick enough for it 444 ,we others   
who  possess enough courage both for    
health and for contempt1 how rightly  we
 may despise a religion which taught men
 to misunderstand the  body ,i which    
would not rid itself of the             
superstitions of the soul6  which made a
 virtue of taking inadequate            
nourishment6 which in health  combats a 
sort of enemy1 devil1 temptation6 which 
persuaded itself that  it was possible  
to bear a perfect soul about in a       
cadaverous body1  and which1 to this    
end1 had to make up for itself a new    
concept of  8perfection10 a pale1       
sickly1 idiotically gushing             
ideal1--so-called                       

8holiness10--holiness1 which in itself  
is simply a symptom of an  impoverished1
 enervated and incurably deteriorated   
body6444 ,the  movement of              
,christianity1 as a ,european movement1 
was from first to  last1 a general      
accumulation of the ruck and scum of all
 sorts and  kinds 7--and these1 by means
 of ,christianity1 aspire to power74 ,it
  does not express the downfall of a    
race1 it is rather a conglomerate       
assembly of all the decadent elements   
from everywhere which seek each  other  
and crowd together4 ,it was not1 as some
 believe1 the corruption  of antiquity1 
of noble antiquity1 which made          
,christianity possible3  the learned    
idiocy which nowadays tries to support  
such a notion cannot  be too severely   
contradicted4 ,at the time when the     
morbid and corrupted  ,chandala classes 
became ,christianised in the whole of   
the imperium1  the very contrary type1  
nobility1 was extant in its finest and  
maturest forms4 ,the greatest number    

became master2 the democracy of         
,christian instincts triumphed4444      
,christianity was not 8national10 it    
was not determined by race1--it appealed
 to all the disinherited forms  of life1
 it had its allies everywhere4          
,christianity is built upon the  rancour
 of the sick2 its instinct is directed  
against the sound1  against health4     
,everything well-constituted1 proud1    
high-spirited1  and beautiful is        
offensive to its ears and eyes4 ,again  
,i remind you  of ,st ,paul's priceless 
words3 8,and ,god hath chosen the weak  
things  of the world1 the foolish things
 of the world2 and base things of  the  
world1 and things which are despised03  
this was the formula1 in  hoc signo     
decadence triumphed4--,god on the       
,cross--does no one yet  understand the 
terrible ulterior motive of this        
symbol8--,everything  that suffers1     
everything that hangs on the cross1 is  
divine4444 ,all  of us hang on the      
cross1 consequently we are divine 4444  

,we alone are  divine4444 ,christianity 
was a victory2 a nobler type of         
character  perished through             
it1--,christianity has been humanity's  
greatest  misfortune hitherto4----      
#eb    ,christianity also stands opposed
 to everything happily constituted  in  
the mind1--it can make use only of      
morbid reason as ,christian  reason2 it 
takes the side of everything idiotic1 it
 utters a curse  upon 8intellect10 upon 
the superbia of the healthy intellect4  
,since  illness belongs to the essence  
of ,christianity1 the typically         
,christian  state1 8faith10 must also be
 a form of illness1 and all straight1   
honest and scientific roads to knowledge
 must be repudiated by the  ,church as  
forbidden4444 ,doubt in itself is       
already a sin4444 ,the total  lack of   
psychological cleanliness in the priest1
 which reveals itself  in his look1 is a
 result of decadence4 ,hysterical women1
 as also  children with scrofulous      
constitutions1 should be observed as a  

proof  of how invariably instinctive    
falsity1 the love of lying for the sake 
of lying1 and the in ability either to  
look or to walk straight1 are  the      
expression of decadence4 8,faith0 simply
 means the refusal to know  what is     
true4 ,the pious person1 the priest of  
both sexes1 is false  because he is ill3
 his instinct demands that truth should 
not assert  its right anywhere4 8,that  
which makes ill is good3 that which     
proceeds  from abundance1 from          
superabundance and from power1 is evil03
 that  is the view of the faithful4 ,the
 constraint to lie--that is the  sign by
 which ,i recognise every predetermined 
theologian4--,another  characteristic of
 the theologian is his lack of capacity 
for  philology4 ,what ,i mean here by   
the word philology is1 in a general     
sense to be understood as the art of    
reading well1 of being able to  take    
account of facts without falsifying them
 by interpretation1  without losing     
either caution1 patience or subtlety    

owing to one's  desire to understand4   
,philology as ephexis#h in              
interpretation1  whether one be dealing 
with books1 newspaper reports1 human    
destinies  or meteorological            
records1--not to speak of the 8salvation
 of the  soul40 444 ,the manner in which
 a theologian1 whether in ,berlin or in 
,rome1 interprets a verse from the      
8,scriptures10 or an experience1 or  the
 triumph of his nation's army for       
instance1 under the superior  guiding   
light of ,david's ,psalms1 is always so 
exceedingly daring1  that it is enough  
to make a philologist's hair stand on   
end4 ,and what  is he to do1 when       
pietists and other cows from ,swabia    
explain their  miserable every-day lives
 in their smoky hovels by means of the  
8,finger  of ,god10 a miracle of        
8grace10 of 8,providence10 of           
experiences of  8salvation06 ,the most  
modest effort of the intellect1 not to  
speak of  decent feeling1 ought at least
 to lead these interpreters to convince 

themselves of the absolute childishness 
and unworthiness of any such  abuse of  
the dexterity of ,god's fingers4        
,however small an amount of  loving     
piety we might possess1 a god who cured 
us in time of a cold in  the nose1 or   
who arranged for us to enter a carriage 
just at the moment  when a cloud burst  
over our heads1 would be such an absurd 
,god1 that he  would have to be         
abolished1 even if he existed4#i ,god as
 a domestic  servant1 as a postman1 as a
 general provider1--in short1 merely a  
word  for the most foolish kind of      
accidents4444 8,divine ,providence10 as 
it  is believed in to-day by almost     
every third man in 8cultured ,germany10 
would be an argument against ,god1 in   
fact it would be the strongest  argument
 against ,god that could be ,imagined4  
,and in any case it is an  argument     
against the ,germans4      #ec    --,the
 notion that martyrs prove anything at  
all in favour of a thing1  is so        
exceedingly doubtful1 that ,i would fain

 deny that there has ever  yet existed a
 martyr who had anything to do with     
truth4 ,in the very  manner in which a  
martyr flings his little parcel of truth
 at the  head of the world1 such a low  
degree of intellectual honesty and such 
obtuseness in regard to the question    
8truth0 makes itself felt1 that  one    
never requires to refute a martyr4      
,truth is not a thing which one  might  
have and another be without3 only       
peasants or peasant-apostles1  after the
 style of ,luther1 can think like this  
about truth4 ,you may be  quite sure1   
that the greater a man's degree of      
conscientiousness may  be in matters    
intellectual1 the more modest he will   
show himself on  this point ,to know    
about five things1 and with a subtle    
wave of the  hand to refuse to know     
others4 444 8,truth0 as it is understood
 by  every prophet1 every sectarian1    
every free thinker1 every socialist and 
every church-man1 is an absolute proof  
of the fact that these people  haven't  

even begun that discipline of the mind  
and that process of  self-mastery1 which
 is necessary for the discovery of any  
small1 even  exceedingly small          
truth4--,incidentally1 the deaths of    
martyrs have  been a great misfortune in
 the history of the world3 they led     
people  astray4444 ,the conclusion which
 all idiots1 women and common people    
come to1 that there must be something in
 a cause for which someone lays  down   
his life 7or which1 as in the case of   
primitive ,christianity1  provokes an   
epidemic of sacrifices71--this          
conclusion put a tremendous  check upon 
all investigation1 upon the spirit of   
investigation and of  caution4 ,martyrs 
have harmed the cause of truth4 444     
,even to this day  it only requires the 
crude fact of persecution1 in order to  
create an  honourable name for any      
obscure sect who does not matter in the 
least  ,what8 is a cause actually       
changed in any way by the fact that some
  one has laid down his life for it8 ,an

 error which becomes honourable1  is    
simply an error that possesses one      
seductive charm the more3 do  you       
suppose1 dear theologians1 that we shall
 give you the chance of  acting the     
martyrs for your lies8--,a thing is     
refuted by being laid  respectfully on  
ice1 and theologians are refuted in the 
same way4 ,this  was precisely the      
world-historic foolishness of all       
persecutors2 they  lent the thing they  
combated a semblance of honour by       
conferring the  fascination of martyrdom
 upon it4444 ,women still lie prostrate 
before  an error to-day1 because they   
have been told that some one died on the
  cross for it ,is the cross then an    
argument8--,but concerning all these    
things1 one person alone has said what  
mankind has been in need of for         
thousands of years1--,zarathustra4      
8,letters of blood did they write on the
 way they went1 and their folly  taught 
that truth is proved by blood4    8,but 
blood is the very worst testimony of    

truth2 blood poisoneth even  the purest 
teaching1 and turneth it into delusion  
and into blood feuds4    8,and when a   
man goeth through fire for his          
teaching--what does that  prove8        
,verily1 it is more when out of one's   
own burning springeth one's  own        
teaching40#aj      #ed    ,do not allow 
yourselves to be deceived3 great minds  
are sceptical4  ,zarathustra is a       
sceptic4 ,strength and the freedom which
 proceeds  from the power and excessive 
power of the mind1 manifests itself     
through scepticism4 ,men of conviction  
are of no account whatever  in regard to
 any principles of value or of          
non-value4 ,convictions  are prisons4   
,they never see far enough1 they do not 
look down from  a sufficient height3 but
 in order to have any say in questions  
of  value and non-value1 a man must see 
five hundred convictions beneath        
him1--behind him4444 ,a spirit who      
desires great things1 and who also      
desires the means thereto1 is           

necessarily a sceptic4 ,freedom from    
every  kind of conviction belongs to    
strength1 to the ability to open  one's 
eyes freely4444 ,the great passion of a 
sceptic1 the basis and  power of his    
being1 which is more enlightened and    
more despotic than he  is himself1      
enlists all his intellect into its      
service2 it makes him  unscrupulous2 it 
even gives him the courage to employ    
unholy means2  in certain circumstances 
it even allows him convictions4         
,conviction  as a means3 much is        
achieved merely by means of a           
conviction4 ,great  passion makes use of
 and consumes convictions1 it does not  
submit to  them--it knows that it is a  
sovereign power4 ,conversely2 the need  
of  faith1 of anything either absolutely
 affirmative or negative1 ,carlylism    
7if ,i may be allowed this expression71 
is the need of weakness4  ,the man of   
beliefs1 the 8believer0 of every sort   
and condition1 is  necessarily a        
dependent man2--he is one who cannot    

regard himself as  an aim1 who cannot   
postulate aims from the promptings of   
his own heart  ,the 8believer0 does not 
belong to himself1 he can be only a     
means1  he must be used up1 he is in    
need of someone who uses him up4 ,his   
instinct accords the highest honour to a
 morality of self-abnegation3           
everything in him1 his prudence1 his    
experience1 his vanity1 persuade  him to
 adopt this morality4 ,every sort of    
belief is in itself an  expression of   
self-denial1 of self-estrangement4 444  
,if one considers  how necessary a      
regulating code of conduct is to the    
majority of  people1 a code of conduct  
which constrains them and fixes them    
from  outside2 and how control1 or in a 
higher sense1 slavery1 is the only  and 
ultimate condition under which the      
weak-willed man1 and especially  woman1 
flourish2 one also understands          
conviction1 8faith40 ,the man  of       
conviction finds in the latter his      
backbone4 ,to be blind to  many things1 

to be impartial about nothing1 to belong
 always to a  particular side1 to hold a
 strict and necessary point of view in  
all  matters of values--these are the   
only conditions under which such a man  
can survive at all4 ,but all this is the
 reverse of1 the antagonist  of1 the    
truthful man1--of truth4444 ,the        
believer is not at liberty to  have a   
conscience for the question 8true0 and  
8untrue03 to be upright  on this point  
would mean his immediate downfall4 ,the 
pathological  limitations of his        
standpoint convert the convinced man    
into the  fanatic--,savonarola1 ,luther 
,rousseau1 ,robespierre1                
,saint-,simon1--these  are the reverse  
type of the strong spirit that has      
become free4 ,but  the grandiose poses  
of these morbid spirits1 of these       
epileptics  of ideas1 exercise an       
influence over the masses1--fanatics are
  picturesque1 mankind prefers to look  
at poses than to listen to reason4      
#ee    ,one step further in the         

psychology of conviction of 8faith40 ,it
  is already some time since ,i first   
thought of considering whether          
convictions were not perhaps more       
dangerous enemies of truth than lies    
78,human ,all-too-,human10 ,part ,i1    
,aphs4 #ed and #dhc74 ,now ,i would fain
 put  the decisive question3 is there   
any difference at all between a lie  and
 a conviction8--,all the world believes 
that there is1 but what in  ,heaven's   
name does not all the world believe6    
,every conviction has its  history1 its 
preliminary stages1 its period of       
groping and of mistakes3  it becomes a  
conviction only after it has not been   
one for a long  time1 only after it has 
scarcely been one for a long time4      
,what8  might not falsehood be the      
embryonic form of conviction8--,at times
  all that is required is a change of   
personality3 very often what was  a lie 
in the father becomes a conviction in   
the son4--,i call a lie1  to refuse to  
see something that one sees1 to refuse  

to see it exactly  as one sees it3      
whether a lie is perpetrated before     
witnesses or not  is beside the         
point4--,the most common sort of lie is 
the one uttered  to one's self2 to lie  
to others is relatively exceptional4    
,now this  refusal to see what one sees1
 this refusal to see a thing exactly as 
one sees it1 is almost the first        
condition for all those who belong  to a
 party in any sense whatsoever3 the man 
who belongs to a party  perforce becomes
 a liar4 ,german historians1 for        
instance1 are convinced  that ,rome     
stood for despotism1 whereas the        
,teutons introduced the  spirit of      
freedom into the world3 what difference 
is there between  this conviction and a 
lie8 ,after this is it to be wondered   
at1 that  all parties1 including ,german
 historians1 instinctively adopt the    
grandiloquent phraseology of            
morality1--that morality almost owes    
its survival to the fact that the man   
who belongs to a party1 no  matter what 

it may be1 is in need of morality every 
moment8--8,this  is our conviction3 we  
confess it to the whole world1 we live  
and die  for it1--let us respect every  
thing that has a conviction60--,i have  
actually heard antisemites speak in this
 way4 ,on the contrary1 my dear  sirs6  
,an antisemite does not become the least
 bit more respectable  because he lies  
on principle4444 ,priests1 who in such  
matters are  more subtle1 and who       
perfectly understand the objection to   
which the  idea of a conviction lies    
open--that is to say of a falsehood     
which  is perpetrated on principle      
because it serves a purpose1 borrowed   
from the ,jews the prudent measure of   
setting the concept 8,god10 8,will  of  
,god10 8,revelation of ,god10 at this   
place4 ,kant1 too1 with his  categorical
 imperative1 was on the same road3 this 
was his practical  reason4--,there are  
some questions in which it is not given 
to man  to decide between true and      
false2 all the principal questions1 all 

the principal problems of value1 stand  
beyond human reason4444 ,to  comprehend 
the limits of reason--this alone is     
genuine philosophy4 ,for  what purpose  
did ,god give man revelation8 ,would    
,god have done anything  superfluous8   
,man cannot of his own accord know what 
is good and what is  evil1 that is why  
,god taught man his will4444 ,moral3 the
 priest does  not lie1 such questions as
 8truth0 or 8falseness0 have nothing to 
do  with the things concerning which the
 priest speaks2 such things do not      
allow of lying4 ,for1 in order to lie1  
it would be necessary to know  what is  
true in this respect4 ,but that is      
precisely what man cannot  know3 hence  
the priest is only the mouthpiece of    
,god4--,this sort of  sacerdotal        
syllogism is by no means exclusively    
,judaic or ,christian2  the right to lie
 and the prudent measure of 8revelation0
 belongs  to the priestly type1 whether 
of decadent periods or of ,pagan times  
7--,pagans are all those who say yea to 

life1 and to whom 8,god0 is the  word   
for the great yea to all things74 ,the  
8law10 the 8will of ,god10  the 8holy   
book10 and inspiration4--,all these     
things are merely words  for the        
conditions under which the priest       
attains to power1 and with  which he    
maintains his power1--these concepts are
 to be found at the  base of all        
sacerdotal organisations1 of all        
priestly or philosophical  and          
ecclesiastical governments4 ,the 8holy  
lie10 which is common to  ,confucius1 to
 the law-book of ,manu1 to ,muhamed1 and
 to the ,christian  church1 is not even 
absent in ,plato4 8,truth is here02 this
 phrase  means1 wherever it is uttered3 
the priest lies4444      #ef    ,after  
all1 the question is1 to what end are   
falsehoods perpetrated8  ,the fact that1
 in ,christianity1 8holy0 ends are      
entirely absent1  constitutes my        
objection to the means it employs4 ,its 
ends are only  bad ends3 the poisoning1 
the calumniation and the denial of life1

  the contempt of the body1 the         
degradation and self-pollution of man by
  virtue of the concept                 
sin1--consequently its means are bad as 
well4--,my  feelings are quite the      
reverse when ,i read the law-book of    
,manu1 an  incomparably superior and    
more intellectual work1 which it would  
be  a sin against the spirit even to    
mention in the same breath with  the    
,bible4 ,you will guess immediately why3
 it has a genuine philosophy  behind it1
 in it1 not merely an evil-smelling     
,jewish distillation  of ,rabbinism and 
superstition1--it gives something to    
chew even  to the most fastidious       
psychologist4 ,and1 not to forget the   
most  important point of all1 it is     
fundamentally different from every kind 
of ,bible3 by means of it the noble     
classes1 the philosophers and the       
warriors guard and guide the masses2 it 
is replete with noble values1  it is    
filled with a feeling of perfection1    
with a saying of yea to  life1 and a    

triumphant sense of well-being in regard
 to itself and to  life1--the sun shines
 upon the whole book4--,all those things
 which  ,christianity smothers with its 
bottomless vulgarity3 procreation1      
woman1 marriage1 are here treated with  
earnestness1 with revere nee1  with love
 and confidence4 ,how can one possibly  
place in the hands of  children and     
women1 a book that contains those vile  
words3 8to avoid  fornication1 let every
 man have his own wife1 and let every   
woman  have her own husband 444 it is   
better to marry than to burn40#aa  ,and 
is it decent to be a ,christian so long 
as the very origin of  man is           
,christianised1--that is to say1        
befouled1 by the idea of the  immaculata
 conceptio8 444 ,i know of no book in   
which so many delicate  and kindly      
things are said to woman1 as in the     
,law-,rook of ,manu2 these  old         
grey-beards and saints have a manner of 
being gallant to women  which1 perhaps1 
cannot be surpassed4 8,the mouth of a   

woman10 says ,manu  on one occasion1    
8the breast of a maiden1 the prayer of a
 child1 and  the smoke of the sacrifice1
 are always pure40 ,elsewhere he says3  
8there  is nothing purer than the light 
of the sun1 the shadow cast by a cow1   
air1 water1 fire and the breath of a    
maiden40 ,and finally--perhaps this  is 
also a holy lie3--8all the openings of  
the body above the navel are  pure1 all 
those below the navel are impure4 ,only 
in a maiden is the  whole body pure40   
#eg    ,the unholiness of ,christian    
means is caught in flagranti1 if only   
the end aspired to by ,christianity be  
compared with that of the  ,law-,book of
 ,manu2 if only these two utterly       
opposed aims be put under  a strong     
light ,the critic of ,christianity      
simply cannot avoid making              
,christianity contemptible4--,a         
,law-,book like that of ,manu comes into
  being like every good law-book3 it    
epitomises the experience1 the          
precautionary measures1 and the         

experimental morality of long ages1  it 
settles things definitely1 it no longer 
creates4 ,the prerequisite  for a       
codification of this kind1 is the       
recognition of the fact that  the means 
which procure authority for a truth to  
which it has cost  both time and great  
pains to attain1 are fundamentally      
different from  those with which that   
same truth would be proved4 ,a law-book 
never  relates the utility1 the reasons1
 the preliminary casuistry1 of a  law3  
for it would be precisely in this way   
that it would forfeit its  imperative   
tone1 the 8thou shalt10 the first       
condition of its being  obeyed4 ,the    
problem lies exactly in this4--,at a    
certain stage in the  development of a  
people1 the most far-seeing class within
 it 7that is  to say1 the class that    
sees farthest backwards and forwards71  
declares  the experience of how its     
fellow-creatures ought to live--can     
live--to be finally settled4 ,its object
 is1 to reap as rich and as  complete a 

harvest as possible1 in return for the  
ages of experiment  and terrible        
experience it has traversed4            
,consequently1 that which  has to be    
avoided1 above all1 is any further      
experimentation1 the  continuation of   
the state when values are still fluid1  
the testing1  choosing1 and criticising 
of values in infinitum4  ,against all   
this a  double wall is built up3 in the 
first place1 ,revelation1 which is the  
assumption that the rationale of every  
law is not human in its origin1  that it
 was not sought and found after ages of 
error1 but that it is  divine in its    
origin1 completely and utterly without a
 history1 gift1 a  miracle1 a mere      
communication4444 ,and secondly1        
tradition1 which is  the assumption that
 the law has obtained since the most    
primeval times1  that it is impious and 
a crime against one's ancestors to      
attempt to  doubt it4 ,the authority of 
law is established on the principles3   
,god  gave it1 the ancestors lived      

it4--,the superior reason of such a     
procedure lies in the intention to draw 
consciousness off step by step  from    
that mode of life which has been        
recognised as correct 7i4e41  proved    
after enormous and carefully examined   
experience71 so that  perfect automatism
 of the instincts may be attained1--this
 being the  only possible basis of all  
mastery of every kind of perfection in  
the ,art of ,life4 ,to draw up a        
law-book like ,manu's1 is tantamount  to
 granting a people mastership for the   
future1 perfection for the  future1--the
 right to aspire to the highest ,art of 
,life4 ,to that  end it must be made    
unconscious2 this is the object of every
 holy  lie4--,the order of castes1 the  
highest1 the dominating law1 is only    
the sanction of a natural order1 of a   
natural legislation of the  first rank1 
over which no arbitrary innovation1 no  
8modern idea0 has  any power4 ,every    
healthy society falls into three        
distinct types1 which  reciprocally     

condition one another and which         
gravitate differently in  the           
physiological sense2 and each of these  
has its own hygiene1 its  own sphere of 
work1 its own special feeling of        
perfection1 and its  own mastership4 ,it
 is ,nature1 not ,manu1 that separates  
from the rest1  those individuals       
preponderating in intellectual power1   
those excelling  in muscular strength   
and temperament1 and the third class    
which is  distinguished neither in one  
way nor the other1 the mediocre1--the   
latter as the greatest number1 the      
former as the lite4 ,the superior       
caste--,i call them the fewest1--has1 as
 the perfect caste1 the  privileges of  
the fewest3 it devolves upon them to    
represent happiness1  beauty and        
goodness on earth4 ,only the most       
intellectual men have  the right to     
beauty1 to the beautiful3 only in them  
is goodness not  weakness4 ,pulchrum est
 paucorum hominum3 goodness is a        
privilege4  ,on the other hand there is 

nothing which they should be more       
strictly  forbidden than repulsive      
manners or a pessimistic look1 a look   
that  makes everything seem ugly1--or   
even indignation at the general  aspect 
of things4 ,indignation is the privilege
 of the ,chandala1 and so  is pessimism4
 8,the world is perfect0--that is what  
the instinct of  the most intellectual  
says1 the yea-saying instinct2          
8imperfection1  every kind of           
inferiority to us1 distance1 the pathos 
of distance1  even the ,chandala belongs
 to this perfection40 ,the most         
intellectual  men1 as the strongest find
 their happiness where others meet  with
 their ruin3 in the labyrinth1 in       
hardness towards themselves  and others1
 in endeavour2 their delight is         
self-mastery3 with them  asceticism     
becomes a second nature1 a need1 an     
instinct ,they regard  a difficult task 
as their privilege2 to play with burdens
 which crush  their fellows is to them a
 recreation4444 ,knowledge1 a form of   

asceticism4--,they are the most         
honourable kind of men3 but that does   
not prevent them from being the most    
cheerful and most gracious4 ,they  rule1
 not because they will1 but because they
 are2 they are not at  liberty to take a
 second place4--,the second in rank are 
the guardians  of the law1 the          
custodians of order and of security1 the
 noble  warriors1 the king1 above all1  
as the highest formula of the warrior1  
the judge1 and keeper of the law4 ,the  
second in rank are the executive  of the
 most intellectual1 the nearest to them 
in duty1 relieving them  of all that is 
coarse in the work of ruling1--their    
retinue1 their  right hand1 their best  
disciples4 ,in all this1 ,i repeat1     
there is  nothing arbitrary1 nothing    
8artificial10 that which is otherwise is
  artificial1--by that which is         
otherwise1 nature is put to shame4444   
,the  order of castes1 and the order of 
rank merely formulates the supreme  law 
of life itself2 the differentiation of  

the three types is necessary  for the   
maintenance of society1 and for enabling
 higher and highest  types to be        
reared1--the inequality of rights is the
 only condition  of there being rights  
at all4--,a right is a privilege4 ,and  
in his  way1 each has his privilege4    
,let us not underestimate the privileges
  of the mediocre4 ,life always gets    
harder towards the summit1--the  cold   
increases1 responsibility increases4 ,a 
high civilisation is a  pyramid3 it can 
stand only upon a broad base1 its first 
prerequisite is  a strongly and soundly 
consolidated mediocrity4 ,handicraft1   
commerce1  agriculture1 science1 the    
greater part of art1--in a word1 the    
whole  range of professional and        
business callings1 is compatible only   
with  mediocre ability and ambition2    
such pursuits would be out of place     
among exceptions1 the instinct          
pertaining thereto would oppose not     
only aristocracy but anarchy as well4   
,the fact that one is publicly  useful1 

a wheel1 a function1 presupposes a      
certain natural destiny3 it  is not     
society1 but the only kind of happiness 
of which the great  majority are        
capable1 that makes them intelligent    
machines4 ,for the  mediocre it is a joy
 to be mediocre2 in them mastery in one 
thing1 a  speciality1 is a natural      
instinct4 ,it would be absolutely       
unworthy of  a profound thinker to see  
any objection in mediocrity per se4 ,for
  in itself it is the first essential   
condition under which exceptions  are   
possible2 a high culture is determined  
by it4 ,when the exceptional  man treats
 the mediocre with more tender care than
 he does himself or  his equals1 this is
 not mere courtesy of heart on his      
part--but simply  his duty4 444 ,whom do
 ,i hate most among the rabble of the   
present  day8 ,the socialistic rabble1  
the ,chandala apostles1 who undermine   
the  working man's instinct1 his        
happiness and his feeling of            
contentedness  with his insignificant   

existence1--who make him envious1 and   
who teach  him revenge4 444 ,the wrong  
never lies in unequal rights2 it lies in
 the  claim to equal rights4 ,what is   
bad8 ,but ,i have already replied to    
this3 ,everything that proceeds from    
weakness1 envy and revenge4--,the       
anarchist and the ,christian are        
offspring of the same womb4444      #eh 
,in point of fact1 it matters greatly to
 what end one lies3 whether one         
preserves or destroys by means of       
falsehood4 ,it is quite justifiable  to 
bracket the ,christian and the          
,anarchist together3 their object1      
their instinct1 is concerned only with  
destruction4 ,the proof of this         
proposition can be read quite plainly   
from history3 history spells it  with   
appalling distinctness4 ,whereas we have
 just seen a religious  legislation1    
whose object was to render the highest  
possible means of  making life flourish1
 and of making a grand organisation of  
society1  eternal1--,christianity found 

its mission in putting an end to such an
  organisation1 precisely because life  
flourishes through it4 ,in the  one     
case1 the net profit to the credit of   
reason1 acquired through  long ages of  
experiment and of insecurity1 is applied
 usefully to the  most remote ends1 and 
the harvest1 which is as large1 as rich 
and  as complete as possible1 is reaped 
and garnered3 in the other case1  on the
 contrary1 the harvest is blighted in a 
single night ,that  which stood there1  
re perennius1 the imperium ,romanum1 the
 most  magnificent form of organisation1
 under difficult conditions1 that has   
ever been achieved1 and compared with   
which everything that preceded1  and    
everything which followed it1 is mere   
patchwork1 gimcrackery1  and            
dilettantism1--those holy anarchists    
made it their 8piety10 to  destroy 8the 
world0--that is to say1 the imperium    
,romanum1 until  no two stones were left
 standing one on the other1--until even 
the  ,teutons and other clodhoppers were

 able to become master of it ,the       
,christian and the anarchist are both   
decadents2 they are both incapable  of  
acting in any other way than            
disintegratingly1 poisonously and       
witheringly1 like blood-suckers2 they   
are both actuated by an  instinct of    
mortal hatred of everything that stands 
erect1 that is  great1 that is lasting1 
and that is a guarantee of the          
future4444  ,christianity was the       
vampire of the imperium ,romanum1--in a 
night  it shattered the stupendous      
achievement of the ,romans1 which was to
  acquire the territory for a vast      
civilisation which could bide its       
time4--,does no one understand this yet8
 ,the imperium ,romanum that  we know1  
and which the history of the ,roman     
province teaches us to  know ever more  
thoroughly1 this most admirable work of 
art on a grand  scale1 was the          
beginning1 its construction was         
calculated to prove  its worth by       
millenniums1--unto this day nothing has 

ever again been  built in this fashion1 
nor have men even dreamt since of       
building on  this scale sub specie      
aterni6--,this organisation was         
sufficiently  firm to withstand bad     
emperors3 the accident of personalities 
must  have nothing to do with such      
matters--the first principle of all     
great architecture4 ,but it was not     
sufficiently firm to resist the         
corruptest form of corruption1 to resist
 the ,christians4444 ,these  stealthy   
canker-worms1 which under the shadow of 
night1 mist and  duplicity1 insinuated  
themselves into the company of every    
individual1  and proceeded to drain him 
of all seriousness for real things1  of 
all his instinct for realities2 this    
cowardly1 effeminate and  sugary gang   
have step by step alienated all 8souls0 
from this colossal  edifice1--those     
valuable1 virile and noble natures who  
felt that  the cause of ,rome was their 
own personal cause1 their own personal  
seriousness1 their own personal pride4  

,the stealth of the bigot1  the secrecy 
of the conventicle1 concepts as black as
 hell such as  the sacrifice of the     
innocent1 the unto mystica in the       
drinking  of blood1 above all the slowly
 kindled fire of revenge1 of ,chandala  
revenge--such things became master of   
,rome1 the same kind of religion  on the
 pre-existent form of which ,epicurus   
had waged war4 ,one has  only to read   
,lucretius in order to understand what  
,epicurus combated1  not ,paganism1 but 
8,christianity10 that is to say the     
corruption of  souls through the concept
 of guilt1 through the concept of       
punishment  and immortality4 ,he        
combated the subterranean cults1 the    
whole of  latent ,christianity--to deny 
immortality was at that time a genuine  
deliverance4--,and ,epicurus had        
triumphed1 every respectable thinker  in
 the ,roman ,empire was an ,epicurean3  
then ,st ,paul appeared 444 ,st  ,paul1 
the ,chandala hatred against ,rome1     
against 8the world10 the ,jew1  the     

eternal ,jew par excellence1 become     
flesh and genius4 444 ,what  he divined 
was1 how1 by the help of the small      
sectarian ,christian  movement1         
independent of ,judaism1 a universal    
conflagration could be  kindled2 how1   
with the symbol of the 8,god on the     
,cross10 everything  submerged1         
everything secretly insurrectionary1 the
 whole offspring  of anarchical         
intrigues could be gathered together to 
constitute an  enormous power4 8,for    
salvation is of the                     
,jews40--,christianity is  the formula  
for the supersession1 and epitomising of
 all kinds of  subterranean cults1 that 
of ,osiris1 of the ,great ,mother1 of   
,mithras for  example3 ,st ,paul's      
genius consisted in his discovery of    
this4 ,in this  matter his instinct was 
so certain1 that1 regardless of doing   
violence  to truth1 he laid the ideas by
 means of which those ,chandala         
religions  fascinated1 upon the very    
lips of the 8,saviour0 he had invented1 

and  not only upon his lips1--that he   
made out of him something which even  a 
,mithras priest could understand4444    
,this was his moment of ,damascus3  he  
saw that he had need of the belief in   
immortality in order to  depreciate 8the
 world10 that the notion of 8hell0 would
 become master  of ,rome1 that with a   
8,beyond0 this life can be killed4 444  
,nihilist  and ,christian1--they rhyme  
in ,german1 and they do not only rhyme4 
#ei    ,the whole labour of the ancient 
world in vain3 ,i am at a loss for a    
word which could express my feelings at 
something so atrocious4--,and  in view  
of the fact that its labour was only    
preparatory1 that with  adamantine      
self-consciousness it laid the          
substructure1 alone1 to  a work which   
was to last millenniums1 the whole      
significance of  the ancient world was  
certainly in vain6444 ,what was the use 
of the  ,greeks8 what was the use of the
 ,romans8--,all the prerequisites of a  
learned culture1 all the scientific     

methods already existed1 the great  and 
peerless art of reading well had already
 been established--that  indispensable  
condition to tradition1 to culture and  
to scientific  unity2 natural science   
hand in hand with mathematics and       
mechanics  was on the best possible     
road1--the sense for facts1 the last and
  most valuable of all senses1 had its  
schools1 and its tradition was  already 
centuries old6 ,is this understood8     
,everything essential had  been         
discovered to make it possible for work 
to be begun3--methods1  and this cannot 
be said too often1 are the essential    
thing1 also the  most difficult thing1  
while they moreover have to wage the    
longest war  against custom and         
indolence4 ,that which to-day we have   
successfully  reconquered for ourselves1
 by dint of unspeakable                 
self-discipline--for  in some way or    
other all of us still have the bad      
instincts1 the  ,christian instincts1 in
 our body1--the impartial eye for       

reality1  the cautious hand1 patience   
and seriousness in the smallest details1
  complete uprightness in               
knowledge1--all this was already there2 
it  had been there over two thousand    
years before6 ,and in addition to this  
there was also that excellent and subtle
 tact and taste6 ,not in the  form of   
brain drilling6 ,not in the form of     
8,german0 culture with the  manners of a
 boor6 ,but incarnate1 manifesting      
itself in men's bearing  and in their   
instinct1--in short constituting        
reality4444 ,all this  in vain6 ,in one 
night it became merely a memory6--,the  
,greeks6 ,the  ,romans6 ,instinctive    
nobility1 instinctive taste1 methodic   
research1  the genius of organisation   
and administration1 faith1 the will to  
the future of mankind1 the great yea to 
all things materialised  in the imperium
 ,romanum1 become visible to all the    
senses1 grand  style no longer          
manifested in mere art1 but in reality1 
in truth1  in life4--,and buried in a   

night1 not by a natural catastrophe6    
,not stamped to death by ,teutons and   
other heavy-footed vandals6  ,but       
destroyed by crafty1 stealthy1 invisible
 anmic vampires6 ,not  conquered1--but  
only drained of blood6444 ,the concealed
 lust of  revenge1 miserable envy become
 master6 ,everything wretched1 inwardly 
ailing1 and full of ignoble feelings1   
the whole ,ghetto-world of souls1  was  
in a trice uppermost6--,one only needs  
to read any one of the  ,christian      
agitators--,st ,augustine1 for          
instance1--in order to realise1  in     
order to smell1 what filthy fellows came
 to the top in this  movement4 ,you     
would deceive yourselves utterly if you 
supposed that the  leaders of the       
,christian agitation showed any lack of 
understanding  --,ah6 they were shrewd1 
shrewd to the point of holiness were    
these  dear old ,fathers of the ,church 
,i ,what they lack is something quite   
different4 ,nature neglected them1--it  
forgot to give them a modest  dowry of  

decent1 of respectable and of cleanly   
instincts4444 ,between  ourselves1 they 
are not even men4 ,if ,islam despises   
,christianity1 it is  justified a       
thousand times over2 for ,islam         
presupposes men4      #fj               
,christianity destroyed the harvest we  
might have reaped from the  culture of  
antiquity1 later it also destroyed our  
harvest of the  culture of ,islam4 ,the 
wonderful ,moorish world of ,spanish    
culture1 which  in its essence is more  
closely related to us1 and which appeals
  more to our sense and taste than ,rome
 and ,greece1 was trampled to           
death7--,i do not say by what kind of   
feet71 why8--because it owed  its origin
 to noble1 to manly instincts1 because  
it said yea to life1  even that life so 
full of the rare and refined luxuries of
 the ,moors6  444 ,later on the         
,crusaders waged war upon something     
before which it  would have been more   
seemly in them to grovel in the dust1--a
 culture1  beside which even our        

,nineteenth ,century would seem very    
poor and  very 8senile40--,of course    
they wanted booty3 the ,orient was      
rich4444  ,for goodness' sake let us    
forget our prejudices6                  
,crusades--superior  piracy1 that is    
all6 ,german nobility--that is to say1 a
 ,viking nobility  at bottom1 was in its
 element in such wars3 the ,church was  
only too  well aware of how ,german     
nobility is to be won4444 ,german       
nobility  was always the 8,swiss ,guard0
 of the ,church1 always at the service  
of  all the bad instincts of the        
,church2 but it was well paid for it    
all4444 ,fancy the ,church having waged 
its deadly war upon everything  noble on
 earth1 precisely with the help of      
,german swords1 ,german blood  and      
courage6 ,a host of painful questions   
might be raised on this  point ,german  
nobility scarcely takes a place in the  
history of higher  culture3 the reason  
of this is obvious2 ,christianity1      
alcohol--the two  great means of        

corruption4 ,as a matter of fact choice 
ought to be  just as much out of the    
question between ,islam and             
,christianity1 as  between an ,arab and 
a ,jew4 ,the decision is already        
self-evident2 nobody  is at liberty to  
exercise a choice in this matter4 ,a man
 is either of  the ,chandala or he is   
not 444 8,war with ,rome to the knife6  
,peace  and friendship with ,islam03    
this is what that great free spirit1    
that  genius among ,german              
emperors1--,frederick the ,second1 not  
only felt  but also did4 ,what8 ,must a 
,german in the first place be a genius1 
a  free-spirit1 in order to have decent 
feelings8 ,i cannot understand  how a   
,german was ever able to have ,christian
 feelings4    ,here it is necessary to  
revive a memory which will be a hundred 
times  more painful to ,germans4 ,the   
,germans have destroyed the last great  
harvest of culture which was to be      
garnered for ,europe1--it destroyed  the
 ,renaissance4 ,does anybody at last    

understand1 will anybody  understand    
what the ,renaissance was8 ,the         
transvaluation of ,christian  values1   
the attempt undertaken with all means1  
all instincts and all  genius to make   
the opposite values1 the noble values   
triumph1444  ,hitherto there has been   
only this great war3 there has never yet
  been a more decisive question than the
 ,renaissance1--my question  is the     
question of the ,renaissance3--there has
 never been a more  fundamental1 a more 
direct and a more severe attack1        
delivered with  a whole front upon the  
centre of the foe4 ,to attack at the    
decisive  quarter1 at the very seat of  
,christianity1 and there to place noble 
values on the throne1--that is to say1  
to introduce them into the  instincts1  
into the most fundamental needs and     
desires of those  sitting there4444 ,i  
see before me a possibility perfectly   
magic in  its charm and glorious        
colouring--it seems to me to scintillate
  with all the quivering grandeur of    

refined beauty1 that there is  an art at
 work within it which is so divine1 so  
infernally divine1  that one might seek 
through millenniums in vain for another 
such  possibility2 ,i see a spectacle so
 rich in meaning and so wonderfully     
paradoxical to boot1 that it would be   
enough to make all the gods of  ,olympus
 rock with immortal laughter1--,csar    
,borgia as ,pope4 444  ,do you          
understand me8 444 ,very well then1 this
 would have been the  triumph which ,i  
alone am longing for to-day3--this would
 have swept  ,christianity away6--,what 
happened8 ,a ,german monk1 ,luther1 came
 to  ,rome4 ,this monk1 with all the    
vindictive instincts of an abortive     
priest in his body1 foamed with rage    
over the ,renaissance in ,rome4444      
,instead of1 with the profoundest       
gratitude1 understanding the vast       
miracle that had taken place1 the       
overcoming of ,christianity at its      
headquarters1--the fire of his hate knew
 only how to draw fresh fuel  from this 

spectacle4 ,a religious man thinks only 
of himself4--,luther  saw the corruption
 of the ,papacy when the very reverse   
stared him in  the face3 the old        
corruption1 the peceatum originate1     
,christianity  no longer sat upon the   
,papal chair6 ,but ,life6 ,the triumph  
of  ,life6 ,the great yea to all lofty1 
beautiful and daring things6444  ,and   
,luther reinstated the ,church2 he      
attacked it ,the ,renaissance  thus     
became an event without meaning1 a great
 in vain6--,ah these  ,germans1 what    
have they not cost us already6 ,in      
vain--this has always  been the         
achievement of the ,germans4--,the      
,reformation1 ,leibniz1  ,kant and      
so-called ,german philosophy1 the ,wars 
of ,liberation1 the  ,empire--in each   
case are in vain for something which had
 already  existed1 for something which  
cannot be recovered4 444 ,i confess it1 
these ,germans are my enemies3 ,i       
despise every sort of uncleanliness  in 
concepts and valuations in them1 every  

kind of cowardice in the  face of every 
honest yea or nay4 ,for almost one      
thousand years1 now1  they have tangled 
and confused everything they have laid  
their hands  on2 they have on their     
conscience all the half-measures1 all   
the  three-eighth measures of which     
,europe is sick2 they also have the     
most unclean1 the most incurable1 and   
the most irrefutable kind of            
,christianity--,protestantism--on their 
conscience4444 ,if we shall never  be   
able to get rid of ,christianity1 the   
,germans will be to blame4      #fb     
--,with this ,i will now conclude and   
pronounce my judgment4 ,i condemn       
,christianity and confront it with the  
most terrible accusation that  an       
accuser has ever had in his mouth4 ,to  
my mind it is the greatest  of all      
conceivable corruptions1 it has had the 
will to the last  imaginable corruption4
 ,the ,christian ,church allowed nothing
 to escape  from its corruption2 it     
converted every value into its opposite1

 every  truth into a ,he1 and every     
honest impulse into an ignominy of the  
soul4 ,let anyone dare to speak to me of
 its humanitarian blessings6  ,to       
abolish any sort of distress was opposed
 to its profoundest  interests2 its very
 existence depended on states of        
distress2 it  created states of distress
 in order to make itself immortal4444   
,the  cancer germ of sin1 for instance3 
the ,church was the first to enrich     
mankind with this misery6--,the         
8equality of souls before ,god10 this   
falsehood1 this pretext for the rancunes
 of all the base-minded1  this anarchist
 bomb of a concept1 which has ultimately
 become the  revolution1 the modern     
idea1 the principle of decay of the     
whole of  social order1--this is        
,christian dynamite 444 ,the            
8humanitarian0  blessings of            
,christianity6 ,to breed a              
self-contradiction1 an art of           
self-profanation1 a will to lie at any  
price1 an aversion1 a contempt  of all  

good and honest instincts out of        
humanitas6 ,is this what you  call the  
blessings of ,christianity8--,parasitism
 as the only method of  the ,church2    
sucking all the blood1 all the love1 all
 the hope of life  out of mankind with  
anmic and sacred ideals4 ,a 8,beyond0 as
 the will to  deny all reality2 the     
cross as the trade-mark of the most     
subterranean  form of conspiracy that   
has ever existed1--against health1      
beauty1  well-constitutedness1 bravery1 
intellect1 kindliness of soul1 against  
,life itself4444    ,this eternal       
accusation against ,christianity ,i     
would fain write on all  walls1 wherever
 there are walls1--,i have letters with 
which ,i can make  even the blind       
see4444 ,i call ,christianity the one   
great curse1 the one  enormous and      
innermost perversion1 the one great     
instinct of revenge1  for which no means
 are too venomous1 too underhand1 too   
underground and  too petty1--,i call it 
the one immortal blemish of mankind4444 

,and time is reckoned from the dies     
nefastus upon which this  fatality came 
into being--from the first day of       
,christianity6--why  not rather from its
 last day8--,from                       
to-day8--,transvaluation of all         
,values6444      #a ,the ,german        
8,tchtigkeit0 has a nobler ring than our
 word  8efficiency40--,,tr4    #b ,cf4  
,disraeli3 8,but enlightened ,europe is 
not happy4 ,its existence  is a fever   
which it calls progress4 ,progress to   
what80 78,tancred10 ,book  ,,iii41      
,chap1 vii474--,,tr4    #c ,it will be  
seen from this that in spite of         
,nietzsche's ruthless  criticism of the 
priests1 he draws a sharp distinction   
between  ,christianity and the ,church4 
,as the latter still contained elements 
of order1 it was more to his taste than 
the denial of authority  characteristic 
of real ,christianity4--,,tr4    #d     
8reine ,thorheit0 in the ,german text1  
referring once again to                 
,parsifal4--,tr4    #e ,this applies    

apparently to ,bismarck1 the forger of  
the ,ems telegram  and a sincere        
,christian4--,tr4    #f ,an adaptation  
of ,shakespeare's 8,well roared1 lion0  
7,mid4 ,n4 ,d41  ,act #e1 ,sc4 i471 the 
lion1 as is well known1 being the symbol
 for ,st  ,mark in ,christian literature
 and ,art--,,tr4    #g ,a parody on a   
line in ,schiller's 8,jungfrau von      
,orleans0 7,act #c1  ,sc4 vi473 8,mit   
der ,dummheit kmpfen ,gtter selbst      
vergebens40 7,with  stupidity even the  
gods themselves struggle in             
vain74--,,tr4    #h   ,lat4 ,retentio1  
,inhibitio 7,stephanus1 ,thesaurus ,grc 
,lingu72 therefore3 reserve1 caution4   
,the ,greek ,sceptics were also  called 
,ephectics owing to their caution in    
judging and in concluding  from         
facts4--,,tr4    #i ,the following      
passage from ,multatuti will throw light
 on this  passage3--                    
8,father3--#8,behold1 my son1 how wisely
 ,providence has arranged  everything6  
,this bird lays its eggs in its nest and

 the young will be  hatched just about  
the time when there will be worms and   
flies with  which to feed them4 ,then   
they will sing a song of praise in      
honour of  the ,creator who overwhelms  
his creatures with blessings4'--        
8,son3--#8,will the worms join in the   
song1 ,dad8'04--,,tr4    #aj 8,thus     
,spake ,zarathustra40 ,the              
,priests4--,,tr4    #aa ,i ,corinthians 
vii4 #b1 #i4--,,tr4          ,,the      
,,eternal ,,recurrence    ,,and         
,,explanatory ,,notes ,,to 8,,thus      
,,spake ,,zarathustra40                 
,,translator',s ,,preface    ,the notes 
concerning the ,eternal ,recurrence1 in 
this volume1 are said  by ,mrs          
,foerster-,nietzsche to have been the   
first that ,nietzsche ever  wrote on the
 subject of his great doctrine4 ,this   
being so1 they must  have been composed 
towards the autumn of the year #ahha4   
,i have already pointed out elsewhere   
7,will to ,power1 vol4 ii41             
,translator's ,preface7 how much        

importance ,nietzsche himself ascribed  
to this doctrine1 and how1 until the    
end1 he regarded it as the  inspiration 
which had led to his chief work1 ,thus  
,spake ,zarathustra4  ,for the details  
relating to its inception1 however1 ,i  
would refer the  reader to ,mrs         
,foerster-,nietzsche's ,introduction to 
her brother's chief  work1 which was    
translated for the eleventh volume of   
this ,edition of  the ,complete ,works4 
,in reading these notes it would be well
 to refer to ,nietzsche's other         
utterances on the subject which are to  
be found at the end of vol4  ii4 of the 
,will to ,power1 and also1 if possible1 
to have recourse  to the original       
,german text4 ,despite the greatest     
care1 ,i confess  that in some          
instances1 ,i have felt a little doubt  
as to the precise  ,english equivalent  
for the thoughts expressed under the    
heading  ,eternal ,recurrence2 and1     
though ,i have attributed this          
difficulty to  the extreme novelty of   

the manner in which the subject is      
presented1  it is well that the reader  
should be aware that such doubt has been
  entertained4 ,for ,i disbelieve       
utterly in mere verbal translation1     
however accurate1 and would question    
anybody's right to convert a  ,german   
sentence into ,english--even though he  
were so perfect in  both languages as to
 be almost absolutely bilingual1--if he 
did not  completely grasp the thought   
behind the sentence4    ,the writing of 
the collected ,explanatory ,notes to    
,thus ,spake  ,zarathustra1 cannot be   
given any exact date4 ,some of them     
consist of  comments1 written down by   
,nietzsche after the completion of the  
book1  and kept as the nucleus of an    
actual commentary to ,zarathustra1 which
  it seems to have been his intention1  
one day1 to write2 while others  are    
merely memoranda and rough sketches1    
probably written before the  completion 
of the work1 and which served the       
purpose of a draft of his  original     

plan4 ,the reader who knows ,thus ,spake
 ,zarathustra will be  able to tell     
wherein the book ultimately differed    
from the plan visible  in these         
preliminary notes4    ,as an            
authoritative1 though alas6 all too     
fragmentary elucidation of a  few of the
 more obscure passages of ,zarathustra1 
some of these notes  are of the greatest
 value2 and1 in paragraph #gc1 for      
instance1 there  is an interpretation of
 the ,fourth and ,last ,part1 which ,i  
myself would  have welcomed with great  
enthusiasm1 at the time when ,i was     
having my  first struggles with the     
spirit of this great ,german sage's life
 work4    ,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici4     
,i4 ,,eternal ,,recurrence      #a4     
,,the ,,doctrine ,,expounded ,,and      
,,substantiated4      #a4    ,the extent
 of universal energy is limited2 it is  
not 8infinite03 we  should beware of    
such excesses in our concepts6          
,consequently the number  of states1    
changes1 combinations1 and evolutions of

 this energy1  although it may be       
enormous and practically incalculable1  
is at any  rate definite and not        
unlimited4 ,the time1 however1 in which 
this  universal energy works its changes
 is infinite--that is to say1 energy    
remains eternally the same and is       
eternally active3--at this moment an    
infinity has already elapsed1 that is to
 say1 every possible evolution  must    
already have taken place4 ,consequently 
the present process of  evolution must  
be a repetition1 as was also the one    
before it1 as will  also be the one     
which will follow4 ,and so on forwards  
and backwards6  ,inasmuch as the entire 
state of all forces continually returns1
  everything has existed an infinite    
number of times4 ,whether1 apart from   
this1 anything exactly like something   
that formerly existed has ever          
appeared1 is completely beyond proof4   
,it would seem that each complete  state
 of energy forms all qualities afresh   
even to the smallest  degree1 so that   

two different complete states could have
 nothing in  common4 ,is it to be       
supposed that in one and the same       
complete states  two precisely similar  
things could appear--for instance two   
leaves8  ,i doubt it3 it would take for 
granted that they had both had an       
absolutely similar origin1 and in that  
case we should have to assume  that     
right back in infinity two similar      
things had also existed despite  all the
 changes in the complete states and     
their creation of new  qualities--an    
impossible assumption4      #b          
,formerly it was thought that unlimited 
energy was a necessary corollary  to    
unlimited activity in time1 and that    
this energy could be exhausted  by no   
form of consumption4 ,now it is thought 
that energy remains  constant and docs  
not require to be infinite4 ,it is      
eternally active  but it is no longer   
able eternally to create new forms1 it  
must repeat  itself3 that is my         
conclusion4      #c    ,an incalculable 

number of complete states of energy have
 existed1  but these have not been      
infinitely different3 for if they had   
been1  unlimited energy would have been 
necessary4 ,the energy of the universe  
can only have a given number of possible
 qualities4      #d    ,the endless     
evolution of new forms is a             
contradiction1 for it would  imply      
eternally increasing energy4 ,but whence
 would it grow8 ,whence  would it derive
 its nourishment and its surplus of     
nourishment8 ,the  assumption that the  
universe is an organism contradicts the 
very  essence of the organic4      #e   
,in what principle and belief is that   
decisive turning point in  philosophical
 thought best expressed which has come  
into being thanks  to the preponderance 
of the scientific spirit over the       
religious and  ,god-creating one8 ,we   
insist upon the fact that the world as a
 sum of  energy must not be regarded as 
unlimited--we forbid ourselves the      
concept infinite energy1 because it     

seems incompatible with the concept     
energy4      #f    ,an unlimited number 
of new changes and states on the part of
 limited  energy is a contradiction1    
however extensive one may imagine it to 
be1  and however economical the changes 
may be1 provided it is infinite4  ,we   
are therefore forced to conclude3 7#a7  
either that the universe  began its     
activity at a given moment of time and  
will end in a similar  fashion1--but the
 beginning of activity is absurd2 if a  
state of  equilibrium had been reached  
it would have persisted to all eternity2
  7#b7 ,or there is no such thing as an 
endless number of changes1 but  a circle
 consisting of a definite number of them
 which continually  recurs3 activity is 
eternal1 the number of the products and 
states of  energy is limited4      #g   
,if all the possible combinations and   
relations of forces had not  already    
been exhausted1 then an infinity would  
not yet lie behind  us4 ,now since      
infinite time must be assumed1 no fresh 

possibility  can exist and everything   
must have appeared already1 and moreover
 an  infinite number of times4      #h  
,the present world of forces leads back 
to a state of greatest  simplicity in   
these forces3 it likewise leads forwards
 to such a  state1--cannot and must not 
both states be identical8 ,no           
incalculable  number of states can      
evolve out of a system of limited       
forces1 that  is to say1 out of a given 
quantity of energy which may be         
precisely  measured4 ,only when we      
falsely assume that space is unlimited1 
and that  therefore energy gradually    
becomes dissipated1 can the final state 
be  an unproductive and lifeless one4   
#i    ,first principles4--,the last     
physical state of energy which we can   
imagine must necessarily be the first   
also4 ,the absorption of energy  in     
latent energy must be the cause of the  
production of the most vital  energy4   
,for a highly positive state must follow
 a negative state ,space  like matter is

 a subjective form1 time is not4 ,the   
notion of space  first arose from the   
assumption that space could be empty4   
,but there is  no such thing as empty   
space4 ,everything is energy4    ,we    
cannot think of that which moves and    
that which is moved together1  but both 
these things constitute matter and      
space4 ,we isolate4      #aj            
,concerning the resurrection of the     
world4--,out of two negatives1 when     
they are forces1 a positive arises4     
7,darkness comes of light opposed to    
light1 cold arises from warmth opposed  
to warmth1 c1 c47      #aa    ,an       
uncertain state of equilibrium occurs   
just as seldom in nature as  two        
absolutely equal triangles4             
,consequently anything like a static    
state of energy in general is           
impossible4 ,if stability were possible 
it  would already have been reached4    
#ab    ,either complete equilibrium must
 in itself be an impossibility1 or  the 
changes of energy introduce themselves  

in the circular process  before that    
equilibrium which is in itself possible 
has appeared4--,but  it would be madness
 to ascribe a feeling of                
self-preservation to  existence6 ,and   
the same applies to the conception of a 
contest of pain  and pleasure among     
atoms4      #ac    ,physics supposes    
that energy may be divided up3 but every
 one of its  possibilities must first be
 adjusted to reality4 ,there can        
therefore  be no question of dividing   
energy into equal parts2 in every one of
  its states it manifests a certain     
quality1 and qualities cannot be        
subdivided3 hence a state of equilibrium
 in energy is impossible4      #ad      
,if energy had ever reached a stage of  
equilibrium that stage would  have      
persisted3 it has therefore never       
reached such a stage4 ,the  present     
condition of things contradicts this    
assumption4 ,if we assume  that there   
has ever been a state absolutely like   
the present one this  assumption is in  

no wise refuted by the present state4   
,for1 among  all the endless            
possibilities1 this case must already   
have occurred1  as an infinity is       
already behind us4 ,if equilibrium were 
possible it  would already have been    
reached4--,and if this momentary state  
has  already existed then that which    
bore it and the previous one also would 
likewise have existed and so on         
backwards1--and from this it follows    
that it has already existed not only    
twice but three times1--just as it  will
 exist again not only twice but three   
times1--in fact an infinite  number of  
times backwards and forwards4 ,that is  
to say1 the whole  process of ,becoming 
consists of a repetition of a definite  
number of  precisely similar            
states4--,clearly the human brain cannot
 be left to  imagine the whole series of
 possibilities3 but in any case1 quite  
apart  from our ability to judge or our 
inability to conceive the whole range   
of possibilities1 the present state at  

least is a possible one--because  it is 
a real one4 ,we should therefore say3 in
 the event of the number  of            
possibilities not being infinite1 and   
assuming that in the course of          
unlimited time a limited number of these
 must appear1 all real states  must have
 been preceded by similar states8       
,because from every given  moment a     
whole infinity is to be calculated      
backwards8 ,the stability of  forces and
 their equilibrium is a possible        
alternative3 but it has not  been       
reached2 consequently the number of     
possibilities is greater than  the      
number of real states4 ,the fact that   
nothing similar recurs could  not be    
explained by appealing to accident1 but 
only by supposing that a  certain       
intention1 that no similar things should
 recur1 were actually  inherent in the  
essence of energy3 for1 if we grant that
 the number of  cases is enormous1 the  
occurrence of like cases is more        
probable than  absolute disparity4      

#ae    ,let us think backwards a moment 
,if the world had a goal1 this goal     
must have been reached3 if a certain    
7unintentional7 final state  existed for
 the world1 this state also would have  
been reached4 ,if  it were in any way   
capable of a stationary or stable       
condition1 and  if in the whole course  
of its existence only one second of     
,being1 in  the strict sense of the     
word1 had been possible1 then there     
could  no longer be such a process as   
evolution1 and therefore no thinking    
and no observing of such a process4 ,if 
on the other hand the world  were       
something which continually renovated   
itself1 it would then be  understood to 
be something miraculous and free to     
create itself--in  fact something       
divine4 ,eternal renovation presupposes 
that energy  voluntarily increases      
itself1 that it not only has the        
intention1 but  also the power1 to avoid
 repeating itself or to avoid returning 
into a  previous form1 and that every   

instant it adjusts itself in every one  
of  its movements to prevent such a     
contingency1--or that it was incapable  
of returning to a state it had already  
passed through4 ,that would  mean that  
the whole sum of energy was not         
constant1 any more than its  attributes 
were ,but a sum of energy which would be
 inconstant and which  would fluctuate  
is quite unthinkable ,let us not indulge
 our fancy  any longer with unthinkable 
things in order to fall once more before
  the concept of a ,creator             
7multiplication out of nothing1         
reduction  out of nothing1 absolute     
arbitrariness and freedom in growth and 
in  qualities73--      #af    ,he who   
does not believe in the circular process
 of the universe must  pin his faith to 
an arbitrary ,god--thus my doctrine     
becomes necessary  as opposed to all    
that has been said hitherto in matters  
of ,theism4      #ag    ,the hypothesis 
which ,i would oppose to that of the    
eternal circular  process3--,would it be

 just as possible to explain the laws of
 the  mechanical world as exceptions and
 seemingly as accidents among the       
things of the universe1 as one          
possibility only among an incalculable  
number of possibilities8 ,would it be   
possible to regard ourselves  as        
accidentally thrust into this corner of 
the mechanical universal                
arrangement8--,that all chemical        
philosophy is likewise an exception  and
 an accident in the world's economy1 and
 finally that organic life  is a mere   
exception and accident in the chemical  
world8 ,should we have  to assume as the
 most general form of existence a world 
which was  not yet mechanical1 which was
 outside all mechanical laws 7although  
accessible to them78--and that as a     
matter of fact this world would  be the 
most general now and for evermore1 so   
that the origin of the  mechanical world
 would be a lawless game which would    
ultimately acquire  such consistency as 
the organic laws seem to have now from  

our point  of view8 ,so that all our    
mechanical laws would be not eternal1   
but  evolved1 and would have survived   
innumerable different mechanical  laws1 
or that they had attained supremacy in  
isolated corners of the  world and not  
in others8--,it would seem that we need 
caprice1 actual  lawlessness1 and only a
 capacity for law1 a primeval state of  
stupidity  which is not even able to    
concern itself with mechanics8 ,the     
origin of  qualities presupposes the    
existence of quantities1 and these1 for 
their  part1 might arise from a thousand
 kinds of mechanical processes4    ,is  
not the existence of some sort of       
irregularity and incomplete  circular   
form in the world about us1 a sufficient
 refutation of  the regular circularity 
of everything that exists8 ,whence comes
  this variety within the circular      
process8 ,is not everything far too     
complicated to have been the outcome of 
unity8 ,and are not the many  chemical  
laws and likewise the organic species   

and forms inexplicable  as the result of
 homogeneity8 or of duality8--,supposing
 there were  such a thing as a regular  
contracting energy in all the centres of
  force in the universe1 the question   
would be1 whence could the most         
insignificant difference spring8 ,for   
then the whole world would have  to be  
resolved into innumerable completely    
equal rings and spheres of  existence   
and we should have an incalculable      
number of exactly equal  worlds side by 
side4 ,is it necessary for me to assume 
this8 ,must ,i  suppose that an eternal 
sequence of like worlds also involves   
eternal  juxta-position of like worlds8 
,but the multifariousness and disorder  
in the world which we have known        
hitherto contradicts this2 no such      
universal similarity has existed in     
evolution1 for in that case even  for   
our part of the cosmos a regular        
spherical form must have been  formed4  
,should the production of qualities not 
be subject to any strict  laws8 ,can it 

be possible that different things have  
been derived from  8energy08            
,arbitrarily8 ,is the conformity to law 
which we observe  perhaps only a        
deception8 ,is it possible that it is   
not a primeval law8  ,is it possible    
that the multifariousness of qualities  
even in our part  of the world is the   
result of the absolute occurrence of    
arbitrary  characteristics8 ,but that   
these characteristics no longer appear  
in our  corner of the globe8 ,or that   
our corner of existence has adopted a   
rule  which we call cause and effect    
when all the while it is no such thing  
7an arbitrary phenomenon become a rule1 
as for instance oxygen and  hydrogen in 
chemistry7888 ,is this rule simply a    
protracted kind of mood8      #ah    ,if
 the universe had been able to become an
 organism it would have  become one     
already4 ,as a whole we must try and    
regard it in the  light of a thing as   
remote as possible from the organic4 ,i 
believe  that even our chemical affinity

 and coherence may be perhaps recently  
evolved and that these appearances only 
occur in certain corners of  the        
universe at certain epochs4 ,let us     
believe in absolute necessity  in the   
universe but let us guard against       
postulating any sort of law1  even if it
 be a primitive and mechanical one of   
our own experience1  as ruling over the 
whole and constituting one of its       
eternal  characteristics4--,all chemical
 qualities might have been evolved and  
might disappear and return4 ,innumerable
 characteristics might have been        
developed which for us1--from our       
limited point of view in time and       
space1 defy observation4 ,the           
transformation of a chemical quality may
  perhaps now be taking place1 but so   
slowly that it escapes our most         
delicate calculations4      #ai         
,inorganic matter1 even though in most  
cases it may once have  been organic1   
can have stored up no experience1--it is
 always  without a pastl ,if the reverse

 were the case a repetition would be    
impossible--for then matter would for   
ever be producing new qualities  with   
new pasts4      #bj    ,we must guard   
against ascribing any aspiration or any 
goal to this  circular process3         
,likewise we must not1 from the point of
 view of our  own needs1 regard it as   
either monotonous or foolish1 c4 ,we may
 grant  that the greatest possible      
irrationality1 as also its reverse1 may 
be  an essential feature of it3 but we  
must not value it according to this     
hypothesis4 ,rationality or             
irrationality cannot stand as attributes
 of  the universe4--,we must not think  
of the law of this circular process as  
a thing evolved1 by drawing false       
analogies with the circular motions     
occurring within the circle4 ,there was 
no primitive chaos followed  gradually  
by a more harmonious and finally        
definite circular motion of  all forces3
 ,on the contrary everything is eternal 
and unevolved4 ,if  there ever was a    

chaos of forces1 then that chaos itself 
was eternal  and was repeated at its    
particular moment of time in the turn of
 the  world wheel4 ,the circular process
 is not the outcome of evolution1 it  is
 a primitive principle like the quantum 
of energy1 and allows of no  exception  
or violation4 ,all ,becoming takes place
 within the circular  process and the   
quantum of energy which constitutes it3 
therefore we  must not apply ephemeral  
processes like those for instance of    
heavenly  bodies1 of the ebb and flow of
 tides1 of day and night1 of the        
seasons1  to the drawing of analogies   
for characterising the eternal circular 
process4      #ba    ,the 8chaos of the 
universe10 inasmuch as it excludes any  
aspiration to  a goal1 does not oppose  
the thought of the circular process3 the
 latter  is simply an irrational        
necessity1 absolutely free from any     
formal  ethical or sthetical            
significance4 ,arbitrariness in small   
things as in  great is completely       

lacking here4      #bb    ,let us guard 
against believing that the universe has 
a tendency to  attain to certain forms1 
or that it aims at becoming more        
beautiful1  more perfect1 more          
complicated6 ,all that is               
anthropomorphism6 ,anarchy1  ugliness1  
form--are unrelated concepts4 ,there is 
no such thing as  imperfection in the   
realm of mechanics4    ,everything has  
returned3 ,sirius1 and the spider1 and  
thy thoughts at  this moment1 and this  
last thought of thine that all these    
things will  return4      #bc    ,our   
whole world consists of the ashes of an 
incalculable number of  living          
creatures3 and even if living matter is 
ever so little compared  with the whole1
 everything has already been transformed
 into life once  before and thus the    
process goes on4 ,if we grant eternal   
time we must  assume the eternal change 
of matter4      #bd    ,whoever thou    
mayest be1 beloved stranger1 whom ,i    
meet here for the  first time1 avail    

thyself of this happy hour and of the   
stillness  around us1 and above us1 and 
let me tell thee something of the       
thought  which has suddenly risen before
 me like a star which would fain shed   
down its rays upon thee and every one1  
as befits the nature of light--      #be
    ,the world of energy suffers no     
diminution3 otherwise with eternal  time
 it would have grown weak and finally   
have perished altogether4  ,the world of
 energy suffers no stationary state1    
otherwise this would  already have been 
reached1 and the clock of the universe  
would be at  a standstill4 ,the world of
 energy does not therefore reach a state
 of  equilibrium2 for no instant in its 
career has it had rest2 its energy  and 
its movement have been the same for all 
time4 ,whatever state this  world could 
have reached must ere now have been     
attained1 and not  only once but an     
incalculable number of times4 ,this     
applies to this  very moment ,it has    
already been here once before1 and      

several times1  and will recur in the   
same way1 with all forces distributed as
 they  are to-day3 and the same holds   
good of the moment of time which bore   
the present and of that which shall be  
the child of the present4  ,fellow-man6 
,your whole life1 like a sandglass1 will
 always be reversed  and will ever run  
out again1--a long minute of time will  
elapse until  all those conditions out  
of which you were evolved return in the 
wheel  of the cosmic process4 ,and then 
you will find every pain and every      
pleasure1 every friend and every enemy1 
every hope and every error1  every blade
 of grass and every ray of sunshine once
 more1 and the whole  fabric of things  
that makes up your life4 ,this ring in  
which you are  but a grain will glitter 
afresh for ever4 ,and in every one of   
these  cycles of human life there will  
be one hour where for the first time    
one man1 and then many1 will perceive   
the mighty thought of the eternal       
recurrence of all things3--and for      

mankind this is always the hour of      
,noon4          #b4 ,,the ,,effects ,,of
 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,upon ,,mankind      
#bf    ,how can we give weight to our   
inner life without making it evil and   
fanatical towards people who think      
otherwise4 ,religious belief is         
declining and man is beginning to regard
 himself as ephemeral and  unessential1 
a point of view which is making him     
weak2 he does not  exercise so much     
effort in striving or enduring4 ,what he
 wants is  momentary enjoyment ,he would
 make things light for himself1--and a  
good  deal of his spirit gets squandered
 in this endeavour4      #bg    ,the    
political mania at which ,i smile just  
as merrily as my  contemporaries smile  
at the religious mania of former times  
is above  all ,materialism1 a belief in 
the world1 and in the repudiation of a  
8,beyond10 of a 8back-world40 ,the      
object of those who believe in the      
latter is the well-being of the         
ephemeral individual3 that is why       

,socialism is its fruit2 for with       
,socialism ephemeral individuals wish   
to secure their happiness by means of   
socialisation4 ,they have no  reason to 
wait1 as those men had who believed in  
eternal souls1 in  eternal development  
and eternal amelioration4 ,my doctrine  
is3 ,live  so that thou mayest desire to
 live again1--that is thy duty1--for in 
any case thou wilt live again ,he unto  
whom striving is the greatest           
happiness1 let him strive2 he unto whom 
peace is the greatest  happiness1 let   
him rest2 he unto whom subordination1   
following1  obedience1 is the greatest  
happiness1 let him obey4 ,all that is   
necessary is that he should know what it
 is that gives him the highest          
happiness1 and to fight shy of no means6
 ,eternity is at stake6      #bh        
8,but if everything is necessary1 what  
control have ,i over my actions80       
,thought and faith are a form of ballast
 which burden thee in addition  to other
 burdens thou mayest have1 and which are

 even more weighty than  the latter4    
,sayest thou that nutrition1 the land of
 thy birth1 air1 and  society change    
thee and determine thee8 ,well1 thy     
opinions do this to  a much greater     
degree1 for they even prescribe thy     
nourishment1 thy  land of adoption1 thy 
atmosphere1 and thy society for         
thee4--,if thou  ever assimilatest the  
thought of thoughts it will also alter  
thee4 ,the  question which thou wilt    
have to answer before every deed that   
thou  doest3 8is this such a deed as ,i 
am prepared to perform an incalculable  
number of times80 is the best ballast4  
#bi    ,the mightiest of all thoughts   
absorbs a good deal of energy which     
formerly stood at the disposal of other 
aspirations1 and in this way  it        
exercises a modifying influence2 it     
creates new laws of motion in  energy1  
though no new energy4 ,but it is        
precisely in this respect that  there   
lies some possibility of determining new
 emotions and new desires  in men4      

#cj    ,let us try and discover how the 
thought that something gets repeated    
has affected mankind hitherto 7the year1
 for instance1 or periodical  illnesses1
 waking and sleeping1 c74 ,even         
supposing the recurrence of  the cycle  
is only a probability or a possibility1 
even a thought1 even  a possibility1 can
 shatter us and transform us4 ,it is not
 only feelings  and definite            
expectations that do this6 ,see what    
effect the thought of  eternal damnation
 has had6      #ca    ,from the moment  
when this thought begins to prevail all 
colours will  change their hue and a new
 history will begin4      #cb    ,the   
history of the future3 this thought will
 tend to triumph ever more  and more1   
and those who disbelieve in it will be  
forced1 according to  their nature1     
ultimately to die out4    ,he1 alone1   
who will regard his existence as capable
 of eternal  recurrence will remain     
over3 but among such as these a state   
will be  possible of which the          

imagination of no utopist has ever      
dreamt6      #cc    ,ye fancy that ye   
will have a long rest ere your second   
birth takes  place1--but do not deceive 
yourselves6 ',twixt your last moment of 
consciousness and the first ray of the  
dawn of your new life no time  will     
elapse1--as a flash of lightning will   
the space go by1 even though  living    
creatures think it is billions of years1
 and are not even able  to reckon it4   
,timelessness and immediate re-birth are
 compatible1 once  intellect is         
eliminated6      #cd    ,thou feelest   
that thou must soon take thy leave      
perhaps--and the sunset  glow of this   
feeling pierces through thy happiness4  
,give heed to this  sign3 it means that 
thou lovest life and thyself1 and life  
as it has  hitherto affected thee and   
moulded thee1--and that thou cravest for
 its  eternity--,non alia sed hac vita  
sempiterna6    ,know also1 that         
transiency singeth its short song for   
ever afresh and  that at the sound of   

the first verse thou wilt almost die of 
longing  when thou thinkest that it     
might be for the last time4      #ce    
,let us stamp the impress of eternity   
upon our lives6 ,this thought  contains 
more than all the religions which taught
 us to contemn this  life as a thing    
ephemeral1 which bade us squint upwards 
to another and  indefinite existence4-- 
#cf    ,we must not strive after distant
 and unknown states of bliss and        
blessings and acts of grace1 but we must
 live so that we would fain  live again 
and live for ever so1 to all            
eternity6--,our duty is present  with us
 every instant4      #cg    ,the leading
 tendencies3 7#a7 ,we must implant the  
love of life1 the  love of every man's  
own life in every conceivable way6      
,however each  individual may understand
 this love of self his neighbour will   
acquiesce1 and will have to learn great 
tolerance towards it3 however  much it  
may often run counter to his            
taste1--provided the individual in      

question really helps to increase his   
joy in his own life6    7#b7 ,we must   
all be one in our hostility towards     
everything and  everybody who tends to  
cast a slur upon the value of life3     
towards  all gloomy1 dissatisfied and   
brooding natures4 ,we must prevent these
  from procreating6 ,but our hostility  
itself must be a means to our joy6      
,thus we shall laugh2 we shall mock and 
we shall exterminate without  bitterness
 ,i ,let this be our mortal combat      
,this life is thy eternal life6      #ch
    ,what was the cause of the downfall 
of the ,alexandrian culture8 ,with all  
its useful discoveries and its desire to
 investigate the nature of this  world1 
it did not know how to lend this life   
its ultimate importance1  the thought of
 a ,beyond was more important to it6 ,to
 teach anew in  this regard is still the
 most important thing of all3--perhaps  
if  metaphysics are applied to this life
 in the most emphatic way1--as in  the  
case of my doctrine6      #ci    ,this  

doctrine is lenient towards those who do
 not believe in it ,it  speaks of no    
hells and it contains no threats4 ,he   
who does not believe  in it has but a   
fleeting life in his consciousness4     
#dj    ,it would be terrible if we still
 believed in sin1 but whatever we may   
do1 however often we may repeat it1 it  
is all innocent4 ,if the thought  of the
 eternal recurrence of all things does  
not overwhelm thee1 then  it is not thy 
fault3 and if it does overwhelm thee1   
this does not stand  to thy merit       
either4--,we think more leniently of our
 forebears than  they themselves thought
 of themselves2 we mourn over the errors
 which  were to them constitutional2 but
 we do not mourn over their evil4       
#da    ,let us guard against teaching   
such a doctrine as if it were a suddenly
  discovered religion6 ,it must         
percolate through slowly1 and whole     
generations must build on it and become 
fruitful through it1--in order  that it 
may grow into a large tree which will   

shelter all posterity4  ,what are the   
two thousand years in which             
,christianity has maintained  its sway8 
,for the mightiest thought of all many  
millenniums will be  necessary1--long1  
long1 long will it have to remain puny  
and weak6      #db    ,for this thought 
we do not require thirty years of glory 
with drums  and fifes1 and thirty years 
of grave-digging followed by an eternity
  of macaberesque stillness1 as is the  
case with so many other famous          
thoughts4    ,simple and well-nigh arid 
as it is1 this thought must not even    
require  eloquence to uphold it4        
#dc    ,are ye now prepared8 ,ye must   
have experienced every form of          
scepticism and ye must have wallowed    
with voluptuousness in ice-cold         
baths1--otherwise ye have no right to   
this thought2 ,i wish to protect  myself
 against those who are over-ready to    
believe1 likewise against  those who    
gush over anything6 ,i would defend my  
doctrine in advance4  ,it must be the   

religion of the freest1 most cheerful   
and most sublime  souls1 a delightful   
pastureland somewhere between golden ice
 and a pure  heaven6                    
,,explanatory ,,notes ,,to 8,,thus      
,,spake ,,zarathustra0      #a    ,all  
goals have been annihilated3 valuations 
are turning against each  other3        
,people call him good who hearkens to   
the dictates of his own heart1 but  they
 also call him good who merely does his 
duty2    ,people call the mild and      
conciliating man good1 but they also    
call him  good who is brave1 inflexible 
and severe2    ,people call him good who
 does not do violence to himself1 but   
they also  call the heroes of           
self-mastery good2    ,people call the  
absolute friend of truth good-1 but they
 also call him  good who is pious and a 
transfigurer of things2    ,people call 
him good who can obey his own voice1 but
 they also call the  devout man good2   
,people call the noble and the haughty  
man good1 but also him who does  not    

despise and who does not assume         
condescending airs4    ,people call him 
good who is kindhearted and who steps   
out of the way of  broils1 but he who   
thirsts for fight and triumph is also   
called good2    ,people call him good   
who always wishes to be first1 but they 
also call  him good who does not wish to
 be ahead of anybody in anything4       
#b    ,we possess a powerful store of   
moral feelings1 but we have no goal  for
 them all4 ,they mutually contradict    
each other3 they have their  origin in  
different tables of values4    ,there is
 a wonderful amount of moral power1 but 
there is no longer any  goal towards    
which all this power can be directed4   
#c    ,all goals have been annihilated1 
mankind must give themselves a fresh    
goal4 ,it is an error to suppose that   
they had one3 they gave themselves  all 
the goals they ever had4 ,but the       
prerequisites of all previous  goals    
have been annihilated4    ,science      
traces the course of things but points  

to no goal3 what it does  give consists 
of the fundamental facts upon which the 
new goal must be  based4      #d    ,the
 profound sterility of the nineteenth   
century4 ,i have not  encountered a     
single man who really had a new ideal to
 bring  forward4 ,the character of      
,german music kept me hoping longest1   
but  in vain4 ,a stronger type in which 
all our powers are synthetically        
correlated--this constitutes my faith4  
,apparently everything is decadence4 ,we
 should so direct this movement  of     
decline that it may provide the         
strongest with a new form of  existence4
      #e    ,the dissolution of         
morality1 in its practical consequences1
 leads  to the atomistic individual1 and
 further to the subdivision of the      
individual into a quantity of           
parts--absolute liquefaction4    ,that  
is why a goal is now more than ever     
necessary2 and love1 but a new  love4   
#f    ,i say3 8,as long as your morality
 hung over me ,i breathed like one      

asphyxiated4 ,that is why ,i throttled  
this snake4 ,i wished to live1          
consequently it had to die40      #g    
,as long as people are still forced to  
act1 that is to say as long as  commands
 are given1 synthesis 7the suppression  
of the moral man7 will  not be realised 
,to be unable to be otherwise3 instincts
 and commanding  reason extending beyond
 any immediate object3 the ability to   
enjoy  one's own nature in action4      
#h    ,none of them wish to bear the    
burden of the commander2 but they will  
perform the most strenuous task if only 
thou commandest them4      #i    ,we    
must overcome the past in ourselves3 we 
must combine the instincts  afresh and  
direct the whole together to one        
goal3--an extremely  difficult          
undertaking6 ,it is not only the evil   
instincts which have to  be             
overcome1--the so-called good instincts 
must be conquered also and  consecrated 
anew6      #aj    ,no leaps must be made
 in virtue6 ,but everyone must be given 

a different  path6 ,not leading to the  
highest development of each6 ,yet       
everyone may  be a bridge and an example
 for others4      #aa    ,to help1 to   
pity1 to submit and to renounce personal
 attacks with a  good will1--these      
things may make even insignificant and  
superficial  men tolerable to the eye3  
such men must not be contradicted in    
their  belief that this good will is    
8virtue in itself40      #ab    ,man    
makes a deed valuable3 but how might a  
deed make man valuable8      #ac        
,morality is the concern of those who   
cannot free themselves from  it3 for    
such people morality therefore belongs  
to the conditions of  existence4 ,it is 
impossible to refute conditions of      
existence3 the only  thing one can do is
 not to have them4      #ad    ,if it   
were true that life did not deserve to  
be welcomed1 the moral  man1 precisely  
on account of his self-denial and       
obligingness1 would  then be guilty of  
misusing his fellow to his own personal 

advantage4      #ae    8,love thy       
neighbour0--this would mean first and   
foremost3 8,let thy  neighbour go his   
own way0--and it is precisely this kind 
of virtue that  is the most difficult6  
#af    ,the bad man as the parasite4 ,we
 must not be merely feasters and        
gourmets of life3 this is ignoble4      
#ag    ,it is a noble sense which       
forbids our being only feasters and     
gourmets  of life--this sense revolts   
against hedonism--3 we want to perform  
something in return6--,but the          
fundamental feeling of the masses is    
that  one must live for nothing1--that  
is their vulgarity4      #ah    ,the    
converse valuations hold good for the   
lower among men3 in their  case         
therefore it is necessary to implant    
virtues4 ,they must be  elevated above  
their lives1 by means of absolute       
commands and terrible  taskmasters4     
#ai    ,what is required3 the new law   
must be made practicable--and out of its
  fulfilment1 the overcoming of this    

law1 and higher law1 must evolve        
,zarathustra defines the attitude       
towards law1 inasmuch as he suppresses  
the law of laws which is morality4      
,laws as the backbone ,they must be     
worked at and created1 by being         
fulfilled4 ,the slavish attitude which  
has reigned hitherto towards law6       
#bj    ,the self-overcoming of          
,zarathustra as the prototype of        
mankind's  self-overcoming for the      
benefit of ,superman4 ,to this end the  
overcoming  of morality is necessary4   
#ba    ,the type of the lawgiver1 his   
development and his suffering4 ,what is 
the purpose of giving laws at all8      
,zarathustra is the herald who calls    
forth many lawgivers4      #bb          
,individual instruments4    #a4 ,the    
,commanders1 the mighty--who do not     
love1 unless it be that they  love the  
images according to which they create4  
,the rich in vitality1  the versatile1  
the free1 who overcome that which is    
extant    #b4 ,the obedient1 the        

8emancipated0--love and reverence       
constitute their  happiness1 they have a
 sense of what is higher 7their         
deficiencies are  made whole by the     
sight of the lofty74    #c4 ,the slaves1
 the order of 8henchmen0--3 they must be
 made  comfortable1 they must cultivate 
pity for one another4      #bc    ,the  
giver1 the creator1 the teacher--these  
are preludes of the ruler4      #bd     
,all virtue and all self-mastery has    
only one purpose3 that of preparing  for
 the rule6      #be    ,every sacrifice 
that the ruler makes is rewarded a      
hundredfold4      #bf    ,how much does 
not the warrior1 the prince1 the man who
 is responsible  for himself1           
sacrifice6--this should be highly       
honoured4      #bg    ,the terrible task
 of the ruler who educates himself3--the
 kind of man  and people over which he  
will rule must be forecast in him3 it is
 in  himself therefore that he must     
first have become a ruler6      #bh     
,the great educator like nature must    

elevate obstacles in order that  these  
may be overcome4      #bi    ,the new   
teachers as preparatory stages for the  
highest ,architect 7they  must impose   
their type on things74      #cj         
,institutions may be regarded as the    
after effects of great individuals  and 
the means of giving great individuals   
root and soil--until the  fruit         
ultimately appears4      #ca    ,as a   
matter of fact mankind is continually   
trying to be able to  dispense with     
great individuals by means of           
corporations1 c ,but they  are utterly  
dependent upon such great individuals   
for their ideal4      #cb    ,the       
eudmonistic and social ideals lead men  
backwards1--it may be that  they aim at 
a very useful working class1--they are  
creating the ideal  slave of the future1
 the lower caste which must on no       
account be  lacking6      #cc    ,equal 
rights for all6--this is the most       
extraordinary form of  injustice1 for   
with it the highest men do not get their

 due4      #cd    ,it is not a matter of
 the rights of the stronger1 for strong 
and weak  are alike in this1 that they  
all extend their power as far as they   
can4      #ce    ,a new form of         
estimating man3 above all the question3 
,how much power has he got8    ,how     
manifold are his instincts8    ,how     
great is his capacity for communication 
and assimilation8    ,the ruler as the  
highest type4      #cf    ,zarathustra  
rejoices that the war of the classes is 
at last over1  and that now at length   
the time is ripe for an order of rank   
among  individuals4 ,his hatred of the  
democratic system of levelling is only  
a blind2 as a matter of fact he is very 
pleased that this has gone so  far4 ,now
 he can perform his task4--    ,hitherto
 his doctrines had been directed only at
 the ruling caste of  the future4 ,these
 lords of the earth must now take the   
place of ,god1  and must create for     
themselves the profound and absolute    
confidence  of those they rule4 ,their  

new holiness1 their renunciation of     
happiness and ease1 must be their first 
principle4 ,to the lowest they  grant   
the heirloom of happiness1 not to       
themselves4 ,they deliver the           
physiologically botched by teaching them
 the doctrine of 8swift death40  ,they  
offer religions and philosophical       
systems to each according to his  rank4 
#cg    8,the conflict in the heart of   
the ruler is the contest between the    
love  which is in his heart for him who 
is most remote1 and the love which he   
feels for his neighbour40    ,to be a   
creator and to be capable of goodness   
are not at all things  which exclude one
 another4 ,they are rather one and the  
same thing2 but  the creator is         
farsighted and the good man nearsighted4
      #ch    ,the feeling of power4 ,the
 strife of all egos to discover that    
thought  which will remain poised above 
men like a star4--,the ego is a primum  
mobile4      #ci    ,the struggle for   
the application of the power which      

mankind now  represents6 ,zarathustra   
calls to the gladiators of this         
struggle4      #dj    ,we must make our 
ideals prevail3--,we must strive for    
power in such a  way as our ideal       
commands4      #da    ,the doctrine of  
the ,eternal ,recurrence is the turning 
point of history4      #db    ,suddenly 
the terrible chamber of truth is opened1
 an unconscious  self-protectiveness1   
caution1 ambush1 defence keeps us from  
the gravest  knowledge4 ,thus have ,i   
lived heretofore4 ,i suppress something2
 but the  restless babbling and rolling 
down of stones has rendered my instinct 
over-powerful4 ,now ,i am rolling my    
last stone1 the most appalling truth    
stands close to my hand4    ,truth has  
been exorcised out of its grave3--we    
created it1 we waked it3  the highest   
expression of courage and of the feeling
 of power4 ,scorn of  all pessimism that
 has existed hitherto6    ,we fight with
 it1--we find out that our only means of
 enduring it is  to create a creature   

who is able to endure it3--unless1 of   
course1 we  voluntarily dazzle ourselves
 afresh and blind ourselves in regard to
 it  ,but this we are no longer able to 
do6    ,we it was who created the       
gravest thought1--let us now create a   
being  unto whom it will be not only    
light but blessed4    ,in order to be   
able to create we must allow ourselves  
greater freedom  than has ever been     
vouch-safed us before2 to this end we   
must be  emancipated from morality1 and 
we must be relieved by means of feasts  
7,premonitions of the future6 ,we must  
celebrate the future and no longer  the 
past6 ,we must compose the myth poetry  
of the future6 ,we must live  in hopes67
 ,blessed moments ,i ,and then we must  
once again pull down the  curtain and   
turn our thoughts to the next unswerving
 purpose4      #dc    ,mankind must set 
its goal above itself--not in a false   
world1 however1  but in one which would 
be a continuation of humanity4      #dd 
,the half-way house is always present   

when the will to the future  arises3 the
 greatest event stands immediately      
before it4      #de    ,our very essence
 is to create a being higher than       
ourselves4 ,we must  create beyond      
ourselves4 ,that is the instinct of     
procreation1 that is  the instinct of   
action and of work4--,just as all       
willing presupposes a  purpose1 so does 
mankind presuppose a creature which is  
not yet formed  but which provides the  
aim of life4 ,this is the freedom of all
 will4  ,love1 reverence1 yearning for  
perfection1 longing1 all these things   
are  inherent in a purpose4      #df    
,my desire3 to bring forth creatures    
which stand sublimely above the  whole  
species man3 and to sacrifice 8one's    
neighbours0 and oneself to  this end4   
,the morality which has existed hitherto
 was limited within the confines  of the
 species3 all moralities that have      
existed hitherto have been  useful in   
the first place in order to give        
unconditional stability to  this        

species3 once this has been achieved the
 aim can be elevated4    ,one movement  
is absolute2 it is nothing more than the
 levelling down of  mankind1 great      
ant-organisations1 c4    ,the other     
movement1 my movement1 is conversely the
 accentuation of all  contrasts and     
gulfs1 and the elimination of equality1 
together with the  creation of supremely
 powerful creatures4    ,the first      
movement brings forth the last man1 my  
movement brings forth  the ,superman4   
,it is by no means the goal to regard   
the latter as the  master of the first3 
two races ought to exist side by        
side1--separated  as far asunder as     
possible2 the one1 like the ,epicurean  
gods1 not  concerning themselves in the 
least with the others4      #dg    ,the 
opposite of the ,superman is the last   
man3 ,i created him  simultaneously with
 the former4      #dh    ,the more an   
individual is free and firm1 the more   
exacting becomes his  love3 at last he  
yearns for ,superman1 because nothing   

else is able to  appease his love1      
#di    ,half-way round the course       
,superman arises4      #ej    ,among men
 ,i was frightened3 among men ,i desired
 a host of things and  nothing satisfied
 me4 ,it was then that ,i went into     
solitude and created  ,superman4 ,and   
when ,i had created him ,i draped him in
 the great veil of  ,becoming and let   
the light of midday shine upon him4     
#ea    8,we wish to create a ,being10 we
 all wish to have a hand in it1 to love 
it4 ,we all want to be pregnant--and to 
honour and respect ourselves on  that   
account4    ,we must have a goal in view
 of which we may all love each other6   
,all  other goals are only fit for the  
scrap heap4      #eb    ,the strongest  
in body and soul are the                
best--,zarathustra's fundamental        
proposition--2 from them is generated   
that higher morality of the  creator4   
,man must be regenerated after his own  
image3 this is what he  wants1 this is  
his honesty4      #ec    ,genius to     

,zarathustra seems like the incarnation 
of his thought4      #ed    ,loneliness 
for a certain time is necessary in order
 that a creature  may become completely 
permeated with his own soul--cured and  
hard4 ,a  new form of community would be
 one in which we should assert ourselves
  martially4 ,otherwise the spirit      
becomes tame4 ,no ,epicurean 8gardens0  
and mere 8retirement from the masses40  
,war 7but without powder7 between       
different thoughts and the hosts who    
support them ,i    ,a new nobility1 the 
result of breeding4 ,feasts celebrating 
the  foundation of families4    ,the day
 divided up afresh2 bodily exercise for 
all ages4   as a principle4    ,the love
 of the sexes as a contest around the   
principle in becoming and               
coming4--,ruling will be taught and     
practised1 its hardness as well as  its 
mildness4 ,as soon as one faculty is    
acquired in a masterly manner  another  
one must be striven after4    ,we must  
let ourselves be taught by the evil1 and

 allow them an  opportunity of a        
contest4 ,we must make use of the       
degenerate--,the right  of punishment   
will consist in this1 that the offender 
may be used as  an experimental subject 
7in dietetics73 this is the consecration
 of  punishment1 that one man be used   
for the highest needs of a future       
being4    ,we protect our new community 
because it is the bridge to our ideal of
  the future ,and for it we work and let
 others work4      #ee    ,the measure  
and mean must be found in striving to   
attain to something  beyond mankind3 the
 highest and strongest kind of man must 
be  discovered6 ,the highest tendency   
must be represented continually  in     
small things3--perfection1 maturity1    
rosy-cheeked health1 mild  discharges of
 power4 ,just as an artist works1 must  
we apply ourselves  to our daily task   
and bring ourselves to perfection in    
everything we  do4 ,we must be honest in
 acknowledging our real motives to      
ourselves1  as is becoming in the mighty

 man4      #ef    ,no impatience6       
,superman is our next stage and to this 
end1 to this  limit1 moderation and     
manliness are necessary4    ,mankind    
must surpass itself1 as the ,greeks     
did--and no fleshless  fantasies must be
 indulged4 ,the higher mind which is    
associated with a  sickly and nervous   
character must be suppressed4 ,the goal3
 the higher  culture of the whole body  
and not only of the brain4      #eg     
8,man is something that must be         
surpassed03--it is a matter of tempo3   
the ,greeks were wonderful1 there was no
 haste about them4--,my  predecessors3  
,heraclitus1 ,empedocles1 ,spinoza1     
,goethe4      #eh    #a4                
,dissatisfaction with ourselves4 ,an    
antidote to repentance4  ,the           
transformation of temperament 7e4g41 by 
means of inorganic  substances74 ,good  
will to this dissatisfaction4 ,we should
 wait for our  thirst and let it become 
great in order to discover its source4  
#b4 ,death must be transformed into a   

means of victory and triumph4    #c4    
,the attitude towards disease4 ,freedom 
where death is concerned4    #d4 ,the   
love of the sexes is a means to an ideal
 7it is the striving of  a being to     
perish through his opposite74 ,the love 
for a suffering deity4    #e4           
,procreation is the holiest of all      
things4 ,pregnancy1 the creation of  a  
woman and a man1 who wish to enjoy their
 unity1 and erect a monument  to it by  
means of a child4    #f4 ,pity as a     
danger4 ,circumstances must be created  
which enable  everyone to be able to    
help himself1 and which leave him to    
choose  whether he would be helped4     
#g4 ,education must be directed at      
making men evil1 at developing their    
inner devil4    #h4 ,inner war as       
8development0    #i4 8,the maintenance  
of the species10 and the thought of     
eternal  recurrence4      #ei           
,principal doctrine4 ,we must strive to 
make every stage one of  perfection1 and
 rejoice therein1--we must make no      

leaps6    ,in the first place1 the      
promulgation of laws4 ,after the        
,superman the  doctrine of eternal      
recurrence will strike us with horror3  
,now it is  endurable4      #fj    ,life
 itself created this thought which is   
the most oppressive for life4  ,life    
wishes to get beyond its greatest       
obstacle ,i    ,we must desire to perish
 in order to arise afresh1--from one day
 to  the other4 ,wander through a       
hundred souls1--let that be thy life and
  thy fate6 ,and then finally3 desire to
 go through the whole process once      
more6      #fa    ,the highest thing of 
all would be for us to be able to endure
 our  immortality4      #fb    ,the     
moment in which ,i begot recurrence is  
immortal1 for the sake of  that moment  
alone ,i will endure recurrence4        
#fc    ,the teaching of eternal         
recurrence--it is at first oppressive to
 the  more noble souls and apparently a 
means of weeding them out1--then the    
inferior and less sensitive natures     

would remain over6 8,this doctrine  must
 be suppressed and ,zarathustra killed40
      #fd    ,the hesitation of the     
disciples4 8,we are already able to bear
 with this  doctrine1 but we should     
destroy the many by means of it60       
,zarathustra laughs3 8,ye shall be the  
hammer3 ,i laid this hammer in your     
hands40      #fe    ,i do not speak to  
you as ,i speak to the people4 ,the     
highest thing for  them would be to     
despise and to annihilate themselves3   
the next highest  thing would be for    
them to despise and annihilate each     
other4      #ff    8,my will to do good 
compels me to remain silent4 ,but my    
will to the  ,superman bids me speak and
 sacrifice even my friends40    8,i     
would fain form and transform you1 how  
could ,i endure things  otherwise60     
#fg    ,the history of higher man4 ,the 
rearing of the better man is            
incalculably more painful4 ,the ideal of
 the necessary sacrifice which  it      
involves1 as in the case of             

,zarathustra1 should be demonstrated3 ,a
  man should leave his home1 his family 
and his native land4 ,live under  the   
scorn of the prevailing morality4 ,the  
anguish of experiments and  errors4 ,the
 solution of all the joys offered by the
 older ideals 7they  are now felt to be 
partly hostile and partly strange74     
#fh    ,what is it which gives a        
meaning1 a value1 an importance to      
things8  ,it is the creative heart which
 yearns and which created out of this   
yearning4 ,it created joy and woe4 ,it  
wanted to sate itself also with  woe4   
,every kind of pain that man or beast   
has suffered1 we must take  upon        
ourselves and bless1 and have a goal    
whereby such suffering would  acquire   
some meaning4      #fi    ,principal    
doctrine3 the transfiguration of pain   
into a blessing1 and of  poison into    
food1 lies in our power4 ,the will to   
suffering4      #gj    ,concerning      
heroic greatness as the only state of   
pioneers4 7,a yearning  for utter ruin  

as a means of enduring one's existence47
    ,we must not desire one state only2 
we must rather desire to be  periodical 
creatures--like existence4    ,absolute 
indifference to other people's opinions 
7because we know their  weights and     
measures71 but their opinions of        
themselves should be the  subject of    
pity4      #ga    ,disciples must unite 
three qualities in themselves3 they must
 be  true1 they must be able and willing
 to be communicative1 they must  have   
profound insight into each other4       
#gb    ,all kinds of higher men and     
their oppression and blighting 7as a    
case  in point1 ,duhring1 who was ruined
 by isolation7--on the whole1 this  is  
the fate of higher men to-day1 they seem
 to be a species that is  condemned to  
die out3 this fact seems to come to     
,zarathustra's ears  like a great cry   
for help4 ,all kinds of insane          
degenerations of higher  natures seem to
 approach him 7nihilism for instance74  
#gc    ,higher ,men who come to         

,zarathustra in ,despair4               
,temptations to return prematurely to   
the world--thanks to the  provocation of
 one's sympathies4    #a4 ,the rolling  
stone1 the homeless one1 the            
wanderer3--he who has  unlearned the    
love of his people because he has       
learned to love many  peoples1--the good
 ,european4    #b4 ,the gloomy1         
ambitious son of the people1 shy1       
lonely1 and ready for  anything1--who   
chooses rather to be alone than to be a 
destroyer1--he  offers himself as an    
instrument4    #c4 ,the ugliest man1 who
 is obliged to adorn himself 7historical
 sense7  and who is always in search of 
a new garment3 he desires to make his   
appearance becoming1 and finally retires
 into solitude in order not to  be seen1
 he is ashamed of himself4    #d4 ,he   
who honours facts 78the brain of a      
leech071 the most subtle  intellectual  
conscience1 and because he has it in    
excess1 a guilty  conscience1--he wants 
to get rid of himself4    #e4 ,the poet1

 who at bottom thirsts1 for savage      
freedom1--he chooses  loneliness and the
 severity of knowledge4    #f4 ,the     
discoverer of new intoxicants1--the     
musician1 the sorcerer1 who  finally    
drops on his knees before a loving heart
 and says3 8,not to me  do ,i wish to   
lead you but yonder to him40    ,those  
who are sober to excess and who have a  
yearning for intoxication  which they do
 not gratify4 ,the ,supersobersides4    
#g4 ,genius 7as an attack of insanity71 
becoming frozen through lack of  love3  
8,i am neither a genius nor a god40     
,great tenderness3 8people must  show   
him more love60    #h4 ,the rich man who
 has given everything away and who asks 
everybody3  8,have you anything you do  
not want8 give me some of it60 as a     
beggar4    #i4 ,the ,kings who renounce 
dominion3 8we seek him who is more      
worthy  to rule0--against 8equality03   
the great man is lacking1 consequently  
reverence is lacking too4    #aj4 ,the  
actor of happiness4    #aa4 ,the        

pessimistic soothsayer who detects      
fatigue everywhere4    #ab4 ,the fool of
 the big city4    #ac4 ,the youth from  
the mount    #ad4 ,the woman 7seeks the 
man74    #ae4 ,the envious emaciated    
toiler and arriviste4    #af4 ,the good1
             and their mad fancy3       
#ag4 ,the pious1            8,for ,god0 
that    #ah4 ,the self-centred and      
means 8,for me40          saints1       
#gd    8,i gave you the most weighty    
thought3 maybe mankind will perish      
through  it1 perhaps also mankind will  
be elevated through it inasmuch as by   
its means the elements which are hostile
 to life will be overcome and           
eliminated40 8,ye must not chide ,life1 
but yourselves60--,the destiny  of      
higher man is to be a creator4 ,the     
organisation of higher men1 the         
education of the future ruler4 8,,ye    
must rejoice in your superior power     
when ye rule and when ye form anew40    
8,not only man but ,superman will  recur
 eternally60      #ge    ,the typical   

suffering of the reformer and also his  
consolations4 ,the  seven solitudes4    
,he lives as though he were beyond all  
ages3 his loftiness allows him to  have 
intercourse with the anchorites and the 
misunderstood of every age4    ,only his
 beauty is his defence4 ,he lays his    
hands on the next thousand  years4      
,his love increases as he sees the      
impossibility of avoiding the           
affliction of pain with it4      #gf    
,zarathustra's mood is not one of mad   
impatience for ,superman6 ,it is        
peaceful1 it can wait3 but all action   
has derived some purpose from  being the
 road and means thither1--and must be   
done well and perfectly4    ,the repose 
of the great stream6 ,consecration of   
the smallest thing4  ,all unrest1 and   
violent longing1 all loathing should be 
presented in  the third part and be     
overcome6 ,the gentleness1 and mildness1
 c1 in  the first and second parts are  
both signs of a power which is not yet  
self-reliant6    ,with the recovery of  

,zarathustra1 ,csar stands there        
inexorable  and kind3--the gulf         
separating creation1 goodness1 and      
wisdom is  annihilated4    ,clearness1  
peace1 no exaggerated craving1 happiness
 in the moment which  is properly       
occupied and immortalised6      #gg     
,zarathustra1 ,part ,,iii43 8,i myself  
am happy40--,when he had taken leave  of
 mankind he returned unto himself4 ,like
 a cloud it vanishes from him4  ,the    
manner in which ,superman must live3    
like an ,epicurean ,god4    ,divine     
suffering is the substance of the third 
part of ,zarathustra4 ,the  human state 
of the legislator is only brought       
forward as an example4    ,his intense  
love for his friends seems to him a     
disease1--once more he  becomes         
peaceful4    ,when the invitations come 
he gently evades them4      #gh    ,in  
the fourth part it is necessary to say  
precisely why it is that the  time of   
the great noon has come3 ,it is really a
 description of the age  given by means 

of visits1 but interpreted by           
,zarathustra4    ,in the fourth part it 
is necessary to say precisely why 8a    
chosen  people0 has first to be         
created3--they are the lucky cases of   
nature  as opposed to the unlucky       
7exemplified by the visitors73 only to  
them  --the lucky cases--is ,zarathustra
 able to express himself concerning     
ultimate problems1 them alone is he able
 to inspire with activity on  behalf of 
this theory4 ,they are strong1 healthy1 
hard and above all  noble enough for him
 to give them the hammer with which to  
remould the  whole world4      #gi      
,the unity in power of the creator1 the 
lover and the knight of  knowledge4     
#hj    ,love alone shall judge--7the    
creative love which forgets itself in   
its  work74      #ha    ,zarathustra can
 only dispense happiness once the order 
of rank is  established4 ,therefore this
 doctrine must be taught first4    ,the 
order of rank develops into a system of 
earthly dominion3 the lords  of the     

earth come last1 a new ruling caste4    
,here and there there arises  from them 
a perfectly ,epicurean ,god1 a          
,superman1 a transfigurer of  existence4
    ,the ,superhuman's notion of the    
world4 ,dionysus4 ,returning from these 
most strange of all pursuits            
,zarathustra comes back with love to the
  narrowest and smallest things1--he    
blesses all his experiences and dies    
with a blessing on his lips4      #hb   
,from people who merely pray we must    
become people who bless4