---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,complete ,,works ,,of ,,friedrich ,,nietzsche ,the ,first ,complete and ,authorised ,english ,translation ,,edited ,,by ,,dr ,,oscar ,,levy ,illustration ,,volume ,,ten ,,the ,,joyful ,,wisdom 7,,la ,,gaya ,,scienza7 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,of the ,first ,edition of ,one ,thousand ,five ,hundred ,copies this is ,no4 ,,friedrich ,,nietzsche ,,the ,,joyful ,,wisdom 7,,la ,,gaya ,,scienza7 ,,translated ,,by ,,thomas ,,common ,,with ,,poetry ,,rendered ,,by ,,paul ,v4 ,,cohn ,,and ,,maude ,d4 ,,petre ,i stay to mine house confined1 ,nor graft my wits on alien stock2 ,and mock at every master mind ,that never at itself could mock4 ,t4 ,n4 ,,foulis #ac #ae ,,frederick ,,street ,,edinburgh3 ,,london #aiaj ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved ,printed at ,,the ,,darien ,,press1 ,edinburgh4 ,,contents ,,page ,,editorial ,,note vii ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition #a ,,jest1 ,,ruse ,,and ,,revenge3 ,a ,,prelude ,,in ,,rhyme #aa ,,book ,,first #bi ,,book ,,second #ic ,,book ,,third #adi ,,book ,,fourth3 ,,sanctus ,,januarius #baa ,,book ,,fifth3 ,,we ,,fearless ,,ones #bgc ,,appendix3 ,,songs ,,of ,,prince ,,free-,,as-,a-,,bird #cee ,,editorial ,,note ,the ,joyful ,wisdom1 written in #ahhb1 just before ,zarathustra1 is rightly judged to be one of ,nietzsche's best books4 ,here the essentially grave and masculine face of the poet-philosopher is seen to light up and suddenly break into a delightful smile4 ,the warmth and kindness that beam from his features will astonish those hasty psychologists who have never divined that behind the destroyer is the creator1 and behind the blasphemer the lover of life4 ,in the retrospective valuation of his work which appears in ,ecce ,homo the author himself observes with truth that the fourth book1 ,sanctus ,januarius1 deserves especial attention3 ,the whole book is a gift from the ,saint1 and the introductory verses express my gratitude for the most wonderful month of ,january that ,i have ever spent4 ,book fifth ,we ,fearless ,ones1 the ,appendix ,songs of ,prince ,free-as-a-,bird1 and the ,preface1 were added to the second edition in #ahhg4 ,the translation of ,nietzsche's poetry has proved to be a more embarrassing problem than that of his prose4 ,not only has there been a difficulty in finding adequate translators--a difficulty overcome1 it is hoped1 by the choice of ,miss ,petre and ,mr ,cohn1--but it cannot be denied that even in the original the poems are of unequal merit4 ,by the side of such masterpieces as ,to the ,mistral are several verses of comparatively little value4 ,the ,editor1 however1 did not feel justified in making a selection1 as it was intended that the edition should be complete4 ,the heading1 ,jest1 ,ruse and ,revenge1 of the ,prelude in ,rhyme is borrowed from ,goethe4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition4 #a4 ,perhaps more than one preface would be necessary for this book2 and after all it might still be doubtful whether any one could be brought nearer to the experiences in it by means of prefaces1 without having himself experienced something similar4 ,it seems to be written in the language of the thawing-wind3 there is wantonness1 restlessness1 contradiction and ,april-weather in it2 so that one is as constantly reminded of the proximity of winter as of the victory over it3 the victory which is coming1 which must come1 which has perhaps already come4444 ,gratitude continually flows forth1 as if the most unexpected thing had happened1 the gratitude of a convalescent--for convalescence was this most unexpected thing4 ,joyful ,wisdom3 that implies the ,saturnalia of a spirit which has patiently withstood a long1 frightful pressure--patiently1 strenuously1 impassionately1 without submitting1 but without hope--and which is now suddenly o'erpowered with hope1 the hope of health1 the intoxication of convalescence4 ,what wonder that much that is unreasonable and foolish thereby comes to light3 much wanton tenderness expended even on problems which have a prickly hide1 and are not therefore fit to be fondled and allured4 ,the whole book is really nothing but a revel after long privation and impotence3 the frolicking of returning energy1 of newly awakened belief in a to-morrow and after-to-morrow2 of sudden sentience and prescience of a future1 of near adventures1 of seas open once more1 and aims once more permitted and believed in4 ,and what was now all behind me6 ,this track of desert1 exhaustion1 unbelief1 and frigidity in the midst of youth1 this advent of grey hairs at the wrong time1 this tyranny of pain1 surpassed1 however1 by the tyranny of pride which repudiated the consequences of pain--and consequences are comforts1--this radical isolation1 as defence against the contempt of mankind become morbidly clairvoyant1 this restriction upon principle to all that is bitter1 sharp1 and painful in knowledge1 as prescribed by the disgust which had gradually resulted from imprudent spiritual diet and pampering--it is called ,romanticism1--oh1 who could realise all those feelings of mine6 ,he1 however1 who could do so would certainly forgive me everything1 and more than a little folly1 boisterousness and ,joyful ,wisdom--for example1 the handful of songs which are given along with the book on this occasion1--songs in which a poet makes merry over all poets in a way not easily pardoned4--,alas1 it is not only on the poets and their fine lyrical sentiments that this reconvalescent must vent his malignity3 who knows what kind of victim he seeks1 what kind of monster of material for parody will allure him ere long8 ,incipit tragdia1 it is said at the conclusion of this seriously frivolous book2 let people be on their guard6 ,something or other extraordinarily bad and wicked announces itself3 incipit parodia1 there is no doubt444 #b4 ----,but let us leave ,herr ,nietzsche2 what does it matter to people that ,herr ,nietzsche has got well again8444 ,a psychologist knows few questions so attractive as those concerning the relations of health to philosophy1 and in the case when he himself falls sick1 he carries with him all his scientific curiosity into his sickness4 ,for1 granting that one is a person1 one has necessarily also the philosophy of one's personality1 there is1 however1 an important distinction here4 ,with the one it is his defects which philosophise1 with the other it is his riches and powers4 ,the former requires his philosophy1 whether it be as support1 sedative1 or medicine1 as salvation1 elevation1 or self-alienation2 with the latter it is merely a fine luxury1 at best the voluptuousness of a triumphant gratitude1 which must inscribe itself ultimately in cosmic capitals on the heaven of ideas4 ,in the other more usual case1 however1 when states of distress occupy themselves with philosophy 7as is the case with all sickly thinkers--and perhaps the sickly thinkers preponderate in the history of philosophy71 what will happen to the thought itself which is brought under the pressure of sickness8 ,this is the important question for psychologists3 and here experiment is possible4 ,we philosophers do just like a traveller who resolves to awake at a given hour1 and then quietly yields himself to sleep3 we surrender ourselves temporarily1 body and soul1 to the sickness1 supposing we become ill--we shut1 as it were1 our eyes on ourselves4 ,and as the traveller knows that something does not sleep1 that something counts the hours and will awake him1 we also know that the critical moment will find us awake--that then something will spring forward and surprise the spirit in the very act1 ,i mean in weakness1 or reversion1 or submission1 or obduracy1 or obscurity1 or whatever the morbid conditions are called1 which in times of good health have the pride of the spirit opposed to them 7for it is as in the old rhyme3 ,the spirit proud1 peacock and horse are the three proudest things of earthly source74 ,after such self-questioning and self-testing1 one learns to look with a sharper eye at all that has hitherto been philosophised2 one divines better than before the arbitrary by-ways1 side-streets1 resting-places1 and sunny places of thought1 to which suffering thinkers1 precisely as sufferers1 are led and misled3 one knows now in what direction the sickly body and its requirements unconsciously press1 push1 and allure the spirit--towards the sun1 stillness1 gentleness1 patience1 medicine1 refreshment in any sense whatever4 ,every philosophy which puts peace higher than war1 every ethic with a negative grasp of the idea of happiness1 every metaphysic and physic that knows a finale1 an ultimate condition of any kind whatever1 every predominating1 sthetic or religious longing for an aside1 a beyond1 an outside1 an above--all these permit one to ask whether sickness has not been the motive which inspired the philosopher4 ,the unconscious disguising of physiological requirements under the cloak of the objective1 the ideal1 the purely spiritual1 is carried on to an alarming extent1--and ,i have often enough asked myself1 whether1 on the whole1 philosophy hitherto has not generally been merely an interpretation of the body1 and a misunderstanding of the body4 ,behind the loftiest estimates of value by which the history of thought has hitherto been governed1 misunderstandings of the bodily constitution1 either of individuals1 classes1 or entire races are concealed4 ,one may always primarily consider these audacious freaks of metaphysic1 and especially its answers to the question of the worth of existence1 as symptoms of certain bodily constitutions2 and if1 on the whole1 when scientifically determined1 not a particle of significance attaches to such affirmations and denials of the world1 they nevertheless furnish the historian and psychologist with hints so much the more valuable 7as we have said7 as symptoms of the bodily constitution1 its good or bad condition1 its fullness1 powerfulness1 and sovereignty in history2 or else of its obstructions1 exhaustions1 and impoverishments1 its premonition of the end1 its will to the end4 ,i still expect that a philosophical physician1 in the exceptional sense of the word--one who applies himself to the problem of the collective health of peoples1 periods1 races1 and mankind generally--will some day have the courage to follow out my suspicion to its ultimate conclusions1 and to venture on the judgment that in all philosophising it has not hitherto been a question of truth at all1 but of something else1--namely1 of health1 futurity1 growth1 power1 life4444 #c4 ,it will be surmised that ,i should not like to take leave ungratefully of that period of severe sickness1 the advantage of which is not even yet exhausted in me3 for ,i am sufficiently conscious of what ,i have in advance of the spiritually robust generally1 in my changeful state of health4 ,a philosopher who has made the tour of many states of health1 and always makes it anew1 has also gone through just as many philosophies3 he really cannot do otherwise than transform his condition on every occasion into the most ingenious posture and position1--this art of transfiguration is just philosophy4 ,we philosophers are not at liberty to separate soul and body1 as the people separate them2 and we are still less at liberty to separate soul and spirit4 ,we are not thinking frogs1 we are not objectifying and registering apparatuses with cold entrails1--our thoughts must be continually born to us out of our pain1 and we must1 motherlike1 share with them all that we have in us of blood1 heart1 ardour1 joy1 passion1 pang1 conscience1 fate and fatality4 ,life--that means for us to transform constantly into light and flame all that we are1 and also all that we meet with2 we cannot possibly do otherwise4 ,and as regards sickness1 should we not be almost tempted to ask whether we could in general dispense with it8 ,it is great pain only which is the ultimate emancipator of the spirit2 for it is the teacher of the strong suspicion which makes an ,x out of every ,u#a1 a true1 correct ,x1 i4e41 the ante-penultimate letter4444 ,it is great pain only1 the long slow pain which takes time1 by which we are burned as it were with green wood1 that compels us philosophers to descend into our ultimate depths1 and divest ourselves of all trust1 all good-nature1 veiling1 gentleness1 and averageness1 wherein we have perhaps formerly installed our humanity4 ,i doubt whether such pain improves us2 but ,i know that it deepens us4 ,be it that we learn to confront it with our pride1 our scorn1 our strength of will1 doing like the ,indian who1 however sorely tortured1 revenges himself on his tormentor with his bitter tongue2 be it that we withdraw from the pain into the oriental nothingness--it is called ,nirvana1--into mute1 benumbed1 deaf self-surrender1 self-forgetfulness1 and self-effacement3 one emerges from such long1 dangerous exercises in self-mastery as another being1 with several additional notes of interrogation1 and above all1 with the will to question more than ever1 more profoundly1 more strictly1 more sternly1 more wickedly1 more quietly than has ever been questioned hitherto4 ,confidence in life is gone3 life itself has become a problem4--,let it not be imagined that one has necessarily become a hypochondriac thereby6 ,even love of life is still possible--only one loves differently4 ,it is the love of a woman of whom one is doubtful4444 ,the charm1 however1 of all that is problematic1 the delight in the ,x1 is too great in those more spiritual and more spiritualised men1 not to spread itself again and again like a clear glow over all the trouble of the problematic1 over all the danger of uncertainty1 and even over the jealousy of the lover4 ,we know a new happiness4444 #d4 ,finally1 7that the most essential may not remain unsaid71 one comes back out of such abysses1 out of such severe sickness1 and out of the sickness of strong suspicion--new-born1 with the skin cast2 more sensitive1 more wicked1 with a finer taste for joy1 with a more delicate tongue for all good things1 with a merrier disposition1 with a second and more dangerous innocence in joy2 more childish at the same time1 and a hundred times more refined than ever before4 ,oh1 how repugnant to us now is pleasure1 coarse1 dull1 drab pleasure1 as the pleasure-seekers1 our cultured classes1 our rich and ruling classes1 usually understand it6 ,how malignantly we now listen to the great holiday-hubbub with which cultured people and city-men at present allow themselves to be forced to spiritual enjoyment by art1 books1 and music1 with the help of spirituous liquors6 ,how the theatrical cry of passion now pains our ear1 how strange to our taste has all the romantic riot and sensuous bustle which the cultured populace love become 7together with their aspirations after the exalted1 the elevated1 and the intricate76 ,no1 if we convalescents need an art at all1 it is another art--a mocking1 light1 volatile1 divinely serene1 divinely ingenious art1 which blazes up like a clear flame1 into a cloudless heaven6 ,above all1 an art for artists1 only for artists6 ,we at last know better what is first of all necessary for it--namely1 cheerfulness1 every kind of cheerfulness1 my friends6 also as artists3--,i should like to prove it4 ,we now know something too well1 we men of knowledge3 oh1 how well we are now learning to forget and not know1 as artists6 ,and as to our future1 we are not likely to be found again in the tracks of those ,egyptian youths who at night make the temples unsafe1 embrace statues1 and would fain unveil1 uncover1 and put in clear light1 everything which for good reasons is kept concealed4#b ,no1 we have got disgusted with this bad taste1 this will to truth1 to truth at all costs1 this youthful madness in the love of truth3 we are now too experienced1 too serious1 too joyful1 too singed1 too profound for that4444 ,we no longer believe that truth remains truth when the veil is withdrawn from it3 we have lived long enough to believe this4 ,at present we regard it as a matter of propriety not to be anxious either to see everything naked1 or to be present at everything1 or to understand and know everything4 ,is it true that the good ,god is everywhere present8 asked a little girl of her mother3 ,i think that is indecent3--a hint to philosophers6 ,one should have more reverence for the shamefacedness with which nature has concealed herself behind enigmas and motley uncertainties4 ,perhaps truth is a woman who has reasons for not showing her reasons8 ,perhaps her name is ,baubo1 to speak in ,greek8444 ,oh1 those ,greeks6 ,they knew how to live3 for that purpose it is necessary to keep bravely to the surface1 the fold and the skin2 to worship appearance1 to believe in forms1 tones1 and words1 in the whole ,olympus of appearance6 ,those ,greeks were superficial--from profundity6 ,and are we not coming back precisely to this point1 we dare-devils of the spirit1 who have scaled the highest and most dangerous peak of contemporary thought1 and have looked around us from it1 have looked down from it8 ,are we not precisely in this respect--,greeks8 ,worshippers of forms1 of tones1 and of words8 ,and precisely on that account--artists8 ,,ruta1 near ,,genoa ,autumn1 #ahhf4 ----- ,footnote #a3 ,this means literally to put the numeral ,x instead of the numeral ,v 7formerly ,u72 hence it means to double a number unfairly1 to exaggerate1 humbug1 cheat4--,,tr4 ,footnote #b3 ,an allusion to ,schiller's poem3 ,the ,veiled ,image of ,sais4--,,tr4 ,,jest1 ,,ruse ,,and ,,revenge4 ,a ,,prelude ,,in ,,rhyme4 #a4 ,invitation4 ,venture1 comrades1 ,i implore you1 ,on the fare ,i set before you1 ,you will like it more to-morrow1 ,better still the following day3 ,if yet more you're then requiring1 ,old success ,i'll find inspiring1 ,and fresh courage thence will borrow ,novel dainties to display4 #b4 ,my ,good ,luck4 ,weary of ,seeking had ,i grown1 ,so taught myself the way to ,find3 ,back by the storm ,i once was blown1 ,but follow now1 where drives the wind4 #c4 ,undismayed4 ,where you're standing1 dig1 dig out3 ,down below's the ,well3 ,let them that walk in darkness shout3 ,down below--there's ,hell6 #d4 ,dialogue4 ,a4 ,was ,i ill8 and is it ended8 ,pray1 by what physician tended8 ,i recall no pain endured6 ,b4 ,now ,i know your trouble's ended3 ,he that can forget1 is cured4 #e4 ,to the ,virtuous4 ,let our virtues be easy and nimble-footed in motion1 ,like unto ,homer's verse ought they to come and to go4 #f4 ,worldly ,wisdom4 ,stay not on level plain1 ,climb not the mount too high1 ,but half-way up remain-- ,the world you'll best descry6 #g4 ,vademecum--,vadetecum4 ,attracted by my style and talk ,you'd follow1 in my footsteps walk8 ,follow yourself unswervingly1 ,so--careful6--shall you follow me4 #h4 ,the ,third ,sloughing4 ,my skin bursts1 breaks for fresh rebirth1 ,and new desires come thronging3 ,much ,i've devoured1 yet for more earth ,the serpent in me's longing4 ',twixt stone and grass ,i crawl once more1 ,hungry1 by crooked ways1 ,to eat the food ,i ate before1 ,earth-fare all serpents praise6 #i4 ,my ,roses4 ,my luck's good--,i'd make yours fairer1 7,good luck ever needs a sharer71 ,will you stop and pluck my roses8 ,oft mid rocks and thorns you'll linger1 ,hide and stoop1 suck bleeding finger-- ,will you stop and pluck my roses8 ,for my good luck's a trifle vicious1 ,fond of teasing1 tricks malicious-- ,will you stop and pluck my roses8 #aj4 ,the ,scorner4 ,many drops ,i waste and spill1 ,so my scornful mood you curse3 ,who to brim his cup doth fill1 ,many drops must waste and spill-- ,yet he thinks the wine no worse4 #aa4 ,the ,proverb ,speaks4 ,harsh and gentle1 fine and mean1 ,quite rare and common1 dirty and clean1 ,the fools' and the sages' go-between3 ,all this ,i will be1 this have been1 ,dove and serpent and swine1 ,i ween6 #ab4 ,to a ,lover of ,light4 ,that eye and sense be not fordone ,e'en in the shade pursue the sun6 #ac4 ,for ,dancers4 ,smoothest ice1 ,a paradise ,to him who is a dancer nice4 #ad4 ,the ,brave ,man4 ,a feud that knows not flaw nor break1 ,rather then patched-up friendship1 take4 #ae4 ,rust4 ,rust's needed3 keenness will not satisfy6 ,he is too young6 the rabble loves to cry4 #af4 ,excelsior4 ,how shall ,i reach the top8 ,no time ,for thus reflecting6 ,start to climb6 #ag4 ,the ,man of ,power ,speaks4 ,ask never6 ,cease that whining1 pray6 ,take without asking1 take alway6 #ah4 ,narrow ,souls4 ,narrow souls hate ,i like the devil1 ,souls wherein grows nor good nor evil4 #ai4 ,accidentally a ,seducer4#c ,he shot an empty word ,into the empty blue2 ,but on the way it met ,a woman whom it slew4 #bj4 ,for ,consideration4 ,a twofold pain is easier far to bear ,than one3 so now to suffer wilt thou dare8 #ba4 ,against ,pride4 ,brother1 to puff thyself up ne'er be quick3 ,for burst thou shalt be by a tiny prick6 #bb4 ,man and ,woman4 ,the woman seize1 who to thy heart appeals6 ,man's motto3 woman seizes not1 but steals4 #bc4 ,interpretation4 ,if ,i explain my wisdom1 surely ',tis but entangled more securely1 ,i can't expound myself aright3 ,but he that's boldly up and doing1 ,his own unaided course pursuing1 ,upon my image casts more light6 #bd4 ,a ,cure for ,pessimism4 ,those old capricious fancies1 friend6 ,you say your palate naught can please1 ,i hear you bluster1 spit and wheeze1 ,my love1 my patience soon will end6 ,pluck up your courage1 follow me-- ,here's a fat toad6 ,now then1 don't blink1 ,swallow it whole1 nor pause to think6 ,from your dyspepsia you'll be free6 #be4 ,a ,request4 ,many men's minds ,i know full well1 ,yet what mine own is1 cannot tell4 ,i cannot see--my eye's too near-- ,and falsely to myself appear4 ',twould be to me a benefit ,far from myself if ,i could sit1 ,less distant than my enemy1 ,and yet my nearest friend's too nigh-- ',twixt him and me1 just in the middle6 ,what do ,i ask for8 ,guess my riddle6 #bf4 ,my ,cruelty4 ,i must ascend an hundred stairs1 ,i must ascend3 the herd declares ,i'm cruel3 ,are we made of stone8 ,i must ascend an hundred stairs3 ,all men the part of stair disown4 #bg4 ,the ,wanderer4 ,no longer path6 ,abyss and silence chilling6 ,thy fault6 ,to leave the path thou wast too willing6 ,now comes the test6 ,keep cool--eyes bright and clear6 ,thou'rt lost for sure1 if thou permittest--fear4 #bh4 ,encouragement for ,beginners4 ,see the infant1 helpless creeping-- ,swine around it grunt swine-talk-- ,weeping always1 naught but weeping1 ,will it ever learn to walk8 ,never fear6 ,just wait1 ,i swear it ,soon to dance will be inclined1 ,and this babe1 when two legs bear it1 ,standing on its head you'll find4 #bi4 ,planet ,egoism4 ,did ,i not turn1 a rolling cask1 ,ever about myself1 ,i ask1 ,how could ,i without burning run ,close on the track of the hot sun8 #cj4 ,the ,neighbour4 ,too nigh1 my friend my joy doth mar1 ,i'd have him high above and far1 ,or how can he become my star8 #ca4 ,the ,disguised ,saint4 ,lest we for thy bliss should slay thee1 ,in devil's wiles thou dost array thee1 ,devil's wit and devil's dress4 ,but in vain6 ,thy looks betray thee ,and proclaim thy holiness4 #cb4 ,the ,slave4 ,a4 ,he stands and listens3 whence his pain8 ,what smote his ears8 ,some far refrain8 ,why is his heart with anguish torn8 ,b4 ,like all that fetters once have worn1 ,he always hears the clinking--chain6 #cc4 ,the ,lone ,one4 ,i hate to follow and ,i hate to lead4 ,obedience8 no6 and ruling8 no1 indeed6 ,wouldst fearful be in others' sight8 ,then e'en thyself thou must affright3 ,the people but the ,terror's guidance heed4 ,i hate to guide myself1 ,i hate the fray4 ,like the wild beasts ,i'll wander far afield4 ,in ,error's pleasing toils ,i'll roam ,awhile1 then lure myself back home1 ,back home1 and--to my self-seduction yield4 #cd4 ,seneca et hoc ,genus omne4 ,they write and write 7quite maddening me7 ,their sapient twaddle airy1 ,as if 'twere primum scribere1 ,deinde philosophari4 #ce4 ,ice4 ,yes6 ,i manufacture ice3 ,ice may help you to digest3 ,if you had much to digest1 ,how you would enjoy my ice6 #cf4 ,youthful ,writings4 ,my wisdom's ,a and final ,o ,was then the sound that smote mine ear4 ,yet now it rings no longer so1 ,my youth's eternal ,ah6 and ,oh6 ,is now the only sound ,i hear4#d #cg4 ,foresight4 ,in yonder region travelling1 take good care6 ,an hast thou wit1 then be thou doubly ware6 ,they'll smile and lure thee2 then thy limbs they'll tear3 ,fanatics' country this where wits are rare6 #ch4 ,the ,pious ,one ,speaks4 ,god loves us1 for he made us1 sent us here6-- ,man hath made ,god6 ye subtle ones reply4 ,his handiwork he must hold dear1 ,and what he made shall he deny8 ,there sounds the devil's halting hoof1 ,i fear4 #ci4 ,in ,summer4 ,in sweat of face1 so runs the screed1 ,we e'er must eat our bread1 ,yet wise physicians if we heed ,eat naught in sweat1 'tis said4 ,the dog-star's blinking3 what's his need8 ,what tells his blazing sign8 ,in sweat of face 7so runs his screed7 ,we're meant to drink our wine6 #dj4 ,without ,envy4 ,his look bewrays no envy3 and ye laud him8 ,he cares not1 asks not if your throng applaud him6 ,he has the eagle's eye for distance far1 ,he sees you not1 he sees but star on star6 #da4 ,heraclitism4 ,brethren1 war's the origin ,of happiness on earth3 ,powder-smoke and battle-din ,witness friendship's birth6 ,friendship means three things1 you know1-- ,kinship in luckless plight1 ,equality before the foe ,freedom--in death's sight6 #db4 ,maxim of the ,over-refined4 ,rather on your toes stand high ,than crawl upon all fours1 ,rather through the keyhole spy ,than through open doors6 #dc4 ,exhortation4 ,renown you're quite resolved to earn8 ,my thought about it ,is this3 you need not fame1 must learn ,to do without it6 #dd4 ,thorough4 ,i an ,inquirer8 ,no1 that's not my calling ,only ,i weigh a lot--,i'm such a lump6-- ,and through the waters ,i keep falling1 falling1 ,till on the ocean's deepest bed ,i bump4 #de4 ,the ,immortals4 ,to-day is meet for me1 ,i come to-day1 ,such is the speech of men foredoomed to stay4 ,thou art too soon1 they cry1 thou art too late1 ,what care the ,immortals what the rabble say8 #df4 ,verdicts of the ,weary4 ,the weary shun the glaring sun1 afraid1 ,and only care for trees to gain the shade4 #dg4 ,descent4 ,he sinks1 he falls1 your scornful looks portend3 ,the truth is1 to your level he'll descend4 ,his ,too ,much ,joy is turned to weariness1 ,his ,too ,much ,light will in your darkness end4 #dh4 ,nature ,silenced4#e ,around my neck1 on chain of hair1 ,the timepiece hangs--a sign of care4 ,for me the starry course is o'er1 ,no sun and shadow as before1 ,no cockcrow summons at the door1 ,for nature tells the time no more6 ,too many clocks her voice have drowned1 ,and droning law has dulled her sound4 #di4 ,the ,sage ,speaks4 ,strange to the crowd1 yet useful to the crowd1 ,i still pursue my path1 now sun1 now cloud1 ,but always pass above the crowd6 #ej4 ,he lost his ,head4444 ,she now has wit--how did it come her way8 ,a man through her his reason lost1 they say4 ,his head1 though wise ere to this pastime lent1 ,straight to the devil--no1 to woman went6 #ea4 ,a ,pious ,wish4 ,oh1 might all keys be lost6 ',twere better so ,and in all keyholes might the pick-lock go6 ,who thus reflects ye may as--picklock know4 #eb4 ,foot ,writing4 ,i write not with the hand alone1 ,my foot would write1 my foot that capers1 ,firm1 free and bold1 it's marching on ,now through the fields1 now through the papers4 #ec4 ,human1 ,all-too-,human4444 ,shy1 gloomy1 when your looks are backward thrust1 ,trusting the future where yourself you trust1 ,are you an eagle1 mid the nobler fowl1 ,or are you like ,minerva's darling owl8 #ed4 ,to my ,reader4 ,good teeth and a digestion good ,i wish you--these you need1 be sure6 ,and1 certes1 if my book you've stood1 ,me with good humour you'll endure4 #ee4 ,the ,realistic ,painter4 ,to nature true1 complete6 so he begins4 ,who complete ,nature to his canvas wins8 ,her tiniest fragment's endless1 no constraint ,can know3 he paints just what his fancy pins3 ,what does his fancy pin8 ,what he can paint6 #ef4 ,poets' ,vanity4 ,glue1 only glue to me dispense1 ,the wood ,i'll find myself1 don't fear6 ,to give four senseless verses sense-- ,that's an achievement ,i revere6 #eg4 ,taste in ,choosing4 ,if to choose my niche precise ,freedom ,i could win from fate1 ,i'd be in midst of ,paradise-- ,or1 sooner still--before the gate6 #eh4 ,the ,crooked ,nose4 ,wide blow your nostrils1 and across ,the land your nose holds haughty sway3 ,so you1 unhorned rhinoceros1 ,proud mannikin1 fall forward aye6 ,the one trait with the other goes3 ,a straight pride and a crooked nose4 #ei4 ,the ,pen is ,scratching4444 ,the pen is scratching3 hang the pen6 ,to scratching ,i'm condemned to sink6 ,i grasp the inkstand fiercely then ,and write in floods of flowing ink4 ,how broad1 how full the stream's career6 ,what luck my labours doth requite6 ',tis true1 the writing's none too clear-- ,what then8 ,who reads the stuff ,i write8 #fj4 ,loftier ,spirits4 ,this man's climbing up--let us praise him-- ,but that other we love ,from aloft doth eternally move1 ,so above even praise let us raise him1 ,he comes from above6 #fa4 ,the ,sceptic ,speaks4 ,your life is half-way o'er2 ,the clock-hand moves2 your soul is thrilled with fear1 ,it roamed to distant shore ,and sought and found not1 yet you--linger here6 ,your life is half-way o'er2 ,that hour by hour was pain and error sheer3 ,why stay8 ,what seek you more8 ,that's what ,i'm seeking--reasons why ,i'm here6 #fb4 ,ecce ,homo4 ,yes1 ,i know where ,i'm related1 ,like the flame1 unquenched1 unsated1 ,i consume myself and glow3 ,all's turned to light ,i lay my hand on1 ,all to coal that ,i abandon1 ,yes1 ,i am a flame1 ,i know6 #fc4 ,star ,morality4#f ,foredoomed to spaces vast and far1 ,what matters darkness to the star8 ,roll calmly on1 let time go by1 ,let sorrows pass thee--nations die6 ,compassion would but dim the light ,that distant worlds will gladly sight4 ,to thee one law--be pure and bright6 ----- ,footnote #c3 ,translated by ,miss ,m4 ,d4 ,petre4 ,footnote #d3 ,a and ,o1 suggestive of ,ah6 and ,oh6 refer of course to ,alpha and ,omega1 the first and last letters of the ,greek alphabet4--,,tr4 ,footnote #e3 ,translated by ,miss ,m4 ,d4 ,petre4 ,footnote #f3 ,translated by ,miss ,m4 ,d4 ,petre4 ,,book ,,first #a4 ,the ,teachers of the ,object of ,existence4--,whether ,i look with a good or an evil eye upon men1 ,i find them always at one problem1 each and all of them3 to do that which conduces to the conservation of the human species4 ,and certainly not out of any sentiment of love for this species1 but simply because nothing in them is older1 stronger1 more inexorable1 and more unconquerable than that instinct1--because it is precisely the essence of our race and herd4 ,although we are accustomed readily enough1 with our usual short-sightedness1 to separate our neighbours precisely into useful and hurtful1 into good and evil men1 yet when we make a general calculation1 and on longer reflection on the whole question1 we become distrustful of this defining and separating1 and finally leave it alone4 ,even the most hurtful man is still perhaps1 in respect to the conservation of the race1 the most useful of all2 for he conserves in himself or by his effect on others1 impulses without which mankind might long ago have languished or decayed4 ,hatred1 delight in mischief1 rapacity and ambition1 and whatever else is called evil--belong to the marvellous economy of the conservation of the race2 to be sure a costly1 lavish1 and on the whole very foolish economy3--which has1 however1 hitherto preserved our race1 as is demonstrated to us4 ,i no longer know1 my dear fellow-man and neighbour1 if thou canst at all live to the disadvantage of the race1 and therefore1 unreasonably and badly2 that which could have injured the race has perhaps died out many millenniums ago1 and now belongs to the things which are no longer possible even to ,god4 ,indulge thy best or thy worst desires1 and above all1 go to wreck6--in either case thou art still probably the furtherer and benefactor of mankind in some way or other1 and in that respect thou mayest have thy panegyrists--and similarly thy mockers6 ,but thou wilt never find him who would be quite qualified to mock at thee1 the individual1 at thy best1 who could bring home to thy conscience its limitless1 buzzing and croaking wretchedness so as to be in accord with truth6 ,to laugh at oneself as one would have to laugh in order to laugh out of the veriest truth1--to do this the best have not hitherto had enough of the sense of truth1 and the most endowed have had far too little genius6 ,there is perhaps still a future even for laughter6 ,when the maxim1 ,the race is all1 the individual is nothing1--has incorporated itself in humanity1 and when access stands open to every one at all times to this ultimate emancipation and irresponsibility4--,perhaps then laughter will have united with wisdom1 perhaps then there will be only joyful wisdom4 ,meanwhile1 however1 it is quite otherwise1 meanwhile the comedy of existence has not yet become conscious of itself1 meanwhile it is still the period of tragedy1 the period of morals and religions4 ,what does the ever new appearing of founders of morals and religions1 of instigators of struggles for moral valuations1 of teachers of remorse of conscience and religious war1 imply8 ,what do these heroes on this stage imply8 ,for they have hitherto been the heroes of it1 and all else1 though solely visible for the time being1 and too close to one1 has served only as preparation for these heroes1 whether as machinery and coulisse1 or in the rle of confidants and valets4 7,the poets1 for example1 have always been the valets of some morality or other47--,it is obvious of itself that these tragedians also work in the interest of the race1 though they may believe that they work in the interest of ,god1 and as emissaries of ,god4 ,they also further the life of the species1 in that they further the belief in life4 ,it is worth while to live--each of them calls out1--there is something of importance in this life2 life has something behind it and under it2 take care6 ,that impulse1 which rules equally in the noblest and the ignoblest1 the impulse towards the conservation of the species1 breaks forth from time to time as reason and passion of spirit2 it has then a brilliant train of motives about it1 and tries with all its power to make us forget that fundamentally it is just impulse1 instinct1 folly and baselessness4 ,life should be loved1 for 4446 ,man should benefit himself and his neighbour1 for 4446 ,and whatever all these shoulds and fors imply1 and may imply in future6 ,in order that that which necessarily and always happens of itself and without design1 may henceforth appear to be done by design1 and may appeal to men as reason and ultimate command1--for that purpose the ethiculturist comes forward as the teacher of design in existence2 for that purpose he devises a second and different existence1 and by means of this new mechanism he lifts the old common existence off its old common hinges4 ,no6 he does not at all want us to laugh at existence1 nor even at ourselves--nor at himself2 to him an individual is always an individual1 something first and last and immense1 to him there are no species1 no sums1 no noughts4 ,however foolish and fanatical his inventions and valuations may be1 however much he may misunderstand the course of nature and deny its conditions--and all systems of ethics hitherto have been foolish and anti-natural to such a degree that mankind would have been ruined by any one of them had it got the upper hand1--at any rate1 every time that the hero came upon the stage something new was attained3 the frightful counterpart of laughter1 the profound convulsion of many individuals at the thought1 ,yes1 it is worth while to live6 yes1 ,i am worthy to live6--life1 and thou1 and ,i1 and all of us together became for a while interesting to ourselves once more4--,it is not to be denied that hitherto laughter and reason and nature have in the long run got the upper hand of all the great teachers of design3 in the end the short tragedy always passed over once more into the eternal comedy of existence2 and the waves of innumerable laughters--to use the expression of schylus--must also in the end beat over the greatest of these tragedies4 ,but with all this corrective laughter1 human nature has on the whole been changed by the ever new appearance of those teachers of the design of existence1--human nature has now an additional requirement1 the very requirement of the ever new appearance of such teachers and doctrines of design4 ,man has gradually become a visionary animal1 who has to fulfil one more condition of existence than the other animals3 man must from time to time believe that he knows why he exists2 his species cannot flourish without periodically confiding in life6 ,without the belief in reason in life6 ,and always from time to time will the human race decree anew that there is something which really may not be laughed at4 ,and the most clairvoyant philanthropist will add that not only laughing and joyful wisdom1 but also the tragic1 with all its sublime irrationality1 counts among the means and necessities for the conservation of the race6--,and consequently6 ,consequently6 ,consequently6 ,do you understand me1 oh my brothers8 ,do you understand this new law of ebb and flow8 ,we also shall have our time6 #b4 ,the ,intellectual ,conscience4--,i have always the same experience over again1 and always make a new effort against it2 for although it is evident to me ,i do not want to believe it3 in the greater number of men the intellectual conscience is lacking2 indeed1 it would often seem to me that in demanding such a thing1 one is as solitary in the largest cities as in the desert4 ,everyone looks at you with strange eyes1 and continues to make use of his scales1 calling this good and that bad2 and no one blushes for shame when you remark that these weights are not the full amount1--there is also no indignation against you2 perhaps they laugh at your doubt4 ,i mean to say that the greater number of people do not find it contemptible to believe this or that1 and live according to it1 without having been previously aware of the ultimate and surest reasons for and against it1 and without even giving themselves any trouble about such reasons afterwards1--the most gifted men and the noblest women still belong to this greater number4 ,but what is kind-heartedness1 refinement and genius to me1 if the man with these virtues harbours indolent sentiments in belief and judgment1 if the longing for certainty does not rule in him1 as his innermost desire and profoundest need--as that which separates higher from lower men6 ,in certain pious people ,i have found a hatred of reason1 and have been favourably disposed to them for it3 their bad1 intellectual conscience still betrayed itself1 at least in this manner6 ,but to stand in the midst of this rerum concordia discors and all the marvellous uncertainty and ambiguity of existence1 and not to question1 not to tremble with desire and delight in questioning1 not even to hate the questioner--perhaps even to make merry over him to the extent of weariness--that is what ,i regard as contemptible1 and it is this sentiment which ,i first of all search for in every one3--some folly or other always persuades me anew that every man has this sentiment1 as man4 ,this is my special kind of unrighteousness4 #c4 ,noble and ,ignoble4--,to ignoble natures all noble1 magnanimous sentiments appear inexpedient1 and on that account first and foremost1 as incredible3 they blink with their eyes when they hear of such matters1 and seem inclined to say1 there will1 no doubt1 be some advantage therefrom1 one cannot see through all walls2--they are jealous of the noble person1 as if he sought advantage by back-stair methods4 ,when they are all too plainly convinced of the absence of selfish intentions and emoluments1 the noble person is regarded by them as a kind of fool3 they despise him in his gladness1 and laugh at the lustre of his eye4 ,how can a person rejoice at being at a disadvantage1 how can a person with open eyes want to meet with disadvantage6 ,it must be a disease of the reason with which the noble affection is associated1--so they think1 and they look depreciatingly thereon2 just as they depreciate the joy which the lunatic derives from his fixed idea4 ,the ignoble nature is distinguished by the fact that it keeps its advantage steadily in view1 and that this thought of the end and advantage is even stronger than its strongest impulse3 not to be tempted to inexpedient activities by its impulses--that is its wisdom and inspiration4 ,in comparison with the ignoble nature the higher nature is more irrational3--for the noble1 magnanimous1 and self-sacrificing person succumbs in fact to his impulses1 and in his best moments his reason lapses altogether4 ,an animal1 which at the risk of life protects its young1 or in the pairing season follows the female where it meets with death1 does not think of the risk and the death2 its reason pauses likewise1 because its delight in its young1 or in the female1 and the fear of being deprived of this delight1 dominate it exclusively2 it becomes stupider than at other times1 like the noble and magnanimous person4 ,he possesses feelings of pleasure and pain of such intensity that the intellect must either be silent before them1 or yield itself to their service3 his heart then goes into his head1 and one henceforth speaks of passions4 7,here and there to be sure1 the antithesis to this1 and as it were the reverse of passion1 presents itself2 for example in ,fontenelle1 to whom some one once laid the hand on the heart with the words1 ,what you have there1 my dearest friend1 is brain also47 ,it is the unreason1 or perverse reason of passion1 which the ignoble man despises in the noble individual1 especially when it concentrates upon objects whose value appears to him to be altogether fantastic and arbitrary4 ,he is offended at him who succumbs to the passion of the belly1 but he understands the allurement which here plays the tyrant2 but he does not understand1 for example1 how a person out of love of knowledge can stake his health and honour on the game4 ,the taste of the higher nature devotes itself to exceptional matters1 to things which usually do not affect people1 and seem to have no sweetness2 the higher nature has a singular standard of value4 ,besides1 it is mostly of the belief that it has not a singular standard of value in its idiosyncrasies of taste2 it rather sets up its values and non-values as the generally valid values and non-values1 and thus becomes incomprehensible and impracticable4 ,it is very rarely that a higher nature has so much reason over and above as to understand and deal with everyday men as such2 for the most part it believes in its passion as if it were the concealed passion of every one1 and precisely in this belief it is full of ardour and eloquence4 ,if then such exceptional men do not perceive themselves as exceptions1 how can they ever understand the ignoble natures and estimate average men fairly6 ,thus it is that they also speak of the folly1 inexpediency and fantasy of mankind1 full of astonishment at the madness of the world1 and that it will not recognise the one thing needful for it4--,this is the eternal unrighteousness of noble natures4 #d4 ,that which ,preserves the ,species4--,the strongest and most evil spirits have hitherto advanced mankind the most3 they always rekindled the sleeping passions--all orderly arranged society lulls the passions to sleep2 they always reawakened the sense of comparison1 of contradiction1 of delight in the new1 the adventurous1 the untried2 they compelled men to set opinion against opinion1 ideal plan against ideal plan4 ,by means of arms1 by upsetting boundary-stones1 by violations of piety most of all3 but also by new religions and morals6 ,the same kind of wickedness is in every teacher and preacher of the new--which makes a conqueror infamous1 although it expresses itself more refinedly1 and does not immediately set the muscles in motion 7and just on that account does not make so infamous674 ,the new1 however1 is under all circumstances the evil1 as that which wants to conquer1 which tries to upset the old boundary-stones and the old piety2 only the old is the good6 ,the good men of every age are those who go to the roots of the old thoughts and bear fruit with them1 the agriculturists of the spirit4 ,but every soil becomes finally exhausted1 and the ploughshare of evil must always come once more4--,there is at present a fundamentally erroneous theory of morals which is much celebrated1 especially in ,england3 according to it the judgments good and evil are the accumulation of the experiences of that which is expedient and inexpedient2 according to this theory1 that which is called good is conservative of the species1 what is called evil1 however1 is detrimental to it4 ,but in reality the evil impulses are just in as high a degree expedient1 indispensable1 and conservative of the species as the good3--only1 their function is different4 #e4 ,unconditional ,duties4--,all men who feel that they need the strongest words and intonations1 the most eloquent gestures and attitudes1 in order to operate at all--revolutionary politicians1 socialists1 preachers of repentance with or without ,christianity1 with all of whom there must be no mere half-success1--all these speak of duties1 and indeed1 always of duties1 which have the character of being unconditional--without such they would have no right to their excessive pathos3 they know that right well6 ,they grasp1 therefore1 at philosophies of morality which preach some kind of categorical imperative1 or they assimilate a good lump of religion1 as1 for example1 ,mazzini did4 ,because they want to be trusted unconditionally1 it is first of all necessary for them to trust themselves unconditionally1 on the basis of some ultimate1 undebatable command1 sublime in itself1 as the ministers and instruments of which1 they would fain feel and announce themselves4 ,here we have the most natural1 and for the most part1 very influential opponents of moral enlightenment and scepticism3 but they are rare4 ,on the other hand1 there is always a very numerous class of those opponents wherever interest teaches subjection1 while repute and honour seem to forbid it4 ,he who feels himself dishonoured at the thought of being the instrument of a prince1 or of a party and sect1 or even of wealthy power 7for example1 as the descendant of a proud1 ancient family71 but wishes just to be this instrument1 or must be so before himself and before the public--such a person has need of pathetic principles which can at all times be appealed to3--principles of an unconditional ought1 to which a person can subject himself without shame1 and can show himself subjected4 ,all more refined servility holds fast to the categorical imperative1 and is the mortal enemy of those who want to take away the unconditional character of duty3 propriety demands this from them1 and not only propriety4 #f4 ,loss of ,dignity4--,meditation has lost all its dignity of form2 the ceremonial and solemn bearing of the meditative person have been made a mockery1 and one would no longer endure a wise man of the old style4 ,we think too hastily and on the way and while walking and in the midst of business of all kinds1 even when we think on the most serious matters2 we require little preparation1 even little quiet3--it is as if each of us carried about an unceasingly revolving machine in his head1 which still works1 even under the most unfavourable circumstances4 ,formerly it was perceived in a person that on some occasion he wanted to think--it was perhaps the exception6--that he now wanted to become wiser and collected his mind on a thought3 he put on a long face for it1 as for a prayer1 and arrested his step--nay1 stood still for hours on the street when the thought came--on one or on two legs4 ,it was thus worthy of the affair6 #g4 ,something for the ,laborious4--,he who at present wants to make moral questions a subject of study has an immense field of labour before him4 ,all kinds of passions must be thought about singly1 and followed singly throughout periods1 peoples1 great and insignificant individuals2 all their rationality1 all their valuations and elucidations of things1 ought to come to light6 ,hitherto all that has given colour to existence has lacked a history3 where would one find a history of love1 of avarice1 of envy1 of conscience1 of piety1 of cruelty8 ,even a comparative history of law1 as also of punishment1 has hitherto been completely lacking4 ,have the different divisions of the day1 the consequences of a regular appointment of the times for labour1 feast1 and repose1 ever been made the object of investigation8 ,do we know the moral effects of the alimentary substances8 ,is there a philosophy of nutrition8 7,the ever-recurring outcry for and against vegetarianism proves that as yet there is no such philosophy67 ,have the experiences with regard to communal living1 for example1 in monasteries1 been collected8 ,has the dialectic of marriage and friendship been set forth8 ,the customs of the learned1 of trades-people1 of artists1 and of mechanics--have they already found their thinkers8 ,there is so much to think of thereon6 ,all that up till now has been considered as the conditions of existence1 of human beings1 and all reason1 passion and superstition in this consideration--have they been investigated to the end8 ,the observation alone of the different degrees of development which the human impulses have attained1 and could yet attain1 according to the different moral climates1 would furnish too much work for the most laborious2 whole generations1 and regular co-operating generations of the learned1 would be needed in order to exhaust the points of view and the material here furnished4 ,the same is true of the determining of the reasons for the differences of the moral climates 7on what account does this sun of a fundamental moral judgment and standard of highest value shine here--and that sun there874 ,and there is again a new labour which points out the erroneousness of all these reasons1 and determines the entire essence of the moral judgments hitherto made4 ,supposing all these labours to be accomplished1 the most critical of all questions would then come into the foreground3 whether science is in a position to furnish goals for human action1 after it has proved that it can take them away and annihilate them--and then would be the time for a process of experimenting in which every kind of heroism could satisfy itself1 an experimenting for centuries1 which would put into the shade all the great labours and sacrifices of previous history4 ,science has not hitherto built its ,cyclopic structures2 for that also the time will come4 #h4 ,unconscious ,virtues4--,all qualities in a man of which he is conscious--and especially when he presumes that they are visible and evident to his environment also--are subject to quite other laws of development than those qualities which are unknown to him1 or imperfectly known1 which by their subtlety can also conceal themselves from the subtlest observer1 and hide as it were behind nothing1--as in the case of the delicate sculptures on the scales of reptiles 7it would be an error to suppose them an adornment or a defence--for one sees them only with the microscope2 consequently1 with an eye artificially strengthened to an extent of vision which similar animals1 to which they might perhaps have meant adornment or defence1 do not possess67 ,our visible moral qualities1 and especially our moral qualities believed to be visible1 follow their own course1--and our invisible qualities of similar name1 which in relation to others neither serve for adornment nor defence1 also follow their own course3 quite a different course probably1 and with lines and refinements1 and sculptures1 which might perhaps give pleasure to a ,god with a divine microscope4 ,we have1 for example1 our diligence1 our ambition1 our acuteness3 all the world knows about them1--and besides1 we have probably once more our diligence1 our ambition1 our acuteness2 but for these--our reptile scales--the microscope has not yet been invented6--,and here the adherents of instinctive morality will say1 ,bravo6 ,he at least regards unconscious virtues as possible--that suffices us6--,oh1 ye unexacting creatures6 #i4 ,our ,eruptions4--,numberless things which humanity acquired in its earlier stages1 but so weakly and embryonically that it could not be noticed that they were acquired1 are thrust suddenly into light long afterwards1 perhaps after the lapse of centuries3 they have in the interval become strong and mature4 ,in some ages this or that talent1 this or that virtue seems to be entirely lacking1 as it is in some men2 but let us wait only for the grandchildren and grandchildren's children1 if we have time to wait1--they bring the interior of their grandfathers into the sun1 that interior of which the grandfathers themselves were unconscious4 ,the son1 indeed1 is often the betrayer of his father2 the latter understands himself better since he has got his son4 ,we have all hidden gardens and plantations in us2 and by another simile1 we are all growing volcanoes1 which will have their hours of eruption3--how near or how distant this is1 nobody of course knows1 not even the good ,god4 #aj4 ,a ,species of ,atavism4--,i like best to think of the rare men of an age as suddenly emerging aftershoots of past cultures1 and of their persistent strength3 like the atavism of a people and its civilisation3--there is thus still something in them to think of6 ,they now seem strange1 rare1 and extraordinary3 and he who feels these forces in himself has to foster them in face of a different1 opposing world2 he has to defend them1 honour them1 and rear them to maturity3 and he either becomes a great man thereby1 or a deranged and eccentric person1 unless he should altogether break down betimes4 ,formerly these rare qualities were usual1 and were consequently regarded as common3 they did not distinguish people4 ,perhaps they were demanded and presupposed2 it was impossible to become great with them1 for indeed there was also no danger of becoming insane and solitary with them4--,it is principally in the old-established families and castes of a people that such after-effects of old impulses present themselves1 while there is no probability of such atavism where races1 habits1 and valuations change too rapidly4 ,for the tempo of the evolutional forces in peoples implies just as much as in music2 for our case an andante of evolution is absolutely necessary1 as the tempo of a passionate and slow spirit3--and the spirit of conserving families is certainly of that sort4 #aa4 ,consciousness4--,consciousness is the last and latest development of the organic1 and consequently also the most unfinished and least powerful of these developments4 ,innumerable mistakes originate out of consciousness1 which1 in spite of fate1 as ,homer says1 cause an animal or a man to break down earlier than might be necessary4 ,if the conserving bond of the instincts were not very much more powerful1 it would not generally serve as a regulator3 by perverse judging and dreaming with open eyes1 by superficiality and credulity1 in short1 just by consciousness1 mankind would necessarily have broken down3 or rather1 without the former there would long ago have been nothing more of the latter6 ,before a function is fully formed and matured1 it is a danger to the organism3 all the better if it be then thoroughly tyrannised over6 ,consciousness is thus thoroughly tyrannised over--and not least by the pride in it6 ,it is thought that here is the quintessence of man2 that which is enduring1 eternal1 ultimate1 and most original in him6 ,consciousness is regarded as a fixed1 given magnitude6 ,its growth and intermittences are denied6 ,it is accepted as the unity of the organism6--,this ludicrous overvaluation and misconception of consciousness1 has as its result the great utility1 that a too rapid maturing of it has thereby been hindered4 ,because men believed that they already possessed consciousness1 they gave themselves very little trouble to acquire it--and even now it is not otherwise6 ,it is still an entirely new problem just dawning on the human eye and hardly yet plainly recognisable3 to embody knowledge in ourselves and make it instinctive1--a problem which is only seen by those who have grasped the fact that hitherto our errors alone have been embodied in us1 and that all our consciousness is relative to errors6 #ab4 ,the ,goal of ,science4--,what8 ,the ultimate goal of science is to create the most pleasure possible to man1 and the least possible pain8 ,but what if pleasure and pain should be so closely connected that he who wants the greatest possible amount of the one must also have the greatest possible amount of the other1--that he who wants to experience the heavenly high jubilation1#g must also be ready to be sorrowful unto death87ref4 same footnote7 ,and it is so1 perhaps6 ,the ,stoics at least believed it was so1 and they were consistent when they wished to have the least possible pleasure1 in order to have the least possible pain from life4 7,when one uses the expression3 ,the virtuous man is the happiest1 it is as much the sign-board of the school for the masses1 as a casuistic subtlety for the subtle47 ,at present also ye have still the choice3 either the least possible pain1 in short painlessness--and after all1 socialists and politicians of all parties could not honourably promise more to their people1--or the greatest possible amount of pain1 as the price of the growth of a fullness of refined delights and enjoyments rarely tasted hitherto6 ,if ye decide for the former1 if ye therefore want to depress and minimise man's capacity for pain1 well1 ye must also depress and minimise his capacity for enjoyment4 ,in fact1 one can further the one as well as the other goal by science6 ,perhaps science is as yet best known by its capacity for depriving man of enjoyment1 and making him colder1 more statuesque1 and more ,stoical4 ,but it might also turn out to be the great pain-bringer6--,and then1 perhaps1 its counteracting force would be discovered simultaneously1 its immense capacity for making new sidereal worlds of enjoyment beam forth6 #ac4 ,the ,theory of the ,sense of ,power4--,we exercise our power over others by doing them good or by doing them ill--that is all we care for6 ,doing ill to those on whom we have to make our power felt2 for pain is a far more sensitive means for that purpose than pleasure3--pain always asks concerning the cause1 while pleasure is inclined to keep within itself and not look backward4 ,doing good and being kind to those who are in any way already dependent on us 7that is1 who are accustomed to think of us as their raison d'tre72 we want to increase their power1 because we thus increase our own2 or we want to show them the advantage there is in being in our power1--they thus become more contented with their position1 and more hostile to the enemies of our power and readier to contend with them4 ,if we make sacrifices in doing good or in doing ill1 it does not alter the ultimate value of our actions2 even if we stake our life in the cause1 as martyrs for the sake of our church1 it is a sacrifice to our longing for power1 or for the purpose of conserving our sense of power4 ,he who under these circumstances feels that he is in possession of truth1 how many possessions does he not let go1 in order to preserve this feeling6 ,what does he not throw overboard1 in order to keep himself up1--that is to say1 above the others who lack the truth6 ,certainly the condition we are in when we do ill is seldom so pleasant1 so purely pleasant1 as that in which we practise kindness1--it is an indication that we still lack power1 or it betrays ill-humour at this defect in us2 it brings with it new dangers and uncertainties as to the power we already possess1 and clouds our horizon by the prospect of revenge1 scorn1 punishment and failure4 ,perhaps only those most susceptible to the sense of power1 and eager for it1 will prefer to impress the seal of power on the resisting individual1--those to whom the sight of the already subjugated person as the object of benevolence is a burden and a tedium4 ,it is a question how a person is accustomed to season his life2 it is a matter of taste whether a person would rather have the slow or the sudden1 the safe or the dangerous and daring increase of power1--he seeks this or that seasoning always according to his temperament4 ,an easy booty is something contemptible to proud natures2 they have an agreeable sensation only at the sight of men of unbroken spirit who could be enemies to them1 and similarly1 also1 at the sight of all not easily accessible possession2 they are often hard toward the sufferer1 for he is not worthy of their effort or their pride1--but they show themselves so much the more courteous towards their equals1 with whom strife and struggle would in any case be full of honour1 if at any time an occasion for it should present itself4 ,it is under the agreeable feelings of this perspective that the members of the knightly caste have habituated themselves to exquisite courtesy toward one another4--,pity is the most pleasant feeling in those who have not much pride1 and have no prospect of great conquests3 the easy booty--and that is what every sufferer is--is for them an enchanting thing4 ,pity is said to be the virtue of the gay lady4 #ad4 ,what is called ,love4--,the lust of property and love3 what different associations each of these ideas evoke6--and yet it might be the same impulse twice named3 on the one occasion disparaged from the standpoint of those already possessing 7in whom the impulse has attained something of repose1 and who are now apprehensive for the safety of their possession72 on the other occasion viewed from the standpoint of the unsatisfied and thirsty1 and therefore glorified as good4 ,our love of our neighbour1--is it not a striving after new property8 ,and similarly our love of knowledge1 of truth2 and in general all the striving after novelties8 ,we gradually become satiated with the old1 the securely possessed1 and again stretch out our hands2 even the finest landscape in which we live for three months is no longer certain of our love1 and any kind of more distant coast excites our covetousness3 the possession for the most part becomes smaller through possessing4 ,our pleasure in ourselves seeks to maintain itself1 by always transforming something new into ourselves1--that is just possessing4 ,to become satiated with a possession1 that is to become satiated with ourselves4 7,one can also suffer from excess1--even the desire to cast away1 to share out1 can assume the honourable name of love47 ,when we see any one suffering1 we willingly utilise the opportunity then afforded to take possession of him2 the beneficent and sympathetic man1 for example1 does this2 he also calls the desire for new possession awakened in him1 by the name of love1 and has enjoyment in it1 as in a new acquisition suggesting itself to him4 ,the love of the sexes1 however1 betrays itself most plainly as the striving after possession3 the lover wants the unconditioned1 sole possession of the person longed for by him2 he wants just as absolute power over her soul as over her body2 he wants to be loved solely1 and to dwell and rule in the other soul as what is highest and most to be desired4 ,when one considers that this means precisely to exclude all the world from a precious possession1 a happiness1 and an enjoyment2 when one considers that the lover has in view the impoverishment and privation of all other rivals1 and would like to become the dragon of his golden hoard1 as the most inconsiderate and selfish of all conquerors and exploiters2 when one considers finally that to the lover himself1 the whole world besides appears indifferent1 colourless1 and worthless1 and that he is ready to make every sacrifice1 disturb every arrangement1 and put every other interest behind his own1--one is verily surprised that this ferocious lust of property and injustice of sexual love should have been glorified and deified to such an extent at all times2 yea1 that out of this love the conception of love as the antithesis of egoism should have been derived1 when it is perhaps precisely the most unqualified expression of egoism4 ,here1 evidently1 the non-possessors and desirers have determined the usage of language1--there were1 of course1 always too many of them4 ,those who have been favoured with much possession and satiety1 have1 to be sure1 dropped a word now and then about the raging demon1 as1 for instance1 the most lovable and most beloved of all the ,athenians--,sophocles2 but ,eros always laughed at such revilers1--they were always his greatest favourites4--,there is1 of course1 here and there on this terrestrial sphere a kind of sequel to love1 in which that covetous longing of two persons for one another has yielded to a new desire and covetousness1 to a common1 higher thirst for a superior ideal standing above them3 but who knows this love8 ,who has experienced it8 ,its right name is friendship4 #ae4 ,out of the ,distance4--,this mountain makes the whole district which it dominates charming in every way1 and full of significance3 after we have said this to ourselves for the hundredth time1 we are so irrationally and so gratefully disposed towards it1 as the giver of this charm1 that we fancy it must itself be the most charming thing in the district--and so we climb it1 and are undeceived4 ,all of a sudden1 it itself1 and the whole landscape around and under us1 is as it were disenchanted2 we had forgotten that many a greatness1 like many a goodness1 wants only to be seen at a certain distance1 and entirely from below1 not from above1--it is thus only that it operates4 ,perhaps you know men in your neighbourhood who can only look at themselves from a certain distance to find themselves at all endurable1 or attractive and enlivening2 they are to be dissuaded from self-knowledge4 #af4 ,across the ,plank4--,one must be able to dissimulate in intercourse with persons who are ashamed of their feelings2 they experience a sudden aversion towards anyone who surprises them in a state of tender1 or enthusiastic and high-running feeling1 as if he had seen their secrets4 ,if one wants to be kind to them in such moments one should make them laugh1 or say some kind of cold1 playful wickedness3--their feeling thereby congeals1 and they are again self-possessed4 ,but ,i give the moral before the story4--,we were once on a time so near one another in the course of our lives1 that nothing more seemed to hinder our friendship and fraternity1 and there was merely a small plank between us4 ,while you were just about to step on it1 ,i asked you3 ,do you want to come across the plank to me8 ,but then you did not want to come any longer2 and when ,i again entreated1 you were silent4 ,since then mountains and torrents1 and whatever separates and alienates1 have interposed between us1 and even if we wanted to come to one another1 we could no longer do so6 ,when1 however1 you now remember that small plank1 you have no longer words1--but merely sobs and amazement4 #ag4 ,motivation of ,poverty4--,we cannot1 to be sure1 by any artifice make a rich and richly-flowing virtue out of a poor one1 but we can gracefully enough reinterpret its poverty into necessity1 so that its aspect no longer gives pain to us1 and we do not make any reproachful faces at fate on account of it4 ,it is thus that the wise gardener does1 who puts the tiny streamlet of his garden into the arms of a fountain-nymph1 and thus motivates the poverty3--and who would not like him need the nymphs6 #ah4 ,ancient ,pride4--,the ancient savour of nobility is lacking in us1 because the ancient slave is lacking in our sentiment4 ,a ,greek of noble descent found such immense intermediate stages1 and such a distance betwixt his elevation and that ultimate baseness1 that he could hardly even see the slave plainly3 even ,plato no longer saw him entirely4 ,it is otherwise with us1 accustomed as we are to the doctrine of the equality of men1 although not to the equality itself4 ,a being who has not the free disposal of himself and has not got leisure1--that is not regarded by us as anything contemptible2 there is perhaps too much of this kind of slavishness in each of us1 in accordance with the conditions of our social order and activity1 which are fundamentally different from those of the ancients4--,the ,greek philosopher went through life with the secret feeling that there were many more slaves than people supposed--that is to say1 that every one was a slave who was not a philosopher4 ,his pride was puffed up when he considered that even the mightiest of the earth were thus to be looked upon as slaves4 ,this pride is also unfamiliar to us1 and impossible2 the word slave has not its full force for us even in simile4 #ai4 ,evil4--,test the life of the best and most productive men and nations1 and ask yourselves whether a tree which is to grow proudly heavenward can dispense with bad weather and tempests3 whether disfavour and opposition from without1 whether every kind of hatred1 jealousy1 stubbornness1 distrust1 severity1 greed1 and violence do not belong to the favouring circumstances without which a great growth even in virtue is hardly possible8 ,the poison by which the weaker nature is destroyed is strengthening to the strong individual--and he does not call it poison4 #bj4 ,dignity of ,folly4--,several millenniums further on in the path of the last century6--and in everything that man does the highest prudence will be exhibited3 but just thereby prudence will have lost all its dignity4 ,it will then1 sure enough1 be necessary to be prudent1 but it will also be so usual and common1 that a more fastidious taste will feel this necessity as vulgarity4 ,and just as a tyranny of truth and science would be in a position to raise the value of falsehood1 a tyranny of prudence could force into prominence a new species of nobleness4 ,to be noble--that might then mean1 perhaps1 to be capable of follies4 #ba4 ,to the ,teachers of ,unselfishness4--,the virtues of a man are called good1 not in respect of the results they have for himself1 but in respect of the results which we expect therefrom for ourselves and for society3--we have all along had very little unselfishness1 very little non-egoism in our praise of the virtues6 ,for otherwise it could not but have been seen that the virtues 7such as diligence1 obedience1 chastity1 piety1 justice7 are mostly injurious to their possessors1 as impulses which rule in them too vehemently and ardently1 and do not want to be kept in co-ordination with the other impulses by the reason4 ,if you have a virtue1 an actual1 perfect virtue 7and not merely a kind of impulse towards virtue67--you are its victim6 ,but your neighbour praises your virtue precisely on that account6 ,one praises the diligent man though he injures his sight1 or the originality and freshness of his spirit1 by his diligence2 the youth is honoured and regretted who has worn himself out by work1 because one passes the judgment that for society as a whole the loss of the best individual is only a small sacrifice6 ,a pity that this sacrifice should be necessary6 ,a much greater pity1 it is true1 if the individual should think differently1 and regard his preservation and development as more important than his work in the service of society6 ,and so one regrets this youth1 not on his own account1 but because a devoted instrument1 regardless of self--a so-called good man1 has been lost to society by his death4 ,perhaps one further considers the question1 whether it would not have been more advantageous for the interests of society if he had laboured with less disregard of himself1 and had preserved himself longer1--indeed1 one readily admits an advantage therefrom1 but one esteems the other advantage1 namely1 that a sacrifice has been made1 and that the disposition of the sacrificial animal has once more been obviously endorsed--as higher and more enduring4 ,it is accordingly1 on the one part1 the instrumental character in the virtues which is praised when the virtues are praised1 and on the other part1 the blind1 ruling impulse in every virtue1 which refuses to let itself be kept within bounds by the general advantage to the individual2 in short1 what is praised is the unreason in the virtues1 in consequence of which the individual allows himself to be transformed into a function of the whole4 ,the praise of the virtues is the praise of something which is privately injurious to the individual2 it is praise of impulses which deprive man of his noblest self-love1 and the power to take the best care of himself4 ,to be sure1 for the teaching and embodying of virtuous habits a series of effects of virtue are displayed1 which make it appear that virtue and private advantage are closely related1--and there is in fact such a relationship6 ,blindly furious diligence1 for example1 the typical virtue of an instrument1 is represented as the way to riches and honour1 and as the most beneficial antidote to tedium and passion3 but people are silent concerning its danger1 its greatest dangerousness4 ,education proceeds in this manner throughout3 it endeavours1 by a series of enticements and advantages1 to determine the individual to a certain mode of thinking and acting1 which1 when it has become habit1 impulse and passion1 rules in him and over him1 in opposition to his ultimate advantage1 but for the general good4 ,how often do ,i see that blindly furious diligence does indeed create riches and honours1 but at the same time deprives the organs of the refinement by virtue of which alone an enjoyment of riches and honours is possible2 so that really the main expedient for combating tedium and passion1 simultaneously blunts the senses and makes the spirit refractory towards new stimuli6 7,the busiest of all ages--our age--does not know how to make anything out of its great diligence and wealth1 except always more and more wealth1 and more and more diligence2 there is even more genius needed for laying out wealth than for acquiring it6--,well1 we shall have our grandchildren67 ,if the education succeeds1 every virtue of the individual is a public utility1 and a private disadvantage in respect to the highest private end1--probably some psycho-sthetic stunting1 or even premature dissolution4 ,one should consider successively from the same standpoint the virtues of obedience1 chastity1 piety1 and justice4 ,the praise of the unselfish1 self-sacrificing1 virtuous person--he1 consequently1 who does not expend his whole energy and reason for his own conservation1 development1 elevation1 furtherance and augmentation of power1 but lives as regards himself unassumingly and thoughtlessly1 perhaps even indifferently or ironically1--this praise has in any case not originated out of the spirit of unselfishness6 ,the neighbour praises unselfishness because he profits by it6 ,if the neighbour were unselfishly disposed himself1 he would reject that destruction of power1 that injury for his advantage1 he would thwart such inclinations in their origin1 and above all he would manifest his unselfishness just by not giving it a good name6 ,the fundamental contradiction in that morality which at present stands in high honour is here indicated3 the motives to such a morality are in antithesis to its principle6 ,that with which this morality wishes to prove itself1 refutes it out of its criterion of what is moral6 ,the maxim1 ,thou shalt renounce thyself and offer thyself as a sacrifice1 in order not to be inconsistent with its own morality1 could only be decreed by a being who himself renounced his own advantage thereby1 and who perhaps in the required self-sacrifice of individuals brought about his own dissolution4 ,as soon1 however1 as the neighbour 7or society7 recommended altruism on account of its utility1 the precisely antithetical proposition1 ,thou shalt seek thy advantage even at the expense of everybody else1 was brought into use3 accordingly1 thou shalt1 and thou shalt not1 are preached in one breath6 #bb4 ,l',ordre du ,jour pour le ,roi4--,the day commences3 let us begin to arrange for this day the business and ftes of our most gracious lord1 who at present is still pleased to repose4 ,his ,majesty has bad weather to-day3 we shall be careful not to call it bad2 we shall not speak of the weather1--but we shall go through to-day's business somewhat more ceremoniously and make the ftes somewhat more festive than would otherwise be necessary4 ,his ,majesty may perhaps even be sick3 we shall give the last good news of the evening at breakfast1 the arrival of ,m4 ,montaigne1 who knows how to joke so pleasantly about his sickness1--he suffers from stone4 ,we shall receive several persons 7persons6--what would that old inflated frog1 who will be among them1 say1 if he heard this word6 ,i am no person1 he would say1 but always the thing itself7--and the reception will last longer than is pleasant to anybody2 a sufficient reason for telling about the poet who wrote over his door1 ,he who enters here will do me an honour2 he who does not--a favour4--,that is1 forsooth1 saying a discourteous thing in a courteous manner6 ,and perhaps this poet is quite justified on his part in being discourteous2 they say that the rhymes are better than the rhymester4 ,well1 let him still make many of them1 and withdraw himself as much as possible from the world3 and that is doubtless the significance of his well-bred rudeness6 ,a prince1 on the other hand1 is always of more value than his verse1 even when--but what are we about8 ,we gossip1 and the whole court believes that we have already been at work and racked our brains3 there is no light to be seen earlier than that which burns in our window4--,hark6 ,was that not the bell8 ,the devil6 ,the day and the dance commence1 and we do not know our rounds6 ,we must then improvise1--all the world improvises its day4 ,to-day1 let us for once do like all the world6--,and therewith vanished my wonderful morning dream1 probably owing to the violent strokes of the tower-clock1 which just then announced the fifth hour with all the importance which is peculiar to it4 ,it seems to me that1 on this occasion1 the ,god of dreams wanted to make merry over my habits1--it is my habit to commence the day by arranging it properly1 to make it endurable for myself1 and it is possible that ,i may often have done this too formally1 and too much like a prince4 #bc4 ,the ,characteristics of ,corruption4--,let us observe the following characteristics in that condition of society from time to time necessary1 which is designated by the word corruption4 ,immediately upon the appearance of corruption anywhere1 a motley superstition gets the upper hand1 and the hitherto universal belief of a people becomes colourless and impotent in comparison with it2 for superstition is freethinking of the second rank1--he who gives himself over to it selects certain forms and formul which appeal to him1 and permits himself a right of choice4 ,the superstitious man is always much more of a person1 in comparison with the religious man1 and a superstitious society will be one in which there are many individuals1 and a delight in individuality4 ,seen from this standpoint superstition always appears as a progress in comparison with belief1 and as a sign that the intellect becomes more independent and claims to have its rights4 ,those who reverence the old religion and the religious disposition then complain of corruption1--they have hitherto also determined the usage of language1 and have given a bad repute to superstition1 even among the freest spirits4 ,let us learn that it is a symptom of enlightenment4--,secondly1 a society in which corruption takes a hold is blamed for effeminacy3 for the appreciation of war1 and the delight in war perceptibly diminish in such a society1 and the conveniences of life are now just as eagerly sought after as were military and gymnastic honours formerly4 ,but one is accustomed to overlook the fact that the old national energy and national passion1 which acquired a magnificent splendour in war and in the tourney1 has now transferred itself into innumerable private passions1 and has merely become less visible2 indeed in periods of corruption the quantity and quality of the expended energy of a people is probably greater than ever1 and the individual spends it lavishly1 to such an extent as could not be done formerly--he was not then rich enough to do so6 ,and thus it is precisely in times of effeminacy that tragedy runs at large in and out of doors1 it is then that ardent love and ardent hatred are born1 and the flame of knowledge flashes heavenward in full blaze4--,thirdly1 as if in amends for the reproach of superstition and effeminacy1 it is customary to say of such periods of corruption that they are milder1 and that cruelty has then greatly diminished in comparison with the older1 more credulous1 and stronger period4 ,but to this praise ,i am just as little able to assent as to that reproach3 ,i only grant so much--namely1 that cruelty now becomes more refined1 and its older forms are henceforth counter to the taste2 but the wounding and torturing by word and look reaches its highest development in times of corruption1--it is now only that wickedness is created1 and the delight in wickedness4 ,the men of the period of corruption are witty and calumnious2 they know that there are yet other ways of murdering than by the dagger and the ambush--they know also that all that is well said is believed in4--,fourthly1 it is when morals decay that those beings whom one calls tyrants first make their appearance2 they are the forerunners of the individual1 and as it were early matured firstlings4 ,yet a little while1 and this fruit of fruits hangs ripe and yellow on the tree of a people1--and only for the sake of such fruit did this tree exist6 ,when the decay has reached its worst1 and likewise the conflict of all sorts of tyrants1 there always arises the ,csar1 the final tyrant1 who puts an end to the exhausted struggle for sovereignty1 by making the exhaustedness work for him4 ,in his time the individual is usually most mature1 and consequently the culture is highest and most fruitful1 but not on his account nor through him3 although the men of highest culture love to flatter their ,csar by pretending that they are his creation4 ,the truth1 however1 is that they need quietness externally1 because internally they have disquietude and labour4 ,in these times bribery and treason are at their height3 for the love of the ego1 then first discovered1 is much more powerful than the love of the old1 used-up1 hackneyed fatherland2 and the need to be secure in one way or other against the frightful fluctuations of fortune1 opens even the nobler hands1 as soon as a richer and more powerful person shows himself ready to put gold into them4 ,there is then so little certainty with regard to the future2 people live only for the day3 a condition of mind which enables every deceiver to play an easy game1--people of course only let themselves be misled and bribed for the present1 and reserve for themselves futurity and virtue4 ,the individuals1 as is well known1 the men who only live for themselves1 provide for the moment more than do their opposites1 the gregarious men1 because they consider themselves just as incalculable as the future2 and similarly they attach themselves willingly to despots1 because they believe themselves capable of activities and expedients1 which can neither reckon on being understood by the multitude1 nor on finding favour with them1--but the tyrant or the ,csar understands the rights of the ,individual even in his excesses1 and has an interest in speaking on behalf of a bolder private morality1 and even in giving his hand to it4 ,for he thinks of himself1 and wishes people to think of him what ,napoleon once uttered in his classical style--,i have the right to answer by an eternal 'thus ,i am' to everything about which complaint is brought against me4 ,i am apart from all the world1 ,i accept conditions from nobody4 ,i wish people also to submit to my fancies1 and to take it quite as a simple matter1 if ,i should indulge in this or that diversion4 ,thus spoke ,napoleon once to his wife1 when she had reasons for calling in question the fidelity of her husband4--,the times of corruption are the seasons when the apples fall from the tree3 ,i mean the individuals1 the seed-bearers of the future1 the pioneers of the spiritual colonisation and of a new construction of national and social unions4 ,corruption is only an abusive term for the harvest time of a people4 #bd4 ,different ,dissatisfactions4--,the feeble and as it were feminine dissatisfied people have ingenuity for beautifying and deepening life2 the strong dissatisfied people--the masculine persons among them1 to continue the metaphor--have the ingenuity for improving and safeguarding life4 ,the former show their weakness and feminine character by willingly letting themselves be temporarily deceived1 and perhaps even by putting up with a little ecstasy and enthusiasm on a time1 but on the whole they are never to be satisfied1 and suffer from the incurability of their dissatisfaction2 moreover they are the patrons of all those who manage to concoct opiate and narcotic comforts1 and just on that account averse to those who value the physician higher than the priest1--they thereby encourage the continuance of actual distress6 ,if there had not been a surplus of dissatisfied persons of this kind in ,europe since the time of the ,middle ,ages1 the remarkable capacity of ,europeans for constant transformation would perhaps not have originated at all2 for the claims of the strong dissatisfied persons are too gross1 and really too modest to resist being finally quieted down4 ,china is an instance of a country in which dissatisfaction on a grand scale and the capacity for transformation have died out for many centuries2 and the ,socialists and state-idolaters of ,europe could easily bring things to ,chinese conditions and to a ,chinese happiness1 with their measures for the amelioration and security of life1 provided that they could first of all root out the sicklier1 tenderer1 more feminine dissatisfaction and ,romanticism which are still very abundant among us4 ,europe is an invalid who owes her best thanks to her incurability and the eternal transformations of her sufferings2 these constant new situations1 these equally constant new dangers1 pains1 and make-shifts1 have at last generated an intellectual sensitiveness which is almost equal to genius1 and is in any case the mother of all genius4 #be4 ,not ,pre-ordained to ,knowledge4--,there is a purblind humility not at all rare1 and when a person is afflicted with it1 he is once for all unqualified for being a disciple of knowledge4 ,it is this in fact3 the moment a man of this kind perceives anything striking1 he turns as it were on his heel1 and says to himself3 ,you have deceived yourself6 ,where have your wits been6 ,this cannot be the truth6--and then1 instead of looking at it and listening to it with more attention1 he runs out of the way of the striking object as if intimidated1 and seeks to get it out of his head as quickly as possible4 ,for his fundamental rule runs thus3 ,i want to see nothing that contradicts the usual opinion concerning things6 ,am ,i created for the purpose of discovering new truths8 ,there are already too many of the old ones4 #bf4 ,what is ,living8--,living--that is to continually eliminate from ourselves what is about to die2 ,living--that is to be cruel and inexorable towards all that becomes weak and old in ourselves1 and not only in ourselves4 ,living--that means1 therefore1 to be without piety toward the dying1 the wretched and the old8 ,to be continually a murderer8--,and yet old ,moses said3 ,thou shalt not kill6 #bg4 ,the ,self-,renouncer4--,what does the self-renouncer do8 ,he strives after a higher world1 he wants to fly longer and further and higher than all men of affirmation--he throws away many things that would burden his flight1 and several things among them that are not valueless1 that are not unpleasant to him3 he sacrifices them to his desire for elevation4 ,now this sacrificing1 this casting away1 is the very thing which becomes visible in him3 on that account one calls him the self-renouncer1 and as such he stands before us1 enveloped in his cowl1 and as the soul of a hair-shirt4 ,with this effect1 however1 which he makes upon us he is well content3 he wants to keep concealed from us his desire1 his pride1 his intention of flying above us4--,yes6 ,he is wiser than we thought1 and so courteous towards us--this affirmer6 ,for that is what he is1 like us1 even in his self-renunciation4 #bh4 ,injuring with one's best ,qualities4--,our strong points sometimes drive us so far forward that we cannot any longer endure our weaknesses1 and we perish by them3 we also perhaps see this result beforehand1 but nevertheless do not want it to be otherwise4 ,we then become hard towards that which would fain be spared in us1 and our pitilessness is also our greatness4 ,such an experience1 which must in the end cost us our life1 is a symbol of the collective effect of great men upon others and upon their epoch3--it is just with their best abilities1 with that which only they can do1 that they destroy much that is weak1 uncertain1 evolving1 and willing1 and are thereby injurious4 ,indeed1 the case may happen in which1 taken on the whole1 they only do injury1 because their best is accepted and drunk up as it were solely by those who lose their understanding and their egoism by it1 as by too strong a beverage2 they become so intoxicated that they go breaking their limbs on all the wrong roads where their drunkenness drives them4 #bi4 ,adventitious ,liars4--,when people began to combat the unity of ,aristotle in ,france1 and consequently also to defend it1 there was once more to be seen that which has been seen so often1 but seen so unwillingly3--people imposed false reasons on themselves on account of which those laws ought to exist1 merely for the sake of not acknowledging to themselves that they had accustomed themselves to the authority of those laws1 and did not want any longer to have things otherwise4 ,and people do so in every prevailing morality and religion1 and have always done so3 the reasons and intentions behind the habit1 are only added surreptitiously when people begin to combat the habit1 and ask for reasons and intentions4 ,it is here that the great dishonesty of the conservatives of all times hides3--they are adventitious liars4 #cj4 ,the ,comedy of ,celebrated ,men4--,celebrated men who need their fame1 as1 for instance1 all politicians1 no longer select their associates and friends without after-thoughts3 from the one they want a portion of the splendour and reflection of his virtues2 from the other they want the fear-inspiring power of certain dubious qualities in him1 of which everybody is aware2 from another they steal his reputation for idleness and basking in the sun1 because it is advantageous for their own ends to be regarded temporarily as heedless and lazy3--it conceals the fact that they lie in ambush2 they now use the visionaries1 now the experts1 now the brooders1 now the pedants in their neighbourhood1 as their actual selves for the time1 but very soon they do not need them any longer6 ,and thus while their environment and outside die off continually1 everything seems to crowd into this environment1 and wants to become a character of it2 they are like great cities in this respect4 ,their repute is continually in process of mutation1 like their character1 for their changing methods require this change1 and they show and exhibit sometimes this and sometimes that actual or fictitious quality on the stage2 their friends and associates1 as we have said1 belong to these stage properties4 ,on the other hand1 that which they aim at must remain so much the more steadfast1 and burnished and resplendent in the distance1--and this also sometimes needs its comedy and its stage-play4 #ca4 ,commerce and ,nobility4--,buying and selling is now regarded as something ordinary1 like the art of reading and writing2 everyone is now trained to it even when he is not a tradesman1 exercising himself daily in the art2 precisely as formerly in the period of uncivilised humanity1 everyone was a hunter and exercised himself day by day in the art of hunting4 ,hunting was then something common3 but just as this finally became a privilege of the powerful and noble1 and thereby lost the character of the commonplace and the ordinary--by ceasing to be necessary and by becoming an affair of fancy and luxury3--so it might become the same some day with buying and selling4 ,conditions of society are imaginable in which there will be no selling and buying1 and in which the necessity for this art will become quite lost2 perhaps it may then happen that individuals who are less subjected to the law of the prevailing condition of things will indulge in buying and selling as a luxury of sentiment4 ,it is then only that commerce would acquire nobility1 and the noble would then perhaps occupy themselves just as readily with commerce as they have done hitherto with war and politics3 while on the other hand the valuation of politics might then have entirely altered4 ,already even politics ceases to be the business of a gentleman2 and it is possible that one day it may be found to be so vulgar as to be brought1 like all party literature and daily literature1 under the rubric3 ,prostitution of the intellect4 #cb4 ,undesirable ,disciples4--,what shall ,i do with these two youths6 called out a philosopher dejectedly1 who corrupted youths1 as ,socrates had once corrupted them1--they are unwelcome disciples to me4 ,one of them cannot say ,nay1 and the other says ,half and half to everything4 ,provided they grasped my doctrine1 the former would suffer too much1 for my mode of thinking requires a martial soul1 willingness to cause pain1 delight in denying1 and a hard skin1--he would succumb by open wounds and internal injuries4 ,and the other will choose the mediocre in everything he represents1 and thus make a mediocrity of the whole1--,i should like my enemy to have such a disciple4 #cc4 ,outside the ,lecture-room4--,in order to prove that man after all belongs to the good-natured animals1 ,i would remind you how credulous he has been for so long a time4 ,it is now only1 quite late1 and after an immense self-conquest1 that he has become a distrustful animal1--yes6 man is now more wicked than ever4--,i do not understand this2 why should man now be more distrustful and more wicked8--,because he now has science1--because he needs to have it6-- #cd4 ,historia abscondita4--,every great man has a power which operates backward2 all history is again placed on the scales on his account1 and a thousand secrets of the past crawl out of their lurking-places--into his sunlight4 ,there is absolutely no knowing what history may be some day4 ,the past is still perhaps undiscovered in its essence6 ,there are yet so many retroactive powers needed6 #ce4 ,heresy and ,witchcraft4--,to think otherwise than is customary--that is by no means so much the activity of a better intellect1 as the activity of strong1 wicked inclinations1--severing1 isolating1 refractory1 mischief-loving1 malicious inclinations4 ,heresy is the counterpart of witchcraft1 and is certainly just as little a merely harmless affair1 or a thing worthy of honour in itself4 ,heretics and sorcerers are two kinds of bad men2 they have it in common that they also feel themselves wicked2 their unconquerable delight is to attack and injure whatever rules1--whether it be men or opinions4 ,the ,reformation1 a kind of duplication of the spirit of the ,middle ,ages at a time when it had no longer a good conscience1 produced both of these kinds of people in the greatest profusion4 #cf4 ,last ,words4--,it will be recollected that the ,emperor ,augustus1 that terrible man1 who had himself as much in his own power1 and who could be silent as well as any wise ,socrates1 became indiscreet about himself in his last words2 for the first time he let his mask fall1 when he gave to understand that he had carried a mask and played a comedy1--he had played the father of his country and wisdom on the throne well1 even to the point of illusion6 ,plaudite amici1 comoedia finita est6--,the thought of the dying ,nero3 qualis artifex pereo6 was also the thought of the dying ,augustus3 histrionic conceit6 histrionic loquacity6 ,and the very counterpart to the dying ,socrates6--,but ,tiberius died silently1 that most tortured of all self-torturers1--he was genuine and not a stage-player6 ,what may have passed through his head in the end6 ,perhaps this3 ,life--that is a long death4 ,i am a fool1 who shortened the lives of so many6 ,was ,i created for the purpose of being a benefactor8 ,i should have given them eternal life3 and then ,i could have seen them dying eternally4 ,i had such good eyes for that3 qualis spectator pereo6 ,when he seemed once more to regain his powers after a long death-struggle1 it was considered advisable to smother him with pillows1--he died a double death4 #cg4 ,owing to three ,errors4--,science has been furthered during recent centuries1 partly because it was hoped that ,god's goodness and wisdom would be best understood therewith and thereby--the principal motive in the soul of great ,englishmen 7like ,newton72 partly because the absolute utility of knowledge was believed in1 and especially the most intimate connection of morality1 knowledge1 and happiness--the principal motive in the soul of great ,frenchmen 7like ,voltaire72 and partly because it was thought that in science there was something unselfish1 harmless1 self-sufficing1 lovable1 and truly innocent to be had1 in which the evil human impulses did not at all participate--the principal motive in the soul of ,spinoza1 who felt himself divine1 as a knowing being3--it is consequently owing to three errors that science has been furthered4 #ch4 ,explosive ,people4--,when one considers how ready are the forces of young men for discharge1 one does not wonder at seeing them decide so unfastidiously and with so little selection for this or that cause3 that which attracts them is the sight of eagerness about any cause1 as it were the sight of the burning match--not the cause itself4 ,the more ingenious seducers on that account operate by holding out the prospect of an explosion to such persons1 and do not urge their cause by means of reasons2 these powder-barrels are not won over by means of reasons6 #ci4 ,altered ,taste4--,the alteration of the general taste is more important than the alteration of opinions2 opinions1 with all their proving1 refuting1 and intellectual masquerade1 are merely symptoms of altered taste1 and are certainly not what they are still so often claimed to be1 the causes of the altered taste4 ,how does the general taste alter8 ,by the fact of individuals1 the powerful and influential persons1 expressing and tyrannically enforcing without any feeling of shame1 their hoc est ridiculum1 hoc est absurdum2 the decisions1 therefore1 of their taste and their disrelish3--they thereby lay a constraint upon many people1 out of which there gradually grows a habituation for still more1 and finally a necessity for all4 ,the fact1 however1 that these individuals feel and taste differently1 has usually its origin in a peculiarity of their mode of life1 nourishment1 or digestion1 perhaps in a surplus or deficiency of the inorganic salts in their blood and brain1 in short in their physis2 they have1 however1 the courage to avow their physical constitution1 and to lend an ear even to the most delicate tones of its requirements3 their sthetic and moral judgments are those most delicate tones of their physis4 #dj4 ,the ,lack of a noble ,presence4--,soldiers and their leaders have always a much higher mode of comportment toward one another than workmen and their employers4 ,at present at least1 all militarily established civilisation still stands high above all so-called industrial civilisation2 the latter1 in its present form1 is in general the meanest mode of existence that has ever been4 ,it is simply the law of necessity that operates here3 people want to live1 and have to sell themselves2 but they despise him who exploits their necessity1 and purchases the workman4 ,it is curious that the subjection to powerful1 fear-inspiring1 and even dreadful individuals1 to tyrants and leaders of armies1 is not at all felt so painfully as the subjection to such undistinguished and uninteresting persons as the captains of industry2 in the employer the workman usually sees merely a crafty1 blood-sucking dog of a man1 speculating on every necessity1 whose name1 form1 character1 and reputation are altogether indifferent to him4 ,it is probable that the manufacturers and great magnates of commerce have hitherto lacked too much all those forms and attributes of a superior race1 which alone make persons interesting2 if they had had the nobility of the nobly-born in their looks and bearing1 there would perhaps have been no socialism in the masses of the people4 ,for these are really ready for slavery of every kind1 provided that the superior class above them constantly shows itself legitimately superior1 and born to command--by its noble presence6 ,the commonest man feels that nobility is not to be improvised1 and that it is his part to honour it as the fruit of protracted race-culture1--but the absence of superior presence1 and the notorious vulgarity of manufacturers with red1 fat hands1 brings up the thought to him that it is only chance and fortune that has here elevated the one above the other2 well then--so he reasons with himself--let us in our turn tempt chance and fortune6 ,let us in our turn throw the dice6--and socialism commences4 #da4 ,against ,remorse4--,the thinker sees in his own actions attempts and questionings to obtain information about something or other2 success and failure are answers to him first and foremost4 ,to vex himself1 however1 because something does not succeed1 or to feel remorse at all--he leaves that to those who act because they are commanded to do so1 and expect to get a beating when their gracious master is not satisfied with the result4 #db4 ,work and ,ennui4--,in respect to seeking work for the sake of the pay1 almost all men are alike at present in civilised countries2 to all of them work is a means1 and not itself the end2 on which account they are not very select in the choice of the work1 provided it yields an abundant profit4 ,but still there are rarer men who would rather perish than work without delight in their labour3 the fastidious people1 difficult to satisfy1 whose object is not served by an abundant profit1 unless the work itself be the reward of all rewards4 ,artists and contemplative men of all kinds belong to this rare species of human beings2 and also the idlers who spend their life in hunting and travelling1 or in love affairs and adventures4 ,they all seek toil and trouble in so far as these are associated with pleasure1 and they want the severest and hardest labour1 if it be necessary4 ,in other respects1 however1 they have a resolute indolence1 even should impoverishment1 dishonour1 and danger to health and life be associated therewith4 ,they are not so much afraid of ennui as of labour without pleasure2 indeed they require much ennui1 if their work is to succeed with them4 ,for the thinker and for all inventive spirits ennui is the unpleasant calm of the soul which precedes the happy voyage and the dancing breezes2 he must endure it1 he must await the effect it has on him3--it is precisely this which lesser natures cannot at all experience6 ,it is common to scare away ennui in every way1 just as it is common to labour without pleasure4 ,it perhaps distinguishes the ,asiatics above the ,europeans1 that they are capable of a longer and profounder repose2 even their narcotics operate slowly and require patience1 in contrast to the obnoxious suddenness of the ,european poison1 alcohol4 #dc4 ,what the ,laws ,betray4--,one makes a great mistake when one studies the penal laws of a people1 as if they were an expression of its character2 the laws do not betray what a people is1 but what appears to them foreign1 strange1 monstrous1 and outlandish4 ,the laws concern themselves with the exceptions to the morality of custom2 and the severest punishments fall on acts which conform to the customs of the neighbouring peoples4 ,thus among the ,wahabites1 there are only two mortal sins3 having another ,god than the ,wahabite ,god1 and--smoking 7it is designated by them as the disgraceful kind of drinking74 ,and how is it with regard to murder and adultery8--asked the ,englishman with astonishment on learning these things4 ,well1 ,god is gracious and pitiful6 answered the old chief4--,thus among the ancient ,romans there was the idea that a woman could only sin mortally in two ways3 by adultery on the one hand1 and--by wine-drinking on the other4 ,old ,cato pretended that kissing among relatives had only been made a custom in order to keep women in control on this point2 a kiss meant3 did her breath smell of wine8 ,wives had actually been punished by death who were surprised taking wine3 and certainly not merely because women under the influence of wine sometimes unlearn altogether the art of saying ,no2 the ,romans were afraid above all things of the orgiastic and ,dionysian spirit with which the women of ,southern ,europe at that time 7when wine was still new in ,europe7 were sometimes visited1 as by a monstrous foreignness which subverted the basis of ,roman sentiments2 it seemed to them treason against ,rome1 as the embodiment of foreignness4 #dd4 ,the ,believed ,motive4--,however important it may be to know the motives according to which mankind has really acted hitherto1 perhaps the belief in this or that motive1 and therefore that which mankind has assumed and imagined to be the actual mainspring of its activity hitherto1 is something still more essential for the thinker to know4 ,for the internal happiness and misery of men have always come to them through their belief in this or that motive1--not however1 through that which was actually the motive6 ,all about the latter has an interest of secondary rank4 #de4 ,epicurus4--,yes1 ,i am proud of perceiving the character of ,epicurus differently from anyone else perhaps1 and of enjoying the happiness of the afternoon of antiquity in all that ,i hear and read of him3--,i see his eye gazing out on a broad whitish sea1 over the shore-rocks on which the sunshine rests1 while great and small creatures play in its light1 secure and calm like this light and that eye itself4 ,such happiness could only have been devised by a chronic sufferer1 the happiness of an eye before which the sea of existence has become calm1 and which can no longer tire of gazing at the surface and at the variegated1 tender1 tremulous skin of this sea4 ,never previously was there such a moderation of voluptuousness4 #df4 ,our ,astonishment4--,there is a profound and fundamental satisfaction in the fact that science ascertains things that hold their ground1 and again furnish the basis for new researches3--it could certainly be otherwise4 ,indeed1 we are so much convinced of all the uncertainty and caprice of our judgments1 and of the everlasting change of all human laws and conceptions1 that we are really astonished how persistently the results of science hold their ground6 ,in earlier times people knew nothing of this changeability of all human things2 the custom of morality maintained the belief that the whole inner life of man was bound to iron necessity by eternal fetters3--perhaps people then felt a similar voluptuousness of astonishment when they listened to tales and fairy stories4 ,the wonderful did so much good to those men1 who might well get tired sometimes of the regular and the eternal4 ,to leave the ground for once6 ,to soar6 ,to stray6 ,to be mad6--that belonged to the paradise and the revelry of earlier times2 while our felicity is like that of the shipwrecked man who has gone ashore1 and places himself with both feet on the old1 firm ground--in astonishment that it does not rock4 #dg4 ,the ,suppression of the ,passions4--,when one continually prohibits the expression of the passions as something to be left to the vulgar1 to coarser1 bourgeois1 and peasant natures--that is1 when one does not want to suppress the passions themselves1 but only their language and demeanour1 one nevertheless realises therewith just what one does not want3 the suppression of the passions themselves1 or at least their weakening and alteration1--as the court of ,louis ,,xiv4 7to cite the most instructive instance71 and all that was dependent on it1 experienced4 ,the generation that followed1 trained in suppressing their expression1 no longer possessed the passions themselves1 but had a pleasant1 superficial1 playful disposition in their place1--a generation which was so permeated with the incapacity to be ill-mannered1 that even an injury was not taken and retaliated1 except with courteous words4 ,perhaps our own time furnishes the most remarkable counterpart to this period3 ,i see everywhere 7in life1 in the theatre1 and not least in all that is written7 satisfaction at all the coarser outbursts and gestures of passion2 a certain convention of passionateness is now desired1--only not the passion itself6 ,nevertheless it will thereby be at last reached1 and our posterity will have a genuine savagery1 and not merely a formal savagery and unmannerliness4 #dh4 ,knowledge of ,distress4--,perhaps there is nothing by which men and periods are so much separated from one another1 as by the different degrees of knowledge of distress which they possess2 distress of the soul as well as of the body4 ,with respect to the latter1 owing to lack of sufficient self-experience1 we men of the present day 7in spite of our deficiencies and infirmities71 are perhaps all of us blunderers and visionaries in comparison with the men of the age of fear--the longest of all ages1--when the individual had to protect himself against violence1 and for that purpose had to be a man of violence himself4 ,at that time a man went through a long schooling of corporeal tortures and privations1 and found even in a certain kind of cruelty toward himself1 in a voluntary use of pain1 a necessary means for his preservation2 at that time a person trained his environment to the endurance of pain2 at that time a person willingly inflicted pain1 and saw the most frightful things of this kind happen to others1 without having any other feeling than for his own security4 ,as regards the distress of the soul1 however1 ,i now look at every man with respect to whether he knows it by experience or by description2 whether he still regards it as necessary to simulate this knowledge1 perhaps as an indication of more refined culture2 or whether1 at the bottom of his heart1 he does not at all believe in great sorrows of soul1 and at the naming of them has in his mind a similar experience as at the naming of great corporeal sufferings1 such as tooth-aches1 and stomach-aches4 ,it is thus1 however1 that it seems to be with most people at present4 ,owing to the universal inexperience of both kinds of pain1 and the comparative rarity of the spectacle of a sufferer1 an important consequence results3 people now hate pain far more than earlier man did1 and calumniate it worse than ever2 indeed people nowadays can hardly endure the thought of pain1 and make out of it an affair of conscience and a reproach to collective existence4 ,the appearance of pessimistic philosophies is not at all the sign of great and dreadful miseries2 for these interrogative marks regarding the worth of life appear in periods when the refinement and alleviation of existence already deem the unavoidable gnat-stings of the soul and body as altogether too bloody and wicked2 and in the poverty of actual experiences of pain1 would now like to make painful general ideas appear as suffering of the worst kind4--,there might indeed be a remedy for pessimistic philosophies and the excessive sensibility which seems to me the real distress of the present3--but perhaps this remedy already sounds too cruel1 and would itself be reckoned among the symptoms owing to which people at present conclude that existence is something evil4 ,well6 the remedy for the distress is distress4 #di4 ,magnanimity and allied ,qualities4--,those paradoxical phenomena1 such as the sudden coldness in the demeanour of good-natured men1 the humour of the melancholy1 and above all magnanimity1 as a sudden renunciation of revenge or of the gratification of envy--appear in men in whom there is a powerful inner impulsiveness1 in men of sudden satiety and sudden disgust4 ,their satisfactions are so rapid and violent that satiety1 aversion1 and flight into the antithetical taste1 immediately follow upon them3 in this contrast the convulsion of feeling liberates itself1 in one person by sudden coldness1 in another by laughter1 and in a third by tears and self-sacrifice4 ,the magnanimous person appears to me--at least that kind of magnanimous person who has always made most impression--as a man with the strongest thirst for vengeance1 to whom a gratification presents itself close at hand1 and who already drinks it off in imagination so copiously1 thoroughly1 and to the last drop1 that an excessive1 rapid disgust follows this rapid licentiousness2--he now elevates himself above himself1 as one says1 and forgives his enemy1 yea1 blesses and honours him4 ,with this violence done to himself1 however1 with this mockery of his impulse to revenge1 even still so powerful1 he merely yields to the new impulse1 the disgust which has become powerful1 and does this just as impatiently and licentiously1 as a short time previously he forestalled1 and as it were exhausted1 the joy of revenge with his fantasy4 ,in magnanimity there is the same amount of egoism as in revenge1 but a different quality of egoism4 #ej4 ,the ,argument of ,isolation4--,the reproach of conscience1 even in the most conscientious1 is weak against the feeling3 ,this and that are contrary to the good morals of your society4 ,a cold glance or a wry mouth1 on the part of those among whom and for whom one has been educated1 is still feared even by the strongest4 ,what is really feared there8 ,isolation6 as the argument which demolishes even the best arguments for a person or cause6--,it is thus that the gregarious instinct speaks in us4 #ea4 ,sense for ,truth4--,commend me to all scepticism where ,i am permitted to answer3 ,let us put it to the test6 ,but ,i don't wish to hear anything more of things and questions which do not admit of being tested4 ,that is the limit of my sense for truth3 for bravery has there lost its right4 #eb4 ,what others ,know of us4--,that which we know of ourselves and have in our memory is not so decisive for the happiness of our life as is generally believed4 ,one day it flashes upon our mind what others know of us 7or think they know7--and then we acknowledge that it is the more powerful4 ,we get on with our bad conscience more easily than with our bad reputation4 #ec4 ,where ,goodness ,begins4--,where bad eyesight can no longer see the evil impulse as such1 on account of its refinement1--there man sets up the kingdom of goodness2 and the feeling of having now gone over into the kingdom of goodness brings all those impulses 7such as the feelings of security1 of comfortableness1 of benevolence7 into simultaneous activity1 which were threatened and confined by the evil impulses4 ,consequently1 the duller the eye so much the further does goodness extend6 ,hence the eternal cheerfulness of the populace and of children6 ,hence the gloominess and grief 7allied to the bad conscience7 of great thinkers4 #ed4 ,the ,consciousness of ,appearance4--,how wonderfully and novelly1 and at the same time how awfully and ironically1 do ,i feel myself situated with respect to collective existence1 with my knowledge6 ,i have discovered for myself that the old humanity and animality1 yea1 the collective primeval age1 and the past of all sentient being1 continues to meditate1 love1 hate1 and reason in me1--,i have suddenly awoke in the midst of this dream1 but merely to the consciousness that ,i just dream1 and that ,i must dream on in order not to perish2 just as the sleep-walker must dream on in order not to tumble down4 ,what is it that is now appearance to me6 ,verily1 not the antithesis of any kind of essence1--what knowledge can ,i assert of any kind of essence whatsoever1 except merely the predicates of its appearance6 ,verily not a dead mask which one could put upon an unknown ,x1 and which to be sure one could also remove6 ,appearance is for me the operating and living thing itself2 which goes so far in its self-mockery as to make me feel that here there is appearance1 and ,will o' the ,wisp1 and spirit-dance1 and nothing more1--that among all these dreamers1 ,i also1 the thinker1 dance my dance1 that the thinker is a means of prolonging further the terrestrial dance1 and in so far is one of the masters of ceremony of existence1 and that the sublime consistency and connectedness of all branches of knowledge is perhaps1 and will perhaps1 be the best means for maintaining the universality of the dreaming1 the complete1 mutual understandability of all those dreamers1 and thereby the duration of the dream4 #ee4 ,the ,ultimate ,nobility of ,character4--,what then makes a person noble8 ,certainly not that he makes sacrifices2 even the frantic libertine makes sacrifices4 ,certainly not that he generally follows his passions2 there are contemptible passions4 ,certainly not that he does something for others and without selfishness2 perhaps the effect of selfishness is precisely at its greatest in the noblest persons4--,but that the passion which seizes the noble man is a peculiarity1 without his knowing that it is so3 the use of a rare and singular measuring-rod1 almost a frenzy3 the feeling of heat in things which feel cold to all other persons3 a divining of values for which scales have not yet been invented3 a sacrificing on altars which are consecrated to an unknown ,god3 a bravery without the desire for honour3 a self-sufficiency which has superabundance1 and imparts to men and things4 ,hitherto1 therefore1 it has been the rare in man1 and the unconsciousness of this rareness1 that has made men noble4 ,here1 however1 let us consider that everything ordinary1 immediate1 and indispensable1 in short1 what has been most preservative of the species1 and generally the rule in mankind hitherto1 has been judged unreasonable and calumniated in its entirety by this standard1 in favour of the exceptions4 ,to become the advocate of the rule--that may perhaps be the ultimate form and refinement in which nobility of character will reveal itself on earth4 #ef4 ,the ,desire for ,suffering4--,when ,i think of the desire to do something1 how it continually tickles and stimulates millions of young ,europeans1 who cannot endure themselves and all their ennui1--,i conceive that there must be a desire in them to suffer something1 in order to derive from their suffering a worthy motive for acting1 for doing something4 ,distress is necessary6 ,hence the cry of the politicians1 hence the many false1 trumped-up1 exaggerated states of distress of all possible kinds1 and the blind readiness to believe in them4 ,this young world desires that there should arrive or appear from the outside--not happiness--but misfortune2 and their imagination is already busy beforehand to form a monster out of it1 so that they may afterwards be able to fight with a monster4 ,if these distress-seekers felt the power to benefit themselves1 to do something for themselves from internal sources1 they would also understand how to create a distress of their own1 specially their own1 from internal sources4 ,their inventions might then be more refined1 and their gratifications might sound like good music3 while at present they fill the world with their cries of distress1 and consequently too often with the feeling of distress in the first place6 ,they do not know what to make of themselves--and so they paint the misfortune of others on the wall2 they always need others6 ,and always again other others6--,pardon me1 my friends1 ,i have ventured to paint my happiness on the wall4 ----- ,footnote #g3 ,allusions to the song of ,clara in ,goethe's ,egmont4--,,tr4 ,,book ,,second #eg4 ,to the ,realists4--,ye sober beings1 who feel yourselves armed against passion and fantasy1 and would gladly make a pride and an ornament out of your emptiness1 ye call yourselves realists and give to understand that the world is actually constituted as it appears to you2 before you alone reality stands unveiled1 and ye yourselves would perhaps be the best part of it1--oh1 ye dear images of ,sais6 ,but are not ye also in your unveiled condition still extremely passionate and dusky beings compared with the fish1 and still all too like an enamoured artist8#h--;and what is reality to an enamoured artist6 ,ye still carry about with you the valuations of things which had their origin in the passions and infatuations of earlier centuries6 ,there is still a secret and ineffaceable drunkenness embodied in your sobriety6 ,your love of reality1 for example--oh1 that is an old1 primitive love6 ,in every feeling1 in every sense-impression1 there is a portion of this old love3 and similarly also some kind of fantasy1 prejudice1 irrationality1 ignorance1 fear1 and whatever else has become mingled and woven into it4 ,there is that mountain6 ,there is that cloud6 ,what is real in them8 ,remove the phantasm and the whole human element therefrom1 ye sober ones6 ,yes1 if ye could do that6 ,if ye could forget your origin1 your past1 your preparatory schooling1--your whole history as man and beast6 ,there is no reality for us--nor for you either1 ye sober ones1--we are far from being so alien to one another as ye suppose1 and perhaps our good-will to get beyond drunkenness is just as respectable as your belief that ye are altogether incapable of drunkenness4 #eh4 ,only as ,creators6--,it has caused me the greatest trouble1 and for ever causes me the greatest trouble1 to perceive that unspeakably more depends upon what things are called1 than on what they are4 ,the reputation1 the name and appearance1 the importance1 the usual measure and weight of things--each being in origin most frequently an error and arbitrariness thrown over the things like a garment1 and quite alien to their essence and even to their exterior--have gradually1 by the belief therein and its continuous growth from generation to generation1 grown as it were on-and-into things and become their very body2 the appearance at the very beginning becomes almost always the essence in the end1 and operates as the essence6 ,what a fool he would be who would think it enough to refer here to this origin and this nebulous veil of illusion1 in order to annihilate that which virtually passes for the world--namely1 so-called reality6 ,it is only as creators that we can annihilate6--,but let us not forget this3 it suffices to create new names and valuations and probabilities1 in order in the long run to create new things4 #ei4 ,we ,artists6--,when we love a woman we have readily a hatred against nature1 on recollecting all the disagreeable natural functions to which every woman is subject2 we prefer not to think of them at all1 but if once our soul touches on these things it twitches impatiently1 and glances1 as we have said1 contemptuously at nature3--we are hurt2 nature seems to encroach upon our possessions1 and with the profanest hands4 ,we then shut our ears against all physiology1 and we decree in secret that we will hear nothing of the fact that man is something else than soul and form6 ,the man under the skin is an abomination and monstrosity1 a blasphemy of ,god and of love to all lovers4--,well1 just as the lover still feels with respect to nature and natural functions1 so did every worshipper of ,god and his holy omnipotence formerly feel3 in all that was said of nature by astronomers1 geologists1 physiologists1 and physicians1 he saw an encroachment on his most precious possession1 and consequently an attack1--and moreover also an impertinence of the assailant6 ,the law of nature sounded to him as blasphemy against ,god2 in truth he would too willingly have seen the whole of mechanics traced back to moral acts of volition and arbitrariness3--but because nobody could render him this service1 he concealed nature and mechanism from himself as best he could1 and lived in a dream4 ,oh1 those men of former times understood how to dream1 and did not need first to go to sleep6--and we men of the present day also still understand it too well1 with all our good-will for wakefulness and daylight6 ,it suffices to love1 to hate1 to desire1 and in general to feel1--immediately the spirit and the power of the dream come over us1 and we ascend1 with open eyes and indifferent to all danger1 the most dangerous paths1 to the roofs and towers of fantasy1 and without any giddiness1 as persons born for climbing--we the night-walkers by day6 ,we artists6 ,we concealers of naturalness6 ,we moon-struck and ,god-struck ones6 ,we dead-silent1 untiring wanderers on heights which we do not see as heights1 but as our plains1 as our places of safety6 #fj4 ,women and their ,effect in the ,distance4--,have ,i still ears8 ,am ,i only ear1 and nothing else besides8 ,here ,i stand in the midst of the surging of the breakers1 whose white flames fork up to my feet2--from all sides there is howling1 threatening1 crying1 and screaming at me1 while in the lowest depths the old earth-shaker sings his aria1 hollow like a roaring bull2 he beats such an earth-shaker's measure thereto1 that even the hearts of these weathered rock-monsters tremble at the sound4 ,then1 suddenly1 as if born out of nothingness1 there appears before the portal of this hellish labyrinth1 only a few fathoms distant1--a great sailing-ship gliding silently along like a ghost4 ,oh1 this ghostly beauty6 ,with what enchantment it seizes me6 ,what8 ,has all the repose and silence in the world embarked here8 ,does my happiness itself sit in this quiet place1 my happier ego1 my second immortalised self8 ,still not dead1 yet also no longer living8 ,as a ghost-like1 calm1 gazing1 gliding1 sweeping1 neutral being8 ,similar to the ship1 which1 with its white sails1 like an immense butterfly1 passes over the dark sea6 ,yes6 ,passing over existence6 ,that is it6 ,that would be it6----,it seems that the noise here has made me a visionary8 ,all great noise causes one to place happiness in the calm and the distance4 ,when a man is in the midst of his hubbub1 in the midst of the breakers of his plots and plans1 he there sees perhaps calm1 enchanting beings glide past him1 for whose happiness and retirement he longs--they are women4 ,he almost thinks that there with the women dwells his better self2 that in these calm places even the loudest breakers become still as death1 and life itself a dream of life4 ,but still6 ,but still6 ,my noble enthusiast1 there is also in the most beautiful sailing-ship so much noise and bustling1 and alas1 so much petty1 pitiable bustling6 ,the enchantment and the most powerful effect of women is1 to use the language of philosophers1 an effect at a distance1 an actio in distans2 there belongs thereto1 however1 primarily and above all1--distance6 #fa4 ,in ,honour of ,friendship4--,that the sentiment of friendship was regarded by antiquity as the highest sentiment1 higher even than the most vaunted pride of the self-sufficient and wise1 yea as it were its sole and still holier brotherhood1 is very well expressed by the story of the ,macedonian king who made the present of a talent to a cynical ,athenian philosopher from whom he received it back again4 ,what8 said the king1 has he then no friend8 ,he therewith meant to say1 ,i honour this pride of the wise and independent man1 but ,i should have honoured his humanity still higher if the friend in him had gained the victory over his pride4 ,the philosopher has lowered himself in my estimation1 for he showed that he did not know one of the two highest sentiments--and in fact the higher of them6 #fb4 ,love4--,love pardons even the passion of the beloved4 #fc4 ,woman in ,music4--,how does it happen that warm and rainy winds bring the musical mood and the inventive delight in melody with them8 ,are they not the same winds that fill the churches and give women amorous thoughts8 #fd4 ,sceptics4--,i fear women who have become old are more sceptical in the secret recesses of their hearts than any of the men are2 they believe in the superficiality of existence as in its essence1 and all virtue and profundity is to them only the disguising of this truth1 the very desirable disguising of a pudendum1--an affair1 therefore1 of decency and of modesty1 and nothing more6 #fe4 ,devotedness4--,there are noble women with a certain poverty of spirit1 who1 in order to express their profoundest devotedness1 have no other alternative but to offer their virtue and modesty3 it is the highest thing they have4 ,and this present is often accepted without putting the recipient under such deep obligation as the giver supposed1--a very melancholy story6 #ff4 ,the ,strength of the ,weak4--,women are all skilful in exaggerating their weaknesses1 indeed they are inventive in weaknesses1 so as to seem quite fragile ornaments to which even a grain of dust does harm2 their existence is meant to bring home to man's mind his coarseness1 and to appeal to his conscience4 ,they thus defend themselves against the strong and all rights of might4 #fg4 ,self-dissembling4--,she loves him now and has since been looking forth with as quiet confidence as a cow2 but alas6 ,it was precisely his delight that she seemed so fitful and absolutely incomprehensible6 ,he had rather too much steady weather in himself already6 ,would she not do well to feign her old character8 to feign indifference8 ,does not--love itself advise her to do so8 ,vivat comdia6 #fh4 ,will and ,willingness4--,some one brought a youth to a wise man and said1 ,see1 this is one who is being corrupted by women6 ,the wise man shook his head and smiled4 ,it is men1 he called out1 who corrupt women2 and everything that women lack should be atoned for and improved in men1--for man creates for himself the ideal of woman1 and woman moulds herself according to this ideal4--,you are too tender-hearted towards women1 said one of the bystanders1 you do not know them6 ,the wise man answered3 ,man's attribute is will1 woman's attribute is willingness1--such is the law of the sexes1 verily6 a hard law for woman6 ,all human beings are innocent of their existence1 women1 however1 are doubly innocent2 who could have enough of salve and gentleness for them6--,what about salve6 ,what about gentleness6 called out another person in the crowd1 we must educate women better6--,we must educate men better1 said the wise man1 and made a sign to the youth to follow him4--,the youth1 however1 did not follow him4 #fi4 ,capacity for ,revenge4--,that a person cannot and consequently will not defend himself1 does not yet cast disgrace upon him in our eyes2 but we despise the person who has neither the ability nor the good-will for revenge--whether it be a man or a woman4 ,would a woman be able to captivate us 7or1 as people say1 to fetter us7 whom we did not credit with knowing how to employ the dagger 7any kind of dagger7 skilfully against us under certain circumstances8 ,or against herself2 which in a certain case might be the severest revenge 7the ,chinese revenge74 #gj4 ,the ,mistresses of the ,masters4--,a powerful contralto voice1 as we occasionally hear it in the theatre1 raises suddenly for us the curtain on possibilities in which we usually do not believe2 all at once we are convinced that somewhere in the world there may be women with high1 heroic1 royal souls1 capable and prepared for magnificent remonstrances1 resolutions1 and self-sacrifices1 capable and prepared for domination over men1 because in them the best in man1 superior to sex1 has become a corporeal ideal4 ,to be sure1 it is not the intention of the theatre that such voices should give such a conception of women2 they are usually intended to represent the ideal male lover1 for example1 a ,romeo2 but1 to judge by my experience1 the theatre regularly miscalculates here1 and the musician also1 who expects such effects from such a voice4 ,people do not believe in these lovers2 these voices still contain a tinge of the motherly and housewifely character1 and most of all when love is in their tone4 #ga4 ,on ,female ,chastity4--,there is something quite astonishing and extraordinary in the education of women of the higher class2 indeed1 there is perhaps nothing more paradoxical4 ,all the world is agreed to educate them with as much ignorance as possible in eroticis1 and to inspire their soul with a profound shame of such things1 and the extremest impatience and horror at the suggestion of them4 ,it is really here only that all the honour of woman is at stake2 what would one not forgive them in other respects6 ,but here they are intended to remain ignorant to the very backbone3--they are intended to have neither eyes1 ears1 words1 nor thoughts for this1 their wickedness2 indeed knowledge here is already evil4 ,and then6 ,to be hurled as with an awful thunderbolt into reality and knowledge with marriage--and indeed by him whom they most love and esteem3 to have to encounter love and shame in contradiction1 yea1 to have to feel rapture1 abandonment1 duty1 sympathy1 and fright at the unexpected proximity of ,god and animal1 and whatever else besides6 all at once6--,there1 in fact1 a psychic entanglement has been effected which is quite unequalled6 ,even the sympathetic curiosity of the wisest discerner of men does not suffice to divine how this or that woman gets along with the solution of this enigma and the enigma of this solution2 what dreadful1 far-reaching suspicions must awaken thereby in the poor unhinged soul2 and forsooth1 how the ultimate philosophy and scepticism of the woman casts anchor at this point6--,afterwards the same profound silence as before3 and often even a silence to herself1 a shutting of her eyes to herself4--,young wives on that account make great efforts to appear superficial and thoughtless2 the most ingenious of them simulate a kind of impudence4--,wives easily feel their husbands as a question-mark to their honour1 and their children as an apology or atonement1--they require children1 and wish for them in quite another spirit than a husband wishes for them4--,in short1 one cannot be gentle enough towards women6 #gb4 ,mothers4--,animals think differently from men with respect to females2 with them the female is regarded as the productive being4 ,there is no paternal love among them1 but there is such a thing as love of the children of a beloved1 and habituation to them4 ,in the young1 the females find gratification for their lust of dominion2 the young are a property1 an occupation1 something quite comprehensible to them1 with which they can chatter3 all this conjointly is maternal love1--it is to be compared to the love of the artist for his work4 ,pregnancy has made the females gentler1 more expectant1 more timid1 more submissively inclined2 and similarly intellectual pregnancy engenders the character of the contemplative1 who are allied to women in character3--they are the masculine mothers4--,among animals the masculine sex is regarded as the beautiful sex4 #gc4 ,saintly ,cruelty4--,a man holding a newly born child in his hands came to a saint4 ,what should ,i do with the child1 he asked1 it is wretched1 deformed1 and has not even enough of life to die4 ,kill it1 cried the saint with a dreadful voice1 kill it1 and then hold it in thy arms for three days and three nights to brand it on thy memory3--thus wilt thou never again beget a child when it is not the time for thee to beget4--,when the man had heard this he went away disappointed2 and many found fault with the saint because he had advised cruelty1 for he had advised to kill the child4 ,but is it not more cruel to let it live8 asked the saint4 #gd4 ,the ,unsuccessful4--,those poor women always fail of success who become agitated and uncertain1 and talk too much in presence of him whom they love2 for men are most successfully seduced by a certain subtle and phlegmatic tenderness4 #ge4 ,the ,third ,sex4--,a small man is a paradox1 but still a man1--but the small woman seems to me to be of another sex in comparison with well-grown ones--said an old dancing-master4 ,a small woman is never beautiful--said old ,aristotle4 #gf4 ,the greatest ,danger4--,had there not at all times been a larger number of men who regarded the cultivation of their mind--their rationality--as their pride1 their obligation1 their virtue1 and were injured or shamed by all play of fancy and extravagance of thinking--as lovers of sound common sense3--mankind would long ago have perished6 ,incipient insanity has hovered1 and hovers continually over mankind as its greatest danger3 that is precisely the breaking out of inclination in feeling1 seeing1 and hearing2 the enjoyment of the unruliness of the mind2 the delight in human unreason4 ,it is not truth and certainty that is the antithesis of the world of the insane1 but the universality and all-obligatoriness of a belief1 in short1 non-voluntariness in forming opinions4 ,and the greatest labour of human beings hitherto has been to agree with one another regarding a great many things1 and to impose upon themselves a law of agreement--indifferent whether these things are true or false4 ,this is the discipline of the mind which has preserved mankind2--but the counter-impulses are still so powerful that one can really speak of the future of mankind with little confidence4 ,the ideas of things still continually shift and move1 and will perhaps alter more than ever in the future2 it is continually the most select spirits themselves who strive against universal obligatoriness--the investigators of truth above all6 ,the accepted belief1 as the belief of all the world1 continually engenders a disgust and a new longing in the more ingenious minds2 and already the slow tempo which it demands for all intellectual processes 7the imitation of the tortoise1 which is here recognised as the rule7 makes the artists and poets runaways3--it is in these impatient spirits that a downright delight in delirium breaks out1 because delirium has such a joyful tempo6 ,virtuous intellects1 therefore1 are needed--ah6 ,i want to use the least ambiguous word1--virtuous stupidity is needed1 imperturbable conductors of the slow spirits are needed1 in order that the faithful of the great collective belief may remain with one another and dance their dance further3 it is a necessity of the first importance that here enjoins and demands4 ,we others are the exceptions and the danger1--we eternally need protection6--,well1 there can actually be something said in favour of the exceptions provided that they never want to become the rule4 #gg4 ,the ,animal with good ,conscience4--,it is not unknown to me that there is vulgarity in everything that pleases ,southern ,europe--whether it be ,italian opera 7for example1 ,rossini's and ,bellini's71 or the ,spanish adventure-romance 7most readily accessible to us in the ,french garb of ,gil ,blas7--but it does not offend me1 any more than the vulgarity which one encounters in a walk through ,pompeii1 or even in the reading of every ancient book3 what is the reason of this8 ,is it because shame is lacking here1 and because the vulgar always comes forward just as sure and certain of itself as anything noble1 lovely1 and passionate in the same kind of music or romance8 ,the animal has its rights like man1 so let it run about freely2 and you1 my dear fellow-man1 are still this animal1 in spite of all6--that seems to me the moral of the case1 and the peculiarity of southern humanity4 ,bad taste has its rights like good taste1 and even a prerogative over the latter when it is the great requisite1 the sure satisfaction1 and as it were a universal language1 an immediately intelligible mask and attitude2 the excellent1 select taste on the other hand has always something of a seeking1 tentative character1 not fully certain that it understands1--it is never1 and has never been popular6 ,the masque is and remains popular6 ,so let all this masquerade run along in the melodies and cadences1 in the leaps and merriment of the rhythm of these operas6 ,quite the ancient life6 ,what does one understand of it1 if one does not understand the delight in the masque1 the good conscience of all masquerade6 ,here is the bath and the refreshment of the ancient spirit3--and perhaps this bath was still more necessary for the rare and sublime natures of the ancient world than for the vulgar4--,on the other hand1 a vulgar turn in northern works1 for example in ,german music1 offends me unutterably4 ,there is shame in it1 the artist has lowered himself in his own sight1 and could not even avoid blushing3 we are ashamed with him1 and are so hurt because we surmise that he believed he had to lower himself on our account4 #gh4 ,what we should be ,grateful for4--,it is only the artists1 and especially the theatrical artists who have furnished men with eyes and ears to hear and see with some pleasure what everyone is in himself1 what he experiences and aims at3 it is only they who have taught us how to estimate the hero that is concealed in each of these common-place men1 and the art of looking at ourselves from a distance as heroes1 and as it were simplified and transfigured1--the art of putting ourselves on the stage before ourselves4 ,it is thus only that we get beyond some of the paltry details in ourselves6 ,without that art we should be nothing but fore-ground1 and would live absolutely under the spell of the perspective which makes the closest and the commonest seem immensely large and like reality in itself4--,perhaps there is merit of a similar kind in the religion which commanded us to look at the sinfulness of every individual man with a magnifying-glass1 and to make a great1 immortal criminal out of the sinner2 in that it put eternal perspectives around man1 it taught him to see himself from a distance1 and as something past1 something entire4 #gi4 ,the ,charm of ,imperfection4--,i see here a poet1 who1 like so many men1 exercises a higher charm by his imperfections than by all that is rounded off and takes perfect shape under his hands1--indeed1 he derives his advantage and reputation far more from his actual limitations than from his abundant powers4 ,his work never expresses altogether what he would really like to express1 what he would like to have seen3 he appears to have had the foretaste of a vision and never the vision itself3--but an extraordinary longing for this vision has remained in his soul2 and from this he derives his equally extraordinary eloquence of longing and craving4 ,with this he raises those who listen to him above his work and above all works1 and gives them wings to rise higher than hearers have ever risen before1 thus making them poets and seers themselves2 they then show an admiration for the originator of their happiness1 as if he had led them immediately to the vision of his holiest and ultimate verities1 as if he had reached his goal1 and had actually seen and communicated his vision4 ,it is to the advantage of his reputation that he has not really arrived at his goal4 #hj4 ,art and ,nature4--,the ,greeks 7or at least the ,athenians7 liked to hear good talking3 indeed they had an eager inclination for it1 which distinguished them more than anything else from non-,greeks4 ,and so they required good talking even from passion on the stage1 and submitted to the unnaturalness of dramatic verse with delight3--in nature1 forsooth1 passion is so sparing of words6 so dumb and confused6 ,or if it finds words1 so embarrassed and irrational and a shame to itself6 ,we have now1 all of us1 thanks to the ,greeks1 accustomed ourselves to this unnaturalness on the stage1 as we endure that other unnaturalness1 the singing passion1 and willingly endure it1 thanks to the ,italians4--,it has become a necessity to us1 which we cannot satisfy out of the resources of actuality1 to hear men talk well and in full detail in the most trying situations3 it enraptures us at present when the tragic hero still finds words1 reasons1 eloquent gestures1 and on the whole a bright spirituality1 where life approaches the abysses1 and where the actual man mostly loses his head1 and certainly his fine language4 ,this kind of deviation from nature is perhaps the most agreeable repast for man's pride3 he loves art generally on account of it1 as the expression of high1 heroic unnaturalness and convention4 ,one rightly objects to the dramatic poet when he does not transform everything into reason and speech1 but always retains a remnant of silence3--just as one is dissatisfied with an operatic musician who cannot find a melody for the highest emotion1 but only an emotional1 natural stammering and crying4 ,here nature has to be contradicted6 ,here the common charm of illusion has to give place to a higher charm6 ,the ,greeks go far1 far in this direction--frightfully far6 ,as they constructed the stage as narrow as possible and dispensed with all the effect of deep backgrounds1 as they made pantomime and easy motion impossible to the actor1 and transformed him into a solemn1 stiff1 masked bogey1 so they have also deprived passion itself of its deep background1 and have dictated to it a law of fine talk2 indeed1 they have really done everything to counteract the elementary effect of representations that inspire pity and terror3 they did not want pity and terror1--with due deference1 with the highest deference to ,aristotle6 but he certainly did not hit the nail1 to say nothing of the head of the nail1 when he spoke about the final aim of ,greek tragedy6 ,let us but look at the ,grecian tragic poets with respect to what most excited their diligence1 their inventiveness1 and their emulation1--certainly it was not the intention of subjugating the spectators by emotion6 ,the ,athenian went to the theatre to hear fine talking6 ,and fine talking was arrived at by ,sophocles6--pardon me this heresy6--,it is very different with serious opera3 all its masters make it their business to prevent their personages being understood4 ,an occasional word picked up may come to the assistance of the inattentive listener2 but on the whole the situation must be self-explanatory1--the talking is of no account6--so they all think1 and so they have all made fun of the words4 ,perhaps they have only lacked courage to express fully their extreme contempt for words3 a little additional insolence in ,rossini1 and he would have allowed la-la-la-la to be sung throughout--and it might have been the rational course6 ,the personages of the opera are not meant to be believed in their words1 but in their tones6 ,that is the difference1 that is the fine unnaturalness on account of which people go to the opera6 ,even the recitativo secco is not really intended to be heard as words and text3 this kind of half-music is meant rather in the first place to give the musical ear a little repose 7the repose from melody1 as from the sublimest1 and on that account the most straining enjoyment of this art71--but very soon something different results1 namely1 an increasing impatience1 an increasing resistance1 a new longing for entire music1 for melody4--,how is it with the art of ,richard ,wagner as seen from this standpoint8 ,is it perhaps the same8 ,perhaps otherwise8 ,it would often seem to me as if one needed to have learned by heart both the words and the music of his creations before the performances2 for without that--so it seemed to me--one may hear neither the words1 nor even the music4 #ha4 ,grecian ,taste4--,what is beautiful in it8--asked a certain geometrician1 after a performance of the ,iphigenia--there is nothing proved in it6 ,could the ,greeks have been so far from this taste8 ,in ,sophocles at least everything is proved4 #hb4 ,esprit ,un-,grecian4--,the ,greeks were exceedingly logical and plain in all their thinking2 they did not get tired of it1 at least during their long flourishing period1 as is so often the case with the ,french2 who too willingly made a little excursion into the opposite1 and in fact endure the spirit of logic only when it betrays its sociable courtesy1 its sociable self-renunciation1 by a multitude of such little excursions into its opposite4 ,logic appears to them as necessary as bread and water1 but also like these as a kind of prison-fare1 as soon as it is to be taken pure and by itself4 ,in good society one must never want to be in the right absolutely and solely1 as all pure logic requires2 hence1 the little dose of irrationality in all ,french esprit4--,the social sense of the ,greeks was far less developed than that of the ,french in the present and the past2 hence1 so little esprit in their cleverest men1 hence1 so little wit1 even in their wags1 hence--alas6 ,but people will not readily believe these tenets of mine1 and how much of the kind ,i have still on my soul6--,est res magna tacere--says ,martial1 like all garrulous people4 #hc4 ,translations4--,one can estimate the amount of the historical sense which an age possesses by the way in which it makes translations and seeks to embody in itself past periods and literatures4 ,the ,french of ,corneille1 and even the ,french of the ,revolution1 appropriated ,roman antiquity in a manner for which we would no longer have the courage--owing to our superior historical sense4 ,and ,roman antiquity itself3 how violently1 and at the same time how navely1 did it lay its hand on everything excellent and elevated belonging to the older ,grecian antiquity6 ,how they translated these writings into the ,roman present6 ,how they wiped away intentionally and unconcernedly the wing-dust of the butterfly moment6 ,it is thus that ,horace now and then translated ,alcus or ,archilochus1 it is thus that ,propertius translated ,callimachus and ,philetas 7poets of equal rank with ,theocritus1 if we be allowed to judge73 of what consequence was it to them that the actual creator experienced this and that1 and had inscribed the indication thereof in his poem6--as poets they were averse to the antiquarian1 inquisitive spirit which precedes the historical sense2 as poets they did not respect those essentially personal traits and names1 nor anything peculiar to city1 coast1 or century1 such as its costume and mask1 but at once put the present and the ,roman in its place4 ,they seem to us to ask3 ,should we not make the old new for ourselves1 and adjust ourselves to it8 ,should we not be allowed to inspire this dead body with our soul8 for it is dead indeed3 how loathsome is everything dead6--,they did not know the pleasure of the historical sense2 the past and the alien was painful to them1 and as ,romans it was an incitement to a ,roman conquest4 ,in fact1 they conquered when they translated1--not only in that they omitted the historical3 no1 they added also allusions to the present2 above all1 they struck out the name of the poet and put their own in its place--not with the feeling of theft1 but with the very best conscience of the imperium ,romanum4 #hd4 ,the ,origin of ,poetry4--,the lovers of the fantastic in man1 who at the same time represent the doctrine of instinctive morality1 draw this conclusion3 ,granted that utility has been honoured at all times as the highest divinity1 where then in all the world has poetry come from8--this rhythmising of speech which thwarts rather than furthers plainness of communication1 and which1 nevertheless1 has sprung up everywhere on the earth1 and still springs up1 as a mockery of all useful purpose6 ,the wildly beautiful irrationality of poetry refutes you1 ye utilitarians6 ,the wish to get rid of utility in some way--that is precisely what has elevated man1 that is what has inspired him to morality and art6 ,well1 ,i must here speak for once to please the utilitarians1--they are so seldom in the right that it is pitiful6 ,in the old times which called poetry into being1 people had still utility in view with respect to it1 and a very important utility--at the time when rhythm was introduced into speech1 the force which arranges all the particles of the sentence anew1 commands the choosing of the words1 recolours the thought1 and makes it more obscure1 more foreign1 and more distant3 to be sure a superstitious utility6 ,it was intended that a human entreaty should be more profoundly impressed upon the ,gods by virtue of rhythm1 after it had been observed that men could remember a verse better than an unmetrical speech4 ,it was likewise thought that people could make themselves audible at greater distances by the rhythmical beat2 the rhythmical prayer seemed to come nearer to the ear of the ,gods4 ,above all1 however1 people wanted to have the advantage of the elementary conquest which man experiences in himself when he hears music3 rhythm is a constraint2 it produces an unconquerable desire to yield1 to join in2 not only the step of the foot1 but also the soul itself follows the measure1--probably the soul of the ,gods also1 as people thought6 ,they attempted1 therefore1 to constrain the ,gods by rhythm and to exercise a power over them2 they threw poetry around the ,gods like a magic noose4 ,there was a still more wonderful idea1 and it has perhaps operated most powerfully of all in the originating of poetry4 ,among the ,pythagoreans it made its appearance as a philosophical doctrine and as an artifice of teaching3 but long before there were philosophers music was acknowledged to possess the power of unburdening the emotions1 of purifying the soul1 of soothing the ferocia animi--and this was owing to the rhythmical element in music4 ,when the proper tension and harmony of the soul were lost a person had to dance to the measure of the singer1--that was the recipe of this medical art4 ,by means of it ,terpander quieted a tumult1 ,empedocles calmed a maniac1 ,damon purged a love-sick youth2 by means of it even the maddened1 revengeful ,gods were treated for the purpose of a cure4 ,first of all1 it was by driving the frenzy and wantonness of their emotions to the highest pitch1 by making the furious mad1 and the revengeful intoxicated with vengeance3--all the orgiastic cults seek to discharge the ferocia of a deity all at once and thus make an orgy1 so that the deity may feel freer and quieter afterwards1 and leave man in peace4 ,melos1 according to its root1 signifies a soothing means1 not because the song is gentle itself1 but because its after-effect makes gentle4--,and not only in the religious song1 but also in the secular song of the most ancient times the prerequisite is that the rhythm should exercise a magical influence2 for example1 in drawing water1 or in rowing3 the song is for the enchanting of the spirits supposed to be active thereby2 it makes them obliging1 involuntary1 and the instruments of man4 ,and as often as a person acts he has occasion to sing1 every action is dependent on the assistance of spirits3 magic song and incantation appear to be the original form of poetry4 ,when verse also came to be used in oracles--the ,greeks said that the hexameter was invented at ,delphi1--the rhythm was here also intended to exercise a compulsory influence4 ,to make a prophecy--that means originally 7according to what seems to me the probable derivation of the ,greek word7 to determine something2 people thought they could determine the future by winning ,apollo over to their side3 he who1 according to the most ancient idea1 is far more than a foreseeing deity4 ,according as the formula is pronounced with literal and rhythmical correctness1 it determines the future3 the formula1 however1 is the invention of ,apollo1 who as the ,god of rhythm1 can also determine the goddesses of fate4--,looked at and investigated as a whole1 was there ever anything more serviceable to the ancient superstitious species of human being than rhythm8 ,people could do everything with it3 they could make labour go on magically2 they could compel a ,god to appear1 to be near at hand1 and listen to them2 they could arrange the future for themselves according to their will2 they could unburden their own souls of any kind of excess 7of anxiety1 of mania1 of sympathy1 of revenge71 and not only their own soul1 but the souls of the most evil spirits1--without verse a person was nothing1 by means of verse a person became almost a ,god4 ,such a fundamental feeling no longer allows itself to be fully eradicated1--and even now1 after millenniums of long labour in combating such superstition1 the very wisest of us occasionally becomes the fool of rhythm1 be it only that one perceives a thought to be truer when it has a metrical form and approaches with a divine hopping4 ,is it not a very funny thing that the most serious philosophers1 however anxious they are in other respects for strict certainty1 still appeal to poetical sayings in order to give their thoughts force and credibility8--and yet it is more dangerous to a truth when the poet assents to it than when he contradicts it6 ,for1 as ,homer says1 ,the singers speak much falsehood6-- #he4 ,the ,good and the ,beautiful4--,artists glorify continually--they do nothing else1--and indeed they glorify all those conditions and things that have a reputation1 so that man may feel himself good or great1 or intoxicated1 or merry1 or pleased and wise by it4 ,those select things and conditions whose value for human happiness is regarded as secure and determined1 are the objects of artists3 they are ever lying in wait to discover such things1 to transfer them into the domain of art4 ,i mean to say that they are not themselves the valuers of happiness and of the happy ones1 but they always press close to these valuers with the greatest curiosity and longing1 in order immediately to use their valuations advantageously4 ,as besides their impatience1 they have also the big lungs of heralds and the feet of runners1 they are likewise always among the first to glorify the new excellency1 and often seem to be those who first of all called it good and valued it as good4 ,this1 however1 as we have said1 is an error2 they are only faster and louder than the actual valuers3--,and who then are these8--,they are the rich and the leisurely4 #hf4 ,the ,theatre4--,this day has given me once more strong and elevated sentiments1 and if ,i could have music and art in the evening1 ,i know well what music and art ,i should not like to have2 namely1 none of that which would fain intoxicate its hearers and excite them to a crisis of strong and high feeling1--those men with commonplace souls1 who in the evening are not like victors on triumphal cars1 but like tired mules to whom life has rather too often applied the whip4 ,what would those men at all know of higher moods1 unless there were expedients for causing ecstasy and idealistic strokes of the whip6--and thus they have their inspirers as they have their wines4 ,but what is their drink and their drunkenness to me6 ,does the inspired one need wine8 ,he rather looks with a kind of disgust at the agency and the agent which are here intended to produce an effect without sufficient reason1--an imitation of the high tide of the soul6 ,what8 ,one gives the mole wings and proud fancies--before going to sleep1 before he creeps into his hole8 ,one sends him into the theatre and puts great magnifying-glasses to his blind and tired eyes8 ,men1 whose life is not action but business1 sit in front of the stage and look at strange beings to whom life is more than business8 ,this is proper1 you say1 this is entertaining1 this is what culture wants6--,well then6 culture is too often lacking in me1 for this sight is too often disgusting to me4 ,he who has enough of tragedy and comedy in himself surely prefers to remain away from the theatre2 or1 as the exception1 the whole procedure--theatre and public and poet included--becomes for him a truly tragic and comic play1 so that the performed piece counts for little in comparison4 ,he who is something like ,faust and ,manfred1 what does it matter to him about the ,fausts and ,manfreds of the theatre6--while it certainly gives him something to think about that such figures are brought into the theatre at all4 ,the strongest thoughts and passions before those who are not capable of thought and passion--but of intoxication only6 ,and those as a means to this end6 ,and theatre and music the hashish-smoking and betel-chewing of ,europeans6 ,oh1 who will narrate to us the whole history of narcotics6--,it is almost the history of culture1 the so-called higher culture6 #hg4 ,the ,conceit of ,artists4--,i think artists often do not know what they can do best1 because they are too conceited1 and have set their minds on something loftier than those little plants appear to be1 which can grow up to perfection on their soil1 fresh1 rare1 and beautiful4 ,the final value of their own garden and vineyard is superciliously underestimated by them1 and their love and their insight are not of the same quality4 ,here is a musician1 who1 more than any one else1 has the genius for discovering the tones peculiar to suffering1 oppressed1 tortured souls1 and who can endow even dumb animals with speech4 ,no one equals him in the colours of the late autumn1 in the indescribably touching happiness of a last1 a final1 and all too short enjoyment2 he knows a chord for those secret and weird midnights of the soul when cause and effect seem out of joint1 and when every instant something may originate out of nothing4 ,he draws his resources best of all out of the lower depths of human happiness1 and so to speak1 out of its drained goblet1 where the bitterest and most nauseous drops have ultimately1 for good or for ill1 commingled with the sweetest4 ,he knows the weary shuffling along of the soul which can no longer leap or fly1 yea1 not even walk2 he has the shy glance of concealed pain1 of understanding without comfort1 of leave-taking without avowal2 yea1 as the ,orpheus of all secret misery1 he is greater than anyone2 and in fact much has been added to art by him which was hitherto inexpressible and not even thought worthy of art1 and which was only to be scared away1 by words1 and not grasped--many small and quite microscopic features of the soul3 yes1 he is the master of miniature4 ,but he does not wish to be so6 ,his character is more in love with large walls and daring frescoes6 ,he fails to see that his spirit has a different taste and inclination1 and prefers to sit quietly in the corners of ruined houses3--concealed in this way1 concealed even from himself1 he there paints his proper masterpieces1 all of which are very short1 often only one bar in length1--there only does he become quite good1 great1 and perfect1 perhaps there only4--,but he does not know it6 ,he is too conceited to know it4 #hh4 ,earnestness for the ,truth4--,earnest for the truth6 ,what different things men understand by these words6 ,just the same opinions1 and modes of demonstration and testing which a thinker regards as a frivolity in himself1 to which he has succumbed with shame at one time or other1--just the same opinions may give to an artist1 who comes in contact with them and accepts them temporarily1 the consciousness that the profoundest earnestness for the truth has now taken hold of him1 and that it is worthy of admiration that1 although an artist1 he at the same time exhibits the most ardent desire for the antithesis of the apparent4 ,it is thus possible that a person may1 just by his pathos of earnestness1 betray how superficially and sparingly his intellect has hitherto operated in the domain of knowledge4--,and is not everything that we consider important our betrayer8 ,it shows where our motives lie1 and where our motives are altogether lacking4 #hi4 ,now and ,formerly4--,of what consequence is all our art in artistic products1 if that higher art1 the art of the festival1 be lost by us8 ,formerly all artistic products were exhibited on the great festive path of humanity1 as tokens of remembrance1 and monuments of high and happy moments4 ,one now seeks to allure the exhausted and sickly from the great suffering path of humanity for a wanton moment by means of works of art2 one furnishes them with a little ecstasy and insanity4 #ij4 ,lights and ,shades4--,books and writings are different with different thinkers4 ,one writer has collected together in his book all the rays of light which he could quickly plunder and carry home from an illuminating experience2 while another gives only the shadows1 and the grey and black replicas of that which on the previous day had towered up in his soul4 #ia4 ,precaution4--,alfieri1 as is well known1 told a great many falsehoods when he narrated the history of his life to his astonished contemporaries4 ,he told falsehoods owing to the despotism toward himself which he exhibited1 for example1 in the way in which he created his own language1 and tyrannised himself into a poet3--he finally found a rigid form of sublimity into which he forced his life and his memory2 he must have suffered much in the process4--,i would also give no credit to a history of ,plato's life written by himself1 as little as to ,rousseau's1 or to the ,vita nuova of ,dante4 #ib4 ,prose and ,poetry4--,let it be observed that the great masters of prose have almost always been poets as well1 whether openly1 or only in secret and for the closet2 and in truth one only writes good prose in view of poetry6 ,for prose is an uninterrupted1 polite warfare with poetry2 all its charm consists in the fact that poetry is constantly avoided1 and contradicted2 every abstraction wants to have a gibe at poetry1 and wishes to be uttered with a mocking voice2 all dryness and coolness is meant to bring the amiable goddess into an amiable despair2 there are often approximations and reconciliations for the moment1 and then a sudden recoil and a burst of laughter2 the curtain is often drawn up and dazzling light let in just while the goddess is enjoying her twilights and dull colours2 the word is often taken out of her mouth and chanted to a melody while she holds her fine hands before her delicate little ears--and so there are a thousand enjoyments of the warfare1 the defeats included1 of which the unpoetic1 the so-called prose-men know nothing at all3--they consequently write and speak only bad prose6 ,warfare is the father of all good things1 it is also the father of good prose6--,there have been four very singular and truly poetical men in this century who have arrived at mastership in prose1 for which otherwise this century is not suited1 owing to lack of poetry1 as we have indicated4 ,not to take ,goethe into account1 for he is reasonably claimed by the century that produced him1 ,i look only on ,giacomo ,leopardi1 ,prosper ,mrime1 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson1 and ,walter ,savage ,landor1 the author of ,imaginary ,conversations1 as worthy to be called masters of prose4 #ic4 ,but why1 then1 do you ,write8--,a3 ,i do not belong to those who think with the wet pen in hand2 and still less to those who yield themselves entirely to their passions before the open ink-bottle1 sitting on their chair and staring at the paper4 ,i am always vexed and abashed by writing2 writing is a necessity for me1--even to speak of it in a simile is disagreeable4 ,b3 ,but why1 then1 do you write8 ,a3 ,well1 my dear ,sir1 to tell you in confidence1 ,i have hitherto found no other means of getting rid of my thoughts4 ,b3 ,and why do you wish to get rid of them8 ,a3 ,why ,i wish8 ,do ,i really wish6 ,i must4--,b3 ,enough6 ,enough6 #id4 ,growth after ,death4--,those few daring words about moral matters which ,fontenelle threw into his immortal ,dialogues of the ,dead1 were regarded by his age as paradoxes and amusements of a not unscrupulous wit2 even the highest judges of taste and intellect saw nothing more in them1--indeed1 ,fontenelle himself perhaps saw nothing more4 ,then something incredible takes place3 these thoughts become truths6 ,science proves them6 ,the game becomes serious6 ,and we read those dialogues with a feeling different from that with which ,voltaire and ,helvetius read them1 and we involuntarily raise their originator into another and much higher class of intellects than they did4--,rightly8 ,wrongly8 #ie4 ,chamfort4--,that such a judge of men and of the multitude as ,chamfort should side with the multitude1 instead of standing apart in philosophical resignation and defence--,i am at a loss to explain1 except as follows3--,there was an instinct in him stronger than his wisdom1 and it had never been gratified3 the hatred against all noblesse of blood2 perhaps his mother's old and only too explicable hatred1 which was consecrated in him by love of her1--an instinct of revenge from his boyhood1 which waited for the hour to avenge his mother4 ,but then the course of his life1 his genius1 and alas6 most of all1 perhaps1 the paternal blood in his veins1 had seduced him to rank and consider himself equal to the noblesse--for many1 many years6 ,in the end1 however1 he could not endure the sight of himself1 the old man under the old rgime1 any longer2 he got into a violent1 penitential passion1 and in this state he put on the raiment of the populace as his special kind of hair-shirt6 ,his bad conscience was the neglect of revenge4--,if ,chamfort had then been a little more of the philosopher1 the ,revolution would not have had its tragic wit and its sharpest sting2 it would have been regarded as a much more stupid affair1 and would have had no such seductive influence on men's minds4 ,but ,chamfort's hatred and revenge educated an entire generation2 and the most illustrious men passed through his school4 ,let us but consider that ,mirabeau looked up to ,chamfort as to his higher and older self1 from whom he expected 7and endured7 impulses1 warnings1 and condemnations1--,mirabeau1 who as a man belongs to an entirely different order of greatness1 as the very foremost among the statesman-geniuses of yesterday and to-day4--,strange1 that in spite of such a friend and advocate--we possess ,mirabeau's letters to ,chamfort--this wittiest of all moralists has remained unfamiliar to the ,french1 quite the same as ,stendhal1 who has perhaps had the most penetrating eyes and ears of any ,frenchman of this century4 ,is it because the latter had really too much of the ,german and the ,englishman in his nature for the ,parisians to endure him8--while ,chamfort1 a man with ample knowledge of the profundities and secret motives of the soul1 gloomy1 suffering1 ardent--a thinker who found laughter necessary as the remedy of life1 and who almost gave himself up as lost every day that he had not laughed1--seems much more like an ,italian1 and related by blood to ,dante and ,leopardi1 than like a ,frenchman4 ,one knows ,chamfort's last words3 ,ah6 mon ami1 he said to ,sieys1 je m'en vais enfin de ce monde1 o il faut que le cur se brise ou se bronze--4 ,these were certainly not the words of a dying ,frenchman4 #if4 ,two ,orators4--,of these two orators the one arrives at a full understanding of his case only when he yields himself to emotion2 it is only this that pumps sufficient blood and heat into his brain to compel his high intellectuality to reveal itself4 ,the other attempts1 indeed1 now and then to do the same3 to state his case sonorously1 vehemently1 and spiritedly with the aid of emotion1--but usually with bad success4 ,he then very soon speaks obscurely and confusedly2 he exaggerates1 makes omissions1 and excites suspicion of the justice of his case3 indeed1 he himself feels this suspicion1 and the sudden changes into the coldest and most repulsive tones 7which raise a doubt in the hearer as to his passionateness being genuine7 are thereby explicable4 ,with him emotion always drowns the spirit2 perhaps because it is stronger than in the former4 ,but he is at the height of his power when he resists the impetuous storm of his feeling1 and as it were scorns it2 it is then only that his spirit emerges fully from its concealment1 a spirit logical1 mocking1 and playful1 but nevertheless awe-inspiring4 #ig4 ,the ,loquacity of ,authors4--,there is a loquacity of anger--frequent in ,luther1 also in ,schopenhauer4 ,a loquacity which comes from too great a store of conceptual formul1 as in ,kant4 ,a loquacity which comes from delight in ever new modifications of the same idea3 one finds it in ,montaigne4 ,a loquacity of malicious natures3 whoever reads writings of our period will recollect two authors in this connection4 ,a loquacity which comes from delight in fine words and forms of speech3 by no means rare in ,goethe's prose4 ,a loquacity which comes from pure satisfaction in noise and confusion of feelings3 for example in ,carlyle4 #ih4 ,in ,honour of ,shakespeare4--,the best thing ,i could say in honour of ,shakespeare1 the man1 is that he believed in ,brutus and cast not a shadow of suspicion on the kind of virtue which ,brutus represents6 ,it is to him that ,shakespeare consecrated his best tragedy--it is at present still called by a wrong name1--to him and to the most terrible essence of lofty morality4 ,independence of soul6--that is the question at issue6 ,no sacrifice can be too great there3 one must be able to sacrifice to it even one's dearest friend1 though he be also the grandest of men1 the ornament of the world1 the genius without peer1--if one really loves freedom as the freedom of great souls1 and if this freedom be threatened by him3--it is thus that ,shakespeare must have felt6 ,the elevation in which he places ,csar is the most exquisite honour he could confer upon ,brutus2 it is thus only that he lifts into vastness the inner problem of his hero1 and similarly the strength of soul which could cut this knot6--,and was it actually political freedom that impelled the poet to sympathy with ,brutus1--and made him the accomplice of ,brutus8 ,or was political freedom merely a symbol for something inexpressible8 ,do we perhaps stand before some sombre event or adventure of the poet's own soul1 which has remained unknown1 and of which he only cared to speak symbolically8 ,what is all ,hamlet-melancholy in comparison with the melancholy of ,brutus6--and perhaps ,shakespeare also knew this1 as he knew the other1 by experience6 ,perhaps he also had his dark hour and his bad angel1 just as ,brutus had them6--,but whatever similarities and secret relationships of that kind there may have been1 ,shakespeare cast himself on the ground and felt unworthy and alien in presence of the aspect and virtue of ,brutus3--he has inscribed the testimony thereof in the tragedy itself4 ,he has twice brought in a poet in it1 and twice heaped upon him such an impatient and extreme contempt1 that it sounds like a cry1--like the cry of self-contempt4 ,brutus1 even ,brutus loses patience when the poet appears1 self-important1 pathetic1 and obtrusive1 as poets usually are1--persons who seem to abound in the possibilities of greatness1 even moral greatness1 and nevertheless rarely attain even to ordinary uprightness in the philosophy of practice and of life4 ,he may know the times1 but ,i know his temper1--away with the jigging fool6--shouts ,brutus4 ,we may translate this back into the soul of the poet that composed it4 #ii4 ,the ,followers of ,schopenhauer4--,what one sees at the contact of civilized peoples with barbarians1--namely1 that the lower civilization regularly accepts in the first place the vices1 weaknesses1 and excesses of the higher2 then1 from that point onward1 feels the influence of a charm2 and finally1 by means of the appropriated vices and weaknesses1 also allows something of the valuable influence of the higher culture to leaven it3--one can also see this close at hand and without journeys to barbarian peoples1 to be sure1 somewhat refined and spiritualised1 and not so readily palpable4 ,what are the ,german followers of ,schopenhauer still accustomed to receive first of all from their master3--those who1 when placed beside his superior culture1 must deem themselves sufficiently barbarous to be first of all barbarously fascinated and seduced by him4 ,is it his hard matter-of-fact sense1 his inclination to clearness and rationality1 which often makes him appear so ,english1 and so unlike ,germans8 ,or the strength of his intellectual conscience1 which endured a life-long contradiction of being and willing1 and compelled him to contradict himself constantly even in his writings on almost every point8 ,or his purity in matters relating to the ,church and the ,christian ,god8--for here he was pure as no ,german philosopher had been hitherto1 so that he lived and died as a ,voltairian4 ,or his immortal doctrines of the intellectuality of intuition1 the apriority of the law of causality1 the instrumental nature of the intellect1 and the non-freedom of the will8 ,no1 nothing of this enchants1 nor is felt as enchanting2 but ,schopenhauer's mystical embarrassments and shufflings in those passages where the matter-of-fact thinker allowed himself to be seduced and corrupted by the vain impulse to be the unraveller of the world's riddle3 his undemonstrable doctrine of one will 7all causes are merely occasional causes of the phenomenon of the will at such a time and at such a place1 the will to live1 whole and undivided1 is present in every being1 even in the smallest1 as perfectly as in the sum of all that was1 is1 and will be72 his denial of the individual 7all lions are really only one lion1 plurality of individuals is an appearance1 as also development is only an appearance3 he calls the opinion of ,lamarck an ingenious1 absurd error72 his fantasy about genius 7in sthetic contemplation the individual is no longer an individual1 but a pure1 will-less1 painless1 timeless subject of knowledge1 the subject1 in that it entirely merges in the contemplated object1 has become this object itself72 his nonsense about sympathy1 and about the outburst of the principium individuationis thus rendered possible1 as the source of all morality2 including also such assertions as1 dying is really the design of existence1 the possibility should not be absolutely denied that a magical effect could proceed from a person already dead3--these1 and similar extravagances and vices of the philosopher1 are always first accepted and made articles of faith2 for vices and extravagances are always easiest to imitate1 and do not require a long preliminary practice4 ,but let us speak of the most celebrated of the living ,schopenhauerians1 ,richard ,wagner4--,it has happened to him as it has already happened to many an artist3 he made a mistake in the interpretation of the characters he created1 and misunderstood the unexpressed philosophy of the art peculiarly his own4 ,richard ,wagner allowed himself to be misled by ,hegel's influence till the middle of his life2 and he did the same again when later on he read ,schopenhauer's doctrine between the lines of his characters1 and began to express himself with such terms as will1 genius1 and sympathy4 ,nevertheless it will remain true that nothing is more counter to ,schopenhauer's spirit than the essentially ,wagnerian element in ,wagner's heroes3 ,i mean the innocence of the supremest selfishness1 the belief in strong passion as the good in itself1 in a word1 the ,siegfried trait in the countenances of his heroes4 ,all that still smacks more of ,spinoza than of me1--,schopenhauer would probably have said4 ,whatever good reasons1 therefore1 ,wagner might have had to be on the outlook for other philosophers than ,schopenhauer1 the enchantment to which he succumbed in respect to this thinker1 not only made him blind towards all other philosophers1 but even towards science itself2 his entire art is more and more inclined to become the counterpart and complement of the ,schopenhauerian philosophy1 and it always renounces more emphatically the higher ambition to become the counterpart and complement of human knowledge and science4 ,and not only is he allured thereto by the whole mystic pomp of this philosophy 7which would also have allured a ,cagliostro71 the peculiar airs and emotions of the philosopher have all along been seducing him as well6 ,for example1 ,wagner's indignation about the corruption of the ,german language is ,schopenhauerian2 and if one should commend his imitation in this respect1 it is nevertheless not to be denied that ,wagner's style itself suffers in no small degree from all the tumours and turgidities1 the sight of which made ,schopenhauer so furious2 and that1 in respect to the ,german-writing ,wagnerians1 ,wagneromania is beginning to be as dangerous as only some kinds of ,hegelomania have been4 ,schopenhauerian is ,wagner's hatred of the ,jews1 to whom he is unable to do justice1 even in their greatest exploit3 are not the ,jews the inventors of ,christianity6 ,the attempt of ,wagner to construe ,christianity as a seed blown away from ,buddhism1 and his endeavour to initiate a ,buddhistic era in ,europe1 under a temporary approximation to ,catholic-,christian formulas and sentiments1 are both ,schopenhauerian4 ,wagner's preaching in favour of pity in dealing with animals is ,schopenhauerian2 ,schopenhauer's predecessor here1 as is well known1 was ,voltaire1 who already perhaps1 like his successors1 knew how to disguise his hatred of certain men and things as pity towards animals4 ,at least ,wagner's hatred of science1 which manifests itself in his preaching1 has certainly not been inspired by the spirit of charitableness and kindness--nor by the spirit at all1 as is sufficiently obvious4--,finally1 it is of little importance what the philosophy of an artist is1 provided it is only a supplementary philosophy1 and does not do any injury to his art itself4 ,we cannot be sufficiently on our guard against taking a dislike to an artist on account of an occasional1 perhaps very unfortunate and presumptuous masquerade2 let us not forget that the dear artists are all of them something of actors--and must be so2 it would be difficult for them to hold out in the long run without stage-playing4 ,let us be loyal to ,wagner in that which is true and original in him1--and especially in this point1 that we1 his disciples1 remain loyal to ourselves in that which is true and original in us4 ,let us allow him his intellectual humours and spasms1 let us in fairness rather consider what strange nutriments and necessaries an art like his is entitled to1 in order to be able to live and grow6 ,it is of no account that he is often wrong as a thinker2 justice and patience are not his affair4 ,it is sufficient that his life is right in his own eyes1 and maintains its right1--the life which calls to each of us3 ,be a man1 and do not follow me--but thyself6 thyself6 ,our life1 also ought to maintain its right in our own eyes6 ,we also are to grow and blossom out of ourselves1 free and fearless1 in innocent selfishness6 ,and so1 on the contemplation of such a man1 these thoughts still ring in my ears to-day1 as formerly3 ,that passion is better than stoicism or hypocrisy2 that straightforwardness1 even in evil1 is better than losing oneself in trying to observe traditional morality2 that the free man is just as able to be good as evil1 but that the unemancipated man is a disgrace to nature1 and has no share in heavenly or earthly bliss2 finally1 that all who wish to be free must become so through themselves1 and that freedom falls to nobody's lot as a gift from ,heaven4 7,richard ,wagner in ,bayreuth1 ,vol4 ,i4 of this ,translation1 pp4 #aii-bjj74 #ajj4 ,learning to do ,homage4--,one must learn the art of homage1 as well as the art of contempt4 ,whoever goes in new paths and has led many persons therein1 discovers with astonishment how awkward and incompetent all of them are in the expression of their gratitude1 and indeed how rarely gratitude is able even to express itself4 ,it is always as if something comes into people's throats when their gratitude wants to speak1 so that it only hems and haws1 and becomes silent again4 ,the way in which a thinker succeeds in tracing the effect of his thoughts1 and their transforming and convulsing power1 is almost a comedy3 it sometimes seems as if those who have been operated upon felt profoundly injured thereby1 and could only assert their independence1 which they suspect to be threatened1 by all kinds of improprieties4 ,it needs whole generations in order merely to devise a courteous convention of gratefulness2 it is only very late that the period arrives when something of spirit and genius enters into gratitude4 ,then there is usually some one who is the great receiver of thanks1 not only for the good he himself has done1 but mostly for that which has been gradually accumulated by his predecessors1 as a treasure of what is highest and best4 #aja4 ,voltaire4--,wherever there has been a court1 it has furnished the standard of good-speaking1 and with this also the standard of style for writers4 ,the court language1 however1 is the language of the courtier who has no profession1 and who even in conversations on scientific subjects avoids all convenient1 technical expressions1 because they smack of the profession2 on that account the technical expression1 and everything that betrays the specialist1 is a blemish of style in countries which have a court culture4 ,at present1 when all courts have become caricatures of past and present times1 one is astonished to find even ,voltaire unspeakably reserved and scrupulous on this point 7for example1 in his judgments concerning such stylists as ,fontenelle and ,montesquieu71--we are now1 all of us1 emancipated from court taste1 while ,voltaire was its perfecter6 #ajb4 ,a ,word for ,philologists4--,it is thought that there are books so valuable and royal that whole generations of scholars are well employed when through their efforts these books are kept genuine and intelligible1--to confirm this belief again and again is the purpose of philology4 ,it presupposes that the rare men are not lacking 7though they may not be visible71 who actually know how to use such valuable books3--those men perhaps who write such books themselves1 or could write them4 ,i mean to say that philology presupposes a noble belief1--that for the benefit of some few who are always to come1 and are not there1 a very great amount of painful1 and even dirty labour has to be done beforehand3 it is all labour in usum ,delphinorum4 #ajc4 ,german ,music4--,german music1 more than any other1 has now become ,european music2 because the changes which ,europe experienced through the ,revolution have therein alone found expression3 it is only ,german music that knows how to express the agitation of popular masses1 the tremendous artificial uproar1 which does not even need to be very noisy1--while ,italian opera1 for example1 knows only the choruses of domestics or soldiers1 but not the people4 ,there is the additional fact that in all ,german music a profound bourgeois jealousy of the noblesse can be traced1 especially a jealousy of esprit and lgance1 as the expressions of a courtly1 chivalrous1 ancient1 and self-confident society4 ,it is not music like that of ,goethe's musician at the gate1 which was pleasing also in the hall1 and to the king as well2 it is not here said3 ,the knights looked on with martial air2 with bashful eyes the ladies4 ,even the ,graces are not allowed in ,german music without a touch of remorse2 it is only with ,pleasantness1 the country sister of the ,graces that the ,german begins to feel morally at ease--and from this point up to his enthusiastic1 learned1 and often gruff sublimity 7the ,beethoven-like sublimity71 he feels more and more so4 ,if we want to imagine the man of this music1--well1 let us just imagine ,beethoven as he appeared beside ,goethe1 say1 at their meeting at ,teplitz3 as semi-barbarism beside culture1 as the masses beside the nobility1 as the good-natured man beside the good and more than good man1 as the visionary beside the artist1 as the man needing comfort beside the comforted1 as the man given to exaggeration and distrust beside the man of reason1 as the crank and self-tormenter1 as the foolish1 enraptured1 blessedly unfortunate1 sincerely immoderate man1 as the pretentious and awkward man1--and altogether as the untamed man3 it was thus that ,goethe conceived and characterised him1 ,goethe1 the exceptional ,german1 for whom a music of equal rank has not yet been found6--,finally1 let us consider whether the present1 continually extending contempt of melody and the stunting of the sense for melody among ,germans should not be understood as a democratic impropriety and an after-effect of the ,revolution8 ,for melody has such an obvious delight in conformity to law1 and such an aversion to everything evolving1 unformed and arbitrary1 that it sounds like a note out of the ancient ,european regime1 and as a seduction and re-duction back to it4 #ajd4 ,the ,tone of the ,german ,language4--,we know whence the ,german originated which for several centuries has been the universal1 literary language of ,germany4 ,the ,germans1 with their reverence for everything that came from the court1 intentionally took the chancery style as their pattern in all that they had to write1 especially in their letters1 records1 wills1 c4 ,to write in the chancery style1 that was to write in court and government style1--that was regarded as something select compared with the language of the city in which a person lived4 ,people gradually drew this inference1 and spoke also as they wrote1--they thus became still more select in the forms of their words1 in the choice of their terms and modes of expression1 and finally also in their tones3 they affected a court tone when they spoke1 and the affectation at last became natural4 ,perhaps nothing quite similar has ever happened elsewhere3--the predominance of the literary style over the talk1 and the formality and affectation of an entire people1 becoming the basis of a common and no longer dialectical language4 ,i believe that the sound of the ,german language in the ,middle ,ages1 and especially after the ,middle ,ages1 was extremely rustic and vulgar2 it has ennobled itself somewhat during the last centuries1 principally because it was found necessary to imitate so many ,french1 ,italian1 and ,spanish sounds1 and particularly on the part of the ,german 7and ,austrian7 nobility1 who could not at all content themselves with their mother-tongue4 ,but notwithstanding this practice1 ,german must have sounded intolerably vulgar to ,montaigne1 and even to ,racine3 even at present1 in the mouths of travellers among the ,italian populace1 it still sounds very coarse1 sylvan1 and hoarse1 as if it had originated in smoky rooms and outlandish districts4--,now ,i notice that at present a similar striving after selectness of tone is spreading among the former admirers of the chancery style1 and that the ,germans are beginning to accommodate themselves to a peculiar witchery of sound1 which might in the long run become an actual danger to the ,german language1--for one may seek in vain for more execrable sounds in ,europe4 ,something mocking1 cold1 indifferent1 and careless in the voice3 that is what at present sounds noble to the ,germans--and ,i hear the approval of this nobleness in the voices of young officials1 teachers1 women1 and trades-people2 indeed1 even the little girls already imitate this ,german of the officers4 ,for the officer1 and in fact the ,prussian officer is the inventor of these tones3 this same officer1 who1 as soldier and professional man possesses that admirable tact for modesty which the ,germans as a whole might well imitate 7,german professors and musicians included674 ,but as soon as he speaks and moves he is the most immodest and inelegant figure in old ,europe--no doubt unconsciously to himself6 ,and unconsciously also to the good ,germans1 who gaze at him as the man of the foremost and most select society1 and willingly let him give them his tone4 ,and indeed he gives it to them6--in the first place it is the sergeant-majors and non-commissioned officers that imitate his tone and coarsen it4 ,one should note the roars of command1 with which the ,german cities are absolutely surrounded at present1 when there is drilling at all the gates3 what presumption1 furious imperiousness1 and mocking coldness speaks in this uproar6 ,could the ,germans actually be a musical people8--,it is certain that the ,germans martialise themselves at present in the tone of their language3 it is probable that1 being exercised to speak martially1 they will finally write martially also4 ,for habituation to definite tones extends deeply into the character3--people soon have the words and modes of expression1 and finally also the thoughts which just suit these tones6 ,perhaps they already write in the officers' style2 perhaps ,i only read too little of what is at present written in ,germany to know this4 ,but one thing ,i know all the surer3 the ,german public declarations which also reach places abroad1 are not inspired by ,german music1 but just by that new tone of tasteless arrogance4 ,almost in every speech of the foremost ,german statesman1 and even when he makes himself heard through his imperial mouth-piece1 there is an accent which the ear of a foreigner repudiates with aversion3 but the ,germans endure it1--they endure themselves4 #aje4 ,the ,germans as ,artists4--,when once a ,german actually experiences passion 7and not only1 as is usual1 the mere inclination to it71 he then behaves just as he must do in passion1 and does not think further of his behaviour4 ,the truth is1 however1 that he then behaves very awkwardly and uglily1 and as if destitute of rhythm and melody2 so that onlookers are pained or moved thereby1 but nothing more--unless he elevate himself to the sublimity and enrapturedness of which certain passions are capable4 ,then even the ,german becomes beautiful4 ,the perception of the height at which beauty begins to shed its charm even over ,germans1 raises ,german artists to the height1 to the supreme height1 and to the extravagances of passion3 they have an actual1 profound longing1 therefore1 to get beyond1 or at least to look beyond the ugliness and awkwardness--into a better1 easier1 more southern1 more sunny world4 ,and thus their convulsions are often merely indications that they would like to dance3 these poor bears in whom hidden nymphs and satyrs1 and sometimes still higher divinities1 carry on their game6 #ajf4 ,music as ,advocate4--,i have a longing for a master of the musical art1 said an innovator to his disciple1 that he may learn from me my ideas and speak them more widely in his language3 ,i shall thus be better able to reach men's ears and hearts4 ,for by means of tones one can seduce men to every error and every truth3 who could refute a tone8--,you would1 therefore1 like to be regarded as irrefutable8 said his disciple4 ,the innovator answered3 ,i should like the germ to become a tree4 ,in order that a doctrine may become a tree1 it must be believed in for a considerable period2 in order that it may be believed in it must be regarded as irrefutable4 ,storms and doubts and worms and wickedness are necessary to the tree1 that it may manifest its species and the strength of its germ2 let it perish if it is not strong enough6 ,but a germ is always merely annihilated1--not refuted6--,when he had said this1 his disciple called out impetuously3 ,but ,i believe in your cause1 and regard it as so strong that ,i will say everything against it1 everything that ,i still have in my heart4--,the innovator laughed to himself and threatened the disciple with his finger4 ,this kind of discipleship1 said he then1 is the best1 but it is dangerous1 and not every kind of doctrine can stand it4 #ajg4 ,our ,ultimate ,gratitude to ,art4--,if we had not approved of the ,arts and invented this sort of cult of the untrue1 the insight into the general untruth and falsity of things now given us by science--an insight into delusion and error as conditions of intelligent and sentient existence--would be quite unendurable4 ,honesty would have disgust and suicide in its train4 ,now1 however1 our honesty has a counterpoise which helps us to escape such consequences2--namely1 ,art1 as the good-will to illusion4 ,we do not always restrain our eyes from rounding off and perfecting in imagination3 and then it is no longer the eternal imperfection that we carry over the river of ,becoming--for we think we carry a goddess1 and are proud and artless in rendering this service4 ,as an sthetic phenomenon existence is still endurable to us2 and by ,art1 eye and hand and above all the good conscience are given to us1 to be able to make such a phenomenon out of ourselves4 ,we must rest from ourselves occasionally by contemplating and looking down upon ourselves1 and by laughing or weeping over ourselves from an artistic remoteness3 we must discover the hero1 and likewise the fool1 that is hidden in our passion for knowledge2 we must now and then be joyful in our folly1 that we may continue to be joyful in our wisdom6 ,and just because we are heavy and serious men in our ultimate depth1 and are rather weights than men1 there is nothing that does us so much good as the fool's cap and bells3 we need them in presence of ourselves--we need all arrogant1 soaring1 dancing1 mocking1 childish and blessed ,art1 in order not to lose the free dominion over things which our ideal demands of us4 ,it would be backsliding for us1 with our susceptible integrity1 to lapse entirely into morality1 and actually become virtuous monsters and scarecrows1 on account of the over-strict requirements which we here lay down for ourselves4 ,we ought also to be able to stand above morality1 and not only stand with the painful stiffness of one who every moment fears to slip and fall1 but we should also be able to soar and play above it6 ,how could we dispense with ,art for that purpose1 how could we dispense with the fool8--,and as long as you are still ashamed of yourselves in any way1 you still do not belong to us6 ----- ,footnote #h3 ,schiller's poem1 ,the ,veiled ,image of ,sais1 is again referred to here4--,,tr4 ,,book ,,third #ajh4 ,new ,struggles4--,after ,buddha was dead people showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a cave1--an immense frightful shadow4 ,god is dead3 but as the human race is constituted1 there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet1 in which people will show his shadow1--,and we--we have still to overcome his shadow6 #aji4 ,let us be on our ,guard4--,let us be on our guard against thinking that the world is a living being4 ,where could it extend itself8 ,what could it nourish itself with8 ,how could it grow and increase8 ,we know tolerably well what the organic is2 and we are to reinterpret the emphatically derivative1 tardy1 rare and accidental1 which we only perceive on the crust of the earth1 into the essential1 universal and eternal1 as those do who call the universe an organism8 ,that disgusts me4 ,let us now be on our guard against believing that the universe is a machine2 it is assuredly not constructed with a view to one end2 we invest it with far too high an honour with the word machine4 ,let us be on our guard against supposing that anything so methodical as the cyclic motions of our neighbouring stars obtains generally and throughout the universe2 indeed a glance at the ,milky ,way induces doubt as to whether there are not many cruder and more contradictory motions there1 and even stars with continuous1 rectilinearly gravitating orbits1 and the like4 ,the astral arrangement in which we live is an exception2 this arrangement1 and the relatively long durability which is determined by it1 has again made possible the exception of exceptions1 the formation of organic life4 ,the general character of the world1 on the other hand1 is to all eternity chaos2 not by the absence of necessity1 but in the sense of the absence of order1 structure1 form1 beauty1 wisdom1 and whatever else our sthetic humanities are called4 ,judged by our reason1 the unlucky casts are far oftenest the rule1 the exceptions are not the secret purpose2 and the whole musical box repeats eternally its air1 which can never be called a melody1--and finally the very expression1 unlucky cast is already an anthropomorphising which involves blame4 ,but how could we presume to blame or praise the universe6 ,let us be on our guard against ascribing to it heartlessness and unreason1 or their opposites2 it is neither perfect1 nor beautiful1 nor noble2 nor does it seek to be anything of the kind1 it does not at all attempt to imitate man6 ,it is altogether unaffected by our sthetic and moral judgments6 ,neither has it any self-preservative instinct1 nor instinct at all2 it also knows no law4 ,let us be on our guard against saying that there are laws in nature4 ,there are only necessities3 there is no one who commands1 no one who obeys1 no one who transgresses4 ,when you know that there is no design1 you know also that there is no chance3 for it is only where there is a world of design that the word chance has a meaning4 ,let us be on our guard against saying that death is contrary to life4 ,the living being is only a species of dead being1 and a very rare species4--,let us be on our guard against thinking that the world eternally creates the new4 ,there are no eternally enduring substances2 matter is just another such error as the ,god of the ,eleatics4 ,but when shall we be at an end with our foresight and precaution6 ,when will all these shadows of ,god cease to obscure us8 ,when shall we have nature entirely undeified6 ,when shall we be permitted to naturalise ourselves by means of the pure1 newly discovered1 newly redeemed nature8 #aaj4 ,origin of ,knowledge4--,throughout immense stretches of time the intellect has produced nothing but errors2 some of them proved to be useful and preservative of the species3 he who fell in with them1 or inherited them1 waged the battle for himself and his offspring with better success4 ,those erroneous articles of faith which were successively transmitted by inheritance1 and have finally become almost the property and stock of the human species1 are1 for example1 the following3--that there are enduring things1 that there are equal things1 that there are things1 substances1 and bodies1 that a thing is what it appears1 that our will is free1 that what is good for me is also good absolutely4 ,it was only very late that the deniers and doubters of such propositions came forward1--it was only very late that truth made its appearance as the most impotent form of knowledge4 ,it seemed as if it were impossible to get along with truth1 our organism was adapted for the very opposite2 all its higher functions1 the perceptions of the senses1 and in general every kind of sensation co-operated with those primevally embodied1 fundamental errors4 ,moreover1 those propositions became the very standards of knowledge according to which the true and the false were determined--throughout the whole domain of pure logic4 ,the strength of conceptions does not1 therefore1 depend on their degree of truth1 but on their antiquity1 their embodiment1 their character as conditions of life4 ,where life and knowledge seemed to conflict1 there has never been serious contention2 denial and doubt have there been regarded as madness4 ,the exceptional thinkers like the ,eleatics1 who1 in spite of this1 advanced and maintained the antitheses of the natural errors1 believed that it was possible also to live these counterparts3 it was they who devised the sage as the man of immutability1 impersonality and universality of intuition1 as one and all at the same time1 with a special faculty for that reverse kind of knowledge2 they were of the belief that their knowledge was at the same time the principle of life4 ,to be able to affirm all this1 however1 they had to deceive themselves concerning their own condition3 they had to attribute to themselves impersonality and unchanging permanence1 they had to mistake the nature of the philosophic individual1 deny the force of the impulses in cognition1 and conceive of reason generally as an entirely free and self-originating activity2 they kept their eyes shut to the fact that they also had reached their doctrines in contradiction to valid methods1 or through their longing for repose or for exclusive possession or for domination4 ,the subtler development of sincerity and of scepticism finally made these men impossible2 their life also and their judgments turned out to be dependent on the primeval impulses and fundamental errors of all sentient being4--,the subtler sincerity and scepticism arose whenever two antithetical maxims appeared to be applicable to life1 because both of them were compatible with the fundamental errors2 where1 therefore1 there could be contention concerning a higher or lower degree of utility for life2 and likewise where new maxims proved to be1 not in fact useful1 but at least not injurious1 as expressions of an intellectual impulse to play a game that was1 like all games1 innocent and happy4 ,the human brain was gradually filled with such judgments and convictions2 and in this tangled skein there arose ferment1 strife and lust for power4 ,not only utility and delight1 but every kind of impulse took part in the struggle for truths3 the intellectual struggle became a business1 an attraction1 a calling1 a duty1 an honour--3 cognizing and striving for the true finally arranged themselves as needs among other needs4 ,from that moment1 not only belief and conviction1 but also examination1 denial1 distrust and contradiction became forces2 all evil instincts were subordinated to knowledge1 were placed in its service1 and acquired the prestige of the permitted1 the honoured1 the useful1 and finally the appearance and innocence of the good4 ,knowledge1 thus became a portion of life itself1 and as life it became a continually growing power3 until finally the cognitions and those primeval1 fundamental1 errors clashed with each other1 both as life1 both as power1 both in the same man4 ,the thinker is now the being in whom the impulse to truth and those life-preserving errors wage their first conflict1 now that the impulse to truth has also proved itself to be a life-preserving power4 ,in comparison with the importance of this conflict everything else is indifferent2 the final question concerning the conditions of life is here raised1 and the first attempt is here made to answer it by experiment4 ,how far is truth susceptible of embodiment8--that is the question1 that is the experiment4 #aaa4 ,origin of the ,logical4--,where has logic originated in men's heads8 ,undoubtedly out of the illogical1 the domain of which must originally have been immense4 ,but numberless beings who reasoned otherwise than we do at present1 perished2 albeit that they may have come nearer to truth than we6 ,whoever1 for example1 could not discern the like often enough with regard to food1 and with regard to animals dangerous to him1 whoever1 therefore1 deduced too slowly1 or was too circumspect in his deductions1 had smaller probability of survival than he who in all similar things immediately divined the equality4 ,the preponderating inclination1 however1 to deal with the similar as the equal--an illogical inclination1 for there is nothing equal in itself--first created the whole basis of logic4 ,it was just so 7in order that the conception of substance might originate1 this being indispensable to logic1 although in the strictest sense nothing actual corresponds to it7 that for a long period the changing process in things had to be overlooked1 and remain unperceived2 the beings not seeing correctly had an advantage over those who saw everything in flux4 ,in itself every high degree of circumspection in conclusions1 every sceptical inclination1 is a great danger to life4 ,no living being would have been preserved unless the contrary inclination--to affirm rather than suspend judgment1 to mistake and fabricate rather than wait1 to assent rather than deny1 to decide rather than be in the right--had been cultivated with extraordinary assiduity4--,the course of logical thought and reasoning in our modern brain corresponds to a process and struggle of impulses1 which singly and in themselves are all very illogical and unjust2 we experience usually only the result of the struggle1 so rapidly and secretly does this primitive mechanism now operate in us4 #aab4 ,cause and ,effect4--,we say it is explanation2 but it is only in description that we are in advance of the older stages of knowledge and science4 ,we describe better1--we explain just as little as our predecessors4 ,we have discovered a manifold succession where the nave man and investigator of older cultures saw only two things1 cause and effect1 as it was said2 we have perfected the conception of becoming1 but have not got a knowledge of what is above and behind the conception4 ,the series of causes stands before us much more complete in every case2 we conclude that this and that must first precede in order that that other may follow--but we have not grasped anything thereby4 ,the peculiarity1 for example1 in every chemical process seems a miracle1 the same as before1 just like all locomotion2 nobody has explained impulse4 ,how could we ever explain6 ,we operate only with things which do not exist1 with lines1 surfaces1 bodies1 atoms1 divisible times1 divisible spaces--how can explanation ever be possible when we first make everything a conception1 our conception6 ,it is sufficient to regard science as the exactest humanising of things that is possible2 we always learn to describe ourselves more accurately by describing things and their successions4 ,cause and effect3 there is probably never any such duality2 in fact there is a continuum before us1 from which we isolate a few portions2--just as we always observe a motion as isolated points1 and therefore do not properly see it1 but infer it4 ,the abruptness with which many effects take place leads us into error2 it is however only an abruptness for us4 ,there is an infinite multitude of processes in that abrupt moment which escape us4 ,an intellect which could see cause and effect as a continuum1 which could see the flux of events not according to our mode of perception1 as things arbitrarily separated and broken--would throw aside the conception of cause and effect1 and would deny all conditionality4 #aac4 ,the ,theory of ,poisons4--,so many things have to be united in order that scientific thinking may arise1 and all the necessary powers must have been devised1 exercised1 and fostered singly6 ,in their isolation1 however1 they have very often had quite a different effect than at present1 when they are confined within the limits of scientific thinking and kept mutually in check3--they have operated as poisons2 for example1 the doubting impulse1 the denying impulse1 the waiting impulse1 the collecting impulse1 the disintegrating impulse4 ,many hecatombs of men were sacrificed ere these impulses learned to understand their juxtaposition and regard themselves as functions of one organising force in one man6 ,and how far are we still from the point at which the artistic powers and the practical wisdom of life shall co-operate with scientific thinking1 so that a higher organic system may be formed1 in relation to which the scholar1 the physician1 the artist1 and the lawgiver1 as we know them at present1 will seem sorry antiquities6 #aad4 ,the ,extent of the ,moral4--,we construct a new picture1 which we see immediately with the aid of all the old experiences which we have had1 always according to the degree of our honesty and justice4 ,the only events are moral events1 even in the domain of sense-perception4 #aae4 ,the ,four ,errors4--,man has been reared by his errors3 firstly1 he saw himself always imperfect2 secondly1 he attributed to himself imaginary qualities2 thirdly1 he felt himself in a false position in relation to the animals and nature2 fourthly1 he always devised new tables of values1 and accepted them for a time as eternal and unconditioned1 so that at one time this1 and at another time that human impulse or state stood first1 and was ennobled in consequence4 ,when one has deducted the effect of these four errors1 one has also deducted humanity1 humaneness1 and human dignity4 #aaf4 ,herd-,instinct4--,wherever we meet with a morality we find a valuation and order of rank of the human impulses and activities4 ,these valuations and orders of rank are always the expression of the needs of a community or herd3 that which is in the first place to its advantage--and in the second place and third place--is also the authoritative standard for the worth of every individual4 ,by morality the individual is taught to become a function of the herd1 and to ascribe to himself value only as a function4 ,as the conditions for the maintenance of one community have been very different from those of another community1 there have been very different moralities2 and in respect to the future essential transformations of herds and communities1 states and societies1 one can prophesy that there will still be very divergent moralities4 ,morality is the herd-instinct in the individual4 #aag4 ,the ,herd's ,sting of ,conscience4--,in the longest and remotest ages of the human race there was quite a different sting of conscience from that of the present day4 ,at present one only feels responsible for what one intends and for what one does1 and we have our pride in ourselves4 ,all our professors of jurisprudence start with this sentiment of individual independence and pleasure1 as if the source of right had taken its rise here from the beginning4 ,but throughout the longest period in the life of mankind there was nothing more terrible to a person than to feel himself independent4 ,to be alone1 to feel independent1 neither to obey nor to rule1 to represent an individual--that was no pleasure to a person then1 but a punishment2 he was condemned to be an individual4 ,freedom of thought was regarded as discomfort personified4 ,while we feel law and regulation as constraint and loss1 people formerly regarded egoism as a painful thing1 and a veritable evil4 ,for a person to be himself1 to value himself according to his own measure and weight--that was then quite distasteful4 ,the inclination to such a thing would have been regarded as madness2 for all miseries and terrors were associated with being alone4 ,at that time the free will had bad conscience in close proximity to it2 and the less independently a person acted1 the more the herd-instinct1 and not his personal character1 expressed itself in his conduct1 so much the more moral did he esteem himself4 ,all that did injury to the herd1 whether the individual had intended it or not1 then caused him a sting of conscience--and his neighbour likewise1 indeed the whole herd6--,it is in this respect that we have most changed our mode of thinking4 #aah4 ,benevolence4--,is it virtuous when a cell transforms itself into the function of a stronger cell8 ,it must do so4 ,and is it wicked when the stronger one assimilates the other8 ,it must do so likewise3 it is necessary1 for it has to have abundant indemnity and seeks to regenerate itself4 ,one has therefore to distinguish the instinct of appropriation1 and the instinct of submission1 in benevolence1 according as the stronger or the weaker feels benevolent4 ,gladness and covetousness are united in the stronger person1 who wants to transform something to his function3 gladness and desire-to-be-coveted in the weaker person1 who would like to become a function4--,the former case is essentially pity1 a pleasant excitation of the instinct of appropriation at the sight of the weaker3 it is to be remembered1 however1 that strong and weak are relative conceptions4 #aai4 ,no ,altruism6--,i see in many men an excessive impulse and delight in wanting to be a function2 they strive after it1 and have the keenest scent for all those positions in which precisely they themselves can be functions4 ,among such persons are those women who transform themselves into just that function of a man that is but weakly developed in him1 and then become his purse1 or his politics1 or his social intercourse4 ,such beings maintain themselves best when they insert themselves in an alien organism2 if they do not succeed they become vexed1 irritated1 and eat themselves up4 #abj4 ,health of the ,soul4--,the favourite medico-moral formula 7whose originator was ,ariston of ,chios71 ,virtue is the health of the soul1 would1 at least in order to be used1 have to be altered to this3 ,thy virtue is the health of thy soul4 ,for there is no such thing as health in itself1 and all attempts to define a thing in that way have lamentably failed4 ,it is necessary to know thy aim1 thy horizon1 thy powers1 thy impulses1 thy errors1 and especially the ideals and fantasies of thy soul1 in order to determine what health implies even for thy body4 ,there are consequently innumerable kinds of physical health2 and the more one again permits the unique and unparalleled to raise its head1 the more one unlearns the dogma of the ,equality of men1 so much the more also must the conception of a normal health1 together with a normal diet and a normal course of disease1 be abrogated by our physicians4 ,and then only would it be time to turn our thoughts to the health and disease of the soul and make the special virtue of everyone consist in its health2 but1 to be sure1 what appeared as health in one person might appear as the contrary of health in another4 ,in the end the great question might still remain open3 whether we could do without sickness1 even for the development of our virtue1 and whether our thirst for knowledge and self-knowledge would not especially need the sickly soul as well as the sound one2 in short1 whether the mere will to health is not a prejudice1 a cowardice1 and perhaps an instance of the subtlest barbarism and unprogressiveness4 #aba4 ,life no ,argument4--,we have arranged for ourselves a world in which we can live--by the postulating of bodies1 lines1 surfaces1 causes and effects1 motion and rest1 form and content3 without these articles of faith no one could manage to live at present6 ,but for all that they are still unproved4 ,life is no argument2 error might be among the conditions of life4 #abb4 ,the ,element of ,moral ,scepticism in ,christianity4--,christianity also has made a great contribution to enlightenment1 and has taught moral scepticism in a very impressive and effective manner--accusing and embittering1 but with untiring patience and subtlety2 it annihilated in every individual the belief in his virtues3 it made the great virtuous ones1 of whom antiquity had no lack1 vanish for ever from the earth1 those popular men1 who1 in the belief in their perfection1 walked about with the dignity of a hero of the bull-fight4 ,when1 trained in this ,christian school of scepticism1 we now read the moral books of the ancients1 for example those of ,seneca and ,epictetus1 we feel a pleasurable superiority1 and are full of secret insight and penetration1--it seems to us as if a child talked before an old man1 or a pretty1 gushing girl before ,la ,rochefoucauld3--we know better what virtue is6 ,after all1 however1 we have applied the same scepticism to all religious states and processes1 such as sin1 repentance1 grace1 sanctification1 c41 and have allowed the worm to burrow so well1 that we have now the same feeling of subtle superiority and insight even in reading all ,christian books3--we know also the religious feelings better6 ,and it is time to know them well and describe them well1 for the pious ones of the old belief die out also2 let us save their likeness and type1 at least for the sake of knowledge4 #abc4 ,knowledge more than a ,means4--,also without this passion--,i refer to the passion for knowledge--science would be furthered3 science has hitherto increased and grown up without it4 ,the good faith in science1 the prejudice in its favour1 by which ,states are at present dominated 7it was even the ,church formerly71 rests fundamentally on the fact that the absolute inclination and impulse has so rarely revealed itself in it1 and that science is regarded not as a passion1 but as a condition and an ethos4 ,indeed1 amour-plaisir of knowledge 7curiosity7 often enough suffices1 amour-vanit suffices1 and habituation to it1 with the afterthought of obtaining honour and bread2 it even suffices for many that they do not know what to do with a surplus of leisure1 except to continue reading1 collecting1 arranging1 observing and narrating2 their scientific impulse is their ennui4 ,pope ,leo ,x4 once 7in the brief to ,beroaldus7 sang the praise of science2 he designated it as the finest ornament and the greatest pride of our life1 a noble employment in happiness and in misfortune2 without it1 he says finally1 all human undertakings would be without a firm basis1--even with it they are still sufficiently mutable and insecure6 ,but this rather sceptical ,pope1 like all other ecclesiastical panegyrists of science1 suppressed his ultimate judgment concerning it4 ,if one may deduce from his words what is remarkable enough for such a lover of art1 that he places science above art1 it is after all1 however1 only from politeness that he omits to speak of that which he places high above all science3 the revealed truth1 and the eternal salvation of the soul1--what are ornament1 pride1 entertainment and security of life to him1 in comparison thereto8 ,science is something of secondary rank1 nothing ultimate or unconditioned1 no object of passion--this judgment was kept back in ,leo's soul3 the truly ,christian judgment concerning science6 ,in antiquity its dignity and appreciation were lessened by the fact that1 even among its most eager disciples1 the striving after virtue stood foremost1 and that people thought they had given the highest praise to knowledge when they celebrated it as the best means to virtue4 ,it is something new in history that knowledge claims to be more than a means4 #abd4 ,in the ,horizon of the ,infinite4--,we have left the land and have gone aboard ship6 ,we have broken down the bridge behind us1--nay1 more1 the land behind us6 ,well1 little ship6 look out6 ,beside thee is the ocean2 it is true it does not always roar1 and sometimes it spreads out like silk and gold and a gentle reverie4 ,but times will come when thou wilt feel that it is infinite1 and that there is nothing more frightful than infinity4 ,oh1 the poor bird that felt itself free1 and now strikes against the walls of this cage6 ,alas1 if homesickness for the land should attack thee1 as if there had been more freedom there1--and there is no land any longer6 #abe4 ,the ,madman4--,have you ever heard of the madman who on a bright morning lighted a lantern and ran to the market-place calling out unceasingly3 ,i seek ,god6 ,i seek ,god6--,as there were many people standing about who did not believe in ,god1 he caused a great deal of amusement4 ,why6 is he lost8 said one4 ,has he strayed away like a child8 said another4 ,or does he keep himself hidden8 ,is he afraid of us8 ,has he taken a sea-voyage8 ,has he emigrated8--the people cried out laughingly1 all in a hubbub4 ,the insane man jumped into their midst and transfixed them with his glances4 ,where is ,god gone8 he called out4 ,i mean to tell you6 ,we have killed him1--you and ,i6 ,we are all his murderers6 ,but how have we done it8 ,how were we able to drink up the sea8 ,who gave us the sponge to wipe away the whole horizon8 ,what did we do when we loosened this earth from its sun8 ,whither does it now move8 ,whither do we move8 ,away from all suns8 ,do we not dash on unceasingly8 ,backwards1 sideways1 forwards1 in all directions8 ,is there still an above and below8 ,do we not stray1 as through infinite nothingness8 ,does not empty space breathe upon us8 ,has it not become colder8 ,does not night come on continually1 darker and darker8 ,shall we not have to light lanterns in the morning8 ,do we not hear the noise of the grave-diggers who are burying ,god8 ,do we not smell the divine putrefaction8--for even ,gods putrefy6 ,god is dead6 ,god remains dead6 ,and we have killed him6 ,how shall we console ourselves1 the most murderous of all murderers8 ,the holiest and the mightiest that the world has hitherto possessed1 has bled to death under our knife1--who will wipe the blood from us8 ,with what water could we cleanse ourselves8 ,what lustrums1 what sacred games shall we have to devise8 ,is not the magnitude of this deed too great for us8 ,shall we not ourselves have to become ,gods1 merely to seem worthy of it8 ,there never was a greater event1--and on account of it1 all who are born after us belong to a higher history than any history hitherto6--,here the madman was silent and looked again at his hearers2 they also were silent and looked at him in surprise4 ,at last he threw his lantern on the ground1 so that it broke in pieces and was extinguished4 ,i come too early1 he then said1 ,i am not yet at the right time4 ,this prodigious event is still on its way1 and is travelling1--it has not yet reached men's ears4 ,lightning and thunder need time1 the light of the stars needs time1 deeds need time1 even after they are done1 to be seen and heard4 ,this deed is as yet further from them than the furthest star1--and yet they have done it6--,it is further stated that the madman made his way into different churches on the same day1 and there intoned his ,requiem aeternam deo4 ,when led out and called to account1 he always gave the reply3 ,what are these churches now1 if they are not the tombs and monuments of ,god8-- #abf4 ,mystical ,explanations4--,mystical explanations are regarded as profound2 the truth is that they do not even go the length of being superficial4 #abg4 ,after-,effect of the most ,ancient ,religiousness4--,the thoughtless man thinks that the ,will is the only thing that operates1 that willing is something simple1 manifestly given1 underived1 and comprehensible in itself4 ,he is convinced that when he does anything1 for example1 when he delivers a blow1 it is he who strikes1 and he has struck because he willed to strike4 ,he does not notice anything of a problem therein1 but the feeling of willing suffices to him1 not only for the acceptance of cause and effect1 but also for the belief that he understands their relationship4 ,of the mechanism of the occurrence and of the manifold subtle operations that must be performed in order that the blow may result1 and likewise of the incapacity of the ,will in itself to effect even the smallest part of those operations--he knows nothing4 ,the ,will is to him a magically operating force2 the belief in the ,will as the cause of effects is the belief in magically operating forces4 ,in fact1 whenever he saw anything happen1 man originally believed in a ,will as cause1 and in personally willing beings operating in the background1--the conception of mechanism was very remote from him4 ,because1 however1 man for immense periods of time believed only in persons 7and not in matter1 forces1 things1 c471 the belief in cause and effect has become a fundamental belief with him1 which he applies everywhere when anything happens1--and even still uses instinctively as a piece of atavism of remotest origin4 ,the propositions1 ,no effect without a cause1 and ,every effect again implies a cause1 appear as generalisations of several less general propositions3--,where there is operation there has been willing1 ,operating is only possible on willing beings4 ,there is never a pure1 resultless experience of activity1 but every experience involves stimulation of the ,will 7to activity1 defence1 revenge or retaliation74 ,but in the primitive period of the human race1 the latter and the former propositions were identical1 the first were not generalisations of the second1 but the second were explanations of the first4--,schopenhauer1 with his assumption that all that exists is something volitional1 has set a primitive mythology on the throne2 he seems never to have attempted an analysis of the ,will1 because he believed like everybody in the simplicity and immediateness of all volition3--while volition is in fact such a cleverly practised mechanical process that it almost escapes the observing eye4 ,i set the following propositions against those of ,schopenhauer3--,firstly1 in order that ,will may arise1 an idea of pleasure and pain is necessary4 ,secondly1 that a vigorous excitation may be felt as pleasure or pain1 is the affair of the interpreting intellect1 which1 to be sure1 operates thereby for the most part unconsciously to us1 and one and the same excitation may be interpreted as pleasure or pain4 ,thirdly1 it is only in an intellectual being that there is pleasure1 displeasure and ,will2 the immense majority of organisms have nothing of the kind4 #abh4 ,the ,value of ,prayer4--,prayer has been devised for such men as have never any thoughts of their own1 and to whom an elevation of the soul is unknown1 or passes unnoticed2 what shall these people do in holy places and in all important situations in life which require repose and some kind of dignity8 ,in order at least that they may not disturb1 the wisdom of all the founders of religions1 the small as well as the great1 has commended to them the formula of prayer1 as a long mechanical labour of the lips1 united with an effort of the memory1 and with a uniform1 prescribed attitude of hands and feet--and eyes6 ,they may then1 like the ,tibetans1 chew the cud of their om mane padme hum1 innumerable times1 or1 as in ,benares1 count the name of ,god ,ram-,ram-,ram 7and so on1 with or without grace7 on their fingers2 or honour ,vishnu with his thousand names of invocation1 ,allah with his ninety-nine2 or they may make use of the prayer-wheels and the rosary3 the main thing is that they are settled down for a time at this work1 and present a tolerable appearance2 their mode of prayer is devised for the advantage of the pious who have thought and elevation of their own4 ,but even these have their weary hours when a series of venerable words and sounds and a mechanical1 pious ritual does them good4 ,but supposing that these rare men--in every religion the religious man is an exception--know how to help themselves1 the poor in spirit do not know1 and to forbid them the prayer-babbling would mean to take their religion from them1 a fact which ,protestantism brings more and more to light4 ,all that religion wants with such persons is that they should keep still with their eyes1 hands1 legs1 and all their organs3 they thereby become temporarily beautified and--more human-looking6 #abi4 ,the ,conditions for ,god4--,god himself cannot subsist without wise men1 said ,luther1 and with good reason2 but ,god can still less subsist without unwise men1--good ,luther did not say that6 #acj4 ,a ,dangerous ,resolution4--,the ,christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad4 #aca4 ,christianity and ,suicide4--,christianity made use of the excessive longing for suicide at the time of its origin as a lever for its power3 it left only two forms of suicide1 invested them with the highest dignity and the highest hopes1 and forbade all others in a dreadful manner4 ,but martyrdom and the slow self-annihilation of the ascetic were permitted4 #acb4 ,against ,christianity4--,it is now no longer our reason1 but our taste that decides against ,christianity4 #acc4 ,axioms4--,an unavoidable hypothesis on which mankind must always fall back again1 is1 in the long run1 more powerful than the most firmly believed belief in something untrue 7like the ,christian belief74 ,in the long run3 that means a hundred thousand years from now4 #acd4 ,pessimists as ,victims4--,when a profound dislike of existence gets the upper hand1 the after-effect of a great error in diet of which a people has been long guilty comes to light4 ,the spread of ,buddhism 7not its origin7 is thus to a considerable extent dependent on the excessive and almost exclusive rice-fare of the ,indians1 and on the universal enervation that results therefrom4 ,perhaps the modern1 ,european discontentedness is to be looked upon as caused by the fact that the world of our forefathers1 the whole ,middle ,ages1 was given to drink1 owing to the influence of ,german tastes in ,europe3 the ,middle ,ages1 that means the alcoholic poisoning of ,europe4--,the ,german dislike of life 7including the influence of the cellar-air and stove-poison in ,german dwellings71 is essentially a cold-weather complaint4 #ace4 ,origin of ,sin4--,sin1 as it is at present felt wherever ,christianity prevails or has prevailed1 is a ,jewish feeling and a ,jewish invention2 and in respect to this background of all ,christian morality1 ,christianity has in fact aimed at ,judaising the whole world4 ,to what an extent this has succeeded in ,europe is traced most accurately in the extent of our alienness to ,greek antiquity--a world without the feeling of sin--in our sentiments even at present2 in spite of all the good will to approximation and assimilation1 which whole generations and many distinguished individuals have not failed to display4 ,only when thou repentest is ,god gracious to thee--that would arouse the laughter or the wrath of a ,greek3 he would say1 ,slaves may have such sentiments4 ,here a mighty being1 an almighty being1 and yet a revengeful being1 is presupposed2 his power is so great that no injury whatever can be done to him1 except in the point of honour4 ,every sin is an infringement of respect1 a crimen ls majestatis divin--and nothing more6 ,contrition1 degradation1 rolling-in-the-dust1--these are the first and last conditions on which his favour depends3 the restoration1 therefore1 of his divine honour6 ,if injury be caused otherwise by sin1 if a profound1 spreading evil be propagated by it1 an evil which1 like a disease1 attacks and strangles one man after another--that does not trouble this honour-craving ,oriental in heaven2 sin is an offence against him1 not against mankind6--to him on whom he has bestowed his favour he bestows also this indifference to the natural consequences of sin4 ,god and mankind are here thought of as separated1 as so antithetical that sin against the latter cannot be at all possible1--all deeds are to be looked upon solely with respect to their supernatural consequences1 and not with respect to their natural results3 it is thus that the ,jewish feeling1 to which all that is natural seems unworthy in itself1 would have things4 ,the ,greeks1 on the other hand1 were more familiar with the thought that transgression also may have dignity1--even theft1 as in the case of ,prometheus1 even the slaughtering of cattle as the expression of frantic jealousy1 as in the case of ,ajax2 in their need to attribute dignity to transgression and embody it therein1 they invented tragedy1--an art and a delight1 which in its profoundest essence has remained alien to the ,jew1 in spite of all his poetic endowment and taste for the sublime4 #acf4 ,the ,chosen ,people4--,the ,jews1 who regard themselves as the chosen people among the nations1 and that too because they are the moral genius among the nations 7in virtue of their capacity for despising the human in themselves more than any other people7--the ,jews have a pleasure in their divine monarch and saint similar to that which the ,french nobility had in ,louis ,,xiv4 ,this nobility had allowed its power and autocracy to be taken from it1 and had become contemptible3 in order not to feel this1 in order to be able to forget it1 an unequalled royal magnificence1 royal authority and plenitude of power was needed1 to which there was access only for the nobility4 ,as in accordance with this privilege they raised themselves to the elevation of the court1 and from that elevation saw everything under them1--saw everything contemptible1--they got beyond all uneasiness of conscience4 ,they thus elevated intentionally the tower of the royal power more and more into the clouds1 and set the final coping-stone of their own power thereon4 #acg4 ,spoken in ,parable4--,a ,jesus ,christ was only possible in a ,jewish landscape--,i mean in one over which the gloomy and sublime thunder-cloud of the angry ,jehovah hung continually4 ,here only was the rare1 sudden flashing of a single sunbeam through the dreadful1 universal and continuous nocturnal-day regarded as a miracle of love1 as a beam of the most unmerited grace4 ,here only could ,christ dream of his rainbow and celestial ladder on which ,god descended to man2 everywhere else the clear weather and the sun were considered the rule and the commonplace4 #ach4 ,the ,error of ,christ4--,the founder of ,christianity thought there was nothing from which men suffered so much as from their sins3--it was his error1 the error of him who felt himself without sin1 to whom experience was lacking in this respect6 ,it was thus that his soul filled with that marvellous1 fantastic pity which had reference to a trouble that even among his own people1 the inventors of sin1 was rarely a great trouble6 ,but ,christians understood subsequently how to do justice to their master1 and to sanctify his error into a truth4 #aci4 ,colour of the ,passions4--,natures such as the apostle ,paul1 have an evil eye for the passions2 they learn to know only the filthy1 the distorting1 and the heart-breaking in them1--their ideal aim1 therefore1 is the annihilation of the passions2 in the divine they see complete purification from passion4 ,the ,greeks1 quite otherwise than ,paul and the ,jews1 directed their ideal aim precisely to the passions1 and loved1 elevated1 embellished and deified them3 in passion they evidently not only felt themselves happier1 but also purer and diviner than otherwise4--,and now the ,christians8 ,have they wished to become ,jews in this respect8 ,have they perhaps become ,jews6 #adj4 ,too ,jewish4--,if ,god had wanted to become an object of love1 he would first of all have had to forgo judging and justice3--a judge1 and even a gracious judge1 is no object of love4 ,the founder of ,christianity showed too little of the finer feelings in this respect--being a ,jew4 #ada4 ,too ,oriental4--,what8 ,a ,god who loves men1 provided that they believe in him1 and who hurls frightful glances and threatenings at him who does not believe in this love6 ,what8 ,a conditioned love as the feeling of an almighty ,god6 ,a love which has not even become master of the sentiment of honour and of the irritable desire for vengeance6 ,how ,oriental is all that6 ,if ,i love thee1 what does it concern thee8#i is already a sufficient criticism of the whole of ,christianity4 #adb4 ,frankincense4--,buddha says3 ,do not flatter thy benefactor6 ,let one repeat this saying in a ,christian church3--it immediately purifies the air of all ,christianity4 #adc4 ,the ,greatest ,utility of ,polytheism4--,for the individual to set up his own ideal and derive from it his laws1 his pleasures and his rights--that has perhaps been hitherto regarded as the most monstrous of all human aberrations1 and as idolatry in itself2 in fact1 the few who have ventured to do this have always needed to apologise to themselves1 usually in this wise3 ,not ,i6 not ,i6 but a ,god1 through my instrumentality6 ,it was in the marvellous art and capacity for creating ,gods--in polytheism--that this impulse was permitted to discharge itself1 it was here that it became purified1 perfected1 and ennobled2 for it was originally a commonplace and unimportant impulse1 akin to stubbornness1 disobedience and envy4 ,to be hostile to this impulse towards the individual ideal1--that was formerly the law of every morality4 ,there was then only one norm1 the man--and every people believed that it had this one and ultimate norm4 ,but above himself1 and outside of himself1 in a distant over-world1 a person could see a multitude of norms3 the one ,god was not the denial or blasphemy of the other ,gods6 ,it was here that individuals were first permitted1 it was here that the right of individuals was first respected4 ,the inventing of ,gods1 heroes and supermen of all kinds1 as well as co-ordinate men and undermen--dwarfs1 fairies1 centaurs1 satyrs1 demons1 devils--was the inestimable preliminary to the justification of the selfishness and sovereignty of the individual3 the freedom which was granted to one ,god in respect to other ,gods1 was at last given to the individual himself in respect to laws1 customs and neighbours4 ,monotheism1 on the contrary1 the rigid consequence of the doctrine of one normal human being--consequently the belief in a normal ,god1 beside whom there are only false1 spurious ,gods--has perhaps been the greatest danger of mankind in the past3 man was then threatened by that premature state of inertia1 which1 so far as we can see1 most of the other species of animals reached long ago1 as creatures who all believe in one normal animal and ideal in their species1 and definitely translated their morality of custom into flesh and blood4 ,in polytheism man's free-thinking and many-sided thinking had a prototype set up3 the power to create for himself new and individual eyes1 always newer and more individualised3 so that it is for man alone1 of all the animals1 that there are no eternal horizons and perspectives4 #add4 ,religious ,wars4--,the greatest advance of the masses hitherto has been religious war1 for it proves that the masses have begun to deal reverently with conceptions of things4 ,religious wars only result1 when human reason generally has been refined by the subtle disputes of sects2 so that even the populace becomes punctilious and regards trifles as important1 actually thinking it possible that the eternal salvation of the soul may depend upon minute distinctions of concepts4 #ade4 ,danger of ,vegetarians4--,the immense prevalence of rice-eating impels to the use of opium and narcotics1 in like manner as the immense prevalence of potato-eating impels to the use of brandy3--it also impels1 however1 in its more subtle after-effects to modes of thought and feeling which operate narcotically4 ,this is in accord with the fact that those who promote narcotic modes of thought and feeling1 like those ,indian teachers1 praise a purely vegetable diet1 and would like to make it a law for the masses3 they want thereby to call forth and augment the need which they are in a position to satisfy4 #adf4 ,german ,hopes4--,do not let us forget that the names of peoples are generally names of reproach4 ,the ,tartars1 for example1 according to their name1 are the dogs2 they were so christened by the ,chinese4 ,deutschen 7,germans7 means originally heathen3 it is thus that the ,goths after their conversion named the great mass of their unbaptized fellow-tribes1 according to the indication in their translation of the ,septuagint1 in which the heathen are designated by the word which in ,greek signifies the nations4 7,see ,ulfilas47--,it might still be possible for the ,germans to make an honourable name ultimately out of their old name of reproach1 by becoming the first non-,christian nation of ,europe2 for which purpose ,schopenhauer1 to their honour1 regarded them as highly qualified4 ,the work of ,luther would thus be consummated1--he who taught them to be anti-,roman and to say3 ,here ,i stand6 ,i cannot do otherwise6-- #adg4 ,question and ,answer4--,what do savage tribes at present accept first of all from ,europeans8 ,brandy and ,christianity1 the ,european narcotics4--,and by what means are they fastest ruined8--,by the ,european narcotics4 #adh4 ,where ,reformations ,originate4--,at the time of the great corruption of the church it was least of all corrupt in ,germany3 it was on that account that the ,reformation originated here1 as a sign that even the beginnings of corruption were felt to be unendurable4 ,for1 comparatively speaking1 no people was ever more ,christian than the ,germans at the time of ,luther2 their ,christian culture was just about to burst into bloom with a hundred-fold splendour1--one night only was still lacking2 but that night brought the storm which put an end to all4 #adi4 ,the ,failure of ,reformations4--,it testifies to the higher culture of the ,greeks1 even in rather early ages1 that attempts to establish new ,grecian religions frequently failed2 it testifies that quite early there must have been a multitude of dissimilar individuals in ,greece1 whose dissimilar troubles were not cured by a single recipe of faith and hope4 ,pythagoras and ,plato1 perhaps also ,empedocles1 and already much earlier the ,orphic enthusiasts1 aimed at founding new religions2 and the two first-named were so endowed with the qualifications for founding religions1 that one cannot be sufficiently astonished at their failure3 they just reached the point of founding sects4 ,every time that the ,reformation of an entire people fails and only sects raise their heads1 one may conclude that the people already contains many types1 and has begun to free itself from the gross herding instincts and the morality of custom1--a momentous state of suspense1 which one is accustomed to disparage as decay of morals and corruption1 while it announces the maturing of the egg and the early rupture of the shell4 ,that ,luther's ,reformation succeeded in the north1 is a sign that the north had remained backward in comparison with the south of ,europe1 and still had requirements tolerably uniform in colour and kind2 and there would have been no ,christianising of ,europe at all1 if the culture of the old world of the south had not been gradually barbarized by an excessive admixture of the blood of ,german barbarians1 and thus lost its ascendency4 ,the more universally and unconditionally an individual1 or the thought of an individual1 can operate1 so much more homogeneous and so much lower must be the mass that is there operated upon2 while counter-strivings betray internal counter-requirements1 which also want to gratify and realise themselves4 ,reversely1 one may always conclude with regard to an actual elevation of culture1 when powerful and ambitious natures only produce a limited and sectarian effect3 this is true also for the separate arts1 and for the provinces of knowledge4 ,where there is ruling there are masses3 where there are masses there is need of slavery4 ,where there is slavery the individuals are but few1 and have the instincts and conscience of the herd opposed to them4 #aej4 ,criticism of ,saints4--,must one then1 in order to have a virtue1 be desirous of having it precisely in its most brutal form8--as the ,christian saints desired and needed2--those who only endured life with the thought that at the sight of their virtue self-contempt might seize every man4 ,a virtue with such an effect ,i call brutal4 #aea4 ,the ,origin of ,religion4--,the metaphysical requirement is not the origin of religions1 as ,schopenhauer claims1 but only a later sprout from them4 ,under the dominance of religious thoughts we have accustomed ourselves to the idea of another 7back1 under1 or upper7 world1 and feel an uncomfortable void and privation through the annihilation of the religious illusion2--and then another world grows out of this feeling once more1 but now it is only a metaphysical world1 and no longer a religious one4 ,that however which in general led to the assumption of another world in primitive times1 was not an impulse or requirement1 but an error in the interpretation of certain natural phenomena1 a difficulty of the intellect4 #aeb4 ,the greatest ,change4--,the lustre and the hues of all things have changed6 ,we no longer quite understand how earlier men conceived of the most familiar and frequent things1--for example1 of the day1 and the awakening in the morning3 owing to their belief in dreams the waking state seemed to them differently illuminated4 ,and similarly of the whole of life1 with its reflection of death and its significance3 our death is an entirely different death4 ,all events were of a different lustre1 for a ,god shone forth in them2 and similarly of all resolutions and peeps into the distant future3 for people had oracles1 and secret hints1 and believed in prognostication4 ,truth was conceived in quite a different manner1 for the insane could formerly be regarded as its mouthpiece--a thing which makes us shudder1 or laugh4 ,injustice made a different impression on the feelings3 for people were afraid of divine retribution1 and not only of legal punishment and disgrace4 ,what joy was there in an age when men believed in the devil and tempter6 ,what passion was there when people saw demons lurking close at hand6 ,what philosophy was there when doubt was regarded as sinfulness of the most dangerous kind1 and in fact as an outrage on eternal love1 as distrust of everything good1 high1 pure1 and compassionate6--,we have coloured things anew1 we paint them over continually1--but what have we been able to do hitherto in comparison with the splendid colouring of that old master6--,i mean ancient humanity4 #aec4 ,homo poeta4--,i myself who have made this tragedy of tragedies altogether independently1 in so far as it is completed2 ,i who have first entwined the perplexities of morality about existence1 and have tightened them so that only a ,god could unravel them--so ,horace demands6--,i have already in the fourth act killed all the ,gods--for the sake of morality6 ,what is now to be done about the fifth act8 ,where shall ,i get the tragic dnouement6 ,must ,i now think about a comic dnouement8 #aed4 ,differences in the ,dangerousness of ,life4--,you don't know at all what you experience2 you run through life as if intoxicated1 and now and then fall down a stair4 ,thanks however to your intoxication you still do not break your limbs3 your muscles are too languid and your head too confused to find the stones of the staircase as hard as we others do6 ,for us life is a greater danger3 we are made of glass--alas1 if we should strike against anything6 ,and all is lost if we should fall6 #aee4 ,what we ,lack4--,we love the grandeur of ,nature and have discovered it2 that is because human grandeur is lacking in our minds4 ,it was the reverse with the ,greeks3 their feeling towards ,nature was quite different from ours4 #aef4 ,the most ,influential ,person4--,the fact that a person resists the whole spirit of his age1 stops it at the door1 and calls it to account1 must exert an influence6 ,it is indifferent whether he wishes to exert an influence2 the point is that he can4 #aeg4 ,mentiri4--,take care6--he reflects3 he will have a lie ready immediately4 ,this is a stage in the civilisation of whole nations4 ,consider only what the ,romans expressed by mentiri6 #aeh4 ,an ,inconvenient ,peculiarity4--,to find everything deep is an inconvenient peculiarity3 it makes one constantly strain one's eyes1 so that in the end one always finds more than one wishes4 #aei4 ,every ,virtue has its ,time4--,the honesty of him who is at present inflexible often causes him remorse2 for inflexibility is the virtue of a time different from that in which honesty prevails4 #afj4 ,in ,intercourse with ,virtues4--,one can also be undignified and flattering towards a virtue4 #afa4 ,to the ,admirers of the ,age4--,the runaway priest and the liberated criminal are continually making grimaces2 what they want is a look without a past4--,but have you ever seen men who know that their looks reflect the future1 and who are so courteous to you1 the admirers of the age1 that they assume a look without a future4 #afb4 ,egoism4--,egoism is the perspective law of our sentiment1 according to which the near appears large and momentous1 while in the distance the magnitude and importance of all things diminish4 #afc4 ,after a ,great ,victory4--,the best thing in a great victory is that it deprives the conqueror of the fear of defeat4 ,why should ,i not be worsted for once8 he says to himself1 ,i am now rich enough to stand it4 #afd4 ,those who ,seek ,repose4--,i recognise the minds that seek repose by the many dark objects with which they surround themselves3 those who want to sleep darken their chambers1 or creep into caverns4 ,a hint to those who do not know what they really seek most1 and would like to know6 #afe4 ,the ,happiness of ,renunciation4--,he who has absolutely dispensed with something for a long time will almost imagine1 when he accidentally meets with it again1 that he has discovered it1--and what happiness every discoverer has6 ,let us be wiser than the serpents that lie too long in the same sunshine4 #aff4 ,always in our own ,society4--,all that is akin to me in nature and history speaks to me1 praises me1 urges me forward and comforts me--3 other things are unheard by me1 or immediately forgotten4 ,we are only in our own society always4 #afg4 ,misanthropy and ,philanthropy4--,we only speak about being sick of men when we can no longer digest them1 and yet have the stomach full of them4 ,misanthropy is the result of a far too eager philanthropy and cannibalism1--but who ever bade you swallow men like oysters1 my ,prince ,hamlet6 #afh4 ,concerning an ,invalid4--,things go badly with him6--,what is wrong8--,he suffers from the longing to be praised1 and finds no sustenance for it4--,inconceivable6 ,all the world does honour to him1 and he is reverenced not only in deed but in word6--,certainly1 but he is dull of hearing for the praise4 ,when a friend praises him it sounds to him as if the friend praised himself2 when an enemy praises him1 it sounds to him as if the enemy wanted to be praised for it2 when1 finally1 some one else praises him--there are by no means so many of these1 he is so famous6--he is offended because they neither want him for a friend nor for an enemy2 he is accustomed to say3 ',what do ,i care for those who can still pose as the all-righteous towards me6' #afi4 ,avowed ,enemies4--,bravery in presence of an enemy is a thing by itself3 a person may possess it and still be a coward and an irresolute numskull4 ,that was ,napoleon's opinion concerning the bravest man he knew1 ,murat3--whence it follows that avowed enemies are indispensable to some men1 if they are to attain to their virtue1 to their manliness1 to their cheerfulness4 #agj4 ,with the ,multitude4--,he has hitherto gone with the multitude and is its panegyrist2 but one day he will be its opponent6 ,for he follows it in the belief that his laziness will find its advantage thereby2 he has not yet learned that the multitude is not lazy enough for him6 that it always presses forward6 that it does not allow any one to stand still6--,and he likes so well to stand still6 #aga4 ,fame4--,when the gratitude of many to one casts aside all shame1 then fame originates4 #agb4 ,the ,perverter of ,taste4--,a3 ,you are a perverter of taste--they say so everywhere6 ,b3 ,certainly6 ,i pervert every one's taste for his party3--no party forgives me for that4 #agc4 ,to be ,profound and to ,appear ,profound4--,he who knows that he is profound strives for clearness2 he who would like to appear profound to the multitude strives for obscurity4 ,the multitude thinks everything profound of which it cannot see the bottom2 it is so timid and goes so unwillingly into the water4 #agd4 ,apart4--,parliamentarism1 that is to say1 the public permission to choose between five main political opinions1 insinuates itself into the favour of the numerous class who would fain appear independent and individual1 and like to fight for their opinions4 ,after all1 however1 it is a matter of indifference whether one opinion is imposed upon the herd1 or five opinions are permitted to it4--,he who diverges from the five public opinions and goes apart1 has always the whole herd against him4 #age4 ,concerning ,eloquence4--,what has hitherto had the most convincing eloquence8 ,the rolling of the drum3 and as long as kings have this at their command1 they will always be the best orators and popular leaders4 #agf4 ,compassion4--,the poor1 ruling princes6 ,all their rights now change unexpectedly into claims1 and all these claims immediately sound like pretensions6 ,and if they but say we1 or my people1 wicked old ,europe begins laughing4 ,verily1 a chief-master-of-ceremonies of the modern world would make little ceremony with them2 perhaps he would decree that les souverains rangent aux parvenus4 #agg4 ,on ,educational ,matters4--,in ,germany an important educational means is lacking for higher men2 namely1 the laughter of higher men2 these men do not laugh in ,germany4 #agh4 ,for ,moral ,enlightenment4--,the ,germans must be talked out of their ,mephistopheles--and out of their ,faust also4 ,these are two moral prejudices against the value of knowledge4 #agi4 ,thoughts4--,thoughts are the shadows of our sentiments--always1 however1 obscurer1 emptier1 and simpler4 #ahj4 ,the ,good ,time for ,free ,spirits4--,free ,spirits take liberties even with regard to ,science--and meanwhile they are allowed to do so1--while the ,church still remains6--,in so far they have now their good time4 #aha4 ,following and ,leading4--,a3 ,of the two1 the one will always follow1 the other will always lead1 whatever be the course of their destiny4 ,and yet the former is superior to the other in virtue and intellect4 ,b3 ,and yet8 ,and yet8 ,that is spoken for the others2 not for me1 not for us6--,fit secundum regulam4 #ahb4 ,in ,solitude4--,when one lives alone one does not speak too loudly1 and one does not write too loudly either1 for one fears the hollow reverberation--the criticism of the nymph ,echo4--,and all voices sound differently in solitude6 #ahc4 ,the ,music of the ,best ,future4--,the first musician for me would be he who knew only the sorrow of the profoundest happiness1 and no other sorrow3 there has not hitherto been such a musician4 #ahd4 ,justice4--,better allow oneself to be robbed than have scarecrows around one--that is my taste4 ,and under all circumstances it is just a matter of taste--and nothing more6 #ahe4 ,poor4--,he is now poor1 but not because everything has been taken from him1 but because he has thrown everything away3--what does he care8 ,he is accustomed to find new things4--,it is the poor who misunderstand his voluntary poverty4 #ahf4 ,bad ,conscience4--,all that he now does is excellent and proper--and yet he has a bad conscience with it all4 ,for the exceptional is his task4 #ahg4 ,offensiveness in ,expression4--,this artist offends me by the way in which he expresses his ideas1 his very excellent ideas3 so diffusely and forcibly1 and with such gross rhetorical artifices1 as if he were speaking to the mob4 ,we feel always as if in bad company when devoting some time to his art4 #ahh4 ,work4--,how close work and the workers now stand even to the most leisurely of us6 ,the royal courtesy in the words3 ,we are all workers1 would have been a cynicism and an indecency even under ,louis ,,xiv4 #ahi4 ,the ,thinker4--,he is a thinker3 that is to say1 he knows how to take things more simply than they are4 #aij4 ,against ,eulogisers4--,a3 ,one is only praised by one's equals6 ,b3 ,yes6 ,and he who praises you says3 ',you are my equal6' #aia4 ,against many a ,vindication4--,the most perfidious manner of injuring a cause is to vindicate it intentionally with fallacious arguments4 #aib4 ,the ,good-natured4--,what is it that distinguishes the good-natured1 whose countenances beam kindness1 from other people8 ,they feel quite at ease in presence of a new person1 and are quickly enamoured of him2 they therefore wish him well2 their first opinion is3 ,he pleases me4 ,with them there follow in succession the wish to appropriate 7they make little scruple about the person's worth71 rapid appropriation1 joy in the possession1 and actions in favour of the person possessed4 #aic4 ,kant's ,joke4--,kant tried to prove1 in a way that dismayed everybody1 that everybody was in the right3--that was his secret joke4 ,he wrote against the learned1 in favour of popular prejudice2 he wrote1 however1 for the learned and not for the people4 #aid4 ,the ,open-hearted ,man4--,that man acts probably always from concealed motives2 for he has always communicable motives on his tongue1 and almost in his open hand4 #aie4 ,laughable6--,see6 ,see6 ,he runs away from men--3 they follow him1 however1 because he runs before them1--they are such a gregarious lot6 #aif4 ,the ,limits of our ,sense of ,hearing4--,we hear only the questions to which we are capable of finding an answer4 #aig4 ,caution therefore6--,there is nothing we are fonder of communicating to others than the seal of secrecy--together with what is under it4 #aih4 ,vexation of the ,proud ,man4--,the proud man is vexed even with those who help him forward3 he looks angrily at his carriage-horses6 #aii4 ,liberality4--,liberality is often only a form of timidity in the rich4 #bjj4 ,laughing4--,to laugh means to love mischief1 but with a good conscience4 #bja4 ,in ,applause4--,in applause there is always some kind of noise3 even in self-applause4 #bjb4 ,a ,spendthrift4--,he has not yet the poverty of the rich man who has counted all his treasure1--he squanders his spirit with the irrationalness of the spendthrift ,nature4 #bjc4 ,hic niger est4--,usually he has no thoughts1--but in exceptional cases bad thoughts come to him4 #bjd4 ,beggars and ,courtesy4--,one is not discourteous when one knocks at a door with a stone when the bell-pull is awanting--so think all beggars and necessitous persons1 but no one thinks they are in the right4 #bje4 ,need4--,need is supposed to be the cause of things2 but in truth it is often only the effect of the things themselves4 #bjf4 ,during the ,rain4--,it rains1 and ,i think of the poor people who now crowd together with their many cares1 which they are unaccustomed to conceal2 all of them1 therefore1 ready and anxious to give pain to one another1 and thus provide themselves with a pitiable kind of comfort1 even in bad weather4 ,this1 this only1 is the poverty of the poor6 #bjg4 ,the ,envious ,man4--,that is an envious man--it is not desirable that he should have children2 he would be envious of them1 because he can no longer be a child4 #bjh4 ,a ,great ,man6--,because a person is a great man1 we are not authorised to infer that he is a man4 ,perhaps he is only a boy1 or a chameleon of all ages1 or a bewitched girl4 #bji4 ,a ,mode of ,asking for ,reasons4--,there is a mode of asking for our reasons which not only makes us forget our best reasons1 but also arouses in us a spite and repugnance against reason generally3--a very stupefying mode of questioning1 and properly an artifice of tyrannical men6 #baj4 ,moderation in ,diligence4--,one must not be anxious to surpass the diligence of one's father--that would make one ill4 #baa4 ,secret ,enemies4--,to be able to keep a secret enemy--that is a luxury which the morality even of the highest-minded persons can rarely afford4 #bab4 ,not ,letting oneself be ,deluded4--,his spirit has bad manners1 it is hasty and always stutters with impatience2 so that one would hardly suspect the deep breathing and the large chest of the soul in which it resides4 #bac4 ,the ,way to ,happiness4--,a sage asked of a fool the way to happiness4 ,the fool answered without delay1 like one who had been asked the way to the next town3 ,admire yourself1 and live on the street6 ,hold1 cried the sage1 you require too much2 it suffices to admire oneself6 ,the fool replied3 ,but how can one constantly admire without constantly despising8 #bad4 ,faith ,saves4--,virtue gives happiness and a state of blessedness only to those who have a strong faith in their virtue3--not1 however1 to the more refined souls whose virtue consists of a profound distrust of themselves and of all virtue4 ,after all1 therefore1 it is faith that saves here also6--and be it well observed1 not virtue6 #bae4 ,the ,ideal and the ,material4--,you have a noble ideal before your eyes3 but are you also such a noble stone that such a divine image could be formed out of you8 ,and without that--is not all your labour barbaric sculpturing8 ,a blasphemy of your ideal6 #baf4 ,danger in the ,voice4--,with a very loud voice a person is almost incapable of reflecting on subtle matters4 #bag4 ,cause and ,effect4--,before the effect one believes in other causes than after the effect4 #bah4 ,my ,antipathy4--,i do not like those people who1 in order to produce an effect1 have to burst like bombs1 and in whose neighbourhood one is always in danger of suddenly losing one's hearing--or even something more4 #bai4 ,the ,object of ,punishment4--,the object of punishment is to improve him who punishes1--that is the ultimate appeal of those who justify punishment4 #bbj4 ,sacrifice4--,the victims think otherwise than the spectators about sacrifice and sacrificing3 but they have never been allowed to express their opinion4 #bba4 ,consideration4--,fathers and sons are much more considerate of one another than mothers and daughters4 #bbb4 ,poet and ,liar4--,the poet sees in the liar his foster-brother whose milk he has drunk up2 the latter has thus remained wretched1 and has not even attained to a good conscience4 #bbc4 ,vicariousness of the ,senses4--,we have also eyes in order to hear with them1--said an old confessor who had grown deaf2 and among the blind he that has the longest ears is king4 #bbd4 ,animal ,criticism4--,i fear the animals regard man as a being like themselves1 very seriously endangered by a loss of sound animal understanding2--they regard him perhaps as the absurd animal1 the laughing animal1 the crying animal1 the unfortunate animal4 #bbe4 ,the ,natural4--,evil has always had the great effect6 ,and ,nature is evil6 ,let us therefore be natural6--so reason secretly the great aspirants after effect1 who are too often counted among great men4 #bbf4 ,the ,distrustful and their ,style4--,we say the strongest things simply1 provided people are about us who believe in our strength3--such an environment educates to simplicity of style4 ,the distrustful1 on the other hand1 speak emphatically2 they make things emphatic4 #bbg4 ,fallacy1 ,fallacy4--,he cannot rule himself2 therefore that woman concludes that it will be easy to rule him1 and throws out her lines to catch him2--the poor creature1 who in a short time will be his slave4 #bbh4 ,against ,mediators4--,he who attempts to mediate between two decided thinkers is rightly called mediocre3 he has not an eye for seeing the unique2 similarising and equalising are signs of weak eyes4 #bbi4 ,obstinacy and ,loyalty4--,out of obstinacy he holds fast to a cause of which the questionableness has become obvious1--he calls that1 however1 his loyalty4 #bcj4 ,lack of ,reserve4--,his whole nature fails to convince--that results from the fact that he has never been reticent about a good action he has performed4 #bca4 ,the ,plodders4--,persons slow of apprehension think that slowness forms part of knowledge4 #bcb4 ,dreaming4--,either one does not dream at all1 or one dreams in an interesting manner4 ,one must learn to be awake in the same fashion3--either not at all1 or in an interesting manner4 #bcc4 ,the most ,dangerous ,point of ,view4--,what ,i now do1 or neglect to do1 is as important for all that is to come1 as the greatest event of the past3 in this immense perspective of effects all actions are equally great and small4 #bcd4 ,consolatory ,words of a ,musician4--,your life does not sound into people's ears3 for them you live a dumb life1 and all refinements of melody1 all fond resolutions in following or leading the way1 are concealed from them4 ,to be sure you do not parade the thoroughfares with regimental music1--but these good people have no right to say on that account that your life is lacking in music4 ,he that hath ears let him hear4 #bce4 ,spirit and ,character4--,many a one attains his full height of character1 but his spirit is not adapted to the elevation1--and many a one reversely4 #bcf4 ,to ,move the ,multitude4--,is it not necessary for him who wants to move the multitude to give a stage representation of himself8 ,has he not first to translate himself into the grotesquely obvious1 and then set forth his whole personality and cause in that vulgarised and simplified fashion6 #bcg4 ,the ,polite ,man4--,he is so polite6--,yes1 he has always a sop for ,cerberus with him1 and is so timid that he takes everybody for ,cerberus1 even you and me1--that is his politeness4 #bch4 ,without ,envy4--,he is wholly without envy1 but there is no merit therein3 for he wants to conquer a land which no one has yet possessed and hardly any one has even seen4 #bci4 ,the ,joyless ,person4--,a single joyless person is enough to make constant displeasure and a clouded heaven in a household2 and it is only by a miracle that such a person is lacking6--,happiness is not nearly such a contagious disease2--how is that6 #bdj4 ,on the ,sea-,shore4--,i would not build myself a house 7it is an element of my happiness not to be a house-owner674 ,if ,i had to do so1 however1 ,i should build it1 like many of the ,romans1 right into the sea1--,i should like to have some secrets in common with that beautiful monster4 #bda4 ,work and ,artist4--,this artist is ambitious and nothing more2 ultimately1 however1 his work is only a magnifying glass1 which he offers to every one who looks in his direction4 #bdb4 ,suum cuique4--,however great be my greed of knowledge1 ,i cannot appropriate aught of things but what already belongs to me1--the property of others still remains in the things4 ,how is it possible for a man to be a thief or a robber6 #bdc4 ,origin of ,good and ,bad4--,he only will devise an improvement who can feel that this is not good4 #bdd4 ,thoughts and ,words4--,even our thoughts we are unable to render completely in words4 #bde4 ,praise in ,choice4--,the artist chooses his subjects2 that is his mode of praising4 #bdf4 ,mathematics4--,we want to carry the refinement and rigour of mathematics into all the sciences1 as far as it is in any way possible1 not in the belief that we shall apprehend things in this way1 but in order thereby to assert our human relation to things4 ,mathematics is only a means to general and ultimate human knowledge4 #bdg4 ,habits4--,all habits make our hand wittier and our wit unhandier4 #bdh4 ,books4--,of what account is a book that never carries us away beyond all books6 #bdi4 ,the ,sigh of the ,seeker of ,knowledge4--,oh1 my covetousness6 ,in this soul there is no disinterestedness--but an all-desiring self1 which1 by means of many individuals1 would fain see as with its own eyes1 and grasp as with its own hands--a self bringing back even the entire past1 and wanting to lose nothing that could in any way belong to it6 ,oh1 this flame of my covetousness6 ,oh1 that ,i were reincarnated in a hundred individuals6--,he who does not know this sigh by experience1 does not know the passion of the seeker of knowledge either4 #bej4 ,guilt4--,although the most intelligent judges of the witches1 and even the witches themselves1 were convinced of the guilt of witchcraft1 the guilt1 nevertheless1 was not there4 ,so it is with all guilt4 #bea4 ,misunderstood ,sufferers4--,great natures suffer otherwise than their worshippers imagine2 they suffer most severely from the ignoble1 petty emotions of certain evil moments2 in short1 from doubt of their own greatness2--not however from the sacrifices and martyrdoms which their tasks require of them4 ,as long as ,prometheus sympathises with men and sacrifices himself for them1 he is happy and proud in himself2 but on becoming envious of ,zeus and of the homage which mortals pay him--then ,prometheus suffers6 #beb4 ,better to be in ,debt4--,better to remain in debt than to pay with money which does not bear our stamp6--that is what our sovereignty prefers4 #bec4 ,always at ,home4--,one day we attain our goal--and then refer with pride to the long journeys we have made to reach it4 ,in truth1 we did not notice that we travelled4 ,we got into the habit of thinking that we were at home in every place4 #bed4 ,against ,embarrassment4--,he who is always thoroughly occupied is rid of all embarrassment4 #bee4 ,imitators4--,a3 ,what8 ,you don't want to have imitators8 ,b3 ,i don't want people to do anything after me2 ,i want every one to do something before himself 7as a pattern to himself7--just as ,i do4 ,a3 ,consequently--8 #bef4 ,skinniness4--,all profound men have their happiness in imitating the flying-fish for once1 and playing on the crests of the waves2 they think that what is best of all in things is their surface3 their skinniness--sit venia verbo4 #beg4 ,from ,experience4--,a person often does not know how rich he is1 until he learns from experience what rich men even play the thief on him4 #beh4 ,the ,deniers of ,chance4--,no conqueror believes in chance4 #bei4 ,from ,paradise4--,good and ,evil are ,god's prejudices--said the serpent4 #bfj4 ,one times ,one4--,one only is always in the wrong1 but with two truth begins4--,one only cannot prove himself right2 but two are already beyond refutation4 #bfa4 ,originality4--,what is originality8 ,to see something that does not yet bear a name1 that cannot yet be named1 although it is before everybody's eyes4 ,as people are usually constituted1 it is the name that first makes a thing generally visible to them4--,original persons have also for the most part been the namers of things4 #bfb4 ,sub specie aeterni4--,a3 ,you withdraw faster and faster from the living2 they will soon strike you out of their lists6--,b3 ,it is the only way to participate in the privilege of the dead4 ,a3 ,in what privilege8--,b3 ,no longer having to die4 #bfc4 ,without ,vanity4--,when we love we want our defects to remain concealed1--not out of vanity1 but lest the person loved should suffer therefrom4 ,indeed1 the lover would like to appear as a ,god1--and not out of vanity either4 #bfd4 ,what we ,do4--,what we do is never understood1 but only praised and blamed4 #bfe4 ,ultimate ,scepticism4--,but what after all are man's truths8--,they are his irrefutable errors4 #bff4 ,where ,cruelty is ,necessary4--,he who is great is cruel to his second-rate virtues and judgments4 #bfg4 ,with a high ,aim4--,with a high aim a person is superior even to justice1 and not only to his deeds and his judges4 #bfh4 ,what makes ,heroic8--,to face simultaneously one's greatest suffering and one's highest hope4 #bfi4 ,what dost thou ,believe in8--,in this3 ,that the weights of all things must be determined anew4 #bgj4 ,what ,saith thy ,conscience8--,thou shalt become what thou art4 #bga4 ,where are thy ,greatest ,dangers8--,in pity4 #bgb4 ,what dost thou ,love in others8--,my hopes4 #bgc4 ,whom dost thou call ,bad8--,him who always wants to put others to shame4 #bgd4 ,what dost thou think most humane8--,to spare a person shame4 #bge4 ,what is the ,seal of ,liberty ,attained8--,to be no longer ashamed of oneself4 ----- ,footnote #i3 ,this means that true love does not look for reciprocity4--,,tr4 ,,book ,,fourth ,,sanctus ,,januarius ,thou who with cleaving fiery lances ,the stream of my soul from its ice dost free1 ,till with a rush and a roar it advances ,to enter with glorious hoping the sea3 ,brighter to see and purer ever1 ,free in the bonds of thy sweet constraint1-- ,so it praises thy wondrous endeavour1 ,january1 thou beauteous saint6 ,genoa1 ,january #ahhb4 #bgf4 ,for the ,new ,year4--,i still live1 ,i still think2 ,i must still live1 for ,i must still think4 ,sum1 ergo cogito3 cogito1 ergo sum4 ,to-day everyone takes the liberty of expressing his wish and his favourite thought3 well1 ,i also mean to tell what ,i have wished for myself to-day1 and what thought first crossed my mind this year1--a thought which ought to be the basis1 the pledge and the sweetening of all my future life6 ,i want more and more to perceive the necessary characters in things as the beautiful3--,i shall thus be one of those who beautify things4 ,amor fati3 let that henceforth be my love6 ,i do not want to wage war with the ugly4 ,i do not want to accuse1 ,i do not want even to accuse the accusers4 ,looking aside1 let that be my sole negation6 ,and all in all1 to sum up3 ,i wish to be at any time hereafter only a yea-sayer6 #bgg4 ,personal ,providence4--,there is a certain climax in life1 at which1 notwithstanding all our freedom1 and however much we may have denied all directing reason and goodness in the beautiful chaos of existence1 we are once more in great danger of intellectual bondage1 and have to face our hardest test4 ,for now the thought of a personal ,providence first presents itself before us with its most persuasive force1 and has the best of advocates1 apparentness1 in its favour1 now when it is obvious that all and everything that happens to us always turns out for the best4 ,the life of every day and of every hour seems to be anxious for nothing else but always to prove this proposition anew2 let it be what it will1 bad or good weather1 the loss of a friend1 a sickness1 a calumny1 the non-receipt of a letter1 the spraining of one's foot1 a glance into a shop-window1 a counter-argument1 the opening of a book1 a dream1 a deception3--it shows itself immediately1 or very soon afterwards as something not permitted to be absent1--it is full of profound significance and utility precisely for us6 ,is there a more dangerous temptation to rid ourselves of the belief in the ,gods of ,epicurus1 those careless1 unknown ,gods1 and believe in some anxious and mean ,divinity1 who knows personally every little hair on our heads1 and feels no disgust in rendering the most wretched services8 ,well--,i mean in spite of all this6 we want to leave the ,gods alone 7and the serviceable genii likewise71 and wish to content ourselves with the assumption that our own practical and theoretical skilfulness in explaining and suitably arranging events has now reached its highest point4 ,we do not want either to think too highly of this dexterity of our wisdom1 when the wonderful harmony which results from playing on our instrument sometimes surprises us too much3 a harmony which sounds too well for us to dare to ascribe it to ourselves4 ,in fact1 now and then there is one who plays with us--beloved ,chance3 he leads our hand occasionally1 and even the all-wisest ,providence could not devise any finer music than that of which our foolish hand is then capable4 #bgh4 ,the ,thought of ,death4--,it gives me a melancholy happiness to live in the midst of this confusion of streets1 of necessities1 of voices3 how much enjoyment1 impatience and desire1 how much thirsty life and drunkenness of life comes to light here every moment6 ,and yet it will soon be so still for all these shouting1 lively1 life-loving people6 ,how everyone's shadow1 his gloomy travelling-companion stands behind him6 ,it is always as in the last moment before the departure of an emigrant-ship3 people have more than ever to say to one another1 the hour presses1 the ocean with its lonely silence waits impatiently behind all the noise--so greedy1 so certain of its prey6 ,and all1 all1 suppose that the past has been nothing1 or a small matter1 that the near future is everything3 hence this haste1 this crying1 this self-deafening and self-overreaching6 ,everyone wants to be foremost in this future1--and yet death and the stillness of death are the only things certain and common to all in this future6 ,how strange that this sole thing that is certain and common to all1 exercises almost no influence on men1 and that they are the furthest from regarding themselves as the brotherhood of death6 ,it makes me happy to see that men do not want to think at all of the idea of death6 ,i would fain do something to make the idea of life even a hundred times more worthy of their attention4 #bgi4 ,stellar ,friendship4--,we were friends1 and have become strangers to each other4 ,but this is as it ought to be1 and we do not want either to conceal or obscure the fact1 as if we had to be ashamed of it4 ,we are two ships1 each of which has its goal and its course2 we may1 to be sure1 cross one another in our paths1 and celebrate a feast together as we did before1--and then the gallant ships lay quietly in one harbour1 and in one sunshine1 so that it might have been thought they were already at their goal1 and that they had had one goal4 ,but then the almighty strength of our tasks forced us apart once more into different seas and into different zones1 and perhaps we shall never see one another again1--or perhaps we may see one another1 but not know one another again2 the different seas and suns have altered us6 ,that we had to become strangers to one another is the law to which we are subject3 just by that shall we become more sacred to one another6 ,just by that shall the thought of our former friendship become holier6 ,there is probably some immense1 invisible curve and stellar orbit in which our courses and goals1 so widely different1 may be comprehended as small stages of the way1--let us raise ourselves to this thought6 ,but our life is too short1 and our power of vision too limited for us to be more than friends in the sense of that sublime possibility4--,and so we will believe in our stellar friendship1 though we should have to be terrestrial enemies to one another4 #bhj4 ,architecture for ,thinkers4--,an insight is needed 7and that probably very soon7 as to what is specially lacking in our great cities--namely1 quiet1 spacious1 and widely extended places for reflection1 places with long1 lofty colonnades for bad weather1 or for too sunny days1 where no noise of wagons or of shouters would penetrate1 and where a more refined propriety would prohibit loud praying even to the priest3 buildings and situations which as a whole would express the sublimity of self-communion and seclusion from the world4 ,the time is past when the ,church possessed the monopoly of reflection1 when the vita contemplativa had always in the first place to be the vita religiosa3 and everything that the ,church has built expresses this thought4 ,i know not how we could content ourselves with their structures1 even if they should be divested of their ecclesiastical purposes3 these structures speak a far too pathetic and too biassed speech1 as houses of ,god and places of splendour for supernatural intercourse1 for us godless ones to be able to think our thoughts in them4 ,we want to have ourselves translated into stone and plant1 we want to go for a walk in ourselves when we wander in these halls and gardens4 #bha4 ,knowing how to ,find the ,end4--,masters of the first rank are recognised by knowing in a perfect manner how to find the end1 in the whole as well as in the part2 be it the end of a melody or of a thought1 be it the fifth act of a tragedy or of a state affair4 ,the masters of the second degree always become restless towards the end1 and seldom dip down into the sea with such proud1 quiet equilibrium as1 for example1 the mountain-ridge at ,porto fino--where the ,bay of ,genoa sings its melody to an end4 #bhb4 ,the ,gait4--,there are mannerisms of the intellect by which even great minds betray that they originate from the populace1 or from the semi-populace3--it is principally the gait and step of their thoughts which betray them2 they cannot walk4 ,it was thus that even ,napoleon1 to his profound chagrin1 could not walk legitimately and in princely fashion on occasions when it was necessary to do so properly1 as in great coronation processions and on similar occasions3 even there he was always just the leader of a column--proud and brusque at the same time1 and very self-conscious of it all4--,it is something laughable to see those writers who make the folding robes of their periods rustle around them3 they want to cover their feet4 #bhc4 ,pioneers4--,i greet all the signs indicating that a more manly and warlike age is commencing1 which will1 above all1 bring heroism again into honour6 ,for it has to prepare the way for a yet higher age1 and gather the force which the latter will one day require1--the age which will carry heroism into knowledge1 and wage war for the sake of ideas and their consequences4 ,for that end many brave pioneers are now needed1 who1 however1 cannot originate out of nothing1--and just as little out of the sand and slime of present-day civilisation and the culture of great cities3 men silent1 solitary and resolute1 who know how to be content and persistent in invisible activity3 men who with innate disposition seek in all things that which is to be overcome in them3 men to whom cheerfulness1 patience1 simplicity1 and contempt of the great vanities belong just as much as do magnanimity in victory and indulgence to the trivial vanities of all the vanquished3 men with an acute and independent judgment regarding all victors1 and concerning the part which chance has played in the winning of victory and fame3 men with their own holidays1 their own work-days1 and their own periods of mourning2 accustomed to command with perfect assurance1 and equally ready1 if need be1 to obey1 proud in the one case as in the other1 equally serving their own interests3 men more imperilled1 more productive1 more happy6 ,for believe me6--the secret of realising the largest productivity and the greatest enjoyment of existence is to live in danger6 ,build your cities on the slope of ,vesuvius6 ,send your ships into unexplored seas6 ,live in war with your equals and with yourselves6 ,be robbers and spoilers1 ye knowing ones1 as long as ye cannot be rulers and possessor6 ,the time will soon pass when you can be satisfied to live like timorous deer concealed in the forests4 ,knowledge will finally stretch out her hand for that which belongs to her3--she means to rule and possess1 and you with her6 #bhd4 ,belief in ,oneself4--,in general1 few men have belief in themselves3--and of those few some are endowed with it as a useful blindness or partial obscuration of intellect 7what would they perceive if they could see to the bottom of themselves674 ,the others must first acquire the belief for themselves3 everything good1 clever1 or great that they do1 is first of all an argument against the sceptic that dwells in them3 the question is how to convince or persuade this sceptic1 and for that purpose genius almost is needed4 ,they are signally dissatisfied with themselves4 #bhe4 ,excelsior6--,thou wilt never more pray1 never more worship1 never more repose in infinite trust--thou refusest to stand still and dismiss thy thoughts before an ultimate wisdom1 an ultimate virtue1 an ultimate power1--thou hast no constant guardian and friend in thy seven solitudes--thou livest without the outlook on a mountain that has snow on its head and fire in its heart--there is no longer any requiter for thee1 nor any amender with his finishing touch--there is no longer any reason in that which happens1 or any love in that which will happen to thee--there is no longer any resting-place for thy weary heart1 where it has only to find and no longer to seek1 thou art opposed to any kind of ultimate peace1 thou desirest the eternal recurrence of war and peace3--man of renunciation1 wilt thou renounce in all these things8 ,who will give thee the strength to do so8 ,no one has yet had this strength6--,there is a lake which one day refused to flow away1 and threw up a dam at the place where it had hitherto flowed away3 since then this lake has always risen higher and higher4 ,perhaps the very renunciation will also furnish us with the strength with which the renunciation itself can be borne2 perhaps man will ever rise higher and higher from that point onward1 when he no longer flows out into a ,god4 #bhf4 ,a ,digression4--,here are hopes2 but what will you see and hear of them1 if you have not experienced glance and glow and dawn of day in your own souls8 ,i can only suggest--,i cannot do more6 ,to move the stones1 to make animals men--would you have me do that8 ,alas1 if you are yet stones and animals1 seek first your ,orpheus6 #bhg4 ,love of ,blindness4--,my thoughts1 said the wanderer to his shadow1 ought to show me where ,i stand1 but they should not betray to me whither ,i go4 ,i love ignorance of the future1 and do not want to come to grief by impatience and anticipatory tasting of promised things4 #bhh4 ,lofty ,moods4--,it seems to me that most men do not believe in lofty moods1 unless it be for the moment1 or at the most for a quarter of an hour1--except the few who know by experience a longer duration of high feeling4 ,but to be absolutely a man with a single lofty feeling1 the incarnation of a single lofty mood--that has hitherto been only a dream and an enchanting possibility3 history does not yet give us any trustworthy example of it4 ,nevertheless it could some day produce such men also--when a multitude of favourable conditions have been created and established1 which at present even the happiest chance is unable to throw together4 ,perhaps that very state which has hitherto entered into our soul as an exception1 felt with horror now and then1 may be the usual condition of those future souls3 a continuous movement between high and low1 and the feeling of high and low1 a constant state of mounting as on steps1 and at the same time reposing as on clouds4 #bhi4 ,aboard ,ship6--,when one considers how a full philosophical justification of his mode of living and thinking operates upon every individual--namely1 as a warming1 blessing1 and fructifying sun1 specially shining on him2 how it makes him independent of praise and blame1 self-sufficient1 rich and generous in the bestowal of happiness and kindness2 how it unceasingly transforms the evil to the good1 brings all the energies to bloom and maturity1 and altogether hinders the growth of the greater and lesser weeds of chagrin and discontent3--one at last cries out importunately3 ,oh1 that many such new suns were created6 ,the evil man1 also1 the unfortunate man1 and the exceptional man1 shall each have his philosophy1 his rights1 and his sunshine6 ,it is not sympathy with them that is necessary6--we must unlearn this arrogant fancy1 notwithstanding that humanity has so long learned it and used it exclusively--we have not to set up any confessor1 exorcist1 or pardoner for them6 ,it is a new justice1 however1 that is necessary6 ,and a new solution6 ,and new philosophers6 ,the moral earth also is round6 ,the moral earth also has its antipodes6 ,the antipodes also have their right to exist6 there is still another world to discover--and more than one6 ,aboard ship6 ye philosophers6 #bij4 ,one ,thing is ,needful4--,to give style to one's character--that is a grand and a rare art6 ,he who surveys all that his nature presents in its strength and in its weakness1 and then fashions it into an ingenious plan1 until everything appears artistic and rational1 and even the weaknesses enchant the eye--exercises that admirable art4 ,here there has been a great amount of second nature added1 there a portion of first nature has been taken away3--in both cases with long exercise and daily labour at the task4 ,here the ugly1 which does not permit of being taken away1 has been concealed1 there it has been re-interpreted into the sublime4 ,much of the vague1 which refuses to take form1 has been reserved and utilised for the perspectives3--it is meant to give a hint of the remote and immeasurable4 ,in the end1 when the work has been completed1 it is revealed how it was the constraint of the same taste that organised and fashioned it in whole or in part3 whether the taste was good or bad is of less importance than one thinks1--it is sufficient that it was a taste6--,it will be the strong imperious natures which experience their most refined joy in such constraint1 in such confinement and perfection under their own law2 the passion of their violent volition lessens at the sight of all disciplined nature1 all conquered and ministering nature3 even when they have palaces to build and gardens to lay out1 it is not to their taste to allow nature to be free4--,it is the reverse with weak characters who have not power over themselves1 and hate the restriction of style3 they feel that if this repugnant constraint were laid upon them1 they would necessarily become vulgarised under it3 they become slaves as soon as they serve1 they hate service4 ,such intellects--they may be intellects of the first rank--are always concerned with fashioning or interpreting themselves and their surroundings as free nature--wild1 arbitrary1 fantastic1 confused and surprising3 and it is well for them to do so1 because only in this manner can they please themselves6 ,for one thing is needful3 namely1 that man should attain to satisfaction with himself--be it but through this or that fable and artifice3 it is only then that man's aspect is at all endurable6 ,he who is dissatisfied with himself is ever ready to avenge himself on that account3 we others will be his victims1 if only in having always to endure his ugly aspect4 ,for the aspect of the ugly makes one mean and sad4 #bia4 ,genoa4--,i have looked upon this city1 its villas and pleasure-grounds and the wide circuit of its inhabited heights and slopes1 for a considerable time3 in the end ,i must say that ,i see countenances out of past generations1--this district is strewn with the images of bold and autocratic men4 ,they have lived and have wanted to live on--they say so with their houses1 built and decorated for centuries1 and not for the passing hour3 they were well disposed to life1 however ill-disposed they may often have been towards themselves4 ,i always see the builder1 how he casts his eye on all that is built around him far and near1 and likewise on the city1 the sea1 and the chain of mountains2 how he expresses power and conquest in his gaze3 all this he wishes to fit into his plan1 and in the end make it his property1 by its becoming a portion of the same4 ,the whole district is overgrown with this superb1 insatiable egoism of the desire to possess and exploit2 and as these men when abroad recognised no frontiers1 and in their thirst for the new placed a new world beside the old1 so also at home everyone rose up against everyone else1 and devised some mode of expressing his superiority1 and of placing between himself and his neighbour his personal illimitableness4 ,everyone won for himself his home once more by over-powering it with his architectural thoughts1 and by transforming it into a delightful sight for his race4 ,when we consider the mode of building cities in the north1 the law and the general delight in legality and obedience1 impose upon us3 we thereby divine the propensity to equality and submission which must have ruled in those builders4 ,here1 however1 on turning every corner you find a man by himself1 who knows the sea1 knows adventure1 and knows the ,orient1 a man who is averse to law and to neighbour1 as if it bored him to have to do with them1 a man who scans all that is already old and established1 with envious glances3 with a wonderful craftiness of fantasy1 he would like1 at least in thought1 to establish all this anew1 to lay his hand upon it1 and introduce his meaning into it--if only for the passing hour of a sunny afternoon1 when for once his insatiable and melancholy soul feels satiety1 and when only what is his own1 and nothing strange1 may show itself to his eye4 #bib4 ,to the ,preachers of ,morality4--,i do not mean to moralise1 but to those who do1 ,i would give this advice3 if you mean ultimately to deprive the best things and the best conditions of all honour and worth1 continue to speak of them in the same way as heretofore6 ,put them at the head of your morality1 and speak from morning till night of the happiness of virtue1 of repose of soul1 of righteousness1 and of reward and punishment in the nature of things3 according as you go on in this manner1 all these good things will finally acquire a popularity and a street-cry for themselves3 but then all the gold on them will also be worn off1 and more besides3 all the gold in them will have changed into lead4 ,truly1 you understand the reverse art of alchemy1 the depreciating of the most valuable things6 ,try1 just for once1 another recipe1 in order not to realise as hitherto the opposite of what you mean to attain3 deny those good things1 withdraw from them the applause of the populace and discourage the spread of them1 make them once more the concealed chastities of solitary souls1 say that morality is something forbidden6 ,perhaps you will thus win over for those things the sort of men who are only of any account1 ,i mean the heroic4 ,but then there must be something formidable in them1 and not as hitherto something disgusting6 ,might one not be inclined to say at present with reference to morality what ,master ,eckardt says3 ,i pray ,god to deliver me from ,god6 #bic4 ,our ,atmosphere4--,we know it well3 to him who only casts a glance now and then at science1 as in taking a walk 7in the manner of women1 and alas6 also like many artists71 the strictness in its service1 its inexorability in small matters as well as in great1 its rapidity in weighing1 judging and condemning1 produce something of a feeling of giddiness and fright4 ,it is especially terrifying to him that the hardest is here demanded1 that the best is done without the reward of praise or distinction2 it is rather as among soldiers--almost nothing but blame and sharp reprimand is heard2 for doing well prevails here as the rule1 doing ill as the exception2 the rule1 however1 has1 here as everywhere1 a silent tongue4 ,it is the same with this severity of science as with the manners and politeness of the best society3 it frightens the uninitiated4 ,he1 however1 who is accustomed to it1 does not like to live anywhere but in this clear1 transparent1 powerful1 and highly electrified atmosphere1 this manly atmosphere4 ,anywhere else it is not pure and airy enough for him3 he suspects that there his best art would neither be properly advantageous to anyone else1 nor a delight to himself1 that through misunderstandings half of his life would slip through his fingers1 that much foresight1 much concealment1 and reticence would constantly be necessary1--nothing but great and useless losses of power6 ,in this keen and clear element1 however1 he has his entire power3 here he can fly6 ,why should he again go down into those muddy waters where he has to swim and wade and soil his wings6--,no6 ,there it is too hard for us to live6 we cannot help it that we are born for the atmosphere1 the pure atmosphere1 we rivals of the ray of light2 and that we should like best to ride like it on the atoms of ether1 not away from the sun1 but towards the sun6 ,that1 however1 we cannot do3--so we want to do the only thing that is in our power3 namely1 to bring light to the earth1 we want to be the light of the earth6 ,and for that purpose we have our wings and our swiftness and our severity1 on that account we are manly1 and even terrible like the fire4 ,let those fear us1 who do not know how to warm and brighten themselves by our influence6 #bid4 ,against the ,disparagers of ,nature4--,they are disagreeable to me1 those men in whom every natural inclination forthwith becomes a disease1 something disfiguring1 or even disgraceful4 ,they have seduced us to the opinion that the inclinations and impulses of men are evil2 they are the cause of our great injustice to our own nature1 and to all nature6 ,there are enough of men who may yield to their impulses gracefully and carelessly3 but they do not do so1 for fear of that imaginary evil thing in nature6 ,that is the cause why there is so little nobility to be found among men3 the indication of which will always be to have no fear of oneself1 to expect nothing disgraceful from oneself1 to fly without hesitation whithersoever we are impelled--we free-born birds6 ,wherever we come1 there will always be freedom and sunshine around us4 #bie4 ,short-lived ,habits4--,i love short-lived habits1 and regard them as an invaluable means for getting a knowledge of many things and various conditions1 to the very bottom of their sweetness and bitterness2 my nature is altogether arranged for short-lived habits1 even in the needs of its bodily health1 and in general1 as far as ,i can see1 from the lowest up to the highest matters4 ,i always think that this will at last satisfy me permanently 7the short-lived habit has also that characteristic belief of passion1 the belief in everlasting duration2 ,i am to be envied for having found it and recognised it71 and then it nourishes me at noon and at eve1 and spreads a profound satisfaction around me and in me1 so that ,i have no longing for anything else1 not needing to compare1 or despise1 or hate4 ,but one day the habit has had its time3 the good thing separates from me1 not as something which then inspires disgust in me--but peaceably and as though satisfied with me1 as ,i am with it2 as if we had to be mutually thankful1 and thus shook hands for farewell4 ,and already the new habit waits at the door1 and similarly also my belief--indestructible fool and sage that ,i am6--that this new habit will be the right one1 the ultimate right one4 ,so it is with me as regards foods1 thoughts1 men1 cities1 poems1 music1 doctrines1 arrangements of the day1 and modes of life4--,on the other hand1 ,i hate permanent habits1 and feel as if a tyrant came into my neighbourhood1 and as if my life's breath condensed1 when events take such a form that permanent habits seem necessarily to grow out of them3 for example1 through an official position1 through constant companionship with the same persons1 through a settled abode1 or through a uniform state of health4 ,indeed1 from the bottom of my soul ,i am gratefully disposed to all my misery and sickness1 and to whatever is imperfect in me1 because such things leave me a hundred back-doors through which ,i can escape from permanent habits4 ,the most unendurable thing1 to be sure1 the really terrible thing1 would be a life without habits1 a life which continually required improvisation3--that would be my banishment and my ,siberia4 #bif4 ,a ,fixed ,reputation4--,a fixed reputation was formerly a matter of the very greatest utility2 and wherever society continues to be ruled by the herd-instinct1 it is still most suitable for every individual to give to his character and business the appearance of unalterableness1--even when they are not so in reality4 ,one can rely on him1 he remains the same--that is the praise which has most significance in all dangerous conditions of society4 ,society feels with satisfaction that it has a reliable tool ready at all times in the virtue of this one1 in the ambition of that one1 and in the reflection and passion of a third one1--it honours this tool-like nature1 this self-constancy1 this unchangeableness in opinions1 efforts1 and even in faults1 with the highest honours4 ,such a valuation1 which prevails and has prevailed everywhere simultaneously with the morality of custom1 educates characters1 and brings all changing1 re-learning1 and self-transforming into disrepute4 ,be the advantage of this mode of thinking ever so great otherwise1 it is in any case the mode of judging which is most injurious to knowledge3 for precisely the good-will of the knowing one ever to declare himself unhesitatingly as opposed to his former opinions1 and in general to be distrustful of all that wants to be fixed in him--is here condemned and brought into disrepute4 ,the disposition of the thinker1 as incompatible with a fixed reputation1 is regarded as dishonourable1 while the petrifaction of opinions has all the honour to itself3--we have at present still to live under the interdict of such rules6 ,how difficult it is to live when one feels that the judgment of many millenniums is around one and against one4 ,it is probable that for many millenniums knowledge was afflicted with a bad conscience1 and that there must have been much self-contempt and secret misery in the history of the greatest intellects4 #big4 ,ability to ,contradict4--,everyone knows at present that the ability to endure contradiction is a high indication of culture4 ,some people even know that the higher man courts opposition1 and provokes it1 so as to get a cue to his hitherto unknown partiality4 ,but the ability to contradict1 the attainment of good conscience in hostility to the accustomed1 the traditional and the hallowed1--that is more than both the above-named abilities1 and is the really great1 new and astonishing thing in our culture1 the step of all steps of the emancipated intellect3 who knows that8-- #bih4 ,a ,sigh4--,i caught this notion on the way1 and rapidly took the readiest1 poor words to hold it fast1 so that it might not again fly away4 ,and now it has died in these dry words1 and hangs and flaps about in them--and ,i hardly know now1 when ,i look upon it1 how ,i could have had such happiness when ,i caught this bird4 #bii4 ,what one should ,learn from ,artists4--,what means have we for making things beautiful1 attractive1 and desirable1 when they are not so8--and ,i suppose they are never so in themselves6 ,we have here something to learn from physicians1 when1 for example1 they dilute what is bitter1 or put wine and sugar into their mixing-bowl2 but we have still more to learn from artists1 who in fact1 are continually concerned in devising such inventions and artifices4 ,to withdraw from things until one no longer sees much of them1 until one has even to see things into them1 in order to see them at all--or to view them from the side1 and as in a frame--or to place them so that they partly disguise themselves and only permit of perspective views--or to look at them through coloured glasses1 or in the light of the sunset--or to furnish them with a surface or skin which is not fully transparent3 we should learn all that from artists1 and moreover be wiser than they4 ,for this fine power of theirs usually ceases with them where art ceases and life begins2 we1 however1 want to be the poets of our life1 and first of all in the smallest and most commonplace matters4 #cjj4 ,prelude to ,science4--,do you believe then that the sciences would have arisen and grown up if the sorcerers1 alchemists1 astrologers and witches had not been their forerunners2 those who1 with their promisings and foreshadowings1 had first to create a thirst1 a hunger1 and a taste for hidden and forbidden powers8 ,yea1 that infinitely more had to be promised than could ever be fulfilled1 in order that something might be fulfilled in the domain of knowledge8 ,perhaps the whole of religion1 also1 may appear to some distant age as an exercise and a prelude1 in like manner as the prelude and preparation of science here exhibit themselves1 though not at all practised and regarded as such4 ,perhaps religion may have been the peculiar means for enabling individual men to enjoy but once the entire self-satisfaction of a ,god and all his self-redeeming power4 ,indeed6--one may ask--would man have learned at all to get on the tracks of hunger and thirst for himself1 and to extract satiety and fullness out of himself1 without that religious schooling and preliminary history8 ,had ,prometheus first to fancy that he had stolen the light1 and that he did penance for the theft--in order finally to discover that he had created the light1 in that he had longed for the light1 and that not only man1 but also ,god had been the work of his hands and the clay in his hands8 ,all mere creations of the creator8--just as the illusion1 the theft1 the ,caucasus1 the vulture1 and the whole tragic ,prometheia of all thinkers6 #cja4 ,illusion of the ,contemplative4--,higher men are distinguished from lower1 by seeing and hearing immensely more1 and in a thoughtful manner--and it is precisely this that distinguishes man from the animal1 and the higher animal from the lower4 ,the world always becomes fuller for him who grows up into the full stature of humanity2 there are always more interesting fishing-hooks1 thrown out to him2 the number of his stimuli is continually on the increase1 and similarly the varieties of his pleasure and pain1--the higher man becomes always at the same time happier and unhappier4 ,an illusion1 however1 is his constant accompaniment all along3 he thinks he is placed as a spectator and auditor before the great pantomime and concert of life2 he calls his nature a contemplative nature1 and thereby overlooks the fact that he himself is also a real creator1 and continuous poet of life1--that he no doubt differs greatly from the actor in this drama1 the so-called practical man1 but differs still more from a mere onlooker or spectator before the stage4 ,there is certainly vis contemplativa1 and re-examination of his work peculiar to him as poet1 but at the same time1 and first and foremost1 he has the vis creativa1 which the practical man or doer lacks1 whatever appearance and current belief may say to the contrary4 ,it is we1 we who think and feel1 that actually and unceasingly make something which does not yet exist3 the whole eternally increasing world of valuations1 colours1 weights1 perspectives1 gradations1 affirmations and negations4 ,this composition of ours is continually learnt1 practised1 and translated into flesh and actuality1 and even into the commonplace1 by the so-called practical men 7our actors1 as we have said74 ,whatever has value in the present world1 has it not in itself1 by its nature1--nature is always worthless3--but a value was once given to it1 bestowed upon it1 and it was we who gave and bestowed6 ,we only have created the world which is of any account to man6--,but it is precisely this knowledge that we lack1 and when we get hold of it for a moment we have forgotten it the next3 we misunderstand our highest power1 we contemplative men1 and estimate ourselves at too low a rate1--we are neither as proud nor as happy as we might be4 #cjb4 ,the ,danger of the ,happiest ,ones4--,to have fine senses and a fine taste2 to be accustomed to the select and the intellectually best as our proper and readiest fare2 to be blessed with a strong1 bold1 and daring soul2 to go through life with a quiet eye and a firm step1 ever ready for the worst as for a festival1 and full of longing for undiscovered worlds and seas1 men and ,gods2 to listen to all joyous music1 as if there1 perhaps1 brave men1 soldiers and seafarers1 took a brief repose and enjoyment1 and in the profoundest pleasure of the moment were overcome with tears and the whole purple melancholy of happiness3 who would not like all this to be his possession1 his condition6 ,it was the happiness of ,homer6 ,the condition of him who invented the ,gods for the ,greeks1--nay1 who invented his ,gods for himself6 ,but let us not conceal the fact that with this happiness of ,homer in one's soul1 one is more liable to suffering than any other creature under the sun6 ,and only at this price do we purchase the most precious pearl that the waves of existence have hitherto washed ashore6 ,as its possessor one always becomes more sensitive to pain1 and at last too sensitive3 a little displeasure and loathing sufficed in the end to make ,homer disgusted with life4 ,he was unable to solve a foolish little riddle which some young fishers proposed to him6 ,yes1 the little riddles are the dangers of the happiest ones6-- #cjc4 ,two ,happy ,ones4--,certainly this man1 notwithstanding his youth1 understands the improvisation of life1 and astonishes even the acutest observers4 ,for it seems that he never makes a mistake1 although he constantly plays the most hazardous games4 ,one is reminded of the improvising masters of the musical art1 to whom even the listeners would fain ascribe a divine infallibility of the hand1 notwithstanding that they now and then make a mistake1 as every mortal is liable to do4 ,but they are skilled and inventive1 and always ready in a moment to arrange into the structure of the score the most accidental tone 7where the jerk of a finger or a humour brings it about71 and to animate the accident with a fine meaning and a soul4--,here is quite a different man3 everything that he intends and plans fails with him in the long run4 ,that on which he has now and again set his heart has already brought him several times to the abyss1 and to the very verge of ruin2 and if he has as yet got out of the scrape1 it certainly has not been merely with a black eye4 ,do you think he is unhappy over it8 ,he resolved long ago not to regard his own wishes and plans as of so much importance4 ,if this does not succeed with me1--he says to himself1 perhaps that will succeed2 and on the whole ,i do not know but that ,i am under more obligation to thank my failures than any of my successes4 ,am ,i made to be headstrong1 and to wear the bull's horns8 ,that which constitutes the worth and the sum of life for me1 lies somewhere else2 ,i know more of life1 because ,i have been so often on the point of losing it2 and just on that account ,i have more of life than any of you6 #cjd4 ,in ,doing we ,leave ,undone4--,in the main all those moral systems are distasteful to me which say3 ,do not do this6 ,renounce6 ,overcome thyself6 ,on the other hand ,i am favourable to those moral systems which stimulate me to do something1 and to do it again from morning till evening1 and dream of it at night1 and think of nothing else but to do it well1 as well as it is possible for me alone6 ,from him who so lives there fall off one after the other the things that do not pertain to such a life3 without hatred or antipathy1 he sees this take leave of him to-day1 and that to-morrow1 like the yellow leaves which every livelier breeze strips from the tree3 or he does not see at all that they take leave of him1 so firmly is his eye fixed upon his goal1 and generally forward1 not sideways1 backward1 nor downward4 ,our doing must determine what we leave undone2 in that we do1 we leave undone--so it pleases me1 so runs my placitum4 ,but ,i do not mean to strive with open eyes for my impoverishment2 ,i do not like any of the negative virtues whose very essence is negation and self-renunciation4 #cje4 ,self-control4--,those moral teachers who first and foremost order man to get himself into his own power1 induce thereby a curious infirmity in him1--namely1 a constant sensitiveness with reference to all natural strivings and inclinations1 and as it were1 a sort of itching4 ,whatever may henceforth drive him1 draw him1 allure or impel him1 whether internally or externally--it always seems to this sensitive being1 as if his self-control were in danger3 he is no longer at liberty to trust himself to any instinct1 to any free flight1 but stands constantly with defensive mien1 armed against himself1 with sharp distrustful eye1 the eternal watcher of his stronghold1 to which office he has appointed himself4 ,yes1 he can be great in that position6 ,but how unendurable he has now become to others1 how difficult even for himself to bear1 how impoverished and cut off from the finest accidents of his soul6 ,yea1 even from all further instruction6 ,for we must be able to lose ourselves at times1 if we want to learn something of what we have not in ourselves4 #cjf4 ,stoic and ,epicurean4--,the ,epicurean selects the situations1 the persons1 and even the events which suit his extremely sensitive1 intellectual constitution2 he renounces the rest--that is to say1 by far the greater part of experience--because it would be too strong and too heavy fare for him4 ,the ,stoic1 on the contrary1 accustoms himself to swallow stones and vermin1 glass-splinters and scorpions1 without feeling any disgust3 his stomach is meant to become indifferent in the end to all that the accidents of existence cast into it3--he reminds one of the ,arabic sect of the ,assaua1 with which the ,french became acquainted in ,algiers2 and like those insensible persons1 he also likes well to have an invited public at the exhibition of his insensibility1 the very thing the ,epicurean willingly dispenses with3--he has of course his garden6 ,stoicism may be quite advisable for men with whom fate improvises1 for those who live in violent times and are dependent on abrupt and changeable individuals4 ,he1 however1 who anticipates that fate will permit him to spin a long thread1 does well to make his arrangements in ,epicurean fashion2 all men devoted to intellectual labour have done it hitherto6 ,for it would be a supreme loss to them to forfeit their fine sensibility1 and acquire the hard1 stoical hide with hedgehog prickles in exchange4 #cjg4 ,in ,favour of ,criticism4--,something now appears to thee as an error which thou formerly lovedst as a truth1 or as a probability3 thou pushest it from thee and imaginest that thy reason has there gained a victory4 ,but perhaps that error was then1 when thou wast still another person--thou art always another person1--just as necessary to thee as all thy present truths1 like a skin1 as it were1 which concealed and veiled from thee much which thou still mayst not see4 ,thy new life1 and not thy reason1 has slain that opinion for thee3 thou dost not require it any longer1 and now it breaks down of its own accord1 and the irrationality crawls out of it as a worm into the light4 ,when we make use of criticism it is not something arbitrary and impersonal1--it is1 at least very often1 a proof that there are lively1 active forces in us1 which cast a skin4 ,we deny1 and must deny1 because something in us wants to live and affirm itself1 something which we perhaps do not as yet know1 do not as yet see6--,so much in favour of criticism4 #cjh4 ,the ,history of each ,day4--,what is it that constitutes the history of each day for thee8 ,look at thy habits of which it consists3 are they the product of numberless little acts of cowardice and laziness1 or of thy bravery and inventive reason8 ,although the two cases are so different1 it is possible that men might bestow the same praise upon thee1 and that thou mightst also be equally useful to them in the one case as in the other4 ,but praise and utility and respectability may suffice for him whose only desire is to have a good conscience1--not however for thee1 the trier of the reins1 who hast a consciousness of the conscience6 #cji4 ,out of the ,seventh ,solitude4--,one day the wanderer shut a door behind him1 stood still1 and wept4 ,then he said3 ,oh1 this inclination and impulse towards the true1 the real1 the non-apparent1 the certain6 ,how ,i detest it6 ,why does this gloomy and passionate taskmaster follow just me8 ,i should like to rest1 but it does not permit me to do so4 ,are there not a host of things seducing me to tarry6 ,everywhere there are gardens of ,armida for me1 and therefore there will always be fresh separations and fresh bitterness of heart6 ,i must set my foot forward1 my weary wounded foot3 and because ,i feel ,i must do this1 ,i often cast grim glances back at the most beautiful things which could not detain me--because they could not detain me6 #caj4 ,will and ,wave4--,how eagerly this wave comes hither1 as if it were a question of its reaching something6 ,how it creeps with frightful haste into the innermost corners of the rocky cliff6 ,it seems that it wants to forestall some one2 it seems that something is concealed there that has value1 high value4--,and now it retreats somewhat more slowly1 still quite white with excitement1--is it disappointed8 ,has it found what it sought8 ,does it merely pretend to be disappointed8--,but already another wave approaches1 still more eager and wild than the first1 and its soul also seems to be full of secrets and of longing for treasure-seeking4 ,thus live the waves1--thus live we who exercise will6--,i do not say more4--,but what6 ,ye distrust me8 ,ye are angry at me1 ye beautiful monsters8 ,do ye fear that ,i will quite betray your secret8 ,well6 ,just be angry with me1 raise your green1 dangerous bodies as high as ye can1 make a wall between me and the sun--as at present6 ,verily1 there is now nothing more left of the world save green twilight and green lightning-flashes4 ,do as ye will1 ye wanton creatures1 roar with delight and wickedness--or dive under again1 pour your emeralds down into the depths1 and cast your endless white tresses of foam and spray over them--it is all the same to me1 for all is so well with you1 and ,i am so pleased with you for it all3 how could ,i betray you6 ,for--take this to heart6--,i know you and your secret1 ,i know your race6 ,you and ,i are indeed of one race6 ,you and ,i have indeed one secret6 #caa4 ,broken ,lights4--,we are not always brave1 and when we are weary1 people of our stamp are liable to lament occasionally in this wise3--,it is so hard to cause pain to men--oh1 that it should be necessary6 ,what good is it to live concealed1 when we do not want to keep to ourselves that which causes vexation8 ,would it not be more advisable to live in the madding crowd1 and compensate individuals for sins that are committed and must be committed against mankind in general8 ,foolish with fools1 vain with the vain1 enthusiastic with enthusiasts8 ,would that not be reasonable when there is such an inordinate amount of divergence in the main8 ,when ,i hear of the malignity of others against me--is not my first feeling that of satisfaction8 ,it is well that it should be so6--,i seem to myself to say to them--,i am so little in harmony with you1 and have so much truth on my side3 see henceforth that ye be merry at my expense as often as ye can6 ,here are my defects and mistakes1 here are my illusions1 my bad taste1 my confusion1 my tears1 my vanity1 my owlish concealment1 my contradictions6 ,here you have something to laugh at6 ,laugh then1 and enjoy yourselves6 ,i am not averse to the law and nature of things1 which is that defects and errors should give pleasure6--,to be sure there were once 'more glorious' times1 when as soon as any one got an idea1 however moderately new it might be1 he would think himself so indispensable as to go out into the street with it1 and call to everybody3 ',behold6 the kingdom of heaven is at hand6'--,i should not miss myself1 if ,i were a-wanting4 ,we are none of us indispensable6--,as we have said1 however1 we do not think thus when we are brave2 we do not think about it at all4 #cab4 ,my ,dog4--,i have given a name to my suffering1 and call it dog1--it is just as faithful1 just as importunate and shameless1 just as entertaining1 just as wise1 as any other dog--and ,i can domineer over it1 and vent my bad humour on it1 as others do with their dogs1 servants1 and wives4 #cac4 ,no ,picture of a ,martyr4--,i will take my cue from ,raphael1 and not paint any more martyr pictures4 ,there are enough of sublime things without its being necessary to seek sublimity where it is linked with cruelty2 moreover my ambition would not be gratified in the least if ,i aspired to be a sublime executioner4 #cad4 ,new ,domestic ,animals4--,i want to have my lion and my eagle about me1 that ,i may always have hints and premonitions concerning the amount of my strength or weakness4 ,must ,i look down on them to-day1 and be afraid of them8 ,and will the hour come once more when they will look up to me1 and tremble8-- #cae4 ,the ,last ,hour4--,storms are my danger4 ,shall ,i have my storm in which ,i shall perish1 just as ,oliver ,cromwell perished in his storm8 ,or shall ,i go out as a light does1 not first blown out by the wind1 but grown tired and weary of itself--a burnt-out light8 ,or finally1 shall ,i blow myself out1 so as not to burn out6 #caf4 ,prophetic ,men4--,ye cannot divine how sorely prophetic men suffer3 ye think only that a fine gift has been given to them1 and would fain have it yourselves1--but ,i will express my meaning by a simile4 ,how much may not the animals suffer from the electricity of the atmosphere and the clouds6 ,some of them1 as we see1 have a prophetic faculty with regard to the weather1 for example1 apes 7as one can observe very well even in ,europe1--and not only in menageries1 but at ,gibraltar74 ,but it never occurs to us that it is their sufferings--that are their prophets6 ,when strong positive electricity1 under the influence of an approaching cloud not at all visible1 is suddenly converted into negative electricity1 and an alteration of the weather is imminent1 these animals then behave as if an enemy were approaching them1 and prepare for defence1 or flight3 they generally hide themselves1--they do not think of the bad weather as weather1 but as an enemy whose hand they already feel6 #cag4 ,retrospect4--,we seldom become conscious of the real pathos of any period of life as such1 as long as we continue in it1 but always think it is the only possible and reasonable thing for us henceforth1 and that it is altogether ethos and not pathos#aj--to speak and distinguish like the ,greeks4 ,a few notes of music to-day recalled a winter and a house1 and a life of utter solitude to my mind1 and at the same time the sentiments in which ,i then lived3 ,i thought ,i should be able to live in such a state always4 ,but now ,i understand that it was entirely pathos and passion1 something comparable to this painfully bold and truly comforting music1--it is not one's lot to have these sensations for years1 still less for eternities3 otherwise one would become too ethereal for this planet4 #cah4 ,wisdom in ,pain4--,in pain there is as much wisdom as in pleasure3 like the latter it is one of the best self-preservatives of a species4 ,were it not so1 pain would long ago have been done away with2 that it is hurtful is no argument against it1 for to be hurtful is its very essence4 ,in pain ,i hear the commanding call of the ship's captain3 ,take in sail6 ,man1 the bold seafarer1 must have learned to set his sails in a thousand different ways1 otherwise he could not have sailed long1 for the ocean would soon have swallowed him up4 ,we must also know how to live with reduced energy3 as soon as pain gives its precautionary signal1 it is time to reduce the speed--some great danger1 some storm1 is approaching1 and we do well to catch as little wind as possible4--,it is true that there are men who1 on the approach of severe pain1 hear the very opposite call of command1 and never appear more proud1 more martial1 or more happy1 than when the storm is brewing2 indeed1 pain itself provides them with their supreme moments6 ,these are the heroic men1 the great pain-bringers of mankind3 those few and rare ones who need just the same apology as pain generally1--and verily1 it should not be denied them6 ,they are forces of the greatest importance for preserving and advancing the species1 were it only because they are opposed to smug ease1 and do not conceal their disgust at this kind of happiness4 #cai4 ,as ,interpreters of our ,experiences4--,one form of honesty has always been lacking among founders of religions and their kin3--they have never made their experiences a matter of the intellectual conscience4 ,what did ,i really experience8 ,what then took place in me and around me8 ,was my understanding clear enough8 ,was my will directly opposed to all deception of the senses1 and courageous in its defence against fantastic notions8--,none of them ever asked these questions1 nor to this day do any of the good religious people ask them4 ,they have rather a thirst for things which are contrary to reason1 and they don't want to have too much difficulty in satisfying this thirst1--so they experience miracles and regenerations1 and hear the voices of angels6 ,but we who are different1 who are thirsty for reason1 want to look as carefully into our experiences1 as in the case of a scientific experiment1 hour by hour1 day by day6 ,we ourselves want to be our own experiments1 and our own subjects of experiment4 #cbj4 ,on ,meeting ,again4--,a3 ,do ,i quite understand you8 ,you are in search of something8 ,where1 in the midst of the present1 actual world1 is your niche and star8 ,where can you lay yourself in the sun1 so that you also may have a surplus of well-being1 that your existence may justify itself8 ,let everyone do that for himself--you seem to say1 --and let him put talk about generalities1 concern about others and society1 out of his mind6--,b3 ,i want more2 ,i am no seeker4 ,i want to create my own sun for myself4 #cba4 ,a ,new ,precaution4--,let us no longer think so much about punishing1 blaming1 and improving6 ,we shall seldom be able to alter an individual1 and if we should succeed in doing so1 something else may also succeed1 perhaps unawares3 we may have been altered by him6 ,let us rather see to it that our own influence on all that is to come outweighs and overweighs his influence6 ,let us not struggle in direct conflict6--all blaming1 punishing1 and desire to improve comes under this category4 ,but let us elevate ourselves all the higher6 ,let us ever give to our pattern more shining colours6 ,let us obscure the other by our light6 ,no6 ,we do not mean to become darker ourselves on his account1 like all that punish and are discontented6 ,let us rather go aside6 ,let us look away6 #cbb4 ,a ,simile4--,those thinkers in whom all the stars move in cyclic orbits1 are not the most profound4 ,he who looks into himself1 as into an immense universe1 and carries ,milky ,ways in himself1 knows also how irregular all ,milky ,ways are2 they lead into the very chaos and labyrinth of existence4 #cbc4 ,happiness in ,destiny4--,destiny confers its greatest distinction upon us when it has made us fight for a time on the side of our adversaries4 ,we are thereby predestined to a great victory4 #cbd4 ,in ,media ,vita4--,no6 ,life has not deceived me6 ,on the contrary1 from year to year ,i find it richer1 more desirable and more mysterious--from the day on which the great liberator broke my fetters1 the thought that life may be an experiment of the thinker--and not a duty1 not a fatality1 not a deceit6--,and knowledge itself may be for others something different2 for example1 a bed of ease1 or the path to a bed of ease1 or an entertainment1 or a course of idling1--for me it is a world of dangers and victories1 in which even the heroic sentiments have their arena and dancing-floor4 ,life as a means to knowledge--with this principle in one's heart1 one can not only be brave1 but can even live joyfully and laugh joyfully6 ,and who could know how to laugh well and live well1 who did not first understand the full meaning of war and victory6 #cbe4 ,what ,belongs to ,greatness4--,who can attain to anything great if he does not feel the force and will in himself to inflict great pain8 ,the ability to suffer is a small matter3 in that line1 weak women and even slaves often attain masterliness4 ,but not to perish from internal distress and doubt when one inflicts great anguish and hears the cry of this anguish--that is great1 that belongs to greatness4 #cbf4 ,physicians of the ,soul and ,pain4--,all preachers of morality1 as also all theologians1 have a bad habit in common3 all of them try to persuade man that he is very ill1 and that a severe1 final1 radical cure is necessary4 ,and because mankind as a whole has for centuries listened too eagerly to those teachers1 something of the superstition that the human race is in a very bad way has actually come over men3 so that they are now far too ready to sigh2 they find nothing more in life and make melancholy faces at each other1 as if life were indeed very hard to endure4 ,in truth1 they are inordinately assured of their life and in love with it1 and full of untold intrigues and subtleties for suppressing everything disagreeable and for extracting the thorn from pain and misfortune4 ,it seems to me that people always speak with exaggeration about pain and misfortune1 as if it were a matter of good behaviour to exaggerate here3 on the other hand people are intentionally silent in regard to the number of expedients for alleviating pain2 as for instance1 the deadening of it1 or feverish flurry of thought1 or a peaceful position1 or good and bad reminiscences1 intentions1 hopes1--also many kinds of pride and fellow-feeling which have almost the effect of ansthetics3 while in the greatest degree of pain fainting takes place of itself4 ,we understand very well how to pour sweetness on our bitterness1 especially on the bitterness of our soul2 we find a remedy in our bravery and sublimity1 as well as in the nobler delirium of submission and resignation4 ,a loss scarcely remains a loss for an hour3 in some way or other a gift from heaven has always fallen into our lap at the same moment--a new form of strength1 for example3 be it but a new opportunity for the exercise of strength6 ,what have the preachers of morality not dreamt concerning the inner misery of evil men6 ,what lies have they not told us about the misfortunes of impassioned men6 ,yes1 lying is here the right word3 they were only too well aware of the overflowing happiness of this kind of man1 but they kept silent as death about it2 because it was a refutation of their theory1 according to which happiness only originates through the annihilation of the passions and the silencing of the will6 ,and finally1 as regards the recipe of all those physicians of the soul and their recommendation of a severe radical cure1 we may be allowed to ask3 ,is our life really painful and burdensome enough for us to exchange it with advantage for a ,stoical mode of life1 and ,stoical petrification8 ,we do not feel sufficiently miserable to have to feel ill in the ,stoical fashion6 #cbg4 ,taking ,things ,seriously4--,the intellect is with most people an awkward1 obscure and creaking machine1 which is difficult to set in motion3 they call it taking a thing seriously when they work with this machine1 and want to think well--oh1 how burdensome must good thinking be to them6 ,that delightful animal1 man1 seems to lose his good-humour whenever he thinks well2 he becomes serious6 ,and where there is laughing and gaiety1 thinking cannot be worth anything3--so speaks the prejudice of this serious animal against all ,joyful ,wisdom4--,well1 then6 ,let us show that it is prejudice6 #cbh4 ,doing ,harm to ,stupidity4--,it is certain that the belief in the reprehensibility of egoism1 preached with such stubbornness and conviction1 has on the whole done harm to egoism 7in favour of the herd-instinct1 as ,i shall repeat a hundred times671 especially by depriving it of a good conscience1 and bidding us seek in it the true source of all misfortune4 ,thy selfishness is the bane of thy life--so rang the preaching for millenniums3 it did harm1 as we have said1 to selfishness1 and deprived it of much spirit1 much cheerfulness1 much ingenuity1 and much beauty2 it stultified and deformed and poisoned selfishness6--,philosophical antiquity1 on the other hand1 taught that there was another principal source of evil3 from ,socrates downwards1 the thinkers were never weary of preaching that your thoughtlessness and stupidity1 your unthinking way of living according to rule1 and your subjection to the opinion of your neighbour1 are the reasons why you so seldom attain to happiness1--we thinkers are1 as thinkers1 the happiest of mortals4 ,let us not decide here whether this preaching against stupidity was more sound than the preaching against selfishness2 it is certain1 however1 that stupidity was thereby deprived of its good conscience3--these philosophers did harm to stupidity4 #cbi4 ,leisure and ,idleness4--,there is an ,indian savagery1 a savagery peculiar to the ,indian blood1 in the manner in which the ,americans strive after gold3 and the breathless hurry of their work--the characteristic vice of the new world--already begins to infect old ,europe1 and makes it savage also1 spreading over it a strange lack of intellectuality4 ,one is now ashamed of repose3 even long reflection almost causes remorse of conscience4 ,thinking is done with a stop-watch1 as dining is done with the eyes fixed on the financial newspaper2 we live like men who are continually afraid of letting opportunities slip4 ,better do anything whatever1 than nothing--this principle also is a noose with which all culture and all higher taste may be strangled4 ,and just as all form obviously disappears in this hurry of workers1 so the sense for form itself1 the ear and the eye for the melody of movement1 also disappear4 ,the proof of this is the clumsy perspicuity which is now everywhere demanded in all positions where a person would like to be sincere with his fellows1 in intercourse with friends1 women1 relatives1 children1 teachers1 pupils1 leaders and princes1--one has no longer either time or energy for ceremonies1 for roundabout courtesies1 for any esprit in conversation1 or for any otium whatever4 ,for life in the hunt for gain continually compels a person to consume his intellect1 even to exhaustion1 in constant dissimulation1 overreaching1 or forestalling3 the real virtue nowadays is to do something in a shorter time than another person4 ,and so there are only rare hours of sincere intercourse permitted3 in them1 however1 people are tired1 and would not only like to let themselves go1 but to stretch their legs out wide in awkward style4 ,the way people write their letters nowadays is quite in keeping with the age2 their style and spirit will always be the true sign of the times4 ,if there be still enjoyment in society and in art1 it is enjoyment such as over-worked slaves provide for themselves4 ,oh1 this moderation in joy of our cultured and uncultured classes6 ,oh1 this increasing suspiciousness of all enjoyment6 ,work is winning over more and more the good conscience to its side3 the desire for enjoyment already calls itself need of recreation1 and even begins to be ashamed of itself4 ,one owes it to one's health1 people say1 when they are caught at a picnic4 ,indeed1 it might soon go so far that one could not yield to the desire for the vita contemplativa 7that is to say1 excursions with thoughts and friends71 without self-contempt and a bad conscience4--,well6 ,formerly it was the very reverse3 it was action that suffered from a bad conscience4 ,a man of good family concealed his work when need compelled him to labour4 ,the slave laboured under the weight of the feeling that he did something contemptible3--the doing itself was something contemptible4 ,only in otium and bellum is there nobility and honour3 so rang the voice of ancient prejudice6 #ccj4 ,applause4--,the thinker does not need applause nor the clapping of hands1 provided he be sure of the clapping of his own hands3 the latter1 however1 he cannot do without4 ,are there men who could also do without this1 and in general without any kind of applause8 ,i doubt it3 and even as regards the wisest1 ,tacitus1 who is no calumniator of the wise1 says3 quando etiam sapientibus glori cupido novissima exuitur--that means with him3 never4 #cca4 ,better ,deaf than ,deafened4--,formerly a person wanted to have a calling1 but that no longer suffices to-day1 for the market has become too large1--there has now to be bawling4 ,the consequence is that even good throats outcry each other1 and the best wares are offered for sale with hoarse voices2 without market-place bawling and hoarseness there is now no longer any genius4--,it is1 sure enough1 an evil age for the thinker3 he has to learn to find his stillness betwixt two noises1 and has to pretend to be deaf until he finally becomes so4 ,as long as he has not learned this1 he is in danger of perishing from impatience and headaches4 #ccb4 ,the ,evil ,hour4--,there has perhaps been an evil hour for every philosopher1 in which he thought3 ,what do ,i matter1 if people should not believe my poor arguments6--,and then some malicious bird has flown past him and twittered3 ,what do you matter8 ,what do you matter8 #ccc4 ,what does ,knowing ,mean8--,non ridere1 non lugere1 neque detestari1 sed intelligere6 says ,spinoza1 so simply and sublimely1 as is his wont4 ,nevertheless1 what else is this intelligere ultimately1 but just the form in which the three other things become perceptible to us all at once8 ,a result of the diverging and opposite impulses of desiring to deride1 lament and execrate8 ,before knowledge is possible each of these impulses must first have brought forward its one-sided view of the object or event4 ,the struggle of these one-sided views occurs afterwards1 and out of it there occasionally arises a compromise1 a pacification1 a recognition of rights on all three sides1 a sort of justice and agreement3 for in virtue of the justice and agreement all those impulses can maintain themselves in existence and retain their mutual rights4 ,we1 to whose consciousness only the closing reconciliation scenes and final settling of accounts of these long processes manifest themselves1 think on that account that intelligere is something conciliating1 just and good1 something essentially antithetical to the impulses2 whereas it is only a certain relation of the impulses to one another4 ,for a very long time conscious thinking was regarded as thinking proper3 it is now only that the truth dawns upon us that the greater part of our intellectual activity goes on unconsciously and unfelt by us2 ,i believe1 however1 that the impulses which are here in mutual conflict understand right well how to make themselves felt by one another1 and how to cause pain3--the violent1 sudden exhaustion which overtakes all thinkers1 may have its origin here 7it is the exhaustion of the battle-field74 ,aye1 perhaps in our struggling interior there is much concealed heroism1 but certainly nothing divine1 or eternally-reposing-in-itself1 as ,spinoza supposed4 ,conscious thinking1 and especially that of the philosopher1 is the weakest1 and on that account also the relatively mildest and quietest mode of thinking3 and thus it is precisely the philosopher who is most easily misled concerning the nature of knowledge4 #ccd4 ,one must ,learn to ,love4--,this is our experience in music3 we must first learn in general to hear1 to hear fully1 and to distinguish a theme or a melody1 we have to isolate and limit it as a life by itself2 then we need to exercise effort and good-will in order to endure it in spite of its strangeness1 we need patience towards its aspect and expression1 and indulgence towards what is odd in it3--in the end there comes a moment when we are accustomed to it1 when we expect it1 when it dawns upon us that we should miss it if it were lacking2 and then it goes on to exercise its spell and charm more and more1 and does not cease until we have become its humble and enraptured lovers1 who want it1 and want it again1 and ask for nothing better from the world4--,it is thus with us1 however1 not only in music3 it is precisely thus that we have learned to love all things that we now love4 ,we are always finally recompensed for our good-will1 our patience1 reasonableness and gentleness towards what is unfamiliar1 by the unfamiliar slowly throwing off its veil and presenting itself to us as a new1 ineffable beauty3--that is its thanks for our hospitality4 ,he also who loves himself must have learned it in this way3 there is no other way4 ,love also has to be learned4 #cce4 ,cheers for ,physics6--,how many men are there who know how to observe8 ,and among the few who do know1--how many observe themselves8 ,everyone is furthest from himself--all the triers of the reins know that to their discomfort2 and the saying1 ,know thyself1 in the mouth of a ,god and spoken to man1 is almost a mockery4 ,but that the case of self-observation is so desperate1 is attested best of all by the manner in which almost everybody talks of the nature of a moral action1 that prompt1 willing1 convinced1 loquacious manner1 with its look1 its smile1 and its pleasing eagerness6 ,everyone seems inclined to say to you3 ,why1 my dear ,sir1 that is precisely my affair6 ,you address yourself with your question to him who is authorised to answer1 for ,i happen to be wiser with regard to this matter than in anything else4 ,therefore1 when a man decides that 'this is right1' when he accordingly concludes that 'it must therefore be done1' and thereupon does what he has thus recognised as right and designated as necessary--then the nature of his action is moral6 ,but1 my friend1 you are talking to me about three actions instead of one3 your deciding1 for instance1 that this is right1 is also an action1--could one not judge either morally or immorally8 ,why do you regard this1 and just this1 as right8--,because my conscience tells me so2 conscience never speaks immorally1 indeed it determines in the first place what shall be moral6--,but why do you listen to the voice of your conscience8 ,and in how far are you justified in regarding such a judgment as true and infallible8 ,this belief--is there no further conscience for it8 ,do you know nothing of an intellectual conscience8 ,a conscience behind your conscience8 ,your decision1 this is right1 has a previous history in your impulses1 your likes and dislikes1 your experiences and non-experiences2 how has it originated8 you must ask1 and afterwards the further question3 what really impels me to give ear to it8 ,you can listen to its command like a brave soldier who hears the command of his officer4 ,or like a woman who loves him who commands4 ,or like a flatterer and coward1 afraid of the commander4 ,or like a blockhead who follows because he has nothing to say to the contrary4 ,in short1 you can give ear to your conscience in a hundred different ways4 ,but that you hear this or that judgment as the voice of conscience1 consequently1 that you feel a thing to be right--may have its cause in the fact that you have never reflected about yourself1 and have blindly accepted from your childhood what has been designated to you as right3 or in the fact that hitherto bread and honours have fallen to your share with that which you call your duty1--it is right to you1 because it seems to be your condition of existence 7that you1 however1 have a right to existence appears to you as irrefutable674 ,the persistency of your moral judgment might still be just a proof of personal wretchedness or impersonality2 your moral force might have its source in your obstinacy--or in your incapacity to perceive new ideals6 ,and to be brief3 if you had thought more acutely1 observed more accurately1 and had learned more1 you would no longer under all circumstances call this and that your duty and your conscience3 the knowledge how moral judgments have in general always originated1 would make you tired of these pathetic words1--as you have already grown tired of other pathetic words1 for instance sin1 salvation1 and redemption4--,and now1 my friend1 do not talk to me about the categorical imperative6 ,that word tickles my ear1 and ,i must laugh in spite of your presence and your seriousness4 ,in this connection ,i recollect old ,kant1 who1 as a punishment for having gained possession surreptitiously of the thing in itself--also a very ludicrous affair6--was imposed upon by the categorical imperative1 and with that in his heart strayed back again to ,god1 the soul1 freedom1 and immortality1 like a fox which strays back into its cage3 and it had been his strength and shrewdness which had broken open this cage6--,what8 ,you admire the categorical imperative in you8 ,this persistency of your so-called moral judgment8 ,this absoluteness of the feeling that as ,i think on this matter1 so must everyone think8 ,admire rather your selfishness therein6 ,and the blindness1 paltriness1 and modesty of your selfishness6 ,for it is selfishness in a person to regard his judgment as universal law1 and a blind1 paltry and modest selfishness besides1 because it betrays that you have not yet discovered yourself1 that you have not yet created for yourself any individual1 quite individual ideal3--for this could never be the ideal of another1 to say nothing of all1 of every one6----,he who still thinks that each would have to act in this manner in this case1 has not yet advanced half a dozen paces in self-knowledge3 otherwise he would know that there neither are nor can be similar actions1--that every action that has been done1 has been done in an entirely unique and inimitable manner1 and that it will be the same with regard to all future actions2 that all precepts of conduct 7and even the most esoteric and subtle precepts of all moralities up to the present71 apply only to the coarse exterior1--that by means of them1 indeed1 a semblance of equality can be attained1 but only a semblance1--that in outlook or retrospect1 every action is and remains an impenetrable affair1--that our opinions of good1 noble and great can never be demonstrated by our actions1 because no action is cognisable1--that our opinions1 estimates1 and tables of values are certainly among the most powerful levers in the mechanism of our actions1 that in every single case1 nevertheless1 the law of their mechanism is untraceable4 ,let us confine ourselves1 therefore1 to the purification of our opinions and appreciations1 and to the construction of new tables of value of our own3--we will1 however1 brood no longer over the moral worth of our actions6 ,yes1 my friends6 ,as regards the whole moral twaddle of people about one another1 it is time to be disgusted with it6 ,to sit in judgment morally ought to be opposed to our taste6 ,let us leave this nonsense and this bad taste to those who have nothing else to do1 save to drag the past a little distance further through time1 and who are never themselves the present1--consequently to the many1 to the majority6 ,we1 however1 would seek to become what we are1--the new1 the unique1 the incomparable1 making laws for ourselves and creating ourselves6 ,and for this purpose we must become the best students and discoverers of all the laws and necessities in the world4 ,we must be physicists in order to be creators in that sense1--whereas hitherto all appreciations and ideals have been based on ignorance of physics1 or in contradiction to it4 ,and therefore1 three cheers for physics6 ,and still louder cheers for that which impels us to it--our honesty4 #ccf4 ,avarice of ,nature4--,why has nature been so niggardly towards humanity that she has not let human beings shine1 this man more and that man less1 according to their inner abundance of light8 ,why have not great men such a fine visibility in their rising and setting as the sun8 ,how much less equivocal would life among men then be6 #ccg4 ,future ,humanity4--,when ,i look at this age with the eye of a distant future1 ,i find nothing so remarkable in the man of the present day as his peculiar virtue and sickness called the historical sense4 ,it is a tendency to something quite new and foreign in history3 if this embryo were given several centuries and more1 there might finally evolve out of it a marvellous plant1 with a smell equally marvellous1 on account of which our old earth might be more pleasant to live in than it has been hitherto4 ,we moderns are just beginning to form the chain of a very powerful1 future sentiment1 link by link1--we hardly know what we are doing4 ,it almost seems to us as if it were not the question of a new sentiment1 but of the decline of all old sentiments3--the historical sense is still something so poor and cold1 and many are attacked by it as by a frost1 and are made poorer and colder by it4 ,to others it appears as the indication of stealthily approaching age1 and our planet is regarded by them as a melancholy invalid1 who1 in order to forget his present condition1 writes the history of his youth4 ,in fact1 this is one aspect of the new sentiment4 ,he who knows how to regard the history of man in its entirety as his own history1 feels in the immense generalisation all the grief of the invalid who thinks of health1 of the old man who thinks of the dream of his youth1 of the lover who is robbed of his beloved1 of the martyr whose ideal is destroyed1 of the hero on the evening of the indecisive battle which has brought him wounds and the loss of a friend4 ,but to bear this immense sum of grief of all kinds1 to be able to bear it1 and yet still be the hero who at the commencement of a second day of battle greets the dawn and his happiness1 as one who has an horizon of centuries before and behind him1 as the heir of all nobility1 of all past intellect1 and the obligatory heir 7as the noblest7 of all the old nobles2 while at the same time the first of a new nobility1 the equal of which has never been seen nor even dreamt of3 to take all this upon his soul1 the oldest1 the newest1 the losses1 hopes1 conquests1 and victories of mankind3 to have all this at last in one soul1 and to comprise it in one feeling3--this would necessarily furnish a happiness which man has not hitherto known1--a ,god's happiness1 full of power and love1 full of tears and laughter1 a happiness which1 like the sun in the evening1 continually gives of its inexhaustible riches and empties into the sea1--and like the sun1 too1 feels itself richest when even the poorest fisherman rows with golden oars6 ,this divine feeling might then be called--humanity6 #cch4 ,the ,will to ,suffering and the ,compassionate4--,is it to your advantage to be above all compassionate8 ,and is it to the advantage of the sufferers when you are so8 ,but let us leave the first question for a moment without an answer4--,that from which we suffer most profoundly and personally is almost incomprehensible and inaccessible to every one else3 in this matter we are hidden from our neighbour even when he eats at the same table with us4 ,everywhere1 however1 where we are noticed as sufferers1 our suffering is interpreted in a shallow way2 it belongs to the nature of the emotion of pity to divest unfamiliar suffering of its properly personal character3--our benefactors lower our value and volition more than our enemies4 ,in most benefits which are conferred on the unfortunate there is something shocking in the intellectual levity with which the compassionate person plays the rle of fate3 he knows nothing of all the inner consequences and complications which are called misfortune for me or for you6 ,the entire economy of my soul and its adjustment by misfortune1 the uprising of new sources and needs1 the closing up of old wounds1 the repudiation of whole periods of the past--none of these things which may be connected with misfortune preoccupy the dear sympathiser4 ,he wishes to succour1 and does not reflect that there is a personal necessity for misfortune2 that terror1 want1 impoverishment1 midnight watches1 adventures1 hazards and mistakes are as necessary to me and to you as their opposites1 yea1 that1 to speak mystically1 the path to one's own heaven always leads through the voluptuousness of one's own hell4 ,no1 he knows nothing thereof4 ,the religion of compassion 7or the heart7 bids him help1 and he thinks he has helped best when he has helped most speedily6 ,if you adherents of this religion actually have the same sentiments towards yourselves which you have towards your fellows1 if you are unwilling to endure your own suffering even for an hour1 and continually forestall all possible misfortune1 if you regard suffering and pain generally as evil1 as detestable1 as deserving of annihilation1 and as blots on existence1 well1 you have then1 besides your religion of compassion1 yet another religion in your heart 7and this is perhaps the mother of the former7--the religion of smug ease4 ,ah1 how little you know of the happiness of man1 you comfortable and good-natured ones6--for happiness and misfortune are brother and sister1 and twins1 who grow tall together1 or1 as with you1 remain small together6 ,but now let us return to the first question4--,how is it at all possible for a person to keep to his path6 ,some cry or other is continually calling one aside3 our eye then rarely lights on anything without it becoming necessary for us to leave for a moment our own affairs and rush to give assistance4 ,i know there are hundreds of respectable and laudable methods of making me stray from my course1 and in truth the most moral of methods6 ,indeed1 the opinion of the present-day preachers of the morality of compassion goes so far as to imply that just this1 and this alone is moral3--to stray from our course to that extent and to run to the assistance of our neighbour4 ,i am equally certain that ,i need only give myself over to the sight of one case of actual distress1 and ,i1 too1 am lost6 ,and if a suffering friend said to me1 ,see1 ,i shall soon die1 only promise to die with me--,i might promise it1 just as--to select for once bad examples for good reasons--the sight of a small1 mountain people struggling for freedom1 would bring me to the point of offering them my hand and my life4 ,indeed1 there is even a secret seduction in all this awakening of compassion1 and calling for help3 our own way is a thing too hard and insistent1 and too far removed from the love and gratitude of others1--we escape from it and from our most personal conscience1 not at all unwillingly1 and1 seeking security in the conscience of others1 we take refuge in the lovely temple of the religion of pity4 ,as soon now as any war breaks out1 there always breaks out at the same time a certain secret delight precisely in the noblest class of the people3 they rush with rapture to meet the new danger of death1 because they believe that in the sacrifice for their country they have finally that long-sought-for permission--the permission to shirk their aim3--war is for them a detour to suicide1 a detour1 however1 with a good conscience4 ,and although silent here about some things1 ,i will not1 however1 be silent about my morality1 which says to me3 ,live in concealment in order that thou mayest live to thyself4 ,live ignorant of that which seems to thy age to be most important6 ,put at least the skin of three centuries betwixt thyself and the present day6 ,and the clamour of the present day1 the noise of wars and revolutions1 ought to be a murmur to thee6 ,thou wilt also want to help1 but only those whose distress thou entirely understandest1 because they have one sorrow and one hope in common with thee--thy friends3 and only in the way that thou helpest thyself3--,i want to make them more courageous1 more enduring1 more simple1 more joyful6 ,i want to teach them that which at present so few understand1 and the preachers of fellowship in sorrow least of all3--namely1 fellowship in joy6 #cci4 ,vita femina4--,to see the ultimate beauties in a work--all knowledge and good-will is not enough2 it requires the rarest1 good chance for the veil of clouds to move for once from the summits1 and for the sun to shine on them4 ,we must not only stand at precisely the right place to see this1 our very soul itself must have pulled away the veil from its heights1 and must be in need of an external expression and simile1 so as to have a support and remain master of itself4 ,all these1 however1 are so rarely united at the same time that ,i am inclined to believe that the highest summit of all that is good1 be it work1 deed1 man1 or nature1 has hitherto remained for most people1 and even for the best1 as something concealed and shrouded3--that1 however1 which unveils itself to us1 unveils itself to us but once4 ,the ,greeks indeed prayed3 ,twice and thrice1 everything beautiful6 ,ah1 they had their good reason to call on the ,gods1 for ungodly actuality does not furnish us with the beautiful at all1 or only does so once6 ,i mean to say that the world is overfull of beautiful things1 but it is nevertheless poor1 very poor1 in beautiful moments1 and in the unveiling of those beautiful things4 ,but perhaps this is the greatest charm of life3 it puts a gold-embroidered veil of lovely potentialities over itself1 promising1 resisting1 modest1 mocking1 sympathetic1 seductive4 ,yes1 life is a woman6 #cdj4 ,the ,dying ,socrates4--,i admire the courage and wisdom of ,socrates in all that he did1 said--and did not say4 ,this mocking and amorous demon and rat-catcher of ,athens1 who made the most insolent youths tremble and sob was not only the wisest babbler that has ever lived1 but was just as great in his silence4 ,i would that he had also been silent in the last moment of his life1--perhaps he might then have belonged to a still higher order of intellects4 ,whether it was death1 or the poison1 or piety1 or wickedness--something or other loosened his tongue at that moment1 and he said3 ,o ,crito1 ,i owe a cock to ,asclepios4 ,for him who has ears1 this ludicrous and terrible last word implies3 ,o ,crito1 life is a long sickness6 ,is it possible6 ,a man like him1 who had lived cheerfully and to all appearance as a soldier1--was a pessimist6 ,he had merely put on a good demeanour towards life1 and had all along concealed his ultimate judgment1 his profoundest sentiment6 ,socrates1 ,socrates had suffered from life6 ,and he also took his revenge for it--with that veiled1 fearful1 pious1 and blasphemous phrase6 ,had even a ,socrates to revenge himself8 ,was there a grain too little of magnanimity in his superabundant virtue8 ,ah1 my friends6 ,we must surpass even the ,greeks6 #cda4 ,the ,heaviest ,burden4--,what if a demon crept after thee into thy loneliest loneliness some day or night1 and said to thee3 ,this life1 as thou livest it at present1 and hast lived it1 thou must live it once more1 and also innumerable times2 and there will be nothing new in it1 but every pain and every joy and every thought and every sigh1 and all the unspeakably small and great in thy life must come to thee again1 and all in the same series and sequence--and similarly this spider and this moonlight among the trees1 and similarly this moment1 and ,i myself4 ,the eternal sand-glass of existence will ever be turned once more1 and thou with it1 thou speck of dust6--,wouldst thou not throw thyself down and gnash thy teeth1 and curse the demon that so spake8 ,or hast thou once experienced a tremendous moment in which thou wouldst answer him3 ,thou art a ,god1 and never did ,i hear aught more divine6 ,if that thought acquired power over thee1 as thou art1 it would transform thee1 and perhaps crush thee2 the question with regard to all and everything3 ,dost thou want this once more1 and also for innumerable times8 would lie as the heaviest burden upon thy activity6 ,or1 how wouldst thou have to become favourably inclined to thyself and to life1 so as to long for nothing more ardently than for this last eternal sanctioning and sealing8-- #cdb4 ,incipit ,tragdia4--,when ,zarathustra was thirty years old1 he left his home and the ,lake of ,urmi1 and went into the mountains4 ,there he enjoyed his spirit and his solitude1 and for ten years did not weary of it4 ,but at last his heart changed1--and rising one morning with the rosy dawn1 he went before the sun and spake thus unto it3 ,thou great star6 ,what would be thy happiness if thou hadst not those for whom thou shinest6 ,for ten years hast thou climbed hither unto my cave3 thou wouldst have wearied of thy light and of the journey1 had it not been for me1 mine eagle1 and my serpent4 ,but we awaited thee every morning1 took from thee thine overflow1 and blessed thee for it4 ,lo6 ,i am weary of my wisdom1 like the bee that hath gathered too much honey2 ,i need hands outstretched to take it4 ,i would fain bestow and distribute1 until the wise have once more become joyous in their folly1 and the poor happy in their riches4 ,therefore must ,i descend into the deep1 as thou doest in the evening1 when thou goest behind the sea and givest light also to the nether-world1 thou most rich star6 ,like thee must ,i go down1 as men say1 to whom ,i shall descend4 ,bless me then1 thou tranquil eye1 that canst behold even the greatest happiness without envy6 ,bless the cup that is about to overflow1 that the water may flow golden out of it1 and carry everywhere the reflection of thy bliss6 ,lo6 ,this cup is again going to empty itself1 and ,zarathustra is again going to be a man4--,thus began ,zarathustra's down-going4 ----- ,footnote #aj3 ,the distinction between ethos and pathos in ,aristotle is1 broadly1 that between internal character and external circumstance4--,p4 ,v4 ,c4 ,,book ,,fifth ,,we ,,fearless ,,ones ,carcasse1 tu trembles8 ,tu tremblerais bien davantage1 si tu savais1 o je te mne4-- ,turenne4 #cdc4 ,what our ,cheerfulness ,signifies4--,the most important of more recent events--that ,god is dead1 that the belief in the ,christian ,god has become unworthy of belief--already begins to cast its first shadows over ,europe4 ,to the few at least whose eye1 whose suspecting glance1 is strong enough and subtle enough for this drama1 some sun seems to have set1 some old1 profound confidence seems to have changed into doubt3 our old world must seem to them daily more darksome1 distrustful1 strange and old4 ,in the main1 however1 one may say that the event itself is far too great1 too remote1 too much beyond most people's power of apprehension1 for one to suppose that so much as the report of it could have reached them2 not to speak of many who already knew what had really taken place1 and what must all collapse now that this belief had been undermined1--because so much was built upon it1 so much rested on it1 and had become one with it3 for example1 our entire ,european morality4 ,this lengthy1 vast and uninterrupted process of crumbling1 destruction1 ruin and overthrow which is now imminent3 who has realised it sufficiently to-day to have to stand up as the teacher and herald of such a tremendous logic of terror1 as the prophet of a period of gloom and eclipse1 the like of which has probably never taken place on earth before8444 ,even we1 the born riddle-readers1 who wait as it were on the mountains posted 'twixt to-day and to-morrow1 and engirt by their contradiction1 we1 the firstlings and premature children of the coming century1 into whose sight especially the shadows which must forthwith envelop ,europe should already have come--how is it that even we1 without genuine sympathy for this period of gloom1 contemplate its advent without any personal solicitude or fear8 ,are we still1 perhaps1 too much under the immediate effects of the event--and are these effects1 especially as regards ourselves1 perhaps the reverse of what was to be expected--not at all sad and depressing1 but rather like a new and indescribable variety of light1 happiness1 relief1 enlivenment1 encouragement1 and dawning day8444 ,in fact1 we philosophers and free spirits feel ourselves irradiated as by a new dawn by the report that the old ,god is dead2 our hearts overflow with gratitude1 astonishment1 presentiment and expectation4 ,at last the horizon seems open once more1 granting even that it is not bright2 our ships can at last put out to sea in face of every danger2 every hazard is again permitted to the discerner2 the sea1 our sea1 again lies open before us2 perhaps never before did such an open sea exist4-- #cdd4 ,to what ,extent even ,we are still ,pious4--,it is said with good reason that convictions have no civic rights in the domain of science3 it is only when a conviction voluntarily condescends to the modesty of an hypothesis1 a preliminary standpoint for experiment1 or a regulative fiction1 that its access to the realm of knowledge1 and a certain value therein1 can be conceded1--always1 however1 with the restriction that it must remain under police supervision1 under the police of our distrust4--,regarded more accurately1 however1 does not this imply that only when a conviction ceases to be a conviction can it obtain admission into science8 ,does not the discipline of the scientific spirit just commence when one no longer harbours any conviction8444 ,it is probably so3 only1 it remains to be asked whether1 in order that this discipline may commence1 it is not necessary that there should already be a conviction1 and in fact one so imperative and absolute1 that it makes a sacrifice of all other convictions4 ,one sees that science also rests on a belief3 there is no science at all without premises4 ,the question whether truth is necessary1 must not merely be affirmed beforehand1 but must be affirmed to such an extent that the principle1 belief1 or conviction finds expression1 that there is nothing more necessary than truth1 and in comparison with it everything else has only a secondary value4--,this absolute will to truth3 what is it8 ,is it the will not to allow ourselves to be deceived8 ,is it the will not to deceive8 ,for the will to truth could also be interpreted in this fashion1 provided one includes under the generalisation1 ,i will not deceive1 the special case1 ,i will not deceive myself4 ,but why not deceive8 ,why not allow oneself to be deceived8--,let it be noted that the reasons for the former eventuality belong to a category quite different from those for the latter3 one does not want to be deceived oneself1 under the supposition that it is injurious1 dangerous1 or fatal to be deceived1--in this sense science would be a prolonged process of caution1 foresight and utility2 against which1 however1 one might reasonably make objections4 ,what8 is not-wishing-to-be-deceived really less injurious1 less dangerous1 less fatal8 ,what do you know of the character of existence in all its phases to be able to decide whether the greater advantage is on the side of absolute distrust1 or of absolute trustfulness8 ,in case1 however1 of both being necessary1 much trusting and much distrusting1 whence then should science derive the absolute belief1 the conviction on which it rests1 that truth is more important than anything else1 even than every other conviction8 ,this conviction could not have arisen if truth and untruth had both continually proved themselves to be useful3 as is the case4 ,thus--the belief in science1 which now undeniably exists1 cannot have had its origin in such a utilitarian calculation1 but rather in spite of the fact of the inutility and dangerousness of the ,will to truth1 of truth at all costs1 being continually demonstrated4 ,at all costs3 alas1 we understand that sufficiently well1 after having sacrificed and slaughtered one belief after another at this altar6--,consequently1 ,will to truth does not imply1 ,i will not allow myself to be deceived1 but--there is no other alternative--,i will not deceive1 not even myself3 and thus we have reached the realm of morality4 ,for1 let one just ask oneself fairly3 ,why wilt thou not deceive8 especially if it should seem--and it does seem--as if life were laid out with a view to appearance1 ,i mean1 with a view to error1 deceit1 dissimulation1 delusion1 self-delusion2 and when on the other hand it is a matter of fact that the great type of life has always manifested itself on the side of the most unscrupulous 4 ,such an intention might perhaps1 to express it mildly1 be a piece of ,quixotism1 a little enthusiastic craziness2 it might also1 however1 be something worse1 namely1 a destructive principle1 hostile to life4444 ,will to ,truth1--that might be a concealed ,will to ,death4--,thus the question1 ,why is there science8 leads back to the moral problem3 ,what in general is the purpose of morality1 if life1 nature1 and history are non-moral8 ,there is no doubt that the conscientious man in the daring and extreme sense in which he is presupposed by the belief in science1 affirms thereby a world other than that of life1 nature1 and history2 and in so far as he affirms this other world1 what8 must he not just thereby--deny its counterpart1 this world1 our world8444 ,but what ,i have in view will now be understood1 namely1 that it is always a metaphysical belief on which our belief in science rests1--and that even we knowing ones of to-day1 the godless and anti-metaphysical1 still take our fire from the conflagration kindled by a belief a millennium old1 the ,christian belief1 which was also the belief of ,plato1 that ,god is truth1 that the truth is divine4444 ,but what if this itself always becomes more untrustworthy1 what if nothing any longer proves itself divine1 except it be error1 blindness1 and falsehood2--what if ,god himself turns out to be our most persistent lie8-- #cde4 ,morality as a ,problem4--,a defect in personality revenges itself everywhere3 an enfeebled1 lank1 obliterated1 self-disavowing and disowning personality is no longer fit for anything good--it is least of all fit for philosophy4 ,selflessness has no value either in heaven or on earth2 the great problems all demand great love1 and it is only the strong1 well-rounded1 secure spirits1 those who have a solid basis1 that are qualified for them4 ,it makes the most material difference whether a thinker stands personally related to his problems1 having his fate1 his need1 and even his highest happiness therein2 or merely impersonally1 that is to say1 if he can only feel and grasp them with the tentacles of cold1 prying thought4 ,in the latter case ,i warrant that nothing comes of it3 for the great problems1 granting that they let themselves be grasped at all1 do not let themselves be held by toads and weaklings3 that has ever been their taste--a taste also which they share with all high-spirited women4--,how is it that ,i have not yet met with any one1 not even in books1 who seems to have stood to morality in this position1 as one who knew morality as a problem1 and this problem as his own personal need1 affliction1 pleasure and passion8 ,it is obvious that up to the present morality has not been a problem at all2 it has rather been the very ground on which people have met1 after all distrust1 dissension1 and contradiction1 the hallowed place of peace1 where thinkers could obtain rest even from themselves1 could recover breath and revive4 ,i see no one who has ventured to criticise the estimates of moral worth4 ,i miss in this connection even the attempts of scientific curiosity1 and the fastidious1 groping imagination of psychologists and historians1 which easily anticipates a problem and catches it on the wing1 without rightly knowing what it catches4 ,with difficulty ,i have discovered some scanty data for the purpose of furnishing a history of the origin of these feelings and estimates of value 7which is something different from a criticism of them1 and also something different from a history of ethical systems74 ,in an individual case1 ,i have done everything to encourage the inclination and talent for this kind of history--in vain1 as it would seem to me at present4 ,there is little to be learned from those historians of morality 7especially ,englishmen73 they themselves are usually1 quite unsuspiciously1 under the influence of a definite morality1 and act unwittingly as its armour-bearers and followers--perhaps still repeating sincerely the popular superstition of ,christian ,europe1 that the characteristic of moral action consists in abnegation1 self-denial1 self-sacrifice1 or in fellow-feeling and fellow-suffering4 ,the usual error in their premises is their insistence on a certain consensus among human beings1 at least among civilised human beings1 with regard to certain propositions of morality1 and from thence they conclude that these propositions are absolutely binding even upon you and me2 or reversely1 they come to the conclusion that no morality at all is binding1 after the truth has dawned upon them that to different peoples moral valuations are necessarily different3 both of which conclusions are equally childish follies4 ,the error of the more subtle amongst them is that they discover and criticise the probably foolish opinions of a people about its own morality1 or the opinions of mankind about human morality generally2 they treat accordingly of its origin1 its religious sanctions1 the superstition of free will1 and such matters2 and they think that just by so doing they have criticised the morality itself4 ,but the worth of a precept1 ,thou shalt1 is still fundamentally different from and independent of such opinions about it1 and must be distinguished from the weeds of error with which it has perhaps been overgrown3 just as the worth of a medicine to a sick person is altogether independent of the question whether he has a scientific opinion about medicine1 or merely thinks about it as an old wife would do4 ,a morality could even have grown out of an error3 but with this knowledge the problem of its worth would not even be touched4--,thus1 no one has hitherto tested the value of that most celebrated of all medicines1 called morality3 for which purpose it is first of all necessary for one--to call it in question4 ,well1 that is just our work4-- #cdf4 ,our ,note of ,interrogation4--,but you don't understand it8 ,as a matter of fact1 an effort will be necessary in order to understand us4 ,we seek for words2 we seek perhaps also for ears4 ,who are we after all8 ,if we wanted simply to call ourselves in older phraseology1 atheists1 unbelievers1 or even immoralists1 we should still be far from thinking ourselves designated thereby3 we are all three in too late a phase for people generally to conceive1 for you1 my inquisitive friends1 to be able to conceive1 what is our state of mind under the circumstances4 ,no6 we have no longer the bitterness and passion of him who has broken loose1 who has to make for himself a belief1 a goal1 and even a martyrdom out of his unbelief6 ,we have become saturated with the conviction 7and have grown cold and hard in it7 that things are not at all divinely ordered in this world1 nor even according to human standards do they go on rationally1 mercifully1 or justly3 we know the fact that the world in which we live is ungodly1 immoral1 and inhuman1--we have far too long interpreted it to ourselves falsely and mendaciously1 according to the wish and will of our veneration1 that is to say1 according to our need4 ,for man is a venerating animal6 ,but he is also a distrustful animal3 and that the world is not worth what we have believed it to be worth is about the surest thing our distrust has at last managed to grasp4 ,so much distrust1 so much philosophy6 ,we take good care not to say that the world is of less value3 it seems to us at present absolutely ridiculous when man claims to devise values to surpass the values of the actual world1--it is precisely from that point that we have retraced our steps2 as from an extravagant error of human conceit and irrationality1 which for a long period has not been recognised as such4 ,this error had its last expression in modern ,pessimism2 an older and stronger manifestation in the teaching of ,buddha2 but ,christianity also contains it1 more dubiously1 to be sure1 and more ambiguously1 but none the less seductive on that account4 ,the whole attitude of man versus the world1 man as world-denying principle1 man as the standard of the value of things1 as judge of the world1 who in the end puts existence itself on his scales and finds it too light--the monstrous impertinence of this attitude has dawned upon us as such1 and has disgusted us1--we now laugh when we find1 ,man and ,world placed beside one another1 separated by the sublime presumption of the little word and6 ,but how is it8 ,have we not in our very laughing just made a further step in despising mankind8 ,and consequently also in ,pessimism1 in despising the existence cognisable by us8 ,have we not just thereby become liable to a suspicion of an opposition between the world in which we have hitherto been at home with our venerations--for the sake of which we perhaps endure life--and another world which we ourselves are3 an inexorable1 radical1 most profound suspicion concerning ourselves1 which is continually getting us ,europeans more annoyingly into its power1 and could easily face the coming generation with the terrible alternative3 ,either do away with your venerations1 or--with yourselves6 ,the latter would be ,nihilism--but would not the former also be ,nihilism8 ,this is our note of interrogation4 #cdg4 ,believers and their ,need of ,belief4--,how much faith a person requires in order to flourish1 how much fixed opinion he requires which he does not wish to have shaken1 because he holds himself thereby--is a measure of his power 7or more plainly speaking1 of his weakness74 ,most people in old ,europe1 as it seems to me1 still need ,christianity at present1 and on that account it still finds belief4 ,for such is man3 a theological dogma might be refuted to him a thousand times1--provided1 however1 that he had need of it1 he would again and again accept it as true1--according to the famous proof of power of which the ,bible speaks4 ,some have still need of metaphysics2 but also the impatient longing for certainty which at present discharges itself in scientific1 positivist fashion among large numbers of the people1 the longing by all means to get at something stable 7while on account of the warmth of the longing the establishing of the certainty is more leisurely and negligently undertaken73 even this is still the longing for a hold1 a support2 in short1 the instinct of weakness1 which1 while not actually creating religions1 metaphysics1 and convictions of all kinds1 nevertheless--preserves them4 ,in fact1 around all these positivist systems there fume the vapours of a certain pessimistic gloom1 something of weariness1 fatalism1 disillusionment1 and fear of new disillusionment--or else manifest animosity1 ill-humour1 anarchic exasperation1 and whatever there is of symptom or masquerade of the feeling of weakness4 ,even the readiness with which our cleverest contemporaries get lost in wretched corners and alleys1 for example1 in ,vaterlnderei 7so ,i designate ,jingoism1 called chauvinisme in ,france1 and deutsch in ,germany71 or in petty sthetic creeds in the manner of ,parisian naturalisme 7which only brings into prominence and uncovers that aspect of nature which excites simultaneously disgust and astonishment--they like at present to call this aspect la vrit vraie71 or in ,nihilism in the ,st ,petersburg style 7that is to say1 in the belief in unbelief1 even to martyrdom for it73--this shows always and above all the need of belief1 support1 backbone1 and buttress4444 ,belief is always most desired1 most pressingly needed where there is a lack of will3 for the will1 as emotion of command1 is the distinguishing characteristic of sovereignty and power4 ,that is to say1 the less a person knows how to command1 the more urgent is his desire for one who commands1 who commands sternly1--a ,god1 a prince1 a caste1 a physician1 a confessor1 a dogma1 a party conscience4 ,from whence perhaps it could be inferred that the two world-religions1 ,buddhism and ,christianity1 might well have had the cause of their rise1 and especially of their rapid extension1 in an extraordinary malady of the will4 ,and in truth it has been so3 both religions lighted upon a longing1 monstrously exaggerated by malady of the will1 for an imperative1 a ,thou-shalt1 a longing going the length of despair2 both religions were teachers of fanaticism in times of slackness of will-power1 and thereby offered to innumerable persons a support1 a new possibility of exercising will1 an enjoyment in willing4 ,for in fact fanaticism is the sole volitional strength to which the weak and irresolute can be excited1 as a sort of hypnotising of the entire sensory-intellectual system1 in favour of the over-abundant nutrition 7hypertrophy7 of a particular point of view and a particular sentiment1 which then dominates--the ,christian calls it his faith4 ,when a man arrives at the fundamental conviction that he requires to be commanded1 he becomes a believer4 ,reversely1 one could imagine a delight and a power of self-determining1 and a freedom of will whereby a spirit could bid farewell to every belief1 to every wish for certainty1 accustomed as it would be to support itself on slender cords and possibilities1 and to dance even on the verge of abysses4 ,such a spirit would be the free spirit par excellence4 #cdh4 ,the ,origin of the ,learned4--,the learned man in ,europe grows out of all the different ranks and social conditions1 like a plant requiring no specific soil3 on that account he belongs essentially and involuntarily to the partisans of democratic thought4 ,but this origin betrays itself4 ,if one has trained one's glance to some extent to recognise in a learned book or scientific treatise the intellectual idiosyncrasy of the learned man--all of them have such idiosyncrasy1--and if we take it by surprise1 we shall almost always get a glimpse behind it of the antecedent history of the learned man and his family1 especially of the nature of their callings and occupations4 ,where the feeling finds expression1 ,that is at last proved1 ,i am now done with it1 it is commonly the ancestor in the blood and instincts of the learned man that approves of the accomplished work in the nook from which he sees things2--the belief in the proof is only an indication of what has been looked upon for ages by a laborious family as good work4 ,take an example3 the sons of registrars and office-clerks of every kind1 whose main task has always been to arrange a variety of material1 distribute it in drawers1 and systematise it generally1 evince1 when they become learned men1 an inclination to regard a problem as almost solved when they have systematised it4 ,there are philosophers who are at bottom nothing but systematising brains--the formal part of the paternal occupation has become its essence to them4 ,the talent for classifications1 for tables of categories1 betrays something2 it is not for nothing that a person is the child of his parents4 ,the son of an advocate will also have to be an advocate as investigator3 he seeks as a first consideration1 to carry the point in his case1 as a second consideration1 he perhaps seeks to be in the right4 ,one recognises the sons of ,protestant clergymen and schoolmasters by the nave assurance with which as learned men they already assume their case to be proved1 when it has but been presented by them staunchly and warmly3 they are thoroughly accustomed to people believing in them1--it belonged to their fathers' trade6 ,a ,jew1 contrariwise1 in accordance with his business surroundings and the past of his race1 is least of all accustomed--to people believing him4 ,observe ,jewish scholars with regard to this matter1--they all lay great stress on logic1 that is to say1 on compelling assent by means of reasons2 they know that they must conquer thereby1 even when race and class antipathy is against them1 even where people are unwilling to believe them4 ,for in fact1 nothing is more democratic than logic3 it knows no respect of persons1 and takes even the crooked nose as straight4 7,in passing we may remark that in respect to logical thinking1 in respect to cleaner intellectual habits1 ,europe is not a little indebted to the ,jews2 above all the ,germans1 as being a lamentably draisonnable race1 who1 even at the present day1 must always have their heads washed#aa in the first place4 ,wherever the ,jews have attained to influence1 they have taught to analyse more subtly1 to argue more acutely1 to write more clearly and purely3 it has always been their problem to bring a people to raison47 #cdi4 ,the ,origin of the ,learned once more4--,to seek self-preservation merely1 is the expression of a state of distress1 or of limitation of the true1 fundamental instinct of life1 which aims at the extension of power1 and with this in view often enough calls in question self-preservation and sacrifices it4 ,it should be taken as symptomatic when individual philosophers1 as for example1 the consumptive ,spinoza1 have seen and have been obliged to see the principal feature of life precisely in the so-called self-preservative instinct3--they have just been men in states of distress4 ,that our modern natural sciences have entangled themselves so much with ,spinoza's dogma 7finally and most grossly in ,darwinism1 with its inconceivably one-sided doctrine of the struggle for existence--71 is probably owing to the origin of most of the inquirers into nature3 they belong in this respect to the people1 their forefathers have been poor and humble persons1 who knew too well by immediate experience the difficulty of making a living4 ,over the whole of ,english ,darwinism there hovers something of the suffocating air of over-crowded ,england1 something of the odour of humble people in need and in straits4 ,but as an investigator of nature1 a person ought to emerge from his paltry human nook3 and in nature the state of distress does not prevail1 but superfluity1 even prodigality to the extent of folly4 ,the struggle for existence is only an exception1 a temporary restriction of the will to live2 the struggle1 be it great or small1 turns everywhere on predominance1 on increase and expansion1 on power1 in conformity to the will to power1 which is just the will to live4 #cej4 ,in ,honour of ,homines ,religiosi4--,the struggle against the church is most certainly 7among other things--for it has a manifold significance7 the struggle of the more ordinary1 cheerful1 confiding1 superficial natures against the rule of the graver1 profounder1 more contemplative natures1 that is to say1 the more malign and suspicious men1 who with long continued distrust in the worth of life1 brood also over their own worth3--the ordinary instinct of the people1 its sensual gaiety1 its good heart1 revolts against them4 ,the entire ,roman ,church rests on a ,southern suspicion of the nature of man 7always misunderstood in the ,north71 a suspicion whereby the ,european ,south has succeeded to the inheritance of the profound ,orient--the mysterious1 venerable ,asia--and its contemplative spirit4 ,protestantism was a popular insurrection in favour of the simple1 the respectable1 the superficial 7the ,north has always been more good-natured and more shallow than the ,south71 but it was the ,french ,revolution that first gave the sceptre wholly and solemnly into the hands of the good man 7the sheep1 the ass1 the goose1 and everything incurably shallow1 bawling1 and fit for the ,bedlam of modern ideas74 #cea4 ,in ,honour of ,priestly ,natures4--,i think that philosophers have always felt themselves furthest removed from that which the people 7in all classes of society nowadays7 take for wisdom3 the prudent1 bovine placidity1 piety1 and country-parson meekness1 which lies in the meadow and gazes at life seriously and ruminatingly3--this is probably because philosophers have not had sufficiently the taste of the people1 or of the country-parson for that kind of wisdom4 ,philosophers will also perhaps be the latest to acknowledge that the people should understand something of that which lies furthest from them1 something of the great passion of the thinker1 who lives and must live continually in the storm-cloud of the highest problems and the heaviest responsibilities 7consequently1 not gazing at all1 to say nothing of doing so indifferently1 securely1 objectively74 ,the people venerate an entirely different type of man when on their part they form the ideal of a sage1 and they are a thousand times justified in rendering homage with the highest eulogies and honours to precisely that type of men--namely1 the gentle1 serious1 simple1 chaste1 priestly natures and those related to them1--it is to them that the praise falls due in the popular veneration of wisdom4 ,and to whom should the people ever have more reason to be grateful than to these men who pertain to its class and rise from its ranks1 but are persons consecrated1 chosen1 and sacrificed for its good--they themselves believe themselves sacrificed to ,god1--before whom the people can pour forth its heart with impunity1 by whom it can get rid of its secrets1 cares1 and worse things 7for the man who communicates himself gets rid of himself1 and he who has confessed forgets74 ,here there exists a great need3 for sewers and pure cleansing waters are required also for spiritual filth1 and rapid currents of love are needed1 and strong1 lowly1 pure hearts1 who qualify and sacrifice themselves for such service of the non-public health department--for it is a sacrificing1 the priest is1 and continues to be1 a human sacrifice4444 ,the people regard such sacrificed1 silent1 serious men of faith as wise1 that is to say1 as men who have become sages1 as reliable in relation to their own unreliability4 ,who would desire to deprive the people of that expression and that veneration8--,but as is fair on the other side1 among philosophers the priest also is still held to belong to the people1 and is not regarded as a sage1 because1 above all1 they themselves do not believe in sages1 and they already scent the people in this very belief and superstition4 ,it was modesty which invented in ,greece the word philosopher1 and left to the play-actors of the spirit the superb arrogance of assuming the name wise--the modesty of such monsters of pride and self-glorification as ,pythagoras and ,plato4-- #ceb4 ,why we can hardly ,dispense with ,morality4--,the naked man is generally an ignominious spectacle--,i speak of us ,european males 7and by no means of ,european females674 ,if the most joyous company at table suddenly found themselves stripped and divested of their garments through the trick of an enchanter1 ,i believe that not only would the joyousness be gone and the strongest appetite lost2--it seems that we ,europeans cannot at all dispense with the masquerade that is called clothing4 ,but should not the disguise of moral men1 the screening under moral formul and notions of decency1 the whole kindly concealment of our conduct under conceptions of duty1 virtue1 public sentiment1 honourableness1 and disinterestedness1 have just as good reasons in support of it8 ,not that ,i mean hereby that human wickedness and baseness1 in short1 the evil wild beast in us1 should be disguised2 on the contrary1 my idea is that it is precisely as tame animals that we are an ignominious spectacle and require moral disguising1--that the inner man in ,europe is far from having enough of intrinsic evil to let himself be seen with it 7to be beautiful with it74 ,the ,european disguises himself in morality because he has become a sick1 sickly1 crippled animal1 who has good reasons for being tame1 because he is almost an abortion1 an imperfect1 weak and clumsy thing4444 ,it is not the fierceness of the beast of prey that finds moral disguise necessary1 but the gregarious animal1 with its profound mediocrity1 anxiety and ennui4 ,morality dresses up the ,european--let us acknowledge it6--in more distinguished1 more important1 more conspicuous guise--in divine guise-- #cec4 ,the ,origin of ,religions4--,the real inventions of founders of religions are1 on the one hand1 to establish a definite mode of life and everyday custom1 which operates as disciplina voluntatis1 and at the same time does away with ennui2 and on the other hand1 to give to that very mode of life an interpretation1 by virtue of which it appears illumined with the highest value2 so that it henceforth becomes a good for which people struggle1 and under certain circumstances lay down their lives4 ,in truth1 the second of these inventions is the more essential3 the first1 the mode of life1 has usually been there already1 side by side1 however1 with other modes of life1 and still unconscious of the value which it embodies4 ,the import1 the originality of the founder of a religion1 discloses itself usually in the fact that he sees the mode of life1 selects it1 and divines for the first time the purpose for which it can be used1 how it can be interpreted4 ,jesus 7or ,paul71 for example1 found around him the life of the common people in the ,roman province1 a modest1 virtuous1 oppressed life3 he interpreted it1 he put the highest significance and value into it--and thereby the courage to despise every other mode of life1 the calm fanaticism of the ,moravians1 the secret1 subterranean self-confidence which goes on increasing1 and is at last ready to overcome the world 7that is to say1 ,rome1 and the upper classes throughout the empire74 ,buddha1 in like manner1 found the same type of man1--he found it in fact dispersed among all the classes and social ranks of a people who were good and kind 7and above all inoffensive71 owing to indolence1 and who likewise owing to indolence1 lived abstemiously1 almost without requirements4 ,he understood that such a type of man1 with all its vis inertiae1 had inevitably to glide into a belief which promises to avoid the return of earthly ill 7that is to say1 labour and activity generally71--this understanding was his genius4 ,the founder of a religion possesses psychological infallibility in the knowledge of a definite1 average type of souls1 who have not yet recognised themselves as akin4 ,it is he who brings them together3 the founding of a religion1 therefore1 always becomes a long ceremony of recognition4-- #ced4 ,the ,genius of the ,species4--,the problem of consciousness 7or more correctly3 of becoming conscious of oneself7 meets us only when we begin to perceive in what measure we could dispense with it3 and it is at the beginning of this perception that we are now placed by physiology and zoology 7which have thus required two centuries to overtake the hint thrown out in advance by ,leibnitz74 ,for we could in fact think1 feel1 will1 and recollect1 we could likewise act in every sense of the term1 and nevertheless nothing of it all would require to come into consciousness 7as one says metaphorically74 ,the whole of life would be possible without its seeing itself as it were in a mirror3 as in fact even at present the far greater part of our life still goes on without this mirroring1--and even our thinking1 feeling1 volitional life as well1 however painful this statement may sound to an older philosopher4 ,what then is the purpose of consciousness generally1 when it is in the main superfluous8--,now it seems to me1 if you will hear my answer and its perhaps extravagant supposition1 that the subtlety and strength of consciousness are always in proportion to the capacity for communication of a man 7or an animal71 the capacity for communication in its turn being in proportion to the necessity for communication3 the latter not to be understood as if precisely the individual himself who is master in the art of communicating and making known his necessities would at the same time have to be most dependent upon others for his necessities4 ,it seems to me1 however1 to be so in relation to whole races and successions of generations3 where necessity and need have long compelled men to communicate with their fellows and understand one another rapidly and subtly1 a surplus of the power and art of communication is at last acquired1 as if it were a fortune which had gradually accumulated1 and now waited for an heir to squander it prodigally 7the so-called artists are these heirs1 in like manner the orators1 preachers1 and authors3 all of them men who come at the end of a long succession1 late-born always1 in the best sense of the word1 and as has been said1 squanderers by their very nature74 ,granted that this observation is correct1 ,i may proceed further to the conjecture that consciousness generally has only been developed under the pressure of the necessity for communication1--that from the first it has been necessary and useful only between man and man 7especially between those commanding and those obeying71 and has only developed in proportion to its utility4 ,consciousness is properly only a connecting network between man and man1--it is only as such that it has had to develop2 the recluse and wild-beast species of men would not have needed it4 ,the very fact that our actions1 thoughts1 feelings and motions come within the range of our consciousness--at least a part of them--is the result of a terrible1 prolonged must ruling man's destiny3 as the most endangered animal he needed help and protection2 he needed his fellows1 he was obliged to express his distress1 he had to know how to make himself understood--and for all this he needed consciousness first of all1 consequently1 to know himself what he lacked1 to know how he felt and to know what he thought4 ,for1 to repeat it once more1 man1 like every living creature1 thinks unceasingly1 but does not know it2 the thinking which is becoming conscious of itself is only the smallest part thereof1 we may say1 the most superficial part1 the worst part3--for this conscious thinking alone is done in words1 that is to say1 in the symbols for communication1 by means of which the origin of consciousness is revealed4 ,in short1 the development of speech and the development of consciousness 7not of reason1 but of reason becoming self-conscious7 go hand in hand4 ,let it be further accepted that it is not only speech that serves as a bridge between man and man1 but also the looks1 the pressure and the gestures2 our becoming conscious of our sense impressions1 our power of being able to fix them1 and as it were to locate them outside of ourselves1 has increased in proportion as the necessity has increased for communicating them to others by means of signs4 ,the sign-inventing man is at the same time the man who is always more acutely self-conscious2 it is only as a social animal that man has learned to become conscious of himself1--he is doing so still1 and doing so more and more4--,as is obvious1 my idea is that consciousness does not properly belong to the individual existence of man1 but rather to the social and gregarious nature in him2 that1 as follows therefrom1 it is only in relation to communal and gregarious utility that it is finely developed2 and that consequently each of us1 in spite of the best intention of understanding himself as individually as possible1 and of knowing himself1 will always just call into consciousness the non-individual in him1 namely1 his averageness2--that our thought itself is continuously as it were outvoted by the character of consciousness--by the imperious genius of the species therein--and is translated back into the perspective of the herd4 ,fundamentally our actions are in an incomparable manner altogether personal1 unique and absolutely individual--there is no doubt about it2 but as soon as we translate them into consciousness1 they do not appear so any longer4444 ,this is the proper phenomenalism and perspectivism as ,i understand it3 the nature of animal consciousness involves the notion that the world of which we can become conscious is only a superficial and symbolic world1 a generalised and vulgarised world2--that everything which becomes conscious becomes just thereby shallow1 meagre1 relatively stupid1--a generalisation1 a symbol1 a characteristic of the herd2 that with the evolving of consciousness there is always combined a great1 radical perversion1 falsification1 superficialisation1 and generalisation4 ,finally1 the growing consciousness is a danger1 and whoever lives among the most conscious ,europeans knows even that it is a disease4 ,as may be conjectured1 it is not the antithesis of subject and object with which ,i am here concerned3 ,i leave that distinction to the epistemologists who have remained entangled in the toils of grammar 7popular metaphysics74 ,it is still less the antithesis of thing in itself and phenomenon1 for we do not know enough to be entitled even to make such a distinction4 ,indeed1 we have not any organ at all for knowing or for truth2 we know 7or believe1 or fancy7 just as much as may be of use in the interest of the human herd1 the species2 and even what is here called usefulness is ultimately only a belief1 a fancy1 and perhaps precisely the most fatal stupidity by which we shall one day be ruined4 #cee4 ,the ,origin of our ,conception of ,knowledge4--,i take this explanation from the street4 ,i heard one of the people saying that he knew me1 so ,i asked myself3 ,what do the people really understand by knowledge8 ,what do they want when they seek knowledge8 ,nothing more than that what is strange is to be traced back to something known4 ,and we philosophers--have we really understood anything more by knowledge8 ,the known1 that is to say1 what we are accustomed to1 so that we no longer marvel at it1 the commonplace1 any kind of rule to which we are habituated1 all and everything in which we know ourselves to be at home3--what8 is our need of knowing not just this need of the known8 the will to discover in everything strange1 unusual1 or questionable1 something which no longer disquiets us8 ,is it not possible that it should be the instinct of fear which enjoins upon us to know8 ,is it not possible that the rejoicing of the discerner should be just his rejoicing in the regained feeling of security8444 ,one philosopher imagined the world known when he had traced it back to the idea3 alas1 was it not because the idea was so known1 so familiar to him8 because he had so much less fear of the idea--,oh1 this moderation of the discerners6 let us but look at their principles1 and at their solutions of the riddle of the world in this connection6 ,when they again find aught in things1 among things1 or behind things1 that is unfortunately very well known to us1 for example1 our multiplication table1 or our logic1 or our willing and desiring1 how happy they immediately are6 ,for what is known is understood3 they are unanimous as to that4 ,even the most circumspect among them think that the known is at least more easily understood than the strange2 that for example1 it is methodically ordered to proceed outward from the inner world1 from the facts of consciousness1 because it is the world which is better known to us6 ,error of errors6 ,the known is the accustomed1 and the accustomed is the most difficult of all to understand1 that is to say1 to perceive as a problem1 to perceive as strange1 distant1 outside of us4444 ,the great certainty of the natural sciences in comparison with psychology and the criticism of the elements of consciousness--unnatural sciences as one might almost be entitled to call them--rests precisely on the fact that they take what is strange as their object3 while it is almost like something contradictory and absurd to wish to take generally what is not strange as an object4444 #cef4 ,in what ,manner ,europe will always become more ,artistic4--,providing a living still enforces even in the present day 7in our transition period when so much ceases to enforce7 a definite rle on almost all male ,europeans1 their so-called callings2 some have the liberty1 an apparent liberty1 to choose this rle themselves1 but most have it chosen for them4 ,the result is strange enough4 ,almost all ,europeans confound themselves with their rle when they advance in age2 they themselves are the victims of their good acting1 they have forgotten how much chance1 whim and arbitrariness swayed them when their calling was decided--and how many other rles they could perhaps have played3 for it is now too late6 ,looked at more closely1 we see that their characters have actually evolved out of their rle1 nature out of art4 ,there were ages in which people believed with unshaken confidence1 yea1 with piety1 in their predestination for this very business1 for that very mode of livelihood1 and would not at all acknowledge chance1 or the fortuitous rle1 or arbitrariness therein4 ,ranks1 guilds1 and hereditary trade privileges succeeded1 with the help of this belief1 in rearing those extraordinary broad towers of society which distinguished the ,middle ,ages1 and of which at all events one thing remains to their credit3 capacity for duration 7and duration is a value of the first rank on earth674 ,but there are ages entirely the reverse1 the properly democratic ages1 in which people tend to become more and more oblivious of this conviction1 and a sort of impudent conviction and quite contrary mode of viewing things comes to the front1 the ,athenian conviction which is first observed in the epoch of ,pericles1 the ,american conviction of the present day1 which wants also more and more to become an ,european conviction1 whereby the individual is convinced that he can do almost anything1 that he can play almost any rle1 whereby everyone makes experiments with himself1 improvises1 tries anew1 tries with delight1 whereby all nature ceases and becomes art4444 ,the ,greeks1 having adopted this rle-creed--an artist creed1 if you will--underwent step by step1 as is well known1 a curious transformation1 not in every respect worthy of imitation3 they became actual stage-players2 and as such they enchanted1 they conquered all the world1 and at last even the conqueror of the world1 7for the ,graeculus histrio conquered ,rome1 and not ,greek culture1 as the nave are accustomed to say44447 ,what ,i fear1 however1 and what is at present obvious1 if we desire to perceive it1 is that we modern men are quite on the same road already2 and whenever man begins to discover in what respect he plays a rle1 and to what extent he can be a stage-player1 he becomes a stage-player4444 ,a new flora and fauna of men thereupon springs up1 which cannot grow in more stable1 more restricted eras--or is left at the bottom1 under the ban and suspicion of infamy--1 thereupon the most interesting and insane periods of history always make their appearance1 in which stage-players1 all kinds of stage-players1 are the real masters4 ,precisely thereby another species of man is always more and more injured1 and in the end made impossible3 above all the great architects2 the building power is now being paralysed2 the courage that makes plans for the distant future is disheartened2 there begins to be a lack of organising geniuses4 ,who is there who would now venture to undertake works for the completion of which millenniums would have to be reckoned upon8 ,the fundamental belief is dying out1 on the basis of which one could calculate1 promise and anticipate the future in one's plan1 and offer it as a sacrifice thereto1 that in fact man has only value and significance in so far as he is a stone in a great building2 for which purpose he has first of all to be solid1 he has to be a stone4444 ,above all1 not a--stage-player6 ,in short--alas6 this fact will be hushed up for some considerable time to come6--that which from henceforth will no longer be built1 and can no longer be built1 is--a society in the old sense of the term2 to build this structure everything is lacking1 above all1 the material4 ,none of us are any longer material for a society3 that is a truth which is seasonable at present6 ,it seems to me a matter of indifference that meanwhile the most short-sighted1 perhaps the most honest1 and at any rate the noisiest species of men of the present day1 our friends the ,socialists1 believe1 hope1 dream1 and above all scream and scribble almost the opposite2 in fact one already reads their watchword of the future3 free society1 on all tables and walls4 ,free society8 ,indeed6 ,indeed6 ,but you know1 gentlemen1 sure enough whereof one builds it8 ,out of wooden iron6 ,out of the famous wooden iron6 ,and not even out of wooden4444 #ceg4 ,the old ,problem3 ,what is ,german8--,let us count up apart the real acquisitions of philosophical thought for which we have to thank ,german intellects3 are they in any allowable sense to be counted also to the credit of the whole race8 ,can we say that they are at the same time the work of the ,german soul1 or at least a symptom of it1 in the sense in which we are accustomed to think1 for example1 of ,plato's ideomania1 his almost religious madness for form1 as an event and an evidence of the ,greek soul8 ,or would the reverse perhaps be true8 ,were they so individual1 so much an exception to the spirit of the race1 as was1 for example1 ,goethe's ,paganism with a good conscience8 ,or as ,bismarck's ,macchiavelism was with a good conscience1 his so-called practical politics in ,germany8 ,did our philosophers perhaps even go counter to the need of the ,german soul8 ,in short1 were the ,german philosophers really philosophical ,germans8--,i call to mind three cases4 ,firstly1 ,leibnitz's incomparable insight--with which he obtained the advantage not only over ,descartes1 but over all who had philosophised up to his time1--that consciousness is only an accident of mental representation1 and not its necessary and essential attribute2 that consequently what we call consciousness only constitutes a state of our spiritual and psychical world 7perhaps a morbid state71 and is far from being that world itself3--is there anything ,german in this thought1 the profundity of which has not as yet been exhausted8 ,is there reason to think that a person of the ,latin race would not readily have stumbled on this reversal of the apparent8--for it is a reversal4 ,let us call to mind secondly1 the immense note of interrogation which ,kant wrote after the notion of causality4 ,not that he at all doubted its legitimacy1 like ,hume3 on the contrary1 he began cautiously to define the domain within which this notion has significance generally 7we have not even yet got finished with the marking out of these limits74 ,let us take thirdly1 the astonishing hit of ,hegel1 who stuck at no logical usage or fastidiousness when he ventured to teach that the conceptions of kinds develop out of one another3 with which theory the thinkers in ,europe were prepared for the last great scientific movement1 for ,darwinism--for without ,hegel there would have been no ,darwin4 ,is there anything ,german in this ,hegelian innovation which first introduced the decisive conception of evolution into science8 ,yes1 without doubt we feel that there is something of ourselves discovered and divined in all three cases2 we are thankful for it1 and at the same time surprised2 each of these three principles is a thoughtful piece of ,german self-confession1 self-understanding1 and self-knowledge4 ,we feel with ,leibnitz that our inner world is far richer1 ampler1 and more concealed2 as ,germans we are doubtful1 like ,kant1 about the ultimate validity of scientific knowledge of nature1 and in general about whatever can be known causaliter3 the knowable as such now appears to us of less worth4 ,we ,germans should still have been ,hegelians1 even though there had never been a ,hegel1 inasmuch as we 7in contradistinction to all ,latin peoples7 instinctively attribute to becoming1 to evolution1 a profounder significance and higher value than to that which is--we hardly believe at all in the validity of the concept being4 ,this is all the more the case because we are not inclined to concede to our human logic that it is logic in itself1 that it is the only kind of logic 7we should rather like1 on the contrary1 to convince ourselves that it is only a special case1 and perhaps one of the strangest and most stupid74 ,a fourth question would be whether also ,schopenhauer with his ,pessimism1 that is to say the problem of the worth of existence1 had to be a ,german4 ,i think not4 ,the event after which this problem was to be expected with certainty1 so that an astronomer of the soul could have calculated the day and the hour for it--namely1 the decay of the belief in the ,christian ,god1 the victory of scientific atheism1--is a universal ,european event1 in which all races are to have their share of service and honour4 ,on the contrary1 it has to be ascribed precisely to the ,germans--those with whom ,schopenhauer was contemporary1--that they delayed this victory of atheism longest1 and endangered it most4 ,hegel especially was its retarder par excellence1 in virtue of the grandiose attempt which he made to persuade us of the divinity of existence1 with the help at the very last of our sixth sense1 the historical sense4 ,as philosopher1 ,schopenhauer was the first avowed and inflexible atheist we ,germans have had3 his hostility to ,hegel had here its background4 ,the non-divinity of existence was regarded by him as something understood1 palpable1 indisputable2 he always lost his philosophical composure and got into a passion when he saw anyone hesitate and beat about the bush here4 ,it is at this point that his thorough uprightness of character comes in3 unconditional1 honest atheism is precisely the preliminary condition for his raising the problem1 as a final and hardwon victory of the ,european conscience1 as the most prolific act of two thousand years' discipline to truth1 which in the end no longer tolerates the lie of the belief in a ,god4444 ,one sees what has really gained the victory over the ,christian ,god--1 ,christian morality itself1 the conception of veracity1 taken ever more strictly1 the confessional subtlety of the ,christian conscience1 translated and sublimated to the scientific conscience1 to intellectual purity at any price4 ,to look upon nature as if it were a proof of the goodness and care of a ,god2 to interpret history in honour of a divine reason1 as a constant testimony to a moral order in the world and a moral final purpose2 to explain personal experiences as pious men have long enough explained them1 as if everything were a dispensation or intimation of ,providence1 something planned and sent on behalf of the salvation of the soul3 all that is now past1 it has conscience against it1 it is regarded by all the more acute consciences as disreputable and dishonourable1 as mendaciousness1 femininism1 weakness1 and cowardice1--by virtue of this severity1 if by anything1 we are good ,europeans1 the heirs of ,europe's longest and bravest self-conquest4 ,when we thus reject the ,christian interpretation1 and condemn its significance as a forgery1 we are immediately confronted in a striking manner with the ,schopenhauerian question3 ,has existence then a significance at all8--the question which will require a couple of centuries even to be completely heard in all its profundity4 ,schopenhauer's own answer to this question was--if ,i may be forgiven for saying so--a premature1 juvenile reply1 a mere compromise1 a stoppage and sticking in the very same ,christian-ascetic1 moral perspectives1 the belief in which had got notice to quit along with the belief in ,god4444 ,but he raised the question--as a good ,european1 as we have said1 and not as a ,german4--,or did the ,germans prove at least by the way in which they seized on the ,schopenhauerian question1 their inner connection and relationship to him1 their preparation for his problem1 and their need of it8 ,that there has been thinking and printing even in ,germany since ,schopenhauer's time on the problem raised by him1--it was late enough6--does not at all suffice to enable us to decide in favour of this closer relationship2 one could1 on the contrary1 lay great stress on the peculiar awkwardness of this post-,schopenhauerian ,pessimism--,germans evidently do not behave themselves there as in their element4 ,i do not at all allude here to ,eduard von ,hartmann2 on the contrary1 my old suspicion is not vanished even at present that he is too clever for us2 ,i mean to say that as arrant rogue from the very first1 he did not perhaps make merry solely over ,german ,pessimism--and that in the end he might probably bequeathe to them the truth as to how far a person could bamboozle the ,germans themselves in the age of bubble companies4 ,but further1 are we perhaps to reckon to the honour of ,germans1 the old humming-top1 ,bahnsen1 who all his life spun about with the greatest pleasure around his realistically dialectic misery and personal ill-luck1--was that ,german8 7,in passing ,i recommend his writings for the purpose for which ,i myself have used them1 as anti-pessimistic fare1 especially on account of his elegantia psychologica1 which1 it seems to me1 could alleviate even the most constipated body and soul74 ,or would it be proper to count such dilettanti and old maids as the mawkish apostle of virginity1 ,mainlnder1 among the genuine ,germans8 ,after all he was probably a ,jew 7all ,jews become mawkish when they moralise74 ,neither ,bahnsen1 nor ,mainlnder1 nor even ,eduard von ,hartmann1 give us a reliable grasp of the question whether the pessimism of ,schopenhauer 7his frightened glance into an undeified world1 which has become stupid1 blind1 deranged and problematic1 his honourable fright7 was not only an exceptional case among ,germans1 but a ,german event3 while everything else which stands in the foreground1 like our valiant politics and our joyful ,jingoism 7which decidedly enough regards everything with reference to a principle sufficiently unphilosophical3 ,deutschland1 ,deutschland1 ber ,alles1#ab consequently sub specie speciei1 namely1 the ,german species71 testifies very plainly to the contrary4 ,no6 ,the ,germans of to-day are not pessimists6 ,and ,schopenhauer was a pessimist1 ,i repeat it once more1 as a good ,european1 and not as a ,german4 #ceh4 ,the ,peasant ,revolt of the ,spirit4--,we ,europeans find ourselves in view of an immense world of ruins1 where some things still tower aloft1 while other objects stand mouldering and dismal1 where most things however already lie on the ground1 picturesque enough--where were there ever finer ruins8--overgrown with weeds1 large and small4 ,it is the ,church which is this city of decay3 we see the religious organisation of ,christianity shaken to its deepest foundations4 ,the belief in ,god is overthrown1 the belief in the ,christian ascetic ideal is now fighting its last fight4 ,such a long and solidly built work as ,christianity--it was the last construction of the ,romans6--could not of course be demolished all at once2 every sort of earthquake had to shake it1 every sort of spirit which perforates1 digs1 gnaws and moulders had to assist in the work of destruction4 ,but that which is strangest is that those who have exerted themselves most to retain and preserve ,christianity1 have been precisely those who did most to destroy it1--the ,germans4 ,it seems that the ,germans do not understand the essence of a ,church4 ,are they not spiritual enough1 or not distrustful enough to do so8 ,in any case the structure of the ,church rests on a southern freedom and liberality of spirit1 and similarly on a southern suspicion of nature1 man1 and spirit1--it rests on a knowledge of man1 an experience of man1 entirely different from what the north has had4 ,the ,lutheran ,reformation in all its length and breadth was the indignation of the simple against something complicated4 ,to speak cautiously1 it was a coarse1 honest misunderstanding1 in which much is to be forgiven1--people did not understand the mode of expression of a victorious ,church1 and only saw corruption2 they misunderstood the noble scepticism1 the luxury of scepticism and toleration which every victorious1 self-confident power permits4444 ,one overlooks the fact readily enough at present that as regards all cardinal questions concerning power ,luther was badly endowed2 he was fatally short-sighted1 superficial and imprudent--and above all1 as a man sprung from the people1 he lacked all the hereditary qualities of a ruling caste1 and all the instincts for power2 so that his work1 his intention to restore the work of the ,romans1 merely became involuntarily and unconsciously the commencement of a work of destruction4 ,he unravelled1 he tore asunder with honest rage1 where the old spider had woven longest and most carefully4 ,he gave the sacred books into the hands of everyone1--they thereby got at last into the hands of the philologists1 that is to say1 the annihilators of every belief based upon books4 ,he demolished the conception of the ,church in that he repudiated the belief in the inspiration of the ,councils3 for only under the supposition that the inspiring spirit which had founded the ,church still lives in it1 still builds it1 still goes on building its house1 does the conception of the ,church retain its power4 ,he gave back to the priest sexual intercourse3 but three-fourths of the reverence of which the people 7and above all the women of the people7 are capable1 rests on the belief that an exceptional man in this respect will also be an exceptional man in other respects4 ,it is precisely here that the popular belief in something superhuman in man1 in a miracle1 in the saving ,god in man1 has its most subtle and insidious advocate4 ,after ,luther had given a wife to the priest1 he had to take from him auricular confession2 that was psychologically right3 but thereby he practically did away with the ,christian priest himself1 whose profoundest utility has ever consisted in his being a sacred ear1 a silent well1 and a grave for secrets4 ,every man his own priest--behind such formul and their bucolic slyness1 there was concealed in ,luther the profoundest hatred of higher men and the rule of higher men1 as the ,church had conceived them4 ,luther disowned an ideal which he did not know how to attain1 while he seemed to combat and detest the degeneration thereof4 ,as a matter of fact1 he1 the impossible monk1 repudiated the rule of the homines religiosi2 he consequently brought about precisely the same thing within the ecclesiastical social order that he combated so impatiently in the civic order1--namely a peasant insurrection4--,as to all that grew out of his ,reformation afterwards1 good and bad1 which can at present be almost counted up1--who would be nave enough to praise or blame ,luther simply on account of these results8 ,he is innocent of all2 he knew not what he did4 ,the art of making the ,european spirit shallower1 especially in the north1 or more good-natured1 if people would rather hear it designated by a moral expression1 undoubtedly took a clever step in advance in the ,lutheran ,reformation2 and similarly there grew out of it the mobility and disquietude of the spirit1 its thirst for independence1 its belief in the right to freedom1 and its naturalness4 ,if people wish to ascribe to the ,reformation in the last instance the merit of having prepared and favoured that which we at present honour as modern science1 they must of course add that it is also accessory to bringing about the degeneration of the modern scholar with his lack of reverence1 of shame and of profundity2 and that it is also responsible for all nave candour and plain-dealing in matters of knowledge1 in short for the plebeianism of the spirit which is peculiar to the last two centuries1 and from which even pessimism hitherto1 has not in any way delivered us4 ,modern ideas also belong to this peasant insurrection of the north against the colder1 more ambiguous1 more suspicious spirit of the south1 which has built itself its greatest monument in the ,christian ,church4 ,let us not forget in the end what a ,church is1 and especially1 in contrast to every ,state3 a ,church is above all an authoritative organisation which secures to the most spiritual men the highest rank1 and believes in the power of spirituality so far as to forbid all grosser appliances of authority4 ,through this alone the ,church is under all circumstances a nobler institution than the ,state4-- #cei4 ,vengeance on ,intellect and other ,backgrounds of ,morality4--,morality--where do you think it has its most dangerous and rancorous advocates8--,there1 for example1 is an ill-constituted man1 who does not possess enough of intellect to be able to take pleasure in it1 and just enough of culture to be aware of the fact2 bored1 satiated1 and a self-despiser2 besides being cheated unfortunately by some hereditary property out of the last consolation1 the blessing of labour1 the self-forgetfulness in the day's work2 one who is thoroughly ashamed of his existence--perhaps also harbouring some vices1--and who on the other hand 7by means of books to which he has no right1 or more intellectual society than he can digest71 cannot help vitiating himself more and more1 and making himself vain and irritable3 such a thoroughly poisoned man--for intellect becomes poison1 culture becomes poison1 possession becomes poison1 solitude becomes poison1 to such ill-constituted beings--gets at last into a habitual state of vengeance and inclination to vengeance4444 ,what do you think he finds necessary1 absolutely necessary in order to give himself the appearance in his own eyes of superiority over more intellectual men1 so as to give himself the delight of perfect revenge1 at least in imagination8 ,it is always morality that he requires1 one may wager on it2 always the big moral words1 always the high-sounding words3 justice1 wisdom1 holiness1 virtue2 always the stoicism of gestures 7how well stoicism hides what one does not possess672 always the mantle of wise silence1 of affability1 of gentleness1 and whatever else the idealist-mantle is called in which the incurable self-despisers and also the incurably conceited walk about4 ,let me not be misunderstood3 out of such born enemies of the spirit there arises now and then that rare specimen of humanity who is honoured by the people under the name of saint or sage3 it is out of such men that there arise those prodigies of morality that make a noise1 that make history1--,st ,augustine was one of these men4 ,fear of the intellect1 vengeance on the intellect--,oh6 how often have these powerfully impelling vices become the root of virtues6 ,yea1 virtue itself6--,and asking the question among ourselves1 even the philosopher's pretension to wisdom1 which has occasionally been made here and there on the earth1 the maddest and most immodest of all pretensions1--has it not always been1 in ,india as well as in ,greece1 above all a means of concealment8 ,sometimes1 perhaps1 from the point of view of education which hallows so many lies1 it has been a tender regard for growing and evolving persons1 for disciples who have often to be guarded against themselves by means of the belief in a person 7by means of an error74 ,in most cases1 however1 it is a means of concealment for a philosopher1 behind which he seeks protection1 owing to exhaustion1 age1 chilliness1 or hardening2 as a feeling of the approaching end1 as the sagacity of the instinct which animals have before their death1--they go apart1 remain at rest1 choose solitude1 creep into caves1 become wise4444 ,what8 ,wisdom a means of concealment of the philosopher from--intellect8-- #cfj4 ,two ,kinds of ,causes which are ,confounded4--,it seems to me one of my most essential steps and advances that ,i have learned to distinguish the cause of the action generally from the cause of action in a particular manner1 say1 in this direction1 with this aim4 ,the first kind of cause is a quantum of stored-up force1 which waits to be used in some manner1 for some purpose2 the second kind of cause1 on the contrary1 is something quite unimportant in comparison with the first1 an insignificant hazard for the most part1 in conformity with which the quantum of force in question discharges itself in some unique and definite manner3 the lucifer-match in relation to the barrel of gunpowder4 ,among those insignificant hazards and lucifer-matches ,i count all the so-called aims1 and similarly the still more so-called occupations of people3 they are relatively optional1 arbitrary1 and almost indifferent in relation to the immense quantum of force which presses on1 as we have said1 to be used up in any way whatever4 ,one generally looks at the matter in a different manner3 one is accustomed to see the impelling force precisely in the aim 7object1 calling1 c471 according to a primeval error1--but it is only the directing force2 the steersman and the steam have thereby been confounded4 ,and yet it is not even always the steersman1 the directing force4444 ,is the aim1 the purpose1 not often enough only an extenuating pretext1 an additional self-blinding of conceit1 which does not wish it to be said that the ship follows the stream into which it has accidentally run8 ,that it wishes to go that way1 because it must go that way8 ,that it has a direction1 sure enough1 but--not a steersman8 ,we still require a criticism of the conception of purpose4 #cfa4 ,the ,problem of the ,actor4--,the problem of the actor has disquieted me the longest2 ,i was uncertain 7and am sometimes so still7 whether one could not get at the dangerous conception of artist--a conception hitherto treated with unpardonable leniency--from this point of view4 ,falsity with a good conscience2 delight in dissimulation breaking forth as power1 pushing aside1 overflowing1 and sometimes extinguishing the so-called character2 the inner longing to play a rle1 to assume a mask1 to put on an appearance2 a surplus of capacity for adaptations of every kind1 which can no longer gratify themselves in the service of the nearest and narrowest utility3 all that perhaps does not pertain solely to the actor in himself8444 ,such an instinct would develop most readily in families of the lower class of the people1 who have had to pass their lives in absolute dependence1 under shifting pressure and constraint1 who 7to accommodate themselves to their conditions1 to adapt themselves always to new circumstances7 had again and again to pass themselves off and represent themselves as different persons1--thus having gradually qualified themselves to adjust the mantle to every wind1 thereby almost becoming the mantle itself1 as masters of the embodied and incarnated art of eternally playing the game of hide and seek1 which one calls mimicry among the animals3--until at last this ability1 stored up from generation to generation1 has become domineering1 irrational and intractable1 till as instinct it begins to command the other instincts1 and begets the actor1 the artist 7the buffoon1 the pantaloon1 the ,jack-,pudding1 the fool1 and the clown in the first place1 also the classical type of servant1 ,gil ,blas3 for in such types one has the precursors of the artist1 and often enough even of the genius74 ,also under higher social conditions there grows under similar pressure a similar species of men4 ,only the histrionic instinct is there for the most part held strictly in check by another instinct1 for example1 among diplomatists2--for the rest1 ,i should think that it would always be open to a good diplomatist to become a good actor on the stage1 provided his dignity allowed it4 ,as regards the ,jews1 however1 the adaptable people par excellence1 we should1 in conformity to this line of thought1 expect to see among them a world-historical institution from the very beginning1 for the rearing of actors1 a genuine breeding-place for actors2 and in fact the question is very pertinent just now3 what good actor at present is not--a ,jew8 ,the ,jew also1 as a born literary man1 as the actual ruler of the ,european press1 exercises this power on the basis of his histrionic capacity3 for the literary man is essentially an actor1--he plays the part of expert1 of specialist4--,finally women4 ,if we consider the whole history of women1 are they not obliged first of all1 and above all to be actresses8 ,if we listen to doctors who have hypnotised women1 or1 finally1 if we love them--and let ourselves be hypnotised by them1--what is always divulged thereby8 ,that they give themselves airs1 even when they--give themselves4444 ,woman is so artistic4444 #cfb4 ,my ,belief in the ,virilising of ,europe4--,we owe it to ,napoleon 7and not at all to the ,french ,revolution1 which had in view the fraternity of the nations1 and the florid interchange of good graces among people generally7 that several warlike centuries1 which have not had their like in past history1 may now follow one another--in short1 that we have entered upon the classical age of war1 war at the same time scientific and popular1 on the grandest scale 7as regards means1 talents and discipline71 to which all coming millenniums will look back with envy and awe as a work of perfection3--for the national movement out of which this martial glory springs1 is only the counter-choc against ,napoleon1 and would not have existed without him4 ,to him1 consequently1 one will one day be able to attribute the fact that man in ,europe has again got the upper hand of the merchant and the ,philistine2 perhaps even of woman also1 who has become pampered owing to ,christianity and the extravagant spirit of the eighteenth century1 and still more owing to modern ideas4 ,napoleon1 who saw in modern ideas1 and accordingly in civilisation1 something like a personal enemy1 has by this hostility proved himself one of the greatest continuators of the ,renaissance3 he has brought to the surface a whole block of the ancient character1 the decisive block perhaps1 the block of granite4 ,and who knows but that this block of ancient character will in the end get the upper hand of the national movement1 and will have to make itself in a positive sense the heir and continuator of ,napoleon3--who1 as one knows1 wanted one ,europe1 which was to be mistress of the world4-- #cfc4 ,how each ,sex has its ,prejudice about ,love4--,notwithstanding all the concessions which ,i am inclined to make to the monogamic prejudice1 ,i will never admit that we should speak of equal rights in the love of man and woman3 there are no such equal rights4 ,the reason is that man and woman understand something different by the term love1--and it belongs to the conditions of love in both sexes that the one sex does not presuppose the same feeling1 the same conception of love1 in the other sex4 ,what woman understands by love is clear enough3 complete surrender 7not merely devotion7 of soul and body1 without any motive1 without any reservation1 rather with shame and terror at the thought of a devotion restricted by clauses or associated with conditions4 ,in this absence of conditions her love is precisely a faith3 woman has no other4--,man1 when he loves a woman1 wants precisely this love from her2 he is consequently1 as regards himself1 furthest removed from the prerequisites of feminine love2 granted1 however1 that there should also be men to whom on their side the demand for complete devotion is not unfamiliar1--well1 they are really--not men4 ,a man who loves like a woman becomes thereby a slave2 a woman1 however1 who loves like a woman becomes thereby a more perfect woman4444 ,the passion of woman in its unconditional renunciation of its own rights presupposes in fact that there does not exist on the other side an equal pathos1 an equal desire for renunciation3 for if both renounced themselves out of love1 there would result--well1 ,i don't know what1 perhaps a horror vacui8 ,woman wants to be taken and accepted as a possession1 she wishes to be merged in the conceptions of possession and possessed2 consequently she wants one who takes1 who does not offer and give himself away1 but who reversely is rather to be made richer in himself--by the increase of power1 happiness and faith which the woman herself gives to him4 ,woman gives herself1 man takes her4--,i do not think one will get over this natural contrast by any social contract1 or with the very best will to do justice1 however desirable it may be to avoid bringing the severe1 frightful1 enigmatical1 and unmoral elements of this antagonism constantly before our eyes4 ,for love1 regarded as complete1 great1 and full1 is nature1 and as nature1 is to all eternity something unmoral4--,fidelity is accordingly included in woman's love1 it follows from the definition thereof2 with man fidelity may readily result in consequence of his love1 perhaps as gratitude or idiosyncrasy of taste1 and so-called elective affinity1 but it does not belong to the essence of his love--and indeed so little1 that one might almost be entitled to speak of a natural opposition between love and fidelity in man1 whose love is just a desire to possess1 and not a renunciation and giving away2 the desire to possess1 however1 comes to an end every time with the possession4444 ,as a matter of fact it is the more subtle and jealous thirst for possession in the man 7who is rarely and tardily convinced of having this possession71 which makes his love continue2 in that case it is even possible that the love may increase after the surrender1--he does not readily own that a woman has nothing more to surrender to him4-- #cfd4 ,the ,anchorite ,speaks4--,the art of associating with men rests essentially on one's skilfulness 7which presupposes long exercise7 in accepting a repast1 in taking a repast in the cuisine of which one has no confidence4 ,provided one comes to the table with the hunger of a wolf everything is easy 7the worst society gives thee experience--as ,mephistopheles says72 but one has not got this wolf's-hunger when one needs it6 ,alas6 how difficult are our fellow-men to digest6 ,first principle3 to stake one's courage as in a misfortune1 to seize boldly1 to admire oneself at the same time1 to take one's repugnance between one's teeth1 to cram down one's disgust4 ,second principle3 to improve one's fellow-man1 by praise for example1 so that he may begin to sweat out his self-complacency2 or to seize a tuft of his good or interesting qualities1 and pull at it till one gets his whole virtue out1 and can put him under the folds of it4 ,third principle3 self-hypnotism4 ,to fix one's eye on the object of one's intercourse1 as on a glass knob1 until1 ceasing to feel pleasure or pain thereat1 one falls asleep unobserved1 becomes rigid1 and acquires a fixed pose3 a household recipe used in married life and in friendship1 well tested and prized as indispensable1 but not yet scientifically formulated4 ,its proper name is--patience4-- #cfe4 ,the ,anchorite ,speaks once more4--,we also have intercourse with men1 we also modestly put on the clothes in which people know us 7as such71 respect us and seek us2 and we thereby mingle in society1 that is to say1 among the disguised who do not wish to be so called2 we also do like all prudent masqueraders1 and courteously dismiss all curiosity which has not reference merely to our clothes4 ,there are however other modes and artifices for going about among men and associating with them3 for example1 as a ghost1--which is very advisable when one wants to scare them1 and get rid of them easily4 ,an example3 a person grasps at us1 and is unable to seize us4 ,that frightens him4 ,or we enter by a closed door4 ,or when the lights are extinguished4 ,or after we are dead4 ,the latter is the artifice of posthumous men par excellence4 7,what8 said such a one once impatiently1 do you think we should delight in enduring this strangeness1 coldness1 death-stillness about us1 all this subterranean1 hidden1 dim1 undiscovered solitude1 which is called life with us1 and might just as well be called death1 if we were not conscious of what will arise out of us1--and that only after our death shall we attain to our life and become living1 ah6 very living6 we posthumous men6--7 #cff4 ,at the ,sight of a ,learned ,book4--,we do not belong to those who only get their thoughts from books1 or at the prompting of books1--it is our custom to think in the open air1 walking1 leaping1 climbing1 or dancing on lonesome mountains by preference1 or close to the sea1 where even the paths become thoughtful4 ,our first question concerning the value of a book1 a man1 or a piece of music is3 ,can it walk8 or still better3 ,can it dance8444 ,we seldom read2 we do not read the worse for that--oh1 how quickly do we divine how a person has arrived at his thoughts3--whether sitting before an ink-bottle with compressed belly and head bent over the paper3 oh1 how quickly we are then done with his book6 ,the constipated bowels betray themselves1 one may wager on it1 just as the atmosphere of the room1 the ceiling of the room1 the smallness of the room1 betray themselves4--,these were my feelings as ,i was closing a straightforward1 learned book1 thankful1 very thankful1 but also relieved4444 ,in the book of a learned man there is almost always something oppressive and oppressed3 the specialist comes to light somewhere1 his ardour1 his seriousness1 his wrath1 his over-estimation of the nook in which he sits and spins1 his hump--every specialist has his hump4 ,a learned book also always mirrors a distorted soul3 every trade distorts4 ,look at our friends again with whom we have spent our youth1 after they have taken possession of their science3 alas6 how the reverse has always taken place6 ,alas6 how they themselves are now for ever occupied and possessed by their science6 ,grown into their nook1 crumpled into unrecognisability1 constrained1 deprived of their equilibrium1 emaciated and angular everywhere1 perfectly round only in one place1--we are moved and silent when we find them so4 ,every handicraft1 granting even that it has a golden floor1#ac has also a leaden ceiling above it1 which presses and presses on the soul1 till it is pressed into a strange and distorted shape4 ,there is nothing to alter here4 ,we need not think that it is at all possible to obviate this disfigurement by any educational artifice whatever4 ,every kind of perfection is purchased at a high price on earth1 where everything is perhaps purchased too dear2 one is an expert in one's department at the price of being also a victim of one's department4 ,but you want to have it otherwise--more reasonable1 above all more convenient--is it not so1 my dear contemporaries8 ,very well6 ,but then you will also immediately get something different3 that is to say1 instead of the craftsman and expert1 the literary man1 the versatile1 many-sided littrateur1 who to be sure lacks the hump--not taking account of the hump or bow which he makes before you as the shopman of the intellect and the porter of culture--1 the littrateur1 who is really nothing1 but represents almost everything3 he plays and represents the expert1 he also takes it upon himself in all modesty to see that he is paid1 honoured and celebrated in this position4--,no1 my learned friends6 ,i bless you even on account of your humps6 ,and also because like me you despise the littrateurs and parasites of culture6 ,and because you do not know how to make merchandise of your intellect6 ,and have so many opinions which cannot be expressed in money value6 ,and because you do not represent anything which you are not6 ,because your sole desire is to become masters of your craft2 because you reverence every kind of mastership and ability1 and repudiate with the most relentless scorn everything of a make-believe1 half-genuine1 dressed-up1 virtuoso1 demagogic1 histrionic nature in litteris et artibus--all that which does not convince you by its absolute genuineness of discipline and preparatory training1 or cannot stand your test6 7,even genius does not help a person to get over such a defect1 however well it may be able to deceive with regard to it3 one understands this if one has once looked closely at our most gifted painters and musicians1--who almost without exception1 can artificially and supplementarily appropriate to themselves 7by means of artful inventions of style1 make-shifts1 and even principles71 the appearance of that genuineness1 that solidity of training and culture2 to be sure1 without thereby deceiving themselves1 without thereby imposing perpetual silence on their bad consciences4 ,for you know well enough that all great modern artists suffer from bad consciences84447 #cfg4 ,how one has to ,distinguish first of all in ,works of ,art4--,everything that is thought1 versified1 painted and composed1 yea1 even built and moulded1 belongs either to monologic art1 or to art before witnesses4 ,under the latter there is also to be included the apparently monologic art which involves the belief in ,god1 the whole lyric of prayer2 because for a pious man there is no solitude1--we1 the godless1 have been the first to devise this invention4 ,i know of no profounder distinction in all the perspective of the artist than this3 ,whether he looks at his growing work of art 7at himself--7 with the eye of the witness2 or whether he has forgotten the world1 as is the essential thing in all monologic art1----it rests on forgetting1 it is the music of forgetting4 #cfh4 ,the ,cynic ,speaks4--,my objections to ,wagner's music are physiological objections4 ,why should ,i therefore begin by disguising them under sthetic formul8 ,my point is that ,i can no longer breathe freely when this music begins to operate on me2 my foot immediately becomes indignant at it and rebels3 for what it needs is time1 dance and march2 it demands first of all from music the ecstasies which are in good walking1 striding1 leaping and dancing4 ,but do not my stomach1 my heart1 my blood and my bowels also protest8 ,do ,i not become hoarse unawares under its influence8 ,and then ,i ask myself what it is really that my body wants from music generally4 ,i believe it wants to have relief3 so that all animal functions should be accelerated by means of light1 bold1 unfettered1 self-assured rhythms2 so that brazen1 leaden life should be gilded by means of golden1 good1 tender harmonies4 ,my melancholy would fain rest its head in the hiding-places and abysses of perfection3 for this reason ,i need music4 ,what do ,i care for the drama6 ,what do ,i care for the spasms of its moral ecstasies1 in which the people have their satisfaction6 ,what do ,i care for the whole pantomimic hocus-pocus of the actor6444 ,it will now be divined that ,i am essentially anti-theatrical at heart1--but ,wagner on the contrary1 was essentially a man of the stage and an actor1 the most enthusiastic mummer-worshipper that has ever existed1 even among musicians6444 ,and let it be said in passing that if ,wagner's theory was that drama is the object1 and music is only the means to it1--his practice on the contrary from beginning to end has been to the effect that attitude is the object1 drama and even music can never be anything else but means to that4 ,music as a means of elucidating1 strengthening and intensifying dramatic poses and the actor's appeal to the senses1 and ,wagnerian drama only an opportunity for a number of dramatic attitudes6 ,wagner possessed1 along with all other instincts1 the dictatorial instinct of a great actor in all and everything1 and as has been said1 also as a musician4--,i once made this clear with some trouble to a thorough-going ,wagnerian1 and ,i had reasons for adding3--,do be a little more honest with yourself3 we are not now in the theatre4 ,in the theatre we are only honest in the mass2 as individuals we lie1 we belie even ourselves4 ,we leave ourselves at home when we go to the theatre2 we there renounce the right to our own tongue and choice1 to our taste1 and even to our courage as we possess it and practise it within our own four walls in relation to ,god and man4 ,no one takes his finest taste in art into the theatre with him1 not even the artist who works for the theatre3 there one is people1 public1 herd1 woman1 ,pharisee1 voting animal1 democrat1 neighbour1 and fellow-creature2 there even the most personal conscience succumbs to the levelling charm of the 'great multitude'2 there stupidity operates as wantonness and contagion2 there the neighbour rules1 there one becomes a neighbour4444 7,i have forgotten to mention what my enlightened ,wagnerian answered to my physiological objections3 ,so the fact is that you are really not healthy enough for our music8--7 #cfi4 ,juxtapositions in us4--,must we not acknowledge to ourselves1 we artists1 that there is a strange discrepancy in us2 that on the one hand our taste1 and on the other hand our creative power1 keep apart in an extraordinary manner1 continue apart1 and have a separate growth2--,i mean to say that they have entirely different gradations and tempi of age1 youth1 maturity1 mellowness and rottenness8 ,so that1 for example1 a musician could all his life create things which contradict all that his ear and heart1 spoilt as they are for listening1 prize1 relish and prefer3--he would not even require to be aware of the contradiction6 ,as an almost painfully regular experience shows1 a person's taste can easily outgrow the taste of his power1 even without the latter being thereby paralysed or checked in its productivity4 ,the reverse1 however1 can also to some extent take place1--and it is to this especially that ,i should like to direct the attention of artists4 ,a constant producer1 a man who is a mother in the grand sense of the term1 one who no longer knows or hears of anything except pregnancies and child-beds of his spirit1 who has no time at all to reflect and make comparisons with regard to himself and his work1 who is also no longer inclined to exercise his taste1 but simply forgets it1 letting it take its chance of standing1 lying or falling1--perhaps such a man at last produces works on which he is then not at all fit to pass a judgment3 so that he speaks and thinks foolishly about them and about himself4 ,this seems to me almost the normal condition with fruitful artists1--nobody knows a child worse than its parents--and the rule applies even 7to take an immense example7 to the entire ,greek world of poetry and art1 which was never conscious of what it had done4444 #cgj4 ,what is ,romanticism8--,it will be remembered perhaps1 at least among my friends1 that at first ,i assailed the modern world with some gross errors and exaggerations1 but at any rate with hope in my heart4 ,i recognised--who knows from what personal experiences8--the philosophical pessimism of the nineteenth century as the symptom of a higher power of thought1 a more daring courage and a more triumphant plenitude of life than had been characteristic of the eighteenth century1 the age of ,hume1 ,kant1 ,condillac1 and the sensualists3 so that the tragic view of things seemed to me the peculiar luxury of our culture1 its most precious1 noble1 and dangerous mode of prodigality2 but nevertheless1 in view of its overflowing wealth1 a justifiable luxury4 ,in the same way ,i interpreted for myself ,german music as the expression of a ,dionysian power in the ,german soul3 ,i thought ,i heard in it the earthquake by means of which a primeval force that had been imprisoned for ages was finally finding vent--indifferent as to whether all that usually calls itself culture was thereby made to totter4 ,it is obvious that ,i then misunderstood what constitutes the veritable character both of philosophical pessimism and of ,german music1--namely1 their ,romanticism4 ,what is ,romanticism8 ,every art and every philosophy may be regarded as a healing and helping appliance in the service of growing1 struggling life3 they always presuppose suffering and sufferers4 ,but there are two kinds of sufferers3 on the one hand those that suffer from overflowing vitality1 who need ,dionysian art1 and require a tragic view and insight into life2 and on the other hand those who suffer from reduced vitality1 who seek repose1 quietness1 calm seas1 and deliverance from themselves through art or knowledge1 or else intoxication1 spasm1 bewilderment and madness4 ,all ,romanticism in art and knowledge responds to the twofold craving of the latter2 to them ,schopenhauer as well as ,wagner responded 7and responds71--to name those most celebrated and decided romanticists who were then misunderstood by me 7not however to their disadvantage1 as may be reasonably conceded to me74 ,the being richest in overflowing vitality1 the ,dionysian ,god and man1 may not only allow himself the spectacle of the horrible and questionable1 but even the fearful deed itself1 and all the luxury of destruction1 disorganisation and negation4 ,with him evil1 senselessness and ugliness seem as it were licensed1 in consequence of the overflowing plenitude of procreative1 fructifying power1 which can convert every desert into a luxuriant orchard4 ,conversely1 the greatest sufferer1 the man poorest in vitality1 would have most need of mildness1 peace and kindliness in thought and action3 he would need1 if possible1 a ,god who is specially the ,god of the sick1 a ,saviour2 similarly he would have need of logic1 the abstract intelligibility of existence--for logic soothes and gives confidence2--in short he would need a certain warm1 fear-dispelling narrowness and imprisonment within optimistic horizons4 ,in this manner ,i gradually began to understand ,epicurus1 the opposite of a ,dionysian pessimist2--in a similar manner also the ,christian1 who in fact is only a type of ,epicurean1 and like him essentially a romanticist3--and my vision has always become keener in tracing that most difficult and insidious of all forms of retrospective inference1 which most mistakes have been made--the inference from the work to its author1 from the deed to its doer1 from the ideal to him who needs it1 from every mode of thinking and valuing to the imperative want behind it4--,in regard to all sthetic values ,i now avail myself of this radical distinction3 ,i ask in every single case1 ,has hunger or superfluity become creative here8 ,at the outset another distinction might seem to recommend itself more--it is far more conspicuous1--namely1 to have in view whether the desire for rigidity1 for perpetuation1 for being is the cause of the creating1 or the desire for destruction1 for change1 for the new1 for the future--for becoming4 ,but when looked at more carefully1 both these kinds of desire prove themselves ambiguous1 and are explicable precisely according to the before-mentioned and1 as it seems to me1 rightly preferred scheme4 ,the desire for destruction1 change and becoming1 may be the expression of overflowing power1 pregnant with futurity 7my terminus for this is of course the word ,dionysian72 but it may also be the hatred of the ill-constituted1 destitute and unfortunate1 which destroys1 and must destroy1 because the enduring1 yea1 all that endures1 in fact all being1 excites and provokes it4 ,to understand this emotion we have but to look closely at our anarchists4 ,the will to perpetuation requires equally a double interpretation4 ,it may on the one hand proceed from gratitude and love3--art of this origin will always be an art of apotheosis1 perhaps dithyrambic1 as with ,rubens1 mocking divinely1 as with ,hafiz1 or clear and kind-hearted as with ,goethe1 and spreading a ,homeric brightness and glory over everything 7in this case ,i speak of ,apollonian art74 ,it may also1 however1 be the tyrannical will of a sorely-suffering1 struggling or tortured being1 who would like to stamp his most personal1 individual and narrow characteristics1 the very idiosyncrasy of his suffering1 as an obligatory law and constraint on others2 who1 as it were1 takes revenge on all things1 in that he imprints1 enforces and brands his image1 the image of his torture1 upon them4 ,the latter is romantic pessimism in its most extreme form1 whether it be as ,schopenhauerian will-philosophy1 or as ,wagnerian music3--romantic pessimism1 the last great event in the destiny of our civilisation4 7,that there may be quite a different kind of pessimism1 a classical pessimism--this presentiment and vision belongs to me1 as something inseparable from me1 as my proprium and ipsissimum2 only that the word classical is repugnant to my ears1 it has become far too worn2 too indefinite and indistinguishable4 ,i call that pessimism of the future1--for it is coming6 ,i see it coming6--,dionysian pessimism47 #cga4 ,we ,unintelligible ,ones4--,have we ever complained among ourselves of being misunderstood1 misjudged1 and confounded with others2 of being calumniated1 misheard1 and not heard8 ,that is just our lot--alas1 for a long time yet6 say1 to be modest1 until #aija--1 it is also our distinction2 we should not have sufficient respect for ourselves if we wished it otherwise4 ,people confound us with others--the reason of it is that we ourselves grow1 we change continually1 we cast off old bark1 we still slough every spring1 we always become younger1 higher1 stronger1 as men of the future1 we thrust our roots always more powerfully into the deep--into evil--1 while at the same time we embrace the heavens ever more lovingly1 more extensively1 and suck in their light ever more eagerly with all our branches and leaves4 ,we grow like trees--that is difficult to understand1 like all life6--not in one place1 but everywhere1 not in one direction only1 but upwards and outwards1 as well as inwards and downwards4 ,at the same time our force shoots forth in stem1 branches1 and roots2 we are really no longer free to do anything separately1 or to be anything separately4444 ,such is our lot1 as we have said3 we grow in height2 and even should it be our calamity--for we dwell ever closer to the lightning6--well1 we honour it none the less on that account2 it is that which we do not wish to share with others1 which we do not wish to bestow upon others1 the fate of all elevation1 our fate4444 #cgb4 ,why we are not ,idealists4--,formerly philosophers were afraid of the senses3 have we1 perhaps1 been far too forgetful of this fear8 ,we are at present all of us sensualists1 we representatives of the present and of the future in philosophy1--not according to theory1 however1 but in praxis1 in practice4444 ,those former philosophers1 on the contrary1 thought that the senses lured them out of their world1 the cold realm of ideas1 to a dangerous southern island1 where they were afraid that their philosopher-virtues would melt away like snow in the sun4 ,wax in the ears1 was then almost a condition of philosophising2 a genuine philosopher no longer listened to life1 in so far as life is music1 he denied the music of life--it is an old philosophical superstition that all music is ,sirens' music4--,now we should be inclined at the present day to judge precisely in the opposite manner 7which in itself might be just as false71 and to regard ideas1 with their cold1 anmic appearance1 and not even in spite of this appearance1 as worse seducers than the senses4 ,they have always lived on the blood of the philosopher1 they always consumed his senses1 and indeed1 if you will believe me1 his heart as well4 ,those old philosophers were heartless3 philosophising was always a species of vampirism4 ,at the sight of such figures even as ,spinoza1 do you not feel a profoundly enigmatical and disquieting sort of impression8 ,do you not see the drama which is here performed1 the constantly increasing pallor--1 the spiritualisation always more ideally displayed8 ,do you not imagine some long-concealed blood-sucker in the background1 which makes its beginning with the senses1 and in the end retains or leaves behind nothing but bones and their rattling8--,i mean categories1 formul1 and words 7for you will pardon me in saying that what remains of ,spinoza1 amor intellectualis dei1 is rattling and nothing more6 ,what is amor1 what is deus1 when they have lost every drop of blood84447 ,in summa3 all philosophical idealism has hitherto been something like a disease1 where it has not been1 as in the case of ,plato1 the prudence of superabundant and dangerous healthfulness1 the fear of overpowerful senses1 and the wisdom of a wise ,socratic4--,perhaps1 is it the case that we moderns are merely not sufficiently sound to require ,plato's idealism8 ,and we do not fear the senses because----4 #cgc4 ,science as ,prejudice4--,it follows from the laws of class distinction that the learned1 in so far as they belong to the intellectual middle-class1 are debarred from getting even a sight of the really great problems and notes of interrogation4 ,besides1 their courage1 and similarly their outlook1 does not reach so far1--and above all1 their need1 which makes them investigators1 their innate anticipation and desire that things should be constituted in such and such a way1 their fears and hopes are too soon quieted and set at rest4 ,for example1 that which makes the pedantic ,englishman1 ,herbert ,spencer1 so enthusiastic in his way1 and impels him to draw a line of hope1 a horizon of desirability1 the final reconciliation of egoism and altruism of which he dreams1--that almost causes nausea to people like us3--a humanity with such ,spencerian perspectives as ultimate perspectives would seem to us deserving of contempt1 of extermination6 ,but the fact that something has to be taken by him as his highest hope1 which is regarded1 and may well be regarded1 by others merely as a distasteful possibility1 is a note of interrogation which ,spencer could not have foreseen4444 ,it is just the same with the belief with which at present so many materialistic natural-scientists are content1 the belief in a world which is supposed to have its equivalent and measure in human thinking and human valuations1 a world of truth at which we might be able ultimately to arrive with the help of our insignificant1 four-cornered human reason6 ,what8 do we actually wish to have existence debased in that fashion to a ready-reckoner exercise and calculation for stay-at-home mathematicians8 ,we should not1 above all1 seek to divest existence of its ambiguous character3 good taste forbids it1 gentlemen1 the taste of reverence for everything that goes beyond your horizon6 ,that a world-interpretation is alone right by which you maintain your position1 by which investigation and work can go on scientifically in your sense 7you really mean mechanically871 an interpretation which acknowledges numbering1 calculating1 weighing1 seeing and handling1 and nothing more--such an idea is a piece of grossness and navety1 provided it is not lunacy and idiocy4 ,would the reverse not be quite probable1 that the most superficial and external characters of existence--its most apparent quality1 its outside1 its embodiment--should let themselves be apprehended first8 perhaps alone allow themselves to be apprehended8 ,a scientific interpretation of the world as you understand it might consequently still be one of the stupidest that is to say1 the most destitute of significance1 of all possible world-interpretations3--,i say this in confidence to my friends the ,mechanicians1 who to-day like to hobnob with philosophers1 and absolutely believe that mechanics is the teaching of the first and last laws upon which1 as upon a ground-floor1 all existence must be built4 ,but an essentially mechanical world would be an essentially meaningless world6 ,supposing we valued the worth of a music with reference to how much it could be counted1 calculated1 or formulated--how absurd such a scientific estimate of music would be6 ,what would one have apprehended1 understood1 or discerned in it6 ,nothing1 absolutely nothing of what is really music in it6444 #cgd4 ,our new ,infinite4--,how far the perspective character of existence extends1 or whether it have any other character at all1 whether an existence without explanation1 without sense does not just become nonsense1 whether1 on the other hand1 all existence is not essentially an explaining existence--these questions1 as is right and proper1 cannot be determined even by the most diligent and severely conscientious analysis and self-examination of the intellect1 because in this analysis the human intellect cannot avoid seeing itself in its perspective forms1 and only in them4 ,we cannot see round our corner3 it is hopeless curiosity to want to know what other modes of intellect and perspective there might be3 for example1 whether any kind of being could perceive time backwards1 or alternately forwards and backwards 7by which another direction of life and another conception of cause and effect would be given74 ,but ,i think that we are to-day at least far from the ludicrous immodesty of decreeing from our nook that there can only be legitimate perspectives from that nook4 ,the world1 on the contrary1 has once more become infinite to us3 in so far we cannot dismiss the possibility that it contains infinite interpretations4 ,once more the great horror seizes us--but who would desire forthwith to deify once more this monster of an unknown world in the old fashion8 ,and perhaps worship the unknown thing as the unknown person in future8 ,ah6 there are too many ungodly possibilities of interpretation comprised in this unknown1 too much devilment1 stupidity and folly of interpretation4--also our own human1 all too human interpretation itself1 which we know4444 #cge4 ,why we ,seem to be ,epicureans4--,we are cautious1 we modern men1 with regard to final convictions1 our distrust lies in wait for the enchantments and tricks of conscience involved in every strong belief1 in every absolute ,yea and ,nay3 how is this explained8 ,perhaps one may see in it a good deal of the caution of the burnt child1 of the disillusioned idealist2 but one may also see in it another and better element1 the joyful curiosity of a former lingerer in the corner1 who has been brought to despair by his nook1 and now luxuriates and revels in its antithesis1 in the unbounded1 in the open air in itself4 ,thus there is developed an almost ,epicurean inclination for knowledge1 which does not readily lose sight of the questionable character of things2 likewise also a repugnance to pompous moral phrases and attitudes1 a taste that repudiates all coarse1 square contrasts1 and is proudly conscious of its habitual reserve4 ,for this too constitutes our pride1 this easy tightening of the reins in our headlong impulse after certainty1 this self-control of the rider in his most furious riding3 for now1 as of old we have mad1 fiery steeds under us1 and if we delay1 it is certainly least of all the danger which causes us to delay4444 #cgf4 ,our ,slow ,periods4--,it is thus that artists feel1 and all men of works1 the maternal species of men3 they always believe at every chapter of their life--a work always makes a chapter--that they have already reached the goal itself2 they would always patiently accept death with the feeling3 we are ripe for it4 ,this is not the expression of exhaustion1--but rather that of a certain autumnal sunniness and mildness1 which the work itself1 the maturing of the work1 always leaves behind in its originator4 ,then the tempo of life slows down--turns thick and flows with honey--into long pauses1 into the belief in the long pause4444 #cgg4 ,we ,homeless ,ones4--,among the ,europeans of to-day there are not lacking those who may call themselves homeless ones in a way which is at once a distinction and an honour2 it is by them that my secret wisdom and gaya scienza is expressly to be laid to heart4 ,for their lot is hard1 their hope uncertain2 it is a clever feat to devise consolation for them4 ,but what good does it do6 ,we children of the future1 how could we be at home in the present8 ,we are unfavourable to all ideals which could make us feel at home in this frail1 broken-down1 transition period2 and as regards the realities thereof1 we do not believe in their endurance4 ,the ice which still carries us has become very thin3 the thawing wind blows2 we ourselves1 the homeless ones1 are an influence that breaks the ice1 and the other all too thin realities4444 ,we preserve nothing1 nor would we return to any past age2 we are not at all liberal1 we do not labour for progress1 we do not need first to stop our ears to the song of the market-place and the sirens of the future--their song of equal rights1 free society1 no longer either lords or slaves1 does not allure us6 ,we do not by any means think it desirable that the kingdom of righteousness and peace should be established on earth 7because under any circumstances it would be the kingdom of the profoundest mediocrity and ,chinaism72 we rejoice in all men1 who1 like ourselves1 love danger1 war and adventure1 who do not make compromises1 nor let themselves be captured1 conciliated and stunted2 we count ourselves among the conquerors2 we ponder over the need of a new order of things1 even of a new slavery--for every strengthening and elevation of the type man also involves a new form of slavery4 ,is it not obvious that with all this we must feel ill at ease in an age which claims the honour of being the most humane1 gentle and just that the sun has ever seen8 ,what a pity that at the mere mention of these fine words1 the thoughts at the back of our minds are all the more unpleasant1 that we see therein only the expression--or the masquerade--of profound weakening1 exhaustion1 age1 and declining power6 ,what can it matter to us with what kind of tinsel an invalid decks out his weakness8 ,he may parade it as his virtue2 there is no doubt whatever that weakness makes people gentle1 alas1 so gentle1 so just1 so inoffensive1 so humane6--,the religion of pity1 to which people would like to persuade us--yes1 we know sufficiently well the hysterical little men and women who need this religion at present as a cloak and adornment6 ,we are no humanitarians2 we should not dare to speak of our love of mankind2 for that1 a person of our stamp is not enough of an actor6 ,or not sufficiently ,saint-,simonist1 not sufficiently ,french4 ,a person must have been affected with a ,gallic excess of erotic susceptibility and amorous impatience even to approach mankind honourably with his lewdness4444 ,mankind6 ,was there ever a more hideous old woman among all old women 7unless perhaps it were the ,truth3 a question for philosophers78 ,no1 we do not love ,mankind6 ,on the other hand1 however1 we are not nearly ,german enough 7in the sense in which the word ,german is current at present7 to advocate nationalism and race-hatred1 or take delight in the national heart-itch and blood-poisoning1 on account of which the nations of ,europe are at present bounded off and secluded from one another as if by quarantines4 ,we are too unprejudiced for that1 too perverse1 too fastidious2 also too well-informed1 and too much travelled4 ,we prefer much rather to live on mountains1 apart and out of season1 in past or coming centuries1 in order merely to spare ourselves the silent rage to which we know we should be condemned as witnesses of a system of politics which makes the ,german nation barren by making it vain1 and which is a petty system besides3--will it not be necessary for this system to plant itself between two mortal hatreds1 lest its own creation should immediately collapse8 ,will it not be obliged to desire the perpetuation of the petty-state system of ,europe8444 ,we homeless ones are too diverse and mixed in race and descent as modern men1 and are consequently little tempted to participate in the falsified racial self-admiration and lewdness which at present display themselves in ,germany1 as signs of ,german sentiment1 and which strike one as doubly false and unbecoming in the people with the historical sense4 ,we are1 in a word--and it shall be our word of honour6--good ,europeans1 the heirs of ,europe1 the rich1 over-wealthy heirs1 also the too deeply pledged heirs of millenniums of ,european thought4 ,as such1 we have also outgrown ,christianity1 and are disinclined to it--and just because we have grown out of it1 because our forefathers were ,christians uncompromising in their ,christian integrity1 who willingly sacrificed possessions and positions1 blood and country1 for the sake of their belief4 ,we--do the same4 ,for what1 then8 ,for our unbelief8 ,for all sorts of unbelief8 ,nay1 you know better than that1 my friends6 ,the hidden ,yea in you is stronger than all the ,nays and ,perhapses1 of which you and your age are sick2 and when you are obliged to put out to sea1 you emigrants1 it is--once more a faith which urges you thereto6444 #cgh4 ,and once more ,grow ,clear4--,we1 the generous and rich in spirit1 who stand at the sides of the streets like open fountains and would hinder no one from drinking from us3 we do not know1 alas6 how to defend ourselves when we should like to do so2 we have no means of preventing ourselves being made turbid and dark1--we have no means of preventing the age in which we live casting its up-to-date rubbish into us1 nor of hindering filthy birds throwing their excrement1 the boys their trash1 and fatigued resting travellers their misery1 great and small1 into us4 ,but we do as we have always done3 we take whatever is cast into us down into our depths--for we are deep1 we do not forget--and once more grow clear4444 #cgi4 ,the ,fool's ,interruption4--,it is not a misanthrope who has written this book3 the hatred of men costs too dear to-day4 ,to hate as they formerly hated man1 in the fashion of ,timon1 completely1 without qualification1 with all the heart1 from the pure love of hatred--for that purpose one would have to renounce contempt3--and how much refined pleasure1 how much patience1 how much benevolence even1 do we owe to contempt6 ,moreover we are thereby the elect of ,god3 refined contempt is our taste and privilege1 our art1 our virtue perhaps1 we1 the most modern amongst the moderns6444 ,hatred1 on the contrary1 makes equal1 it puts men face to face1 in hatred there is honour2 finally1 in hatred there is fear1 quite a large amount of fear4 ,we fearless ones1 however1 we1 the most intellectual men of the period1 know our advantage well enough to live without fear as the most intellectual persons of this age4 ,people will not easily behead us1 shut us up1 or banish us2 they will not even ban or burn our books4 ,the age loves intellect1 it loves us1 and needs us1 even when we have to give it to understand that we are artists in despising2 that all intercourse with men is something of a horror to us2 that with all our gentleness1 patience1 humanity and courteousness1 we cannot persuade our nose to abandon its prejudice against the proximity of man2 that we love nature the more1 the less humanly things are done by her1 and that we love art when it is the flight of the artist from man1 or the raillery of the artist at man1 or the raillery of the artist at himself4444 #chj4 ,the ,wanderer ,speaks4--,in order for once to get a glimpse of our ,european morality from a distance1 in order to compare it with other earlier or future moralities1 one must do as the traveller who wants to know the height of the towers of a city3 for that purpose he leaves the city4 ,thoughts concerning moral prejudices1 if they are not to be prejudices concerning prejudices1 presuppose a position outside of morality1 some sort of world beyond good and evil1 to which one must ascend1 climb1 or fly--and in the given case at any rate1 a position beyond our good and evil1 an emancipation from all ,europe1 understood as a sum of inviolable valuations which have become part and parcel of our flesh and blood4 ,that one wants in fact to get outside1 or aloft1 is perhaps a sort of madness1 a peculiarly unreasonable thou must--for even we thinkers have our idiosyncrasies of unfree will--3 the question is whether one can really get there4 ,that may depend on manifold conditions3 in the main it is a question of how light or how heavy we are1 the problem of our specific gravity4 ,one must be very light in order to impel one's will to knowledge to such a distance1 and as it were beyond one's age1 in order to create eyes for oneself for the survey of millenniums1 and a pure heaven in these eyes besides6 ,one must have freed oneself from many things by which we ,europeans of to-day are oppressed1 hindered1 held down1 and made heavy4 ,the man of such a ,beyond1 who wants to get even in sight of the highest standards of worth of his age1 must first of all surmount this age in himself--it is the test of his power--and consequently not only his age1 but also his past aversion and opposition to his age1 his suffering caused by his age1 his unseasonableness1 his ,romanticism4444 #cha4 ,the ,question of ,intelligibility4--,one not only wants to be understood when one writes1 but also--quite as certainly--not to be understood4 ,it is by no means an objection to a book when someone finds it unintelligible3 perhaps this might just have been the intention of its author1--perhaps he did not want to be understood by anyone4 ,a distinguished intellect and taste1 when it wants to communicate its thoughts1 always selects its hearers2 by selecting them1 it at the same time closes its barriers against the others4 ,it is there that all the more refined laws of style have their origin3 they at the same time keep off1 they create distance1 they prevent access 7intelligibility1 as we have said17--while they open the ears of those who are acoustically related to them4 ,and to say it between ourselves and with reference to my own case1--,i do not desire that either my ignorance1 or the vivacity of my temperament1 should prevent me being understood by you1 my friends3 ,i certainly do not desire that my vivacity should have that effect1 however much it may impel me to arrive quickly at an object1 in order to arrive at it at all4 ,for ,i think it is best to do with profound problems as with a cold bath--quickly in1 quickly out4 ,that one does not thereby get into the depths1 that one does not get deep enough down--is a superstition of the hydrophobic1 the enemies of cold water2 they speak without experience4 ,oh6 the great cold makes one quick6--,and let me ask by the way3 ,is it a fact that a thing has been misunderstood and unrecognised when it has only been touched upon in passing1 glanced at1 flashed at8 ,must one absolutely sit upon it in the first place8 ,must one have brooded on it as on an egg8 ,diu noctuque incubando1 as ,newton said of himself8 ,at least there are truths of a peculiar shyness and ticklishness which one can only get hold of suddenly1 and in no other way1--which one must either take by surprise1 or leave alone4444 ,finally1 my brevity has still another value3 on those questions which pre-occupy me1 ,i must say a great deal briefly1 in order that it may be heard yet more briefly4 ,for as immoralist1 one has to take care lest one ruins innocence1 ,i mean the asses and old maids of both sexes1 who get nothing from life but their innocence2 moreover my writings are meant to fill them with enthusiasm1 to elevate them1 to encourage them in virtue4 ,i should be at a loss to know of anything more amusing than to see enthusiastic old asses and maids moved by the sweet feelings of virtue3 and that have ,i seen--spake ,zarathustra4 ,so much with respect to brevity2 the matter stands worse as regards my ignorance1 of which ,i make no secret to myself4 ,there are hours in which ,i am ashamed of it2 to be sure there are likewise hours in which ,i am ashamed of this shame4 ,perhaps we philosophers1 all of us1 are badly placed at present with regard to knowledge3 science is growing1 the most learned of us are on the point of discovering that we know too little4 ,but it would be worse still if it were otherwise1--if we knew too much2 our duty is and remains1 first of all1 not to get into confusion about ourselves4 ,we are different from the learned2 although it cannot be denied that amongst other things we are also learned4 ,we have different needs1 a different growth1 a different digestion3 we need more1 we need also less4 ,there is no formula as to how much an intellect needs for its nourishment2 if1 however1 its taste be in the direction of independence1 rapid coming and going1 travelling1 and perhaps adventure for which only the swiftest are qualified1 it prefers rather to live free on poor fare1 than to be unfree and plethoric4 ,not fat1 but the greatest suppleness and power is what a good dancer wishes from his nourishment1--and ,i know not what the spirit of a philosopher would like better than to be a good dancer4 ,for the dance is his ideal1 and also his art1 in the end likewise his sole piety1 his divine service4444 #chb4 ,great ,healthiness4--,we1 the new1 the nameless1 the hard-to-understand1 we firstlings of a yet untried future--we require for a new end also a new means1 namely1 a new healthiness1 stronger1 sharper1 tougher1 bolder and merrier than any healthiness hitherto4 ,he whose soul longs to experience the whole range of hitherto recognised values and desirabilities1 and to circumnavigate all the coasts of this ideal ,mediterranean ,sea1 who1 from the adventures of his most personal experience1 wants to know how it feels to be a conqueror1 and discoverer of the ideal--as likewise how it is with the artist1 the saint1 the legislator1 the sage1 the scholar1 the devotee1 the prophet1 and the godly ,nonconformist of the old style3--requires one thing above all for that purpose1 great healthiness--such healthiness as one not only possesses1 but also constantly acquires and must acquire1 because one continually sacrifices it again1 and must sacrifice it6--,and now1 after having been long on the way in this fashion1 we ,argonauts of the ideal1 who are more courageous perhaps than prudent1 and often enough shipwrecked and brought to grief1 nevertheless1 as said above1 healthier than people would like to admit1 dangerously healthy1 always healthy again1--it would seem1 as if in recompense for it all1 that we have a still undiscovered country before us1 the boundaries of which no one has yet seen1 a beyond to all countries and corners of the ideal known hitherto1 a world so over-rich in the beautiful1 the strange1 the questionable1 the frightful1 and the divine1 that our curiosity as well as our thirst for possession thereof1 have got out of hand--alas6 that nothing will now any longer satisfy us6 ,how could we still be content with the man of the present day after such peeps1 and with such a craving in our conscience and consciousness8 ,what a pity2 but it is unavoidable that we should look on the worthiest aims and hopes of the man of the present day with ill-concealed amusement1 and perhaps should no longer look at them4 ,another ideal runs on before us1 a strange1 tempting ideal1 full of danger1 to which we should not like to persuade any one1 because we do not so readily acknowledge any one's right thereto3 the ideal of a spirit who plays navely 7that is to say involuntarily and from overflowing abundance and power7 with everything that has hitherto been called holy1 good1 inviolable1 divine2 to whom the loftiest conception which the people have reasonably made their measure of value1 would already imply danger1 ruin1 abasement1 or at least relaxation1 blindness1 or temporary self-forgetfulness2 the ideal of a humanly superhuman welfare and benevolence1 which may often enough appear inhuman1 for example1 when put by the side of all past seriousness on earth1 and in comparison with all past solemnities in bearing1 word1 tone1 look1 morality and pursuit1 as their truest involuntary parody1-- but with which1 nevertheless1 perhaps the great seriousness only commences1 the proper interrogation mark is set up1 the fate of the soul changes1 the hour-hand moves1 and tragedy begins4444 #chc4 ,epilogue4--,but while ,i slowly1 slowly finish the painting of this sombre interrogation-mark1 and am still inclined to remind my readers of the virtues of right reading--oh1 what forgotten and unknown virtues--it comes to pass that the wickedest1 merriest1 gnome-like laughter resounds around me3 the spirits of my book themselves pounce upon me1 pull me by the ears1 and call me to order4 ,we cannot endure it any longer1 they shout to me1 away1 away with this raven-black music4 ,is it not clear morning round about us8 ,and green1 soft ground and turf1 the domain of the dance8 ,was there ever a better hour in which to be joyful8 ,who will sing us a song1 a morning song1 so sunny1 so light and so fledged that it will not scare the tantrums1--but will rather invite them to take part in the singing and dancing4 ,and better a simple rustic bagpipe than such weird sounds1 such toad-croakings1 grave-voices and marmot-pipings1 with which you have hitherto regaled us in your wilderness1 ,mr ,anchorite and ,musician of the ,future6 ,no6 ,not such tones6 ,but let us strike up something more agreeable and more joyful6--,you would like to have it so1 my impatient friends8 ,well6 ,who would not willingly accord with your wishes8 ,my bagpipe is waiting1 and my voice also--it may sound a little hoarse2 take it as it is6 don't forget we are in the mountains6 ,but what you will hear is at least new2 and if you do not understand it1 if you misunderstand the singer1 what does it matter6 ,that--has always been ,the ,singer's ,curse4#ad ,so much the more distinctly can you hear his music and melody1 so much the better also can you--dance to his piping4 ,would you like to do that8444 ----- ,footnote #aa3 ,in ,german the expression ,kopf zu waschen1 besides the literal sense1 also means to give a person a sound drubbing4--,,tr4 ,footnote #ab3 ,germany1 ,germany1 above all3 the first line of the ,german national song4--,,tr4 ,footnote #ac3 ,an allusion to the ,german ,proverb1 ,handwerk hat einen goldenen ,boden4--,,tr4 ,footnote #ad3 ,title of the well-known poem of ,uhland4--,,tr4 ,,appendix ,,songs ,,of ,,prince ,,free-,,as-,a-,,bird ,,to ,,goethe4#ae ,the ,undecaying ,is but thy label1 ,god the betraying ,is poets' fable4 ,our aims all are thwarted ,by the ,world-wheel's blind roll3 ,doom1 says the downhearted1 ,sport1 says the fool4 ,the ,world-sport1 all-ruling1 ,mingles false with true3 ,the ,eternally ,fooling ,makes us play1 too6 ,,the ,,poet',s ,,call4 ,as 'neath a shady tree ,i sat ,after long toil to take my pleasure1 ,i heard a tapping pit-a-pat ,beat prettily in rhythmic measure4 ,tho' first ,i scowled1 my face set hard1 ,the sound at length my sense entrapping ,forced me to speak like any bard1 ,and keep true time unto the tapping4 ,as ,i made verses1 never stopping1 ,each syllable the bird went after1 ,keeping in time with dainty hopping6 ,i burst into unmeasured laughter6 ,what1 you a poet8 ,you a poet8 ,can your brains truly so addled be8 ,yes1 yes1 good sir1 you are a poet1 ,chirped out the pecker1 mocking me4 ,what doth me to these woods entice8 ,the chance to give some thief a trouncing8 ,a saw1 an image8 ,ha1 in a trice ,my rhyme is on it1 swiftly pouncing6 ,all things that creep or crawl the poet ,weaves in his word-loom cunningly4 ,yes1 yes1 good sir1 you are a poet1 ,chirped out the pecker1 mocking me4 ,like to an arrow1 methinks1 a verse is1 ,see how it quivers1 pricks and smarts ,when shot full straight 7no tender mercies67 ,into the reptile's nobler parts6 ,wretches1 you die at the hand of the poet1 ,or stagger like men that have drunk too free4 ,yes1 yes1 good sir1 you are a poet1 ,chirped out the pecker1 mocking me4 ,so they go hurrying1 stanzas malign1 ,drunken words--what a clattering1 banging6-- ,till the whole company1 line on line1 ,all on the rhythmic chain are hanging4 ,has he really a cruel heart1 your poet8 ,are there fiends who rejoice1 the slaughter to see8 ,yes1 yes1 good sir1 you are a poet1 ,chirped out the pecker1 mocking me4 ,so you jest at me1 bird1 with your scornful graces8 ,so sore indeed is the plight of my head8 ,and my heart1 you say1 in yet sorrier case is8 ,beware6 for my wrath is a thing to dread6 ,yet e'en in the hour of his wrath the poet ,rhymes you and sings with the selfsame glee4 ,yes1 yes1 good sir1 you are a poet1 ,chirped out the pecker1 mocking me4 ,,in ,,the ,,south4#af ,i swing on a bough1 and rest ,my tired limbs in a nest1 ,in the rocking home of a bird1 ,wherein ,i perch as his guest1 ,in the ,south6 ,i gaze on the ocean asleep1 ,on the purple sail of a boat2 ,on the harbour and tower steep1 ,on the rocks that stand out of the deep1 ,in the ,south6 ,for ,i could no longer stay1 ,to crawl in slow ,german way2 ,so ,i called to the birds1 bade the wind ,lift me up and bear me away ,to the ,south6 ,no reasons for me1 if you please2 ,their end is too dull and too plain2 ,but a pair of wings and a breeze1 ,with courage and health and ease1 ,and games that chase disease ,from the ,south6 ,wise thoughts can move without sound1 ,but ,i've songs that ,i can't sing alone2 ,so birdies1 pray gather around1 ,and listen to what ,i have found ,in the ,south6 99 99 99 ,you are merry lovers and false and gay1 ,in frolics and sport you pass the day2 ,whilst in the ,north1 ,i shudder to say1 ,i worshipped a woman1 hideous and gray1 ,her name was ,truth1 so ,i heard them say1 ,but ,i left her there and ,i flew away ,to the ,south6 ,,beppa ,,the ,,pious4 ,while beauty in my face is1 ,be piety my care1 ,for ,god1 you know1 loves lasses1 ,and1 more than all1 the fair4 ,and if yon hapless monkling ,is fain with me to live1 ,like many another monkling1 ,god surely will forgive4 ,no grey old priestly devil1 ,but1 young1 with cheeks aflame-- ,who e'en when sick with revel1 ,can jealous be and blame4 ,to greybeards ,i'm a stranger1 ,and he1 too1 hates the old3 ,of ,god1 the world-arranger1 ,the wisdom here behold6 ,the ,church has ken of living1 ,and tests by heart and face4 ,to me she'll be forgiving6 ,who will not show me grace8 ,i lisp with pretty halting1 ,i curtsey1 bid good day1 ,and with the fresh defaulting ,i wash the old away6 ,praise be this man-,god's guerdon1 ,who loves all maidens fair1 ,and his own heart can pardon ,the sin he planted there4 ,while beauty in my face is1 ,with piety ,i'll stand1 ,when age has killed my graces1 ,let ,satan claim my hand6 ,,the ,,boat ,,of ,,mystery4 ,yester-eve1 when all things slept-- ,scarce a breeze to stir the lane-- ,i a restless vigil kept1 ,nor from pillows sleep could gain1 ,nor from poppies nor--most sure ,of opiates--a conscience pure4 ,thoughts of rest ,i 'gan forswear1 ,rose and walked along the strand1 ,found1 in warm and moonlit air1 ,man and boat upon the sand1 ,drowsy both1 and drowsily ,did the boat put out to sea4 ,passed an hour or two perchance1 ,or a year8 then thought and sense ,vanished in the engulfing trance ,of a vast ,indifference4 ,fathomless1 abysses dread ,opened--then the vision fled4 ,morning came3 becalmed1 the boat ,rested on the purple flood3 ,what had happened8 every throat ,shrieked the question3 was there--,blood8 ,naught had happened6 ,on the swell ,we had slumbered1 oh1 so well6 ,,an ,,avowal ,,of ,,love 7during which1 however1 the poet fell into a pit74 ,oh marvel6 there he flies ,cleaving the sky with wings unmoved--what force ,impels him1 bids him rise1 ,what curb restrains him8 ,where's his goal1 his course8 ,like stars and time eterne ,he liveth now in heights that life forswore1 ,nor envy's self doth spurn3 ,a lofty flight were't1 e'en to see him soar6 ,oh albatross1 great bird1 ,speeding me upward ever through the blue6 ,i thought of her1 was stirred ,to tears unending--yea1 ,i love her true6 ,,song ,,of ,a ,,theocritean ,,goatherd4 ,here ,i lie1 my bowels sore1 ,hosts of bugs advancing1 ,yonder lights and romp and roar6 ,what's that sound8 ,they're dancing6 ,at this instant1 so she prated1 ,stealthily she'd meet me3 ,like a faithful dog ,i've waited1 ,not a sign to greet me6 ,she promised1 made the cross-sign1 too1 ,could her vows be hollow8 ,or runs she after all that woo1 ,like the goats ,i follow8 ,whence your silken gown1 my maid8 ,ah1 you'd fain be haughty1 ,yet perchance you've proved a jade ,with some satyr naughty6 ,waiting long1 the lovelorn wight ,is filled with rage and poison3 ,even so on sultry night ,toadstools grow in foison4 ,pinching sore1 in devil's mood1 ,love doth plague my crupper3 ,truly ,i can eat no food3 ,farewell1 onion-supper6 ,seaward sinks the moon away1 ,the stars are wan1 and flare not3 ,dawn approaches1 gloomy1 grey1 ,let ,death come6 ,i care not6 ,,souls ,,that ,,lack ,,determination4 ,souls that lack determination ,rouse my wrath to white-hot flame6 ,all their glory's but vexation1 ,all their praise but self-contempt and shame6 ,since ,i baffle their advances1 ,will not clutch their leading-string1 ,they would wither me with glances ,bitter-sweet1 with hopeless envy sting4 ,let them with fell curses shiver1 ,curl their lip the livelong day6 ,seek me as they will1 forever ,helplessly their eyes shall go astray6 ,,the ,,fool',s ,,dilemma4 ,ah1 what ,i wrote on board and wall ,with foolish heart1 in foolish scrawl1 ,i meant but for their decoration6 ,yet say you1 ,fools' abomination6 ,both board and wall require purgation1 ,and let no trace our eyes appal6 ,well1 ,i will help you1 as ,i can1 ,for sponge and broom are my vocation1 ,as critic and as waterman4 ,but when the finished work ,i scan1 ,i'm glad to see each learned owl ,with wisdom board and wall defoul4 ,,rimus ,,remedium 7or a ,consolation to ,sick ,poets74 ,from thy moist lips1 ,o ,time1 thou witch1 beslavering me1 ,hour upon hour too slowly drips ,in vain--,i cry1 in frenzy's fit1 ,a curse upon that yawning pit1 ,a curse upon ,eternity6 ,the world's of brass1 ,a fiery bullock1 deaf to wail3 ,pain's dagger pierces my cuirass1 ,wingd1 and writes upon my bone3 ,bowels and heart the world hath none1 ,why scourge her sins with anger's flail8 ,pour poppies now1 ,pour venom1 ,fever1 on my brain6 ,too long you test my hand and brow3 ,what ask you8 ,what--reward is paid8 ,a malediction on you1 jade1 ,and your disdain6 ,no1 ,i retract1 ',tis cold--,i hear the rain importune-- ,fever1 ,i'll soften1 show my tact3 ,here's gold--a coin--see it gleam6 ,shall ,i with blessings on you beam1 ,call you good fortune8 ,the door opes wide1 ,and raindrops on my bed are scattered1 ,the light's blown out--woes multiplied6 ,he that hath not an hundred rhymes1 ,i'll wager1 in these dolorous times ,we'd see him shattered6 ,,my ,,bliss4 ,once more1 ,st ,mark1 thy pigeons meet my gaze1 ,the ,square lies still1 in slumbering morning mood3 ,in soft1 cool air ,i fashion idle lays1 ,speeding them skyward like a pigeon's brood3 ,and then recall my minions ,to tie fresh rhymes upon their willing pinions4 ,my bliss6 ,my bliss6 ,calm heavenly roof of azure silkiness1 ,guarding with shimmering haze yon house divine6 ,thee1 house1 ,i love1 fear--envy1 ,i'll confess1 ,and gladly would suck out that soul of thine6 ,should ,i give back the prize8 ,ask not1 great pasture-ground for human eyes6 ,my bliss6 ,my bliss6 ,stern belfry1 rising as with lion's leap ,sheer from the soil in easy victory1 ,that fill'st the ,square with peal resounding1 deep1 ,wert thou in ,french that ,square's accent aigu8 ,were ,i for ages set ,in earth like thee1 ,i know what silk-meshed net4444 ,my bliss6 ,my bliss6 ,hence1 music6 ,first let darker shadows come1 ,and grow1 and merge into brown1 mellow night6 ',tis early for your pealing1 ere the dome ,sparkle in roseate glory1 gold-bedight ,while yet 'tis day1 there's time ,for strolling1 lonely muttering1 forging rhyme-- ,my bliss6 ,my bliss6 ,,columbus ,,redivivus4 ,thither ,i'll travel1 that's my notion1 ,i'll trust myself1 my grip1 ,where opens wide and blue the ocean ,i'll ply my ,genoa ship4 ,new things on new the world unfolds me1 ,time1 space with noonday die3 ,alone thy monstrous eye beholds me1 ,awful ,infinity6 ,,sils-,,maria4 ,here sat ,i waiting1 waiting1 but for naught6 ,beyond all good and evil--now by light wrought ,to joy1 now by dark shadows--all was leisure1 ,all lake1 all noon1 all time sans aim1 sans measure4 ,then one1 dear friend1 was swiftly changed to twain1 ,and ,zarathustra left my teeming brain4444 ,a ,,dancing ,,song ,,to ,,the ,,mistral ,,wind4#ag ,wildly rushing1 clouds outleaping1 ,care-destroying1 ,heaven sweeping1 ,mistral wind1 thou art my friend6 ,surely 'twas one womb did bear us1 ,surely 'twas one fate did pair us1 ,fellows for a common end4 ,from the crags ,i gaily greet you1 ,running fast ,i come to meet you1 ,dancing while you pipe and sing4 ,how you bound across the ocean1 ,unimpeded1 free in motion1 ,swifter than with boat or wing6 ,through my dreams your whistle sounded1 ,down the rocky stairs ,i bounded ,to the golden ocean wall2 ,saw you hasten1 swift and glorious1 ,like a river1 strong1 victorious1 ,tumbling in a waterfall4 ,saw you rushing over ,heaven1 ,with your steeds so wildly driven1 ,saw the car in which you flew2 ,saw the lash that wheeled and quivered1 ,while the hand that held it shivered1 ,urging on the steeds anew4 ,saw you from your chariot swinging1 ,so that swifter downward springing ,like an arrow you might go ,straight into the deep abysses1 ,as a sunbeam falls and kisses ,roses in the morning glow4 ,dance1 oh6 dance on all the edges1 ,wave-crests1 cliffs and mountain ledges1 ,ever finding dances new6 ,let our knowledge be our gladness1 ,let our art be sport and madness1 ,all that's joyful shall be true6 ,let us snatch from every bower1 ,as we pass1 the fairest flower1 ,with some leaves to make a crown2 ,then1 like minstrels gaily dancing1 ,saint and witch together prancing1 ,let us foot it up and down4 ,those who come must move as quickly ,as the wind--we'll have no sickly1 ,crippled1 withered1 in our crew2 ,off with hypocrites and preachers1 ,proper folk and prosy teachers1 ,sweep them from our heaven blue4 ,sweep away all sad grimaces1 ,whirl the dust into the faces ,of the dismal sick and cold6 ,hunt them from our breezy places1 ,not for them the wind that braces1 ,but for men of visage bold4 ,off with those who spoil earth's gladness1 ,blow away all clouds of sadness1 ,till our heaven clear we see2 ,let me hold thy hand1 best fellow1 ,till my joy like tempest bellow6 ,freest thou of spirits free6 ,when thou partest1 take a token ,of the joy thou hast awoken1 ,take our wreath and fling it far2 ,toss it up and catch it never1 ,whirl it on before thee ever1 ,till it reach the farthest star4 ----- ,footnote #ae3 ,this poem is a parody of the ,chorus ,mysticus which concludes the second part of ,goethe's ,faust4 ,bayard ,taylor's translation of the passage in ,faust runs as follows3-- ,all things transitory ,but as symbols are sent1 ,earth's insufficiency ,here grows to ,event3 ,the ,indescribable ,here it is done3 ,the ,woman-,soul leadeth us ,upward and on6 ,footnote #af3 ,translated by ,miss ,m4 ,d4 ,petre4 ,inserted by permission of the editor of the ,nation1 in which it appeared on ,april #ag1 #aiji4 ,footnote #ag3 ,translated by ,miss ,m4 ,d4 ,petre4 ,inserted by permission of the editor of the ,nation1 in which it appeared on ,may #ae1 #aiji4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,footnotes3 ,transcriber's ,note ,the original spelling and punctuation has been retained4 ,variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved4 ,italicized words and phrases in the text version are presented by surrounding the text with underscores4