,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,an ,,attempted ,,transvaluation ,,of ,,all ,,values ,by ,,friedrich ,,nietzsche ,,translated ,,by ,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici ,,vol4 ,,ii ,,books ,,iii ,,and ,,iv ,t4,n4 ,,foulis #ac #ae ,,frederick ,,street ,,edinburgh3 ,,and ,,london #aiac ,,contents ,,of ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,translator',s ,,preface ,,third ,,book4 ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,a ,,new ,,valuation4 ,i4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,science-- 7a7 ,the ,method of ,investigation 7b7 ,the ,starting-,point of ,epistemology 7c7 ,the ,belief in the ,ego4 ,subject 7d7 ,biology of the ,instinct of ,knowledge4 ,perspectivity 7e7 ,the ,origin of ,reason and ,logic 7f7 ,consciousness 7g7 ,judgment4 ,true--,false 7h7 ,against ,causality 7i7 ,the ,thing-in-,itself and ,appearance 7k7 ,the ,metaphysical ,need 7l7 ,the ,biological ,value of ,knowledge 7m7 ,science ,,ii4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,nature-- #a4 ,the ,mechanical ,interpretation of the ,world #b4 ,the ,will to ,power as ,life-- 7a7 ,the ,organic ,process 7b7 ,man #c4 ,theory of the ,will to ,power and of ,valuations ,,iii4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,as ,,exemplified ,,in ,,society ,,and ,,in ,,the ,,individual #a4 ,society and the ,state #b4 ,the ,individual ,,iv4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,art ,,fourth ,,book4 ,,discipline ,,and ,,breeding4 ,i4 ,,the ,,order ,,of ,,rank-- #a4 ,the ,doctrine of the ,order of ,rank #b4 ,the ,strong and the ,weak #c4 ,the ,noble ,man #d4 ,the ,lords of the ,earth #e4 ,the ,great ,man #f4 ,the ,highest ,man as ,lawgiver of the ,future ,,ii4 ,,dionysus ,,iii4 ,,eternal ,,recurrence ,,translator',s ,,preface4 ,for the history of the text constituting this volume ,i would refer readers to my preface to ,the ,will to ,power1 ,books ,i1 and ,,ii41 where they will also find a brief explanation of the actual title of the complete work4 ,in the two books before us ,nietzsche boldly carries his principle still further into the various departments of human life1 and does not shrink from showing its application even to science1 to art1 and to metaphysics4 ,throughout ,part ,i4 of the ,third ,book we find him going to great pains to impress the fact upon us that science is as arbitrary as art in its mode of procedure1 and that the knowledge of the scientist is but the outcome of his inexorable will to power interpreting facts in the terms of the self-preservative conditions of the particular order of human beings to which he belongs4 ,in ,aphorisms #eae and #eaf1 which are typical of almost all the thought expressed in ,part ,i41 ,nietzsche says distinctly3 ,the object is not 'to know1' but to schematise1--to impose as much regularity and form upon chaos as our practical needs require4 ,unfamiliarity1 constant change1 and the inability to reckon with possibilities1 are sources of great danger3 hence1 everything must be explained1 assimilated1 and rendered capable of calculation1 if ,nature is to be mastered and controlled4 ,schemes for interpreting earthly phenomena must be devised which1 though they do not require to be absolute or irrefutable1 must yet favour the maintenance of the kind of men that devises them4 ,interpretation thus becomes all important1 and facts sink down to the rank of raw material which must first be given some shape 7some sense--always anthropocentric7 before they can become serviceable4 ,even the development of reason and logic ,nietzsche consistently shows to be but a spiritual development of the physiological function of digestion which compels an organism to make things like 7to assimilate7 before it can absorb them 7,aph4 #eaj74 ,and seeing that he denies that hunger can be a first motive 7,aphs4 #fea-fef71 and proceeds to show that it is the amba's will to power which makes it extend its pseudopodia in search of what it can appropriate1 and that1 once the appropriated matter is enveloped1 it is a process of making similar which constitutes the process of absorption1 reason itself is by inference acknowledged to be merely a form of the same fundamental will4 ,an interesting and certainly inevitable outcome of ,nietzsche's argument appears in ,aph4 #eaf1 where he declares that even our inability to deny and affirm one and the same thing is not in the least necessary1 but only a sign of inability4 ,the whole argument of ,part ,i4 tends to draw science ever nearer and nearer to art 7except1 of course1 in those cases in which science happens to consist merely of an ascertainment of facts71 and to prove that the one like the other is no more than a means of gaining some foothold upon the slippery soil of a world that is for ever in flux4 ,in the rush and pell-mell of ,becoming1 some milestones must be fixed for the purposes of human orientation4 ,in the torrent of evolutionary changes pillars must be made to stand1 to which man can for a space hold tight and collect his senses4 ,science1 like art1 accomplishes this for us1 and it is our will to power which creates the impression of ,being out of ,becoming 7,aph4 #eag74 ,according to this standpoint1 then1 consciousness is also but a weapon in the service of the will to power1 and it extends or contracts according to our needs 7,aph4 #ebd74 ,it might disappear altogether 7,aph4 #ebc71 or1 on the other hand1 it might increase and make our life more complicated than it already is4 ,but we should guard against making it the ,absolute behind ,becoming1 simply because it happens to be the highest and most recent evolutionary form 7,aph4 #gji74 ,if we had done this with each newly acquired characteristic1 sight itself1 which is a relatively recent development1 would also have required to have been deified4 ,pantheism1 ,theism1 ,unitarianism--in fact all religions in which a conscious god is worshipped1 are thus aptly classed by ,nietzsche as the result of man's desire to elevate that which is but a new and wonderful instrument of his will to power1 to the chief place in the imaginary world beyond 7eternal soul71 and to make it even the deity itself 7,god ,omniscient74 ,with the question of ,truth we find ,nietzsche quite as ready to uphold his thesis as with all other questions4 ,he frankly declares that the criterion of truth lies in the enhancement of the feeling of power 7,aph4 #ecd71 and thus stands in diametrical opposition to ,spencer1 who makes constraint or inability the criterion of truth4 7,see ,principles of ,psychology1 new edition1 chapter ix4444 the unconceivableness of its negation is the ultimate test of the truth of a proposition47 ,however paradoxical ,nietzsche's view may seem1 we shall find that it is actually substantiated by experience2 for the activity of our senses certainly convinces us more or less according to the degree to which it is provoked4 ,thus1 if we walked for long round a completely dark room1 and everything yielded1 however slightly1 to our touch1 we should remain quite unconvinced that we were in a room at all1 more particularly if--to suppose a still more impossible case--the floor yielded too4 ,what provokes great activity in the bulbs of our fingers1 then1 likewise generates the sensation of truth4 ,from this ,nietzsche proceeds to argue that what provokes the strongest sentiments in ourselves is also true to us1 and1 from the standpoint of thought1 that which gives thought the greatest sensation of strength 7,aph4 #ecc74 ,the provocation of intense emotion1 and therefore the provocation of that state in which the body is above the normal in power1 thus becomes the index to truth2 and it is a very remarkable thing that two prominent ,english thinkers should1 at the very end of their careers1 have practically admitted this1 despite the fact that all their philosophical productions had been based upon a completely different belief4 ,i refer1 of course1 to ,spencer and ,buckle1 who both upheld the view that in a system of thought the emotional factor is of the highest importance4 ,it follows from all this1 that lies and false doctrines may quite conceivably prove to be even more preservative to species than truth itself1 and although this is a view we have already encountered in the opening aphorisms of ,beyond ,good and ,evil1 in ,aph1 #ech this volume we find it further elucidated by ,nietzsche's useful demonstration of the fact that the easier way of thinking always triumphs over the more difficult way2 and that logic1 inasmuch as it facilitated classification and orderly thought1 ultimately got to act like truths4 ,before leaving ,part ,i41 with which it would be impossible to deal in full1 a word or two ought to be said in regard to ,nietzsche's views concerning the belief in cause and effect4 ,in the ,genealogy of ,morals 7#ast ,essay1 ,aph4 #ac71 we have already read a forecast of our author's more elaborate opinions on this question1 and the aphorism in question might be read with advantage in conjunction with the discussion on the subject found in this book 7,aphs4 #ede-eee74 ,the whole of ,nietzsche's criticism1 however1 resolves itself into this1 that the doctrine of causality begins with an unnecessary duplication of all that happens4 ,language1 and its origin among a people uneducated in thoughts and concepts1 is at the root of this scientific superstition1 and ,nietzsche traces its evolution from the primeval and savage desire always to find a doer behind every deed3 to find some one who is responsible and who1 being known1 thus modifies the unfamiliarity of the deed which requires explaining4 ,the so-called instinct of causality of which ,kant speaks with so much assurance is nothing more than the fear of the unfamiliar4 ,in ,aph4 #ehe 7,a71 we have a very coherent and therefore valuable exposition of much that may still seem obscure in ,nietzsche's standpoint1 and we might almost regard this aphorism as the key to the epistemology of the ,will to ,power4 ,when we find the will to truth defined merely as the longing for a stable world1 we are in possession of the very leitmotiv of ,nietzsche's thought throughout ,part ,i41 and most of what follows is clearly but an elaboration of this thought4 ,in ,part ,,ii4 ,nietzsche reveals himself as utterly opposed to all mechanistic and materialistic interpretations of the ,universe4 ,he exalts the spirit and repudiates the idea that mere pressure from without--naked environment--is to be held responsible 7and often guilty67 for all that materialistic science would lay at its door4 ,darwin again comes in for a good deal of sharp criticism2 and1 to those who are familiar with the nature of ,nietzsche's disagreement with this naturalist1 such aphorisms as ,nos4 #fdc1 #fdg1 #fdi1 #fea1 #fhd1 #fhe1 will be of special interest4 ,there is one question of great moment1 which all ,nietzsche's perfectly sincere and profoundly serious deprecation of the ,darwinian standpoint ought to bring home to all ,englishmen who have perhaps too eagerly endorsed the conclusions of their own ,british school of organic evolution1 and that is1 to what extent were ,malthus1 and afterwards his disciple ,darwin1 perhaps influenced in their analysis of nature by preconceived notions drawn from the state of high pressure which prevailed in the thickly-populated and industrial country in which they both lived8 ,it is difficult to defend ,darwin from the fundamental attack which ,nietzsche directs at the very root of his teaching1 and which turns upon the question of the motive of all ,life's struggle4 ,to assume that the motive is always a struggle for existence presupposes the constant presence of two conditions--want and over-population1--an assumption which is absolutely non-proven1 and it likewise lends a peculiarly ignoble and cowardly colouring to the whole of organic life1 which not only remains unsubstantiated in fact1 but which the struggle for power completely escapes4 ,in ,part ,,iii41 which1 throughout1 is pretty plain sailing1 ,aphorism #ghf contains perhaps the most important statements4 ,here morality is shown to be merely an instrument1 but this time it is the instrument of the gregarious will to power4 ,in the last paragraph of this aphorism ,nietzsche shows himself quite antagonistic to ,determinism1 because of its intimate relation to1 and its origin in1 a mechanistic interpretation of the ,universe4 ,but we should always remember that1 inasmuch as ,nietzsche would distribute beliefs1 just as others distribute bounties--that is to say1 according to the needs of those whom he has in view1 we must never take for granted that a belief which he deprecates for one class of man ought necessarily1 according to him1 to be denied another class4 ,hard as it undoubtedly is to bear this in mind1 we should remember that his appeal is almost without interruption made to higher men1 and that doctrines and creeds which he condemns for them he would necessarily exalt in the case of people who were differently situated and otherwise constituted4 ,christianity is a case in point 7see ,will to ,power1 vol4 i4 ,aph4 #acb74 ,we now come to ,part ,,iv41 which is possibly the most important part of all1 seeing that it treats of those questions which may be regarded as ,nietzsche's most constant concern from the time when he wrote his first book4 ,the world as we now see and know it1 with all that it contains which is beautiful1 indifferent1 or ugly1 from a human standpoint1 is1 according to ,nietzsche1 the creation of our own valuing minds4 ,perhaps only a few people have had a hand in shaping this world of values4 ,maybe their number could be counted on the fingers of two hands2 but still1 what ,nietzsche insists upon is1 that it is human in its origin4 ,our whole outlook1 everything that gives us joy or pain1 must at one time or other have been valued for us1 and in persisting in these valuations we1 as the acclimatised herd1 are indebted to our artists1 to our higher men1 to all those in history1 who at some time or other have dared to stand up and to declare emphatically that this was ugly and that that was beautiful1 and to fight1 and if necessary to die1 for their opinion4 ,religion1 morality1 and philosophy1 while they all aim at so-called universal ,truth1 tend to depreciate the value of life in the eyes of exceptional men4 ,though they establish the beautiful for the general stock1 and in that way enhance the value of life for that stock1 they contradict higher men's values1 and1 by so doing1 destroy their innocent faith in the world4 ,for the problem here is not1 what value is true8--but1 what value is most conducive to the highest form of human life on earth8 ,nietzsche would fain throw all the burden of valuing upon the ,dionysian artist him who speaks about this world out of the love and plenitude of power that is in his own breast1 him who1 from the very health that is within him1 cannot look out upon life without transfiguring it1 hallowing it1 blessing it1 and making it appear better1 bigger1 and more beautiful4 ,and1 in this view1 ,nietzsche is quite consistent2 for1 if we must accept his conclusion that our values are determined for us by our higher men1 then it becomes of the highest importance that these valuers should be so constituted that their values may be a boon and not a bane to the rest of humanity4 ,alas6 only too often1 and especially in the nineteenth century1 have men who lacked this ,dionysian spirit stood up and valued the world2 and it is against these that ,nietzsche protests4 ,it is the bad air they have spread which he would fain dispel4 ,an to what art means to the artist himself1 apart from its actual effect on the world1 ,nietzsche would say that it is a manner of discharging his will to power4 ,the artist tries to stamp his opinion of what is desirable1 and of what is beautiful or ugly1 upon his contemporaries and the future2 it is in this valuing that his impulse to prevail finds its highest expression4 ,hence the instinctive economy of artists in sex matters--that is to say1 in precisely that quarter whither other men go when their impulse to prevail urges them to action4 ,nietzsche did not of course deny the sensual nature of artists 7,aph4 #hae72 all he wished to make plain was this1 that an artist who was not moderate1 in eroticis1 while engaged upon his task1 was open to the strongest suspicion4 ,in the ,fourth ,book ,nietzsche is really at his very best4 ,here1 while discussing questions such as ,the ,order of ,rank1 he is so thoroughly in his exclusive sphere1 that practically every line1 even if it were isolated and taken bodily from the context1 would bear the unmistakable character of its author4 ,the thought expressed in ,aphorism #hga reveals a standpoint as new as it is necessary4 ,so used have we become to the practice of writing and legislating for a mass1 that we have forgotten the rule that prevails even in our own navy--that the speed of a fleet is measured by its slowest vessel4 ,on the same principle1 seeing that all our philosophies and moralities have hitherto been directed at a mass and at a mob1 we find that their elevation must of necessity be decided by the lowest of mankind4 ,thus all passions are banned1 because base men do not know how to enlist them in their service4 ,men who are masters of themselves and of others1 men who understand the management and privilege of passion1 become the most despised of creatures in such systems of thought1 because they are confounded with the vicious and licentious2 and the speed of mankind's elevation thus gets to be determined by humanity's slowest vessels4 ,aphorisms #hha1 #hhb1 #hhf fully elucidate the above considerations1 while in #iab1 #iaf1 #idc1 and #iea we have plans of a constructive teaching which the remainder of ,part ,i4 elaborates4 ,and now1 following ,nietzsche carefully through ,part ,,ii4 7,dionysus71 what is the inevitable conclusion of all we have read8 ,this analysis of the world's collective values and their ascription to a certain will to power may now seem to many but an exhaustive attempt at a new system of nomenclature1 and little else4 ,as a matter or fact it is very much more than this4 ,by mean8 of it ,nietzsche wishes to show mankind how much has lain1 and how much still lies1 in man's power ,by laying his finger on everything and declaring to man that it was human will that created it4 ,nietzsche wished to give man the courage of this will1 and a clean conscience in exercising it4 ,for it was precisely this very will to power which had been most hated and most maligned by everybody up to ,nietzsche's time4 ,long enough1 prompted by the fear of attributing any one of his happiest thoughts to this hated fundamental will1 had man ascribed all his valuations and all his most sublime inspirations to something outside himself1--whether this something were a ,god1 a principle1 or the concept ,truth4 ,but ,nietzsche's desire was to show man how human1 all too human1 have been the values that have appeared heretofore2 he wished to prove1 that to the rare sculptors of values1 the world1 despite its past1 is still an open field of yielding clay1 and in pointing to what the will to power has done until now1 ,nietzsche suggests to these coming sculptors what might still be done1 provided they fear nothing1 and have that innocence and that profound faith in the fundamental will which others hitherto have had in ,god1 ,natural ,laws1 ,truth1 and other euphemistic fictions4 ,the doctrine of ,eternal ,recurrence1 to which ,nietzsche attached so much importance that it may be regarded almost as the inspiration which led to his great work1 ,thus ,spake ,zarathustra1 ought to be understood in the light of a purely disciplinary and chastening creed4 ,in one of his posthumous works we find ,nietzsche saying3 ,the question which thou shalt have to answer before every deed that thou doest2--is this such a deed as ,i am prepared to perform an incalculable number of times1--is the best ballast4 ,thus it is obvious that1 feeling the need of something in his teaching which would replace the metaphysics of former beliefs1 he applied the doctrine of ,eternal ,recurrence to this end4 ,seeing1 however1 that even among ,nietzscheans themselves there is considerable doubt concerning the actual value of the doctrine as a ruling belief1 it does not seem necessary to enter here into the scientific justification which he claims for it4 ,suffice it to say that1 as knowledge stands at present1 the statement that the world will recur eternally in small things as in great1 is still a somewhat daring conjecture--a conjecture1 however1 which would have been entirely warrantable if its disciplinary value had been commensurate with its daring4 ,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici4 ,,third ,,book4 ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,a ,,new ,,valuation4 ,i4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,science4 7a7 ,the ,method of ,investigation4 #dff4 ,the distinguishing feature of our nineteenth century is not the triumph of science1 but the triumph of the scientific method over science4 #dfg4 ,the history of scientific methods was regarded by ,auguste ,comte almost as philosophy itself4 #dfh4 ,the great ,methodologists3 ,aristotle1 ,bacon1 ,descartes1 ,auguste ,comte4 #dfi4 ,the most valuable knowledge is always discovered last3 but the most valuable knowledge consists of methods4 ,all methods1 all the hypotheses on which the science of our day depends1 were treated with the profoundest contempt for centuries3 on their account a man used to be banished from the society of respectable people--he was held to be an enemy of ,god1 a reviler of the highest ideal1 a madman4 ,we had the whole pathos of mankind against us1--our notion of what truth ought to be1 of what the service of truth ought to be1 our objectivity1 our method1 our calm1 cautious and distrustful manner were altogether despicable4444 ,at bottom1 that which has kept men back most1 is an sthetic taste3 they believed in the picturesque effect of truth2 what they demanded of the scientist was1 that he should make a strong appeal to their imagination4 ,from the above1 it would almost seem as if the very reverse had been achieved1 as if a sudden jump had been made3 as a matter of fact1 the schooling which the moral hyperboles afforded1 gradually prepared the way for that milder form of pathos which at last became incarnate in the scientific man4444 ,conscientiousness in small things1 the self-control of the religious man1 was a preparatory school for the scientific character1 as was also1 in a very pre-eminent sense1 the attitude of mind which makes a man take problems seriously1 irrespective of what personal advantage he may derive from them4444 7b7 ,the ,starting-point of ,epistemology4 #dgj4 ,profound disinclination to halt once and for all at any collective view of the world4 ,the charm of the opposite point of view3 the refusal to relinquish the stimulus residing in the enigmatical4 #dga4 ,the hypothesis that1 at bottom1 things proceed in such a moral fashion that human reason must be right1 is a mere piece of good-natured and simple-minded trustfulness1 the result of the belief in ,divine truthfulness--,god regarded as the ,creator of all things4--,these concepts are our inheritance from a former existence in a ,beyond4 #dgb4 ,the contradiction of the so-called facts of consciousness4 ,observation a thousand times more difficult1 error is perhaps the absolute condition of observation4 #dgc4 ,the intellect cannot criticise itself1 simply because it can be compared with no other kind of intellect1 and also because its ability to know would only reveal itself in the presence of actual reality2 that is to say1 because1 in order to criticise the intellect1 we should have to be higher creatures with absolute knowledge4 ,this would presuppose the existence of something1 a thing-in-itself1 apart from all the perspective kinds of observation and senso-spiritual perception4 ,but the psychological origin of the belief in things1 forbids our speaking of things in themselves4 #dgd4 ,the idea that a sort of adequate relation exists between subject and object1 that the object is something which when seen from inside would be a subject1 is a well-meant invention which1 ,i believe1 has seen its best days4 ,the measure of that which we are conscious of1 is perforce entirely dependent upon the coarse utility of the function of consciousness3 how could this little garret-prospect of consciousness warrant our asserting anything in regard to subject and object1 which would bear any relation to reality6 #dge4 ,criticism of modern philosophy3 erroneous starting-point1 as if there were such things as facts of consciousness--and no phenomenalism in introspection4 #dgf4 ,consciousness--to what extent is the idea which is thought of1 the idea of will1 or the idea of a feeling 7which is known by us alone71 quite superficial8 ,our inner world is also appearance4 #dgg4 ,i am convinced of the phenomenalism of the inner world also3 everything that reaches our consciousness is utterly and completely adjusted1 simplified1 schematised1 interpreted1 the actual process of inner perception1 the relation of causes between thoughts1 feelings1 desires1 between subject and object1 is absolutely concealed from us1 and may be purely imaginary4 ,this inner world of appearance is treated with precisely the same forms and procedures as the outer world4 ,we never come across a single fact3 pleasure and pain are more recently evolved intellectual phenomena4444 ,causality evades us2 to assume the existence of an immediate causal relation between thoughts1 as ,logic does1 is the result of the coarsest and most clumsy observation4 ,there are all sorts of passions that may intervene between two thoughts3 but the interaction is too rapid--that is why we fail to recognise them1 that is why we actually deny their existence4444 ,thinking1 as the epistemologists understand r it1 never takes place at all3 it is an absolutely gratuitous fabrication1 arrived at by selecting one element from the process and by eliminating all the rest--an artificial adjustment for the purpose of the understanding4444 ,the mind1 something that thinks3 at times1 even1 the mind absolute and pure--this concept is an evolved and second result of false introspection1 which believes in thinking3 in the first place an act is imagined here which does not really occur at all1 i4e4 thinking2 and1 secondly1 a subject-substratum is imagined in which every process of this thinking has its origin1 and nothing else--that is to say1 both the action and the agent are fanciful4 #dgh4 ,phenomenalism must not be sought in the wrong quarter3 nothing is more phenomenal1 or1 to be more precise1 nothing is so much deception1 as this inner world1 which we observe with the inner sense4 ,our belief that the will is a cause was so great1 that1 according to our personal experiences in general1 we projected a cause into all phenomena 7i4e4 a certain motive is posited as the cause of all phenomena74 ,we believe that the thoughts which follow one upon the other in our minds are linked by some sort of causal relation3 the logician1 more especially1 who actually speaks of a host of facts which have never once been seen in reality1 has grown accustomed to the prejudice that thoughts are the cause of thoughts4 ,we believe--and even our philosophers believe it still--that pleasure and pain are the causes of reactions1 that the very purpose of pleasure and pain is to occasion reactions4 ,for hundreds of years1 pleasure and pain have been represented as the motives for every action4 ,upon reflection1 however1 we are bound to concede that everything would have proceeded in exactly the same way1 according to precisely the same sequence of cause and effect1 if the states pleasure and pain had been entirely absent2 and that we are simply deceived when we believe that they actually cause anything3--they are the attendant phenomena1 and they have quite a different purpose from that of provoking reactions2 they are in themselves effects involved in the process of reaction which takes place4 ,in short3 ,everything that becomes conscious is a final phenomenon1 a conclusion--and is the cause of nothing2 all succession of phenomena in consciousness is absolutely atomistic4--,and we tried to understand the universe from the opposite point of view--as if nothing were effective or real1 save thinking1 feeling1 willing6 444 #dgi4 ,the phenomenalism of the inner world6 ,a chronological inversion takes place1 so that the cause reaches consciousness as the effect4--,we know that pain is projected into a certain part of the body although it is not really situated there2 we have learnt that all sensations which were ingenuously supposed to be conditioned by the outer world are1 as a matter of fact1 conditioned by the inner world3 that the real action of the outer world never takes place in a way of which we can become conscious4444 ,that fragment of the outer world of which we become conscious1 is born after the effect produced by the outer world has been recorded1 and is subsequently interpreted as the cause of that effect4444 ,in the phenomenalism of the inner world1 the chronological order of cause and effect is inverted4 ,the fundamental fact of inner experience is1 that the cause is imagined after the effect has been recorded4444 ,the same holds good of the sequence of thoughts3 we seek for the reason of a thought1 before it has reached our consciousness2 and then the reason reaches consciousness first1 whereupon follows its effect4 ,all our dreams are the interpretation of our collective feelings with the view of discovering the possible causes of the latter2 and the process is such that a condition only becomes conscious1 when the supposed causal link has reached consciousness4#a ,the whole of inner experience is founded on this3 that a cause is sought and imagined which accounts for a certain irritation in our nerve-centres1 and that it is only the cause which is found in this way which reaches consciousness2 this cause may have absolutely nothing to do with the real cause--it is a sort of groping assisted by former inner experiences1 that is to say1 by memory4 ,the memory1 however1 retains the habit of old interpretations1--that is to say1 of erroneous causality1--so that inner experience comprises in itself all the results of former erroneous fabrications of causes4 ,our outside world1 as we conceive it every instant1 is indissolubly bound up with the old error of cause3 we interpret by means of the schematism of the thing1 etc4 ,inner experience only enters consciousness when it has found a language which the individual can understand--that is to say1 a translation of a certain condition into conditions with which he is familiar2 understand means simply this3 to be able to express something new in the terms of something old or familiar4 ,for instance1 ,i feel unwell--a judgment of this sort presupposes a very great and recent neutrality on the part of the observer3 the simple man always says1 ,this and that make me feel unwell1--he begins to be clear concerning his indisposition only after he has discovered a reason for it4444 ,this is what ,i call a lack of philological knowledge2 to be able to read a text1 as such1 without reading an interpretation into it1 is the latest form of inner experience1--it is perhaps a barely possible form4444 ,footnote #a3 ,when in our dream we hear a bell ringing1 or a tapping at our door1 we scarcely ever wake before having already accounted for the sound1 in the terms of the dream-world we were in4--,,tr4 #dhj4 ,there are no such things as mind1 reason1 thought1 consciousness1 soul1 will1 or truth3 they all belong to fiction1 and can serve no purpose4 ,it is not a question of subject and object1 but of a particular species of animal which can prosper only by means of a certain exactness1 or1 better still1 regularity in recording its perceptions 7in order that experience may be capitalised74444 ,knowledge works as an instrument of power4 ,it is therefore obvious that it increases with each advance of power4444 ,the purpose of knowledge3 in this case1 as in the case of good or beautiful1 the concept must be regarded strictly and narrowly from an anthropocentric and biological standpoint4 ,in order that a particular species may maintain and increase its power1 its conception of reality must contain enough which is calculable and constant to allow of its formulating a scheme of conduct4 ,the utility of preservation--and not some abstract or theoretical need to eschew deception--stands as the motive force behind the development of the organs of knowledge2 444 they evolve in such a way that their observations may suffice for our preservation4 ,in other words1 the measure of the desire for knowledge depends upon the extent to which the ,will to ,power grows in a certain species3 a species gets a grasp of a given amount of reality1 in order to master it1 in order to enlist that amount in its service4 7c7 ,the ,belief in the ,ego4 ,subject4 #dha4 ,in opposition to ,positivism1 which halts at phenomena and says1 ,these are only facts and nothing more1 ,i would say3 ,no1 facts are precisely what is lacking1 all that exists consists of interpretations4 ,we cannot establish any fact in itself3 it may even be nonsense to desire to do such a thing4 ,everything is subjective1 ye say3 but that in itself is interpretation4 ,the subject is nothing given1 but something superimposed by fancy1 something introduced behind4--,is it necessary to set an interpreter behind the interpretation already to hand8 ,even that would be fantasy1 hypothesis4 ,to the extent to which knowledge has any sense at all1 the world is knowable3 but it may be interpreted differently1 it has not one sense behind it1 but hundreds of senses4--,perspectivity4 ,it is our needs that interpret the world2 our instincts and their impulses for and against4 ,every instinct is a sort of thirst for power2 each has its point of view1 which it would fain impose upon all the other instincts as their norm4 #dhb4 ,where our ignorance really begins1 at that point from which we can see no further1 we set a word2 for instance1 the word ,i1 the word do1 the word suffer--these concepts may be the horizon lines of our knowledge1 but they are not truths4 #dhc4 ,owing to the phenomenon thought1 the ego is taken for granted2 but up to the present everybody believed1 like the people1 that there was something unconditionally certain in the notion ,i think1 and that by analogy with our understanding of all other causal reactions this ,i was the given cause of the thinking4 ,however customary and indispensable this fiction may have become now1 this fact proves nothing against the imaginary nature of its origin2 it might be a life-preserving belief and still be false4 #dhd4 ,something is thought1 therefore there is something that thinks3 this is what ,descartes' argument amounts to4 ,but this is tantamount to considering our belief in the notion substance as an a priori truth3--that there must be something that thinks when we think1 is merely a formulation of a grammatical custom which sets an agent to every action4 ,in short1 a metaphysico-logical postulate is already put forward here--and it is not merely an ascertainment of fact4444 ,on ,descartes' lines nothing absolutely certain is attained1 but only the fact of a very powerful faith4 ,if the proposition be reduced to ,something is thought1 therefore there are thoughts1 the result is mere tautology2 and precisely the one factor which is in question1 the reality of thought1 is not touched upon1--so that1 in this form1 the apparitional character of thought cannot be denied4 ,what ,descartes wanted to prove was1 that thought not only had apparent reality1 but absolute reality4 #dhe4 ,the concept substance is an outcome of the concept subject1 and not conversely6 ,if we surrender the concept soul1 the subject1 the very conditions for the concept substance are lacking4 ,degrees of ,being are obtained1 but ,being is lost4 ,criticism of reality3 what does a plus or minus of reality lead to1 the gradation of ,being in which we believe8 ,the degree of our feeling of life and power 7the logic and relationship of past life7 presents us with the measure of ,being1 reality1 non-appearance4 ,subject i this is the term we apply to our belief in an entity underlying all the different moments of the most intense sensations of reality2 we regard this belief as the effect of a cause1--and we believe in our belief to such an extent that1 on its account alone1 we imagine truth1 reality1 substantiality4--a ,subject is the fiction which would fain make us believe that several similar states were the effect of one substratum3 but we it was who first created the similarity of these states2 the similising and adjusting of them is the fact--not their similarity 7on the contrary1 this ought rather to be denied74 #dhf4 ,one would have to know what ,being is1 in order to be able to decide whether this or that is real 7for instance1 the facts of consciousness72 it would also be necessary to know what certainty and knowledge are1 and so forth4--,but1 as we do not know these things1 a criticism of the faculty of knowledge is nonsensical3 how is it possible for an instrument to criticise itself1 when it is itself that exercises the critical faculty4 ,it cannot even define itself6 #dhg4 ,should not all philosophy ultimately disclose the first principles on which the reasoning processes depend8--that is to say1 our belief in the ego as a substance1 as the only reality according to which1 alone1 we are able to ascribe reality to things8 ,the oldest realism at length comes to light1 simultaneously with man's recognition of the fact that his whole religious history is no more than a history of soul-superstitions4 ,here there is a barrier2 our very thinking1 itself1 involves that belief 7with its distinctions--substance1 accident1 action1 agent1 etc472 to abandon it would mean to cease from being able to think4 ,but that a belief1 however useful it may be for the preservation of a species1 has nothing to do with the truth1 may be seen from the fact that we must believe in time1 space1 and motion1 without feeling ourselves compelled to regard them as absolute realities4 #dhh4 ,the psychological origin of our belief in reason4--,the ideas reality1 ,being1 are derived from our subject-feeling4 ,subject1 interpreted through ourselves so that the ego may stand as substance1 as the cause of action1 as the agent4 ,the metaphysico-logical postulates1 the belief in substance1 accident1 attribute1 etc4 etc41 draws its convincing character from our habit of regarding all our actions as the result of our will3 so that the ego1 as substance1 does not vanish in the multiplicity of changes4--,but there is no such thing as will4 ,we have no categories which allow us to separate a world as thing-in-itself1 from a world of appearance4 ,all our categories of reason have a sensual origin3 they are deductions from the empirical world4 ,the soul1 the ego--the history of these concepts shows that here1 also1 the oldest distinction 7spiritus1 life7 obtains4444 ,if there is nothing material1 then there can be nothing immaterial4 ,the concept no longer means anything4 ,no subject-atoms4 ,the sphere of a subject increasing or diminishing unremittingly1 the centre of the system continually displacing itself1 in the event of the system no longer being able to organise the appropriated mass1 it divides into two4 ,on the other hand1 it is able1 without destroying it1 to transform a weaker subject into one of its own functionaries1 and1 to a certain extent1 to compose a new entity with it4 ,not a substance1 but rather something which in itself strives after greater strength2 and which wishes to preserve itself only indirectly 7it wishes to surpass itself74 #dhi4 ,everything that reaches consciousness as an entity is already enormously complicated3 we never have anything more than the semblance of an entity4 ,the phenomenon of the body is the richer1 more distinct1 and more tangible phenomenon3 it should be methodically drawn to the front1 and no mention should be made of its ultimate significance4 #dij4 ,the assumption of a single subject is perhaps not necessary1 it may be equally permissible to assume a plurality of subjects1 whose interaction and struggle lie at the bottom of our thought and our consciousness in general4 ,a sort of aristocracy of cells in which the ruling power is vested8 ,of course an aristocracy of equals1 who are accustomed to ruling co-operatively1 and understand how to command8 ,my hypotheses4 ,the subject as a plurality4 ,pain intellectual and dependent upon the judgment harmful1 projected4 ,the effect always unconscious3 the inferred and imagined cause is projected1 it follows the event4 ,pleasure is a form of pain4 ,the only kind of power that exists is of the same nature as the power of will3 a commanding of other subjects which thereupon alter themselves4 ,the unremitting transientness and volatility of the subject4 ,mortal soul4 ,number as perspective form4 #dia4 ,the belief in the body is more fundamental than the belief in the soul3 the latter arose from the unscientific observation of the agonies of the body4 7,something which leaves it4 ,the belief in the truth of dreams7 #dib4 ,the body and physiology the starting-point3 why8--,we obtain a correct image of the nature of our subject-entity1 that is to say1 as a number of regents at the head of a community 7not as souls or as life-forces7 as also of the dependence of these regents upon their subjects1 and upon the conditions of a hierarchy1 and of the division of labour1 as the means ensuring the existence of the part and the whole4 ,we also obtain a correct image of the way in which the living entities continually come into being and expire1 and we see how eternity cannot belong to the subject2 we realise that the struggle finds expression in obeying as well as in commanding1 and that a fluctuating definition of the limits of power is a factor of life4 ,the comparative ignorance in which the ruler is kept1 of the individual performances and even disturbances taking place in the community1 also belong to the conditions under which government may be carried on4 ,in short1 we obtain a valuation even of want-of-knowledge1 of seeing-things-generally-as-a-whole1 of simplification1 of falsification1 and of perspective4 ,what is most important1 however1 is1 that we regard the ruler and his subjects as of the same kind1 all feeling1 willing1 thinking--and that wherever we see or suspect movement in a body1 we conclude that there is co-operative-subjective and invisible life4 ,movement as a symbol for the eye2 it denotes that something has been felt1 willed1 thought4 ,the danger of directly questioning the subject concerning the subject1 and all spiritual self-reflection1 consists in this1 that it might be a necessary condition of its activity to interpret itself erroneously4 ,that is why we appeal to the body and lay the evidence of sharpened senses aside3 or we try and see whether the subjects themselves cannot enter into communication with us4 7d7 ,biology of the ,instinct of ,knowledge4 ,perspectivity4 #dic4 ,truth is that kind of error without which a certain species of living being cannot exist4 ,the value for ,life is ultimately decisive4 #did4 ,it is unlikely that our knowledge extends farther than is exactly necessary for our self-preservation4 ,morphology shows us how the senses and the nerves as well as the brain evolve in proportion as the difficulties of acquiring sustenance increase4 #die4 ,if the morality of ,thou shalt not lie be refuted1 the sense for truth will then have to justify itself before another tribunal--as a means to the preservation of man1 as ,will to ,power4 ,likewise our love of the beautiful3 it is also the creative will4 ,both senses stand side by side2 the sense of truth is the means wherewith the power is appropriated to adjust things according to one's taste4 ,the love of adjusting and reforming--a primeval love6 ,we can only take cognisance of a world which we ourselves have made4 #dif4 ,concerning the multifariousness of knowledge4 ,the tracing of its relation to many other things 7or the relation of kind7--how should knowledge be of another8 ,the way to know and to investigate is in itself among the conditions of life2 that is why the conclusion that there could be no other kind of intellect 7for ourselves7 than the kind which serves the purpose of our preservation is an excessively hasty one3 this actual condition may be only an accidental1 not in the least an essential2 one4 ,our apparatus for acquiring knowledge is not adjusted for knowledge4 #dig4 ,the most strongly credited a priori truths are1 to my mind1 mere assumptions pending further investigation2 for instance1 the law of causation is a belief so thoroughly acquired by practice and so completely assimilated1 that to disbelieve in it would mean the ruin of our kind4 ,but is it therefore true8 ,what an extraordinary conclusion6 ,as if truth were proved by the mere fact that man survives6 #dih4 ,to what extent is our intellect also a result of the conditions of life8--,we should not have it did we not need to have it1 and we should not have it as we have it1 if we did not need it as we need it--that is to say1 if we could live otherwise4 #dii4 ,thinking in a primitive 7inorganic7 state is to persevere in forms1 as in the case of the crystal4--,in our thought1 the essential factor is the harmonising of the new material with the old schemes 7 ,procrustes' bed71 the assimilation of the unfamiliar4 #ejj4 ,the perception of the senses projected outwards3 inwards and outwards--does the body command here8 ,the same equalising and ordering power which rules in the idioplasma1 also rules in the incorporation of the outer world3 our sensual perceptions are already the result of this process of adaptation and harmonisation in regard to all the past in us2 they do not follow directly upon the impression4 #eja4 ,all thought1 judgment1 perception1 regarded as an act of comparing#b has as a first condition the act of equalising1 and earlier still the act of making equal4 ,the process of making equal is the same as the assimilation by the amba of the nutritive matter it appropriates4 ,memory late1 in so far as the equalising instinct appears to have been subdued3 the difference is preserved4 ,memory--a process of classification and collocation2 active--who8 ,footnote #b3 ,the ,german word vergleichen1 meaning to compare1 contains the root equal 7gleich7 which cannot be rendered in ,english4 ,,tr4 #ejb4 ,in regard to the memory1 we must unlearn a great deal3 here we meet with the greatest temptation to assume the existence of a soul1 which1 irrespective of time1 reproduces and recognises again and again1 etc4 ,what ,i have experienced1 however1 continues to live in the memory2 ,i have nothing to do with it when memory comes1 my will is inactive in regard to it1 as in the case of the coming and going of a thought4 ,something happens1 of which ,i become conscious3 now something similar comes--who has called it forth8 ,who has awakened it8 #ejc4 ,the whole apparatus of knowledge is an abstracting and simplifying apparatus--not directed at knowledge1 but at the appropriation of things3 end and means are as remote from the essence of this apparatus as concepts are4 ,by the end and the means a process is appropriated 7--a process is invented which may be grasped71 but by concepts one appropriates the things which constitute the process4 #ejd4 ,consciousness begins outwardly as co-ordination and knowledge of impressions1--at first it is at the point which is remotest from the biological centre of the individual2 but it is a process which deepens and which tends to become more and more an inner function1 continually approaching nearer to the centre4 #eje4 ,our perceptions1 as we understand them--that is to say1 the sum of all those perceptions the consciousness whereof was useful and essential to us and to the whole organic processes which preceded us3 therefore they do not include all perceptions 7for instance1 not the electrical ones72--that is to say1 we have senses only for a definite selection of perceptions--such perceptions as concern us with a view to our self-preservation4 ,consciousness extends so far only as it is useful4 ,there can be no doubt that all our sense-perceptions are entirely permeated by valuations 7useful or harmful--consequently1 pleasant or painful74 ,every particular colour2 besides being a colour1 expresses a value to us 7although we seldom admit it1 or do so only after it has affected us exclusively for a long time1 as in the case of convicts in gaol or lunatics74 ,insects likewise react in different ways to different colours3 some like this shade1 the others that4 ,ants are a case in point4 #ejf4 ,in the beginning images how images originate in the mind must be explained4 ,then words1 applied to images4 ,finally concepts1 possible only when there are words--the assembling of several pictures into a whole which is not for the eye but for the ear 7word74 ,the small amount of emotion which the word generates1--that is1 then1 which the view of the similar pictures generates1 for which one word is used1--this simple emotion is the common factor1 the basis of a concept4 ,that weak feelings should all be regarded as alike1 as the same1 is the fundamental fact4 ,there is therefore a confusion of two very intimately associated feelings in the ascertainment of these feelings2--but who is it that ascertains8 ,faith is the very first step in every sensual impression3 a sort of yea-saying is the first intellectual activity6 ,a holding-a-thing-to-be-true is the beginning4 ,it were our business1 therefore1 to explain how the holding-of-a-thing-to-be-true arose6 ,what sensation lies beneath the comment true8 #ejg4 ,the valuation1 ,i believe that this and that is so1 is the essence of truth4 ,in all valuations1 the conditions of preservation and of growth find expression4 ,all our organs and senses of knowledge have been developed only in view of the conditions of preservation and growth4 ,the trust in reason and its categories1 the trust in dialectics1 and also the valuation of logic1 prove only that experience has taught the usefulness of these things to life3 not their truth4 ,the prerequisites of all living things and of their lives is3 that there should be a large amount of faith1 that it should be possible to pass definite judgments on things1 and that there should be no doubt at all concerning all essential values4 ,thus it is necessary that something should be assumed to be true1 not that it is true4 ,the real world and the world of appearance-- ,i trace this contrast to the relation of values4 ,we have posited our conditions of existence as the attributes of being in general4 ,owing to the fact that1 in order to prosper1 we must be stable in our belief1 we developed the idea that the real world was neither a changing nor an evolving one1 but a world of being4 7e7 ,the ,origin of ,reason and ,logic4 #ejh4 ,originally there was chaos among our ideas4 ,those ideas which were able to stand side by side remained over1 the greater number perished--and are still perishing4 #eji4 ,the kingdom of desires out of which logic grew3 the gregarious instinct in the background4 ,the assumption of similar facts is the first condition for similar souls4 ,for the purpose of mutual understanding and government4 #eaj4 ,concerning the origin of logic4 ,the fundamental proneness to equalise things and to see them equal1 gets to be modified1 and kept within bounds1 by the consideration of what is useful or harmful--in fact1 by considerations of success3 it then becomes adapted in suchwise as to be gratified in a milder way1 without at the same time denying life or endangering it4 ,this whole process corresponds entirely with that external and mechanical process 7which is its symbol7 by which the protoplasm continually assimilates1 makes equal to itself1 what it appropriates1 and arranges it according to its own forms and requirements4 #eaa4 ,likeness and ,similarity4 #a4 ,the coarser the organ the more apparent likenesses it sees2 #b4 ,the mind will have likeness--that is to say1 the identification of one sensual impression with others already experienced3 just as the body assimilates inorganic matter4 ,for the understanding of ,logic3-- ,the will which tends to see likeness everywhere is the will to power--the belief that something is so and so 7the essence of a judgment71 is the result of a will which would fain have it as similar as possible4 #eab4 ,logic is bound up with the proviso3 granted that identical cases exist4 ,as a matter of fact1 before one can think and conclude in a logical fashion1 this condition must first be assumed4 ,that is to say1 the will to logical truth cannot be consummated before a fundamental falsification of all phenomena has been assumed4 ,from which it follows that an instinct rules here1 which is capable of employing both means3 first1 falsification2 and secondly1 the carrying out of its own point of view3 logic does not spring from a will to truth4 #eac4 ,the inventive force which devised the categories1 worked in the service of our need of security1 of quick intelligibility1 in the form of signs1 sounds1 and abbreviations4--,substance1 subject1 object1 ,being1 ,becoming1 are not matters of metaphysical truth4 ,it was the powerful who made the names of things into law1 and1 among the powerful1 it was the greatest artists in abstraction who created the categories4 #ead4 ,a moral--that is to say1 a method of living which long experience and experiment have tested and proved efficient1 at last enters consciousness as a law1 as dominant4444 ,and then the whole group of related values and conditions become part of it3 it becomes venerable1 unassailable1 holy1 true2 a necessary part of its evolution is that its origin should be forgotten4444 ,that is a sign that it has become master4 ,exactly the same thing might have happened with the categories of reason3 the latter1 after much groping and many trials1 might have proved true through relative usefulness4444 ,a stage was reached when they were grasped as a whole1 and when they appealed to consciousness as a whole1--when belief in them was commanded1--that is to say1 when they acted as if they commanded4444 ,from that time forward they passed as a priori1 as beyond experience1 as irrefutable4 ,and1 possibly1 they may have been the expression of no more than a certain practicality answering the ends of a race and a species1--their usefulness alone is their truth4 #eae4 ,the object is1 not to know1 but to schematise1--to impose as much regularity and form upon chaos1 as our practical needs require4 ,in the formation of reason1 logic1 and the categories1 it was a need in us that was the determining power3 not the need to know1 but to classify1 to schematise1 for the purpose of intelligibility and calculation4 7,the adjustment and interpretation of all similar and equal things1--the same process1 which every sensual impression undergoes1 is the development of reason67 ,no pre-existing idea had anything to do with it3 but utility1 which teaches us that things can be reckoned with and managed1 only when we view them roughly as equal4444 ,finality in reason is an effect1 not a cause3 ,life degenerates with every other form of reason1 although constant attempts are being made to attain to those other forms of reason2--for ,life would then become too obscure1 too unequal4 ,the categories are truths only in the sense that they are the conditions of our existence1 just as ,euclid's ,space is a conditional truth4 7,between ourselves1 as no one will maintain that men are absolutely necessary1 reason1 as well as ,euclid's ,space1 are seen to be but an idiosyncrasy of one particular species of animals1 one idiosyncrasy alone among many others44447 ,the subjective constraint which prevents one from contradicting here1 is a biological constraint3 the instinct which makes us see the utility of concluding as we do conclude1 is in our blood1 we are almost this instinct4444 ,but what simplicity it is to attempt to derive from this fact that we possess an absolute truth6 444 ,the inability to contradict anything is a proof of impotence but not of truth4 #eaf4 ,we are not able to affirm and to deny one and the same thing3 that is a principle of subjective experience--which is not in the least necessary1 but only a sign of inability4 ,if1 according to ,aristotle1 the principium contradictionis is the most certain of all principles2 if it is the most ultimate of all1 and the basis of every demonstration2 if the principle of every other axiom lie within it3 then one should analyse it all the more severely1 in order to discover how many assumptions already lie at its root4 ,it either assumes something concerning reality and ,being1 as if these had become known in some other sphere--that is to say1 as if it were impossible to ascribe the opposite attributes to it2 or the proposition means3 that the opposites should not be ascribed to it4 ,in that case1 logic would be an imperative1 not directed at the knowledge of truth1 but at the adjusting and fixing of a world which must seem true to us4 ,in short1 the question is a debatable one3 are the axioms of logic adequate to reality1 or are they measures and means by which alone we can1 create realities1 or the concept reality8444 ,in order to affirm the first alternative1 however1 one would1 as we have seen1 require a previous knowledge of ,being2 which is certainly not the case4 ,the proposition therefore contains no criterion of truth1 but an imperative concerning that which should pass as true4 ,supposing there were no such thing as ,a identical with itself1 as every logical 7and mathematical7 proposition presupposes1 and that ,a is in itself an appearance1 then logic would have a mere world of appearance as its first condition4 ,as a matter of fact1 we believe in that proposition1 under the influence of an endless empiricism which seems to confirm it every minute4 ,the thing--that is the real substratum of ,a2 our belief in things is the first condition of our faith in logic4 ,the ,a in logic is1 like the atom1 a reconstruction of the thing4444 ,by not understanding this1 and by making logic into a criterion of real being1 we are already on the road to the classification of all those hypostases1 substance1 attribute1 object1 subject1 action1 etc41 as realities--that is to say1 the conception of a metaphysical world or a real world 7--this is1 however1 once more the world of appearance44474 ,the primitive acts of thought1 affirmation1 and negation1 the holding of a thing for true1 and the holding of a thing for not true1--in so far as they do not only presuppose a mere habit1 but the very right to postulate truth or untruth at all1--are already dominated by a belief1 that there is such a thing as knowledge for us1 and that judgments can really hit the truth3 in short1 logic never doubts that it is able to pronounce something concerning truth in itself 7--that is to say1 that to the thing which is in itself true1 no opposite attributes can be ascribed74 ,in this belief there reigns the sensual and coarse prejudice that our sensations teach us truths concerning things1--that ,i cannot at the same moment of time say of one and the same thing that it is hard and soft4 7,the instinctive proof1 ,i cannot have two opposite sensations at once1 is quite coarse and false47 ,that all contradiction in concepts should be forbidden1 is the result of a belief1 that we are able to form concepts1 that a concept not only characterises but also holds the essence of a thing4444 ,as a matter of fact1 logic 7like geometry and arithmetic7 only holds good of assumed existences which we have created4 ,logic is the attempt on our part to understand the actual world according to a scheme of ,being devised by ourselves2 or1 more exactly1 it is our attempt at making the actual world more calculable and more susceptible to formulation1 for our own purposes4444 #eag4 ,in order to be able to think and to draw conclusions1 it is necessary to acknowledge that which exists3 logic only deals with formul for things which are constant4 ,that is why this acknowledgment would not in the least prove reality3 that which is is part of our optics4 ,the ego regarded as ,being 7not affected by either ,becoming or evolution74 ,the assumed world of subject1 substance1 reason1 etc41 is necessary1 an adjusting1 simplifying falsifying1 artificially-separating power resides in us4 ,truth is the will to be master over the manifold sensations that reach consciousness2 it is the will to classify phenomena according to definite categories4 ,in this way we start out with a belief in the true nature of things 7we regard phenomena as real74 ,the character of the world in the process of ,becoming is not susceptible of formulation2 it is false and contradicts itself4 ,knowledge and the process of evolution exclude each other4 ,consequently1 knowledge must be something else3 it must be preceded by a will to make things knowable1 a kind of ,becoming in itself must create the illusion of ,being4 #eah4 ,if our ego is the only form of ,being1 according to which we make and understand all ,being3 very good6 ,in that case it were very proper to doubt whether an illusion of perspective were not active here--the apparent unity which everything assumes in our eyes on the horizon-line4 ,appealing to the body for our guidance1 we are confronted by such appalling manifoldness1 that for the sake of method it is allowable to use that phenomenon which is richer and more easily studied as a clue to the understanding of the poorer phenomenon4 ,finally3 admitting that all is ,becoming1 knowledge is only possible when based on a belief in ,being4 #eai4 ,if there is only one form of ,being1 the ego1 and all other forms of ,being are made in its own image1--if1 in short1 the belief in the ego1 together with the belief in logic1 stands and falls with the metaphysical truth of the categories of reason3 if1 in addition1 the ego is shown to be something that is evolving3 then---- #ebj4 ,the continual transitions that occur1 forbid our speaking of the individual1 etc42 the number of beings itself fluctuates4 ,we should know nothing of time or of movement1 if1 in a rough way1 we did not believe we saw things standing still behind or in front of things moving4 ,we should also know just as little about cause and effect1 and without the erroneous idea of empty space we should never have arrived at the concept of space at all4 ,the principle of identity is based on the fact of appearance that there are some things alike4 ,strictly speaking1 it would not be possible to understand and know an evolving world2 something which is called knowledge exists only in so far as the understanding and knowing intellect already finds an adjusted and rough world to hand1 fashioned out of a host of mere appearances1 but become fixed to the extent in which this kind of appearance has helped to preserve life2 only to this extent is knowledge possible--that is to say1 as a measuring of earlier and more recent errors by one another4 #eba4 ,concerning logical appearance4--,the concept individual and the concept species are equally false and only apparent4 ,species only expresses the fact that an abundance of similar creatures come forth at the same time1 and that the speed of their further growth and of their further transformation has been made almost imperceptible for a long time3 so that the actual and trivial changes and increase of growth are of no account at all 7--a stage of evolution in which the process of evolving is not visible1 so that1 not only does a state of equilibrium seem to have been reached1 but the road is also made clear for the error of supposing that an actual goal has been reached--and that evolution had a goal44474 ,the form seems to be something enduring1 and therefore valuable2 but the form was invented merely by ourselves2 and however often the same form is attained1 it does not signify that it is the same form1--because something new always appears2 and we alone1 who compare1 reckon the new with the old1 in so far as it resembles the latter1 and embody the two in the unity of form4 ,as if a type had to be reached and were actually intended by the formative processes4 ,form1 species1 law1 idea1 purpose--the same fault is made in respect of all these concepts1 namely1 that of giving a false realism to a piece of fiction3 as if all phenomena were infused with some sort of obedient spirit--an artificial distinction is here made between that which acts and that which guides action 7but both these things are only fixed in order to agree with our metaphysico-logical dogma3 they are not facts74 ,we should not interpret this constraint in ourselves1 to imagine concepts1 species1 forms1 purposes1 and laws 7a world of identical cases7 as if we were in a position to construct a real world2 but as a constraint to adjust a world by means of which our existence will be ensured3 we thereby create a world which is determinable1 simplified1 comprehensible1 etc41 for us4 ,the very same constraint is active in the functions of the senses which support the reason--by means of simplification1 coarsening1 accentuation1 and interpretation2 whereon all recognition1 all the ability of making one's self intelligible rests4 ,our needs have made our senses so precise1 that the same world of appearance always returns1 and has thus acquired the semblance of reality4 ,our subjective constraint to have faith in logic1 is expressive only of the fact that long before logic itself became conscious in us1 we did nothing save introduce its postulates into the nature of things3 now we find ourselves in their presence1--we can no longer help it1--and now we would fain believe that this constraint is a guarantee of truth4 ,we it was who created the thing1 the same thing1 the subject1 the attribute1 the action1 the object1 the substance1 and the form1 after we had carried the process of equalising1 coarsening1 and simplifying as far as possible4 ,the world seems logical to us1 because we have already made it logical4 #ebb4 ,fundamental solution4--,we believe in reason3 this is1 however1 the philosophy of colourless concepts4 ,language is built upon the most naf prejudices4 ,now we read discord and problems into things1 because we are able to think only in the form of language--we also believe in the eternal truth of wisdom 7for instance1 subject1 attribute1 etc474 ,we cease from thinking if we do not wish to think under the control of language2 the most we can do is to attain to an attitude of doubt concerning the question whether the boundary here really is a boundary4 ,rational thought is a process of interpreting according to a scheme which we cannot reject4 7f7 ,consciousness4 #ebc4 ,there is no greater error than that of making psychical and physical phenomena the two faces1 the two manifestations of the same substance4 ,by this means nothing is explained3 the concept substance is utterly useless as a means of explanation4 ,consciousness may be regarded as secondary1 almost an indifferent and superfluous thing1 probably destined to disappear and to be superseded by perfect automatism-- ,when we observe mental phenomena we may be likened to the deaf and dumb who divine the spoken word1 which they do not hear1 from the movements of the speaker's lips4 ,from the appearance of the inner mind we draw conclusions concerning invisible and other phenomena1 which we could ascertain if our powers of observation were adequate for the purpose4 ,for this inner world we have no finer organs1 and that is why a complexity which is thousandfold reaches our consciousness as a simple entity1 and we invent a process of causation in it1 despite the fact that we can perceive no cause either of the movement or of the change--the sequence of thoughts and feelings is nothing more than their becoming visible to consciousness4 ,that this sequence has anything to do with a chain of causes is not worthy of belief3 consciousness never communicates an example of cause and effect to us4 #ebd4 ,the part consciousness plays1--,it is essential that one should not mistake the part that consciousness plays it is our relation to the outer world2 it was the outer world that developed it4 ,on the other hand1 the direction--that is to say1 the care and cautiousness which is concerned with the inter-relation of the bodily functions1 does not enter into our consciousness any more than does the storing activity of the intellect3 that there is a superior controlling force at work in these things cannot be doubted--a sort of directing committee1 in which the various leading desires make their votes and their power felt4 ,pleasure and pain are indications which reach us from this sphere3 as are also acts of will and ideas4 ,in short3 ,that which becomes conscious has causal relations which are completely and absolutely concealed from our knowledge--the sequence of thoughts1 feelings1 and ideas1 in consciousness1 does not signify that the order in which they come is a causal order3 it is so apparently1 however1 in the highest degree4 ,we have based the whole of our notion of intellect1 reason1 logic1 etc41 upon this apparent truth 7all these things do not exist3 they are imaginary syntheses and entities71 and we then projected the latter into and behind all things6 ,as a rule consciousness itself is understood to be the general sensorium and highest ruling centre2 albeit1 it is only a means of communication3 it was developed by intercourse1 and with a view to the interests of intercourse4444 ,intercourse is understood1 here1 as relation1 and is intended to cover the action of the outer world upon us and our necessary response to it1 as also our actual influence upon the outer world4 ,it is not the conducting force1 but an organ of the latter4 #ebe4 ,my principle1 compressed into a formula which savours of antiquity1 of ,christianity1 ,scholasticism1 and other kinds of musk3 in the concept1 ,god is spirit1 ,god as perfection is denied4444 #ebf4 ,wherever people have observed a certain unity in the grouping of things1 spirit has always been regarded as the cause of this co-ordination3 an assumption for which reasons are entirely lacking4 ,why should the idea of a complex fact be one of the conditions of that fact8 ,or why should the notion of a complex fact have to precede it as its cause8 ,we must be on our guard against explaining finality by the spirit3 there is absolutely no reason whatever for ascribing to spirit the peculiar power of organising and systematising4 ,the domain of the nervous system is much more extensive3 the realm of consciousness is superadded4 ,in the collective process of adaptation and systematising1 consciousness plays no part at all4 #ebg4 ,physiologists1 like philosophers1 believe that consciousness increases in value in proportion as it gains in clearness3 the most lucid consciousness and the most logical and impassive thought are of the first order4 ,meanwhile--according to what standard is this value determined8--,in regard to the discharge of will-power the most superficial and most simple thought is the most useful--it might therefore1 etc4 etc4 7because it leaves few motives over74 ,precision in action is opposed to the far-sighted and often uncertain judgments of caution3 the latter is led by the deeper instinct4 #ebh4 ,the chief error of psychologists3 they regard the indistinct idea as of a lower kind than the distinct2 but that which keeps at a distance from our consciousness and which is therefore obscure1 may on that very account be quite clear in itself4 ,the fact that a thing becomes obscure is a question of the perspective of consciousness4 #ebi4 ,the great misapprehensions3-- 7#a7 ,the senseless overestimation of consciousness1 its elevation to the dignity of an entity3 a spirit1 a soul1 something that feels1 thinks1 and wills2 7#b7 ,the spirit regarded as a cause1 especially where finality1 system1 and co-ordination appear2 7#c7 ,consciousness classed as the highest form attainable1 as the most superior kind of being1 as ,god2 7#d7 ,will introduced wherever effects are observed2 7#e7 ,the real world regarded as the spiritual world1 accessible by means of the facts of consciousness2 7#f7 ,absolute knowledge regarded as the faculty of consciousness1 wherever knowledge exists at all4 ,consequences3-- ,every step forward consists of a step forward in consciousness2 every step backwards is a step into unconsciousness 7unconsciousness was regarded as a falling-back upon the passions and senses--as a state of animalism 44447 ,man approaches reality and real being through dialectics3 man departs from them by means of instincts1 senses1 and automatism4444 ,to convert man into a spirit1 would mean to make a god of him3 spirit1 will1 goodness--all one4 ,all goodness must take its root in spirituality1 must be a fact of consciousness4 ,every step made towards something better can be only a step forward in consciousness4 7g7 ,judgment4 ,true--false4 #ecj4 ,kant's theological bias1 his unconscious dogmatism1 his moral outlook1 ruled1 guided1 and directed him4 ,the 3 how is the fact knowledge possible8 ,is knowledge a fact at all8 ,what is knowledge8 ,if we do not know what knowledge is1 we cannot possibly reply to the question1 ,is there such a thing as knowledge8 ,very fine6 ,but if ,i do not already know whether there is1 or can be1 such a thing as knowledge1 ,i cannot reasonably ask the question1 ,what is knowledge8 ,kant believes in the fact of knowledge3 what he requires is a piece of navet3 the knowledge of knowledge6 ,knowledge is judgment4 ,but judgment is a belief that something is this or that6 ,and not knowledge6 ,all knowledge consists in synthetic judgments which have the character of being universally true 7the fact is so in all cases1 and does not change71 and which have the character of being necessary 7the reverse of the proposition cannot be imagined to exist74 ,the validity of a belief in knowledge is always taken for granted2 as is also the validity of the feelings which conscience dictates4 ,here moral ontology is the ruling bias4 ,the conclusion1 therefore1 is3 7#a7 there are propositions which we believe to be universally true and necessary4 7#b7 ,this character of universal truth and of necessity cannot spring from experience4 7#c7 ,consequently it must base itself upon no experience at all1 but upon something else1 it must be derived from another source of knowledge6 ,kant concludes 7#a7 that there are some propositions which hold good only on one condition2 7#b7 this condition is that they do not spring from experience1 but from pure reason4 ,thus1 the question is1 whence do we derive our reasons for believing in the truth of such propositions8 ,no1 whence does our belief get its cause8 ,but the origin of a belief1 of a strong conviction1 is a psychological problem3 and very limited and narrow experience frequently brings about such a belief6 ,it already presupposes that there are not only data a posteriori but also data a priori-- that is to say1 previous to experience4 ,necessary and universal truth cannot be given by experience3 it is therefore quite clear that it has come to us without experience at all8 ,there is no such thing as an isolated judgment6 ,an isolated judgment is never true1 it is never knowledge2 only in connection with1 and when related to1 many other judgments1 is a guarantee of its truth forthcoming4 ,what is the difference between true and false belief8 ,what is knowledge8 ,he knows it1 that is heavenly6 ,necessary and universal truth cannot be given by experience6 ,it is therefore independent of experience1 of all experience6 ,the view which comes quite a priori1 and therefore independent of all experience1 merely out of reason1 is pure knowledge6 ,the principles of logic1 the principle of identity and of contradiction1 are examples of pure knowledge1 because they precede all experience4--,but these principles are not cognitions1 but regulative articles of faith4 ,in order to establish the a priori character 7the pure rationality7 of mathematical axioms1 space must be conceived as a form of pure reason4 ,hume had declared that there were no a priori synthetic judgments4 ,kant says there are--the mathematical ones6 ,and if there are such judgments1 there may also be such things as metaphysics and a knowledge of things by means of pure reason6 ,mathematics is possible under conditions which are not allowed to metaphysics4 ,all human knowledge is either experience or mathematics4 ,a judgment is synthetic--that is to say1 it co-ordinates various ideas4 ,it is a priori--that is to say1 this co-ordination is universally true and necessary1 and is arrived at1 not by sensual experience1 but by pure reason4 ,if there are such things as a priori judgments1 then reason must be able to co-ordinate3 co-ordination is a form4 ,reason must possess a formative faculty4 #eca4 ,judging is our oldest faith2 it is our habit of believing this to be true or false1 of asserting or denying1 our certainty that something is thus and not otherwise1 our belief that we really know--what is believed to be true in all judgments8 ,what are attributes8--,we did not regard changes in ourselves merely as such1 but as things in themselves1 which are strange to us1 and which we only perceive2 and we did not class them as phenomena1 but as ,being1 as attributes2 and in addition we invented a creature to which they attach themselves--that is to say1 we made the effect the working cause1 and the latter we made ,being4 ,but even in this plain statement1 the concept effect is arbitrary3 for in regard to those changes which occur in us1 and of which we are convinced we ourselves are not the cause1 we still argue that they must be effects3 and this is in accordance with the belief that every change must have its author2--but this belief in itself is already mythology2 for it separates the working cause from the cause in work4 ,when ,i say the lightning flashes1 ,i set the flash down1 once as an action and a second time as a subject acting2 and thus a thing is fancifully affixed to a phenomenon1 which is not one with it1 but which is stable1 which is1 and does not come4--,to make the phenomenon the working cause1 and to make the effect into a thing--into ,being3 this is the double error1 or interpretation1 of which we are guilty4 #ecb4 ,the ,judgment--that is the faith3 ,this and this is so4 ,in every judgment1 therefore1 there lies the admission that an identical case has been met with3 it thus takes some sort of comparison for granted1 with the help of the memory4 ,judgment does not create the idea that an identical case seems to be there4 ,it believes rather that it actually perceives such a case2 it works on the hypothesis that there are such things as identical cases4 ,but what is that much older function called1 which must have been active much earlier1 and which in itself equalises unequal cases and makes them alike8 ,what is that second function called1 which with this first one as a basis1 etc4 etc1 ,that which provokes the same sensations as another thing is equal to that other thing3 but what is that called which makes sensations equal1 which regards them as equal8--,there could be no judgments if a sort of equalising process were not active within all sensations3 memory is only possible by means of the underscoring of all that has already been experienced and learned4 ,before a judgment can be formed1 the process of assimilation must already have been completed3 thus1 even here1 an intellectual activity is to be observed which does not enter consciousness in at all the same way as the pain which accompanies a wound4 ,probably the psychic phenomena correspond to all the organic functions--that is to say1 they consist of assimilation1 rejection1 growth1 etc4 ,the essential thing is to start out from the body and to use it as the general clue4 ,it is by far the richer phenomenon1 and allows of much more accurate observation4 ,the belief in the body is much more soundly established than the belief in spirit4 ,however strongly a thing may be believed1 the degree of belief is no criterion of its truth4 ,but what is truth8 ,perhaps it is a form of faith1 which has become a condition of existence8 ,then strength would certainly be a criterion2 for instance1 in regard to causality4 #ecc4 ,logical accuracy1 transparency1 considered as the criterion of truth 7omne illud verum est1 quod clare et distincte percipitur4--,descartes73 by this means the mechanical hypothesis of the world becomes desirable and credible4 ,but this is gross confusion3 like simplex sigillum veri4 ,whence comes the knowledge that the real nature of things stands in this relation to our intellect8 ,could it not be otherwise8 ,could it not be this1 that the hypothesis which gives the intellect the greatest feeling of power and security1 is preferred1 valued1 and marked as true--,the intellect sets its freest and strongest faculty and ability as the criterion of what is most valuable1 consequently of what is true4444 ,true--from the standpoint of sentiment--is that which most provokes sentiment 7,i72 from the standpoint of thought--is that which gives thought the greatest sensation of strength2 from the standpoint of touch1 sight1 and hearing--is that which calls forth the greatest resistance4 ,thus it is the highest degrees of activity which awaken belief in regard to the object1 in regard to its reality4 ,the sensations of strength1 struggle1 and resistance convince the subject that there is something which is being resisted4 #ecd4 ,the criterion of truth lies in the enhancement of the feeling of power4 #ece4 ,according to my way of thinking1 truth does not necessarily mean the opposite of error1 but1 in the most fundamental cases1 merely the relation of different errors to each other3 thus one error might be older1 deeper than another1 perhaps altogether ineradicable1 one without which organic creatures like ourselves could not exist2 whereas other errors might not tyrannise over us to that extent as conditions of existence1 but when measured according to the standard of those other tyrants1 could even be laid aside and refuted4 ,why should an irrefutable assumption necessarily be true8 ,this question may exasperate the logicians who limit things according to the limitations they find in themselves3 but ,i have long since declared war with this logician's optimism4 #ecf4 ,everything simple is simply imaginary1 but not true4 ,that which is real and true is1 however1 neither a unity nor reducible to a unity4 #ecg4 ,what is truth8--,inertia2 that hypothesis which brings satisfaction1 the smallest expense of intellectual strength1 etc4 #ech4 ,first proposition4 ,the easier way of thinking always triumphs over the more difficult way2--dogmatically3 simplex sigillum veri4--,dico3 to suppose that clearness is any proof of truth1 is absolute childishness4 4 4 4 ,second proposition4 ,the teaching of ,being1 of things1 and of all those constant entities1 is a hundred times more easy than the teaching of ,becoming and of evolution4 4 4 ,third proposition4 ,logic was intended to be a method of facilitating thought3 a means of expression1 --not truth4 4 4 4 ,later on it got to act like truth4 4 4 4 #eci4 ,parmenides said3 ,one can form no concept of the non-existent2--we are at the other extreme1 and say1 ,that ,of which a concept can be formed1 is certainly fictional4 #edj4 ,there are many kinds of eyes4 ,even the ,sphinx has eyes--therefore there must be many kinds of truths1 and consequently there can be no truth4 #eda4 ,inscriptions over the porch of a modern lunatic asylum4 ,that which is necessarily true in thought must be necessarily true in morality4--,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,the ultimate test of the truth of a proposition is the inconceivableness of its negation1--,,herbert ,,spencer4 #edb4 ,if the character of existence were false13--and this would be possible1--what would truth then be1 all our truth8 444 ,an unprincipled falsification of the false8 ,a higher degree of falseness8 444 #edc4 ,in a world which was essentially false1 truthfulness would be an anti-natural tendency3 its only purpose would be to provide a means of attaining to a higher degree of falsity4 ,for a world of truth and ,being to be simulated1 the truthful one would first have to be created 7it being understood that he must believe himself to be truthful74 ,simple1 transparent1 not in contradiction with himself1 lasting1 remaining always the same to himself1 free from faults1 sudden changes1 dissimulation1 and form3 such a man conceives a world of ,being as ,god in ,his own image4 ,in order that truthfulness may be possible1 the whole sphere in which man moves must be very tidy1 small1 and respectable3 the advantage in every respect must be with the truthful one4--,lies1 tricks1 dissimulations1 must cause astonishment4 #edd4 ,dissimulation increases in accordance with the rising order of rank among organic beings4 ,in the inorganic world it seems to be entirely absent4 ,there power opposes power quite roughly --ruse begins in the organic world2 plants are already masters of it4 ,the greatest men1 such as ,csar and ,napoleon 7see ,stendhal's remark concerning him71#c as also the higher races 7the ,italians71 the ,greeks 7,odysseus72 the most supreme cunning1 belongs to the very essence of the elevation of man4 444 ,the problem of the actor4 ,my ,dionysian ideal4444 ,the optics of all the organic functions1 of all the strongest vital instincts3 the power which will have error in all life2 error as the very first principle of thought itself4 ,before thought is possible1 fancy must first have done its work2 the picturing of identical cases1 of the seemingness of identity1 is more primeval than the cognition of identity4 ,footnote #c3 ,the reference to ,stendhal here1 seems to point to a passage in his ,life of ,napoleon 7,preface1 p4 xv7 of which ,nietzsche had made a note in another place1 and which reads3 ,une croyance presque instinctive chez moi c'est que tout homme puissant ment quand il parle et plus forte raison quand il crit4 7h7 ,against ,causality4 #ede4 ,i believe in absolute space as the basis of force1 and ,i believe the latter to be limited and formed4 ,time1 eternal4 ,but space and time as things in themselves do not exist4 ,changes are only appearances 7or mere processes of our senses to us72 if we set recurrence1 however regular1 between them1 nothing is proved beyond the fact that it has always happened so4 ,the feeling that post hoc is propter hoc1 is easily explained as the result of a misunderstanding1 it is comprehensible4 ,but appearances cannot be causes6 #edf4 ,the interpretation of a phenomenon1 either as an action or as the endurance of an action 7that is to say1 every action involves the suffering of it71 amounts to this3 every change1 every differentiation1 presupposes the existence of an agent and somebody acted upon1 who is altered4 #edg4 ,psychological history of the concept subject4 ,the body1 the thing1 the whole1 which is visualised by the eye1 awakens the thought of distinguishing between an action and an agent2 the idea that the agent is the cause of the action1 after having been repeatedly refined1 at length left the subject over4 #edh4 ,our absurd habit of regarding a mere mnemonic sign or abbreviated formula as an independent being1 and ultimately as a cause2 as1 for instance1 when we say of lightning that it flashes1 even the little word ,i4 ,a sort of double-sight in seeing which makes sight a cause of seeing in itself3 this was the feat in the invention of the subject of the ego4 #edi4 ,subject1 object1 attribute--these distinctions have been made1 and are now used like schemes to cover all apparent facts4 ,the false fundamental observation is this1 that ,i believe it is ,i who does something1 who suffers something1 who has something1 who has a quality4 #eej4 ,in every judgment lies the whole faith in subject1 attribute1 or cause and effect 7in the form of an assumption that every effect is the result of activity1 and that all activity presupposes an agent71 and even this last belief is only an isolated case of the first1 so that faith remains as the most fundamental belief6 there are such things as subjects1 everything that happens is related attributively to a subject of some sort4 ,i notice something1 and try to discover the reason of it3 originally this was1 ,i look for an intention behind it1 and1 above all1 ,i look for one who has an intention1 for a subject1 an agent3 every phenomenon is an action1 formerly intentions were seen behind all phenomena1 this is our oldest habit4 ,has the animal also this habit8 ,as a living organism1 is it not also compelled to interpret things through itself4 ,the question why8 is always a question concerning the causa finalis1 and the general purpose of things4 ,we have no sign of the sense of the efficient cause2 in this respect ,hume is quite right1 habit 7but not only that of the individual7 allows us to expect that a certain process1 frequently observed1 will follow upon another1 but nothing more6 ,that which gives us such an extraordinarily firm faith in causality1 is not the rough habit of observing the sequence of processes1 but our inability to interpret a phenomenon otherwise than as the result of design4 ,it is the belief in living and thinking things1 as the only agents of causation2 it is the belief in will1 in design--the belief that all phenomena are actions1 and that all actions presuppose an agent2 it is the belief in the subject4 ,is not this belief in the concepts subject and object an arrant absurdity8 ,question3 ,is the design the cause of a phenomenon8 ,or is that also illusion8 ,is it not the phenomenon itself8 #eea4 ,a criticism of the concept cause4--,we have absolutely no experience concerning cause1 viewed psychologically we derive the whole concept from the subjective conviction1 that we ourselves are causes--that is to say1 that the arm moves4444 ,but that is an error4 ,we distinguish ourselves1 the agents1 from the action1 and everywhere we make use of this scheme--we try to discover an agent behind every phenomenon4 ,what have we done8 ,we have misunderstood a feeling of power1 tension1 resistance1 a muscular feeling1 which is already the beginning of the action1 and posited it as a cause2 or we have understood the will to do this or that1 as a cause1 because the action follows it4 ,there is no such thing as ,cause1 in those few cases in which it seemed to be given1 and in which we projected it out of ourselves in order to understand a phenomenon1 it has been shown to be an illusion4 ,our understanding of a phenomenon consisted in our inventing a subject who was responsible for something happening1 and for the manner in which it happened4 ,in our concept cause we have embraced our feeling of will1 our feeling of freedom1 our feeling of responsibility and our design to do an action3 causa efficiens and causa finalis are fundamentally one4 ,we believed that an effect was explained when we could point to a state in which it was inherent4 ,as a matter of fact1 we invent all causes according to the scheme of the effect3 the latter is known to us4444 ,on the other hand1 we are not in a position to say of any particular thing how it will act4 ,the thing1 the subject the will1 the design--all inherent in the conception cause4 ,we try to discover things in order to explain why something has changed4 ,even the atom is one of these fanciful inventions like the thing and the primitive subject4444 ,at last we understand that things--consequently also atoms--effect nothing3 because they are non-existent2 and that the concept causality is quite6 useless4 ,out of a necessary sequence of states1 the latter's causal relationship does not follow 7that would be equivalent to extending their active principle from #a to #b1 to #c1 to #d1 to #e74 ,there is no such thing as a cause or an effect4 ,from the standpoint of language we do not know how to rid ourselves of them4 ,but that does not matter4 ,if ,i imagine muscle separated from its effects1 ,i have denied it4444 ,in short3 a phenomenon is neither effected nor capable of effecting4 ,causa is a faculty to effect something1 superadded fancifully to what happens4444 ,the interpretation of causality is an illusion4444 ,a thing is the sum of its effects1 synthetically united by means of a concept1 an image4 ,as a matter of fact1 science has robbed the concept causality of all meaning1 and has reserved it merely as an allegorical formula1 which has made it a matter of indifference whether cause or effect be put on this side or on that4 ,it is asserted that in two complex states 7centres of force7 the quantities of energy remain constant4 ,the calculability of a phenomenon does not lie in the fact that a rule is observed1 or that a necessity is obeyed1 or that we have projected a law of causality into every phenomenon3 it lies in the recurrence of identical cases4 ,there is no such thing as a sense of causality1 as ,kant would have us believe4 ,we are aghast1 we feel insecure1 we will have something familiar1 which can be relied upon4444 ,as soon as we are shown the existence of something old in a new thing1 we are pacified4 ,the so-called instinct of causality is nothing more than the fear of the unfamiliar1 and the attempt at finding something in it which is already known4--,it is not a search for causes1 but for the familiar4 #eeb4 ,to combat determinism and teleology4--,from the fact that something happens regularly1 and that its occurrence may be reckoned upon1 it does not follow that it happens necessarily4 ,if a quantity of force determines and conducts itself in a certain way in every particular case1 it does not prove that it has no free will4 ,mechanical necessity is not an established fact3 it was we who first read into the nature of all phenomena4 ,we interpreted the possibility of formularising phenomena as a result of the dominion of necessary law over all existence4 ,but it does not follow1 because ,i do a determined thing1 that ,i am bound to do it4 ,compulsion cannot be demonstrated in things3 all that the rule proves is this1 that one and the same phenomenon is not another phenomenon4 ,owing to the very fact that we fancied the existence of subjects agents in things1 the notion arose that all phenomena are the consequence of a compulsory force exercised over the subject--exercised by whom8 once more by an agent4 ,the concept ,cause and ,effect is a dangerous one1 so long as people believe in something that causes1 and a something that is caused4 7a7 ,necessity is not an established fact1 but an interpretation4 999999 7b7 ,when it is understood that the subject is nothing that acts1 but only a thing of fancy1 there is much that follows4 ,only with the subject as model we invented thingness and read it into the pell-mell of sensations4 ,if we cease from believing in the acting subject1 the belief in acting things1 in reciprocal action1 in cause and effect between phenomena which we call things1 also falls to pieces4 ,in this case the world of acting atoms also disappears3 for this world is always assumed to exist on the pre-determined grounds that subjects are necessary4 ,ultimately1 of course1 the thing-in-itself also disappears3 for at bottom it is the conception of a subject-in-itself4 ,but we have seen that the subject is an imaginary thing4 ,the antithesis thing-in-itself and appearance is untenable2 but in this way the concept appearance also disappears4 999999 7c7 ,if we abandon the idea of the acting subject1 we also abandon the object acted upon4 ,duration1 equality to self1 ,being1 are inherent neither in what is called subject1 nor in what is called object3 they are complex phenomena1 and in regard to other phenomena are apparently durable--they are distinguishable1 for instance1 by the different tempo with which they happen 7repose--movement1 fixed --loose3 all antitheses which do not exist in themselves and by means of which differences of degree only are expressed2 from a certain limited point of view1 though1 they seem to be antitheses4 ,there are no such things as antitheses2 it is from logic that we derive our concept of contrasts--and starting out from its standpoint we spread the error over all things74 999999 7d7 ,if we abandon the ideas subject and object2 then we must also abandon the idea substance--and therefore its various modifications too2 for instance3 matter1 spirit1 and other hypothetical things1 eternity and the immutability of matter1 etc4 ,we are then rid of materiality4 999999 ,from a moral standpoint the world is false4 ,but inasmuch as morality itself is a part of this world1 morality also is false4 ,the will to truth is a process of establishing things1 it is a process of making things true and lasting1 a total elimination of that false character1 a transvaluation of it into being4 ,thus1 truth is not something which is present and which has to be found and discovered2 it is something which has to be created and which gives its name to a process1 or1 better still1 to the ,will to overpower1 which in itself has no purpose3 to introduce truth is a processus in infinitum1 an active determining--it is not a process of becoming conscious of something1 which in itself is fixed and determined4 ,it is merely a word for ,the ,will to ,power4 ,life is based on the hypothesis of a belief in stable and regularly recurring things1 the mightier it is1 the more vast must be the world of knowledge and the world called being4 ,logicising1 rationalising1 and systematising are of assistance as means of existence4 ,man projects his instinct of truth1 his aim1 to a certain extent beyond himself1 in the form of a metaphysical world of ,being1 a thing-in-itself1 a world already to hand4 ,his requirements as a creator make him invent the world in which he works in advance2 he anticipates it3 this anticipation 7this faith in truth7 is his mainstay4 999999 ,all phenomena1 movement1 ,becoming1 regarded as the establishment of relations of degree and of force1 as a contest4444 999999 ,as soon as we fancy that some one is responsible for the fact that we are thus and thus1 etc4 7,god1 ,nature71 and that we ascribe our existence1 our happiness1 our misery1 our destiny1 to that some one1 we corrupt the innocence of ,becoming for ourselves4 ,we then have some one who wishes to attain to something by means of us and with us4 999999 ,the welfare of the individual is just as fanciful as the welfare of the species3 the first is not sacrificed to the last2 seen from afar1 the species is just as fluid as the individual4 ,the preservation of the species is only a result of the growth of the species--that is to say1 of the overcoming of the species on the road to a stronger kind4 999999 ,theses3--,the apparent conformity of means to end 7the conformity of means to end which far surpasses the art of man7 is merely the result of that ,will to ,power which manifests itself in all phenomena3--,to become stronger involves a process of ordering1 which may well be mistaken for an attempted conformity of means to end3--,the ends which are apparent are not intended but1 as soon as a superior power prevails over an inferior power1 and the latter proceeds to work as a function of the former1 an order of rank is established1 an organisation which must give rise to the idea that there is an arrangement of means and ends4 ,against apparent necessity3-- ,this is only an expression for the fact that a certain power is not also something else4 ,against the apparent conformity of means to ends3-- ,the latter is only an expression for the order among the spheres of power and their interplay4 7i7 ,the ,thing-in-,itself and ,appearance4 #eec4 ,the foul blemish on ,kant's criticism has at last become visible even to the coarsest eyes3 ,kant had no right to his distinction appearance and thing-in-itself1--in his own writings he had deprived himself of the right of differentiating any longer in this old and hackneyed manner1 seeing that he had condemned the practice of drawing any conclusions concerning the cause of an appearance from the appearance itself1 as unallowable in accordance with his conception of the idea of causality and its purely intraphenomenal validity1 and this conception1 on the other hand1 already anticipates that differentiation1 as if the thing in itself were not only inferred but actually given4 #eed4 ,it is obvious that neither things-in-themselves nor appearances can be related to each other in the form of cause and effect3 and from this it follows that the concept cause and effect is not applicable in a philosophy which believes in things-in-themselves and in appearances4 ,kant's mistake--444 ,as a matter of fact1 from a psychological standpoint1 the concept cause and effect is derived from an attitude of mind which believes it sees the action of will upon will everywhere1 which believes only in living things1 and at bottom only in souls 7not in things74 ,within the mechanical view of the world 7which is logic and its application to space and time7 that concept is reduced to the mathematical formula with which--and this is a fact which cannot be sufficiently emphasised--nothing is ever understood1 but rather defined--deformed4 #eee4 ,the greatest of all fables is the one relating to knowledge4 ,people would like to know how things-in-themselves are constituted3 but behold1 there are no things-in-themselves6 ,but even supposing there were an in-itself1 an unconditional thing1 it could on that very account not be known6 ,something unconditioned cannot be known3 otherwise it would not be unconditioned6 ,knowing1 however1 is always a process of coming into relation with something2 the knowledge-seeker1 on this principle1 wants the thing1 which he would know1 to be nothing to him1 and to be nothing to anybody at all3 and from this there results a contradiction1--in the first place1 between this will to know1 and this desire that the thing to be known should be nothing to him 7wherefore know at all then872 and secondly1 because something which is nothing to anybody1 does not even exist1 and therefore cannot be known4 ,knowing means3 to place one's self in relation with something1 to feel one's self conditioned by something and one's self conditioning it under all circumstances1 then1 it is a process of making stable or fixed1 of defining1 of making conditions conscious 7not a process of sounding things1 creatures1 or objects in-themselves74 #eef4 ,a thing-in-itself is just as absurd as a sense-in-itself1 a meaning-in-itself4 ,there is no such thing as a fact-in-itself1 for a meaning must always be given to it before it can become a fact4 ,the answer to the question1 ,what is that8 is a process of fixing a meaning from a different standpoint4 ,the essence the essential factor1 is something which is only seen as a whole in perspective1 and which presupposes a basis which is multifarious4 ,fundamentally the question is ,what is that for me8 7for us1 for everything that lives1 etc4 etc474 ,a thing would be defined when all creatures had asked and answered this question1 ,what is that8 concerning it4 ,supposing that one single creature1 with its own relations and standpoint in regard to all things1 were lacking1 that thing would still remain undefined4 ,in short3 the essence of a thing is really only an opinion concerning that thing4 ,or1 better still2 it is worth is actually what is meant by it is or by that is4 ,one may not ask3 ,who interprets1 then8 for the act of interpreting itself as a form of the ,will to ,power1 manifests itself 7not as ,being1 but as a process1 as ,becoming7 as a passion4 ,the origin of things is wholly the work of the idealising1 thinking1 willing1 and feeling subject4 ,the concept thing as well as all its attributes4--,even the subject is a creation of this order1 a thing like all others3 a simplification1 aiming at a definition of the power that fixes1 invents1 and thinks1 as such1 as distinct from all isolated fixing1 inventing1 and thinking4 ,thus a capacity defined or distinct from all other individual capacities2 at bottom action conceived collectively in regard to all the action which has yet to come 7action and the probability of similar action74 #eeg4 ,the qualities of a thing are its effects upon other things4 ,if one imagines other things to be non-existent1 a thing has no qualities4 ,that is to say2 there is nothing without other things4 ,that is to say2 there is no thing-in-itself4 #eeh4 ,the thing-in-itself is nonsense4 ,if ,i think all the relations1 all the qualities all the activities of a thing1 away1 the thing itself does not remain3 for thingness was only invented fancifully by us to meet certain logical needs--that is to say1 for the purposes of definition and comprehension 7in order to correlate that multitude of relations1 qualities1 and activities74 #eei4 ,things which have a nature in themselves--a dogmatic idea1 which must be absolutely abandoned4 #efj4 ,that things should have a nature in themselves1 quite apart from interpretation and subjectivity1 is a perfectly idle hypothesis3 it would presuppose that interpretation and the act of being subjective are not essential1 that a thing divorced from all its relations can still be a thing4 ,or1 the other way round3 the apparent objective character of things2 might it not be merely the result of a difference of degree within the subject perceiving8--could not that which changes slowly strike us as being objective1 lasting1 ,being1 in-itself8--could not the objective view be only a false way of conceiving things and a contrast within the perceiving subject8 #efa4 ,if all unity were only unity as organisation4 ,but the thing in which we believe was invented only as a substratum to the various attributes4 ,if the thing acts1 it means3 we regard all the other qualities which are to hand1 and which are momentarily latent1 as the cause accounting for the fact that one individual quality steps forward--that is to say1 we take the sum of its qualities--x--as the cause of the quality x2 which is obviously quite absurd and imbecile6 ,all unity is only so in the form of organisation and collective action3 in the same way as a human community is a unity--that is to say1 the reverse of atomic anarchy2 thus it is a body politic1 which stands for one1 yet is not one4 #efb4 ,at some time in the development of thought1 a point must have been reached when man became conscious of the fact that what he called the qualities of a thing were merely the sensations of the feeling subject3 and thus the qualities ceased from belonging to the thing4 ,the thing-in-itself remained over4 ',the distinction between the thing-in-itself and the thing-for-us1 is based upon that older and artless observation which would fain grant energy to things3 but analysis revealed that even force was only ascribed to them by our fancy1 as was also--substance4 ,the thing affects a subject8 ,thus the root of the idea of substance is in language1 not in things outside ourselves6 ,the thing-in-itself is not a problem at all6 ,being will have to be conceived as a sensation which is no longer based upon anything quite devoid of sensation4 ,in movement no new meaning is given to feeling4 ,that which is1 cannot be the substance of movement3 it is therefore a form of ,being4 ,n4,b4--,the explanation of life may be sought1 in the first place1 through mental images of phenomena which precede it 7purposes72 ,secondly1 through mental images of phenomena which follow behind it 7the mathematico-physical explanation74 ,the two should not be confounded4 ,thus3 the physical explanation1 which is the symbolisation of the world by means of feeling and thought1 cannot in itself make feeling and thinking originate again and show its derivation3 physics must rather construct the world of feeling1 consistently without feeling or purpose right up to the highest man4 ,and teleology is only a history of purposes1 and is never physical4 #efc4 ,our method of acquiring knowledge is limited to a process of establishing quantities1 but we can by no means help feeling the difference of quantity as differences of quality4 ,quality is merely a relative truth for us2 it is not a thing-in-itself4 ,our senses have a certain definite quantum as a mean1 within the limits of which they perform their functions--that is to say1 we become conscious of bigness and smallness in accordance with the conditions of our existence4 ,if we sharpened or blunted our senses tenfold1 we should perish--that is to say1 we feel even proportions as qualities in regard to our possibilities of existence4 #efd4 ,but could not all quantities be merely tokens of qualities8 ,another consciousness and scale of desires must correspond to greater power in fact1 another point of view2 growth in itself is the expression of a desire to become more2 the desire for a greater quantum springs from a certain quale1 in a purely quantitative world1 everything would be dead1 stiff1 and motionless4--,the reduction of all qualities to quantities is nonsense3 it is discovered that they can only stand together1 an analogy-- #efe4 ,qualities are our insurmountable barriers2 we cannot possibly help feeling mere differences of quantity as something fundamentally different from quantity--that is to say1 as qualities1 which we can no longer reduce to terms of quantity4 ,but everything in regard to which the word knowledge has any sense at all1 belongs to the realm of reckoning1 weighing1 and measuring1 to quantity whereas1 conversely1 all our valuations 7that is to say1 our sensations7 belong precisely to the realm of qualities1 i4e4 to those truths which belong to us alone and to our point of view1 and which absolutely cannot be known4 ,it is obvious that every one of us1 different creatures1 must feel different qualities1 and must therefore live in a different world from the rest4 ,qualities are an idiosyncrasy proper to human nature2 the demand that these our human interpretations and values1 should be general and perhaps real values1 belongs to the hereditary madnesses of human pride4 #eff4 ,the real world1 in whatever form it has been conceived hitherto--was always the world of appearance over again4 #efg4 ,the world of appearance1 i4e4 a world regarded in the light of values2 ordered1 selected according to values--that is to say1 in this case1 according to the standpoint of utility in regard to the preservation and the increase of power of a certain species of animals4 ,it is the point of view1 then1 which accounts for the character of appearance4 ,as if a world could remain over1 when the point of view is cancelled6 ,by such means relativity would also be cancelled6 ,every centre of energy has its point of view of the whole of the remainder of the world--that is to say1 its perfectly definite valuation1 its mode of action1 its mode of resistance4 ,the world of appearance is thus reduced to a specific kind of action on the world proceeding from a centre4 ,but there is no other kind of action3 and the world is only a word for the collective play of these actions4 ,reality consists precisely in this particular action and reaction of every isolated factor against the whole4 ,there no longer remains a shadow of a right to speak here of appearance4 444 ,the specific way of reacting is the only way of reacting2 we do not know how many kinds and what sort of kinds there are4 ,but there is no other1 no real1 no essential being1--for thus a world without action and reaction would be expressed4444 ,the antithesis3 world of appearance and real world1 is thus reduced to the antitheses world and nonentity4 #efh4 ,a criticism of the concept real and apparent world4--,of these two the first is a mere fiction1 formed out of a host of imaginary things4 ,appearance itself belongs to reality3 it is a form of its being2 i4e4 in a world where there is no such thing as being1 a certain calculable world of identical cases must first be created through appearance2 a tempo in which observation and comparison is possible1 etc4 ,appearance is an adjusted and simplified world1 in which our practical instincts have worked3 for us it is perfectly true3 for we live in it1 we can live in it3 this is the proof of its truth as far as we are concerned4444 ,the world1 apart from the fact that we have to live in it--the world1 which we have not adjusted to our being1 our logic1 and our psychological prejudices--does not exist as a world in-itself2 it is essentially a world of relations3 under certain circumstances it has a different aspect from every different point at which it is seen3 it presses against every point1 and every point resists it--and these collective relations are in every case incongruent4 ,the measure of power determines what being possesses the other measure of power3 under what form1 force1 or constraint1 it acts or resists4 ,our particular case is interesting enough3 we have created a conception in order to be able to live in a world1 in order to perceive just enough to enable us to endure life in that world4444 #efi4 ,the nature of our psychological vision is determined by the fact-- 7#a7 ,that communication is necessary1 and that for communication to be possible something must be stable1 simplified1 and capable of being stated precisely 7above all1 in the so-called identical case74 ,in order that it may be communicable1 it must be felt as something adjusted1 as recognisable4 ,the material of the senses1 arranged by the understanding1 reduced to coarse leading features1 made similar to other things1 and classified with its like4 ,thus3 the indefiniteness and the chaos of sense-impressions are1 as it were1 made logical4 7#b7 ,the phenomenal world is the adjusted world which we believe to be real1 ,its reality lies in the constant return of similar1 familiar1 and related things1 in their rationalised character1 and in the belief that we are here able to reckon and determine4 7#c7 ,the opposite of this phenomenal world is not the real world1 but the amorphous and unadjustable world consisting of the chaos of sensations--that is to say1 another kind of phenomenal2 world1 a world which to us is unknowable4 7#d7 ,the question how things-in-themselves are constituted1 quite apart from our sense-receptivity and from the activity of our understanding1 must be answered by the further question3 how were we able to know that things existed8 ,thingness is one of our own inventions4 ,the question is whether there are not a good many more ways of creating such a world of appearance--and whether this creating1 rationalising1 adjusting1 and falsifying be not the best-guaranteed reality itself3 in short1 whether that which fixes the meaning of things is not the only reality3 and whether the effect of environment upon us be not merely the result of such will-exercising subjects4444 ,the other creatures act upon us2 our adjusted world of appearance is an arrangement and an overpowering of its activities3 a sort of defensive measure4 ,the subject alone is demonstrable2 the hypothesis might be advanced that subjects are all that exist1--that object is only a form of action of subject upon subject 444 a modus of the subject4 7k7 ,the ,metaphysical ,need4 #egj4 ,if one resembles all the philosophers that have gone before1 one can have no eyes for what has existed and what will exist--one sees only what is4 ,but as there is no such thing as ,being2 all that the philosophers had to deal with was a host of fancies1 this was their world4 #ega4 ,to assert the existence as a whole of things concerning which we know nothing1 simply because there is an advantage in not being able to know anything of them1 was a piece of artlessness on ,kant's part1 and the result of the recoil-stroke of certain needs--especially in the realm of morals and metaphysics4 #egb4 ,an artist cannot endure reality2 he turns away or back from it3 his earnest opinion is that the worth of a thing consists in that nebulous residue of it which one derives from colour1 form1 sound1 and thought2 he believes that the more subtle1 attenuated1 and volatile1 a thing or a man becomes1 the more valuable he becomes3 the less real1 the greater the worth4 ,this is ,platonism3 but ,plato was guilty of yet further audacity in the matter of turning tables--he measured the degree of reality according to the degree of value1 and said3 ,the more there is of idea the more there is of ,being4 ,he twisted the concept reality round and said3 ,what ye regard as real is an error1 and the nearer we get to the 'idea' the nearer we are to 'truth4'--,is this understood8 ,it was the greatest of all rechristenings3 and because ,christianity adopted it1 we are blind to its astounding features4 ,at bottom1 ,plato1 like the artist he was1 placed appearance before ,being6 and therefore lies and fiction before truth6 unreality before actuality6--,he was1 however1 so convinced of the value of appearance1 that he granted it the attributes of ,being1 causality1 goodness1 and truth1 and1 in short1 all those things which are associated with value4 ,the concept value itself regarded as a cause3 first standpoint4 ,the ideal granted all attributes1 conferring honour3 second standpoint4 #egc4 ,the idea of the true world or of ,god as absolutely spiritual1 intellectual1 and good1 is an emergency measure to the extent to which the antagonistic instincts are all-powerful4444 ,moderation and existing humanity is reflected exactly in the humanisation of the gods4 ,the ,greeks of the strongest period1 who entertained no fear whatever of themselves1 but on the contrary were pleased with themselves1 brought down their gods to all their emotions4 ,the spiritualisation of the idea of ,god is thus very far from being a sign of progress3 one is heartily conscious of this when one reads ,goethe--in his works the vaporisation of ,god into virtue and spirit is felt as being upon a lower plane4 #egd4 ,the nonsense of all metaphysics shown to reside in the derivation of the conditioned out of the unconditioned4 ,it belongs to the nature of thinking that it adds the unconditioned to the conditioned1 that it invents it--just as it thought of and invented the ego to cover the multifariousness of its processes i it measures the world according to a host of self-devised measurements--according to its fundamental fictions the unconditioned1 end and means1 things1 substances1 and according to logical laws1 figures1 and forms4 ,there would be nothing which could be called knowledge1 if thought did not first so re-create the world into things which are in its own image4 ,it is only through thought that there is untruth4 ,the origin of thought1 like that of feelings1 cannot be traced3 but that is no proof of its primordiality or absoluteness6 ,it simply shows that we cannot get behind it1 because we have nothing else save thought and feeling4 #ege4 ,to know is to point to past experience3 in its nature it is a regressus in infinitum4 ,that which halts 7in the face of a so-called causa prima or the unconditioned1 etc47 is laziness1 weariness4 #egf4 ,concerning the psychology of metaphysics--the influence of fear4 ,that which has been most feared1 the cause of the greatest suffering 7lust of power1 voluptuousness1 etc471 has been treated with the greatest amount of hostility by men1 and eliminated from the real world4 ,thus the passions have been step by step struck out1 ,god posited as the opposite of evil--that is to say1 reality is conceived to be the negation of the passions and the emotions 7i4e4 nonentity74 ,irrationality1 impulsive action1 accidental action1 is1 moreover1 hated by them 7as the cause of incalculable suffering74 ,consequently they denied this element in the absolute1 and interpreted it as absolute rationality and conformity of means to ends4 ,change and perishability were also feared2 and by this fear an oppressed soul is revealed1 full of distrust and painful experiences 7the case with ,spinoza3 a man differently constituted would have regarded this change as a charm74 ,a nature overflowing and playing with energy1 would call precisely the passions1 irrationality and change1 good in a eudemonistic sense1 together with their consequences3 danger1 contrast1 ruin1 etc4 #egg4 ,against the value of that which always remains the same 7remember ,spinoza's artlessness and ,descartes' likewise71 the value of the shortest and of the most perishable1 the seductive flash of gold on the belly of the serpent vita---- #egh4 ,moral values in epistemology itself3-- ,the faith in reason--why not mistrust8 ,the real world is the good world--why8 ,appearance1 change1 contradiction1 struggle1 regarded as immoral3 the desire for a world which knows nothing of these things4 ,the transcendental world discovered1 so that a place may be kept for moral freedom 7as in ,kant74 ,dialectics as the road to virtue 7in ,plato and ,socrates3 probably because sophistry was held to be the road to immorality74 ,time and space are ideal3 consequently there is unity in the essence of things2 consequently no sin1 no evil1 no imperfection1 a justification of ,god4 ,epicurus denied the possibility of knowledge1 in order to keep the moral 7particularly the hedonistic7 values as the highest4 ,augustine does the same1 and later ,pascal 7corrupted reason71 in favour of ,christian values4 ,descartes' contempt for everything variable2 likewise ,spinoza's4 #egi4 ,concerning the psychology of metaphysics4--,this world is only apparent3 therefore there must be a real world2--this world is conditioned3 consequently there must be an unconditioned world2--this world is contradictory3 consequently there is a world free from contradiction2--this world is evolving3 consequently there is somewhere a static world3--a host of false conclusions 7blind faith in reason3 if ,a exists1 then its opposite ,b must also exist74 ,pain inspires these conclusions3 at bottom they are withes that such a world might exist2 the hatred of a world which leads to suffering is likewise revealed by the fact that another and better world is imagined3 the resentment of the metaphysician against reality is creative here4 ,the second series of questions3 wherefore suffer8 444 and from this a conclusion is derived concerning the relation of the real world to our apparent1 changing1 suffering1 and contradictory world3 7#a7 ,suffering as the consequence of error3 how is error possible8 7#b7 ,suffering as the consequence of guilt3 how is guilt possible8 7,a host of experiences drawn from the sphere of nature or society1 universalised and made absolute47 ,but if the conditioned world be causally determined by the unconditioned1 then the freedom to err1 to be sinful1 must also be derived from the same quarter3 and once more the question arises1 to what purpose8 444 ,the world of appearance1 of ,becoming1 of contradiction1 of suffering1 is therefore willed2 to what purpose8 ,the error of these conclusions2 two contradictory concepts are formed--because one of them corresponds to a reality1 the other must also correspond to a reality4 ,whence would one otherwise derive its contradictory concept8 ,reason is thus a source of revelation concerning the absolute4 ,but the origin of the above contradictions need not necessarily be a supernatural source of reason3 it is sufficient to oppose the real genesis of the concepts1 this springs from practical spheres1 from utilitarian spheres1 hence the strong faith it commands 7one is threatened with ruin if one's conclusions are not in conformity with this reason2 but this fact is no proof of what the latter asserts74 ,the preoccupation of metaphysicians with pain1 is quite artless4 ,eternal blessedness3 psychological nonsense4 ,brave and creative men never make pleasure and pain ultimate questions--they are incidental conditions3 both of them must be desired when one will attain to something4 ,it is a sign of fatigue and illness in these metaphysicians and religious men1 that they should press questions of pleasure and pain into the foreground4 ,even morality in their eyes derives its great importance only from the fact that it is regarded as an essential condition for abolishing pain4 ,the same holds good of the preoccupation with appearance and error the cause of pain4 ,a superstition that happiness and truth are related 7confusion3 happiness in certainty1 in faith74 #ehj4 ,to what extent are the various epistemological positions 7materialism1 sensualism1 idealism7 consequences of valuations8 ,the source of the highest feelings of pleasure 7feelings of value7 may also judge concerning the problem of reality6 ,the measure of positive knowledge is quite a matter of indifference and beside the point2 as witness the development of ,indici4 ,the ,buddhistic negation of reality in general 7appearance pain7 is perfectly consistent3 undemonstrability1 inaccessibility1 lack of categories1 not only for an absolute world1 but a recognition of the erroneous procedures by means of which the whole concept has been reached4 ,absolute reality1 ,being in itself1 a contradiction4 ,in a world of ,becoming1 reality is merely a simplification for the purpose of practical ends1 or a deception resulting from the coarseness of certain organs1 or a variation in the tempo of ,becoming4 ,the logical denial of the world and ,nihilism is a consequence of the fact that we must oppose nonentity with ,being1 and that ,becoming is denied4 7,something becomes47 #eha4 ,being and ,becoming4--,reason developed upon a sensualistic basis upon the prejudices of the senses--that is to say1 with the belief in the truth of the judgment of the senses4 ,being1 as the generalisation of the concept ,life 7breath71 to be animate1 to will1 to act upon1 become4 ,the opposite is3 to be inanimate1 not to become1 not to will4 ,thus3 ,being is not opposed to not-,being1 to appearance1 nor is it opposed to death 7for only that can be dead which can also live74 ,the soul1 the ego1 posited as primeval facts2 and introduced wherever there is ,becoming4 #ehb4 ,being--we have no other idea of it than that which we derive from living4--,how then can everything be dead8 #ehc4 ,a4 ,i see with astonishment that science resigns itself to-day to the fate of being reduced to the world of appearance3 we certainly have no organ of knowledge for the real world--be it what it may4 ,at this point we may well ask3 ,with what organ of knowledge is this contradiction established8444 ,the fact that a world which is accessible to our organs is also understood to be dependent upon these organs1 and the fact that we should understand a world as subjectively conditioned1 are no proofs of the actual possibility of an objective world4 ,who urges us to believe that subjectivity is real or essential8 ,the absolute is even an absurd concept3 an absolute mode of existence is nonsense1 the concept being1 thing1 is always relative to us4 ,the trouble is that1 owing to the old antithesis apparent and real1 the correlative valuations of little value and absolutely valuable have been spread abroad4 ,the world of appearance does not strike us as a valuable world2 appearance is on a lower plane than the highest value4 ,only a real world can be absolutely valuable4444 ,prejudice of prejudices6 ,it is perfectly possible in itself that the real nature of things would be so unfriendly1 so opposed to the first conditions of life1 that appearance is necessary in order to make life possible4444 ,this is certainly the case in a large number of situations--for instance1 marriage4 ,our empirical world would thus be conditioned1 even in its limits to knowledge1 by the instinct of self-preservation1 we regard that as good1 valuable1 and true1 which favours the preservation of the species4444 7a7 ,we have no categories which allow us to distinguish between a real and an apparent world4 7,at the most1 there could exist a world of appearance1 but not our world of appearance47 7b7 ,taking the real world for granted1 it might still be the less valuable to us2 for the quantum of illusion might be of the highest order1 owing to its value to us as a preservative measure4 7,unless appearance in itself were sufficient to condemn anything87 7c7 ,that there exists a correlation between the degrees of value and the degrees of reality 7so that the highest values also possessed the greatest degree of reality71 is a metaphysical postulate which starts out with the hypothesis that we know the order of rank among values2 and that this order is a moral one4 ,it is only on this hypothesis that truth is necessary as a definition of all that is of a superior value4 ,b4 ,it is of cardinal importance that the real world should be suppressed4 ,it is the most formidable inspirer of doubts1 and depredator of values1 concerning the world which we are3 it was our most dangerous attempt heretofore on the life of ,life4 ,war against all the hypotheses upon which a real world has been imagined4 ,the notion that moral values are the highest values1 belongs to this hypothesis4 ,the superiority of the moral valuation would be refuted1 if it could be shown to be the result of an immoral valuation--a specific case of real immorality3 it would thus reduce itself to an appearance1 and as an appearance it would cease from having any right to condemn appearance4 ,c4 ,then the ,will to ,truth would have to be examined psychologically3 it is not a moral power1 but a form of the ,will to ,power4 ,this would have to be proved by the fact that it avails itself of every immoral means there is2 above all1 of the metaphysicians4 ,at the present moment we are face to face with the necessity of testing the assumption that moral values are the highest values1 ,method in research is attained only when all moral prejudices have been overcome3 it represents a conquest over morality4444 #ehd4 ,the aberrations of philosophy are the outcome of the fact that1 instead of recognising in logic and the categories of reason merely a means to the adjustment of the world for utilitarian ends 7that is to say1 especially1 a useful falsification71 they were taken to be the criterion of truth--particularly of reality4 ,the criterion of truth was1 as a matter of fact1 merely the biological utility of a systematic falsification of this sort1 on principle3 and1 since a species of animals knows nothing more important than its own preservation1 it was indeed allowable here to speak of truth4 ,where the artlessness came in1 however1 was in taking this anthropocentric idiosyncrasy as the measure of things1 as the canon for recognising the real and the unreal3 in short1 in making a relative thing absolute4 ,and behold1 all at once1 the world fell into the two halves1 real and apparent3 and precisely that world which man's reason had arranged for him to live and to settle in1 was discredited4 ,instead of using the forms as mere instruments for making the world manageable and calculable1 the mad fancy of philosophers intervened1 and saw that in these categories the concept of that world is given which does not correspond to the concept of the world in which man lives4444 ,the means were misunderstood as measures of value1 and even used as a condemnation of their original purpose4444 ,the purpose was1 to deceive one's self in a useful way3 the means thereto was the invention of forms and signs1 with the help of which the confusing multifariousness of life could be reduced to a useful and wieldy scheme4 ,but woe6 a moral category was now brought into the game3 no creature would deceive itself1 no creature may deceive itself--consequently there is only a will to truth4 ,what is truth8 ,the principle of contradiction provided the scheme3 the real world to which the way is being sought cannot be in contradiction with itself1 cannot change1 cannot evolve1 has no beginning and no end4 ,that is the greatest error which has ever been committed1 the really fatal error of the world3 it was believed that in the forms of reason a criterion of reality had been found--whereas their only purpose was to master reality1 by misunderstanding it intelligently4444 ,and behold1 the world became false precisely owing to the qualities which constitute its reality1 namely1 change1 evolution1 multifariousness1 contrast1 contradiction1 war4 ,and thenceforward the whole fatality was there4 #a4 ,how does one get rid of the false and merely apparent world8 7it was the real and only one74 #b4 ,how does one become one's self as remote as possible from the world of appearance8 7the concept of the perfect being as a contrast to the real being2 or1 more correctly still1 as the contradiction of life444474 ,the whole direction of values was towards the slander of life2 people deliberately confounded ideal dogmatism with knowledge in general3 so that the opposing parties also began to reject science with horror4 ,thus the road to science was doubly barred3 first1 by the belief in the real world2 and secondly1 by the opponents of this belief4 ,natural science and psychology were 7#a7 condemned in their objects1 7#b7 deprived of their artlessness4444 ,everything is so absolutely bound and related to everything else in the real world1 that to condemn1 or to think away anything1 means to condemn and think away the whole4 ,the words this should not be1 this ought not to be1 are a farce4444 ,if one imagines the consequences1 one would ruin the very source of ,life by suppressing everything which is in any sense whatever dangerous or destructive4 ,physiology proves this much better6 ,we see how morality 7a7 poisons the whole concept of the world1 7b7 cuts off the way to science1 7c7 dissipates and undermines all real instincts 7by teaching that their root is immoral74 ,we thus perceive a terrible tool of decadence at work1 which succeeds in remaining immune1 thanks to the holy names and holy attitudes it assumes4 #ehe4 ,the awful recovery of our consciousness3 not of the individual1 but of the human species4 ,let us reflect2 let us think backwards2 let us follow the narrow and broad highway4 ,a4 ,man seeks the truth3 a world that does not contradict itself1 that does not deceive1 that does not change1 a real world--a world in which there is no suffering3 contradiction1 deception1 variability---the causes of suffering6 ,he does not doubt that there is such a thing as a world as it ought to be2 he would fain find a road to it4 7,indian criticism3 even the ego is apparent and not real47 ,whence does man derive the concept of reality8 --,why does he make variability1 deception1 contradiction1 the origin of suffering2 why not rather of his happiness8 444 ,the contempt and hatred of all that perishes1 changes1 and varies3 whence comes this valuation of stability8 ,obviously1 the will to truth is merely the longing for a stable world4 ,the senses deceive2 reason corrects the errors3 therefore1 it was concluded1 reason is the road to a static state2 the most spiritual ideas must be nearest to the real world4--,it is from the senses that the greatest number of misfortunes come they are cheats1 deluders1 and destroyers4 ,happiness can be promised only by ,being3 change and happiness exclude each other4 ,the loftiest desire is thus to be one with ,being4 ,that is the formula for the way to happiness4 ,in summa3 ,the world as it ought to be exists2 this world in which we live is an error--this our world should not exist4 ,the belief in ,being shows itself only as a result3 the real primum mobile is the disbelief in ,becoming1 the mistrust of ,becoming1 the scorn of all ,becoming4444 ,what kind of a man reflects in this way8 ,an unfruitful1 suffering kind1 a world-weary kind4 ,if we try and fancy what the opposite kind of man would be like1 we have a picture of a creature who would not require the belief in ,being2 he would rather despise it as dead1 tedious1 and indifferent4444 ,the belief that the world which ought to be1 is1 really exists1 is a belief proper to the unfruitful1 who do not wish to create a world as it should be4 ,they take it for granted1 they seek for means and ways of attaining to it4 ,the will to truth--is the impotence of the will to create4 ,to recognise that something ,antagonism in is thus or thus3 the degrees of ,to act so that something will energy in be thus or thus3 various natures4 ,the fiction of a world which corresponds to our desires2 psychological artifices and interpretations calculated to associate all that we honour and regard as pleasant1 with this real world4 ,the will to truth at this stage is essentially the art of interpretation3 to which also belongs that interpretation which still possesses strength4 ,the same species of men1 grown one degree poorer1 no longer possessed of the power to interpret and to create fictions1 produces the ,nihilists4 ,a ,nihilist is the man who says of the world as it is1 that it ought not to exist1 and of the world as it ought to be1 that it does not exist4 ,according to this1 existence 7action1 suffering1 willing1 and feeling7 has no sense3 the pathos of the in vain is the ,nihilist's pathos--and as pathos it is moreover an inconsistency on the part of the ,nihilist4 ,he who is not able to introduce his will into things1 the man without either will or energy1 at least invests them with some meaning1 i4e4 he believes that a will is already in them4 ,the degree of a man's will-power may be measured from the extent to which he can dispense with the meaning in things1 from the extent to which he is able to endure a world without meaning3 because he himself arranges a small portion of it4 ,the philosophical objective view of things may thus be a sign of poverty both of will and of energy4 ,for energy organises what is closest and next2 the scientists1 whose only desire is to ascertain what exists1 are such as cannot arrange things as they ought to be4 ,the artists1 an intermediary species1 they at least set up a symbol of what should exist1--they are productive inasmuch as they actually alter and transform2 not like the scientists1 who leave everything as it is4 ,the connection between philosophers and the pessimistic religions2 the same species of man 7they attribute the highest degree of reality to the things which are valued highest74 ,the connection between philosophers and moral men and their evaluations 7the moral interpretation of the world as the sense of the world3 after the collapse of the religious sense74 ,the overcoming of philosophers by the annihilation of the world of being3 intermediary period of ,nihilism2 before there is sufficient strength present to transvalue values1 and to make the world of becoming1 and of appearance1 the only world to be deified and called good4 ,b4 ,nihilism as a normal phenomenon may be a symptom of increasing strength or of increasing weakness3-- ,partly owing to the fact that the strength to create and to will has grown to such an extent1 that it no longer requires this collective interpretation and introduction of a sense 7present duties1 state1 etc472 ,partly owing to the fact that even the creative power necessary to invent sense1 declines1 and disappointment becomes the ruling condition4 ,the inability to believe in a sense becomes unbelief4 ,what is the meaning of science in regard to both possibilities8 7#a7 ,it is a sign of strength and self-control2 it shows an ability to dispense with healing1 consoling worlds of illusion4 7#b7 ,it is also able to undermine1 to dissect1 to disappoint1 and to weaken4 ,c4 ,the belief in truth1 the need of holding to something which is believed to be true3 psychological reduction apart from the valuations that have existed hitherto4 ,fear and laziness4 ,at the same time unbelief3 ,reduction4 ,in what way does it acquire a new value1 if a real world does not exist at all 7by this means the capacity of valuing1 which hitherto has been lavished upon the world of being1 becomes free once more74 #ehf4 ,the real and the apparent world4 ,a4 ,the erroneous concepts which proceed from this concept are of three kinds3-- 7a7 ,an unknown world3--we are adventurers1 we are inquisitive1--that which is known to us makes us weary 7the danger of the concept lies in the fact it suggests that this world is known to us444472 7b7 ,another world1 where things are different3--something in us draws comparisons1 and thereby our calm submission and our silence lose their value--perhaps all will be for the best1 we have not hoped in vain4444 ,the world where things are different--who knows8--where we ourselves will be different4444 7c7 ,a real world3--that is the most singular blow and attack which we have ever received2 so many things have become encrusted in the word true1 that we involuntarily give these to the real world2 the real world must also be a truthful world1 such a one as would not deceive us or make fools of us2 to believe in it in this way is to be almost forced to believe 7from convention1 as is the case among people worthy of confidence74 999999 ,the concept1 the unknown world1 suggests that this world is known to us 7is tedious72 ,the concept1 the other world1 suggests that this world might be different1 it suppresses necessity and fate 7it is useless to submit and to adapt one's self72 ,the concept1 the true world1 suggests that this world is untruthful1 deceitful1 dishonest1 not genuine1 and not essential1 and consequently not a world calculated to be useful to us 7it is unadvisable to become adapted to it2 better resist it74 999999 ,thus we escape from this world in three different ways3---- 7a7 ,with our curiosity--as though the interesting part was somewhere else2 7b7 ,with our submission--as though it was not necessary to submit1 as though this world was not an ultimate necessity2 7c7 ,with our sympathy and respect--as though this world did not deserve them1 as though it was mean and dishonest towards us4444 ,in summa3 we have become revolutionaries in three different ways2 we have made x our criticism of the known world4 ,b4 ,the first step to reason3 to understand to what extent we have been seduced1--for it might be precisely the reverse3 7a7 ,the unknown world could be so constituted as to give us a liking for this world--it may be a more stupid and meaner form of existence4 7b7 ,the other world1 very far from taking account of our desires which were never realised here1 might be part of the mass of things which this world makes possible for us2 to learn to know this world would be a means of satisfying us1 7c7 ,the true world3 but who actually says that the apparent world must be of less value than the true world8 ,do not our instincts contradict this judgment8 ,is not man eternally occupied in creating an imaginative world1 because he will have a better world than reality8 ,in the first place1 how do we know that our world is not the true world8 444 for it might be that the other world is the world of appearance 7as a matter of fact1 the ,greeks1 for instance1 actually imagined a region of shadows1 a life of appearance1 beside real existence74 ,and finally1 what right have we to establish degrees of reality1 as it were8 ,that is something different from an unknown world--that is already the will to know something of the unknown4 ,the other1 the unknown world--good6 but to speak of the true world is as good as knowing something about it1--that is the contrary of the assumption of an x-world4444 ,in short1 the world x might be in every way a more tedious1 a more inhuman1 and a less dignified world than this one4 ,it would be quite another matter if it were assumed that there were several x-worlds--that is to say1 every possible kind of world besides our own4 ,but this has never been assumed4444 ,c4 ,problem3 why has the image of the other world always been to the disadvantage of this one--that is to say1 always stood as a criticism of it2 what does this point to8-- ,a people that are proud of themselves1 and who are on the ascending path of ,life1 always2 picture another existence as lower and less valuable than theirs2 they regard the strange unknown world as their enemy1 as their opposite2 they feel no curiosity1 but rather repugnance in regard to what is strange to them4444 ,such a body of men would never admit that another people were the true people4444 ,the very fact that such a distinction is possible1--that this world should be called the world of appearance1 and that the other should be called the true world1--is symptomatic4 ,the places of origin of the idea1 of another world3 ,the philosopher who invents a rational world where reason and logical functions are adequate3--this is the root of the true world4 ,the religious man who invents a divine world2--this is the root of the denaturalised and the anti-natural world4 ,the moral man who invents a free world3--this is the root of the good1 the perfect1 the just1 and the holy world4 ,the common factor in the three places of origin3 psychological error1 physiological confusion4 ,with what attributes is the other world1 as it actually appears in history1 characterised8 ,with the stigmata of philosophical1 religious1 and moral prejudices4 ,the other world as it appears in the light of these facts1 is synonymous with not-,being1 with not-living1 with the will not to live4444 ,general aspect3 it was the instinct of the fatigue of living1 and not that of life1 which created the other world4 ,result3 philosophy1 religion1 and morality are symptoms of decadence4 7l7 ,the ,biological ,value of ,knowledge4 #ehg4 ,it might seem as though ,i had evaded the question concerning certainty4 ,the reverse is true3 but while raising the question of the criterion of certainty1 ,i wished to discover the weights and measures with which men had weighed heretofore--and to show that the question concerning certainty is already in itself a dependent question1 a question of the second rank4 #ehh4 ,the question of values is more fundamental than the question of certainty3 the latter only becomes serious once the question of values has been answered4 ,being and appearance1 regarded psychologically1 yield no ,being in itself1 no criterion for reality1 but only degrees of appearance1 measured according to the strength of the sympathy which we feel for appearance4 ,there is no struggle for existence between ideas and observations1 but only a struggle for supremacy--the vanquished idea is not annihilated1 but only driven to the background or subordinated4 ,there is no such thing as annihilation in intellectual spheres4 #ehi4 ,end and means ,cause and effect ,subject and object ,action and suffering ,thing-in-itself and appearance ,as interpretations 7not as established facts7--and in what respect were they perhaps necessary interpretations8 7as preservative measures7--all in the sense of a ,will to ,power4 #eij4 ,our values are interpreted into the heart of things4 ,is there1 then1 any sense in the absolute8 ,is not sense necessarily relative-sense and perspective8 ,all sense is ,will to ,power 7all relative senses may be identified with it74 #eia4 ,the desire for established facts--,epistemology3 how much pessimism there is in it6 #eib4 ,the antagonism between the true world1 as pessimism depicts it1 and a world in which it were possible to live--for this the rights of truth must be tested4 ,it is necessary to measure all these ideal forces according to the standard of life1 in order to understand the nature of that antagonism3 the struggle of sickly1 desperate life1 cleaving to a beyond1 against healthier1 more foolish1 more false1 richer1 and fresher life4 ,thus it is not truth struggling with ,life1 but one kind of ,life with another kind4--,but the former would fain be the higher kind6--,here we must prove that some order of rank is necessary1--that the first problem is the order of rank among kinds of ,life4 #eic4 ,the belief1 ,it is thus and thus1 must be altered into the will1 ,thus and thus shall it be4 7m7 ,science4 #eid4 ,science hitherto has been a means of disposing of the confusion of things by hypotheses which explain everything--that is to say1 it has been the result of the intellect's repugnance to chaos4 ,this same repugnance takes hold of me when ,i contemplate myself2 ,i should like to form some kind of representation of my inner world for myself by means of a scheme1 and thus overcome intellectual confusion4 ,morality was a simplification of this sort3 it taught man as recognised1 as known1--,now we have annihilated morality--we have once more grown completely obscure to ourselves6 ,i know that ,i know nothing about myself4 ,physics shows itself to be a boon for the mind3 science 7as the road to knowledge7 acquires a new charm after morality has been laid aside--and owing to the fact that we find consistency here alone1 we must order our lives in accordance with it so that it may help us to preserve it4 ,this results in a sort of practical meditation concerning the conditions of our existence as investigators4 #eie4 ,our first principles3 no ,god3 no purpose3 limited energy4 ,we will take good care to avoid thinking out and prescribing the necessary lines of thought for the lower orders4 #eif4 ,no moral education of humanity3 but the disciplinary school of scientific errors is necessary1 because truth disgusts and creates a dislike of life1 provided a man is not already irrevocably launched upon his way1 and bears the consequences of his honest standpoint with tragic pride4 #eig4 ,the first principle of scientific work3 faith in the union and continuance of scientific work1 so that the individual may undertake to work at any point1 however small1 and feel sure that his efforts will not be in vain4 ,there is a great paralysing force3 to work in vain1 to struggle in vain4 999999 ,the periods of hoarding1 when energy and power are stored1 to be utilised later by subsequent periods3 ,science as a half-way house1 at which the mediocre1 more multifarious1 and more complicated beings find their most natural gratification and means of expression3 all those who do well to avoid action4 #eih4 ,a4 philosopher recuperates his strength in a way quite his own1 and with other means3 he does it1 for instance1 with ,nihilism4 ,the belief that there is no such thing as truth1 the ,nihilistic belief1 is a tremendous relaxation for one who1 as a warrior of knowledge1 is unremittingly struggling with a host of hateful truths4 ,for truth is ugly4 #eii4 ,the purposelessness of all phenomena3 the belief in this is the result of the view that all interpretations hitherto have been false1 it is a generalisation on the part of discouragement and weakness--it is not a necessary belief4 ,the arrogance of man3 when he sees no purpose1 he denies that there can be one6 #fjj4 ,the unlimited ways of interpreting the world3 every interpretation is a symptom of growth or decline4 ,unity 7monism7 is a need of inertia2 ,plurality in interpretation is a sign of strength4 ,one should not desire to deprive the world of its disquieting and enigmatical nature4 #fja4 ,against the desire for reconciliation and peaceableness4 ,to this also belongs every attempt on the part of monism4 #fjb4 ,this relative world1 this world for the eye1 the touch1 and the ear1 is very false1 even when adjusted to a much more sensitive sensual apparatus4 ,but its comprehensibility1 its clearness1 its practicability1 its beauty1 will begin to near their end if we refine our senses1 just as beauty ceases to exist when the processes of its history are reflected upon3 the arrangement of the end is in itself an illusion4 ,let it suffice1 that the more coarsely and more superficially it is understood1 the more valuable1 the more definite1 the more beautiful and important the world then seems4 ,the more deeply one looks into it1 the further our valuation retreats from our view1-senselessness approaches6 ,we have created the world that has any value6 ,knowing this1 we also perceive that the veneration of truth is already the result of illusion--and that it is much more necessary to esteem the formative1 simplifying1 moulding1 and romancing power4 ,all is false--everything is allowed6 ,only as the result of a certain bluntness of vision and the desire for simplicity does the beautiful and the valuable make its appearance3 in itself it is purely fanciful4 #fjc4 ,we know that the destruction of an illusion does not necessarily produce a truth1 but only one more piece of ignorance2 it is the extension of our empty space1 an increase in our waste4 #fjd4 ,of what alone can knowledge consist8--,interpretation1 the introduction of a sense into things1 not explanation 7in the majority of cases a new interpretation of an old interpretation which has grown incomprehensible and little more than a mere sign74 ,there is no such thing as an established fact1 everything fluctuates1 everything1 is intangible1 yielding2 after all1 the most lasting of all things are our opinions4 #fje4 ,the ascertaining of truth and untruth1 the ascertaining of facts in general1 is fundamentally different from the creative placing1 forming1 moulding1 subduing1 and willing which lies at the root of philosophy4 ,to give a sense to things--this duty always remains over1 provided no sense already lies in them4 ,the same holds good of sounds1 and also of the fate of nations they are susceptible of the most varied interpretations and turns1 for different purposes4 ,a higher duty is to fix a goal and to mould facts according to it3 that is1 the interpretation of action1 and not merely a transvaluation of concepts4 #fjf4 ,man ultimately finds nothing more in things than he himself has laid in them--this process of finding again is science1 the actual process of laying a meaning in things1 is art1 religion1 love1 pride4 ,in both1 even if they are child's play1 one should show good courage and one should plough ahead2 on the one hand1 to find again1 on the other1--we are the other1--to lay a sense in things4 #fjg4 ,science3 its two sides3-- ,in regard to the individual2 ,in regard to the complex of culture 7levels of culture7 --antagonistic valuation in regard to this and that side4 #fjh4 ,the development of science tends ever more to transform the known into the unknown3 its aim1 however1 is to do the reverse1 and it starts out with the instinct of tracing the unknown to the known4 ,in short1 science is laying the road to sovereign ignorance1 to a feeling that knowledge does not exist at all1 that it was merely a form of haughtiness to dream of such a thing2 further1 that we have not preserved the smallest notion which would allow us to class knowledge even as a possibility that knowledge is a contradictory idea4 ,we transfer a primeval myth and piece of human vanity into the land of hard facts3 we can allow a thing-in-itself as a concept1 just as little as we can allow knowledge-in-itself4 ,the misleading influence of numbers and logic1 the misleading influence of laws4 ,wisdom is an attempt to overcome the perspective valuations 7i4e4 the will to power73 it is a principle which is both unfriendly to ,life1 and also decadent2 a symptom in the case of the ,indians1 etc42 weakness of the power of appropriation4 #fji4 ,it does not suffice for you to see in what ignorance man and beast now live2 you must also have and learn the desire for ignorance4 ,it is necessary that you should know that without this form of ignorance life itself would be impossible1 that it is merely a vital condition under which1 alone1 a living organism can preserve itself and prosper3 a great solid belt of ignorance must stand about you4 #faj4 ,science--the transformation of ,nature into concepts for the purpose of governing ,nature--that is part of the rubric means4 ,but the purpose and will of mankind must grow in the same way1 the intention in regard to the whole4 #faa4 ,thought is the strongest and most persistently exercised function in all stages of life--and also in every act of perception or apparent experience6 ,obviously it soon becomes the mightiest and most exacting of all functions1 and in time tyrannises over other powers4 ,ultimately it becomes passion in itself4 #fab4 ,the right to great passion must be reclaimed for the investigator1 after self-effacement and the cult of objectivity have created a false order of rank in this sphere4 ,error reached its zenith when ,schopenhauer taught3 in the release from passion and in will alone lay the road to truth1 to knowledge2 the intellect freed from will could not help seeing the true and actual essence of things4 ,the same error in art3 as if everything became beautiful the moment it was regarded without will4 #fac4 ,the contest for supremacy among the passions1 and the dominion of one of the passions over the intellect4 #fad4 ,to humanise the world means to feel ourselves ever more and more masters upon earth4 #fae4 ,knowledge1 among a higher class of beings1 will also take new forms which are not yet necessary4 #faf4 ,that the worth of the world lies in our interpretations 7that perhaps yet other interpretations are possible somewhere1 besides mankind's72 that the interpretations made hitherto were perspective valuations1 by means of which we were able to survive in life1 i4e4 in the ,will to ,power and in the growth of power2 that every elevation of man involves the overcoming of narrower interpretations2 that every higher degree of strength or power attained1 brings new views in its train1 and teaches a belief in new horizons--these doctrines lie scattered through all my works4 ,the world that concerns us at all is false--that is to say1 is not a fact2 but a romance1 a piece of human sculpture1 made from a meagre sum of observation2 it is in flux2 it is something that evolves1 a great revolving lie continually moving onwards and never getting any nearer to truth--for there is no such thing as truth4 #fag4 ,recapitulation3-- ,to stamp ,becoming with the character of ,being--this is the highest ,will to ,power4 ,the twofold falsification1 by the senses on the one hand1 by the intellect on the other1 with the view of maintaining a world of being1 of rest1 of equivalent cases1 etc4 ,that everything recurs1 is the very nearest approach of a world of ,becoming to a world of ,being1 the height of contemplation4 ,it is out of the values which have been attributed to ,being1 that the condemnation of1 and dissatisfaction with1 ,becoming1 have sprung3 once such a world of ,being had been invented4 ,the metamorphoses of ,being 7body1 ,god1 ideas1 natural laws1 formul1 etc474 ,being as appearance the twisting round of values3 appearance was that which conferred the values4 ,knowledge in itself in a world of ,becoming is impossible2 how can knowledge be possible at all1 then8 ,only as a mistaking of one's self1 as will to power1 as will to deception4 ,becoming is inventing1 willing1 self-denying1 self-overcoming2 no subject but an action1 it places things1 it is creative1 no causes and effects4 ,art is the will to overcome ,becoming1 it is a process of eternalising1 but short-sighted1 always according to the perspective1 repeating1 as it were in a small way1 the tendency of the whole4 ,that which all life shows1 is to be regarded as a reduced formula for the collective tendency3 hence the new definition of the concept ,life as will to power4 ,instead of cause and effect1 the struggle of evolving factors with one another1 frequently with the result that the opponent is absorbed2 no constant number for ,becoming4 ,the uselessness of old ideals for the interpretation of all that takes place1 once their bestial origin and utility have been recognised1 they are1 moreover1 all hostile to life4 ,the uselessness of the mechanical theory--it gives the impression that there can be no purpose4 ,all the idealism of mankind1 hitherto1 is on the point of turning into ,nihilism--may be shown to be a belief in absolute worthlessness1 i4e4 purposelessness4 ,the annihilation of ideals1 the new desert waste the new arts which will help us to endure it--amphibia that we are6 ,first principles1 bravery1 patience1 no stepping-back1 not too much ardour to get to the fore4 7,n4,b4--,zarathustra constantly maintaining an attitude of parody towards all former values1 as the result of his overflowing energy47 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,nature4 #a4 ,the ,mechanical ,interpretation of the ,world4 #fah4 ,of all the interpretations of the world attempted heretofore1 the mechanical one seems to-day to stand most prominently in the front4 ,apparently it has a clean conscience on its side2 for no science believes inwardly in progress and success unless it be with the help of mechanical procedures4 ,every one knows these procedures3 reason and purpose are allowed to remain out of consideration as far as possible2 it is shown that1 provided a sufficient amount of time be allowed to elapse1 everything can evolve out of everything else1 and no one attempts to suppress his malicious satisfaction1 when the apparent design in the fate of a plant or of the yolk of an egg1 may be traced to stress and thrust in short1 people are heartily glad to pay respect to this principle of profoundest stupidity1 if ,i may be allowed to pass a playful remark concerning these serious matters4 ,meanwhile1 among the most select intellects to be found in this movement1 some presentiment of evil1 some anxiety is noticeable1 as if the theory had a rent in it1 which sooner or later might be its last3 ,i mean the sort of rent which denotes the end of all balloons inflated with such theories4 ,stress and thrust themselves cannot be explained1 one cannot get rid of the actio in distans4 ,the belief even in the ability to explain is now lost1 and people peevishly admit that one can only describe1 not explain that the dynamic interpretation of the world1 with its denial of empty space and its little agglomerations of atoms1 will soon get the better of physicists3 although in this way ,dynamis is certainly granted an inner quality4 #fai4 ,the triumphant concept energy with which our physicists created ,god and the world1 needs yet to be completed3 it must be given an inner will which ,i characterise as the ,will to ,power--that is to say1 as an insatiable desire to manifest power2 or the application and exercise of power as a creative instinct1 etc4 ,physicists cannot get rid of the actio in distans in their principles2 any more than they can a repelling force 7or an attracting one74 ,there is no help for it1 all movements1 all appearances1 all laws must be understood as symptoms of an inner phenomenon1 and the analogy of man must be used for this purpose4 ,it is possible to trace all the instincts of an animal to the will to power2 as also all the functions of organic life to this one source4 #fbj4 ,has anybody ever been able to testify to a force6 ,no1 but to effects1 translated into a completely strange language4 ,regularity in sequence has so spoilt us1 that we no longer wonder at the wonderful process4 #fba4 ,a force of which we cannot form any idea1 is an empty word1 and ought to have no civic rights in the city of science3 and the same applies to the purely mechanical powers of attracting and repelling by means of which we can form an image of the world--no more6 #fbb4 ,squeezes and kicks are something incalculably recent1 evolved and not primeval4 ,they presuppose something which holds together and can press and strike6 ,but how could it hold together8 #fbc4 ,there is nothing unalterable in chemistry3 this is only appearance1 a mere school prejudice4 ,we it was who introduced the unalterable1 taking it from metaphysics as usual1 ,mr4 ,chemist4 ,it is a mere superficial judgment to declare that the diamond1 graphite1 and carbon are identical4 ,why8 ,simply because no loss of substance can be traced in the scales6 ,well then1 at least they have something in common2 but the work of the molecules in the process of changing from one form to the other1 an action we can neither see nor weigh1 is just exactly what makes one material something different--with specifically different qualities4 #fbd4 ,against the physical atom4--,in order to understand the world1 we must be able to reckon it up2 in order to be able to reckon it up1 we must be aware of constant causes2 but since we find no such constant causes in reality1 we invent them for ourselves and call them atoms4 ,this is the origin of the atomic theory4 ,the possibility of calculating the world1 the possibility of expressing all phenomena by means of formul--is that really understanding8 ,what would be understood of a piece of music1 if all that were calculable in it and capable of being expressed in formulas1 were reckoned up8--,thus constant causes1 things1 substances1 something unconditioned1 were therefore invented2--what has been attained thereby8 #fbe4 ,the mechanical concept of movement is already a translation of the original process into the language of symbols of the eye and the touch4 ,the concept atom1 the distinction between the seat of a motive force and the force itself1 is a language of symbols derived from our logical and physical world4 ,it does not lie within our power to alter our means of expression3 it is possible to understand to what extend they are but symptomatic4 ,to demand an adequate means of expression is nonsense3 it lies at the heart of a language1 of a medium of communication1 to express relation only4444 ,the concept truth is opposed to good sense4 ,the whole province of truth--falseness only applies to the relations between beings1 not to an absolute4 ,there is no such thing as a being in itself 7relations in the first place constitute being71 any more than there can be knowledge in itself4 #fbf4 ,the feeling of force cannot proceed from movement3 feeling in general cannot proceed from movement4 ,even in support of this1 an apparent experience is the only evidence3 in a substance 7brain7 feeling is generated through transmitted motion 7stimuli74 ,but generated8 ,would this show that the feeling did not yet exist there at all8 so that its appearance would have to be regarded as the creative act of the intermediary--motion8 ,the feelingless condition of this substance is only an hypothesis6 not an experience6 ,feeling1 therefore is the quality of the substance3 there actually are substances that feel4 ,do we learn from certain substances that they have no feeling8 ,no1 we merely cannot tell that they have any4 ,it is impossible to seek the origin of feeling in non-sensitive substance4--,oh what hastiness6 #fbg4 ,to attract and to repel1 in a purely mechanical sense1 is pure fiction3 a word4 ,we cannot imagine an attraction without a purpose4-- ,either the will to possess one's self of a thing1 or the will to defend one's self from a thing or to repel it--that we understand2 that would be an interpretation which we could use4 ,in short1 the psychological necessity of believing in causality lies in the impossibility of imagining a process without a purpose3 but of course this says nothing concerning truth or untruth 7the justification of such a belief76 ,the belief in caus collapses with the belief in 7against ,spinoza and his causationism74 #fbh4 ,it is an illusion to suppose that something is known1 when all we have is a mathematical formula of what has happened2 it is only characterised1 described2 no more6 #fbi4 ,if ,i bring a regularly recurring phenomenon into a formula1 ,i have facilitated and shortened my task of characterising the whole phenomenon1 etc4 ,but ,i have not thereby ascertained a law1 ,i have only replied to the question3 ,how is it that something recurs here8 ,it is a supposition that the formula corresponds to a complex of really unknown forces and the discharge of forces2 it is pure mythology to suppose that forces here obey a law1 so that1 as the result of their obedience1 we have the same phenomenon every time4 #fcj4 ,i take good care not to speak of chemical laws3 to do so savours of morality4 ,it is much more a question of establishing certain relations of power3 the stronger becomes master of the weaker1 in so far as the latter cannot maintain its degree of independence1--here there is no pity1 no quarter1 and1 still less1 any observance of law4 #fca4 ,the unalterable sequence of certain phenomena does not prove any law1 but a relation of power between two or more forces4 ,to say1 ,but it is precisely this relation that remains the same6 is no better than saying1 ,one and the same force cannot be another force4--,it is not a matter of sequence1 but a matter of interdependence1 a process in which the procession of moments do not determine each other after the manner of cause and effect4444 ,the separation of the action from the agent2 of the phenomenon from the worker of that phenomenon3 of the process from one that is not process1 but lasting1 substance1 thing1 body1 soul1 etc42 the attempt to understand a life as a sort of shifting of things and a changing of places2 of a sort of being or stable entity3 this ancient mythology established the belief in cause and effect1 once it had found a lasting form in the functions of speech and grammar4 #fcb4 ,the regularity of a sequence is only a metaphorical expression1 not a fact1 just as if a rule were followed here6 ,and the same holds good of conformity to law4 ,we find a formula in order to express an ever-recurring kind of succession of phenomena3 but that does not show that we have discovered a law2 much less a force which is the cause of a recurrence of effects4 ,the fact that something always happens thus or thus1 is interpreted here as if a creature always acted thus or thus as the result of obedience to a law or to a lawgiver3 whereas apart from the law it would be free to act differently4 ,but precisely that inability to act otherwise might originate in the creature itself1 it might be that it did not act thus or thus in response to a law1 but simply because it was so constituted4 ,it would mean simply3 that something cannot also be something else2 that it cannot be first this1 and then something quite different2 that it is neither free nor the reverse1 but merely thus or thus4 ,the fault lies in thinking a subject into things4 #fcc4 ,to speak of two consecutive states1 the first as cause1 and the second as effect1 is false4 ,the first state cannot bring about anything1 the second has nothing effected in it4 ,it is a question of a struggle between two elements unequal in power3 a new adjustment is arrived at1 according to the measure of power each possesses4 ,the second state is something fundamentally different from the first 7it is not its effect73 the essential thing ,is1 that the factors which engage in the struggle leave it with different quanta of power4 #fcd4 ,a4 criticism of ,materialism4--,let us dismiss the two popular concepts1 ,necessity and ,law1 from this idea3 the first introduces a false constraint1 the second a false liberty into the world4 ,things do not act regularly1 they follow no rule3 there are no things 7that is our fiction72 neither do they act in accordance with any necessity4 ,there is no obedience here3 for1 the fact that something is as it is1 strong or weak1 is not the result of obedience or of a rule or of a constraint4444 ,the degree of resistance and the degree of superior power--this is the question around which all phenomena turn3 if we1 for our own purposes and calculations1 know how to express this in formulas and laws1 all the better for us6 ,but that does not mean that we have introduced any morality into the world1 just because we have fancied it as obedient4 ,there are no laws3 every power draws its last consequence at every moment4 ,things are calculable precisely owing to the fact that there is no possibility of their being otherwise than they are4 ,a quantum of power is characterised by the effect it produces and the influence it resists4 ,the adiaphoric state which would be thinkable in itself1 is entirely lacking4 ,it is essentially a will to violence and a will to defend one's self against violence4 ,it is not self-preservation3 every atom exercises its influence over the whole of existence--it is thought out of existence if one thinks this radiation of will-power away4 ,that is why ,i call it a quantum of ,will to ,power2 with this formula one can express the character which cannot be abstracted in thought from mechanical order1 without suppressing the latter itself in thought4 ,the translation of the world of effect into a visible world--a world for the eye--is the concept movement4 ,here it is always understood that something has been moved1--whether it be the fiction of an atomic globule or even of the abstraction of the latter1 the dynamic atom1 something is always imagined that has an effect--that is to say1 we have not yet rid ourselves of the habit into which our senses and speech inveigled us4 ,subject and object1 an agent to the action1 the action and that which does it separated3 we must not forget that all this signifies no more than semeiotics and--nothing real4 ,mechanics as a teaching of movement is already a translation of phenomena into man's language of the senses4 #fce4 ,we are in need of unities in order to be able to reckon3 but this is no reason for supposing that unities actually exist4 ,we borrowed the concept unity from our concept ego1--our very oldest article of faith4 ,if we did not believe ourselves to be unities we should never have formed the concept thing4 ,now--that is to say1 somewhat late in the day1 we are overwhelmingly convinced that our conception of the concept ego is no security whatever for a real entity4 ,in order to maintain the mechanical interpretation of the world theoretically1 we must always make the reserve that it is with fictions that we do so3 the concept of movement 7derived from the language of our senses7 and the concept of the atom 7 entity1 derived from our psychical experience7 are based upon a sense-prejudice and a psychological prejudice4 ,mechanics formulates consecutive phenomena1 and it does so semeiologically1 in the terms of the senses and of the mind 7that all influence is movement2 that where there is movement something is at work moving73 it does not touch the question of the causal force4 ,the mechanical world is imagined as the eye and the sense of touch alone could imagine a world 7as moved71--in such a way as to be calculable1--as to simulate causal entities things 7atoms7 whose effect is constant 7the transfer of the false concept of subject to the concept atom74 ,the mixing together of the concept of numbers1 of the concept of thing 7the idea of subject71 of the concept of activity 7the separation of that which is the cause1 and the effect71 of the concept of movement3 all these things are phenomenal2 our eye and our psychology are still in it all4 ,if we eliminate these adjuncts1 nothing remains over but dynamic quanta1 in a relation of tension to all other dynamic quanta3 the essence of which resides in their relation to all other quanta1 in their influence upon the latter4 ,the will to power1 not ,being1 not ,becoming1 but a pathos--is the elementary fact1 from these first results a ,becoming1 an influencing4444 #fcf4 ,the physicists believe in a true world after their own kind2 a fixed systematising of atoms to perform necessary movements1 and holding good equally of all creatures1 so that1 according to them1 the world of appearance reduces itself to the side of general and generally-needed ,being1 which is accessible to every one according to his kind 7accessible and also adjusted1--made subjective74 ,but here they are in error4 ,the atom which they postulate is arrived at by the logic of that perspective of consciousness2 it is in itself therefore a subjective fiction4 ,this picture of the world which they project is in no way essentially different from the subjective picture3 the only difference is1 that it is composed simply with more extended senses1 but certainly with our senses4444 ,and in the end1 without knowing it1 they left something out of the constellation3 precisely the necessary perspective factor1 by means of which every centre of power--and not man alone--constructs the rest of the world from its point of view--that is to say1 measures it1 feels it1 and moulds it according to its degree of strength4444 ,they forgot to reckon with this perspective-fixing power1 in true being1--or1 in school-terms1 subject-being4 ,they suppose that this was evolved and added2--but even the chemical investigator needs it3 it is indeed specific ,being1 which determines action and reaction according to circumstances4 ,perspectivity is only a complex form1 of specificness4 ,my idea is that every specific body strives to become master of all space1 and to extend its power 7its will to power71 and to thrust back everything that resists it4 ,but inasmuch as it is continually meeting the same endeavours on the part of other bodies1 it concludes by coming to terms with those 7by combining with those7 which are sufficiently related to it--and thus they conspire together for power4 ,and the process continues4 #fcg4 ,even in the inorganic world all that concerns an atom of energy is its immediate neighbourhood3 distant forces balance each other4 ,here is the root of perspectivity1 and it explains why a living organism is egoistic to the core4 #fch4 ,granting that the world disposed of a quantum of force1 it is obvious that any transposition of force to any place would affect the whole system--thus1 besides the causality of sequence1 there would also be a dependence1 contiguity1 and coincidence4 #fci4 ,the only possible way of upholding the sense of the concept ,god would be3 to make ,him not the motive force1 but the condition of maximum power1 an epoch2 a point in the further development of the ,will to ,power2 by means of which subsequent evolution just as much as former evolution--up to ,him--could be explained4 ,viewed mechanically1 the energy of collective ,becoming remains constant2 regarded from the economical standpoint1 it ascends to its zenith and then recedes therefrom in order to remain eternally rotatory4 ,this ,will to ,power expresses itself in the interpretation in the manner in which the strength is used4--,the conversion of energy into life2 life in its highest power thenceforward appears as the goal4 ,the same amount of energy1 at different stages of development1 means different things4 ,that which determines growth in ,life is the economy which becomes ever more sparing and methodical1 which achieves ever more and more with a steadily decreasing amount of energy4444 ,the ideal is the principle of the least possible expense4444 ,the only thing that is proved is that the world is not striving towards a state of stability4 ,consequently its zenith must not be conceived as a state of absolute equilibrium4444 ,the dire necessity of the same things happening in the course of the world1 as in all other things1 is not an eternal determinism reigning over all phenomena1 but merely the expression of the fact that the impossible is not possible2 that a given force cannot be different from that given force2 that a given quantity of resisting force does not manifest itself otherwise than in conformity with its degree of strength2--to speak of events as being necessary is tautological4 #b4 ,the ,will to ,power as ,life4 7a7 ,the ,organic ,process4 #fdj4 ,man imagines that he was present at the generation of the organic world3 what was there to be observed1 with the eyes and the touch1 in regard to these processes8 ,how much of it can be put into round numbers8 ,what rules are noticeable in the movements8 ,thus1 man would fain arrange all phenomena as if they were for the eye and for the touch1 as if they were forms of motion3 he will discover formules wherewith to simplify the unwieldy mass of these experiences4 ,the reduction of all phenomena to the level of men with senses and with mathematics4 ,it is a matter of making an inventory of human experiences3 granting that man1 or rather the human eye and the ability to form concepts1 have been the eternal witnesses of all things4 #fda4 ,a plurality of forces bound by a common nutritive process we call ,life4 ,to this nutritive process all so-called feeling1 thinking1 and imagining belong as means--that is to say1 7#a7 in the form of opposing other forces2 7#b7 in the form of an adjustment of other forces according to mould and rhythm2 7#c7 the form of a valuation relative to assimilation and excretion4 #fdb4 ,the bond between the inorganic and the organic world must lie in the repelling power exercised by every atom of energy4 ,life might be defined as a lasting form of force-establishing processes1 in which the various contending forces1 on their part1 grow unequally4 ,to what extent does counter-strife exist even in obedience8 ,individual power is by no means surrendered through it4 ,in the same way1 there exists in the act of commanding1 an acknowledgment of the fact that the absolute power of the adversary has not been overcome1 absorbed1 or dissipated4 ,obedience1 and command1 are forms of the game of war4 #fdc4 ,the ,will to ,power interprets 7an organ in the process of formation has to be interpreted73 it defines1 it determines gradations1 differences of power4 ,mere differences of power could not be aware of each other as such3 something must be there which will grow1 and which interprets all other things that would do the same1 according to the value of the latter4 ,in sooth1 all interpretation is but a means in itself to become master of something4 7,continual interpretation is the first principle of the organic process47 #fdd4 ,greater complexity1 sharp differentiation1 the contiguity of the developed organs and functions1 with the disappearance of intermediate members--if that is perfection1 then there is a ,will to ,power apparent in the organic process by means of whose dominating1 shaping1 and commanding forces it is continually increasing the sphere of its power1 and persistently simplifying things within that sphere1 it grows imperatively4 ,spirit is only a means and an instrument in the service of higher life1 in the service of the elevation of life4 #fde4 ,heredity1 as something quite incomprehensible1 cannot be used as an explanation1 but only as a designation for the identification of a problem4 ,and the same holds good of adaptability4 ,as a matter of fact1 the account of morphology1 even supposing it were perfect1 explains nothing1 it merely describes an enormous fact4 ,how a given organ gets to be used for any particular purpose is not explained4 ,there is just as little explained in regard to these things by the assumption of caus finales as by the assumption of caus efficientes4 ,the concept causa is only a means of expression1 no more2 a means of designating a thing4 #fdf4 ,they are analogies2 for instance1 our memory may suggest another kind of memory which makes itself felt in heredity1 development1 and forms4 ,our inventive and experimentative powers suggest another kind of inventiveness in the application of instruments to new ends1 etc4 ,that which we call our consciousness is quite guiltless of any of the essential processes of our preservation and growth2 and no human brain could be so subtle as to construct anything more than a machine--to which every organic process is infinitely superior4 #fdg4 ,against ,darwinism4--,the use of an organ does not explain its origin1 on the contrary6 ,during the greater part of the time occupied in the formation of a certain quality1 this quality does not help to preserve the individual2 it is of no use to him1 and particularly not in his struggle with external circumstances and foes4 ,what is ultimately useful8 ,it is necessary to ask1 ,useful for what8 ,for instance1 that which promotes the lasting powers of the individual might be unfavourable to his strength or his beauty2 that which preserves him might at the same time fix him and keep him stable throughout development4 ,on the other hand1 a deficiency1 a state of degeneration1 may be of the greatest possible use1 inasmuch as it acts as a stimulus to other organs4 ,in the same way1 a state of need may be a condition of existence1 inasmuch as it reduces an individual to that modicum of means which1 though it keeps him together1 does not allow him to squander his strength4--,the individual himself is the struggle of parts 7for nourishment1 space1 etc473 his development involves the triumph1 the predominance1 of isolated parts2 the wasting away1 or the development into organs1 of other parts4 ,the influence of environment is nonsensically overrated in ,darwin1 the essential factor in the process of life is precisely the tremendous inner power to shape and to create forms1 which merely uses1 exploits environment4 ,the new forms built up by this inner power are not produced with a view to any end2 but1 in the struggle between the parts1 a new form does not exist long without becoming related to some kind of semi-utility1 and1 according to its use1 develops itself ever more and more perfectly4 #fdh4 ,utility in respect of the acceleration of the speed of evolution1 is a different kind of utility from that which is understood to mean the greatest possible stability and staying power of the evolved creature4 #fdi4 ,useful in the sense of ,darwinian biology means3 that which favours a thing in its struggle with others4 ,but in my opinion the feeling of being surcharged1 the feeling accompanying an increase in strength1 quite apart from the utility of the struggle1 is the actual progress3 from these feelings the will to war is first derived4 #fej4 ,physiologists should bethink themselves before putting down the instinct of self-preservation as the cardinal instinct of an organic being4 ,a living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength3 self-preservation is only one of the results thereof4--,let us beware of superfluous teleological principles6--one of which is the whole concept of self-preservation4#d ,footnote #d3 ,see ,beyond ,good and ,evil1 in this edition1 ,aph4 #ac4 #fea4 ,the most-fundamental--and most primeval activity of a protoplasm cannot be ascribed to a will to self-preservation1 for it absorbs an amount of material which is absurdly out of proportion with the needs of its preservation3 and what is more1 it does not preserve itself in the process1 but actually falls to pieces4444 ,the instinct which rules here1 must account for this total absence in the organism of a desire to preserve itself3 hunger is already an interpretation based upon the observation of a more or less complex organism 7hunger is a specialised and later form of the instinct2 it is an expression of the system of divided labour1 in the service of a higher instinct which rules the whole74 #feb4 ,it is just as impossible to regard hunger as the primum mobile1 as it is to take self-preservation to be so4 ,hunger1 considered as the result of insufficient nourishment1 means hunger as the result of a will to power which can no longer dominate ,it is not a question of replacing a loss1 it is only later on1 as the result of the division of labour1 when the ,will to ,power has discovered other and quite different ways of gratifying itself1 that the appropriating lust of the organism is reduced to hunger--to the need of replacing what has been lost4 #fec4 ,we can but laugh at the false ,altruism of biologists3 propagation among the amb appears as a process of jetsam1 as an advantage to them4 ,it is an excretion of useless matter4 #fed4 ,the division of a protoplasm into two takes place when its power is no longer sufficient to subjugate the matter it has appropriated3 procreation is the result of impotence4 ,in the cases in which the males seek the females and become one with them1 procreation is the result of hunger4 #fee4 ,the weaker vessel is driven to the stronger from a need of nourishment2 it desires to get under it1 if possible to become one with it4 ,the stronger1 on the contrary1 defends itself from others2 it refuses to perish in this way2 it prefers rather to split itself into two or more parts in the process of growing4 ,one may conclude that the greater the urgency seems to become one with something else1 the more weakness in some form is present4 ,the greater the tendency to variety1 difference1 inner decay1 the more strength is actually to hand4 ,the instinct to cleave to something1 and the instinct to repel something1 are in the inorganic as in the organic world1 the uniting bond4 ,the whole distinction is a piece of hasty judgment4 ,the will to power in every combination of forces1 defending itself against the stronger and coming down unmercifully upon the weaker1 is more correct4 ,n4 ,b4 ,all processes may be regarded as beings4 #fef4 ,the will to power can manifest itself only against obstacles2 it therefore goes in search of what resists it--this is the primitive tendency of the protoplasm when it extends its pseudopodia and feels about it4 ,the act of appropriation and assimilation is1 above all1 the result of a desire to overpower1 a process of forming1 of additional building and rebuilding1 until at last the subjected creature has become completely a part of the superior creature's sphere of power1 and has increased the latter4--,if this process of incorporation does not succeed1 then the whole organism falls to pieces2 and the separation occurs as the result of the will to power3 in order to prevent the escape of that which has been subjected1 the will to power falls into two wills 7under some circumstances without even abandoning completely its relation to the two74 ,hunger is only a more narrow adaptation1 once the fundamental instinct of power has won power of a more abstract kind4 #feg4 ,what is passive8 ,to be hindered in the outward movement of grasping3 it is thus an act of resistance and reaction4 ,what is active8 ,to stretch out for power4 ,nutrition444 ,is only a derived phenomenon2 the primitive form of it was the will to stuff everything inside one's own skin4 ,procreation444 ,only derived2 originally1 in those cases ,in which one will was unable to organise the collective mass it had appropriated1 an opposing will came into power1 which undertook to effect the separation and establish a new centre of organisation1 after a struggle with the original will4 ,pleasure444 ,is a feeling of power 7presupposing the existence of pain74 #feh4 7#a7 ,the organic functions shown to be but forms of the fundamental will1 the will to power1--and buds thereof4 7#b7 ,the will to power specialises itself as will to nutrition1 to property1 to tools1 to servants 7obedience71 and to rulers3 the body as an example4--,the stronger will directs the weaker4 ,there is no other form of causality than that of will to will4 ,it is not to be explained mechanically4 7#c7 ,thinking1 feeling1 willing1 in all living organisms4 ,what is a desire if it be not3 a provocation of the feeling of power by an obstacle 7or1 better still1 by rhythmical obstacles and resisting forces7--so that it surges through it8 ,thus in all pleasure pain is understood4--,if the pleasure is to be very great1 the pains preceding it must have been very long1 and the whole bow of life must have been strained to the utmost4 7#d7 ,intellectual functions4 ,the will to shaping1 forming1 and making like1 etc4 7b7 ,man4 #fei4 ,with the body as clue4--,granting that the soul was only an attractive and mysterious thought1 from which philosophers rightly1 but reluctantly1 separated themselves--that which they have since learnt to put in its place is perhaps even more attractive and even more mysterious4 ,the human body1 in which the whole of the most distant and most recent past of all organic life once more becomes living and corporal1 seems to flow through1 this past and right over it like a huge and inaudible torrent2 the body is a more wonderful thought than the old soul4 ,in all ages the body1 as our actual property1 as our most certain being1 in short1 as our ego1 has been more earnestly believed in than the spirit 7or the soul1 or the subject1 as the school jargon now calls it74 ,it has never occurred to any one to regard his stomach as a strange or a divine stomach2 but that there is a tendency and a predilection in man to regard all his thoughts as inspired1 all his values as imparted to him by a ,god1 all his instincts as dawning activities--this is proved by the evidence of every age in man's history4 ,even now1 especially among artists1 there may very often be noticed a sort of wonder1 and a deferential hesitation to decide1 when the question occurs to them1 by what means they achieved their happiest work1 and from which world the creative thought came down to them3 when they question in this way1 they are possessed by a feeling of guilelessness and childish shyness4 ,they dare not say3 ,that came from me2 it was my hand which threw that die4 ,conversely1 even those philosophers and theologians1 who in their logic and piety found the most imperative reasons for regarding their body as a deception 7and even as a deception overcome and disposed of71 could not help recognising the foolish fact that the body still remained3 and the most unexpected proofs of this are to be found partly in ,pauline and partly in ,vedantic philosophy4 ,but what does strength of faith ultimately mean8 ,nothing6--,a strong faith might also be a foolish faith6--,there is food for reflection4 ,and supposing the faith in the body were ultimately but the result of a conclusion2 supposing it were a false conclusion1 as idealists declare it is1 would it not then involve some doubt concerning the trustworthiness of the spirit itself which thus causes us to draw wrong conclusions8 ,supposing the plurality of things1 and space1 and time1 and motion 7and whatever the other first principles of a belief in the body may be7 were errors--what suspicions would not then be roused against the spirit which led us to form such first principles8 ,let it suffice that the belief in the body is1 at any rate for the present1 a much stronger belief than the belief in the spirit1 and he who would fain undermine it assails the authority of the spirit most thoroughly in so doing6 #ffj4 ,the ,body as an ,empire4 ,the aristocracy in the body1 the majority of the rulers 7the fight between the cells and the tissues74 ,slavery and the division of labour3 the higher type alone possible through the subjection of the lower to a function4 ,pleasure and pain1 not contraries4 ,the feeling of power4 ,nutrition only a result of the insatiable lust of appropriation in the ,will to ,power4 ,procreation3 this is the decay which supervenes when the ruling cells are too weak to organise appropriated material4 ,it is the moulding force which will have a continual supply of new material 7more force74 ,the masterly construction of an organism out of an egg4 ,the mechanical interpretation3 recognises only quantities3 but the real energy is in the quality4 ,mechanics can therefore only describe processes2 it cannot explain them4 ,purpose4 ,we should start out from the sagacity of plants4 ,the concept of meliorism3 not only greater complexity1 but greater power 7it need not be only greater masses74 ,conclusion concerning the evolution of man3 the road to perfection lies in the bringing forth of the most powerful individuals1 for whose use the great masses would be converted into mere tools 7that is to say1 into the most intelligent and flexible tools possible74 #ffa4 ,why is all activity1 even that of a sense1 associated with pleasure8 ,because1 before the activity was possible1 an obstacle or a burden was done away with4 ,or1 rather1 because all action is a process of overcoming1 of becoming master of1 and of increasing the feeling of power8 ,the pleasure of thought4 ,ultimately it is not only the feeling of power1 but also the pleasure of creating and of contemplating the creation3 for all activity enters our consciousness in the form of works4 #ffb4 ,creating is an act of selecting and of finishing the thing selected4 7,in every act of the will1 this is the essential element47 #ffc4 ,all phenomena which are the result of intentions may be reduced to the intention of increasing power4 #ffd4 ,when we do anything1 we are conscious of a feeling of strength2 we often have this sensation before the act--that is to say1 while imagining the thing to do 7as1 for instance1 at the sight of an enemy1 of an obstacle1 which we feel equal to73 it is always an accompanying sensation4 ,instinctively we think that this feeling of strength is the cause of the action1 that it is the motive force4 ,our belief in causation is the belief in force and its effect2 it is a transcript of our experience3 in which we identify force and the feeling of force4--,force1 however1 never moves things2 the strength which is conscious does not set the muscles moving4 ,of such a process we have no experience1 no idea4 ,we experience as little concerning force as a motive power1 as concerning the necessity of a movement4 ,force is said to be the constraining element6 ,all we know is that one thing follows another2--we know nothing of either compulsion or arbitrariness in regard to the one following the other4 ,causality is first invented by thinking compulsion into the sequence of processes4 ,a certain understanding of the thing is the result--that is to say1 we humanise the process a little1 we make it more familiar2 the familiar is the known habitual fact of human compulsion associated with the feeling of force4 #ffe4 ,i have the intention of extending my arm2 taking it for granted that ,i know as little of the physiology of the human body and of the mechanical laws of its movements as the man in the street1 what could there be more vague1 more bloodless1 more uncertain than this intention compared with what follows it8 ,and supposing ,i were the astutest of mechanics1 and especially conversant with the formul which are applicable in this case1 ,i should not be able to extend my arm one whit the better4 ,our knowledge and our action in this case lie coldly apart3 as though in two different regions4--,again3 ,napoleon carries out a plan of campaign--what does that mean8 ,in this case1 everything concerning the consummation of the campaign is known1 because everything must be done through words of command3 but even here subordinates are taken for granted1 who apply and adapt the general plan to the particular emergency1 to the degree of strength1 etc4 #fff4 ,for ages we have always ascribed the value of an action1 of a character1 of an existence1 to the intention1 to the purpose for which it was done1 acted1 or lived3 this primeval idiosyncrasy of taste ultimately takes a dangerous turn provided the lack of intention and purpose in all phenomena comes ever more to the front in consciousness4 ,with it a general depreciation of all values seems to be preparing3 ,all is without sense4--,this melancholy phrase means3 ,all sense lies in the intention1 and if the intention is absolutely lacking1 then sense must be lacking too4 ,in conformity with this valuation1 people were forced to place the value of life in a a life after death1 or in the progressive development of ideas1 or of mankind1 or of the people1 or of man to superman2 but in this way the progressus in infinitum of purpose had been reached3 it was ultimately necessary to find one's self a place in the process of the world 7perhaps with the disdmonistic outlook1 it was a process which led to nonentity74 ,in regard to this point1 purpose needs a somewhat more severe criticism3 it ought to be recognised that an action is never caused by a purpose2 that an object and the means thereto are interpretations1 by means of which certain points in a phenomena are selected and accentuated1 at the cost of other1 more numerous1 points1 that every time something is done for a purpose1 something fundamentally different1 and yet other things happen2 that in regard to the action done with a purpose1 the case is the same as with the so-called purposefulness of the heat which is radiated from the sun3 the greater part of the total sum is squandered2 a portion of it1 which is scarcely worth reckoning1 has a purpose1 has sense2 that an end with its means is an absurdly indefinite description1 which indeed may be able to command as a precept1 as will1 but presupposes a system of obedient and trained instruments1 which1 in the place of the indefinite1 puts forward a host of determined entities 7i4e4 we imagine a system of clever but narrow intellects who postulate end and means1 in order to be able to grant our only known end1 the rle of the cause of an action1--a proceeding to which we have no right3 it is tantamount to solving a problem by placing its solution in an inaccessible world which we cannot observe74 ,finally1 why could not an end be merely an accompanying feature in the series of changes among the active forces which bring about the action--a pale stenographic symbol stretched in consciousness beforehand1 and which serves as a guide to what happens1 even as a symbol of what happens1 not as its cause8--,but in this way we criticise will itself3 is it not an illusion to regard that which enters consciousness as will-power1 as a cause8 ,are not all conscious phenomena only final phenomena--the lost links in a chain1 but apparently conditioning one another in their sequence within the plane of consciousness8 ,this might be an illusion4 #ffg4 ,science does not inquire what impels us to will3 on the contrary1 it denies that willing takes place at all1 and supposes that something quite different has happened--in short1 that the belief in will and end is an illusion4 ,it does not inquire into the motives of an action1 as if these had been present in consciousness previous to the action1 but it first divides the action up into a group of phenomena1 and then seeks the previous history of this mechanical movement--but not in the terms of feeling1 perception1 and thought2 from this quarter it can never accept the explanation3 perception is precisely the matter of science1 which has to be explained4--,the problem of science is precisely to explain the world1 without taking perceptions as the cause3 for that would mean regarding perceptions themselves as the cause of perceptions4 ,the task of science is by no means accomplished4 ,thus3 either there is no such thing as will1--the hypothesis of science1--or the will is free4 ,the latter assumption represents the prevailing feeling1 of which we cannot rid ourselves1 even if the hypothesis of science were proved4 ,the popular belief in cause and effect is founded on the principle that free will is the cause of every effect3 thereby alone do we arrive at the feeling of causation4 ,and thereto belongs also the feeling that every cause is not an effect1 but always only a cause--if will is the cause4 ,our acts of will are not necessary--this lies in the very concept of will4 ,the effect necessarily comes after the cause--that is what we feel4 ,it is merely a hypothesis that even our willing is compulsory in every case4 #ffh4 ,to will is not to desire1 to strive1 to aspire to2 it distinguishes itself from that through the passion of commanding4 ,there is no such thing as willing1 but only the willing of something3 the aim must not be severed from the state--as the epistemologists sever it4 ,willing1 as they understand it1 is no more possible than thinking3 it is a pure invention4 ,it is essential to willing that something should be commanded 7but that does not mean that the will is carried into effect74 ,the general state of tension1 by virtue of which a force seeks to discharge itself1 is not willing4 #ffi4 ,pain and pleasure are the most absurd means of expressing judgments1 which of course does not mean that the judgments which are enunciated in this way must necessarily be absurd4 ,the elimination of all substantiation and logic1 a yes or no in the reduction to a passionate desire to have or to reject1 an imperative abbreviation1 the utility of which is irrefutable3 that is pain and pleasure4 ,its origin is in the central sphere of the intellect2 its prerequisite is an infinitely accelerated process of perceiving1 ordering1 co-ordinating1 calculating1 concluding3 pleasure and pain are always final phenomena1 they are never causes4 ,as to deciding what provokes pain and pleasure1 that is a question which depends upon the degree of power3 the same thing1 when confronted with a small quantity of power1 may seem a danger and may suggest the need of speedy defence1 and when confronted with the consciousness of greater power1 may be a voluptuous stimulus and may be followed by a feeling of pleasure4 ,all feelings of pleasure and pain presuppose a measuring of collective utility and collective harmfulness3 consequently a sphere where there is the willing of an object 7of a condition7 and the selection of the means thereto4 ,pleasure and pain are never original facts4 ,the feelings of pleasure and pain are reactions of the will 7emotions7 in which the intellectual centre fixes the value of certain supervening changes as a collective value1 and also as an introduction of contrary actions4 #fgj4 ,the belief in emotions--,emotions are a fabrication of the intellect1 an invention of causes which do not exist4 ,all general bodily sensations which we do not understand are interpreted intellectually--that is to say1 a reason is sought why we feel thus or thus among certain people or in certain experiences4 ,thus something disadvantageous dangerous1 and strange is taken for granted1 as if it were the cause of our being indisposed2 as a matter of fact1 it gets added to the indisposition1 so as to make our condition thinkable4--,mighty rushes of blood to the brain1 accompanied by a feeling of suffocation1 are interpreted as anger3 the people and things which provoke our anger are a means of relieving our physiological condition4 ,subsequently1 after long habituation1 certain processes and general feelings are so regularly correlated that the sight of certain processes provokes that condition of general feeling1 and induces vascular engorgements1 the ejection of seminal fluid1 etc43 we then say that the emotion is provoked by propinquity4 ,judgments already inhere in pleasure and pain3 stimuli become differentiated1 according as to whether they increase or reduce the feeling of power4 ,the belief in willing4 ,to believe that a thought may be the cause of a mechanical movement is to believe in miracles4 ,the consistency of science demands that once we have made the world thinkable for ourselves by means of pictures1 we should also make the emotions1 the desires1 the will1 etc41 thinkable--that is to say1 we should deny them and treat them as errors of the intellect4 #fga4 ,free will or no free will8--,there is no such thing as ,will3 that is only a simplified conception on the part of the understanding1 like matter4 ,all actions must first be prepared and made possible mechanically before they can be willed4 ,or1 in most cases the object of an action enters the brain only after everything is prepared for its accomplishment4 ,the object is an inner stimulus--nothing more4 #fgb4 ,the most proximate prelude to an action relates to that action3 but further back still there lies a preparatory history which covers a far wider field3 the individual action is only a factor in a much more extensive and subsequent fact4 ,the shorter and the longer processes are not reported4 #fgc4 ,the theory of chance3 the soul is a selecting and self-nourishing being1 which is persistently extremely clever and creative 7this creative power is commonly overlocked6 it is taken to be merely passive74 ,i recognised the active and creative power within the accidental4--,accident is in itself nothing more than the clashing of creative impulses4 #fgd4 ,among the enormous multiplicity of phenomena to be observed in an organic being1 that part which becomes conscious is a mere means3 and the particle of virtue1 self abnegation1 and other fanciful inventions1 are denied in a most thoroughgoing manner by the whole of the remaining phenomena4 ,we would do well to study our organism in all its immorality4444 ,the animal functions are1 as a matter of fact1 a million times more important than all beautiful states of the soul and heights of consciousness3 the latter are an overflow1 in so far as they are not needed as instruments in the service of the animal functions4 ,the whole of conscious life3 the spirit together with the soul1 the heart1 goodness1 and virtue2 in whose service does it work8 ,in the greatest possible perfection of the means 7for acquiring nourishment and advancement7 serving the fundamental animal functions3 above all1 the ascent of the line of ,life4 ,that which is called flesh and body is of such incalculably greater importance1 that the rest is nothing more than a small appurtenance4 ,to continue the chain of life so that it becomes ever more powerful--that is the task4 ,but now observe how the heart1 the soul1 virtue1 and spirit together conspire formally to thwart this purpose3 as if they were the object of every endeavour6 444 ,the degeneration of life is essentially determined by the extraordinary fallibility of consciousness1 which is held at bay least of all by the instincts1 and thus commits the gravest and profoundest errors4 ,now could any more insane extravagance of vanity be imagined than to measure the value of existence according to the pleasant or unpleasant feelings of this consciousness8 ,it is obviously only a means3 and pleasant or unpleasant feelings are also no more than means4 ,according to what standard is the objective value measured8 ,according to the quantity of increased and more organised power alone4 #fge4 ,the value of all valuing4--,my desire would be to see the agent once more identified with the action1 after action has been deprived of all meaning by having been separated in thought from the agent2 ,i should like to see the notion of doing something1 the idea of a purpose1 of an intention1 of an object1 reintroduced into the action1 after action has been made insignificant by having been artificially separated from these things4 ,all objects1 purposes1 meanings1 are only manners of expression and metamorphoses of the one will inherent in all phenomena2 of the will to power4 ,to have an object1 a purpose1 or an intention1 in fact to will generally1 is equivalent to the desire for greater strength1 for fuller growth1 and for the means thereto in addition4 ,the most general and fundamental instinct in all action and willing is precisely on that account the one which is least known and is most concealed2 for in practice we always follow its bidding1 for the simple reason that we are in ourselves its bidding4444 ,all valuations are only the results of1 and the narrow points of view in servings this one will3 valuing in itself is nothing save this1 --will to power4 ,to criticise existence from the standpoint of any one of these values is utter nonsense and error4 ,even supposing that a process of annihilation follows from such a value1 even so this process is in the service of this will4 ,the valuation of existence itself6 ,but existence is this valuing itself6--and even when we say no1 we still do what we are4 ,we ought now to perceive the absurdity of this pretence at judging existence2 and we ought to try and discover what actually takes place there4 ,it is symptomatic4 #fgf4 ,concerning the ,origin of our ,valuations4 ,we are able to analyse our body1 and by doing so we get the same idea of it as of the stellar system1 and the differences between organic and inorganic lapses4 ,formerly the movements of the stars were explained as the effects of beings consciously pursuing a purpose3 this is no longer required1 and even in regard to the movements of the body and its changes1 the belief has long since been abandoned that they can be explained by an appeal to a consciousness which has a determined purpose4 ,by far the greater number of movements have nothing to do with consciousness at all3 neither have they anything to do with sensation4 ,sensations and thoughts are extremely rare and insignificant things compared with the innumerable phenomena occurring every second4 ,on the other hand1 we believe that a certain conformity of means to ends rules over the very smallest phenomenon1 which it is quite beyond our deepest science to understand2 a sort of cautiousness1 selectiveness1 co-ordination1 and repairing process1 etc4 ,in short1 we are in the presence of an activity to which it would be necessary to ascribe an incalculably higher and more extensive intellect than the one we are acquainted with4 ,we learn to think less of all that is conscious3 we unlearn the habit of making ourselves responsible for ourselves1 because1 as conscious beings fixing purposes1 we are but the smallest part of ourselves4 ,of the numerous influences taking effect every second1 for instance1 air1 electricity1 we feel scarcely anything at all4 ,there might be a number of forces1 which1 though they never make themselves felt by us1 yet influence us continually4 ,pleasure and pain are very rare and scanty phenomena1 compared with the countless stimuli with which a cell or an organ operates upon another cell or organ4 ,it is the phase of the modesty of consciousness4 ,finally1 we can grasp the conscious ego itself1 merely as an instrument in the service of that higher and more extensive intellect3 and then we may ask whether all conscious willing1 all conscious purposes1 all valuations1 are not perhaps only means by virtue of which something essentially different is attained1 from that which consciousness supposes4 ,we mean3 it is a question of our pleasure and pain but pleasure and pain might be the means whereby we had something to do which lies outside our consciousness4 ,this is to show how very superficial all conscious phenomena really are2 how an action and the image of it differ2 how little we know about what precedes an action2 how fantastic our feelings1 freewill1 and cause and effect are2 how thoughts and images1 just like words1 are only signs of thoughts2 the impossibility of finding the grounds of any action2 the superficiality of all praise and blame2 how essentially our conscious life is composed of fancies and illusion2 how all our words merely stand for fancies 7our emotions too71 and how the union of mankind depends upon the transmission and continuation of these fancies3 whereas1 at bottom1 the real union of mankind by means of procreation pursues its unknown way4 ,does this belief in the common fancies of men really alter mankind8 ,or is the whole body of ideas and valuations only an expression in itself of unknown changes8 ,are there really such things as will1 purposes1 thoughts1 values8 ,is the whole of conscious life perhaps no more than mirage8 ,even when values seem to determine the actions of a man1 they are1 as a matter of fact1 doing something quite different6 ,in short1 granting that a certain conformity of means to end might be demonstrated in the action of nature1 without the assumption of a ruling ego3 could not our notion of purposes1 and our will1 etc41 be only a symbolic language standing for something quite different--that is to say1 something not-willing and unconscious8 only the thinnest semblance of that natural conformity of means to end in the organic world1 but not in any way different therefrom8 ,briefly1 perhaps the whole of mental development is a matter of the body3 it is the consciously recorded history of the fact that a higher body is forming4 ,the organic ascends to higher regions4 ,our longing to know ,nature is a means by virtue of which the body would reach perfection4 ,or1 better still1 hundreds of thousands of experiments are made to alter the nourishment and the mode of living of the body3 the body's consciousness and valuations1 its kinds of pleasure and pain1 are signs of these changes and experiments4 ,in the end1 it is not a question concerning man2 for he must be surpassed4 #fgg4 ,to what ,extent are all ,interpretations of the ,world ,symptoms of a ,ruling ,instinct4 ,the artistic contemplation of the world3 to sit before the world and to survey it4 ,but here the analysis of sthetical contemplation1 its reduction to cruelty1 its feeling of security1 its judicial and detached attitude1 etc41 are lacking4 ,the artist himself must be taken1 together with his psychology 7the criticism of the instinct of play1 as a discharge of energy1 the love of change1 the love of bringing one's soul in touch with strange things1 the absolute egoism of the artist1 etc474 ,what instincts does he sublimate8 ,the scientific contemplation of the world3 a criticism of the psychological longing for science1 the desire to make everything comprehensible2 the desire to make everything practical1 useful1 capable of being exploited--to what extent this is anti-sthetic4 ,only that value counts1 which may be reckoned in figures4 ,how it happens that a mediocre type of man preponderates under the influence of science4 ,it would be terrible if even history were to be taken possession of in this way--the realm of the superior1 of the judicial4 ,what instincts are here sublimated6 ,the religious contemplation of the world3 a criticism of the religious man4 ,it is not necessary to take the moral man as the type1 but the man who has extreme feelings of exaltation and of deep depression1 and who interprets the former with thankfulness or suspicion without1 however1 seeking their origin in himself 7nor the latter either74 ,the man who essentially feels anything but free1 who sublimates his conditions and states of submission4 ,the moral contemplation of the world4 ,the feelings peculiar to certain social ranks are projected into the universe3 stability1 law1 the making of things orderly1 and the making of things alike1 are sought in the highest spheres1 because they are valued most highly1--above everything or behind everything4 ,what is common to all3 the ruling instincts wish to be regarded as the highest values in general1 even as the creative and ruling powers4 ,it is understood that these instincts either oppose or overcome each other 7join up synthetically1 or alternate in power74 ,their profound antagonism is1 however1 so great1 that in those cases in which they all insist upon being gratified1 a man of very thorough mediocrity is the outcome4 #fgh4 ,it is a question whether the origin of our apparent knowledge is not also a mere offshoot of our older valuations1 which are so completely assimilated that they belong to the very basis of our nature4 ,in this way only the more recent needs engage in battle with results of the oldest needs4 ,the world is seen1 felt1 and interpreted thus and thus1 in order that organic life may be preserved with this particular manner of interpretation4 ,man is not only an individual1 but the continuation of collective organic life in one definite line4 ,the fact that man survives1 proves that a certain species of interpretations 7even though it still be added to7 has also survived2 that1 as a system1 this method of interpreting has not changed4 ,adaptation4 ,our dissatisfaction1 our ideal1 etc41 may possibly be the result of this incorporated piece of interpretation1 of our particular point of view3 the organic world may ultimately perish owing to it just as the division of labour in organisms may be the means of bringing about the ruin of the whole1 if one part happen to wither or weaken4 ,the destruction of organic life1 and even of the highest form thereof1 must follow the same principles as the destruction of the individual4 #fgi4 ,judged from the standpoint of the theory of descent1 individuation shows the continuous breaking up of one into two1 and the equally continuous annihilation of individuals for the sake of a few individuals1 which evolution bears onwards2 the greater mass always perishes 7the body74 ,the fundamental phenomena3 innumerable individuals are sacrificed for the sake of a few1 in order to make the few possible4--,one must not allow one's self to be deceived2 the case is the same with peoples and races3 they produce the body for the generation of isolated and valuable individuals1 who continue the great process4 #fhj4 ,i am opposed to the theory that the individual studies the interests of the species1 or of posterity1 at the cost of his own advantage3 all this is only apparent4 ,the excessive importance which he attaches to the sexual instinct is not the result of the latter's importance to the species1 for procreation is the actual performance of the individual1 it is his greatest interest1 and therefore it is his highest expression of power 7not judged from the standpoint of consciousness1 but from the very centre of the individual74 #fha4 ,the fundamental errors of the biologists who have lived hitherto3 it is not a matter of the species1 but of rearing stronger individuals 7the many are only a means74 ,life is not the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations1 but will to power1 which1 proceeding from inside1 subjugates and incorporates an ever-increasing quantity of external phenomena4 ,these biologists continue the moral valuations 7the absolutely higher worth of ,altruism1 the antagonism towards the lust of dominion1 towards war1 towards all that which is not useful1 and towards all order of rank and of class74 #fhb4 ,in natural science1 the moral depreciation of the ego still goes hand in hand with the overestimation of the species4 ,but the species is quite as illusory as the ego3 a false distinction has been made4 ,the ego is a hundred times more than a mere unit in a chain of creatures2 it is the chain itself1 in every possible respect1 and the species is merely an abstraction suggested by the multiplicity and partial similarity of these chains4 ,that the individual is sacrificed to the species1 as people often say he is1 is not a fact at all3 it is rather only an example of false interpretation4 #fhc4 ,the formula of the progress-superstition according to a famous physiologist of the cerebral regions3-- ,l'animal ne fait jamais de progrs comme espce4 ,l'homme seul fait de progrs comme espce4 ,no4 #fhd4 ,anti-,darwin4--,the domestication of man3 what definite value can it have1 or has domestication in itself a definite value8--,there are reasons for denying the latter proposition4 ,darwin's school of thought certainly goes to great pains to convince us of the reverse3 it would fain prove that the influence of domestication may be profound and fundamental4 ,for the time being1 we stand firmly as we did before2 up to the present no results save very superficial modification or degeneration have been shown to follow upon domestication4 ,and everything that escapes from the hand and discipline of man1 returns almost immediately to its original natural condition4 ,the type remains constant1 man cannot dnaturer la nature4 ,biologists reckon upon the struggle for existence1 the death of the weaker creature and the survival of the most robust1 most gifted combatant2 on that account they imagine a continuous increase in the perfection of all creatures4 ,we1 on the contrary1 have convinced ourselves of the fact1 that in the struggle for existence1 accident serves the cause of the weak quite as much as that of the strong2 that craftiness often supplements strength with advantage2 that the prolificness of a species is related in a remarkable manner to that species chances of destruction4444 ,natural ,selection is also credited with the power of slowly effecting unlimited metamorphoses3 it is believed that every advantage is transmitted by heredity1 and strengthened in the course of generations 7when heredity is known to be so capricious that 44472 the happy adaptations of certain creatures to very special conditions of life1 are regarded as the result of surrounding influences4 ,nowhere1 however1 are examples of unconscious selection to be found 7absolutely nowhere74 ,the most different individuals associate one with the other2 the extremes become lost in the mass4 ,each vies with the other to maintain his kind2 those creatures whose appearance shields them from certain dangers1 do not alter this appearance when they are in an environment quite devoid of danger4444 ,if they live in places where their coats or their hides do not conceal them1 they do not adapt themselves to their surroundings in any way4 ,the selection of the most beautiful has been so exaggerated1 that it greatly exceeds the instincts for beauty in our own race6 ,as a matter of fact1 the most beautiful creature often couples with the most debased1 and the largest with the smallest4 ,we almost always see males and females taking advantage of their first chance meeting1 and manifesting no taste or selectiveness at all4--,modification through climate and nourishment--but as a matter of fact unimportant4 ,there are no intermediate forms4-- ,the growing evolution of creatures is assumed4 ,all grounds for this assumption are entirely lacking4 ,every type has its limitations3 beyond these evolution cannot carry it4 ,my general point of view4 ,first proposition3 ,man as a species is not progressing4 ,higher specimens are indeed attained2 but they do not survive4 ,the general level of the species is not raised4 ,second proposition3 ,man as a species does not represent any sort of progress compared with any other animal4 ,the whole of the animal and plant world does not develop from the lower to the higher4444 but all simultaneously1 haphazardly1 confusedly1 and at variance4 ,the richest and most complex forms--and the term higher type means no more than this--perish more easily3 only the lowest succeed in maintaining their apparent imperishableness4 ,the former are seldom attained1 and maintain their superior position with difficulty1 the latter are compensated by great fruitfulness4--,in the human race1 also1 the superior specimens1 the happy cases of evolution1 are the first to perish amid the fluctuations of chances for and against them4 ,they are exposed to every form of decadence3 they are extreme1 and1 on that account alone1 already decadents4444 ,the short duration of beauty1 of genius1 of the ,csar1 is sui generis3 such things are not hereditary4 ,the type is inherited1 there is nothing extreme or particularly happy about a type----,it is not a case of a particular fate1 or of the evil will of ,nature1 but merely of the concept superior type3 the higher type is an example of an incomparably greater degree of complexity a greater sum of co-ordinated elements3 but on this account disintegration becomes a thousand times more threatening4 ,genius is the sublimest machine in existence--hence it is the most fragile4 ,third propositio33 ,the domestication 7culture7 of man does not sink very deep4 ,when it does sink far below the skin it immediately becomes degeneration 7type3 the ,christian74 ,the wild man 7or1 in moral terminology1 the evil man7 is a reversion to ,nature--and1 in a certain sense1 he represents a recovery1 a cure from the effects of culture4 444 #fhe4 ,anti-,darwin4--,what surprises me most on making a general survey of the great destinies of man1 is that ,i invariably see the reverse of what to-day ,darwin and his school sees or will persist in seeing3 selection in favour of the stronger1 the better-constituted1 and the progress of the species4 ,precisely the reverse of this stares one in the face3 the suppression of the lucky cases1 the uselessness of the more highly constituted types1 the inevitable mastery of the mediocre1 and even of those who are below mediocrity4 ,unless we are shown some reason why man is an exception among living creatures1 ,i incline to the belief that ,darwin's school is everywhere at fault4 ,that will to power1 in which ,i perceive the ultimate reason and character of all change1 explains why it is that selection is never in favour of the exceptions and of the lucky cases3 the strongest and happiest natures are weak when they are confronted with a majority ruled by organised gregarious instincts and the fear which possesses the weak4 ,my general view of the world of values shows that in the highest values which now sway the destiny of man1 the happy cases among men1 the select specimens do not prevail3 but rather the decadent specimens1--perhaps there is nothing more interesting in the world than this unpleasant spectacle4444 ,strange as it may seem1 the strong always have to be upheld against the weak2 and the well-constituted against the ill-constituted1 the healthy against the sick and physiologically botched4 ,if we drew our morals from reality1 they would read thus3 the mediocre are more valuable than the exceptional creatures1 and the decadent than the mediocre2 the will to nonentity prevails over the will to life--and the general aim now is1 in ,christian1 ,buddhistic1 ,schopenhauerian phraseology3 ,it is better not to be than to be4 ,i protest against this formulating of reality into a moral3 and ,i loathe ,christianity with a deadly loathing1 because it created sublime words and attitudes in order to deck a revolting truth with all the tawdriness of justice1 virtue1 and godliness4444 ,i see all philosophers and the whole of science on their knees before a reality which is the reverse of the struggle for life1 as ,darwin and his school understood it--that is to say1 wherever ,i look1 ,i see those prevailing and surviving1 who throw doubt and suspicion upon life and the value of life4--,the error of the ,darwinian school became a problem to me3 how can one be so blind as to make this mistake8 ,that species show an ascending tendency1 is the most nonsensical assertion that has ever been made3 until now they have only manifested a dead level4 ,there is nothing whatever to prove that the higher organisms have developed from the lower4 ,i see that the lower1 owing to their numerical strength1 their craft1 and ruse1 now preponderate1--and ,i fail to see an instance in which an accidental change produces an advantage1 at least not for a very long period3 for it would be necessary to find some reason why an accidental change should become so very strong4 ,i do indeed find the cruelty of ,nature which is so often referred to2 but in a different place3 ,nature is cruel1 but against her lucky and well-constituted children2 she protects and shelters and loves the lowly4 ,in short1 the increase of a species' power1 as the result of the preponderance of its particularly well-constituted and strong specimens1 is perhaps less of a certainty than that it is the result of the preponderance of its mediocre and lower specimens 444 in the case of the latter1 we find great fruitfulness and permanence3 in the case of the former1 the besetting dangers are greater1 waste is more rapid1 and decimation is more speedy4 #fhf4 ,man as he has appeared up to the present is the embryo of the man of the future2 all the formative powers which are to produce the latter1 already lie in the former3 and owing to the fact that they are enormous1 the more promising for the future the modern individual happens to be1 the more suffering falls to his lot4 ,this is the profoundest concept of suffering4 ,the formative powers clash4--,the isolation of the individual need not deceive one--as a matter of fact1 some uninterrupted current does actually flow through all individuals1 and does thus unite them4 ,the fact that they feel themselves isolated1 is the most powerful spur in the process of setting themselves the loftiest of aims3 their search for happiness is the means which keeps together and moderates the formative powers1 and keeps them from being mutually destructive4 #fhg4 ,excessive intellectual strength sets itself new goals2 it is not in the least satisfied by the command and the leadership of the inferior world1 or by the preservation of the organism1 of the individual4 ,we are more than the individual3 we are the whole chain itself1 with the tasks of all the possible futures of that chain in us4 #c4 ,theory of the ,will to ,power and of ,valuations4 #fhh4 ,the unitary view of psychology4--,we are accustomed to regard the development of a vast number of forms as compatible with one single origin4 ,my theory would be3 that the will to power is the primitive motive force out of which all other motives have been derived2 ,that it is exceedingly illuminating to substitute power for individual happiness 7after which every living organism is said to strive73 ,it strives after power1 after more power2--happiness is only a symptom of the feeling of power attained1 a consciousness of difference 7it does not strive after happiness3 but happiness steps in when the object is attained1 after which the organism has striven3 happiness is an accompanying1 not an actuating factor72 ,that all motive force is the will to power2 that there is no other force1 either physical1 dynamic1 or psychic4 ,in our science1 where the concept cause and effect is reduced to a relationship of complete equilibrium1 and in which it seems desirable for the same quantum of force to be found on either side1 all idea of a motive power is absent3 we only apprehend results1 and we call these equal from the point of view of their content of force4444 ,it is a matter of mere experience that change never ceases3 at bottom we have not the smallest grounds for assuming that any one particular change must follow upon any other4 ,on the contrary1 any state which has been attained would seem almost forced to maintain itself intact if it had not within itself a capacity for not desiring to maintain itself4444 ,spinoza's proposition concerning self-preservation ought as a matter of fact to put a stop to change4 ,but the proposition is false2 the contrary is true4 ,in all living organisms it can be clearly shown that they do everything not to remain as they are1 but to become greater4444 #fhi4 ,will to power and causality4--,from a psychological point of view the idea of cause is our feeling of power in the act which is called willing--our concept effect is the superstition that this feeling of power is itself the force which moves things4444 ,a state which accompanies an event and is already an effect of that event is deemed sufficient cause of the latter2 the tense relationship of our feeling of power 7pleasure as the feeling of power7 and of an obstacle being overcome--are these things illusions8 ,if we translate the notion cause back into the only sphere which is known to us1 and out of which we have taken it1 we cannot imagine any change in which the will to power is not inherent4 ,we do not know how to account for any change which is not a trespassing of one power on another4 ,mechanics only show us the results1 and then only in images 7movement is a figure of speech72 gravitation itself has no mechanical cause1 because it is itself the first cause of mechanical results4 ,the will to accumulate force is confined to the phenomenon of life1 to nourishment1 to procreation1 to inheritance1 to society1 states1 customs1 authority4 ,should we not be allowed to assume that this will is the motive power also of chemistry8--and of the cosmic order8 ,not only conservation of energy1 but the minimum amount of waste2 so that the only reality is this3 the will of every centre of power to become stronger--not self-preservation1 but the desire to appropriate1 to become master1 to become more1 to become stronger4 ,is the fact that science is possible a proof of the principle of causation--,from like causes1 like effects--,a permanent law of things--,invariable order8 ,because something is calculable1 is it therefore on that account necessary8 ,if something happens thus1 and thus only1 it is not the manifestation of a principle1 of a law1 of order4 ,what happens is that certain quanta of power begin to operate1 and their essence is to exercise their power over all other quanta of power4 ,can we assume the existence of a striving after power without a feeling of pleasure and pain1 i4e4 without the sensation of an increase or a decrease of power8 ,is mechanism only a language of signs for the concealed fact of a world of fighting and conquering quanta of will-power8 ,all mechanical first-principles1 matter1 atoms1 weight1 pressure1 and repulsion1 are not facts in themselves1 but interpretations arrived at with the help of psychical fictions4 ,life1 which is our best known form of being1 is altogether will to the accumulation of strength--all the processes of life hinge on this3 everything aims1 not at preservation1 but at accretion and accumulation4 ,life as an individual case 7a hypothesis which may be applied to existence in general7 strives after the maximum feeling of power2 life is essentially a striving after more power2 striving itself is only a straining after more power2 the most fundamental and innermost thing of all is this will4 7,mechanism is merely the semeiotics of the results47 #fij4 ,the thing which is the cause of the existence of development cannot in the course of investigation be found above development2 it should neither be regarded as evolving nor as evolved 444 the will to power cannot have been evolved4 #fia4 ,what is the relation of the whole of the organic process towards the rest of nature8--,here the fundamental will reveals itself4 #fib4 ,is the will to power a kind of will1 or is it identical with the concept will8 ,is it equivalent to desiring or commanding2 is it the will which ,schopenhauer says is the essence of things8 ,my proposition is that the will of psychologists hitherto has been an unjustifiable generalisation1 and that there is no such thing as this sort of will1 that instead of the development of one will into several forms being taken as a fact1 the character of will has been cancelled owing to the fact that its content1 its whither1 was subtracted from it3 in ,schopenhauer this is so in the highest degree2 what he calls will is merely an empty word4 ,there is even less plausibility in the will to live3 for life is simply one of the manifestations of the will to power2 it is quite arbitrary and ridiculous to suggest that everything is striving to enter into this particular form of the will to power4 #fic4 ,if the innermost essence of existence is the will to power2 if happiness is every increase of power1 and unhappiness the feeling of not being able to resist1 of not being able to become master3 may we not then postulate happiness and pain as cardinal facts8 ,is will possible without these two oscillations of yea and nay8 ,but who feels happiness8 444 ,who will have power8 444 ,nonsensical question6 ,if the essence of all things is itself will to power1 and consequently the ability to feel pleasure and pain6 ,albeit3 contrasts and obstacles are necessary1 therefore also1 relatively1 units which trespass on one another4 #fid4 ,according to the obstacles which a force seeks with a view of overcoming them1 the measure of the failure and the fatality thus provoked must increase1 and in so far as every force can only manifest itself against some thing that opposes it1 an element of unhappiness is necessarily inherent in every action4 ,but this pain acts as a greater incitement to life1 and increases the will to power4 #fie4 ,if pleasure and pain are related to the feeling of power1 life would have to represent such an increase in power that the difference1 the plus1 would have to enter consciousness4 ,a dead level of power1 if maintained1 would have to measure its happiness in relation to depreciations of that level1 i4e4 in relation to states of unhappiness and not of happiness4444 ,the will to an increase lies in the essence of happiness3 that power is enhanced1 and that this difference becomes conscious4 ,in a state of decadence after a certain time the opposite difference becomes conscious1 that is decrease3 the memory of former strong moments depresses the present feelings of happiness in this state comparison reduces happiness4 #fif4 ,it is not the satisfaction of the will which is the cause of happiness 7to this superficial theory ,i am more particularly opposed--this absurd psychological forgery in regard to the most simple things71 but it is that the will is always striving to overcome that which stands in its way4 ,the feeling of happiness lies precisely in the discontentedness of the will1 in the fact that without opponents and obstacles it is never satisfied4 ,the happy man3 a gregarious ideal4 #fig4 ,the normal discontent of our instincts--for instance1 of the instinct of hunger1 of sex1 of movement--contains nothing which is in itself depressing2 it rather provokes the feeling of life1 and1 whatever the pessimists may say to us1 like all the rhythms of small and irritating stimuli1 it strengthens4 ,instead of this discontent making us sick of life1 it is rather the great stimulus to life4 7,pleasure might even perhaps be characterised as the rhythm of small and painful stimuli47 #fih4 ,kant says3 ,these lines of ,count ,verri's 7,sull' indole del piacere e del dolore2 #agha7 ,i confirm with absolute certainty3 ',il solo principio motore dell' uomo il dolore4 ,il dolore precede ogni piacere4 ,il piacere non un essere positivo4'#e ,footnote #e3 ,on the ,nature of ,pleasure and ,pain4 ,the only motive force of man is pain4 ,pain precedes every pleasure4 ,pleasure is not a positive thing4--,tr4 #fii4 ,pain is something different from pleasure--,i mean it is not the latter's opposite4 ,if the essence of pleasure has been aptly characterised as the feeling of increased power 7that is to say1 as a feeling of difference which presupposes comparison71 that does not define the nature of pain4 ,the false contrasts which the people1 and consequently the language1 believes in1 are always dangerous fetters which impede the march of truth4 ,there are even cases where a kind of pleasure is conditioned by a certain rhythmic sequence of small1 painful stimuli3 in this way a very rapid growth of the feeling of power and of the feeling of pleasure is attained4 ,this is the case1 for instance1 in tickling1 also in the sexual tickling which accompanies the coitus3 here we see pain acting as the ingredient of happiness4 ,it seems to be a small hindrance which is overcome1 followed immediately by another small hindrance which once again is overcome--this play of resistance and resistance overcome is the greatest excitant of that complete feeling of overflowing and surplus power which constitutes the essence of happiness4 ,the converse1 which would be an increase in the feeling of pain through small intercalated pleasurable stimuli1 does not exist3 pleasure and pain are not opposites4 ,pain is undoubtedly an intellectual process in which a judgment is inherent--the judgment harmful1 in which long experience is epitomised4 ,there is no such thing as pain in itself4 ,it is not the wound that hurts1 it is the experience of the harmful results a wound may have for the whole organism1 which here speaks in this deeply moving way1 and is called pain4 7,in the case of deleterious influences which were unknown to ancient man1 as1 for instance1 those residing in the new combination of poisonous chemicals1 the hint from pain is lacking1 and we are lost47 ,that which is quite peculiar in pain is the prolonged disturbance1 the quivering subsequent to a terrible shock in the ganglia of the nervous system4 ,as a matter of fact1 nobody suffers from the cause of pain 7from any sort of injury1 for instance71 but from the protracted disturbance of his equilibrium which follows upon the shock4 ,pain is a disease of the cerebral centres--pleasure is no disease at all4 ,the fact that pain may be the cause of reflex actions has appearances and even philosophical prejudice in its favour4 ,but in very sudden accidents1 if we observe closely1 we find that the reflex action occurs appreciably earlier than the feeling of pain4 ,i should be in a bad way when ,i stumbled if ,i had to wait until the fact had struck the bell of my consciousness1 and until a hint of what ,i had to do had been telegraphed back to me4 ,on the contrary1 what ,i notice as clearly as possible is1 that first1 in order to avoid a fall1 reflex action on the part of my foot takes place1 and then1 after a certain measurable space of time1 there follows quite suddenly a kind of painful wave in my forehead4 ,nobody1 then1 reacts to pain4 ,pain is subsequently projected into the wounded quarter--but the essence of this local pain is nevertheless not the expression of a kind of local wound1 it is merely a local sign1 the strength and nature of which is in keeping with the severity of the wound1 and of which the nerve centres have taken note4 ,the fact that as the result of this shock the muscular power of the organism is materially reduced1 does not prove in any way that the essence of pain is to be sought in the lowering of the feeling of power4 ,once more let me repeat3 nobody reacts to pain3 pain is no cause of action4 ,pain itself is a reaction2 the reflex movement is another and earlier process--both originate at different points4444 #gjj4 ,the message of pain3 in itself pain does not announce that which has been momentarily damaged1 but the significance of this damage for the individual as a whole4 ,are we to suppose that there are any pains which the species feel1 and which the individual does not8 #gja4 ,the sum of unhappiness outweighs the sum of happiness3 consequently it were better that the world did not exist--,the world is something which from a rational standpoint it were better did not exist1 because it occasions more pain than pleasure to the feeling subject--this futile gossip now calls itself pessimism6 ,pleasure and pain are accompanying factors1 not causes2 they are second-rate valuations derived from a dominating value1--they are one with the feeling useful1 harmful1 and therefore they are absolutely fugitive and relative4 ,for in regard to all utility and harmfulness there are a hundred different ways of asking what for8 ,i despise this pessimism of sensitiveness3 it is in itself a sign of profoundly impoverished life4 #gjb4 ,man does not seek happiness and does not avoid unhappiness4 ,everybody knows the famous prejudices ,i here contradict4 ,pleasure and pain are mere results1 mere accompanying phenomena--that which every man1 which every tiny particle of a living organism will have1 is an increase of power4 ,in striving after this1 pleasure and pain are encountered2 it is owing to that will that the organism seeks opposition and requires that which stands in its way4444 ,pain as the hindrance of its will to power is therefore a normal feature1 a natural ingredient of every organic phenomenon2 man does not avoid it1 on the contrary1 he is constantly in need of it3 every triumph1 every feeling of pleasure1 every event presupposes an obstacle overcome4 ,let us take the simplest case1 that of primitive nourishment2 the protoplasm extends its pseudopodia in order to seek for that which resists it1--it does not do so out of hunger1 but owing to its will to power4 ,then it makes the attempt to overcome1 to appropriate1 and to incorporate that with which it comes into contact--what people call nourishment is merely a derivative1 a utilitarian application1 of the primordial will to become stronger4 ,pain is so far from acting as a diminution of our feeling of power1 that it actually forms in the majority of cases a spur to this feeling1--the obstacle is the stimulus of the will to power4 #gjc4 ,pain has been confounded with one of its subdivisions1 which is exhaustion3 the latter does indeed represent a profound reduction and lowering of the will to power1 a material loss of strength--that is to say1 there is 7a7 pain as the stimulus to an increase or power1 and 7b7 pain following upon an expenditure of power2 in the first case it is a spur1 in the second it is the outcome of excessive spurring4444 ,the inability to resist is proper to the latter form of pain3 the provocation of that which resists is proper to the former4444 ,the only happiness which is to be felt in the state of exhaustion is that of going to sleep2 in the other case1 happiness means triumph4444 ,the great confusion of psychologists consisted in the fact that they did not keep these two kinds of happiness--that of falling asleep1 and that of triumph--sufficiently apart4 ,exhausted people will have repose1 slackened limbs1 peace and quiet--and these things constitute the bliss of ,nihilistic religions and philosophies1 the wealthy in vital strength1 the active1 want triumph1 defeated opponents1 and the extension of their feeling of power over ever wider regions4 ,every healthy function of the organism has this need1--and the whole organism constitutes an intricate complexity of systems struggling for the increase of the feeling of power4444 #gjd4 ,how is it that the fundamental article of faith in all psychologies is a piece of most outrageous contortion and fabrication8 ,man strives after happiness1 for instance--how much of this is true8 ,in order to understand what life is1 and what kind of striving and tenseness life contains1 the formula should hold good not only of trees and plants1 but of animals also4 ,what does the plant strive after8--,but here we have already invented a false entity which does not exist1--concealing and denying the fact of an infinitely variegated growth1 with individual and semi-individual starting-points1 if we give it the clumsy title plant as if it were a unit4 ,it is very obvious that the ultimate and smallest individuals cannot be understood in the sense of metaphysical individuals or atoms2 their sphere of power is continually shifting its ground3 but with all these changes1 can it be said that any of them strives after happiness8--,all this expanding1 this incorporation and growth1 is a search for resistance2 movement is essentially related to states of pain3 the driving power here must represent some other desire if it leads to such continual willing and seeking of pain4--,to what end do the trees of a virgin forest contend with each other8 ,for happiness8--,for power6 444 ,man is now master of the forces of nature1 and master too of his own wild and unbridled feelings 7the passions have followed suit1 and have learned to become useful7--in comparison with primeval man1 the man of to-day represents an enormous quantum of power1 but not an increase in happiness6 ,how can one maintain1 then1 that he has striven after happiness844 #gje4 ,but while ,i say this ,i see above me1 and below the stars1 the glittering rat's-tail of errors which hitherto has represented the greatest inspiration of man3 ,all happiness is the result of virtue all virtue is the result of free will6 ,let us transvalue the values3 all capacity is the outcome of a happy organisation1 all freedom is the outcome of capacity 7freedom understood here as facility in self-direction4 ,every artist will understand me74 #gjf4 ,the value of life4--,every life stands by itself2 all existence must be justified1 and not only life1--the justifying principle must be one through which life itself speaks4 ,life is only a means to something3 it is the expression of the forms of growth in power4 #gjg4 ,the conscious world cannot be a starting-point for valuing3 an objective valuation is necessary4 ,in comparison with the enormous and complicated antagonistic processes which the collective life of every organism represents1 its conscious world of feelings1 intentions1 and valuations1 is only a small slice4 ,we have absolutely no right to postulate this particle of consciousness as the object1 the wherefore1 of the collective phenomena of life3 the attainment of consciousness is obviously only an additional means to the unfolding of life and to the extension of its power4 ,that is why it is a piece of childish simplicity to set up happiness1 or intellectuality1 or morality1 or any other individual sphere of consciousness1 as the highest value3 and maybe to justify the world with it4 ,this is my fundamental objection to all philosophical and moral cosmologies and theologies1 to all wherefores and highest values that have appeared in philosophies and philosophic religions hitherto4 ,a kind of means is misunderstood as the object itself3 conversely life and its growth of power were debased to a means4 ,if we wished to postulate an adequate object of life it would not necessarily be related in any way with the category of conscious life2 it would require rather to explain conscious life as a mere means to itself4444 ,the denial of life regarded as the object of life1 the object of evolution6 ,existence--a piece of tremendous stupidity6 ,any such mad interpretation is only the outcome of life's being measured by the factors of consciousness 7pleasure and pain1 good and evil74 ,here the means are made to stand against the end--the unholy1 absurd1 and1 above all1 disagreeable means3 how can the end be any use when it requires such means8 ,but where the fault lies is here--instead of looking for the end which would explain the necessity of such means1 we posited an end from the start which actually excludes such means1 i4e4 we made a desideratum in regard to certain means 7especially pleasurable1 rational1 and virtuous7 into a rule1 and then only did we decide what end would be desirable4444 ,where the fundamental fault lies is in the fact that1 instead of regarding consciousness as an instrument and an isolated phenomenon of life in general1 we made it a standard1 the highest value in life3 it is the faulty standpoint of a parte ad totum1--and that is why all philosophers are instinctively seeking at the present day for a collective consciousness1 a thing that lives and wills consciously with all that happens1 a ,spirit1 a ,god4 ,but they must be told that it is precisely thus that life is converted into a monster2 that a ,god and a general sensorium would necessarily be something on whose account the whole of existence would have to be condemned4444 ,our greatest relief came when we eliminated the general consciousness which postulates ends and means--in this way we ceased from being necessarily pessimists4444 ,our greatest indictment of life was the existence of ,god4 #gjh4 ,concerning the value of ,becoming4--,if the movement of the world really tended to reach a final state1 that state would already have been reached4 ,the only fundamental fact1 however1 is that it does not tend to reach a final state3 and every philosophy and scientific hypothesis 7e4g4 materialism7 according to which such a final state is necessary1 is refuted by this fundamental fact4 ,i should like to have a concept of the world which does justice to this fact4 ,becoming ought to be explained without having recourse to such final designs4 ,booming must appear justified at every instant 7or it must defy all valuation3 which has unity as its end72 the present must not under any circumstances be justified by a future1 nor must the past be justified for the sake of the present4 ,necessity must not be interpreted in the form of a prevailing and ruling collective force or as a prime motor2 and still less as the necessary cause of some valuable result4 ,but to this end it is necessary to deny a collective consciousness for ,becoming1--a ,god1 in order that life may not be veiled under the shadow of a being who feels and knows as we do and yet wills nothing3 ,god is useless if he wants nothing2 and if he do want something1 this presupposes a general sum of suffering and irrationality which lowers the general value of ,becoming4 ,fortunately any such general power is lacking 7a suffering ,god overlooking everything1 a general sensorium and ubiquitous ,spirit1 would be the greatest indictment of existence74 ,strictly speaking nothing of the nature of ,being must be allowed to remain1--because in that case ,becoming loses its value and gets to be sheer and superfluous nonsense4 ,the next question1 then1 is3 how did the illusion ,being originate 7why was it obliged to originate72 ,likewise3 how was it that all valuations based upon the hypothesis that there was such a thing as ,being came to be depreciated4 ,but in this way we have recognised that this hypothesis concerning ,being is the source of all the calumny that has been directed against the world 7the ,better world1 the ,true world the ,world ,beyond1 the ,thing-in-itself74 7#a7 ,becoming has no final state1 it does not tend towards stability4 7#b7 ,becoming is not a state of appearance1 the world of ,being is probably only appearance4 7#c7 ,becoming is of precisely the same value at every instant2 the sum of its value always remains equal3 expressed otherwise1 it has no value2 for that according to which it might be measured1 and in regard to which the word value might have some sense1 is entirely lacking4 ,the collective value of the world defies valuation2 for this reason philosophical pessimism belongs to the order of farces4 #gji4 ,we should not make our little desiderata the judges of existence6 ,neither should we make culminating evolutionary forms 7e4g4 mind7 the absolute which stands behind evolution6 #gaj4 ,our knowledge has become scientific to the extent in which it has been able to make use of number and measure4 ,it might be worth while to try and see whether a scientific order of values might not be constructed according to a scale of numbers and measures representing energy4444 ,all other values are matters of prejudice1 simplicity1 and misunderstanding4 ,they may all be reduced to that scale of numbers and measures representing energy4 ,the ascent in this scale would represent an increase of value1 the descent a diminution4 ,but here appearance and prejudice are against one 7moral values are only apparent values compared with those which are physiological74 #gaa4 ,why the standpoint of value lapses3-- ,because in the whole process of the universe the work of mankind does not come under consideration2 because a general process 7viewed in the light of a system7 does not exist4 ,because there is no such thing as a whole2 because no depreciation of human existence or human aims can be made in regard to something that does not exist4 ,because necessity1 causality1 design1 are merely useful semblances4 ,because the aim is not the increase of the sphere of consciousness1 but the increase of power2 in which increase the utility of consciousness is also contained2 and the same holds good of pleasure and pain4 ,because a mere means must not be elevated to the highest criterion of value 7such as states of consciousness like pleasure and pain1 if consciousness is in itself only a means74 ,because the world is not an organism at all1 but a thing of chaos2 because the development of intellectuality is only a means tending relatively to extend the duration of an organisation4 ,because all desirability has no sense in regard to the general character of existence4 #gab4 ,god is the culminating moment3 life is an eternal process of deifying and undeifying4 ,but withal there is no zenith of values1 but only a zenith of power4 ,absolute exclusion of mechanical and materialistic interpretations4 they are both only expressions of inferior states1 of emotions deprived of all spirit 7of the will to power74 ,the retrograde movement front the zenith of development 7the intellectualisation of power on some slave-infected soil7 may be shown to be the result of the highest degree of energy turning against itself1 once it no longer has anything to organise1 and utilising its power in order to disorganise4 7a7 ,the ever-increasing suppression of societies1 and the latter's subjection by a smaller number of stronger individuals4 7b7 ,the ever-increasing suppression of the privileged and the strong1 hence the rise of democracy1 and ultimately of anarchy1 in the elements4 #gac4 ,value is the highest amount of power that a man can assimilate--a man1 not mankind6 ,mankind is much more of a means than an end4 ,it is a question of type3 mankind is merely the experimental material2 it is the overflow of the ill-constituted--a field of ruins4 #gad4 ,words relating to values are merely banners planted on those spots where a new blessedness was discovered--a new feeling4 #gae4 ,the standpoint of value is the same as that of the conditions of preservation and enhancement1 in regard to complex creatures of relative stability appearing in the course of evolution4 ,there are no such things as lasting and ultimate entities1 no atoms1 no monads3 here also permanence was first introduced by ourselves 7from practical1 utilitarian1 and other motives74 ,the forms that rule2 the sphere of the subjugated is continually extended2 or it decreases or increases according to the conditions 7nourishment7 being either favourable or unfavourable4 ,value is essentially the standpoint for the increase or decrease of these dominating centres 7pluralities in any case2 for unity cannot be observed anywhere in the nature of development74 ,the means of expression afforded by language are useless for the purpose of conveying any facts concerning development3 the need of positing a rougher world of stable existences and things forms part of our eternal desire for preservation4 ,we may speak of atoms and monads in a relative sense3 and this is certain1 that the smallest world is the most stable world 4444 ,there is no such thing as will3 there are only punctuations of will1 which are constantly increasing and decreasing their power4 ,,iii ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,as ,,exemplified ,,in ,,society ,,and ,,the ,,individual4 #a4 ,society and the ,state4 #gaf4 ,we take it as a principle that only individuals feel any responsibility4 ,corporations are invented to do what the individual has not the courage to do4 ,for this reason all communities are vastly more upright and instructive1 as regards the nature of man1 than the individual who is too cowardly to have the courage of his own desires4 ,all altruism is the prudence of the private man4 societies are not mutually altruistic4 ,the commandment1 ,thou shalt love thy next-door neighbour1 has never been extended to thy neighbour in general4 ,rather what ,manu says is probably truer3 ,we must conceive of all the ,states on our own frontier1 and their allies1 as being hostile1 and for the same reason we must consider all of their neighbours as being friendly to us4 ,the study of society is invaluable1 because man in society is far more childlike than man individually4 ,society has never regarded virtue as anything else than as a means to strength1 power1 and order4 ,manu's words again are simple and dignified3 ,virtue could hardly rely on her own strength alone4 ,really it is only the fear of punishment that keeps men in their limits1 and leaves every one in peaceful possession of his own4 #gag4 ,the ,state1 or unmorality organised1 is from within--the police1 the penal code1 status1 commerce1 and the family2 and from without1 the will to war1 to power1 to conquest and revenge4 ,a multitude will do things an individual will not1 because of the division of responsibility1 of command and execution2 because the virtues of obedience1 duty1 patriotism1 and local sentiment are all introduced2 because feelings of pride1 severity1 strength1 hate1 and revenge in short1 all typical traits are upheld1 and these are characteristics utterly alien to the herd-man4 #gah4 ,you haven't1 any of you1 the courage either to kill or to flog a man4 ,but the huge machinery of the ,state quells the individual and makes him decline to be answerable for his own deed 7obedience1 loyalty1 etc474 ,everything that a man does in the service of the ,state is against his own nature4 ,similarly1 everything he learns in view of future service of the ,state4 ,this result is obtained through division of labour 7so that responsibility is subdivided too73-- ,the legislator--and he who fulfils the law4 ,the teacher of discipline--and those who have grown hard and severe under discipline4 #gai4 ,a division of labour among the emotions exists inside society1 making individuals and classes produce an imperfect1 but more useful1 kind of soul4 ,observe how every type in society has become atrophied with regard to certain emotions with the view of fostering and accentuating other emotions4 ,morality may be thus justified3-- ,economically1--as aiming at the greatest possible use of all individual power1 with the view of preventing the waste of exceptional natures4 sthetically1--as the formation of fixed types1 and the pleasure in one's own4 ,politically1--as the art of bearing with the severe divergencies of the degrees of power in society4 ,psychologically1 as an imaginary preference for the bungled and the mediocre1 in order to preserve the weak4 #gbj4 ,man has one terrible and fundamental wish2 he desires power1 and this impulse1 which is called freedom1 must be the longest restrained4 ,hence ethics has instinctively aimed at such an education as shall restrain the desire for power2 thus our morality slanders the would-be tyrant1 and glorifies charity1 patriotism1 and the ambition of the herd4 #gba4 ,impotence to power1 how it disguises itself and plays the hypocrite1 as obedience1 subordination1 the pride of duty and morality1 submission1 devotion1 love 7the idolisation and apotheosis of the commander is a kind of compensation1 and indirect self-enhancement74 ,it veils itself further under fatalism and resignation1 objectivity1 self-tyranny1 stoicism1 asceticism1 self-abnegation1 hallowing4 ,other disguises are3 criticism1 pessimism1 indignation1 susceptibility1 beautiful soul1 virtue1 self--deification1 philosophic detachment1 freedom from contact with the world 7the realisation of impotence disguises itself as disdain74 ,there is a universal need to exercise some kind of power1 or to create for one's self the appearance of some power1 if only temporarily1 in the form of intoxication4 ,there are men who desire power simply for the sake of the happiness it will bring2 these belong chiefly to political parties4 ,other men have the same yearning1 even when power means visible disadvantages1 the sacrifice of their happiness1 and well-being2 they are the ambitious4 ,other men1 again1 are only like dogs in a manger1 and will have power only to prevent its falling into the hands of others on whom they would then be dependent4 #gbb4 ,if there be justice and equality before the law1 what would thereby be abolished8--,suspense1 enmity1 hatred4 ,but it is a mistake to think that you thereby increase happiness2 for the ,corsicans rejoice in more happiness than the ,continentals4 #gbc4 ,reciprocity and the expectation of a reward is one of the most seductive forms of the devaluation of mankind4 ,it involves that equality which depreciates any gulf as immoral4 #gbd4 ,utility is entirely dependent upon the object to be attained1--the wherefore8 ,and this wherefore1 this purpose1 is again dependent upon the degree of power4 ,utilitarianism is not1 therefore1 a fundamental doctrine2 it is only a story of sequels1 and cannot be made obligatory for all4 #gbe4 ,of old1 the ,state was regarded theoretically as a utilitarian institution2 it has now become so in a practical sense4 ,the time of kings has gone by1 because people are no longer worthy of them4 ,they do not wish to see the symbol of their ideal in a king1 but only a means to their own ends4 ,that's the whole truth4 #gbf4 ,i am trying to grasp the absolute sense of the communal standard of judgment and valuation1 naturally without any intention of deducing morals4 ,the degree of psychological falsity and denseness required in order to sanctify the emotions essential to preservation and expansion of power1 and to create a good conscience for them4 ,the degree of stupidity required in order that general rules and values may remain possible 7including education1 formation of culture1 and training74 ,the degree of inquisitiveness1 suspicion1 and intolerance required in order to deal with exceptions1 to suppress them as criminals1 and thus to give them bad consciences1 and to make them sick with their own singularity4 #gbg4 ,morality is essentially a shield1 a means of defence2 and1 in so far1 it is a sign of the imperfectly developed man 7he is still in armour2 he is still stoical74 ,the fully developed man is above all provided with weapons3 he is a man who attacks4 ,the weapons of war are converted into weapons of peace 7out of scales and carapaces grow feathers and hair74 #gbh4 ,the very notion1 living organism1 implies that there must be growth1--that there must be a striving after an extension of power1 and therefore a process of absorption of other forces4 ,under the drowsiness brought on by moral narcotics1 people speak of the right of the individual to defend himself2 on the same principle one might speak of his right to attack3 for both--and the latter more than the former--are necessities where all living organisms are concerned3 aggressive and defensive egoism are not questions of choice or even of free will1 but they are fatalities of life itself4 ,in this respect it is immaterial whether one have an individual1 a living body1 or an advancing society in view4 ,the right to punish 7or society's means of defence7 has been arrived at only through a misuse of the word right3 a right is acquired only by contract1 but self-defence and self-preservation do not stand upon the basis of a contract4 ,a people ought at least1 with quite as much justification1 to be able to regard its lust of power1 either in arms1 commerce1 trade1 or colonisation1 as a right the right of growth1 perhaps4444 ,when the instincts of a society ultimately make it give up war and renounce conquest1 it is decadent3 it is ripe for democracy and the rule of shopkeepers4 ,in the majority of cases1 it is true1 assurances of peace are merely stupefying draughts4 #gbi4 ,the maintenance of the military ,state is the last means of adhering to the great tradition of the past2 or1 where it has been lost1 to revive it4 ,by means of it the superior or strong type of man is preserved1 and all institutions and ideas which perpetuate enmity and order of rank in ,states1 such as national feeling1 protective tariffs1 etc41 may on that account seem justified4 #gcj4 ,in order that a thing may last longer than a person 7that is to say1 in order that a work may outlive the individual who has created it71 all manner of limitations and prejudices must be imposed upon people4 ,but how8 ,by means of love1 reverence1 gratitude towards the person who created the work1 or by means of the thought that our ancestors fought for it1 or by virtue of the feeling that the safety of our descendants will be secured if we uphold the work--for instance1 the polis4 ,morality is essentially the means of2 making something survive the individual1 because it makes him of necessity a slave4 ,obviously the aspect from above is different from the aspect from below1 and will lead to quite different interpretations4 ,how is organised power maintained8--,by the fact that countless generations sacrifice themselves to its cause4 #gca4 ,marriage1 property1 speech1 tradition1 race1 family1 people1 and ,state1 are each links in a chain--separate parts which have a more or less high or low origin4 ,economically they are justified by the surplus derived from the advantages of uninterrupted work and multiple production1 as weighed against the disadvantages of greater expense in barter and the difficulty of making things last4 7,the working parts are multiplied1 and yet remain largely idle4 ,hence the cost of producing them is greater1 and the cost of maintaining them by no means inconsiderable47 ,the advantage consists in avoiding interruption and incident loss4 ,nothing is more expensive than a start4 ,the higher the standard of living1 the greater will be the expense of maintenance1 nourishment1 and propagation1 as also the risk and the probability of an utter fall on reaching the summit4 #gcb4 ,in bourgeois marriages1 naturally in the best sense of the word marriage1 there is no question whatsoever of love any more than there is of money4 ,for on love no institution can be founded4 ,the whole matter consists in society giving leave to two persons to satisfy their sexual desires under conditions obviously designed to safeguard social order4 ,of course there must be a certain attraction between the parties and a vast amount of good nature1 patience1 compatibility1 and charity in any such contract4 ,but the word love should not be misused as regards such a union4 ,for two lovers1 in the real and strong meaning of the word1 the satisfaction of sexual desire is unessential2 it is a mere symbol4 ,for the one side1 as ,i have already said1 it is a symbol of unqualified submission3 for the other1 a sign of condescension--a sign of the appropriation of property4 ,marriage1 as understood by the real old nobility1 meant the breeding forth of the race 7but are there any nobles nowadays8 ,quaeritur71--that is to say1 the maintenance of a fixed definite type of ruler1 for which object husband and wife were sacrificed4 ,naturally the first consideration here had nothing to do with love2 on the contrary6 ,it did not even presuppose that mutual sympathy which is the sine qua non of the bourgeois marriage4 ,the prime consideration was the interest of the race1 and in the second place came the interest of a particular class4 ,but in the face of the coldness and rigour and calculating lucidity of such a noble concept of marriage as prevailed among every healthy aristocracy1 like that of ancient ,athens1 and even of ,europe during the eighteenth century1 we warm-blooded animals1 with our miserably oversensitive hearts1 we moderns1 cannot restrain a slight shudder4 ,that is why love as a passion1 in the big meaning of this word1 was invented for1 and in1 an aristocratic community--where convention and abstinence are most severe4 #gcc4 ,concerning the future of marriage4 ,a super-tax on inherited property1 a longer term of military service for bachelors of a certain minimum age within the community4 ,privileges of all sorts for fathers who lavish boys upon the world1 and perhaps plural votes as well4 ,a medical certificate as a condition of any marriage1 endorsed by the parochial authorities1 in which a series of questions addressed to the parties and the medical officers must be answered 7family histories74 ,as a counter-agent to prostitution1 or as its ennoblement1 ,i would recommend leasehold marriages 7to last for a term of years or months71 with adequate provision for the children4 ,every marriage to be warranted and sanctioned by a certain number of good men and true1 of the parish1 as a parochial obligation4 #gcd4 ,another commandment of philanthropy4--,there are cases where to have a child would be a crime--for example1 for chronic invalids and extreme neurasthenics4 ,these people should be converted to chastity1 and for this purpose the music of ,parsifal might at all events be tried4 ,for ,parsifal himself1 that born fool1 had ample reasons for not desiring to propagate4 ,unfortunately1 however1 one of the regular symptoms of exhausted stock is the inability to exercise any self-restraint in the presence of stimuli1 and the tendency to respond to the smallest sexual attraction4 ,it would be quite a mistake1 for instance1 to think of ,leopardi as a chaste man4 ,in such cases the priest and moralist play a hopeless game3 it would be far better to send for the apothecary4 ,lastly1 society here has a positive duty to fulfil1 and of all the demands that are made on it1 there are few more urgent and necessary than this one4 ,society as the trustee of life1 is responsible to life for every botched life that comes into existence1 and as it has to atone for such lives1 it ought consequently to make it impossible for them ever to see the light of day3 it should in many cases actually prevent the act of procreation1 and may1 without any regard for rank1 descent1 or intellect1 hold in readiness the most rigorous forms of compulsion and restriction1 and1 under certain circumstances1 have recourse to castration4 ,the ,mosaic law1 ,thou shalt do no murder1 is a piece of ingenuous puerility compared with the earnestness of this forbidding of life to decadents1 ,thou shalt not beget666 444 ,for life itself recognises no solidarity or equality of rights between the healthy and unhealthy parts of an organism4 ,the latter must at all cost be eliminated1 lest the whole fall to pieces4 ,compassion for decadents1 equal rights for the physiologically botched--this would be the very pinnacle of immorality1 it would be setting up ,nature's most formidable opponent as morality itself6 #gce4 ,there are some delicate and morbid natures1 the so-called idealists1 who can never under any circumstances rise above a coarse1 immature crime3 yet it is the great justification of their anmic little existence1 it is the small requital for their lives of cowardice and falsehood to have been for one instant at least--strong4 ,but they generally collapse after such an act4 #gcf4 ,in our civilised world we seldom hear of any but the bloodless1 trembling criminal1 overwhelmed by the curse and contempt of society1 doubting even himself1 and always belittling and belying his deeds--a misbegotten sort of criminal2 that is why we are opposed to the idea that all great men have been criminals 7only in the grand style1 and neither petty nor pitiful71 that crime must be inherent in greatness 7this at any rate is the unanimous verdict of all those students of human nature who have sounded the deepest waters of great souls74 ,to feel one's self adrift from all questions of ancestry1 conscience1 and duty--this is the danger with which every great man is confronted4 ,yet this is precisely what he desires3 he desires the great goal1 and consequently the means thereto4 #gcg4 ,in times when man is led by reward and punishment1 the class of man which the legislator has in view is still of a low and primitive type3 he is treated as one treats a child4 ,in our latter-day culture1 general degeneracy removes all sense from reward and punishment4 ,this determination of action by the prospect of reward and punishment presupposes young1 strong1 and vigorous races4 ,in effete races impulses are so irrepressible that a mere idea has no force whatever4 ,inability to offer any resistance to a stimulus1 and the feeling that one must react to it3 this excessive susceptibility of decadents makes all such systems of punishment and reform altogether senseless4 ,the idea amelioration presupposes a normal and strong creature whose action must in some way be balanced or cancelled if he is not to be lost and turned into an enemy of the community4 #gch4 ,the effect of prohibition4 ,every power which forbids and which knows how to excite fear in the person forbidden creates a guilty conscience4 7,that is to say1 a person has a certain desire but is conscious of the danger of gratifying it1 and is consequently forced to be secretive1 underhand1 and cautious47 ,thus any prohibition deteriorates the character of those who do not willingly submit themselves to it1 but are constrained thereto4 #gci4 ,punishment and reward4--,these two things stand or fall together4 ,nowadays no one will accept a reward or acknowledge that any authority should have the power to punish4 ,warfare has been reformed4 ,we have a desire3 it meets with opposition3 we then see that we shall most easily obtain it by coming to some agreement--by drawing up a contract4 ,in modern society where every one has given his assent to a certain contract1 the criminal is a man who breaks that contract4 ,this at least is a clear concept4 ,but in that case1 anarchists and enemies of social order could not be tolerated4 #gdj4 ,crimes belong to the category of revolt against the social system1 ,a rebel is not punished1 he is simply suppressed4 ,he may be an utterly contemptible and pitiful creature2 but there is nothing intrinsically despicable about rebellion in fact1 in our particular society revolt is far from being disgraceful4 ,there are cases in which a rebel deserves honour precisely because he is conscious of certain elements in society which cry aloud for hostility2 for such a man rouses us from our slumbers4 ,when a criminal commits but one crime against a particular person1 it does not alter the fact that all his instincts urge him to make a stand against the whole social system4 ,his isolated act is merely a symptom4 ,the idea of punishment ought to be reduced to the concept of the suppression of revolt1 a weapon against the vanquished 7by means of long or short terms of imprisonment74 ,but punishment should not be associated in any way with contempt4 ,a criminal is at all events a man who has set his life1 his honour1 his freedom at stake2 he is therefore a man of courage4 ,neither should punishment be regarded as penance or retribution1 as though there were some recognised rate of exchange between crime and punishment4 ,punishment does not purify1 simply because crime does not sully4 ,a criminal should not be prevented from making his peace with society1 provided he does not belong to the race of criminals4 ,in the latter case1 however1 he should be opposed even before he has committed an act of hostility4 7,as soon as he gets into the clutches of society the first operation to be performed upon him should be that of castration47 ,a criminal's bad manners and his low degree of intelligence should not be reckoned against him4 ,nothing is more common than that he should misunderstand himself 7more particularly when his rebellious instinct--the rancour of the unclassed--has not reached consciousness simply because he has not read enough74 ,it is natural that he should deny and dishonour his deed while under the influence of fear at its failure4 ,all this is quite distinct from those cases in which1 psychologically speaking1 the criminal yields to an incomprehensible impulse1 and attributes a motive to his deed by associating it with a merely incidental and insignificant action 7for example1 robbing a man1 when his real desire was to take his blood74 ,the worth of a man should not be measured by any one isolated act4 ,napoleon warned us against this4 ,deeds which are only skin-deep are more particularly insignificant4 ,if we have no crime--let us say no murder--on our conscience2 why is it8 ,it simply means that a few favourable circumstances have been wanting in our lives4 ,and supposing we were induced to commit such a crime would our worth be materially affected8 ,as a matter of fact1 we should only be despised1 if we were not credited with possessing the power to kill a man under certain circumstances4 ,in nearly every crime certain qualities come into play without which no one would be a true man4 ,dostoievsky was not far wrong when he said of the inmates of the penal colonies in ,siberia1 that they constituted the strongest and most valuable portion of the ,russian people4 ,the fact that in our society the criminal happens to be a badly nourished and stunted animal is simply a condemnation of our system4 ,in the days of the ,renaissance the criminal was a flourishing specimen of humanity1 and acquired his own virtue for himself1--,virtue in the sense of the ,renaissance--that is to say1 virt2 free from moralic acid4 ,it is only those whom we do not despise that we are able to elevate4 ,moral contempt is a far greater indignity and insult than any kind of crime4 #gda4 ,shame was first introduced into punishment when certain penalties were inflicted on persons held in contempt1 such as slaves4 ,it was a despised class that was most frequently punished1 and thus it came to pass that punishment and contempt were associated4 #gdb4 ,in the ancient idea of punishment a religious concept was immanent1 namely1 the retributive power of chastisement4 ,penalties purified2 in modern society1 however1 penalties degrade4 ,punishment is a form of paying off a debt3 once it has been paid1 one is freed from the deed for which one was so ready to suffer4 ,provided belief in the power of punishment exist1 once the penalty is paid a feeling of relief and lightheartedness results1 which is not so very far removed from a state of convalescence and health4 ,one has made one's peace with society1 and one appears to one's self more dignified pure4444 ,to-day1 however1 punishment isolates even more than the crime2 the fate behind the sin has become so formidable that it is almost hopeless4 ,one rises from punishment still an enemy of society4 ,henceforward it reckons yet another enemy against it4 ,the jus talionis may spring from the spirit of retribution 7that is to say1 from a sort of modification of the instinct of revenge72 but in the ,book of ,manu1 for instance1 it is the need of having some equivalent in order to do penance1 or to become free in a religious sense4 #gdc4 ,my pretty radical note of interrogation in the case of all more modern laws of punishment is this3 should not the punishment fit the crime8--for in your heart of hearts thus would you have it4 ,but then the susceptibility of the particular criminal to pain would have to be taken into account4 ,in other words1 there should be no such thing as a preconceived penalty for any crime--no fixed penal code4 ,but as it would be no easy matter to ascertain the degree of sensitiveness of each individual criminal1 punishment would have to be abolished in practice8 ,what a sacrifice6 ,is it not8 ,consequently 444 #gdd4 ,ah6 and the philosophy of jurisprudence6 ,that is a science which1 like all moral sciences1 has not even been wrapped in swaddling-clothes yet4 ,even among jurists who consider themselves liberal1 the oldest and most valuable significance of punishment is still misunderstood--it is not even known4 ,so long as jurisprudence does not build upon a new foundation--on history and comparative anthropology--it will never cease to quarrel over the fundamentally false abstractions which are fondly imagined to be the philosophy of law1 and which have nothing whatever to do with modern man4 ,the man of to-day1 however1 is such a complicated woof even in regard to his legal valuation that he allows of the most varied interpretation4 #gde4 ,an old ,chinese sage once said he had heard that when mighty empires were doomed they began to have numberless laws4 #gdf4 ,schopenhauer would have all rapscallions castrated1 and all geese shut up in convents4 ,but from what point of view would this be desirable8 ,the rascal has at least this advantage over other men--that he is not mediocre2 and the fool is superior to us inasmuch as he does not suffer at the sight of mediocrity4 ,it would be better to widen the gulf--that is to say1 roguery and stupidity should be increased4 ,in this way human nature would become broader 444 but1 after all1 this is ,fate1 and it will happen1 whether we desire it or not4 ,idiocy and roguery are increasing3 this is part of modern progress4 #gdg4 ,society1 to-day1 is full of consideration1 tact1 and reticence1 and of good-natured respect for other people's rights--even for the exactions of strangers4 ,to an even greater degree is there a certain charitable and instinctive depreciation of the worth of man as shown by all manner of trustful habits4 ,respect for men1 and not only for the most virtuous1 is perhaps the real parting of the ways between us and the ,christian mythologists also have our good share of irony even when listening to moral sermons4 ,he who preaches morality to us debases himself in our eyes and becomes almost comical4 ,liberal-mindedness regarding morality is one of the best signs of our age4 ,in cases where it is most distinctly wanting1 we regard it as a sign of a morbid condition 7the case of ,carlyle in ,england1 of ,ibsen in ,norway1 and ,schopenhauer's pessimism throughout ,europe74 ,if there is anything which can reconcile us to our own age1 it is precisely the amount of immorality which it allows itself without falling in its own estimation--very much the reverse6 ,in what1 then1 does the superiority of culture over the want of culture consist--of the ,renaissance1 for instance1 over the ,middle ,ages8 ,in this alone3 the greater quantity of acknowledged immorality4 ,from this it necessarily follows that the very zenith of human development must be regarded by the moral fanatic as the non plus ultra of corruption 7in this connection let us recall ,savonarola's judgment of ,florence1 ,plato's indictment of ,athens under ,pericles1 ,luther's condemnation of ,rome1 ,rousseau's anathemas against the society of ,voltaire1 and ,germany's hostility to ,goethe74 ,a little more fresh air1 for ,heaven's sake6 ,this ridiculous condition of ,europe must not last any longer4 ,is there a single idea behind this bovine nationalism8 ,what possible value can there be in encouraging this arrogant self-conceit when everything to-day points to greater and more common interests8--at a moment when the spiritual dependence and denationalisation1 which are obvious to all1 are paving the way for the reciprocal rapprochements and fertilisations which make up the real value and sense of present-day culture6 444 ,and it is precisely now that the new ,german ,empire has been founded upon the most thread-bare and discredited of ideas--universal suffrage and equal right for all4 ,think of all this struggling for advantage among conditions which are in every way degenerate3 of this culture of big cities1 of newspapers1 of hurry and scurry1 and of aimlessness6 ,the economic unity of ,europe must necessarily come--and with it1 as a reaction1 the pacivist movement4 ,a pacivist party1 free from all sentimentality1 which forbids its children to wage war2 which forbids recourse to courts of justice2 which forswears all fighting1 all contradiction1 and all persecution3 for a while the party of the oppressed1 and later the powerful party3--this party would be opposed to everything in the shape of revenge and resentment4 ,there will also be a war party1 exercising the same thoroughness and severity towards itself1 which will proceed in precisely the opposite direction4 #gdi4 ,the princes of ,europe should really consider whether as a matter of fact they can dispense with our services--with us1 the immoralists4 ,we are to-day the only power which can win a victory without allies3 and we are therefore far and away the strongest of the strong4 ,we can even do without lying1 and let me ask what other power can dispense with this weapon8 ,a strong temptation fights for us2 the strongest1 perhaps1 that exists--the temptation of truth4444 ,truth8 ,how do ,i come by this word8 ,i must withdraw it3 ,i must repudiate this proud word4 ,but no4 ,we do not even want it--we shall be quite able to achieve our victory of power without its help4 ,the real charm which fights for us1 the eye of ,venus which our opponents themselves deaden and blind--this charm is the magic of the extreme4 ,the fascination which everything extreme exercises3 we immoralists--we are in every way the extremists4 #gej4 ,the corrupted ruling classes have brought ruling into evil odour4 ,the ,state administration of justice is a piece of cowardice1 because the great man who can serve as a standard is lacking4 ,at last the feeling of insecurity becomes so great that men fall in the dust before any sort of will-power that commands4 #gea4 ,the will to power is so loathed in democratic ages that the whole of the psychology of these ages seems directed towards its belittlement and slander4 ,the types of men who sought the highest honours are said to have been ,napoleon6 ,csar6 and ,alexander6--as if these had not been precisely the greatest scorners of honour4 ,and ,helvetius would fain show us that we strive after power in order to have those pleasures which are at the disposal of the mighty--that is to say1 according to him1 this striving after power is the will to pleasure--hedonism6 #geb4 ,according as to whether a people feels3 the rights1 the keenness of vision1 and the gifts of leading1 etc41 are with the few or with the many--it constitutes ,en oligarchic or a democratic community4 ,monarchy represents the belief in a man who is completely superior a leader1 a saviour1 a demigod4 ,aristocracy represents the belief in a chosen few--in a higher caste4 ,democracy represents the disbelief in all great men and in all elite societies3 everybody is everybody else's equal1 ,at bottom we are all herd and mob4 #gec4 ,i am opposed to ,socialism because it dreams ingenuously of goodness1 truth1 beauty1 and equal rights 7anarchy pursues the same ideal1 but in a more brutal fashion74 ,i am opposed to parliamentary government and the power of the press1 because they are the means whereby cattle become masters4 #ged4 ,the arming of the people means in the end the arming of the mob4 #gee4 ,socialists are particularly ridiculous in my eyes1 because of their absurd optimism concerning the good man who is supposed to be waiting in their cupboard1 and who will come into being when the present order of society has been overturned and has made way for natural instincts4 ,but the opposing party is quite as ludicrous1 because it will not see the act of violence which lies beneath every law1 the severity and egoism inherent in every kind of authority4 ,i and my kind will rule and prevail4 ,whoever degenerates will be either expelled or annihilated4--,this was the fundamental feeling of all ancient legislation4 ,the idea of a higher order of man is hated much more profoundly than monarchs themselves4 ,hatred of aristocracy always uses hatred of monarchy as a mask4 #gef4 ,how treacherous are all parties6 ,they bring to light something concerning their leaders which the latter1 perhaps1 have hitherto kept hidden beneath a bushel with consummate art4 #geg4 ,modern ,socialism would fain create a profane counterpart to jesuitism3 everybody a perfect instrument4 ,but as to the object of it all1 the purpose of it--this has not yet been ascertained4 #geh4 ,the slavery of to-day3 a piece of barbarism4 ,where are the masters for whom these slaves work8 ,one must not always expect the simultaneous appearance of the two complementary castes of society4 ,utility and pleasure are slave theories of life4 ,the blessing of work is an ennobling phrase for slaves4 ,incapacity for leisure4 #gei4 ,there is no such thing as a right to live1 a right to work1 or a right to be happy3 in this respect man is not different from the meanest worm4 #gfj4 ,we must undoubtedly think of these things as uncompromisingly as ,nature does3 they preserve the species4 #gfa4 ,we should look upon the needs of the masses with ironic compassion3 they want something which we have got--,ah6 #gfb4 ,european democracy is only in a very slight degree the manifestation of unfettered powers4 ,it represents1 above all1 the unfettering of laziness1 fatigue1 and weakness4 #gec4 ,concerning the future of the workman--,workmen men should learn to regard their duties as soldiers do4 ,they receive emoluments1 incomes1 but they do not get wages6 ,there is no relationship between work done and money received2 the individual should1 according to his kind1 be so placed as to perform the highest that is compatible with his powers4 #gfd4 ,noblemen ought one day to live as the bourgeois do now--but above them1 distinguishing themselves by the simplicity of their wants--the superior caste will then live in a poorer and simpler way and yet be in possession of power4 ,for lower orders of mankind the reverse valuations hold good3 it is a matter of implanting virtues in them4 ,absolute commands1 terrible compulsory methods1 in order that they may rise above mere ease in life4 ,the remainder may obey1 but their vanity demands that they may feel themselves dependent1 not upon great men1 but upon principles4 #gfe4 ,the ,atonement of all ,sin8 ,people speak of the profound injustice of the social arrangement1 as it the fact that one man is born in favourable circumstances and that another is born in unfavourable ones--or that one should possess gifts the other has not1 were on the face of it an injustice4 ,among the more honest of these opponents of society this is what is said3 ,we1 with all the bad1 morbid1 criminal qualities which we acknowledge we possess1 are only the inevitable result of the oppression for ages of the weak by the strong2 thus they insinuate their evil natures into the consciences of the ruling classes4 ,they threaten and storm and curse4 ,they become virtuous from sheer indignation--they don't want to have become bad men and canaille for nothing4 ,the name for this attitude1 which is an invention of the last century1 is1 if ,i am not mistaken1 pessimism2 and even that pessimism which is the outcome of indignation4 ,it is in this attitude of mind that history is judged1 that it is deprived of its inevitable fatality1 and that responsibility and even guilt is discovered in it4 ,for the great desideratum is to find guilty people in it4 ,the botched and the bungled1 the decadents of all kinds1 are revolted at themselves1 and require sacrifices in order that they may not slake their thirst for destruction upon themselves 7which might1 indeed1 be the most reasonable procedure74 ,but for this purpose they at least require a semblance of justification1 i4e4 a theory according to which the fact of their existence1 and of their character1 may be expiated by a scapegoat4 ,this scapegoat may be ,god1--in ,russia such resentful atheists are not wanting1--or the order of society1 or education and upbringing1 or the ,jews1 or the nobles1 or1 finally1 the well-constituted of every kind4 ,it is a sin for a man to have been born in decent circumstances1 for by so doing he disinherits the others1 he pushes them aside1 he imposes upon them the curse of vice and of work4444 ,how can ,i be made answerable for my misery2 surely some one must be responsible for it1 or ,i could not bear to live4444 ,in short1 resentful pessimism discovers responsible parties in order to create a pleasurable sensation for itself--revenge4444 ,sweeter than honey--thus does even old ,homer speak of revenge4 999999 ,the fact that such a theory no longer meets with understanding--or rather1 let us say1 contempt is accounted for by that particle of ,christianity which still circulates in the blood of every one of us2 it makes us tolerant towards things simply because we scent a ,christian savour about them4444 ,the ,socialists appeal to the ,christian instincts2 this is their really refined piece of cleverness4444 ,thanks to ,christianity1 we have now grown accustomed to the superstitious concept of a soul--of an immortal soul1 of soul monads1 which1 as a matter of fact1 hails from somewhere else1 and which has only become inherent in certain cases--that is to say1 become incarnate in them--by accident3 but the nature of these cases is not altered1 let alone determined by it4 ,the circumstances of society1 of relationship1 and of history are only accidents for the soul1 perhaps misadventures3 in any case1 the world is not their work4 ,by means of the idea of soul the individual is made transcendental2 thanks to it1 a ridiculous amount of importance can be attributed to him4 ,as a matter of fact1 it was ,christianity which first induced the individual to take up this position of judge of all things4 ,it made megalomania almost his duty3 it has made everything temporary and limited subordinate to eternal rights6 ,what is the ,state1 what is society1 what are historical laws1 what is physiology to me8 ,thus speaks something from beyond ,becoming1 an immutable entity throughout history3 thus speaks something immortal1 something divine--it is the soul6 ,another ,christian1 but no less insane1 concept has percolated even deeper into the tissues of modern ideas3 the concept of the equality of all souls before ,god4 ,in this concept the prototype of all theories concerning equal rights is to be found4 ,man was first taught to stammer this proposition religiously3 later1 it was converted into a moral2 no wonder he has ultimately begun to take it seriously1 to take it practically6--that is to say1 politically1 socialistically1 resento-pessimistically4 ,wherever responsible circumstances or people have been looked for1 it was the instinct of revenge that sought them4 ,this instinct of revenge obtained such an ascendancy over man in the course of centuries that the whole of metaphysics1 psychology1 ideas of society1 and1 above all1 morality1 are tainted with it4 ,man has nourished this idea of responsibility to such an extent that he has introduced the bacillus of vengeance into everything4 ,by means of it he has made ,god ,himself ill1 and killed innocence in the universe1 by tracing every condition of things to acts of will1 to intentions1 to responsible agents4 ,the whole teaching of will1 this most fatal fraud that has ever existed in psychology hitherto1 was invented essentially for the purpose of punishment4 ,it was the social utility of punishment that lent this concept its dignity1 its power1 and its truth4 ,the originator of that psychology1 that we shall call volitional psychology1 must be sought in those classes which had the right of punishment in their hands2 above all1 therefore1 among the priests who stood on the very pinnacle of ancient social systems3 these people wanted to create for themselves the right to wreak revenge--they wanted to supply ,god with the privilege of vengeance4 ,for this purpose2 man was declared free3 to this end every action had to be regarded as voluntary1 and the origin of every deed had to be considered as lying in consciousness4 ,but by such propositions as these ancient psychology is refuted4 ,to-day1 when ,europe seems to have taken the contrary direction2 when we halcyonians would fain withdraw1 dissipate1 and banish the concept of guilt and punishment with all our might from the world2 when our most serious endeavours are concentrated upon purifying psychology1 morality1 history1 nature1 social institutions and privileges1 and even ,god ,himself1 from this filth2 in whom must we recognise our most mortal enemies8 ,precisely in those apostles of revenge and resentment1 in those who are par excellence pessimists from indignation1 who make it their mission to sanctify their filth with the name of righteous indignation4444 ,we others1 whose one desire is to reclaim innocence on behalf of ,becoming1 would fain be the missionaries of a purer thought1 namely1 that no one is responsible for man's qualities2 neither ,god1 nor society1 nor his parents1 nor his ancestors1 nor himself--in fact1 that no one is to blame for him 444 ,the being who might be made responsible for a man's existence1 for the fact that he is constituted in a particular way1 or for his birth in certain circumstances and in a certain environment1 is absolutely lacking4--,and it is a great blessing that such a being is non-existent 4444 ,we are not the result of an eternal design1 of a will1 of a desire3 there is no attempt being made with us to attain to an ideal of perfection1 to an ideal of happiness1 to an ideal of virtue1--and we are just as little the result of a mistake on ,god's part in the presence of which ,he ought to feel uneasy 7a thought which is known to be at the very root of the ,old ,testament74 ,there is not a place nor a purpose nor a sense to which we can attribute our existence or our kind of existence4 ,in the first place1 no one is in a position to do this3 it is quite impossible to judge1 to measure1 or to compare1 or even to deny the whole universe6 ,and why8--,for five reasons1 all accessible to the man of average intelligence3 for instance1 because there is no existence outside the universe 444 and let us say it again1 this is a great blessing1 for therein lies the whole innocence of our lives4 #b4 ,the ,individual4 #gff4 ,fundamental errors3 to regard the herd as an aim instead of the individual6 ,the herd is only a means and nothing more6 ,but nowadays people are trying to understand the herd as they would an individual1 and to confer higher rights upon it than upon isolated personalities4 ,terrible mistake66 ,in addition to this1 all that makes for gregariousness1 e4g4 sympathy1 is regarded as the more valuable side of our natures4 #gfg4 ,the individual is something quite new1 and capable of creating new things4 ,he is something absolute1 and all his actions are quite his own4 ,the individual in the end has to seek the valuation for his actions in himself3 because he has to give an individual meaning even to traditional words and notions4 ,his interpretation of a formula is at least personal1 even if he does not create the formula itself3 at least as an interpreter he is creative4 #gfh4 ,the ego oppresses and kills4 ,it acts like an organic cell4 ,it is predatory and violent4 ,it would fain regenerate itself--pregnancy4 ,it would fain give birth to its ,god and see all mankind at its feet4 #gfi4 ,every living organism gropes around as far as its power permits1 and overcomes all that is weaker than itself3 by this means it finds pleasure in its own existence4 ,the increasing humanity of this tendency consists in the fact that we are beginning to feel ever more subtly how difficult it is really to absorb others3 while we could show our power by injuring him1 his will estranges him from us1 and thus makes him less susceptible of being overcome4 #ggj4 ,the degree of resistance which has to be continually overcome in order to remain at the top1 is the measure of freedom1 whether for individuals or for societies3 freedom being understood as positive power1 as will to power4 ,the highest form of individual freedom1 of sovereignty1 would1 according to this1 in all probability be found not five feet away from its opposite--that is to say1 where the danger of slavery hangs over life1 like a hundred swords of ,damocles4 ,let any one go through the whole of history from this point of view3 the ages when the individual reaches perfect maturity1 i4e4 the free ages1 when the classical type1 sovereign man1 is attained to--these were certainly not humane times6 ,there should be no choice3 either one must be uppermost or nethermost--like a worm1 despised1 annihilated1 trodden upon4 ,one must have tyrants against one in order to become a tyrant1 i4e4 in order to be free4 ,it is no small advantage to have a hundred swords of ,damocles suspended over one3 it is only thus that one learns to dance1 it is only thus that one attains to any freedom in one's movements4 #gga4 ,man more than any other animal was originally altruistic--hence his slow growth 7child7 and lofty development4 ,hence1 too1 his extraordinary and latest kind of egoism4--,beasts of prey are much more individualistic4 #ggb4 ,a criticism of selfishness4 ,the involuntary ingenuousness of ,la ,rochefoucauld1 who believed that he was saying something bold1 liberal1 and paradoxical 7in his days1 of course1 truth in psychological matters was something that astonished people7 when he said4 ,les grandes mes ne sont pas celles qui ont moins de passions et plus de vertus que les mes communes1 mais seulement celles qui ont de plus grands desseins4 ,certainly1 ,john ,stuart ,mill 7who calls ,chamfort the noble and philosophical ,la ,rochefoucauld of the eighteenth century7 recognises in him merely an astute and keen-sighted observer of all that which is the result of habitual selfishness in the human breast1 and he adds3 ,a noble spirit is unable to see the necessity of a constant observation of baseness and contemptibility1 unless it were to show against what corrupting influences a lofty spirit and a noble character were able to triumph4 #ggc4 ,the ,morphology of the ,feelings of ,self4 ,first standpoint--,to what extent are sympathy or communal feelings1 the lower or preparatory states1 at a time when personal self-esteem and initiative in valuation1 on the part of individuals1 are not yet possible8 ,second standpoint4--,to what extent is the zenith of collective self-esteem1 the pride in the distinction of the clan1 the feeling of inequality and a certain abhorrence of mediation1 of equal rights and of reconciliation1 the school for individual self-esteem8 ,it may be this in so far as it compels the individual to represent the pride of the community --he is obliged to speak and act with tremendous self-respect1 because he stands for the community ,and the same holds good when the individual regards himself as the instrument or speaking-tube of a godhead4 ,third standpoint4--,to what extent do these forms of impersonality invest the individual with enormous importance8 ,in so far as higher powers are using him as an intermediary3 religious shyness towards one's self is the condition of prophets and poets4 ,fourth standpoint4--,to what extent does responsibility for a whole educate the individual in foresight1 and give him a severe and terrible hand1 a calculating and cold heart1 majesty of bearing and of action--things which he would not allow himself if he stood only for his own rights8 ,in short1 collective self-esteem is the great preparatory school for personal sovereignty4 ,the noble caste is that which creates the heritage of this faculty4 #ggd4 ,the disguised forms of will to power3-- 7#a7 ,the desire for freedom1 for independence for equilibrium1 for peace1 for co-ordination4 ,also that of the anchorite1 the ,free-,spirit4 ,in its lowest form1 the will to live at all costs--the instinct of self-preservation4 7#b7 ,subordination1 with the view of satisfying the will to power of a whole community2 submissiveness1 the making of one's self indispensable and useful to him who has the power2 love1 a secret path to the heart of the powerful1 in order to become his master4 7#c7 ,the feeling of duty1 conscience1 the imaginary comfort of belonging to a higher order than those who actually hold the reins of power2 the acknowledgment of an order of rank which allows of judging even the more powerful1 self-depreciation2 the discovery of new codes of morality 7of which the ,jews are a classical example74 #gge4 ,praise and gratitude as forms of will to power4--,praise and gratitude for harvests1 for good weather1 victories1 marriages1 and peace--all festivals need a subject on which feeling can be outpoured4 ,the desire is to make all good things that happen to one appear as though they had been done to one3 people will have a donor4 ,the same holds good of the work of art3 people are not satisfied with it alone1 they must praise the artist4--,what1 then1 is praise8 ,it is a sort of compensation for benefits received1 a sort of giving back1 a manifestation of our power--for the man who praises assents to1 blesses1 values1 judges4 he arrogates to himself the right to give his consent to a thing1 to be able to confer honours4 ,an increased feeling of happiness or of liveliness is also an increased feeling of power1 and it is as a result of this feeling that a man praises 7it is as the outcome of this feeling that he invents a donor1 a subject74 ,gratitude is thus revenge of a lofty kind3 it is most severely exercised and demanded where equality and pride both require to be upheld--that is to say1 where revenge is practised to its fullest extent4 #ggf4 ,concerning the ,machiavellism of ,power4 ,the will to power appears3-- 7a7 ,among the oppressed and slaves of all kinds1 in the form of will to freedom3 the mere fact of breaking loose from something seems to be an end in itself 7in a religio-moral sense3 ,one is only answerable to one's own conscience2 evangelical freedom1 etc4 etc471 7b7 ,in the case of a stronger species1 ascending to power1 in the form of the will to overpower4 ,if this fails1 then it shrinks to the will to justice--that is to say1 to the will to the same measure of rights as the ruling caste possesses4 7c7 ,in the case of the strongest1 richest1 most independent1 and most courageous1 in the form of love of humanity1 of love of the people1 of the gospel1 of truth of ,god1 of pity1 of self sacrifice1 etc4 etc42 in the form of overpowering1 of deeds of capture1 of imposing service on some one1 of an instinctive reckoning of one's self as part of a great mass of power to which one attempts to give a direction3 the hero1 the prophet1 the ,csar1 the ,saviour1 the bell-wether4 7,the love of the sexes also belongs to this category1 it will overpower something1 possess it utterly1 and it looks like self-abnegation4 ,at bottom it is only the love of one's instrument1 of one's horse--the conviction that things belong to one because one is in a position to use them47 ,freedom1 ,justice1 ,love666 #ggg4 ,love4--,behold this love and pity of women--what could be more egoistic8 444 ,and when they do sacrifice themselves and their honour or reputation1 to whom do they sacrifice themselves8 ,to the man8 ,is it not rather to an unbridled desire8 ,these desires are quite as selfish1 even though they may be beneficial to others and provoke gratitude4 444 ,to what extent can such a hyperftation of one valuation sanctify everything else66 #ggh4 ,senses1 ,passions44--,when the fear of the senses and of the passions and of the desires becomes so great as to warn us against them1 it is already a symptom of weakness3 extreme measures always characterise abnormal conditions4 ,that which is lacking here1 or more precisely that which is decaying1 is the power to resist an impulse3 when one feels instinctively that one must yield1--that is to say1 that one must react1--then it is an excellent thing to avoid opportunities 7temptations74 ,the stimulation of the senses is only a temptation in so far as those creatures are concerned whose systems are easily swayed and influenced3 on the other hand1 in the case of remarkable constitutional obtuseness and hardness1 strong stimuli are necessary in order to set the functions in motion4 ,dissipation can only be objected to in the case of one who has no right to it2 and almost all passions have fallen into disrepute thanks to those who were not strong enough to convert them to their own advantage4 ,one should understand that passions are open to the same objections as illnesses3 yet we should not be justified in doing without illnesses1 and still less without passions4 ,we require the abnormal2 we give life a tremendous shock by means of these great illnesses4 ,in detail the following should be distinguished3-- 7#a7 ,the dominating passion1 which may even bring the supremest form of health with it3 in this case the co-ordination of the internal system and its functions to perform one task is best attained1--but this is almost a definition of health4 7#b7 ,the antagonism of the passions the double1 treble1 and multiple soul in one breast3#f this is very unhealthy2 it is a sign of inner ruin and of disintegration1 betraying and promoting an internal dualism and anarchy--unless1 of course1 one passion becomes master4 ,return to health4 7#c7 ,the juxtaposition of passions without their being either opposed or united with one another4 ,very often transitory1 and then1 as soon as order is established1 this condition may be a healthy one4 ,a most interesting class of men belong to this order1 the chameleons2 they are not necessarily at loggerheads with themselves1 they are both happy and secure1 but they cannot develop--their moods lie side by side1 even though they may seem to lie far apart4 ,they change1 but they become nothing4 ,footnote #f3 ,this refers to ,goethe's ,faust4 ,in ,part ,i41 ,act ,i41 ,scene #aa41 we find ,faust exclaiming in despair3 ,two souls1 alas6 within my bosom throne6 ,see ,theodore ,martin's ,faust1 translated into ,english verse4--,tr4 #ggi4 ,the quantitative estimate of aims and its influence upon the valuing standpoint1 the great and the small criminal4 ,the greatness or smallness of the aims will determine whether the doer feels respect for himself with it all1 or whether he feels pusillanimous and miserable4 ,the degree of intellectuality manifested in the means employed may likewise influence our valuation4 ,how differently the philosophical innovator1 experimenter1 and man of violence stands out against robbers1 barbarians1 adventurers6--,there is a semblance of disinterestedness in the former4 ,finally1 noble manners1 bearing1 courage1 self-confidence1--how they alter the value of that which is attained by means of them6 999999 ,concerning the optics of valuation3-- ,the influence of the greatness or smallness of the aims4 ,the influence of the intellectuality of the means4 ,the influence of the behaviour in action4 ,the influence of success or failure4 ,the influence of opposing forces and their value4 ,the influence of that which is permitted and that which is forbidden4 #ghj4 ,the tricks by means of which actions1 measures1 and passions are legitimised1 which from an individual standpoint are no longer good form or even in good taste4-- ,art1 which allows us to enter such strange worlds1 makes them tasteful to us4 ,historians prove its justification and reason2 travels1 exoticism1 psychology1 penal codes1 the lunatic asylum1 the criminal1 sociology4 ,impersonality 7so that as media of a collective whole we allow ourselves these passions and action--the ,bar1 juries1 the bourgeois1 the soldier1 the minister1 the prince1 society1 critics7 makes us feel that we are sacrificing something4 #gha4 ,preoccupations concerning one's self and one's eternal salvation are not expressive either of a rich or of a self-confident nature1 for the latter lets all questions of eternal bliss go to the devil1--it is not interested in such matters of happiness it is all power1 deeds1 desires2 it imposes itself upon things2 it even violates things4 ,the ,christian is a romantic hypochondriac who does not stand firmly on his legs4 ,whenever hedonistic views come to the front1 one can always presuppose the existence of pain and a certain ill-constitutedness4 #ghb4 ,the growing autonomy of the individual--,parisian philosophers like ,m4 ,fouille talk of such things3 they would do well to study the race moutonnire for a moment2 for they belong to it4 ,for ,heaven's sake open your eyes1 ye sociologists who deal with the future6 ,the individual grew strong under quite opposite conditions3 ye describe the extremest weakening and impoverishment of man2 ye actually want this weakness and impoverishment1 and ye apply the whole lying machinery of the old ideal in order to achieve your end4 ,ye are so constituted that ye actually regard your gregarious wants as an ideal6 ,here we are in the presence of an absolute lack of psychological honesty4 #ghc4 ,the two traits which characterise the modern ,european are apparently antagonistic individualism and the demand for equal rights3 this ,i am at last beginning to understand4 ,the individual is an extremely vulnerable piece of vanity3 this vanity1 when it is conscious of its high degree of susceptibility to pain1 demands that every one should be made equal2 that the individual should only stand inter pares4 ,but in this way a social race is depicted in which1 as a matter of fact1 gifts and powers are on the whole equally distributed4 ,the pride which would have loneliness and but few appreciators is quite beyond comprehension3 really great successes are only attained through the masses--indeed1 we scarcely understand yet that a mob success is in reality only a small success2 because pulchrum est paucorum hominum4 ,no morality will countenance order of rank among men1 and the jurists know nothing of a communal conscience4 ,the principle of individualism rejects really great men1 and demands the most delicate vision for1 and the speediest discovery of1 a talent among people who are almost equal2 and inasmuch as every one has some modicum of talent in such late and civilised cultures 7and can1 therefore1 expect to receive his share of honour71 there is a more general buttering-up of modest merits to-day than there has ever been4 ,this gives the age the appearance of unlimited justice4 ,its want of justice is to be found not in its unbounded hatred of tyrants and demagogues1 even in the arts2 but in its detestation of noble natures who scorn the praise of the many4 ,the demand for equal rights 7that is to say1 the privilege of sitting in judgment on everything and everybody7 is anti-aristocratic4 ,this age knows just as little concerning the absorption of the individual1 of his mergence into a great type of men who do not want to be personalities4 ,it was this that formerly constituted the distinction and the zeal of many lofty natures 7the greatest poets among them72 or of the desire to be a polis1 as in ,greece2 or of ,jesuitism1 or of the ,prussian ,staff ,corps1 and bureaucracy2 or of apprenticeship and a continuation of the tradition of great masters3 to all of which things1 non-social conditions and the absence of petty vanity are necessary4 #ghd4 ,individualism is a modest and still unconscious form of will to power2 with it a single human unit seems to think it sufficient to free himself from the preponderating power of society 7or of the ,state or ,church74 ,he does not set himself up in opposition as a personality1 but merely as a unit2 he represents the rights of all other individuals as against the whole4 ,that is to say1 he instinctively places himself on a level with every other unit3 what he combats he does not combat as a person1 but as a representative of units against a mass4 ,socialism is merely an agitatory measure of individualism3 it recognises the fact that in order to attain to something1 men must organise themselves into a general movement--into a power4 ,but what the ,socialist requires is not society as the object of the individual1 but society as a means of making many individuals possible3 this is the instinct of ,socialists1 though they frequently deceive themselves on this point 7apart from this1 however1 in order to make their kind prevail1 they are compelled to deceive others to an enormous extent74 ,altruistic moral preaching thus enters into the service of individual egoism1--one of the most common frauds of the nineteenth century4 ,anarchy is also merely an agitatory measure of ,socialism2 with it the ,socialist inspires fear1 with fear he begins to fascinate and to terrorise3 but what he does above all is to draw all courageous and reckless people to his side1 even in the most intellectual spheres4 ,in spite of all this1 individualism is the most modest stage of the will to power4 999999 ,when one has reached a certain degree of independence1 one always longs for more3 separation in proportion to the degree of force2 the individual is no longer content to regard himself as equal to everybody1 he actually seeks for his peer--he makes himself stand out from others4 ,individualism is followed by a development in groups and organs2 correlative tendencies join up together and become powerfully active3 now there arise between these centres of power1 friction1 war1 a reconnoitring of the forces on either side1 reciprocity1 understandings1 and the regulation of mutual services4 ,finally1 there appears an order of rank4 ,recapitulation-- #a4 ,the individuals emancipate themselves4 #b4 ,they make war1 and ultimately agree concerning equal rights 7justice is made an end in itself74 #c4 ,once this is reached1 the actual differences in degrees of power begin to make themselves felt1 and to a greater extent than before 7the reason being that on the whole peace is established1 and innumerable small centres of power begin to create differences which formerly were scarcely noticeable74 ,now the individuals begin to form groups1 these strive after privileges and preponderance1 and war starts afresh in a milder form4 ,people demand freedom only when they have no power4 ,once power is obtained1 a preponderance thereof is the next thing to be coveted2 if this is not achieved 7owing to the fact that one is still too weak for it71 then justice i4e4 equality of power become the objects of desire4 #ghe4 ,the rectification of the concept egoism4--,when one has discovered what an error the individual is1 and that every single creature represents the whole process of evolution 7not alone inherited1 but in himself71 the individual then acquires an inordinately great importance4 ,the voice of instinct is quite right here4 ,when this instinct tends to decline1 i4e4 when the individual begins to seek his worth in his services to others1 one may be sure that exhaustion and degeneration have set in4 ,an altruistic attitude of mind1 when it is fundamental and free from all hypocrisy1 is the instinct of creating a second value for one's self in the service of other egoists4 ,as a rule1 however1 it is only apparent--a circuitous path to the preservation of one's own feelings of vitality and worth4 #ghf4 ,the ,history of ,moralisation and ,demoralisation4 ,proposition one4--,there are no such things as moral actions3 they are purely imaginary4 ,not only is it impossible to demonstrate their existence 7a fact which ,kant and ,christianity1 for instance1 both acknowledged7 but they are not even possible4 ,owing to psychological misunderstanding1 a man invented an opposite to the instinctive impulses of life1 and believed that a new species of instinct was thereby discovered3 a primum mobile was postulated which does not exist at all4 ,according to the valuation which gave rise to the antithesis moral and immoral1 one should say3 ,there is nothing else on earth but immoral intentions and actions4 ,proposition two4----,the whole differentiation1 moral and immoral1 arises from the assumption that both moral and immoral actions are the result of a spontaneous will--in short1 that such a will exists2 or in other words1 that moral judgments can only hold good with regard to intuitions and actions that are free4 ,but this whole order of actions and intentions is purely imaginary3 the only world to which the moral standard could be applied does not exist at all3 there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral action4 ,the psychological error out of which the antithesis moral and immoral arose is3 selfless1 unselfish1 self-denying--all unreal and fantastic4 ,a false dogmatism also clustered around the concept ego2 it was regarded as atomic1 and falsely opposed to a non-ego2 it was also liberated from ,becoming1 and declared to belong to the sphere of ,being4 ,the false materialisation of the ego3 this 7owing to the belief in individual immortality7 was made an article of faith under the pressure of religio-moral discipline4 ,according to this artificial liberation of the ego and its transference to the realm of the absolute1 people thought that they had arrived at an antithesis in values which seemed quite irrefutable--the single ego and the vast non-ego4 ,it seemed obvious that the value of the individual ego could only exist in conjunction with the vast non-ego1 more particularly in the sense of being subject to it and existing only for its sake4 ,here1 of course1 the gregarious instinct determined the direction of thought3 nothing is more opposed to this instinct than the sovereignty of the individual4 ,supposing1 however1 that the ego be absolute1 then its value must lie in self-negation4 ,thus3 7#a7 the false emancipation of the individual as an atom2 7#b7 ,the gregarious self-conceit which abhors the desire to remain an atom1 and regards it as hostile4 7#c7 ,as a result3 the overcoming of the individual by changing his aim4 7#d7 ,at this point there appeared to be actions that were self-effacing3 around these actions a whole sphere of antitheses was fancied4 7#e7 ,it was asked1 in what sort of actions does man most strongly assert himself8 ,around these 7sexuality1 covetousness1 lust for power1 cruelty1 etc4 etc47 hate1 contempt1 and anathemas were heaped3 it was believed that there could be such things as selfless impulses4 ,everything selfish was condemned1 everything unselfish was in demand4 7#f7 ,and the result was3 what had been done8 ,a ban had been placed on the strongest1 the most natural1 yea1 the only genuine impulses1 henceforward1 in order that an action might be praiseworthy1 there must be no trace in it of any of those genuine impulses--monstrous fraud in psychology4 ,every kind of self-satisfaction had to be remodelled and made possible by means of misunderstanding and adjusting one's self sub specie boni4 ,conversely3 that species which found its advantage in depriving mankind of its self-satisfaction1 the representatives of the gregarious instincts1 e4g4 the priests and the philosophers1 were sufficiently crafty and psychologically astute to show how selfishness ruled everywhere4 ,the ,christian conclusion from this was3 ,everything is sin1 even our virtues4 ,man is utterly undesirable4 ,selfless actions are impossible4 ,original sin4 ,in short1 once man had opposed his instincts to a purely imaginary world of the good1 he concluded by despising himself as incapable of performing good actions4 ,n4,b4 ,in this way ,christianity represents a step forward in the sharpening of psychological insight3 ,la ,rochefoucauld and ,pascal4 ,it perceived the essential equality of human actions1 and the equality of their values as a whole 7all immoral74 999999 ,now the first serious object was to rear men in whom self-seeking impulses were extinguished4 priests1 saints4 ,and if people doubted that perfection was possible1 they did not doubt what perfection was4 ,the psychology of the saint and of the priest and of the good man1 must naturally have seemed purely phantasmagorical4 ,the real motive of all action had been declared bad3 therefore1 in order to make action still possible1 deeds had to be prescribed which1 though not possible1 had to be declared possible and sanctified4 ,they now honoured and idealised things with as much falsity as they had previously slandered them4 ,inveighing against the instincts of life came to be regarded as holy and estimable4 ,the priestly ideal was3 absolute chastity1 absolute obedience1 absolute poverty6 ,the lay ideal3 alms1 pity1 self-sacrifice1 renunciation of the beautiful1 of reason1 and of sensuality1 and a dark frown for all the strong qualities that existed4 999999 ,an advance is made3 the slandered instincts attempt to re-establish their rights 7e4g4 ,luther's ,reformation1 the coarsest form of moral falsehood under the cover of ,evangelical freedom71 they are rechristened with holy names4 ,the calumniated instincts try to demonstrate that they are necessary in order that the virtuous instincts may be possible4 ,il faut vivre1 afin de vivre pour autrui3 egoism as a means to an end4#g ,but people go still further3 they try to grant both the egoistic and altruistic impulses the right to exist--equal rights for both--from the utilitarian standpoint4 ,people go further3 they see greater utility in placing the egoistic rights before the altruistic--greater utility in the sense of more happiness for the majority1 or of the elevation of mankind1 etc4 etc4 ,thus the rights of egoism begin to preponderate1 but under the cloak of an extremely altruistic standpoint--the collective utility of humanity4 ,an attempt is made to reconcile the altruistic mode of action with the natural order of things4 ,altruism is sought in the very roots of life4 ,altruism and egoism are both based upon the essence of life and nature4 ,the disappearance of the opposition between them is dreamt of as a future possibility4 ,continued adaptation1 it is hoped1 will merge the two into one4 ,at last it is seen that altruistic actions are merely a species of the egoistic--and that the degree to which one loves and spends one's self is a proof of the extent of one's individual power and personality4 ,in short1 that the more evil man can be made1 the better he is1 and that one cannot be the one without the other4 ,at this point the curtain rises which concealed the monstrous fraud of the psychology that has prevailed hitherto4 999999 ,results4--,there are only immoral intentions and actions2 the so-called moral actions must be shown to be immoral4 ,all emotions are traced to a single will1 the will to power1 and are called essentially equal4 ,the concept of life3 in the apparent antithesis good and evil1 degrees of power in the instincts alone are expressed4 ,a temporary order of rank is established according to which certain instincts are either controlled or enlisted in our service4 ,morality is justified3 economically1 etc4 999999 ,against proposition two4--,determinism3 the attempt to rescue the moral world by transferring it to the unknown4 ,determinism is only a manner of allowing ourselves to conjure our valuations away1 once they have lost their place in a world interpreted mechanistically4 ,determinism must therefore be attacked and undermined at all costs3 just as our right to distinguish between an absolute and phenomenal world should be disputed4 ,footnote #g3 ,spencer's conclusion in the ,data of ,ethics4--,tr4 #ghg4 ,it is absolutely necessary to emancipate ourselves from motives3 otherwise we should not be allowed to attempt to sacrifice ourselves or to neglect ourselves6 ,only the innocence of ,becoming gives us the highest courage and the highest freedom4 #ghh4 ,a clean conscience must be restored to the evil man--has this been my involuntary endeavour all the time8 for ,i take as the evil man him who is strong 7,dostoievsky's belief concerning the convicts in prison should be referred to here74 #ghi4 ,our new freedom4 ,what a feeling of relief there is in the thought that we emancipated spirits do not feel ourselves harnessed to any system of teleological aims4 ,likewise that the concepts reward and punishment have no roots in the essence of existence6 ,likewise that good and evil actions are not good or evil in themselves1 but only from the point of view of the self-preservative tendencies of certain species of humanity6 ,likewise that our speculations concerning pleasure and pain are not of cosmic1 far less then of metaphysical1 importance6 7,that form of pessimism associated with the name of ,hartmann1 which pledges itself to put even the pain and pleasure of existence into the balance1 with its arbitrary confinement in the prison and within the bounds of pre-,copernican thought1 would be something not only retrogressive1 but degenerate1 unless it be merely a bad joke on the part of a ,berliner4#h7 ,footnote #h3 ,berliner--,the citizens of ,berlin are renowned in ,germany for their poor jokes4--,tr4 #gij4 ,if one is clear as to the wherefore of one's life1 then the how of it can take care of itself4 ,it is already even a sign of disbelief in the wherefore and in the purpose and sense of life--in fact1 it is a sign of a lack of will--when the value of pleasure and pain step into the foreground1 and hedonistic and pessimistic teaching becomes prevalent2 and self-abnegation1 resignation1 virtue1 objectivity1 may1 at the very least1 be signs that the most important factor is beginning to make its absence felt4 #gia4 ,hitherto there has been no ,german culture4 ,it is no refutation of this assertion to say that there have been great anchorites in ,germany 7,goethe1 for instance72 for these had their own culture4 ,but it was precisely around them1 as though around mighty1 defiant1 and isolated rocks1 that the remaining spirit of ,germany1 as their antithesis1 lay that is to say1 as a soft1 swampy1 slippery soil1 upon which every step and every footprint of the rest of ,europe made an impression and created forms4 ,german culture was a thing devoid of character and of almost unlimited yielding power4 #gib4 ,germany1 though very rich in clever and well-informed scholars1 has for some time been so excessively poor in great souls and in mighty minds1 that it almost seems to have forgotten what a great soul or a mighty mind is2 and to-day mediocre and even ill-constituted men place themselves in the market square without the suggestion of a conscience-prick or a sign of embarrassment1 and declare themselves great men1 reformers1 etc4 ,take the case of ,eugen ,dhring1 for instance1 a really clever and well-informed scholar1 but a man who betrays with almost every word he says that he has a miserably small soul1 and that he is horribly tormented by narrow envious feelings2 moreover1 that it is no mighty overflowing1 benevolent1 and spendthrift spirit that drives him on1 but only the spirit of ambition6 ,but to be ambitious in such an age as this is much more unworthy of a philosopher than ever it was3 to-day1 when it is the mob that rules1 when it is the mob that dispenses the honours4 #gic4 ,my future3 a severe polytechnic education4 ,conscription2 so that as a rule every man of the higher classes should be an officer1 whatever else he may be besides4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,will ,,to ,,power ,,in ,,art4 #gid4 ,our religion1 morality1 and philosophy are decadent human institutions4 ,the counter-agent4 ,art4 #gie4 ,the ,artist-philosopher4 ,a higher concept of art4 ,can man stand at so great a distance from his fellows as to mould them8 7,preliminary exercises thereto3-- #a4 ,to become a self-former1 an anchorite4 #b4 ,to do what artists have done hitherto1 i4e4 to reach a small degree of perfection in a certain medium47 #gif4 ,art as it appears without the artist1 i4e4 as a body1 an organisation 7the ,prussian ,officers' ,corps1 the ,order of the ,jesuits74 ,to what extent is the artist merely a preliminary stage8 ,the world regarded as a self-generating work of art4 #gig4 ,the phenomenon1 artist1 is the easiest to see through3 from it one can look down upon the fundamental instincts of power1 of nature1 etc41 even of religion and morality4 ,play1 uselessness--as the ideal of him who is overflowing with power1 as the ideal of the child4 ,the childishness of ,god1 4 #gih4 ,apollonian1 ,dionysian4 ,there are two conditions in which art manifests itself in man even as a force of nature1 and disposes of him whether he consent or not3 it may be as a constraint to visionary states1 or it may be an orgiastic impulse4 ,both conditions are to be seen in normal life1 but they are then somewhat weaker3 in dreams and in moments of elation or intoxication4#i ,but the same contrast exists between the dream state and the state of intoxication2 both of these states let loose all manner of artistic powers within us1 but each unfetters powers of a different kind4 ,dreamland gives us the power of vision1 of association1 of poetry3 intoxication gives us the power of grand attitudes1 of passion1 of song1 and of dance4 ,footnote #i3 ,german3 ,rausch4--,there is no word in ,english for the ,german expression ,rausch4 ,when ,nietzsche uses it1 he means a sort of blend of our two words3 intoxication and elation4--,tr4 #gii4 ,sexuality and voluptuousness belong to the ,dionysiac intoxication3 but neither of them is lacking in the ,apollonian state4 ,there is also a difference of tempo between the states4444 ,the extreme peace of certain feelings of intoxication 7or1 more strictly1 the slackening of the feeling of time1 and the reduction of the feeling of space7 is wont to reflect itself in the vision of the most restful attitudes and states of the soul4 ,the classical style essentially represents repose1 simplification1 foreshortening1 and concentration--the highest feeling of power is concentrated in the classical type4 ,to react with difficulty3 great consciousness3 no feeling of strife4 #hjj4 ,the feeling of intoxication is1 as a matter of fact1 equivalent to a sensation of surplus power3 it is strongest in seasons of rut3 new organs1 new accomplishments1 new colours1 new forms4 ,embellishment is an outcome of increased power4 ,embellishment is merely an expression of a triumphant will1 of an increased state of co-ordination1 of a harmony of all the strong desires1 of an infallible and perpendicular equilibrium4 ,logical and geometrical simplification is the result of an increase of power3 conversely1 the mere aspect of such a simplification increases the sense of power in the beholder4444 ,the zenith of development3 the grand style4 ,ugliness signifies the decadence of a type3 contradiction and faulty co-ordination among the inmost desires--this means a decline in the organising power1 or1 psychologically speaking1 in the will4 ,the condition of pleasure which is called intoxication is really an exalted feeling of power4 444 ,sensations of space and time are altered2 inordinate distances are traversed by the eye1 and only then become visible2 the extension of the vision over greater masses and expanses2 the refinement of the organ which apprehends the smallest and most elusive things2 divination1 the power of understanding at the slightest hint1 at the smallest suggestion2 intelligent sensitiveness2 strength as a feeling of dominion in the muscles1 as agility and love of movement1 as dance1 as levity and quick time2 strength as the love of proving strength1 as bravado1 adventurousness1 fearlessness1 indifference in regard to life and death4444 ,all these elated moments of life stimulate each other2 the world of images and of imagination of the one suffices as a suggestion for the other3 in this way states finally merge into each other1 which might do better to keep apart1 e4g4 the feeling of religious intoxication and sexual irritability 7two very profound feelings1 always wonderfully co-ordinated4 ,what is it that pleases almost all pious women1 old or young8 ,answer3 a saint with beautiful legs1 still young1 still innocent74 ,cruelty in tragedy and pity 7likewise normally correlated74 ,spring-time1 dancing1 music1 --all these things are but the display of one sex before the other1--as also that infinite yearning of the heart peculiar to ,faust4 ,artists when they are worth anything at all are men of strong propensities 7even physically71 with surplus energy1 powerful animals1 sensual2 without a certain overheating of the sexual system a man like ,raphael is unthinkable4444 ,to produce music is also in a sense to produce children2 chastity is merely the economy of the artist1 and in all creative artists productiveness certainly ceases with sexual potency4444 ,artists should not see things as they are2 they should see them fuller1 simpler1 stronger3 to this end1 however1 a kind of youthfulness1 of vernality1 a sort of perpetual elation1 must be peculiar to their lives4 #hja4 ,the states in which we transfigure things and make them fuller1 and rhapsodise about them1 until they reflect our own fulness and love of life back upon us3 sexuality1 intoxication1 post-prandial states1 spring1 triumph over our enemies1 scorn1 bravado1 cruelty1 the ecstasy of religious feeling4 ,but three elements above all are active3 sexuality1 intoxication1 cruelty2 all these belong to the oldest festal joys of mankind1 they also preponderate in budding artists4 ,conversely3 there are things with which we meet which already show us this transfiguration and fulness1 and the animal world's response thereto is a state of excitement in the spheres where these states of happiness originate4 ,a blending of these very delicate shades of animal well-being and desires is the sthetic state4 ,the latter only manifests itself in those natures which are capable of that spendthrift and overflowing fulness of bodily vigour2 the latter is always the primum mobile4 ,the sober-minded man1 the tired man1 the exhausted and dried-up man 7e4g4 the scholar71 can have no feeling for art1 because he does not possess the primitive force of art1 which is the tyranny of inner riches3 he who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either4 ,perfection--,in these states 7more particularly in the case of sexual love7 there is an ingenuous betrayal of what the profoundest instinct regards as the highest1 the most desirable1 the most valuable1 the ascending movement of its type2 also of the condition towards which it is actually striving4 ,perfection3 the extraordinary expansion of this instinct's feeling of power1 its riches1 its necessary overflowing of all banks4 #hjb4 ,art reminds us of states of physical vigour3 it may be the overflow and bursting forth of blooming life in the world of pictures and desires2 on the other hand1 it may be an excitation of the physical functions by means of pictures and desires of exalted life--an enhancement of the feeling of life1 the latter's stimulant4 ,to what extent can ugliness exercise this power8 ,in so far as it may communicate something of the triumphant energy of the artist who has become master of the ugly and the repulsive2 or in so far as it gently excites our lust of cruelty 7in some circumstances even the lust of doing harm to ourselves1 self-violence1 and therewith the feeling of power over ourselves74 #hjc4 ,beauty therefore is1 to the artist1 something which is above all order of rank1 because in beauty contrasts are overcome1 the highest sign of power thus manifesting itself in the conquest of opposites2 and achieved without a feeling of tension3 violence being no longer necessary1 everything submitting and obeying so easily1 and doing so with good grace2 this is what delights the powerful will of the artist4 #hjd4 ,the biological value of beauty and ugliness4 ,that which we feel instinctively opposed to us sthetically is1 according to the longest experience of mankind1 felt to be harmful1 dangerous1 and worthy of suspicion3 the sudden utterance of the sthetic instinct1 e4g4 in the case of loathing1 implies an act of judgment4 ,to this extent beauty lies within the general category of the biological values1 useful1 beneficent1 and life-promoting3 thus1 a host of stimuli which for ages have been associated with1 and remind us of1 useful things and conditions1 give us the feeling of beauty1 i4e4 the increase of the feeling of power 7not only things1 therefore1 but the sensations which are associated with such things or their symbols74 ,in this way beauty and ugliness are recognised as determined by our most fundamental self-preservative values4 ,apart from this1 it is nonsense to postulate anything as beautiful or ugly4 ,absolute beauty exists just as little as absolute goodness and truth4 ,in a particular case it is a matter of the self-preservative conditions of a certain type of man3 thus the gregarious man will have quite a different feeling for beauty from the exceptional or super-man4 ,it is the optics of things in the foreground which only consider immediate consequences1 from which the value beauty 7also goodness and truth7 arises4 ,all instinctive judgments are short-sighted in regard to the concatenation of consequences3 they merely advise what must be done forthwith4 ,reason is essentially an obstructing apparatus preventing the immediate response to instinctive judgments3 it halts1 it calculates1 it traces the chain of consequences further4 ,judgments concerning beauty and ugliness are short-sighted 7reason is always opposed to them73 but they are convincing in the highest degree2 they appeal to our instincts in that quarter where the latter decide most quickly and say yes or no with least hesitation1 even before reason can interpose4 ,the most common affirmations of beauty stimulate each other reciprocally2 where the sthetic impulse once begins to work1 a whole host of other and foreign perfections crystallise around the particular form of beauty4 ,it is impossible to remain objective1 it is certainly impossible to dispense with the interpreting1 bestowing1 transfiguring1 and poetising power 7the latter is a stringing together of affirmations concerning beauty itself74 ,the sight of a beautiful woman4444 ,thus 7#a7 judgment concerning beauty is short-sighted2 it sees only the immediate consequences4 7#b7 ,it smothers the object which gives rise to it with a charm that is determined by the association of various judgments concerning beauty1 which1 however1 are quite alien to the essence of the particular object4 ,to regard a thing as beautiful is necessarily to regard it falsely 7that is why incidentally love marriages are from the social point of view the most unreasonable form of matrimony74 #hje4 ,concerning the genesis of ,art4 ,that making perfect and seeing perfect1 which is peculiar to the cerebral system overladen with sexual energy 7a lover alone with his sweetheart at eventide transfigures the smallest details3 life is a chain of sublime things1 the misfortune of an unhappy love affair is more valuable than anything else72 on the other hand1 everything perfect and beautiful operates like an unconscious recollection of that amorous condition and of the point of view peculiar to it--all perfection1 and the whole of the beauty of things1 through contiguity1 revives aphrodisiac bliss4 7,physiologically it is the creative instinct of the artist and the distribution of his semen in his blood47 ,the desire for art and beauty is an indirect longing for the ecstasy2 of sexual desire1 which gets communicated to the brain4 ,the world become perfect through love4 #hjf4 ,sensuality in its various disguises4--7#a7 ,as idealism 7,plato71 common to youth1 constructing a kind of concave-mirror in which the image of the beloved is an incrustation1 an exaggeration1 a transfiguration1 an attribution of infinity to everything4 7#b7 ,in the religion of love1 a fine young man1 a beautiful woman1 in some way divine2 a bridegroom1 a bride of the soul4 7#c7 ,in art1 as a decorating force1 e4g4 just as the man sees the woman and makes her a present of everything that can enhance her personal charm1 so the sensuality of the artist adorns an object with everything else that he honours and esteems1 and by this means perfects it 7or idealises it74 ,woman1 knowing what man feels in regard to her1 tries to meet his idealising endeavours half-way by decorating herself1 by walking and dancing well1 by expressing delicate thoughts3 in addition1 she may practise modesty1 shyness1 reserve--prompted by her instinctive feeling that the idealising power of man increases with all this1 7,in the extraordinary finesse of woman's instincts1 modesty must not by any means be considered as conscious hypocrisy3 she guesses that it is precisely artlessness and real shame which seduces man most and urges him to an exaggerated esteem of her4 ,on this account1 woman is ingenuous1 owing to the subtlety of her instincts which reveal to her the utility of a state of innocence4 ,a wilful closing of one's eyes to one's self4444 ,wherever dissembling has a stronger influence by being unconscious it actually becomes unconscious47 #hjg4 ,what a host of things can be accomplished by the state of intoxication which is called by the name of love1 and which is something else besides love6--,and yet everybody has his own experience of this matter4 ,the muscular strength of a girl suddenly increases as soon as a man comes into her presence3 there are instruments with which this can be measured4 ,in the case of a still closer relationship of the sexes1 as1 for instance1 in dancing and in other amusements which society gatherings entail1 this power increases to such an extent as to make real feats of strength possible3 at last one no longer trusts either one's eyes1 or one's watch6 ,here at all events we must reckon with the fact that dancing itself1 like every form of rapid movement1 involves a kind of intoxication of the whole nervous1 muscular1 and visceral system4 ,we must therefore reckon in this case with the collective effects of a double intoxication4--,and how clever it is to be a little off your head at times6 ,there are some realities which we cannot admit even to ourselves3 especially when2 we are women and have all sorts of feminine1 pudeurs4444,those young creatures dancing over there are obviously beyond all reality3 they are dancing only with a host of tangible ideals3 what is more1 they even see ideals sitting around them1 their mothers6444 ,an opportunity for quoting ,faust4 ,they look incomparably fairer1 do these pretty creatures1 when they have lost their head a little2 and how well they know it too1 they are even more delightful because they know it6 ,lastly1 it is their finery which inspires them2 their finery is their third little intoxication4 ,they believe in their dressmaker as in their ,god3 and who would destroy this faith in them8 ,blessed is this faith6 ,and self-admiration is healthy6 ,self-admiration can protect one even from cold6 ,has a beautiful woman1 who knew she was well-dressed1 ever caught cold8 ,never yet on this earth6 ,i even suppose a case in which she has scarcely a rag on her4 #hjh4 ,if one should require the most astonishing proof of how far the power of transfiguring1 which comes of intoxication1 goes1 this proof is at hand in the phenomenon of love2 or what is called love in all the languages and silences of the world4 ,intoxication works to such a degree upon reality in this passion that in the consciousness of the lover the cause of his love is quite suppressed1 and something else seems to take its place1--a vibration and a glitter of all the charm-mirrors of ,circe4444 ,in this respect to be man or an animal makes no difference3 and still less does spirit1 goodness1 or honesty4 ,if one is astute1 one is befooled astutely2 if one is thick-headed1 one is befooled in a thick-headed way4 ,but love1 even the love of ,god1 saintly love1 the love that saves the soul1 are at bottom all one2 they are nothing but a fever which has reasons to transfigure itself--a state of intoxication which does well to lie about itself4444 ,and1 at any rate1 when a man loves1 he is a good liar about himself and to himself3 he seems to himself transfigured1 stronger1 richer1 more perfect2 he is more perfect4444 ,art here acts as an organic function3 we find it present in the most angelic instinct love2 we find it as the greatest stimulus of life--thus art is sublimely utilitarian1 even in the fact that it lies4444 ,but we should be wrong to halt at its power to lie3 it does more than merely imagine2 it actually transposes values4 ,and it not only transposes the feeling for values3 the lover actually has a greater value2 he is stronger4 ,in animals this condition gives rise to new weapons1 colours1 pigments1 and forms1 and above all to new movements1 new rhythms1 new love-calls and seductions4 ,in man it is just the same4 ,his whole economy is richer1 mightier1 and more complete when he is in love than when he is not4 ,the lover becomes a spendthrift2 he is rich enough for it4 ,he now dares2 he becomes an adventurer1 and even a donkey in magnanimity and innocence2 his belief in ,god and in virtue revives1 because he believes in love4 ,moreover1 such idiots of happiness acquire wings and new capacities1 and even the door to art is opened to them4 ,if we cancel the suggestion of this intestinal fever from the lyric of tones and words1 what is left to poetry and music8 444 ,l'art pour l'art perhaps2 the professional cant of frogs shivering outside in the cold1 and dying of despair in their swamp4444 ,everything else was created by love4 #hji4 ,all art works like a suggestion on the muscles and the senses which were originally active in the ingenuous artistic man2 its voice is only heard by artists--it speaks to this kind of man1 whose constitution is attuned to such subtlety in sensitiveness4 ,the concept layman is a misnomer4 ,the deaf man is not a subdivision of the class1 whose ears are sound4 ,all art works as a tonic2 it increases strength1 it kindles desire 7i4e4 the feeling of strength71 it excites all the more subtle recollections of intoxication2 there is actually a special kind of memory which underlies such states--a distant flitful world of sensations here returns to being4 ,ugliness is the contradiction of art4 ,it is that which art excludes1 the negation of art3 wherever decline1 impoverishment of life1 impotence1 decomposition1 dissolution1 are felt1 however remotely1 the sthetic man reacts with his ,no4 ,ugliness depresses3 it is the sign of depression4 ,it robs strength1 it impoverishes1 it weighs down1 444 ,ugliness suggests repulsive things4 ,from one's states of health one can test how an indisposition may increase one's power of fancying ugly things4 ,one's selection of things1 interests1 and questions becomes different4 ,logic provides a state which is next of kin to ugliness3 heaviness1 bluntness4 ,in the presence of ugliness equilibrium is lacking in a mechanical sense3 ugliness limps and stumbles--the direct opposite of the godly agility of the dancer4 ,the sthetic state represents an overflow of means of communication as well as a condition of extreme sensibility to stimuli and signs4 ,it is the zenith of communion and transmission between living creatures2 it is the source of languages4 ,in it1 languages1 whether of signs1 sounds1 or glances1 have their birthplace4 ,the richer phenomenon is always the beginning3 our abilities are subtilised forms of richer abilities4 ,but even to-day we still listen with our muscles1 we even read with our muscles4 ,every mature art possesses a host of conventions as a basis3 in so far as it is a language4 ,convention is a condition of great art1 not an obstacle to it4444 ,every elevation of life likewise elevates the power of communication1 as also the understanding of man4 ,the power of living in other people's souls originally had nothing to do with morality1 but with a physiological irritability of suggestion3 sympathy1 or what is called altruism1 is merely a product of that psycho-motor relationship which is reckoned as spirituality 7psycho-motor induction1 says ,charles ,fr74 ,people never communicate a thought to one another3 they communicate a movement1 an imitative sign which is then interpreted as a thought4 #haj4 ,compared with music1 communication by means of words is a shameless mode of procedure2 words reduce and stultify2 words make impersonal2 words make common that which is uncommon4 #haa4 ,it is exceptional states that determine the artist--such states as are all intimately related and entwined with morbid symptoms1 so that it would seem almost impossible to be an artist without being ill4 ,the physiological conditions which in the artist become moulded into a personality1 and which1 to a certain degree1 may attach themselves to any man3-- 7#a7 ,intoxication1 the feeling of enhanced power2 the inner compulsion to make things a mirror of one's own fulness and perfection4 7#b7 ,the extreme sharpness of certain senses1 so that they are capable of understanding a totally different language of signs--and to create such a language 7this is a condition which manifests itself in some nervous diseases72 extreme susceptibility out of which great powers of communion are developed2 the desire to speak on the part of everything that is capable of making-signs2 a need of being rid of one's self by means of gestures and attitudes2 the ability of speaking about one's self in a hundred different languages--in fact1 a state of explosion4 ,one must first imagine this condition as one in which there is a pressing and compulsory desire of ridding one's self of the ecstasy of a state of tension1 by all kinds of muscular work and movement2 also as an involuntary co-ordination of these movements with inner processes 7images1 thoughts1 desires7--as a kind of automatism of the whole muscular system under the compulsion of strong stimuli acting from within2 the inability to resist reaction2 the apparatus of resistance is also suspended4 ,every inner movement 7feeling1 thought1 emotion7 is accompanied by vascular changes1 and consequently by changes in colour1 temperature1 and secretion4 ,the suggestive power of music1 its suggestion mentale4 7#c7 ,the compulsion to imitate3 extreme irritability1 by means of which a certain example becomes contagious--a condition is guessed and represented merely by means of a few signs4444 ,a complete picture is visualised by one's inner consciousness1 and its effect soon shows itself in the movement of the limbs1--in a certain suspension of the will 7,schopenhauer666674 ,a sort of blindness and deafness towards the external world1--the realm of admitted stimuli is sharply defined4 ,this differentiates the artist from the layman 7from the spectator of art73 the latter reaches the height of his excitement in the mere act of apprehending3 the former in giving--and in such a way that the antagonism between these two gifts is not only natural but even desirable4 ,each of these states has an opposite standpoint--to demand of the artist that he should have the point of view of the spectator 7of the critic7 is equivalent to asking him to impoverish his creative power4444 ,in this respect the same difference holds good as that which exists between the sexes3 one should not ask the artist who gives to become a woman--to receive4 ,our sthetics have hitherto been women's sthetics1 inasmuch as they have only formulated the experiences of what is beautiful1 from the point of view of the receivers in art4 ,in the whole of philosophy hitherto the artist has been lacking 444 i4e4 as we have already suggested1 a necessary fault3 for the artist who would begin to understand himself would therewith begin to mistake himself--he must not look backwards1 he must not look at all2 he must give4--,it is an honour for an artist to have no critical faculty2 if he can criticise he is mediocre1 he is modern4 #hab4 ,here ,i lay down a series of psychological states as signs of flourishing and complete life1 which to-day we are in the habit of regarding as morbid4 ,but1 by this time1 we have broken ourselves of the habit of speaking of healthy and morbid as opposites3 the question is one of degree1 what ,i maintain on this point is that what people call healthy nowadays represents a lower level of that which under favourable circumstances actually would be healthy--that we are relatively sick4444 ,the artist belongs to a much stronger race4 ,that which in us would be harmful and sickly1 is natural in him4 ,but people object to this that it is precisely the impoverishment of the machine which renders this extraordinary power of comprehending every kind of suggestion possible3 e4g4 our hysterical females4 ,an overflow of spunk and energy may quite as well lead to symptoms of partial constraint1 sense hallucinations1 peripheral sensitiveness1 as a poor vitality does--the stimuli are differently determined1 the effect is the same4444 ,what is not the same is above all the ultimate result2 the extreme torpidity of all morbid natures1 after their nervous eccentricities1 has nothing in common with the states of the artist1 who need in no wise repent his best moments4444 ,he is rich enough for it all3 he can squander without becoming poor4 ,just as we now feel justified in judging genius as a form of neurosis1 we may perhaps think the same of artistic suggestive power1--and our artists are1 as a matter of fact1 only too closely related to hysterical females666 ,this1 however1 is only an argument against the present day1 and not against artists in general4 ,the inartistic states are3 objectivity1 reflection suspension of the will 444 7,schopenhauer's scandalous misunderstanding consisted in regarding art as a mere bridge to the denial of life7444 ,the inartistic states are3 those which impoverish1 which subtract1 which bleach1 under which life suffers--the ,christian4 #hac4 ,the modern artist who1 in his physiology1 is next of kin to the hysteric1 may also be classified as a character belonging to this state of morbidness4 ,the hysteric is false1--he lies from the love of lying1 he is admirable in all the arts of dissimulation1--unless his morbid vanity hood-wink him4 ,this vanity is like a perpetual fever which is in need of stupefying drugs1 and which recoils from no self-deception and no farce that promises it the most fleeting satisfaction4 7,the incapacity for pride and the need of continual revenge for his deep-rooted self-contempt1 this is almost the definition of this man's vanity47 ,the absurd irritability of his system1 which makes a crisis out of every one of his experiences1 and sees dramatic elements in the most insignificant occurrences of life1 deprives him of all calm reflection2 he ceases from being a personality1 at most he is a rendezvous of personalities of which first one and then the other asserts itself with barefaced assurance4 ,precisely on this account he is great as an actor i all these poor will-less people1 whom doctors study so profoundly1 astound one through their virtuosity in mimicking1 in transfiguration1 in their assumption of almost any character required4 #had4 ,artists are not men of great passion1 despite all their assertions to the contrary both to themselves and to others4 ,and for the following two reasons3 they lack all shyness towards themselves 7they watch themselves live1 they spy upon themselves1 they are much too inquisitive71 and they also lack shyness in the presence of passion 7as artists they exploit it74 ,secondly1 however1 that vampire1 their talent1 generally forbids them such an expenditure of energy as passion demands4--,a man1 who has a talent is sacrificed to that talent2 he lives under the vampirism of his talent4 ,a man does not get rid of his passion by reproducing it1 but rather he is rid of it if he is able to reproduce it4 7,goethe teaches the reverse1 but it seems as though he deliberately misunderstood himself here--from a sense of delicacy47 #hae4 ,concerning a reasonable mode of life4--4,relative1 chastity1 a fundamental and shrewd caution in regard to erotica1 even in thought1 may be a reasonable mode of life even in richly equipped and perfect natures4 ,but this principle applies more particularly to artists2 it belongs to the best wisdom of their lives4 ,wholly trustworthy voices have already been raised in favour of this view1 e4g4 ,stendhal1 ,th4 ,gautier1 and ,flaubert4 ,the artist is perhaps in his way necessarily a sensual man1 generally susceptible1 accessible to everything1 and capable of responding to the remotest stimulus or suggestion of a stimulus4 ,nevertheless1 as a rule he is in the power of his work1 of his will to mastership1 really a sober and often even a chaste man4 ,his dominating instinct will have him so3 it does not allow him to spend himself haphazardly4 ,it is one and the same form of strength which is spent in artistic conception and in the sexual act3 there is only one form of strength4 ,the artist who yields in this respect1 and who spends himself1 is betrayed3 by so doing he reveals his lack of instinct1 his lack of will in general4 ,it may be a sign of decadence1--in any case it reduces the value of his art to an incalculable degree4 #haf4 ,compared with the artist1 the scientific man1 regarded as a phenomenon1 is indeed a sign of a certain storing-up and levelling-down of life 7but also of an increase of strength1 severity1 hardness1 and will-power74 ,to what extent can falsity and indifference towards truth and utility be a sign of youth1 of childishness1 in the artist8 444 ,their habitual manner1 their unreasonableness1 their ignorance of themselves1 their indifference to eternal values1 their seriousness in play1 their lack of dignity2 clowns and gods in one2 the saint and the rabble4444 ,imitation as an imperious instinct4--,do not artists of ascending life and artists of degeneration belong to all phases8 444 ,yes6 #hag4 ,would any link be missing in the whole chain of science and art1 if woman1 if woman's work1 were excluded from it8 ,let us acknowledge the exception--it proves the rule--that woman is capable of perfection in everything which does not constitute a work3 in letters1 in memoirs1 in the most intricate handiwork--in short1 in everything which is not a craft2 and just precisely because in the things mentioned woman perfects herself1 because in them she obeys the only artistic impulse in her nature1--which is to captivate4444 ,but what has woman to do with the passionate indifference of the genuine artist who sees more importance in a breath1 in a sound1 in the merest trifle1 than in himself8--who with all his five fingers gropes for his most secret and hidden treasures8--who attributes no value to anything unless it knows how to take shape 7unless it surrenders itself1 unless it visualises itself in some way74 ,art as it is practised by artists--do you not understand what it is8 is it not an outrage on all our pudeurs8 444 ,only in this century has woman dared to try her hand at literature 7,vers la canaille plumire crivassire1 to speak with old ,mirabeau73 woman now writes1 she now paints1 she is losing her instincts4 ,and to what purpose1 if one may put such a question8 #hah4 ,a man is an artist to the extent to which he regards everything that inartistic people call form as the actual substance1 as the principal thing4 ,with such ideas a man certainly belongs to a world upside down3 for henceforward substance seems to him something merely formal1--his own life included4 #hai4 ,a sense for1 and a delight in1 nuances 7which is characteristic of modernity71 in that which is not general1 runs counter to the instinct which finds its joy and its strength in grasping what is typical3 like ,greek taste in its best period4 ,in this there is an overcoming of the plenitude of life2 restraint dominates1 the peace of the strong soul which is slow to move and which feels a certain repugnance towards excessive activity is defeated4 ,the general rule1 the law1 is honoured and made prominent1 conversely1 the exception is laid aside1 and shades are suppressed4 ,all that which is firm1 mighty1 solid1 life resting on a broad and powerful basis1 concealing its strength this pleases3 i4e4 it corresponds with what we think of ourselves4 #hbj4 ,in the main ,i am much more in favour of artists than any philosopher that has appeared hitherto3 artists1 at least1 did not lose sight of the great course which life pursues2 they loved the things of this world1--they loved their senses4 ,to strive after spirituality1 in cases where this is not pure hypocrisy or self-deception1 seems to me to be either a misunderstanding1 a disease1 or a cure1 ,i wish myself1 and all those who live without the troubles of a puritanical conscience1 and who are able to live in this way1 an ever greater spiritualisation and multiplication of the senses4 ,indeed1 we would fain be grateful to the senses for their subtlety1 power1 and plenitude1 and on that account offer them the best we have in the way of spirit4 ,what do we care about priestly and metaphysical anathemas upon the senses8 ,we no longer require to treat them in this way3 it is a sign of well-constitutedness when a man like ,goethe clings with ever greater joy and heartiness to the things of this world--in this way he holds firmly to the grand concept of mankind1 which is that man becomes the glorifying power of existence when he learns to glorify himself4 #hba4 ,pessimism in art8--,the artist gradually learns to like for their own sake1 those means which bring about the condition of sthetic elation2 extreme delicacy and glory of colour1 definite delineation1 quality of tone2 distinctness where in normal conditions distinctness is absent4 ,all distinct things1 all nuances1 in so far as they recall extreme degrees of power which give rise to intoxication1 kindle this feeling of intoxication by association2--the effect of works of art is the excitation of the state which creates art1 of sthetic intoxication4 ,the essential feature in art is its power of perfecting existence1 its production of perfection and plenitude2 art is essentially the affirmation1 the blessing1 and the deification of existence4444 ,what does a pessimistic art signify8 ,is it not a contradictio8--,yes4--,schopenhauer is in error when he makes certain works of art serve the purpose of pessimism4 ,tragedy does not teach resignation4 444 ,to represent terrible and questionable things is1 in itself1 the sign of an instinct of power and magnificence in the artist2 he doesn't fear them4444 ,there is no such thing as a pessimistic1 art4444 ,art affirms4 ,job affirms4 ,but ,zola8 and the ,goncourts8--the things they show us are ugly1 their reason1 however1 for showing them to us is their love of ugliness 444 ,i don't care what you say6 ,you simply deceive yourselves if you think otherwise4--,what a relief ,dostoievsky is6 #hbb4 ,if ,i have sufficiently initiated my readers into the doctrine that even goodness1 in the whole comedy of existence1 represents a form of exhaustion1 they will now credit ,christianity with consistency for having conceived the good to be the ugly4 ,in this respect ,christianity was right4 ,it is absolutely unworthy of a philosopher to say that the good and the beautiful are one2 if he should add and also the true1 he deserves to be thrashed4 ,truth is ugly4 ,art is with us in order that we may not perish through truth4 #hbc4 ,moralising tendencies may be combated with art4 ,art is freedom from moral bigotry and philosophy la ,little ,jack ,horner3 or it may be the mockery of these things4 ,the flight to ,nature1 where beauty and terribleness are coupled4 ,the concept of the great man4 --,fragile1 useless souls-de-luxe1 which are disconcerted by a mere breath of wind1 beautiful souls4 --,ancient ideals1 in their inexorable hardness and brutality1 ought to be awakened1 as the mightiest of monsters that they are4 --,we should feel a boisterous delight in the psychological perception of how all moralised artists become worms and actors without knowing it4 --,the falsity of art1 its immorality1 must be brought into the light of day4 --,the fundamental idealising powers 7sensuality1 intoxication1 excessive animality7 should be brought to light4 #hbd4 ,modern counterfeit practices in the arts3 regarded as necessary--that is to say1 as fully in keeping with the needs most proper to the modern soul4 ,the gaps in the gifts1 and still more in the education1 antecedents1 and schooling of modern artists1 are now filled up in this way3-- ,first3 ,a less artistic public is sought which is capable of unlimited love 7and is capable of falling on its knees before a personality74 ,the superstition of our century1 the belief in genius1 assists this process4 ,secondly2 ,artists harangue the dark instincts of the dissatisfied1 the ambitious1 and the self-deceivers of a democratic age3 the importance of poses4 ,thirdly3 ,the procedures of one art are transferred to the realm of another2 the object of art is confounded with that of science1 with that of the ,church1 or with that of the interests of the race 7nationalism71 or with that of philosophy--a man rings all bells at once1 and awakens the vague suspicion that he is a god4 ,fourthly3 ,artists flatter women1 sufferers1 and indignant folk4 ,narcotics and opiates are made to preponderate in art4 ,the fancy of cultured people1 and of the readers of poetry and ancient history1 is tickled4 #hbe4 ,we must distinguish between the public and the select2 to satisfy the public a man must be a charlatan to-day1 to satisfy the select he will be a virtuoso and nothing else4 ,the geniuses peculiar to our century overcame this distinction1 they were great for both2 the great charlatanry of ,victor ,hugo and ,richard ,wagner was coupled with such genuine virtuosity that it even satisfied the most refined artistic connoisseurs4 ,this is why greatness is lacking3 these geniuses had a double outlook2 first1 they catered for the coarsest needs1 and then for the most refined4 #hbf4 ,false accentuation3 7#a7 ,in romanticism1 this unremitting expressivo is not a sign of strength1 but of a feeling of deficiency2 7#b7 ,picturesque music1 the so-called dramatic kind1 is above all easier 7as is also the brutal scandalmongering and the juxtaposition of facts and traits in realistic novels72 7#c7 ,passion as a matter of nerves and exhausted souls2 likewise the delight in high mountains1 deserts1 storms1 orgies1 and disgusting details1--in bulkiness and massiveness 7historians1 for instance72 as a matter of fact1 there is actually a cult of exaggerated feelings 7how is it that in stronger ages art desired just the opposite--a restraint of passion872 7#d7 ,the preference for exciting materials 7,erotica or ,socialistica or ,pathologica73 all these things are the signs of the style of public that is being catered for to-day--that is to say1 for overworked1 absentminded1 or enfeebled people4 ,such people must be tyrannised over in order to be affected4 #hbg4 ,modern art is the art of tyrannising4 ,a coarse and salient definiteness in delineation2 the motive simplified into a formula2 formul tyrannise4 ,wild arabesques within the lines2 overwhelming masses1 before which the senses are confused2 brutality in coloration1 in subject-matter1 in the desires4 ,examples3 ,zola1 ,wagner1 and1 in a more spiritualised degree1 ,taine4 ,hence logic1 massiveness1 and brutality4 #hbh4 ,in regard to the painter3 ,tous ces modernes sont des potes qui ont voulu tre peintres1 ,l'un a cherch des drames dans l'histoire1 l'autre des scnes de murs1 celui ci traduit des religions1 celui l une philosophie4 ,one imitates ,raphael1 another the early ,italian masters4 ,the landscapists employ trees and clouds in order to make odes and elegies4 ,not one is simply a painter2 they are all archologists1 psychologists1 and impresarios of one or another kind of event or theory4 ,they enjoy our erudition and our philosophy4 ,like us1 they are full1 and too full1 of general ideas4 ,they like a form1 not because it is what it is1 but because of what it expresses4 ,they are the scions of a learned1 tormented1 and reflecting generation1 a thousand miles away from the ,old ,masters who never read1 and only concerned themselves with feasting their eyes4 #hbi4 ,at bottom1 even ,wagner's music1 in so far as it stands for the whole of ,french romanticism1 is literature3 the charm of exoticism 7strange times1 customs1 passions71 exercised upon sensitive cosy-corner people4 ,the delight of entering into extremely distant and prehistoric lands to which books lead one1 and by which means the whole horizon is painted with new colours and new possibilities4444 ,dreams of still more distant and unexploited worlds2 disdain of the boulevards4 444 ,for ,nationalism1 let us not deceive ourselves1 is also only a form of exoticism4444 ,romantic musicians merely relate what exotic books have made of them3 people would fain experience exotic sensations and passions according to ,florentine and ,venetian taste2 finally they are satisfied to look for them in an image4444 ,the essential factor is the kind of novel desire1 the desire to imitate1 the desire to live as people have lived once before in the past1 and the disguise and dissimulation of the soul4444 ,romantic art is only an emergency exit from defective reality4 ,the attempt to perform new things3 revolution1 ,napoleon4 ,napoleon represents the passion of new spiritual possibilities1 of an extension of the soul's domain4 ,the greater the debility of the will1 the greater the extravagances in the desire to feel1 to represent1 and to dream new things4--,the result of the excesses which have been indulged in3 an insatiable thirst for unrestrained feelings4444 ,foreign literatures afford the strongest spices4 #hcj4 ,winckelmann's and ,goethe's ,greeks1 ,victor ,hugo's ,orientals1 ,wagner's ,edda characters1 ,walter ,scott's ,englishmen of the thirteenth century--some day the whole comedy will be exposed6 ,all of it was disproportionately historical and false1 but--modern4 #hca4 ,concerning the characteristics of national genius in regard to the strange and to the borrowed-- ,english genius vulgarises and makes realistic everything it sees2 ,the ,french whittles down1 simplifies1 rationalises1 embellishes2 ,the ,german muddles1 compromises1 involves1 and infects everything with morality2 ,the ,italian has made by far the freest and most subtle use of borrowed material1 and has enriched it with a hundred times more beauty than it ever drew out of it3 it is the richest genius1 it had the most to bestow4 #hcb4 ,the ,jews1 with ,heinrich ,heine and ,offenbach1 approached genius in the sphere of art4 ,the latter was the most intellectual and most high-spirited satyr1 who as a musician abided by great tradition1 and who1 for him who has something more than ears1 is a real relief after the sentimental and1 at bottom1 degenerate musicians of ,german romanticism4 #hcc4 ,offenbach2 trench music imbued with ,voltaire's intellect1 free1 wanton1 with a slight sardonic grin1 but clear and intellectual almost to the point of banality 7,offenbach never titivates71 and free from the mignardise of morbid or blond-,viennese sensuality4 #hcd4 ,if by artistic genius we understand the most consummate freedom within the law1 divine ease1 and facility in overcoming the greatest difficulties1 then ,offenbach has even more right to the title genius than ,wagner has4 ,wagner is heavy and clumsy3 nothing is more foreign to him than the moments of wanton perfection which this clown ,offenbach achieves as many as five times1 six times1 in nearly every one of his buffooneries4 ,but by genius we ought perhaps to understand something else4 #hce4 ,concerning music4--,french1 ,german1 and ,italian music4 7,our most debased periods in a political sense are our most productive4 ,the ,slavs87--,the ballet1 which is the outcome of excessive study of the history of strange civilisations1 has become master of opera4--,stage music and musicians music4--,it is an error to suppose that what ,wagner composed was a4 form3 it was rather formlessness4 ,the possibilities of dramatic construction have yet to be discovered4--,rhythm4 ,expression at all costs4 ,harlotry in instrumentation4--,all honour to ,heinrich ,schtz2 all honour to ,mendelssohn3 in them we find an element of ,goethe1 but nowhere else6 7,we also find another element of ,goethe coming to blossom in ,rahel2 a third element in ,heinrich ,heine47 #hcf4 ,descriptive music leaves reality to work its effects alone4444 ,all these kinds of art are easier1 and more easy to imitate2 poorly gifted people have recourse to them4 ,the appeal to the instincts2 suggestive art4 #hcg4 ,concerning our modern music4--,the decay of melody1 like the decay of ideas1 and of the freedom of intellectual activity1 is a piece of clumsiness and obtuseness1 which is developing itself into new feats of daring and even into principles2--in the end man has only the principles of his gifts1 or of his lack of gifts4 ,dramatic music--nonsense6 ,it is simply bad music4444 ,feeling and passion are merely substitutes when lofty intellectuality and the joy of it 7e4g4 ,voltaire's7 can no longer be attained4 ,expressed technically1 feeling and passion are easier2 they presuppose a much poorer kind of artist4 ,the recourse to drama betrays that an artist is much more a master in tricky means than in genuine ones4 ,to-day we have both dramatic painting and dramatic poetry1 etc4 #hch4 ,what we lack in music is an sthetic which would impose laws upon musicians and give them a conscience2 and as a result of this we lack a real contest concerning principles4--,for as musicians we laugh at ,herbart's velleities in this department just as heartily as we laugh at ,schopenhauer's4 ,as a matter of fact1 tremendous difficulties present themselves here4 ,we no longer know on what basis to found our concepts of what is exemplary1 masterly1 perfect4 ,with the instincts of old loves and old admiration we grope about in a realm of values1 and we almost believe1 that is good which pleases us4444 ,i am always suspicious when ,i hear people everywhere speak innocently of ,beethoven as a classic2 what ,i would maintain1 and with some seventy1 is that1 in other arts1 a classic is the very reverse of ,beethoven4 ,but when the complete and glaring dissolution of style1 ,wagner's so-called dramatic style1 is taught and honoured as exemplary1 as masterly1 as progressive1 then my impatience exceeds all bounds4 ,dramatic style in music1 as ,wagner understood it1 is simply renunciation of all style whatever2 it is the assumption that something else1 namely1 drama1 is a hundred times more important than music4 ,wagner can paint2 he does not use music for the sake of music1 with it he accentuates attitudes2 he is a poet4 ,finally he made an appeal to beautiful feelings and heaving breasts1 just as all other theatrical artists have done1 and with it all he converted women and even those whose souls thirst for culture to him4 ,but what do women and the uncultured care about music8 ,all these people have no conscience for art3 none of them suffer when the first and fundamental virtues of an art are scorned and trodden upon in favour of that which is merely secondary 7as ancilla dramaturgica74 ,what good can come of all extension in the means of expression1 when that which is expressed1 art itself1 has lost all its law and order8 ,the picturesque pomp and power of tones1 the symbolism of sound1 rhythm1 the colour effects of harmony and discord1 the suggestive significance of music1 the whole sensuality of this art which ,wagner made prevail--it is all this that ,wagner derived1 developed1 and drew out of music4 ,victor ,hugo did something very similar for language3 but already people in ,france are asking themselves1 in regard to the case of ,victor ,hugo1 whether language was not corrupted by him1 whether reason1 intellectuality1 and thorough conformity to law in language are not suppressed when the sensuality of expression is elevated to a high place8 ,is it not a sign of decadence that the poets in ,france have become plastic artists1 and that the musicians of ,germany have become actors and culturemongers8 #hci4 ,to-day there exists a sort of musical pessimism even among people who are not musicians4 ,who has not met and cursed the confounded youthlet who torments his piano until it shrieks with despair1 and who single-handed heaves the slime of the most lugubrious and drabby harmonies before him8 ,by so doing a man betrays himself as a pessimist4444 ,it is open to question1 though1 whether he also proves himself a musician by this means4 ,i for my part could never be made to believe it4 ,wagnerite pur sang is unmusical1 he submits to the elementary forces of music very much as a woman submits to the will of the man who hypnotises her--and in order to be able to do this he must not be made suspicious in rebus musicis et musicantibus by a too severe or too delicate conscience4 ,i said very much as--but in this respect ,i spoke perhaps more than a parable4 ,let any one consider the means which ,wagner uses by preference1 when he wishes to make an effect 7means which for the greater part he first had to invent71 they are appallingly similar to the means by which a hypnotist exercises his power 7the choice of his movements1 the general colour of his orchestration2 the excruciating evasion of consistency1 and fairness and squareness1 in rhythm2 the creepiness1 the soothing touch1 the mystery1 the hysteria of his unending melody74 ,and is the condition to which the overture to ,lohengrin1 for instance1 reduces the men1 and still more the women1 in the audience1 so essentially different from the somnambulistic trance8 ,on one occasion after the overture in question had been played1 ,i heard an ,italian lady say1 with her eyes half closed1 in a way in which female ,wagnerites are adepts3 ,come si dorme con questa musica6#aj ,footnote #aj3 ,how the music makes one sleep6--,tr4 #hdj4 ,religion in music4--,what a large amount of satisfaction all religious needs get out of ,wagnerian music1 though this is never acknowledged or even understood6 ,how much prayer1 virtue1 unction1 virginity1 salvation1 speaks through this music6444 ,oh what capital this cunning saint1 who leads and seduces us back to everything that was once believed in1 makes out of the fact that he may dispense with words and concepts6 444 ,our intellectual conscience has no need to feel ashamed--it stands apart--if any old instinct puts its trembling lips to the rim of forbidden philtres4444 ,this is shrewd and healthy1 and1 in so far as it betrays a certain shame in regard to the satisfaction of the religious instinct1 it is even a good sign4444 ,cunning ,christianity3 the type of the music which came from the last ,wagner4 #hda4 ,i distinguish between courage before persons1 courage before things1 and courage on paper4 ,the latter was the courage of ,david ,strauss1 for instance4 ,i distinguish again between the courage before witnesses and the courage without witnesses3 the courage of a ,christian1 or of believers in ,god in general1 can never be the courage without witnesses--but on this score alone ,christian courage stands condemned4 ,finally1 ,i distinguish between the courage which is temperamental and the courage which is the fear of fear2 a single instance of the latter kind is moral courage4 ,to this list the courage of despair should be added4 ,this is the courage which ,wagner possessed4 ,his attitude in regard to music was at bottom a desperate one4 ,he lacked two things which go to make up a good musician3 nature and nurture1 the predisposition for music and the discipline and schooling which music requires4 ,he had courage3 out of this deficiency he established a principle2 he invented a kind of music for himself4 ,the dramatic music which he invented was the music which he was able to compose1--its limitations are ,wagner's limitations4 ,and he was misunderstood6--,was he really misunderstood8444 ,such is the case with five-sixths of the artists of to-day4 ,wagner is their ,saviour3 five-sixths1 moreover1 is the lowest proportion4 ,in any case where ,nature has shown herself without reserve1 and wherever culture is an accident1 a mere attempt1 a piece of dilettantism1 the artist turns instinctively--what do ,i say8--,i mean enthusiastically1 to ,wagner2 as the poet says3 ,half drew he him1 and half sank he4#aa ,footnote #aa3 ,this is an adapted quotation from ,goethe's poem1 ,the ,fisherman4 ,the translation is ,e4 ,a4 ,bowring's4--,tr4 #hdb4 ,music and the grand style4 ,the greatness of an artist is not to be measured by the beautiful feelings which he evokes3 let this belief be left to the girls4 ,it should be measured according to the extent to which he approaches the grand style1 according to the extent to which he is capable of the grand style4 ,this style and great passion have this in common--that they scorn to please2 that they forget to persuade2 that they command3 that they will4444 ,to become master of the chaos which is in one2 to compel one's inner chaos to assume form2 to become consistent1 simple1 unequivocal1 mathematical1 law this is the great ambition here4 ,by means of it one repels2 nothing so much endears people to such powerful men as this1--a desert seems to lie around them1 they impose silence upon all1 and awe every one with the greatness ,of their sacrilege4444 ,all arts know this kind of aspirant to the grand style3 why are they absent in music8 ,never yet has a musician built as that architect did who erected the ,palazzo ,pitti4444 ,this is a problem4 ,does music perhaps belong to that culture in which the reign of powerful men of various types is already at an end8 ,is the concept grand style in fact a contradiction of the soul of music1--of the ,woman in our music8 444 ,with this ,i touch upon the cardinal question3 how should all our music be classified8 ,the age of classical taste knows nothing that can be compared with it3 it bloomed when the world of the ,renaissance reached its evening1 when freedom had already bidden farewell to both men and their customs--is it characteristic of music to be ,counter-,renaissance8 ,is music1 perchance1 the sister of the baroque style1 seeing that in any case they were contemporaries8 ,is not music1 modern music1 already decadence8 444 ,i have put my finger before on this question3 whether music is not an example of ,counter-,renaissance art8 whether it is not the next of kin to the baroque style8 whether it has not grown in ,opposition to all classic taste1 so that any aspiration to classicism is forbidden by the very nature of music8 ,the answer to this most important of all questions of values would not be a very doubtful one1 if people thoroughly understood the fact that music attains to its highest maturity and plenitude as romanticism--likewise as a reactionary movement against classicism4 ,mozart1 a delicate and lovable soul1 but quite eighteenth century1 even in his serious lapses 444 ,beethoven1 the first great romanticist according to the ,french conception of romanticism1 just as ,wagner is the last great romanticist 444 both of them are instinctive opponents of classical taste1 of severe style--not to speak of grand in this regard4 #hdc4 ,romanticism3 an ambiguous question1 like all modern questions4 ,the sthetic conditions are twofold3-- ,the abundant and generous1 as opposed to the seeking and the desiring4 #hdd4 ,a romanticist is an artist whose great dissatisfaction with himself makes him productive--2 who looks away from himself and his fellows1 and sometimes1 therefore1 looks backwards4 #hde4 ,is art the result of dissatisfaction with reality8 or is it the expression of gratitude for happiness experienced8 ,in the first case1 it is romanticism2 in the second1 it is glorification and dithyramb 7in short1 apotheosis art73 even ,raphael belongs to this1 except for the fact that he was guilty of the duplicity of having defied the appearance of the ,christian view of the world4 ,he was thankful for life precisely where it was not exactly ,christian4 ,with a moral interpretation the world is insufferable2 ,christianity was the attempt to overcome the world with morality3 i4e4 to deny it4 ,in praxi such a mad experiment--an imbecile elevation of man above the world--could only end in the beglooming1 the dwarfing1 and the impoverishment of mankind3 the only kind of man who gained anything by it1 who was promoted by it1 was the most mediocre1 the most harmless and gregarious type4 ,homer as an apotheosis artist2 ,rubens also4 ,music has not yet had such an artist4 ,the idealisation of the great criminal 7the feeling for his greatness7 is ,greek2 the depreciation1 the slander1 the contempt of the sinner1 is ,judo-,christian4 #hdf4 ,romanticism and its opposite4 ,in regard to all sthetic values ,i now avail myself of this fundamental distinction3 in every individual case ,i ask myself has hunger or has superabundance been creative here8 ,at first another distinction might perhaps seem preferable1 it is far more obvious1--e4g4 the distinction which decides whether a desire for stability1 for eternity1 for ,being1 or whether a desire for destruction1 for change1 for ,becoming1 has been the cause of creation4 ,but both kinds of desire1 when examined more closely1 prove to be ambiguous1 and really susceptible of interpretation only according to that scheme already mentioned and which ,i think is rightly preferred4 ,the desire for destruction1 for change1 for ,becoming1 may be the expression of an overflowing power pregnant with promises for the future 7my term for this1 as is well known1 is ,dionysian72 it may1 however1 also be the hate of the ill-constituted1 of the needy and of the physiologically botched1 that destroys1 and must destroy1 because such creatures are indignant at1 and annoyed by everything lasting and stable4 ,the act of immortalising can1 on the other hand1 be the outcome of gratitude and love3 an art which has this origin is always an apotheosis art2 dithyrambic1 as perhaps with ,rubens1 happy1 as perhaps with ,hafiz2 bright and gracious1 and shedding a ray of glory over all things1 as in ,goethe4 ,but it may also1 however1 be the outcome of the tyrannical will of the great sufferer who would make the most personal1 individual1 and narrow trait about him1 the actual idiosyncrasy of his pain--in fact1 into a binding law and imposition1 and who thus wreaks his revenge upon all things by stamping1 branding1 and violating them with the image of his torment4 ,the latter case is romantic pessimism in its highest form1 whether this be ,schopenhauerian voluntarism or ,wagnerian music4 #hdg4 ,it is a question whether the antithesis1 classic and romantic1 does not conceal that other antithesis1 the active and the reactive4 #hdh4 ,in order to be a classic1 one must be possessed of all the strong and apparently contradictory gifts and passions3 but in such a way that they run in harness together1 and culminate simultaneously in elevating a certain species of literature or art or politics to its height and zenith 7they must not do this after that elevation has taken place 44474 ,they must reflect the complete state 7either of a people or of a culture71 and express its most profound and most secret nature1 at a time when it is still stable and not yet discoloured by the imitation of foreign things 7or when it is still dependent 44472 not a reactive but a deliberate and progressive spirit1 saying ,yea in all circumstances1 even in its hate4 ,and does not the highest personal value belong thereto8 ,it is worth considering whether moral prejudices do not perhaps exercise their influence here1 and whether great moral loftiness is not perhaps a contradiction of the classical8 444 ,whether the moral monsters must not necessarily be romantic in word and deed8 ,any such preponderance of one virtue over others 7as in the case of the moral monster7 is precisely what with most hostility counteracts the classical power in equilibrium1 supposing a people manifested this moral loftiness and were classical notwithstanding1 we should have to conclude boldly that they were also on the same high level in immorality6 this was perhaps the case with ,shakespeare 7provided that he was really ,lord ,bacon74 #hdi4 ,concerning the future4 ,against the romanticism of great passion4--,we must understand how a certain modicum of coldness1 lucidity1 and hardness is inseparable from all classical taste3 above all consistency1 happy intellectuality1 the three unities1 concentration1 hatred of all feeling1 of all sentimentality1 of all esprit1 hatred of all multiformity1 of all uncertainty1 evasiveness1 and of all nebulosity1 as also of all brevity1 finicking1 prettiness and good nature4 ,artistic formul must not be played with3 life must be remodelled so that it should be forced to formulate itself accordingly4 ,it is really an exhilarating spectacle which we have only learned to laugh at quite recently1 because we have only seen through it quite recently3 this spectacle of ,herder's1 ,winckelmann's1 ,goethe's1 and ,hegel's contemporaries claiming that they had rediscovered the classical ideal 444 and at the same time1 ,shakespeare6 ,and this same crew of men had scurvily repudiated all relationship with the classical school of ,france6 ,as if the essential principle could not have been learnt as well here as elsewhere6 444 ,but what people wanted was nature1 and naturalness3 ,oh1 the stupidity of it6 ,it was thought that classicism was a kind of naturalness6 ,without either prejudice or indulgence we should try and investigate upon what soil a classical taste can be evolved4 ,the hardening1 the simplification1 the strengthening1 and the bedevilling of man are inseparable from classical taste4 ,logical and psychological simplification4 ,a contempt of detail1 of complexity1 of obscurity4 ,the romanticists of ,germany do not protest against classicism1 but against reason1 against illumination1 against taste1 against the eighteenth century4 ,the essence of romantico-,wagnerian music is the opposite of the classical spirit4 ,the will to unity 7because unity tyrannises4 e4g4 the listener and the spectator71 but the artist's inability to tyrannise over himself where it is most needed--that is to say1 in regard to the work itself 7in regard to knowing what to leave out1 what to shorten1 what to clarify1 what to simplify74 ,the overwhelming by means of masses 7,wagner1 ,victor ,hugo1 ,zola1 ,taine74 #hej4 ,the ,nihilism of artists4--,nature is cruel in her cheerfulness2 cynical in her sunrises4 ,we are hostile to emotions4 ,we flee thither where ,nature moves our senses and our imagination1 where we have nothing to love1 where we are not reminded of the moral semblances and delicacies of this northern nature2 and the same applies to the arts4 ,we prefer that which no longer reminds us of good and evil4 ,our moral sensibility and tenderness seem to be relieved in the heart of terrible and happy ,nature1 in the fatalism of the senses and forces4 ,life without goodness4 ,great well-being arises from contemplating ,nature's indifference to good and evil4 ,no justice in history1 no goodness in ,nature4 ,that is why the pessimist when he is an artist prefers those historical subjects where the absence of justice reveals itself with magnificent simplicity1 where perfection actually comes to expression--and likewise he prefers that in ,nature1 where her callous evil character is not hypocritically concealed1 where that character is seen in perfection4444 ,the ,nihilistic artist betrays himself in willing and preferring cynical history and cynical ,nature4 #hea4 ,what is tragic8--,again and again ,i have pointed to the great misunderstanding of ,aristotle in maintaining that the tragic emotions were the two depressing emotions--fear and pity4 ,had he been right1 tragedy would be an art unfriendly to life3 it would have been necessary to caution people against it as against something generally harmful and suspicious4 ,art1 otherwise the great stimulus of life1 the great intoxicant of life1 the great will to life1 here became a tool of decadence1 the hand-maiden of pessimism and ill-health 7for to suppose1 as ,aristotle supposed1 that by exciting these emotions we thereby purged people of them1 is simply an error74 ,something which habitually excites fear or pity1 disorganises1 weakens1 and discourages3 and supposing ,schopenhauer were right in thinking that tragedy taught resignation 7i4e4 a meek renunciation of happiness1 hope1 and of the will to live71 this would presuppose an art in which art itself was denied4 ,tragedy would then constitute a process of dissolution2 the instinct of life would destroy itself in the instinct of art4 ,christianity1 ,nihilism1 tragic art1 physiological decadence2 these things would then be linked1 they would then preponderate together and assist each other onwards--downwards4444 ,tragedy would thus be a symptom of decline4 ,this theory may be refuted in the most cold-blooded way1 namely1 by measuring the effect of a tragic emotion by means of a dynamometer ,the result would be a fact which only the bottomless falsity of a doctrinaire could misunderstand3 that tragedy is a tonic4 ,if ,schopenhauer refuses to see the truth here1 if he regards general depression as a tragic condition1 if he would have informed the ,greeks 7who to his disgust were not resigned7 that they did not firmly possess the highest principles of life3 it is only owing to his parti pris1 to the need of consistency in his system1 to the dishonesty of the doctrinaire--that dreadful dishonesty which step for step corrupted the whole psychology of ,schopenhauer 7he who had arbitrarily and almost violently misunderstood genius1 art itself1 morality1 pagan religion1 beauty1 knowledge1 and almost everything74 #heb4 ,the tragic artist4--,whether1 and in regard to what1 the judgment beautiful is established is a question of an individual's or of a people's strength ,the feeling of plenitude1 of overflowing strength 7which gaily and courageously meets many an obstacle before which the weakling shudders7--the feeling of power utters the judgment beautiful concerning things and conditions which the instinct of impotence can only value as hateful and ugly4 ,the flair which enables us to decide whether the objects we encounter are dangerous1 problematic1 or alluring1 likewise determines our sthetic ,yea4 7,this is beautiful1 is an affirmation74 ,from this we see that1 generally speaking1 a preference for questionable and terrible things is a symptom of strength2 whereas the taste for pretty and charming trifles is characteristic of the weak and the delicate4 ,the love of tragedy is typical of strong ages and characters3 its non plus ultra is perhaps the ,divina ,commedia4 ,it is the heroic spirits which in tragic cruelty say ,yea unto themselves3 they are hard enough to feel pain as a pleasure4 ,on the other hand1 supposing weaklings desire to get pleasure from an art which was not designed for them1 what interpretation must we suppose they would like to give tragedy in order to make it suit their taste8 ,they would interpret their own feeling of value into it3 e4g4 the triumph of the moral order of things1 or the teaching of the uselessness of existence1 or the incitement to resignation 7or also half-medicinal and half-moral outpourings1 la ,aristotle74 ,finally1 the art of terrible natures1 in so far as it may excite the nerves1 may be regarded by the weak and exhausted as a stimulus3 this is now taking place1 for instance1 in the case of the admiration meted out to ,wagner's art4 ,a test of man's well-being and consciousness of power is the extent to which he can acknowledge the terrible and questionable character of things1 and whether he is in any need of a faith at the end4 ,this kind of artistic pessimism is precisely the reverse of that religio-moral pessimism which suffers from the corruption of man and the enigmatic character of existence3 the latter insists upon deliverance1 or at least upon the hope of deliverance4 ,those who suffer1 doubt1 and distrust themselves1--the sick1 in other words1--have in all ages required the transporting influence of visions in order to be able to exist at all 7the notion blessedness arose in this way74 ,a similar case would be that of the artists of decadence1 who at bottom maintain a ,nihilistic attitude to life1 and take refuge in the beauty of form1--in those select cases in which ,nature is perfect1 in which she is indifferently great and indifferently beautiful4 7,the love of the beautiful may thus be something very different from the ability to see or create the beautiful3 it may be the expression of impotence in this respect47 ,the most convincing artists are those who make harmony ring out of every discord1 and who benefit all things by the gift of their power and inner harmony3 in every work of art they merely reveal the symbol of their inmost experiences--their creation is gratitude for life4 ,the depth of the tragic artist consists in the fact that his sthetic instinct surveys the more remote results1 that he does not halt shortsightedly at the thing that is nearest1 that he says ,yea to the whole cosmic economy1 which justifies the terrible1 the evil1 and the questionable2 which more than justifies it4 #hec4 ,art in the ,birth of ,tragedy4 ,i4 ,the conception of the work which lies right in the background of this book1 is extraordinarily gloomy and unpleasant3 among all the types of pessimism which have ever been known hitherto1 none seems to have attained to this degree of malice4 ,the contrast of a true and of an apparent world is entirely absent here3 there is but one world1 and it is false1 cruel1 contradictory1 seductive1 and without sense4 ,a world1 thus constituted is the true world4 ,we are in need of lies in order to rise superior to this reality1 to this truth--that is to say1 in order to live4444 ,that lies should be necessary to life is part and parcel of the terrible and questionable character of existence4 ,metaphysics1 morality1 religion1 science1 in this book1 all these things are regarded merely as different forms of falsehood3 by means of them we are led to believe in life4 ,life1 must inspire confidence2 the task which this imposes upon us is enormous4 ,in order to solve1 this problem man must already be a liar in his heart1 but he must above all else be an artist4 ,and he is that4 ,metaphysics1 religion1 morality1 science1 all these things are but the offshoot of his will to art1 to falsehood1 to a flight from truth1 to a denial of truth4 ,this ability1 this artistic capacity par excellence of man--thanks to which he overcomes reality with lies1--is a quality which he has in common with all other forms of existence4 ,he himself is indeed a piece of reality1 of truth1 of nature3 how could he help being also a piece of genius in prevarication6 ,the fact that the character of existence is misunderstood1 is the profoundest and the highest secret motive behind everything relating to virtue1 science1 piety1 and art4 ,to be blind to many things1 to see many things falsely1 to fancy many things3 ,oh1 how clever man has been in those circumstances in which he believed he was anything but clever6 ,love1 enthusiasm1 ,god--are but subtle forms of ultimate ,self-deception2 they are but seductions to life and to the belief in life6 ,in those moments when man was deceived1 when he had befooled himself and when he believed in life3 ,oh1 how his spirit swelled within him6 ,oh1 what ecstasies he had6 ,what power he felt6 ,and what artistic triumphs in the feeling of power6 444 ,man had once more become master of matter1--master of truth6 444 ,and whenever man rejoices it is always in the same way3 he rejoices as an artist1 his power is his joy1 he enjoys falsehood as his power4444 ,,ii4 ,art and nothing else6 ,art is the great means of making life possible1 the great seducer to life1 the great stimulus of life4 ,art is the only superior counter-agent to all will to the denial of life2 it is par excellence the anti-,christian1 the anti-,buddhistic1 the anti-,nihilistic force4 ,art is the alleviation of the seeker after knowledge1--of him who recognises the terrible and questionable character ,of existence1 and who will recognise it1--of the tragic seeker after knowledge4 ,art is the alleviation of the man of action1--of him who not only sees the terrible and questionable character of existence1 but also lives it1 will live it1--of the tragic and warlike man1 the hero4 ,art is the alleviation of the sufferer1--as the way to states in which pain is willed1 is transfigured1 is deified1 where suffering is a form of great ecstasy4 ,,iii4 ,it is clear that in this book pessimism1 or1 better still1 ,nihilism1 stands for truth4 ,but truth is not postulated as the highest measure of value1 and still less as the highest power4 ,the will to appearance1 to illusion1 to deception1 to becoming1 and to change 7to objective deception71 is here regarded as more profound1 as more primeval1 as more metaphysical than the will to truth1 to reality1 to appearance3 the latter is merely a form of the will to illusion4 ,happiness is likewise conceived as more primeval than pain3 and pain is considered as conditioned1 as a consequence ,of the will to happiness 7of the will to ,becoming1 to growth1 to forming1 i4e4 to creating2 in creating1 however1 destruction is included74 ,the highest state of ,yea-saying to existence is conceived as one from which the greatest pain may not be excluded3 the tragico-,dionysian state4 ,,iv4 ,in this way this book is even anti-pessimistic1 namely1 in the sense that it teaches something which is stronger than pessimism and which is more divine than truth3 ,art4 ,nobody1 it would seem1 would be more ready seriously to utter a radical denial of life1 an actual denial of action even more than a denial of life1 than the author of this book4 ,except that he knows--for he has experienced it1 and perhaps experienced little else6--that art is of more value than truth4 ,even in the preface1 in which ,richard ,wagner is1 as it were1 invited to join with him in conversation1 the author expresses this article of faith1 this gospel for artists2 ,art is the only task of life1 art is the metaphysical activity of life4444 ,,fourth ,,book ,,discipline ,,and ,,breeding4 ,i4 ,,the ,,order ,,of ,,rank4 #a4 ,the ,doctrine of the ,order of ,rank4 #hed4 ,in this age of universal suffrage1 in which everybody is allowed to sit in judgment upon everything and everybody1 ,i feel compelled to re-establish the order of rank4 #hee4 ,quanta of power alone determine rank and distinguish rank3 nothing else does4 #hef4 ,the will to power4--,how must those men be constituted who would undertake this transvaluation8 ,the order of rank as the order of power3 war and danger are the prerequisites which allow of a rank maintaining its conditions4 ,the prodigious example3 man in ,nature--the weakest and shrewdest creature making himself master1 and putting a yoke upon all less intelligent forces4 #heg4 ,i distinguish between the type which represents ascending life and that which represents decay1 decomposition and weakness4 ,ought one to suppose that the question of rank between these two types can be at all doubtful8 #heh4 ,the modicum of power which you represent decides your rank2 all the rest is cowardice4 #hei4 ,the advantages of standing detached from one's age4--,detached from the two movements1 that of individualism and that of collectivist morality2 for even the first does not recognise the order of rank1 and would give one individual the same freedom as another4 ,my thoughts are not concerned with the degree of freedom which should be granted to the one or to the other or to all1 but with the degree of power which the one or the other should exercise over his neighbour or over all2 and more especially with the question to what extent a sacrifice of freedom1 or even enslavement1 may afford the basis for the cultivation1 of a superior type4 ,in plain words3 how could one sacrifice the development of mankind in order to assist a higher species than man to come into being4 #hfj4 ,concerning rank4--,the terrible consequences of equality--in the end everybody thinks he has the right to every problem4 ,all order of rank has vanished4 #hfa4 ,it is necessary for higher men to declare war upon the masses6 ,in all directions mediocre people are joining hands in order to make themselves masters4 ,everything that pampers1 that softens1 and that brings the people or woman to the front1 operates in favour of universal suffrage1--that is to say1 the dominion of inferior men4 ,but we must make reprisals1 and draw the whole state of affairs 7which commenced in ,europe with ,christianity7 to the light of day and to judgment4 #hfb4 ,a teaching is needed which is strong enough to work in a disciplinary manner2 it should operate in such a way as to strengthen the strong and to paralyse and smash up the world-weary4 ,the annihilation of declining races4 ,the decay of ,europe4 ,the annihilation of slave-tainted valuations4 ,the dominion of the world as a means to the rearing of a higher type4 ,the annihilation of the humbug which is called morality 7,christianity as a hysterical kind of honesty in this regard3 ,augustine1 ,bunyan47 ,the annihilation of universal suffrage--that is to say1 that system by means of which the lowest natures prescribe themselves as a law for higher natures4 ,the annihilation of mediocrity and its prevalence4 7,the one-sided1 the individuals--peoples2 constitutional plenitude should be aimed at by means of the coupling of opposites2 to this end race-combinations should be tried47 ,the new kind of courage--no a priori truths 7those who were accustomed to believe in something sought such truths671 but free submission to a ruling thought1 which has its time2 for instance1 time conceived as the quality of space1 etc4 #b4 ,the ,strong and the ,weak4 #hfc4 ,the notion1 strong and weak man resolves itself into this1 that in the first place much strength is inherited--the man is a total sum2 in the other1 not yet enough 7inadequate inheritance1 subdivision of the inherited qualities74 ,weakness may be a starting phenomenon3 not yet enough2 or a final phenomenon3 no more4 ,the determining point is there where great strength is present1 or where a great amount of strength can be discharged4 ,the mass1 as the sum-total of the weak1 reacts slowly2 it defends itself against much for which it is too weak1--against that for which it has no use2 it never creates1 it never takes a step forward4 ,this is opposed to the theory which denies the strong individual and would maintain that the masses do everything4 ,the difference is similar to that which obtains between separated generations3 four or even five generations may lie between the masses and him who is the moving spirit--it is a chronological difference4 ,the values of the weak are in the van1 because the strong have adopted them in order to lead with them4 #hfd4 ,why the weak triumph4--,on the whole1 the sick and the weak have more sympathy and are more humane2 the sick and the weak have more intellect1 and are more changeable more variegated1 more entertaining--more malicious2 the sick alone invented malice4 7,a morbid precocity is often to be observed among rickety1 scrofulitic1 and tuberculous people47 ,esprit3 the property of older races2 ,jews1 ,frenchmen1 ,chinese4 7,the anti-,semites do not forgive the ,jews for having both intellect--and money4 ,anti-,semites--another name for bungled and botched47 ,the sick and the weak have always had fascination on their side2 they are more interesting than the healthy3 the fool and the saint--the two most interesting kinds of men4444 ,closely related thereto is the genius4 ,the great adventurers and criminals and all great men1 the most healthy in particular1 have always been sick at certain periods of their lives--great disturbances of the emotions1 the passion for power1 love1 revenge1 are all accompanied by very profound perturbations4 ,and1 as for decadence1 every man who does not die prematurely manifests it in almost every respect--he therefore knows from experience the instincts which belong to it3 for half his life nearly every man is decadent4 ,and finally1 woman6 ,one-half of mankind is weak1 chronically sick1 changeable1 shifty woman requires strength in order to cleave to it2 she also requires a religion of the weak which glorifies weakness1 love1 and modesty as divine3 or1 better still1 she makes the strong weak--she rules when she succeeds in overcoming the strong4 ,woman has always conspired with decadent types1--the priests1 for instance1 against the mighty1 against the strong1 against men4 ,women avail themselves of children for the cult of piety1 pity1 and love3--the mother stands as the symbol of convincing altruism4 ,finally1 the increase of civilisation with its necessary correlatives1 the increase of morbid elements1 of the neurotic and psychiatric and of the criminal4 ,a sort of intermediary species arises1 the artist4 ,he is distinct from those who are criminals as the result of weak wills and of the fear of society1 although they may not yet be ripe for the asylum2 but he has antennas which grope inquisitively into both spheres1 this specific plant of culture1 the modern artist1 painter1 musician1 and1 above all1 novelist1 who designates his particular kind of attitude with the very indefinite word naturalism4444 ,lunatics1 criminals1 and realists#a are on the increase3 this is the sign of a growing culture plunging forward at headlong speed--that is to say1 its excrement1 its refuse1 the rubbish that is shot from it every day1 is beginning to acquire more importance1 the retrogressive movement keeps pace with the advance4 ,finally1 the social mishmash1 which is the result of revolution1 of the establishment of equal rights1 and of the superstition1 the equality of men4 ,thus the possessors of the instincts of decline 7of resentment1 of discontent1 of the lust of destruction1 of anarchy and ,nihilism71 as also the instincts of slavery1 of cowardice1 of craftiness1 and of rascality1 which are inherent among those classes of society which have long been suppressed1 are beginning to get infused into the blood of all ranks4 ,two or three generations later1 the race can no longer be recognised--everything has become mob4 ,and thus there results a collective instinct against selection1 against every kind of privilege1 and this instinct operates with such power1 certainty1 hardness1 and cruelty that1 as a matter of fact1 in the end1 even the privileged classes have to submit3 all those who still wish to hold on to power flatter the mob1 work with the mob1 and must have the mob on their side--the geniuses above all4 ,the latter become the heralds of those feelings with which the mob can be inspired1--the expression of pity1 of honour1 even for all that suffers1 all that is low and despised1 and has lived under persecution1 becomes predominant 7types3 ,victor ,hugo1 ,richard ,wagner74--,the rise of the mob signifies once more the rise of old values4 ,in the case of such an extreme movement1 both in tempo and in means1 as characterises our civilisation1 man's ballast is shifted4 ,those men whose worth is greatest1 and whose mission1 as it were1 is to compensate for the very great danger of such a morbid movement1--such men become dawdlers par excellence2 they are slow to accept anything1 and are tenacious2 they are creatures that are relatively lasting in the midst of this vast mingling and changing of elements4 ,in such circumstances power is necessarily relegated to the mediocre3 mediocrity1 as the trustee and bearer of the future1 consolidates itself against the rule of the mob and of eccentricities 7both of which are1 in most cases1 united74 ,in this way a new antagonist is evolved for exceptional men--or in certain cases a new temptation4 ,provided that they do not adapt themselves to the mob1 and stand up for what satisfies the instincts of the disinherited1 they will find it necessary to be mediocre and sound4 ,they know3 mediocritas is also aurea1--it alone has command of money and gold 7of all that glitters 44474444 ,and1 once more1 old virtue and the whole superannuated world of ideals in general secures a gifted host of special-pleaders4444 ,result3 mediocrity acquires intellect1 wit1 and genius1 it becomes entertaining1 and even seductive4 999999 ,result4--,a high culture can only stand upon a broad basis1 upon a strongly and soundly consolidated mediocrity4 ,in its service and assisted by it1 science and even art do their work4 ,science could not wish for a better state of affairs3 in its essence it belongs to a middle-class type of man1--among exceptions it is out of place1--there is not anything aristocratic and still less anything anarchic in its instincts4--,the power of the middle classes is then upheld by means of commerce1 but1 above all1 by means of money-dealing3 the instinct of great financiers is opposed to everything extreme--on this account the ,jews are1 for the present1 the most conservative power in the threatening and insecure conditions of modern ,europe4 ,they can have no use either for revolutions1 for socialism1 or for militarism3 if they would have power1 and if they should need it1 even over the revolutionary party1 this is only the result of what ,i have already said1 and it in no way contradicts it4 ,against other extreme movements they may occasionally require to excite terror by showing how much power is in their hands4 ,but their instinct itself is inveterately conservative and mediocre1 444 ,wherever power exists1 they know how to become mighty2 but the application of their power always takes the same direction4 ,the polite term for mediocre1 as is well known1 is the word ,liberal4 ,reflection4--,it is all nonsense to suppose that this general conquest of values is anti-biological4 ,in order to explain it1 we ought to try and show that it is the result of a certain interest of life to maintain the type man1 even by means of this method which leads to the prevalence of the weak and the physiologically botched--if things were otherwise1 might man not cease to exist8 ,problem 444 ,the enhancement of the type may prove fatal to the maintenance of the species4 ,why8--,the experience of history shows that strong races decimate each other mutually1 by means of war1 lust for power1 and venturousness2 the strong emotions2 wastefulness 7strength is no longer capitalised1 disturbed mental systems arise from excessive tension72 their existence is a costly affair in short1 they persistently give rise to friction between themselves2 periods of profound slackness and torpidity intervene3 all great ages have to be paid for4444 ,the strong are1 after all1 weaker1 less wilful1 and more absurd than the average weak ones4 ,they are squandering races4 ,permanence1 in itself1 can have no value3 that which ought to be preferred thereto would be a shorter life for the species1 but a life richer in creations4 ,it would remain to be proved that1 even as things are1 a richer sum of creations is attained than in the case of the shorter existence2 i4e4 that man1 as a storehouse of power1 attains to a much higher degree of dominion over things under the conditions which have existed hitherto4444 ,we are here face to face with a problem of economics4 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,german word is ,naturalist1 and really means realist in a bad sense4--,tr4 #hfe4 ,the state of mind which calls itself idealism1 and which will neither allow mediocrity to be mediocre nor woman to be woman6 ,do not make everything uniform6 ,we should have a clear idea of how dearly we have to pay for the establishment of a virtue2 and that virtue is nothing generally desirable1 but a noble piece of madness1 a beautiful exception1 which gives us the privilege of feeling elated4444 #hff4 ,it is necessary to show that a counter-movement is inevitably associated with any increasingly economical consumption of men and mankind1 and with an ever more closely involved machinery of interests and services4 ,i call this counter-movement the separation of the luxurious surplus of mankind3 by means of it a stronger kind1 a higher type1 must come to light1 which has other conditions for its origin and for its maintenance than the average man4 ,my concept1 my metaphor for this type is1 as you know1 the word ,superman4 ,along the first road1 which can now be completely surveyed1 arose adaptation1 stultification1 higher ,chinese culture1 modesty in the ,instincts1 and satisfaction at the sight of the belittlement of man--a kind of stationary level of mankind4 ,if ever we get that inevitable and imminent1 general control of the economy of the earth1 then mankind can be used as machinery and find its best purpose in the service of this economy--as an enormous piece of clock-work consisting of ever smaller and ever more subtly adapted wheels2 then all the dominating and commanding elements will become ever more superfluous2 and the whole gains enormous energy1 while the individual factors which compose it represent but small modicums of strength and of value4 ,to oppose this dwarfing and adaptation of man to a specialised kind of utility1 a reverse movement is needed -the procreation of the synthetic man who embodies everything and justifies it2 that man for whom the turning of mankind into a machine is a first condition of existence1 for whom the rest of mankind is but soil on which he can devise his higher mode of existence4 ,he is in need of the opposition of the masses1 of those who are levelled down2 he requires that feeling of distance from them2 he stands upon them1 he lives on them4 ,this higher form of aristocracy is the form of the future4 ,from the moral point of view1 the collective machinery above described1 that solidarity of all wheels1 represents the most extreme example in the exploitation of mankind3 but it presupposes the existence of those for whom such an exploitation would have some meaning4#b ,otherwise it would signify1 as a matter of fact1 merely the general depreciation of the type man1--a retrograde phenomenon on a grand scale4 ,readers are beginning to see what ,i am combating--namely1 economic optimism3 as if the genera welfare of everybody must necessarily increase with the growing self-sacrifice of everybody4 ,the very reverse seems to me to be the case1 the self-sacrifice of everybody amounts to a collective loss2 man becomes inferior--so that nobody knows what end this monstrous purpose has served4 ,a wherefore8 a new wherefore8--this is what mankind requires4 ,footnote #b3 ,this sentence for ever distinguishes ,nietzsche's aristocracy from our present plutocratic and industrial one1 for which1 at the present moment at any rate1 it would be difficult to discover some meaning4--,tr4 #hfg4 ,the recognition of the increase of collective power3 we should calculate to what extent the ruin of individuals1 of castes1 of ages1 and of peoples1 is included in this general increase4 ,the transposition of the ballast of a culture4 ,the cost of every vast growth3 who bears it8 ,why must it be enormous at the present time8 #hfh4 ,general aspect of the future ,european3 the latter regarded as the most intelligent servile animal1 very industrious1 at bottom very modest1 inquisitive to excess1 multifarious1 pampered1 weak of will1--a chaos of cosmopolitan passions and intelligences4 ,how would it be possible for a stronger race to be bred from him8--,such a race as would have a classical taste8 ,the classical taste3 this is the will to simplicity1 to accentuation1 and to happiness made visible1 the will to the terrible1 and the courage for psychological nakedness 7simplification is the outcome of the will to accentuate2 allowing happiness as well as nakedness to become visible is a consequence of the will to the terrible 44474 ,in order to fight one's way out of that chaos1 and up to this form1 a certain disciplinary constraint is necessary3 a man should have to choose between either going to the dogs or prevailing4 ,a ruling race can only arise amid terrible and violent conditions4 ,problem3 where are the barbarians of the twentieth century8 ,obviously they will only show themselves and consolidate themselves after enormous socialistic crises4 ,they will consist of those elements which are capable of the greatest hardness towards themselves1 and which can guarantee the most enduring will-power4 #hfi4 ,the mightiest and most dangerous passions of man1 by means of which he most easily goes to rack and ruin1 have been so fundamentally banned that mighty men themselves have either become impossible or else must regard themselves as evil1 harmful and prohibited4 ,the losses are heavy1 but up to the present they have been necessary4 ,now1 however1 that a whole host of counter-forces has been reared1 by means of the temporary suppression of these passions 7the passion for dominion1 the love of change and deception71 their liberation has once more become possible3 they will no longer possess their old savagery4 ,we can now allow ourselves this tame sort of barbarism3 look at our artists and our statesmen6 #hgj4 ,the root of all evil3 that the slave morality of modesty1 chastity1 selflessness1 and absolute obedience should have triumphed4 ,dominating natures were thus condemned 7#a7 to hypocrisy1 7#b7 to qualms of conscience1--creative natures regarded themselves as rebels against ,god1 uncertain and hemmed in by eternal values4 ,the barbarians showed that the ability of keeping within the bounds of moderation was not in the scope of their powers3 they feared and slandered the passions and instincts of nature--likewise the aspect of the ruling ,csars and castes4 ,on the other hand1 there arose the suspicion that all restraint is a form of weakness or of incipient old age and fatigue 7thus ,la ,rochefoucauld suspects that virtue is only a euphemism in the mouths of those to whom vice no longer affords any pleasure74 ,the capacity for restraint was represented as a matter of hardness1 self-control1 asceticism1 as a fight with the devil1 etc4 etc4 ,the natural delight of sthetic natures1 in measure2 the pleasure derived from the beauty of measure1 was overlooked and denied1 because that which was desired was an anti-eudmonistic morality4 ,the belief in the pleasure which comes of restraint has been lacking hitherto--this pleasure of a rider on a fiery steed6 ,the moderation of weak natures was confounded with the restraint of the strong6 ,in short1 the best things have been blasphemed because weak or immoderate swine have thrown a bad light upon them--the best men have remained concealed--and have often misunderstood themselves4 #hga4 ,vicious and unbridled people3 their depressing influence upon the value of the pussions4 ,it was the appalling barbarity of morality which was principally responsible in the ,middle ,ages for the compulsory recourse to a veritable league of virtue--and this was coupled with an equally appalling exaggeration of all that which constitutes the value of man4 ,militant civilisation 7taming7 is in need of all kinds of irons and tortures in order to maintain itself against terrible and beast-of-prey natures4 ,in this case1 contusion1 although it may have the most nefarious influences1 is quite natural3 that which men of power and will are able to demand of themselves gives them the standard for what they may also allow themselves4 ,such natures are the very opposite of the vicious and the unbridled2 although under certain circumstances they may perpetrate deeds for which an inferior man would be convicted of vice and intemperance4 ,in this respect the concept1 all men are equal before ,god does an extraordinary amount of harm2 actions and attitudes of mind were forbidden which belonged to the prerogative of the strong alone1 just as if they were in themselves unworthy of man4 ,all the tendencies of strong men were brought into disrepute by the fact that the defensive weapons of the most weak 7even of those who were weakest towards themselves7 were established as a standard of valuation4 ,the confusion went so far that precisely the great virtuosos of life 7whose self-control presents the sharpest contrast to the vicious and the unbridled7 were branded with the most opprobrious names4 ,even to this day people feel themselves compelled to disparage a ,csar ,borgia3 it is simply ludicrous4 ,the ,church has anathematised ,german ,kaisers owing to their vices3 as if a monk or a priest had the right to say a word as to what a ,frederick ,,ii4 should allow himself4 ,don ,juan is sent to hell3 this is very naf4 ,has anybody ever noticed that all interesting men are lacking in heaven8 444 ,this is only a hint to the girls1 as to where they may best find salvation4 ,if one think at all logically1 and also have a profound insight into that which makes a great man1 there1 can be no doubt at all that the ,church has dispatched all great men to ,hades--its fight is against all greatness in man4 #hgb4 ,the rights which a man arrogates to himself are relative to the duties which he sets himself1 and to the tasks which he feels capable of performing4 ,the great majority of men have no right to life1 and are only a misfortune to their higher fellows4 #hgc4 ,the misunderstanding of egoism3 on the part of ignoble natures who know nothing of the lust of conquest and the insatiability of great love1 and who likewise know nothing of the overflowing feelings of power which make a man wish to overcome things1 to force them over to himself1 and to lay them on his heart1 the power which impels an artist to his material4 ,it often happens also that the active spirit looks for a field for its activity4 ,in ordinary egoism it is precisely the 444 non-ego1 the profoundly mediocre creature1 the member of the herd1 who wishes to maintain himself--and when this is perceived by the rarer1 more subtle1 and less mediocre natures1 it revolts them4 ,for the judgment of the latter is this3 ,we are the noble6 ,it is much more important to maintain us than that cattle6 #hgd4 ,the degeneration of the ruler and of the ruling classes has been the cause of all the great disorders in history6 ,without the ,roman ,csars and ,roman society1 ,christianity would never have prevailed4 ,when it occurs to inferior men to doubt whether higher men exist1 then the danger is great ,i ,it is then that men finally discover that there are virtues even among inferior1 suppressed1 and poor-spirited men1 and that everybody is equal before ,god3 which is the non plus ultra of all confounded nonsense that has ever appeared on earth6 ,for in the end higher men begin to measure themselves according to the standard of virtues upheld by the slaves--and discover that they are proud1 etc41 and that all their higher qualities should be condemned4 ,when ,nero and ,caracalla stood at the helm1 it was then that the paradox arose3 ,the lowest man is of more value than that one on the throne6 ,and thus the path was prepared for an image of ,god which was as remote as possible from the image of the mightiest1--,god on the ,cross6 #hge4 ,higher man and gregarious man4--,when great men are wanting1 the great of the past are converted into demigods or whole gods3 the rise of religions proves that mankind no longer has any pleasure in man 7nor in woman neither1 as in ,hamlet's case74 ,or a host of men are brought together in a heap1 and it is hoped that as a ,parliament they will operate just as tyrannically4 ,tyrannising is the distinctive quality of great men2 they make inferior men stupid4 #hgf4 ,buckle affords the best example of the extent to which a plebeian agitator of the mob is incapable of arriving at a clear idea of the concept1 higher nature4 ,the opinion which he combats so passionately--that great men1 individuals1 princes1 statesmen1 geniuses1 warriors1 are the levers and causes of all great movements1 is instinctively misunderstood by him1 as if it meant that all that was essential and valuable in such a higher man1 was the fact that he was capable of setting masses in motion2 in short1 that his sole merit was the effect he produced4444 ,but the higher nature of the great man resides precisely in being different1 in being unable to communicate with others1 in the loftiness of his rank--not in any sort of effect he may produce even though this be the shattering of both hemispheres4 #hgg4 ,the ,revolution made ,napoleon possible3 that is its justification4 ,we ought to desire the anarchical collapse of the whole of our civilisation if such a reward were to be its result4 ,napoleon made nationalism possible3 that is the latter's excuse4 ,the value of a man 7apart1 of course1 from morality and immorality3 because with these concepts a man's worth is not even skimmed7 does not lie in his utility2 because he would continue to exist even if there were nobody to whom he could be useful4 ,and why could not that man be the very pinnacle of manhood who was the source of the worst possible effects for his race3 so high and so superior1 that in his presence everything would go to rack and ruin from envy8 #hgh4 ,to appraise the value of a man according to his utility to mankind1 or according to what he costs it1 or the damage he is able to inflict upon it1 is just as good and just as bad as to appraise the value of a work of art according to its effects4 ,but in this way the value of one man compared with another is not even touched upon4 ,the moral valuation1 in so far as it is social measures men altogether according to their effects4 ,but what about the man who has his own taste on his tongue1 who is surrounded and concealed by his isolation1 uncommunicative and not to be communicated with2 a man whom no one has fathomed yet--that is to say1 a creature of a higher1 and1 at any rate1 different species1 how would ye appraise his worth1 seeing that ye cannot know him and can compare him with nothing8 ,moral valuation was the cause of the most enormous obtuseness of judgment3 the value of a man in himself is underrated1 well-nigh overlooked1 practically denied4 ,this is the remains of simple-minded teleology3 the value of man can only be measured with regard to other men4 #hgi4 ,to be obsessed by moral considerations presupposes a very low grade of intellect3 it shows that the instinct for special rights1 for standing apart1 the feeling of freedom in creative natures1 in children of ,god 7or of the devil71 is lacking4 ,and irrespective of whether he preaches a ruling morality or criticises the prevailing ethical code from the point of view of his own ideal3 by doing these things a man shows that he belongs to the herd--even though he may be what it is most in need of--that is to say1 a shepherd4 #hhj4 ,we should substitute morality by the will to our own ends1 and consequently to the means to them4 #hha4 ,concerning the order of rank4--,what is it that constitutes the mediocrity of the typical man8 ,that he does not understand that things necessarily have their other side2 that he combats evil conditions as if they could be dispensed with1 that he will not take the one with the other2 that he would fain obliterate and erase the specific character of a thing1 of a circumstance1 of an age1 and of a person1 by calling only a portion of their qualities good1 and suppressing the remainder4 ,the desirability of the mediocre is that which we others combat3 their ideal is something which shall no longer contain anything harmful1 evil1 dangerous1 questionable1 and destructive4 ,we recognise the reverse of this3 that with every growth of man his other side must grow as well2 that the highest man1 if such a concept be allowed1 would be that man who would represent the antagonistic character of existence most strikingly1 and would be its glory and its only justification4444 ,ordinary men may only represent a small corner and nook of this natural character2 they perish the moment the multifariousness of the elements composing them1 and the tension between their antagonistic traits1 increases3 but this is the prerequisite for greatness in man4 ,that man should become better and at the same time more evil1 is my formula for this inevitable fact4 ,the majority of people are only piecemeal and fragmentary examples of man3 only when all these creatures are jumbled together does one whole man arise ,whole ages and whole peoples in this sense1 have a fragmentary character about them2 it may perhaps be part of the economy of human development that man should develop himself only piecemeal4 ,but1 for this reason1 one should not forget that the only important consideration is the rise of the synthetic man2 that inferior men1 and by far the great majority of people1 are but rehearsals and exercises out of which here and there a whole man may arise2 a man who is a human milestone1 and who indicates how far mankind has advanced up to a certain point4 ,mankind does not advance in a straight line1--often a type is attained which is again lost 7for instance1 with all the efforts of three hundred years1 we have not reached the men of the ,renaissance again1 and in addition to this we must not forget that the man of the ,renaissance was already behind his brother of classical antiquity74 #hhb4 ,the superiority of the ,greek and the man of the ,renaissance is recognised1 but people would like to produce them without the conditions and causes of which they were the result4 #hhc4 ,purification of taste can only be the result of the strengthening of the type4 ,our society to-day represents only the cultivating systems1 the cultivated man is lacking4 ,the great synthetic man1 in whom the various forces for attaining a purpose are correctly harnessed together1 is altogether wanting4 ,the specimen we possess is the multifarious man1 the most interesting form of chaos that has ever existed3 but not the chaos preceding the creation of the world1 but that following it3 ,goethe as the most beautiful expression of the type 7completely and utterly un-,olympian67#c ,footnote #c3 ,the ,germans always call ,goethe the ,olympian4--,tr4 #hhd4 ,handel1 ,leibniz1 ,goethe1 and ,bismarck1 are characteristic of the strong ,german type4 ,they lived with equanimity1 surrounded by contrasts4 ,they were full of that agile kind of strength which cautiously avoids convictions and doctrines1 by using the one as a weapon against the other1 and reserving absolute freedom for themselves4 #hhe4 ,of this ,i am convinced1 that if the rise of great and rare men had been made dependent upon the voices of the multitude 7taking for granted1 of course1 that the latter knew the qualities which belong to greatness1 and also the price that all greatness pays for its self-development71 then there would never have been any such thing as a great man6 ,the fact that things pursue their course independently of the voice of the many1 is the reason why1 a few astonishing things have taken place on earth4 #hhf4 ,the ,order of ,rank in ,human ,values4 7a7 ,a man should not be valued according to isolated acts4 ,epidermal actions4 ,nothing is more rare than a personal act4 ,class1 rank1 race1 environment1 accident--all these things are much more likely to be expressed in an action or deed than the personality of the doer4 7b7 ,we should on no account jump to the conclusion that there are many people who are personalities4 ,some men are but conglomerations of personalities1 whilst the majority are not even one4 ,in all cases in which those average qualities preponderate1 which ensure the maintenance of the species1 to be a personality would involve unnecessary expense1 it would be a luxury in fact1 it would be foolish to demand of anybody that he should be a personality4 ,in such circumstances everybody is a channel or a transmitting vessel4 7c7 ,a personality is a relatively isolated phenomenon2 in view of the superior importance of the continuation of the race at an average level1 a personality might even be regarded as something hostile to nature4 ,for a personality to be possible1 timely isolation and the necessity for an existence of offence and defence1 are prerequisites2 something in the nature of a walled enclosure1 a capacity for shutting out the world2 but above all1 a much lower degree of sensitiveness than the average man has1 who is too easily infected with the views of others4 ,the first question concerning the order of rank3 how far is a man disposed to be solitary or gregarious8 7in the latter case1 his value consists in those qualities which secure the survival of his tribe or his type2 in the former case1 his qualities are those which distinguish him from others1 which isolate and defend him1 and make his solitude possible74 ,consequence3 the solitary type should not be valued from the standpoint of the gregarious type1 or vice vers4 ,viewed from above1 both types are necessary2 as is likewise their antagonism1--and nothing is more thoroughly reprehensible than the desire which would develop a third thing out of the two 7virtue as hermaphroditism74 ,this is as little worthy of desire as the equalisation and reconciliation of the sexes4 ,the distinguishing qualities must be developed ever more and more1 the gulf must be made ever wider4444 ,the concept of degeneration in both cases3 the approximation of the qualities of the herd to those of solitary creatures3 and vice vers--in short1 when they begin to resemble each other4 ,this concept of degeneration is beyond the sphere of moral judgments4 #hhg4 ,where the strongest natures are to be sought4 ,the ruin and degeneration of the solitary species is much greater and more terrible3 they have the instincts of the herd1 and the tradition of values1 against them2 their weapons of defence1 their instincts of self-preservation1 are from the beginning insufficiently strong and reliable--fortune must be peculiarly favourable to them if they are to prosper 7they prosper best in the lowest ranks and dregs of society2 if ye are seeking personalities it is there that ye will find them with much greater certainty than in the middle classes67 ,when the dispute between ranks and classes1 which aims at equality of rights1 is almost settled1 the fight will begin against the solitary person4 7,in a certain sense the latter can maintain and develop himself most easily in a democratic society3 there where the coarser means of defence are no longer necessary1 and a certain habit of order1 honesty1 justice1 trust1 is already a general condition47 ,the strongest must be most tightly bound1 most strictly watched1 laid in chains and supervised3 this is the instinct of the herd4 ,to them belongs a rgime of self-mastery1 of ascetic detachment1 of duties consisting in exhausting work1 in which one can no longer call one's soul one's own4 #hhh4 ,i am attempting an economic justification of virtue4 ,the object is to make man as useful as possible1 and to make him approximate as nearly as one can to an infallible machine3 to this end he must be equipped with machine-like virtues 7he must learn to value those states in which he works in a most mechanically useful way1 as the highest of all3 to this end it is necessary to make him as disgusted as possible with the other states1 and to represent them as very dangerous and despicable74 ,here is the first stumbling-block3 the tediousness and monotony which all mechanical activity brings with it4 ,to learn to endure this--and not only to endure it1 but to see tedium enveloped in a ray of exceeding charm3 this hitherto has been the task of all higher schools4 ,to learn something which you don't care a fig about1 and to find precisely your duty in this objective activity2 to learn to value happiness and duty as things apart2 this is the invaluable task and performance of higher schools4 ,it is on this account that the philologist has1 hitherto1 been the educator per se3 because his activity1 in itself1 affords the best pattern of magnificent monotony in action2 under his banner youths learn to swat3 first prerequisite for the thorough fulfilment of mechanical duties in the future 7as ,state officials1 husbands1 slaves of the desk1 newspaper readers1 and soldiers74 ,such an existence may perhaps require a philosophical glorification and justification more than any other3 pleasurable feelings must be valued by some sort of infallible tribunal1 as altogether of inferior rank2 duty per se perhaps even the pathos of reverence in regard to everything unpleasant1--must be demanded imperatively as that which is above all useful1 delightful1 and practical things4444 ,a mechanical form of existence regarded as the highest and most respectable form of existence1 worshipping itself 7type3 ,kant as the fanatic of the formal concept ,thou shalt74 #hhi4 ,the economic valuation of all the ideals that have existed hitherto--that is to say1 the selection and rearing of definite passions and states at the cost of other passions and states4 ,the lawgiver 7or the instinct of the community7 selects a number of states and passions the existence of which guarantees the performance of regular actions 7mechanical actions would thus be the result of the regular requirements of those passions and states74 ,in the event of these states and passions containing ingredients which were painful1 a means would have to be found for overcoming this painfulness by means of a valuation2 pain would have to be interpreted as something valuable1 as something pleasurable in a higher sense4 ,conceived in a formula3 ,how does something unpleasant become pleasant8 ,for instance1 when our obedience and our submission to the law become honoured1 thanks to the energy1 power1 and self-control they entail4 ,the same holds good of our public spirit1 of our neighbourliness1 of our patriotism1 our humanisation1 our altruism1 and our heroism4 ,the object of all idealism should1 be to induce people to do unpleasant things cheerfully4 #hij4 ,the belittlement of man must be held as the chief aim for a long while3 because what is needed in the first place is a broad basis from which a stronger species of man may arise 7to what extent hitherto has every stronger species of man arisen from a substratum of inferior people874 #hia4 ,the absurd and contemptible form of idealism which would not have mediocrity mediocre1 and which instead of feeling triumphant at being exceptional1 becomes indignant at cowardice1 falseness1 pettiness1 and wretchedness4 ,we should not wish things to be any different1 we should make the gulfs even wider6--,the higher types among men should be compelled to distinguish themselves by means of the sacrifices which they make to their own existence4 ,principal point of view2 distances must be established1 but no contrasts must be created4 ,the middle classes must be dissolved1 and their influence decreased3 this is the principal means of maintaining distances4 #hib4 ,who would dare to disgust the mediocre of their mediocrity6 ,as you observe1 ,i do precisely the reverse3 every step away from mediocrity--thus do ,i teach--leads to immorality4 #hic4 ,to hate mediocrity is unworthy of a philosopher3 it is almost a note of interrogation to his right to philosophy4 ,it is precisely because he is the exception that he must protect the rule and ingratiate all mediocre people4 #hid4 ,what ,i combat3 that an exceptional form should make war upon the rule--instead of understanding that the continued existence of the rule is the first condition of the value of the exception4 ,for instance1 there are women who1 instead of considering their abnormal thirst for knowledge as a distinction1 would fain dislocate the whole status of womanhood4 #hie4 ,the increase of strength despite the temporary ruin of the individual3-- ,a new level must be established2 ,we must have a method of storing up forces for the maintenance of small performances1 in opposition to economic waste2 ,destructive nature must for once be reduced to an instrument of this economy of the future2 ,the weak must be maintained1 because there is an enormous mass of finicking work to be done2 ,the weak and the suffering must be upheld in their belief that existence is still possible2 ,solidarity must be implanted as an instinct opposed to the instinct of fear and servility2 ,war must be made upon accident1 even upon the accident of the great man4 #hif4 ,war upon great men justified on economic grounds4 ,great men are dangerous2 they are accidents1 exceptions1 tempests1 which are strong enough to question things which it has taken time to build and establish4 ,explosive material must not only be discharged harmlessly1 but1 if possible1 its discharge must be prevented altogether1 this is the fundamental instinct of all civilised society4 #hig4 ,he who thinks over the question of how the type man may be elevated to its highest glory and power1 will realise from the start that he must place himself beyond morality2 for morality was directed in its essentials at the opposite goal--that is to say1 its aim was to arrest and to annihilate that glorious development wherever it was in process of accomplishment4 ,for1 as a matter of fact1 development of that sort implies that such an enormous number of men must be subservient to it1 that a counter-movement is only too natural3 the weaker1 more delicate1 more mediocre existences1 find it necessary to take up sides against that glory of life and power2 and for that purpose they must get a new valuation of themselves by means of which they are able to condemn1 and if possible to destroy1 life in this high degree of plenitude4 ,morality is therefore essentially the expression of hostility to life1 in so far as it would overcome vital types4 #hih4 ,the strong of the future4--,to what extent necessity on the one hand and accident on the other have attained to conditions from which a stronger species may be reared3 this we are now able to understand and to bring about consciously2 we can now create those conditions under which such an elevation is possible4 ,hitherto education has always aimed at the utility of society3 not the greatest possible utility for the future1 but the utility of the society actually extant4 ,what people required were instruments for this purpose4 ,provided the wealth of forces were greater1 it would be possible to think of a draft being made upon them1 the aim of which would not be the utility of society1 but some future utility4 ,the more people grasped to what extent the present form of society was in such a state of transition as sooner or later to be no longer able to exist for its own sake1 but only as a means in the hands of a stronger race1 the more this task would have to be brought forward4 ,the increasing belittlement of man is precisely the impelling power which leads one to think of the cultivation of a stronger race3 a race which would have a surplus precisely there where the dwarfed species was weak and growing weaker 7will1 responsibility1 self-reliance1 the ability to postulate aims for one's self74 ,the means would be those which history teaches3 isolation by means of preservative interests which would be the reverse of those generally accepted2 exercise in transvalued valuations2 distance as pathos2 a clean conscience in what to-day is most despised and most prohibited4 ,the levelling of the mankind of ,europe is the great process which should not be arrested2 it should even be accelerated4 ,the necessity of cleaving gulfs1 of distance1 of the order of rank1 is therefore imperative2 but not the necessity of retarding the process above mentioned4 ,this levelled-down species requires justification as soon as it is attained3 its justification is that it exists for the service of a higher and sovereign race which stands upon it and can only be elevated upon its shoulders to the task which it is destined to perform4 ,not only a ruling race whose task would be consummated in ruling alone3 but a race with vital spheres of its own1 with an overflow of energy for beauty1 bravery1 culture1 and manners1 even for the most abstract thought2 a yea-saying race which would be able to allow itself every kind of great luxury--strong enough to be able to dispense with the tyranny of the imperatives of virtue1 rich enough to be in no need of economy or pedantry2 beyond good and evil2 a forcing-house for rare and exceptional plants4 #hii4 ,our psychologists1 whose glance dwells involuntarily upon the symptoms of decadence1 lead us to mistrust intellect ever more and more4 ,people persist in seeing only the weakening1 pampering1 and sickening effects of intellect1 but there are now going to appear3-- ,new ,cynics ,the union of intellectual barbarians ,experimentalists superiority with well-being ,conquerors and an overflow of strength4 #ijj4 ,i point to something new3 certainly for such a democratic community there is a danger of barbarians2 but these are sought only down below4 ,there is also another kind of barbarians who come from the heights3 a kind of conquering and ruling natures1 which are in search of material that they can mould4 ,prometheus was a barbarian of this stamp4 #ija4 ,principal standpoint3 one should not suppose the mission of a higher species to be the leading of inferior men 7as ,comte does1 for instance72 but the inferior should be regarded as the foundation upon which a higher species may live their higher life--upon which alone they can stand4 ,the conditions under which a strong1 noble species maintains itself 7in the matter of intellectual discipline7 are precisely the reverse of those under which the industrial masses--the tea-grocers la ,spencer--subsist4 ,those qualities which are within the grasp only of the strongest and most terrible natures1 and which make their existence possible leisure1 adventure1 disbelief1 and even dissipation--would necessarily ruin mediocre natures --and does do so--when they possess them4 ,in the case of the latter industry1 regularity1 moderation1 and strong conviction are in their proper place--in short1 all gregarious virtues3 under their influence these mediocre men become perfect4 #ijb4 ,concerning the ruling types4 ,the shepherd as opposed to the lord 7the former is only a means to the maintenance of the herd2 the latter1 the purpose for which the herd exists74 #ijc4 ,the temporary preponderance of social valuations is both comprehensible and useful2 it is a matter of building a foundation upon which a stronger species will ultimately be made possible4 ,the standard of strength3 to be able to live under the transvalued valuations1 and to desire them for all eternity4 ,state and society regarded as a sub-structure3 economic point of view1 education conceived as breeding4 #ijd4 ,a consideration which free spirits lack3 that the same discipline which makes a strong nature still stronger1 and enables it to go in for big undertakings1 breaks up and withers the mediocre3 doubt --la largeur de cur--experiment--independence4 #ije4 ,the hammer4 ,how should men who must value in the opposite way be constituted8--,men who possess all the qualities of the modern soul1 but are strong enough to convert them into real health8 ,the means to their task4 #ijf4 ,the strong man1 who is mighty in the instincts of a strong and healthy organisation1 digests his deeds just as well as he digests his meals2 he even gets over the effects of heavy fare3 in the main1 however1 he is led by an inviolable and severe instinct which prevents his doing anything which goes against his grain1 just as he never does anything against his taste4 #ijg4 ,can we foresee the favourable circumstances under which creatures of the highest value might arise8 ,it is a thousand times too complicated1 and the probabilities of failure are very great3 on that account we cannot be inspired by the thought of striving after them6 ,scepticism4--,to oppose this we can enhance courage1 insight1 hardness1 independence1 and the feeling of responsibility2 we can also subtilise and learn to forestall the delicacy of the scales1 so that favourable accidents may be enlisted on our side4 #ijh4 ,before we can even think of acting1 an enormous amount of work requires to be done4 ,in the main1 however1 a cautious exploitation of the present conditions would be our best and most advisable course of action4 ,the actual creation of conditions such as those which occur by accident1 presupposes the existence of iron men such as have not yet lived4 ,our first task must be to make the personal ideal prevail and become realised6 ,he who has understood the nature of man and the origin of mankind's greatest specimens1 shudders before man and takes flight from all action3 this is the result of inherited valuations66 ,my consolation is1 that the nature of man is evil1 and this guarantees his strength6 #iji4 ,the typical forms of self-development1 or the eight principal questions3-- #a4 ,do we want to be more multifarious or more simple than we are8 #b4 ,do we want to be happier than we are1 or more indifferent to both happiness and unhappiness8 #c4 ,do we want to be more satisfied with ourselves1 or more exacting and more inexorable8 #d4 ,do we want to be softer1 more yielding1 and more human than we are1 or more inhuman8 #e4 ,do we want to be more prudent than we are1 or more daring8 #f4 ,do we want to attain a goal1 or do we want to avoid all goals 7like the philosopher1 for instance1 who scents a boundary1 a cul-de-sac1 a prison1 a piece of foolishness in every goal78 #g4 ,do we want to become more respected1 or more feared1 or more despised8 #h4 ,do we want to become tyrants1 and seducers1 or do we want to become shepherds and gregarious animals8 #iaj4 ,the type of my disciples4--,to such men as concern vie in any way ,i wish suffering1 desolation1 sickness1 ill-treatment1 indignities of all kinds4 ,i wish them to be acquainted with profound self-contempt1 with the martyrdom of self-distrust1 with the misery of the defeated3 ,i have no pity for them2 because ,i wish them to have the only thing which to-day proves whether a man has any value or not1 namely1 the capacity of sticking to his guns4 #iaa4 ,the happiness and self-contentedness of the lazzaroni1 or the blessedness of beautiful souls1 or the consumptive love of ,puritan pietists1 proves nothing in regard to the order of rank among men4 ,as a great educator one ought inexorably to thrash a race of such blissful creatures into unhappiness4 ,the danger of belittlement and of a slackening of powers follows immediately ,i am opposed to happiness la ,spinoza or la ,epicurus1 and to all the relaxation of contemplative states4 ,but when virtue is the means to such happiness1 well then1 one must master even virtue4 #iab4 ,i cannot see how any one can make up for having missed going to a good school at the proper time4 ,such a person does not know himself2 he walks through life without ever having learned to walk4 ,his soft muscles betray themselves at every step4 ,occasionally life itself is merciful enough to make a man recover this lost and severe schooling3 by means of periods of sickness1 perhaps1 which exact the utmost will-power and self-control2 or by means of a sudden state of poverty1 which threatens his wife and child1 and which may force a man to such activity as will restore energy to his slackened tendons1 and a tough spirit to his will to life4 ,the most desirable thing of all1 however1 is1 under all circumstances to have severe discipline at the right time1 i4e4 at that age when it makes us proud that people should expect great things from us4 ,for this is what distinguishes hard schooling1 as good schooling1 from every other schooling1 namely1 that a good deal is demanded1 that a good deal is severely exacted2 that goodness1 nay even excellence itself1 is required as if it were normal2 that praise is scanty1 that leniency is non-existent2 that blame is sharp1 practical1 and without reprieve1 and has no regard to talent and antecedents4 ,we are in every way in need of such a school3 and this holds good of corporeal as well as of spiritual things2 it would be fatal to draw distinctions here6 ,the same discipline makes the soldier and the scholar efficient2 and1 looked at more closely1 there is no true scholar who has not the instincts of a true soldier in his veins4 ,to be able to command and to be able to obey in a proud fashion2 to keep one's place in rank and file1 and yet to be ready at any moment to lead2 to prefer danger to comfort2 not to weigh what is permitted and what is forbidden in a tradesman's balance2 to be more hostile to pettiness1 slyness1 and parasitism than to wickedness4 ,what is it that one learns in a hard school8--to obey and to command4 #iac4 ,we should repudiate merit--and do only that which stands above all praise and above all understanding4 #iad4 ,the new forms of morality3-- ,faithful vows concerning that which one wishes to do or to leave undone2 complete and definite abstention from many things4 ,tests as to whether one is ripe for such discipline4 #iae4 ,it is my desire to naturalise asceticism3 ,i would substitute the old intention of asceticism1 self-denial1 by my own intention1 self-strengthening3 a gymnastic of the will2 a period of abstinence and occasional fasting of every kind1 even in things intellectual2 a casuistry in deeds1 in regard to the opinions which we derive from our powers2 we should try our hand at adventure and at deliberate dangers4 7,dners chez ,magny3 all intellectual gourmets with spoilt stomachs47 ,tests ought also to be devised for discovering a man's power in keeping his word4 #iaf4 ,the things which have become spoilt through having been abused by the ,church3-- 7#a7 ,asceticism4--,people have scarcely got the courage yet to bring to light the natural utility and necessity of asceticism for the purpose of the education of the will4 ,our ridiculous world of education1 before whose eyes the useful ,state official hovers as an ideal to be striven for1 believes that it has completed its duty when it has instructed or trained the brain2 it never even suspects that something else is first of all necessary --the education of will-power2 tests are devised for everything except for the most important thing of all3 whether a man can will1 whether he can promise2 the young man completes his education without a question or an inquiry having been made concerning the problem of the highest value of his nature4 7#b7 ,fasting3--,in every sense--even as a means of maintaining the capacity for taking pleasure in all good things 7for instance1 to give up reading for a while1 to hear no music for a while1 to cease from being amiable for a while3 one ought also to have fast days for one's virtues74 7#c7 ,the monastery4--,temporary isolation with severe seclusion from all letters1 for instance2 a kind of profound introspection and self-recovery1 which does not go out of the way of temptations1 but out of the way of duties2 a stepping out of the daily round of one's environment2 a detachment from the tyranny of stimuli and external influences1 which condemns us to expend our power only in reactions1 and does not allow it to gather volume until it bursts into spontaneous activity 7let anybody examine our scholars closely3 they only think reflexively1 i4e4 they must first read before they can think74 7#d7 ,feasts4--,a man must be very coarse in order not to feel the presence of ,christians and ,christian values as oppressive1 so oppressive as to send all festive moods to the devil4 ,by feasts we understand3 pride1 high-spirits1 exuberance2 scorn of all kinds of seriousness and ,philistinism2 a divine saying of ,yea to one's self1 as the result of physical plenitude and perfection--all states to which the ,christian cannot honestly say ,yea4 ,a feast is a pagan thing par excellence4 7#e7 ,the courage of ones own nature3 dressing-up in morality1--,to be able to call one's passions good without the help of a moral formula3 this is the standard which measures the extent to which a man is able to say ,yea to his own nature1 namely1 how much or how little he has to have recourse to morality4 7#f7 ,death4--,the foolish physiological fact must be converted into a moral necessity4 ,one should live in such a way that one may have the will to die at the right time6 #iag4 ,to feel ones self stronger or1 expressed otherwise3 happiness always presupposes a comparison 7not necessarily with others1 but with one's self1 in the midst of a state of growth1 and without being conscious that one is comparing74 ,artificial accentuation3 whether by means of exciting chemicals or exciting errors 7hallucinations47 ,take1 for instance1 the ,christian's feeling of security2 he feels himself strong in his confidence1 in his patience1 and his resignation3 this artificial accentuation he owes to the fancy that he is protected by a ,god4 ,take the feeling of superiority1 for instance3 as when the ,caliph of ,morocco sees only globes on which his three united kingdoms cover four-fifths of the space4 ,take the feeling of uniqueness1 for instance3 as when the ,european imagines that culture belongs to ,europe alone1 and when he regards himself as a sort of abridged cosmic process2 or1 as when the ,christian makes all existence revolve round the ,salvation of man4 ,the question is1 where does one begin to feel the pressure of constraint3 it is thus that different degrees are ascertained4 ,a philosopher for instance1 in the midst of the coolest and most transmontane feats of abstraction feels like a fish that enters its element3 while colours and tones oppress him2 not to speak of those dumb desires--of that which others call the ideal4 #iah4 ,a healthy and vigorous little boy will look up sarcastically if he be asked3 ,wilt thou become virtuous8--but he immediately becomes eager if he be asked3 ,wilt thou become stronger than thy comrades8 999999 ,how does one become stronger8--,by deciding slowly2 and by holding firmly to the decision once it is made4 ,everything else follows of itself4 ,spontaneous and changeable natures3 both species of the weak4 ,we must not confound ourselves with them2 we must feel distance--betimes6 ,beware of good-natured people64 ,dealings with them make one torpid4 ,all environment is good which makes one exercise those defensive and2 aggressive powers which are instinctive in man4 ,all one's inventiveness should apply itself to putting one's power of will to the test4444 ,here the determining factor must be recognised as something which is not knowledge1 astuteness1 or wit4 ,one must learn to command betimes1--likewise to obey4 ,a man must learn modesty and tact in modesty3 he must learn to distinguish and to honour where modesty is displayed2 he must likewise distinguish and honour wherever he bestows his confidence4 ,what does one repent most8 ,one's modesty2 the fact that one has not lent an ear to one's most individual needs2 the fact that one has mistaken one's self2 the fact that one has esteemed one's self low2 the fact that one has lost all delicacy of hearing in regard to one's instincts4--,this want of reverence in regard to one's self is avenged by all sorts of losses3 in health1 friendship1 well-being1 pride1 cheerfulness1 freedom1 determination1 courage4 ,a man never forgives himself1 later on1 for this want of genuine egoism3 he regards it as an objection and as a cause of doubt concerning his real ego4 #iai4 ,i should like man to begin by respecting himself3 everything else follows of itself4 ,naturally a man ceases from being anything to others in this way3 for this is precisely what they are least likely to forgive4 ,what8 a man who respects himself8#d ,this is something quite different from the blind instinct to love one's self4 ,nothing is more common in the love of the sexes or in that duality which is called ego1 than a certain contempt for that which is loved the fatalism of love4 ,footnote #d3 ,cf4 ,disraeli in ,tancred3 ,self-respect1 too1 is a superstition of past ages4444 ,it is not suited to these times2 it is much too arrogant1 too self-conceited1 too egoistical4 ,no one is important enough to have self-respect nowadays 7book iii4 chap4 v474--,tr4 #ibj4 ,i will have this or that2 ,i would that this or that were so2 ,i know that this or that is so the degrees of power3 the man of will1 the man of desire1 the man of fate4 #iba4 ,the means by which a strong species maintains itself3-- ,it grants itself the right of exceptional actions1 as a test of the power of self-control and of freedom4 ,it abandons itself to states in which a man is not allowed to be anything else than a barbarian4 ,it tries to acquire strength of will by every kind of asceticism4 ,it is not expansive1 it practises silence2 it is cautious in regard to all charms4 ,it learns to obey in such a way that obedience provides a test of self-maintenance4 ,casuistry is carried to its highest pitch in regard to points of honour4 ,it never argues1 ,what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander1--but conversely6 it regards reward1 and the ability to repay1 as a privilege1 as a distinction4 ,it does not covet other people's virtues4 #ibb4 ,the way in which one has to treat raw savages and the impossibility of dispensing with barbarous methods1 becomes obvious1 in practice1 when one is transplanted1 with all one's ,european pampering1 to a spot such as the ,congo1 or anywhere else where it is necessary to maintain one's mastery over barbarians4 #ibc4 ,warlike and peaceful people4--,art thou a man who has the instincts of a warrior in thy blood8 ,if this be so1 another question must be put4 ,do thy instincts impel thee to attack or to defend8 ,the rest of mankind1 all those whose instincts are not warlike1 desire peace1 concord1 freedom1 equal rights3 these things are but names and steps for one and the same thing4 ,such men only wish to go where it is not necessary for them to defend themselves1--such men become discontented with themselves when they are obliged to offer resistance3 they would fain create circumstances in which war is no longer necessary4 ,if the worst came to the worst1 they would resign themselves1 obey1 and submit3 all these things are better than waging war--thus does the ,christian's instinct1 for instance1 whisper to him4 ,in the born warrior's character there is something of armour1 likewise in the choice of his circumstances and in the development of every one of his qualities1 weapons are best evolved by the latter type1 shields are best devised by the former4 ,what expedients and what virtues do the unarmed and the undefended require in order to survive--and even to conquer8 #ibd4 ,what will become of a man who no longer has any reasons for either defence or attack8 ,what will remain of his passions when he has lost those which form his defence and his weapons8 #ibe4 ,a marginal note to a niaiserie anglaise3 ,do not to others that which you would not that they should do unto you4 ,this stands for wisdom2 this stands for prudence2 this stands as the very basis of morality as a golden maxim4 ,john ,stuart ,mill believes in it 7and what ,englishman does not874444 ,but the maxim does not bear investigation4 ,the argument1 ,do not as you would not be done by1 forbids action which produce harmful results2 the thought behind always is that an action is invariably requited4 ,what if some one came forward with the ,principe in his hands1 and said3 ,we must do those actions alone which enable us to steal a march on others1--and which deprive others of the power of doing the same to us8--,on the other hand1 let us remember the ,corsican who pledges his honour to vendetta4 ,he too does not desire to have a bullet through him2 but the prospect of one1 the probability of getting one1 does not deter him from vindicating his honour4444 ,and in all really decent actions are we not intentionally indifferent as to what result they will bring8 ,to avoid an action which might have harmful results1--that would be tantamount to forbidding all decent actions in general4 ,apart from this1 the above maxim is valuable because it betrays a certain type of man3 it is the instinct of the herd which formulates itself through him1--we are equal1 we regard each other as equal3 as ,i am to thee so art thou to me4--,in this community equivalence of actions is really believed in--an equivalence which never under any circumstances manifests itself in real conditions4 ,it is impossible to requite every action3 among real individuals equal actions do not exist1 consequently there can be no such thing as requital4 444 ,when ,i do anything1 ,i am very far from thinking that any man is able to do anything at all like it3 the action belongs to me4444 ,nobody can pay me back for anything ,i do2 the most that can be done is to make me the victim of another action4 #ibf4 ,against ,john ,stuart ,mill4--,i abhor the man's vulgarity when he says3 ,what is right for one man is right for another2 ,do not to others that which you would not that they should do unto you4 ,such principles would fain establish the whole of human traffic upon mutual services1 so that every action would appear to be a cash payment for something done to us4 ,the hypothesis here is ignoble to the last degree3 it is taken for granted that there is some sort of equivalence in value between my actions and thine2 the most personal value ,of an action is simply cancelled in this manner 7that part of an action which has no equivalent and which cannot be remunerated74 ,reciprocity is a piece of egregious vulgarity2 the mere fact that what ,i do cannot and may not be done by another1 that there is no such thing as equivalence 7except in those very select circles where one actually has one's equal1 inter pares71 that in a really profound sense a man never requites because he is something unique in himself and can only do unique things1--this fundamental conviction contains the cause of aristocratic aloofness from the mob1 because the latter believes in equality1 and consequently in the feasibility of equivalence and reciprocity4 #ibg4 ,the suburban ,philistinism of moral valuations and of its concepts useful and harmful is well founded2 it is the necessary point of view of a community which is only able to see and survey immediate and proximate consequences4 ,the ,state and the political man are already in need of a more super-moral attitude of mind3 because they have to calculate concerning a much more complicated tissue of consequences4 ,an economic policy for the whole world should be possible which could look at things in such broad perspective that all its isolated demands would seem for the moment not only unjust1 but arbitrary4 #ibh4 ,should one follow one's feelings8--,to set one's life at stake on the impulse of the moment1 and actuated by a generous feeling1 has little worth1 and does not even distinguish one4 ,everybody is alike in being capable of this--and in behaving in this way with determination1 the criminal1 the bandit1 and the ,corsican certainly outstrip the honest man4 ,a higher degree of excellence would be to overcome this impulse1 and to refrain from performing an heroic deed at its bidding--and to remain cold1 raisonnable1 free from the tempestuous surging of concomitant sensations of delight4444 ,the same holds good of pity3 it must first be sifted through reason2 without this it becomes just as dangerous as any other passion4 ,the blind yielding to a passion1 whether it be generosity1 pity1 or hostility1 is the cause of the greatest evil4 ,greatness of character does not consist in not possessing these passions--on the contrary1 a man should possess them to a terrible degree3 but he should lead them by the bridle44 and even this he should not do out of love of control1 but merely because4444 #ibi4 ,to give up one's life for a cause--very effective4 ,but there are many things for which one gives up one's life3 the passions1 one and all1 will be gratified4 ,whether one's life be pledged to pity1 to anger1 or to revenge--it matters not from the point of view of value4 ,how many have not sacrificed their lives for pretty girls--and even what is worse1 their health6 ,when one has temperament1 one instinctively chooses the most dangerous things3 if one is a philosopher1 for instance1 one chooses the adventures of speculation2 if one is virtuous1 one chooses immorality4 ,one kind of man will risk nothing1 another kind will risk everything4 ,are we despisers of life8 ,on the contrary1 what we seek is life raised to a higher power1 life in danger4444 ,but1 let me repeat1 we do not1 on that account1 wish to be more virtuous than others1 ,pascal1 for instance1 wished to risk nothing1 and remained a ,christian4 ,that perhaps was virtuous4----,a man always sacrifices something4 #icj4 ,how many advantages does not a man sacrifice6 ,to how small an extent does he seek his own profit6 ,all his emotions and passions wish to assert their rights1 and how remote a passion is ,from that cautious utility which consists in personal profit6 ,a man does not strive after happiness2 one must be an ,englishman to be able to believe that a man is always seeking his own advantage4 ,our desires long to violate things with passion--their overflowing strength seeks obstacles4 #ica4 ,all passions are generally useful1 some directly1 others indirectly2 in regard to utility it is absolutely impossible to fix upon any gradation of values1--however certainly the forces of nature in general may be regarded as good 7i4e4 useful71 from an economic point of view1 they are still the sources of much that is terrible and much that is fatally irrevocable4 ,the most one might say would be1 that the mightiest passions are the most valuable3 seeing that no stronger sources of power exist4 #icb4 ,all well-meaning1 helpful1 good-natured attitudes of mind have not come to be honoured on account of their usefulness3 but because they are the conditions peculiar to rich souls who are able to bestow and whose value consists in their vital exuberance4 ,look into the eyes of the benevolent man6 ,in them you will see the exact reverse of self-denial1 of hatred of self1 of ,pascalism4 #icc4 ,in short1 what we require is to dominate the passions and not to weaken or to extirpate them6--,the greater the dominating power of the will1 the greater the freedom that may be given to the passions4 ,the great man is so1 owing to the free scope which he gives to his desires1 and to the still greater power which knows how to enlist these magnificent monsters into its service4 ,the good man in every stage of civilisation is at one and the same time the least dangerous and the most useful3 a sort of medium2 the idea formed of such a man by the common mind is that he is some one whom one has no reason to fear1 but whom one must not therefore despise4 ,education3 essentially a means of ruining exceptions in favour of the rule4 ,culture3 essentially the means of directing taste against the exceptions in favour of the mediocre4 ,only when a culture can dispose of an overflow of force1 is it capable of being a hothouse for the luxurious culture of the exception1 of the experiment1 of the danger1 of the nuance3 this is the tendency of every aristocratic culture4 #icd4 ,all questions of strength3 to what extent ought one to try and prevail against the preservative measures of society and the latter's prejudices8--to what extent ought one to unfetter one's terrible qualities1 through which so many go to the dogs8--to what extent ought one to run counter to truth1 and take up sides with its most questionable aspects8--to what extent ought one to oppose suffering1 self-contempt1 pity1 disease1 vice1 when it is always open to question whether one can ever master them 7what does not kill us makes us stronger444478--and1 finally1 to what extent ought one to acknowledge the rights of the rule1 of the common-place1 of the petty1 of the good1 of the upright1 in fact of the average man1 without thereby allowing one's self to become vulgar8 444 ,the strongest test of character is to resist being ruined by the seductiveness of goodness4 ,goodness must be regarded as a luxury1 as a refinement1 as a vice4 #c4 ,the ,noble ,man4 #ice4 ,type4 real goodness1 nobility1 greatness of soul1 as the result of vital wealth3 which does not give in order to receive--and which has no desire to elevate itself by being good1 squandering is typical of genuine goodness1 vital personal wealth is its prerequisite4 #icf4 ,aristocracy4--,gregarious ideals at present culminating in the highest standard of value for society4 ,it has been attempted to give them a cosmic1 yea1 and even a metaphysical1 value4--,i defend aristocracy against them4 ,any society which would of itself preserve a feeling of respect and dlicatesse in regard to freedom1 must consider itself as an exception1 and have a force against it from which it distinguishes itself1 and upon which it looks down with hostility4 ,the more rights ,i surrender and the more ,i level myself down to others1 the more deeply do ,i sink into the average and ultimately into the greatest number4 ,the first condition which an aristocratic society must have in order to maintain a high degree of freedom among its members1 is that extreme tension which arises from the presence of the most antagonistic instincts in all its units3 from their will to dominate4444 ,if ye would fain do away with strong contrasts and differences of rank1 ye will also abolish1 strong love1 lofty attitudes of mind1 and the feeling of individuality4 999999 ,concerning the actual psychology of societies based upon freedom and equality4--,what is it that tends to diminish in such a society8 ,the will to be responsible for ones self 7the loss of this is a sign of the decline of autonomy72 the ability to defend and to attack1 even in spiritual matters2 the power of command2 the sense of reverence1 of subservience1 the ability to be silent1 great passion1 great achievements1 tragedy and cheerfulness4 #icg4 ,in #ahad ,augustin ,thierry read what ,montlosier had said in his work1 ,de la ,monarchie franaise3 he answered with a cry of indignation1 and set himself to his task4 ,that emigrant had said3 ,race d'affranchis1 race d'esclaves arrachs de nos mains1 peuple tributaire1 peuple nouveau1 licence vous fut octroye d'tre libres1 et non pas nous d'tre nobles2 pour nous tout est de droit1 pour vous tout est de grce1 nous ne sommes point de votre communaut2 nous sommes un tout par nous mmes4 #ich4 ,how constantly the aristocratic world shears and weakens itself ever more and more6 ,by means of its noble instincts it abandons its privileges1 and owing to its refined and excessive culture1 it takes an interest in the people1 the weak1 the poor1 and the poetry of the lowly1 etc4 #ici4 ,there is such a thing as a noble and dangerous form of carelessness1 which allows of profound conclusions and insight3 the carelessness of the self-reliant and over-rich soul1 which has never troubled itself about friends1 but which knows only hospitality and knows how to practise it2 whose heart and house are open to all who will enter--beggar1 cripple1 or king4 ,this is genuine sociability3 he who is capable of it has hundreds of friends1 but probably not one friend4 #idj4 ,the teaching applies to men with overflowing strength1--not to the mediocre1 and are only steps to higher things4 ,above them stands golden ,nature4 ,thou shalt--unconditional obedience in ,stoics1 in ,christian and ,arabian ,orders1 in ,kant's philosophy 7it is immaterial whether this obedience is shown to a superior or to a concept74 ,higher than ,thou shalt stands ,i will 7the heroes72 higher than ,i will stands ,i am 7the gods of the ,greeks74 ,barbarian gods express nothing of the pleasure of restraint1--they are neither simple1 nor light-hearted1 nor moderate4 #ida4 ,the essence of our gardens and palaces 7and to the same extent the essence of all yearning after riches7 is the desire to rid the eye of disorder and vulgarity1 and to build a home for our soul's nobility4 ,the majority of people certainly believe that they will develop higher natures when those beautiful and peaceful things have operated upon them3 hence the exodus to ,italy1 hence all travelling1 etc41 and all reading and visits to theatres4 ,people want to be formed--that is the kernel of their labours for culture6 ,but the strong1 the mighty1 would themselves have a hand in the forming1 and would fain have nothing strange about them6 ,it is for this reason1 too1 that men go to open ,nature1 not to find themselves1 but to lose themselves and to forget themselves4 ,the desire to get away from one's self is proper to all weaklings1 and to all those who are discontented with themselves4 #idb4 ,the only nobility is that of birth and blood4 7,i do not refer here to the prefix ,lord and ,l'almanac de ,gotha3 this is a parenthesis for donkeys47 ,wherever people speak of the aristocracy of intellect1 reasons are generally not lacking for concealing something1 it is known to be a password among ambitious ,jews4 ,intellect alone does not ennoble2 on the contrary1 something is always needed to ennoble intellect4--,what then is needed8--,blood4 #idc4 ,what is noble8 --,external punctiliousness2 because this punctiliousness hedges a man about1 keeps him at a distance1 saves him from being confounded with somebody else4 ,a frivolous appearance in word1 clothing1 and bearing1 with which stoical hardness and self-control protect themselves from all prying inquisitiveness or curiosity4 --,a slow step and a slow glance4 ,there are not too many valuable things on earth3 and these come and wish to come of themselves to him who has value4 ,we are not quick to admire4 --,we know how to bear poverty1 want1 and even illness4 --,we avoid small honours owing to our mistrust of all who are over-ready to praise3 for the man who praises believes he understands what he praises3 but to understand--,balzac1 that typical man of ambition1 betrayed the fact comprendre c'est galer4 --,our doubt concerning the communicativeness of our hearts goes very deep2 to us1 loneliness is not a matter of choice1 it is imposed upon us4 --,we are convinced that we only have duties to our equals1 to others we do as we think best3 we know that justice is only to be expected among equals 7alas6 this will not be realised for some time to come71 --,we are ironical towards the gifted2 we hold the belief that no morality is possible without good birth4 --,we always feel as if we were those who had to dispense honours3 while he is not found too frequently who would be worthy of honouring us4 --,we are always disguised3 the higher a man's nature the more is he in need of remaining incognito4 ,if there be a ,god1 then out of sheer decency ,he ought only to show ,himself on earth in the form of a man4 --,we are capable of otium1 of the unconditional conviction that although a handicraft does not shame one in any sense1 it certainly reduces one's rank4 ,however much we may respect industry1 and know how to give it its due1 we do not appreciate it in a bourgeois sense1 or after the manner of those insatiable and cackling artists who1 like hens1 cackle and lay eggs1 and cackle again4 --,we protect artists and poets and any one who happens to be a master in something2 but as creatures of a higher order than those1 who only know how to do something1 who are only productive men1 we do not confound ourselves with them4 --,we find joy in all forms and ceremonies2 we would fain foster everything formal1 and we are convinced that courtesy is one of the greatest virtues2 we feel suspicious of every kind of laisser aller1 including the freedom of the press and of thought2 because1 under such conditions1 the intellect grows easy-going and coarse1 and stretches its limbs4 --,we take pleasure in women as in a perhaps daintier1 more delicate1 and more ethereal kind of creature4 ,what a treat it is to meet creatures who have only dancing and nonsense and finery in their minds6 ,they have always been the delight of every tense and profound male soul1 whose life is burdened with heavy responsibilities4 --,we take pleasure in princes and in priests1 because in big things1 as in small1 they actually uphold the belief in the difference of human values1 even in the estimation of the past1 and at least symbolically4 --,we are able to keep silence i but we do not breathe a word of this in the presence of listeners4 --,we are able to endure long enmities3 we lack the power of easy reconciliations4 --,we have a loathing of demagogism1 of enlightenment1 of amiability1 and plebeian familiarity4 --,we collect precious things1 the needs of higher and fastidious souls2 we wish to possess nothing in common4 ,we want to have our own books1 our own landscapes4 --,we protest against evil and fine experiences1 and take care not to generalise too quickly4 ,the individual case3 how ironically we regard it when it has the bad taste to put on the airs of a rule6 --,we love that which is naf1 and naf people1 but as spectators and higher creatures2 we think ,faust is just as simple as his ,margaret4 --,we have a low estimation of good people1 because they are gregarious animals3 we know how often an invaluable golden drop of goodness lies concealed beneath the most evil1 the most malicious1 and the hardest exterior1 and that this single grain outweighs all the mere goody-goodiness of milk-and-watery souls4 --,we don't regard a man of our kind as refuted by his vices1 nor by his tomfooleries4 ,we are well aware that we are not recognised with ease1 and that we have every reason to make our foreground very prominent4 #idd4 ,what is noble8--,the fact that one is constantly forced to be playing a part4 ,that one is constantly searching for situations in which one is forced to put on airs4 ,that one leaves happiness to the greatest number3 the happiness which consists of inner peacefulness1 of virtue1 of comfort1 and of ,anglo-angelic-back-parlour-smugness1 la ,spencer4 ,that one instinctively seeks for heavy responsibilities4 ,that one knows how to create enemies everywhere1 at a pinch even in one's self4 ,that one contradicts the greatest number1 not in words at all1 but by continually behaving differently from them4 #ide4 ,virtue 7for instance1 truthfulness7 is our most noble and most dangerous luxury4 ,we must not decline the disadvantages which it brings in its train4 #idf4 ,we refuse to be praised3 we do what serves our purpose1 what gives us pleasure1 or what we are obliged to do4 #idg4 ,what is chastity in a man8 ,it means that his taste in sex has remained noble2 that in eroticis he likes neither the brutal1 the morbid1 nor the clever4 #idh4 ,the concept of honour is founded upon the belief in select society1 in knightly excellences1 in the obligation of having continually to play a part4 ,in essentials it means that one does not take one's life too seriously1 that one adheres unconditionally to the most dignified manners in one's dealings with everybody 7at least in so far as they do not belong to us72 that one is neither familiar1 nor good-natured1 nor hearty1 nor modest1 except inter pares2 that one is always playing a part4 #idi4 ,the fact that one sets one's life1 one's health1 and one's honour at stake1 is the result of high spirits and of an overflowing and spendthrift will3 it is not the result of philanthropy1 but of the fact that every danger kindles our curiosity concerning the measure of our strength1 and provokes our courage4 #iej4 ,eagles swoop down straight nobility of soul is best revealed by the magnificent and proud foolishness with which it makes its attacks4 #iea4 ,war should be made against all namby-pamby ideas of nobility6--,a certain modicum of brutality cannot be dispensed with3 no more than we can do without a certain approximation to criminality4 ,self-satisfaction must not be allowed2 a man should look upon himself with an adventurous spirit2 he should experiment with himself and run risks with himself--no beautiful soul-quackery should be tolerated4 ,i want to give a more robust ideal a chance of prevailing4 #ieb4 ,paradise is under the shadow of a swordsman--this is also a symbol and a test-word by which souls with noble and warrior-like origin betray and discover themselves4 #iec4 ,the two paths4--,there comes a period when man has a surplus amount of power at his disposal4 ,science aims at establishing the slavery of nature4 ,then man acquires the leisure in which to develop himself into something new and more lofty4 ,a new aristocracy4 ,it is then that a large number of virtues which are now conditions of existence are superseded4--,qualities which are no longer needed are on that account lost4 ,we no longer need virtues3 consequently we are losing them 7likewise the morality of one thing is needful1 of the salvation of the soul1 and of immortality3 these were means wherewith to make man capable of enormous self-tyranny1 through the emotion of great fear66674 ,the different kinds of needs by means of whose discipline man is formed3 need teaches work1 thought1 and self-control4 999999 ,physiological purification and strengthening4 ,the new aristocracy is in need of an opposing body which it may combat3 it must be driven to extremities in order to maintain itself4 ,the two futures of mankind3 7#a7 the consequence of a levelling-down to mediocrity1 7#b7 conscious aloofness and self-development4 ,a doctrine which would cleave a gulf3 it maintains the highest and the lowest species 7it destroys the intermediate74 ,the aristocracies1 both spiritual and temporal1 which have existed hitherto prove nothing against the necessity of a new aristocracy4 #d4 ,the ,lords of the ,earth4 #ied4 ,a certain question constantly recurs to us2 it is perhaps a seductive and evil question2 may it be whispered into the ears of those who have a right to such doubtful problems--those strong souls of to-day whose dominion over themselves is unswerving3 is it not high time1 now that the type gregarious animal is developing ever more and more in ,europe1 to set about rearing1 thoroughly1 artificially1 and consciously1 an opposite type1 and to attempt to establish the latter's virtues8 ,and would not the democratic movement itself find for the first time a sort of goal1 salvation1 and justification1 if some one appeared who availed himself of it--so that at last1 beside its new and sublime product1 slavery 7for this must be the end of ,european democracy71 that higher species of ruling and ,csarian spirits might also be produced1 which would stand upon it1 hold to it1 and would elevate themselves through it8 ,this new race would climb aloft to new and hitherto impossible things1 to a broader vision1 and to its task on earth4 #iee4 ,the aspect of the ,european of to-day makes me very hopeful4 ,a daring and ruling race is here building itself up upon the foundation of an extremely intelligent1 gregarious mass4 ,it is obvious that the educational movements for the latter are not alone prominent nowadays4 #ief4 ,the same conditions which go to develop the gregarious animal also force the development of the leaders4 #ieg4 ,the question1 and at the same time the task1 is approaching with hesitation1 terrible as ,fate1 but nevertheless inevitable3 how shall the earth as a whole be ruled8 ,and to what end shall man as a whole--no longer as a people or as a race--be reared and trained8 ,legislative moralities are the principal means by which one can form mankind1 according to the fancy of a creative and profound will3 provided1 of course1 that such an artistic will of the first order gets the power into its own hands1 and can make its creative will prevail over long periods in the form of legislation1 religions1 and morals4 ,at present1 and probably for some time to come1 one will seek such colossally creative men1 such really great men1 as ,i understand them1 in vain3 they will be lacking1 until1 after many disappointments1 we are forced to begin to understand why it is they are lacking1 and that nothing bars with greater hostility their rise and development1 at present and for some time to come1 than that which is now called the morality in ,europe4 ,just as if there were no other kind of morality1 and could be no other kind1 than the one we have already characterised as herd-morality4 ,it is this morality which is now striving with all its power to attain to that green-meadow happiness on earth1 which consists in security1 absence of danger1 ease1 facilities for livelihood1 and1 last but not least1 if all goes well1 even hopes to dispense with all kinds of shepherds and bell-wethers4 ,the two doctrines which it preaches most universally are equality of rights and pity for all sufferers--and it even regards suffering itself as something which must be got rid of absolutely4 ,that such ideas may be modern leads one to think very poorly of modernity4 ,he1 however1 who has reflected deeply concerning the question1 how and where the plant man has hitherto grown most vigorously1 is forced to believe that this has always taken place under the opposite conditions2 that to this end the danger of the situation has to increase enormously1 his inventive faculty and dissembling powers have to fight their way up under long oppression and compulsion1 and his will to life has to be increased to the unconditioned will to power1 to over-power3 he believes that danger1 severity1 violence1 peril in the street and in the heart1 inequality of rights1 secrecy1 stoicism1 seductive art1 and devilry of every kind--in short1 the opposite of all gregarious desiderata--are necessary for the elevation of man4 ,such a morality with opposite designs1 which would rear man upwards instead of to comfort and mediocrity2 such a morality1 with the intention of producing a ruling caste--the future lords of the earth--must1 in order to be taught at all1 introduce itself as if it were in some way correlated to the prevailing moral law1 and must come forward under the cover of the latter's words and forms4 ,but seeing that1 to this end1 a host of transitionary and deceptive measures must be discovered1 and that the life of a single individual stands for almost nothing in view of the accomplishment of such lengthy tasks and aims1 the first thing that must be done is to rear a new kind of man in whom the duration of the necessary will and the necessary instincts is guaranteed for many generations4 ,this must be a new kind of ruling species and caste--this ought to be quite as clear as the somewhat lengthy and not easily expressed consequences of this thought4 ,the aim should be to prepare a transvaluation of values for a particularly strong kind of man1 most highly gifted in intellect and will1 and1 to this end1 slowly and cautiously to liberate in him a whole host of slandered instincts hitherto held in check3 whoever meditates about this problem belongs to us1 the free spirits--certainly not to that kind of free spirit which has existed hitherto3 for these desired practically the reverse4 ,to this order1 it seems to me1 belong1 above all1 the pessimists of ,europe1 the poets and thinkers of a revolted idealism1 in so far as their discontent with existence in general must consistently at least have led them to be dissatisfied with the man of the present2 the same applies to certain insatiably ambitious artists who courageously and unconditionally fight against the gregarious animal for the special rights of higher men1 and subdue all herd-instincts and precautions of more exceptional minds by their seductive art4 ,thirdly and lastly1 we should include in this group all those critics and historians by whom the discovery of the ,old ,world1 which has begun so happily--this was the work of the new ,columbus1 of ,german intellect--will be courageously continued 7for we still stand in the very first stages of this conquest74 ,for in the ,old ,world1 as a matter of fact1 a different and more lordly morality ruled than that of to-day2 and the man of antiquity1 under the educational ban of his morality1 was a stronger and deeper man than the man of to-day--up to the present he has been the only well-constituted man4 ,the temptation1 however1 which from antiquity to the present day has always exercised its power on such lucky strokes of ,nature1 i4e4 on strong and enterprising souls1 is1 even at the present day1 the most subtle and most effective of anti-democratic and anti-,christian powers1 just as it was in the time of the ,renaissance4 #ieh4 ,i am writing for a race of men which does not yet exist3 for the lords of the earth4 ,in ,plato's ,theages the following passage will be found3 ,every one of us would like if possible to be master of mankind2 if possible1 a ,god6 ,this attitude of mind must be reinstated in our midst4 ,englishmen1 ,americans1 and ,russians4 #iei4 ,that primeval forest-plant ,man always appears where the struggle for power has been waged longest4 ,great men4 ,primeval forest creatures1 the ,romans4 #ifj4 ,from now henceforward there will be such favourable first conditions for greater ruling powers as have never yet been found on earth4 ,and this is by no means the most important point4 ,the establishment has been made possible of international race unions which will set themselves the task of rearing a ruling race1 the future lords of the earth--a new1 vast aristocracy based upon the most severe self-discipline1 in which the will of philosophical men of power and artist-tyrants will be stamped upon thousands of years3 a higher species of men which1 thanks to their preponderance of will1 knowledge1 riches1 and influence1 will avail themselves of democratic ,europe as the most suitable and supple instrument they can have for taking the fate of the earth into their own hands1 and working as artists upon man himself4 ,enough6 ,the time is coming for us to transform all our views on politics4 #e4 ,the ,great ,man4 #ifa4 ,i will endeavour to see at which periods in history great men arise4 ,the significance of despotic moralities that have lasted a long time3 they strain the bow1 provided they do not break it4 #ifb4 ,a great man1--a man whom ,nature has built up and invented in a grand style1--,what is such a man8 ,first1 in his general course of action his consistency is so broad that owing to its very breadth it can be surveyed only with difficulty1 and consequently misleads2 he possesses the capacity of extending his will over great stretches of his life1 and of despising and rejecting all small things1 whatever most beautiful and divine things of the world there may be among them4 ,secondly1 he is colder1 harder1 less cautious and more free from the fear of public opinion2 he does not possess the virtues which are compatible with respectability and with being respected1 nor any of those things which are counted among the virtues of the herd4 ,if he is unable to lead1 he walks alone2 he may then perchance grunt at many things which he meets on his way4 ,thirdly1 he asks for no compassionate heart1 but servants1 instruments2 in his dealings with men his one aim is to make something out of them4 ,he knows that he cannot reveal himself to anybody3 he thinks it bad taste to become familiar2 and as a rule he is not familiar when people think he is4 ,when he is not talking to his soul1 he wears a mask4 ,he would rather lie than tell the truth1 because lying requires more spirit and will4 ,there is a loneliness within his heart which neither praise nor blame can reach1 because he is his own judge from whom is no appeal4 #ifc4 ,the great man is necessarily a sceptic 7,i do not mean to say by this that he must appear to be one71 provided that greatness consists in this3 to will something great1 together with the means thereto4 ,freedom from any kind of conviction is a factor in his strength of will4 ,and thus it is in keeping with that enlightened form of despotism which every great passion exercises4 ,such a passion enlists intellect in its service2 it even has the courage for unholy means2 it creates without hesitation2 it allows itself convictions1 it even uses them1 but it never submits to them4 ,the need of faith and of anything unconditionally negative or affirmative is a proof of weakness2 all weakness is weakness of will4 ,the man of faith1 the believer1 is necessarily an inferior species of man4 ,from this it follows that all freedom of spirit1 i4e4 instinctive scepticism1 is the prerequisite of greatness4 #ifd4 ,the great man is conscious of his power over a people1 and of the fact that he coincides temporarily with a people or with a century--this magnifying of his self-consciousness as causa and voluntas is misunderstood as altruism3 he feels driven to means of communication3 all great men are inventive in such means4 ,they want to form great communities in their own image2 they would fain give multiformity and disorder definite shape2 it stimulates them to behold chaos4 ,the misunderstanding of love4 ,there is a slavish love which subordinates itself and gives itself away--which idealises and deceives itself2 there is a divine species of love which despises and loves at the same time1 and which remodels and elevates the thing it loves4 ,the object is to attain that enormous energy of greatness which can model the man of the future by means of discipline and also by means of the annihilation of millions of the bungled and botched1 and which can yet avoid going to ruin at the sight of the suffering created thereby1 the like of which has never been seen before4 #ife4 ,the revolution1 confusion1 and distress of whole peoples is in my opinion of less importance than the misfortunes which attend great individuals in their development4 ,we must not allow ourselves to be deceived3 the many misfortunes of all these small folk do not together constitute a sum-total1 except in the feelings of mighty men4--,to think of one's self in moments of great danger1 and to draw ones own advantage from the calamities of thousands in the case of the man who differs very much from the common ruck--may be a sign of a great character which is able to master its feeling of pity and justice4 #iff4 ,in contradistinction to the animal1 man has developed such a host of antagonistic instincts and impulses in himself1 that he has become master of the earth by means of this synthesis4--,moralities are only the expression of local and limited orders of rank in this multifarious world of instincts which prevent man from perishing through their antagonism4 ,thus a masterful instinct so weakens and subtilises the instinct which opposes it that it becomes an impulse which provides the stimulus for the activity of the principal instinct4 ,the highest man would have the greatest multifariousness in his instincts1 and he would possess these in the relatively strongest degree in which he is able to endure them4 ,as a matter of fact1 wherever the plant1 man1 is found strong1 mighty instincts are to be found opposing each other 7e4g4 ,shakespeare71 but they are subdued4 #ifg4 ,would one not be justified in reckoning all great men among the wicked8 ,this is not so easy to demonstrate in the case of individuals4 ,they are so frequently capable of masterly dissimulation that they very often assume the airs and forms of great virtues4 ,often1 too1 they seriously reverence virtues1 and in such a way as to be passionately hard towards themselves2 but as the result of cruelty4 ,seen from a distance such things are liable to deceive4 ,many1 on the other hand1 misunderstand themselves2 not infrequently1 too1 a great mission will call forth great qualities1 e4g4 justice4 ,the essential fact is3 the greatest men may also perhaps have great virtues1 but then they also have the opposites of these virtues4 ,i believe that it is precisely out of the presence of these opposites and of the feelings they suscitate1 that the great man arises1--for the great man is the broad arch which spans two banks lying far apart4 #ifh4 ,in great men we find the specific qualities of life in their highest manifestation3 injustice1 falsehood1 exploitation4 ,but inasmuch as their effect has always been overwhelming1 their essential nature has been most thoroughly misunderstood1 and interpreted as goodness4 ,the type of such an interpreter would be ,carlyle4#e ,footnote #e3 ,this not only refers to ,heroes and ,hero-,worship1 but doubtless to ,carlyle's prodigious misunderstanding of ,goethe a misunderstanding which still requires to be put right by a critic untainted by ,puritanism4--,tr4 #ifi4 ,generally speaking1 everything is worth no more and no less than one has paid for it4 ,this of course does not hold good in the case of an isolated individual2 the great capacities of the individual have no relation whatsoever to that which he has done1 sacrificed1 and suffered for them4 ,but if one should examine the previous history of his race one would be sure to find the record of an extraordinary storing up and capitalising of power by means of all kinds of abstinence1 struggle1 industry1 and determination4 ,it is because the great man has cost so much1 and not because he stands there as a miracle1 as a gift from heaven1 or as an accident1 that he became great3 ,heredity is a false notion4 ,a man's ancestors have always paid the price of what he is4 #igj4 ,the danger of modesty4 ,to adapt ourselves too early to duties1 societies1 and daily schemes of work in which accident may have placed us1 at a time when neither our powers nor our aim in life has stepped peremptorily into our consciousness2 the premature certainty of conscience and feeling of relief and of sociability which is acquired by this precocious1 modest attitude1 and which appears to our minds as a deliverance from those inner and outer disturbances of our feelings--all this pampers and keeps a man down in the most dangerous fashion imaginable4 ,to learn to respect things which people about us respect1 as if we had no standard or right of our own to determine values2 the strain of appraising things as others appraise them1 counter to the whisperings of our inner taste1 which also has a conscience of its own1 becomes a terribly subtle kind of constraint3 and if in the end no explosion takes place which bursts all the bonds of love and morality at once1 then such a spirit becomes withered1 dwarfed1 feminine1 and objective4 ,the reverse of this is bad enough1 but still it is better than the foregoing3 to suffer from one's environment1 from its praise just as much as from its blame2 to be wounded by it and to fester inwardly without betraying the fact2 to defend one's self involuntarily and suspiciously against its love2 to learn to be silent1 and perchance to conceal this by talking2 to create nooks and safe1 lonely hiding-places where one can go and take breath for a moment1 or shed tears of sublime comfort--until at last one has grown strong enough to say3 ,what on earth have ,i to do with you8 and to go one's way alone4 #iga4 ,those men who are in themselves destinies1 and whose advent is the advent of fate1 the whole race of heroic bearers of burdens3 oh6 how heartily and gladly would they have respite from themselves for once in a while6--how they crave after stout hearts and shoulders1 that they might free themselves1 were it but for an hour or two1 from that which oppresses them6 ,and how fruitlessly they crave6 444 ,they wait2 they observe all that passes before their eyes3 no man even cometh nigh to them with a thousandth part of their suffering and passion1 no man guesseth to what end they have waited4444 ,at last1 at last1 they learn the first lesson of their life3 to wait no longer2 and forthwith they learn their second lesson3 to be affable1 to be modest2 and from that time onwards to endure everybody and every kind of thing--in short1 to endure still a little more than they had endured theretofore4 #f4 ,the ,highest ,man as ,lawgiver of the ,future4 #igb4 ,the lawgivers of the future4--,after having tried for a long time in vain to attach a particular meaning to the word philosopher1--for ,i found many antagonistic traits1 ,i recognised that we can distinguish between two kinds of philosophers3-- 7#a7 ,those who desire to establish any large system of values 7logical or moral72 7#b7 ,those who are the lawgivers of such valuations4 ,the former try to seize upon the world of the present or the past1 by embodying or abbreviating the multifarious phenomena by means of signs3 their object is to make it possible for us to survey1 to reflect upon1 to comprehend1 and to utilise everything that has happened hitherto--they serve the purpose of man by using all past things to the benefit of his future4 ,the second class1 however1 are commanders2 they say3 ,thus shall it be6 ,they alone determine the whither and the wherefore1 and that which will be useful and beneficial to man2 they have command over the previous work of scientific men1 and all knowledge is to them only a means to their creations4 ,this second kind of philosopher seldom appears2 and as a matter of fact their situation and their danger is appalling4 ,how often have they not intentionally blindfolded their eyes in order to shut out the sight of the small strip of ground which separates them from the abyss and from utter destruction4 ,plato1 for instance1 when he persuaded himself that the good1 as he wanted it1 was not ,plato's good1 but the good in itself1 the eternal treasure which a certain man of the name of ,plato had chanced to find on his way6 ,this same will to blindness prevails in a much coarser form in the case of the founders of religion2 their ,thou shalt must on no account sound to their ears like ,i will1--they only dare to pursue their task as if under the command of ,god2 their legislation of values can only be a burden they can bear if they regard it as revelation1 in this way their conscience is not crushed by the responsibility4 ,as soon as those two comforting expedients--that of ,plato and that of ,muhammed--have been overthrown1 and no thinker can any longer relieve his conscience with the hypothesis ,god or eternal values1 the claim of the lawgiver to determine new values rises to an awfulness which has not yet been experienced4 ,now those elect1 on whom the faint light of such a duty is beginning to dawn1 try and see whether they cannot escape it--as their greatest danger--by means of a timely side-spring3 for instance1 they try to persuade themselves that their task is already accomplished1 or that it defies accomplishment1 or that their shoulders are not broad enough for such burdens1 or that they are already taken up with burdens closer to hand1 or even that this new and remote duty is a temptation and a seduction1 drawing them away from all other duties2 a disease1 a kind of madness4 ,many1 as a matter of fact1 do succeed in evading the path appointed to them3 throughout the whole of history we can see the traces of such deserters and their guilty consciences4 ,in most cases11 however1 there comes to such men of destiny that hour of delivery1 that autumnal season of maturity1 in which they are forced to do that which they did not even wish to do3 and that deed before which in the past they have trembled most1 falls easily and unsought from the tree1 as an involuntary deed1 almost as a present4 #igc4 ,the human horizon4--,philosophers may be conceived as men who make the greatest efforts to discover to what extent man can elevate himself--this holds good more particularly of ,plato3 how far man's power can extend4 ,but they do this as individuals2 perhaps the instinct of ,csars and of all founders of states1 etc41 was greater1 for it preoccupied itself with the question how far man could be urged forward in development under favourable circumstances4 ,what they did not sufficiently understand1 however1 was the nature of favourable circumstances4 ,the great question3 ,where has the plant 'man' grown most magnificently heretofore8 ,in order to answer this1 a comparative study of history is necessary4 #igd4 ,every fact and every work exercises a fresh persuasion over every age and every new species of man4 ,history always enunciates new truths4 #ige4 ,to remain objective1 severe1 firm1 and hard while making a thought prevail is perhaps the best forte of artists2 but if for this purpose any one have to work upon human material 7as teachers1 statesmen1 have to do1 etc471 then the repose1 the coldness1 and the hardness soon vanish4 ,in natures like ,csar and ,napoleon we are able to divine something of the nature of disinterestedness in their work on their marble1 whatever be the number of men that are sacrificed in the process4 ,in this direction the future of higher men lies3 to bear the greatest responsibilities and not to go to rack and ruin through them4--,hitherto the deceptions of inspiration have almost always been necessary for a man not to lose faith in his own hand1 and in his right to his task4 #igf4 ,the reason why philosophers are mostly failures4 ,because among the conditions which determine them there are qualities which generally ruin other men3-- 7#a7 ,a philosopher must have an enormous multiplicity of qualities2 he must be a sort of abbreviation of man and have all man's high and base desires3 the danger of the contrast within him1 and of the possibility of his loathing himself2 7#b7 ,he must be inquisitive in an extraordinary number of ways3 the danger of versatility2 7#c7 ,he must be just and honest in the highest sense1 but profound both in love and hate 7and in injustice72 7#d7 ,he must not only be a spectator but a lawgiver3 a judge and defendant 7in so far as he is an abbreviation of the world72 7#e7 ,he must be extremely multiform and yet firm and hard4 ,he must be supple4 #igg4 ,the really regal calling of the philosopher 7according to the expression of ,alcuin the ,anglo-,saxon73 ,prava corrigere1 et recta corroborare1 et sancta sublimare4 #igh4 ,the new philosopher can only arise in conjunction with a ruling class1 as the highest spiritualisation of the latter4 ,great politics1 the rule of the earth1 as a proximate contingency1 the total lack of principles necessary thereto4 #igi4 ,fundamental concept3 the new values must first be created--this remains our duty6 ,the philosopher must be our lawgiver4 ,new species4 7,how the greatest species hitherto for instance1 the ,greeks were reared3 this kind of accident must now be consciously striven for47 #ihj4 ,supposing one thinks of the philosopher as an educator who1 looking down from his lonely elevation1 is powerful enough to draw long chains of generations up to him3 then he must be granted the most terrible privileges of a great educator4 ,an educator never says what he himself thinks2 but only that which he thinks it is good for those whom he is educating to hear upon any subject4 ,this dissimulation on his part must not be found out2 it is part of his masterliness that people should believe in his honesty1 he must be capable of all the means of discipline and education3 there are some natures which he will only be able to raise by means of lashing them with his scorn2 others who are lazy1 irresolute1 cowardly1 and vain1 he will be able to affect only with exaggerated praise4 ,such a teacher stands beyond good and evil1 but nobody must know that he does4 #iha4 ,we must not make men better1 we must not talk to them about morality in any form as if morality in itself1 or an ideal kind of man in general1 could be taken for granted2 but we must create circumstances in which stronger men are necessary1 such as for their part will require a morality 7or1 better still3 a bodily and spiritual discipline7 which makes men strong1 and upon which they will consequently insist6 ,as they will need one so badly1 they will have it4 ,we must not let ourselves be seduced by blue eyes and heaving breasts3 greatness of soul has absolutely nothing romantic about it4 ,and unfortunately nothing whatever amiable either4 #ihb4 ,from warriors we must learn3 7#a7 to associate death with those interests for which we are fighting--that makes us venerable2 7#b7 we must learn to sacrifice numbers1 and to take our cause sufficiently seriously not to spare men2 7#c7 we must practise inexorable discipline1 and allow ourselves violence and cunning in war4 #ihc4 ,the education which rears those ruling virtues that allow a man to become master of his benevolence and his pity3 the great disciplinary virtues 7,forgive thine enemies is mere child's play beside them71 and the passions of the creator1 must be elevated to the heights--we must cease from carving marble6 ,the exceptional and powerful position of those creatures 7compared with that of all princes hitherto73 the ,roman ,csar with ,christ's soul4 #ihd4 ,we must not separate greatness of soul from intellectual greatness4 ,for the former involves independence2 but without intellectual greatness independence should not be allowed2 all it does is to create disasters even in its lust of well-doing and of practising justice4 ,inferior spirits must obey1 consequently they cannot be possessed of greatness4 #ihe4 ,the more lofty philosophical man who is surrounded by loneliness1 not because he wishes to be alone1 but because he is what he is1 and cannot find his equal3 what a number of dangers and torments are reserved for him1 precisely at the present time1 when we have lost our belief in the order of rank1 and consequently no longer know how to understand or honour this isolation6 ,formerly the sage almost sanctified himself in the consciences of the mob by going aside in this way2 to-day the anchorite sees himself as though enveloped in a cloud of gloomy doubt and suspicions4 ,and not alone by the envious and the wretched3 in every well-meant act that he experiences he is bound to discover misunderstanding1 neglect1 and superficiality4 ,he knows the crafty tricks of foolish pity which makes these people feel so good and holy when they attempt to save him from his own destiny1 by giving him more comfortable situations and more decent and reliable society4 ,yes1 he will even get to admire the unconscious lust of destruction with which all mediocre spirits stand up and oppose him1 believing all the while that they have a holy right to do so6 ,for men of such incomprehensible loneliness it is necessary to put a good stretch of country between them and the officiousness of their fellows3 this is part of their prudence4 ,for such a man to maintain himself uppermost to-day amid the dangerous maelstroms of the age which threaten to draw him under1 even cunning and disguise will be necessary4 ,every attempt he makes to order his life in the present and with the present1 every time he draws near to these men and their modern desires1 he will have to expiate as if it were an actual sin3 and withal he may look with wonder at the concealed wisdom of his nature1 which after every one of these attempts immediately leads him back to himself by means of illnesses and painful accidents4 #ihf4 ,maledetto colui che contrista1 un spirto immortal6 ,,manzoni 7,conte di ,carmagnola1 ,act ,,ii47 #ihg4 ,the most difficult and the highest form which man can attain is the most seldom successful3 thus the history of philosophy reveals a superabundance of bungled and unhappy cases of manhood1 and its march is an extremely slow one2 whole centuries intervene and suppress what has been achieved3 and in this way the connecting-link is always made to fail4 ,it is an appalling history1 this history of the highest men1 of the sages4--,what is most often damaged is precisely the recollection of great men1 for the semi-successful and botched cases of mankind misunderstand them and overcome them by their successes4 ,whenever an effect is noticeable1 the masses gather in a crowd round it2 to hear the inferior and the poor in spirit having their say is a terrible ear-splitting torment for him who knows and trembles at the thought1 that the fate of man depends upon the success of its highest types4 ,from the days of my childhood ,i have reflected upon the sage's conditions of existence1 and ,i will not conceal my happy conviction that in ,europe he has once more become possible--perhaps only for a short time4 #ihh4 ,these new philosophers begin with a description of a systematic order of rank and difference of value among men1--what they desire is1 alas precisely the reverse of an assimilation and equalisation of man3 they teach estrangement in every sense1 they cleave gulfs such as have never yet existed1 and they would fain have man become more evil than he ever was4 ,for the present they live concealed and estranged even from each other4 ,for many reasons they will find it necessary to be anchorites and to wear masks--they will therefore be of little use in the matter of seeking for their equals4 ,they will live alone1 and probably know the torments of all the loneliest forms of loneliness4 ,should they1 however1 thanks to any accident1 meet each other on the road1 ,i wager that they would not know each other1 or that they would deceive each other in a number of ways4 #ihi4 ,les philosophes ne sont pas faits pour s'aimer4 ,les aigles ne volent point en compagnie4 ,il faut laisser cela aux perdrix1 aux tourneaux 444 ,planer au-dessus et avoir des griffes1 voila le lot des grands gnies4--,,galiani4 #iij4 ,i forgot to say that such philosophers are cheerful1 and that they like to sit in the abyss of a perfectly clear sky3 they are in need of different means for enduring life than other men2 for they suffer in a different way 7that is to say1 just as much from the depth of their contempt of man as from their love of man74--,the animal which suffered most on earth discovered for itself --laughter4 #iia4 ,concerning the misunderstanding of cheerfulness4 --,it is a temporary relief from long tension2 it is the wantonness1 the ,saturnalia of a spirit1 which is consecrating and preparing itself for long and terrible resolutions4 ,the fool in the form of science4 #iib4 ,the new order of rank among spirits2 tragic natures no longer in the van4 #iic4 ,it is a comfort to me to know that over the smoke and filth of human baseness there is a higher and brighter mankind1 which1 judging from their number1 must be a small race 7for everything that is in any way distinguished is ipso facto rare74 ,a man does not belong to this race because he happens to be more gifted1 more virtuous1 more heroic1 or more loving than the men below1 but because he is colder1 brighter1 more far-sighted1 and more lonely2 because he endures1 prefers1 and even insists upon1 loneliness as the joy1 the privilege1 yea1 even the condition of existence2 because he lives amid clouds and lightnings as among his equals1 and likewise among sunrays1 dewdrops1 snowflakes1 and all that which must needs come from the heights1 and which in its course moves ever from heaven to earth4 ,the desire to look aloft is not our desire4--,heroes1 martyrs1 geniuses1 and enthusiasts of all kinds1 are not quiet1 patient1 subtle1 cold1 or slow enough for us4 #iid4 ,the absolute conviction that valuations above and below are different2 that innumerable experiences are wanting to the latter3 that when looking upwards from below misunderstandings are necessary4 #iie4 ,how do men attain to great power and to great tasks8 ,all the virtues and proficiences of the body and the soul are little by little laboriously acquired1 through great industry1 self-control1 and keeping one's self within narrow bounds1 through a frequent1 energetic1 and genuine repetition of the same work and of the same hardships2 but there are men who are the heirs and masters of this slowly acquired and manifold treasure of virtues and proficiences because1 owing to happy and reasonable marriages and also to lucky accidents1 the acquired and accumulated forces of many generations1 instead of being squandered and subdivided1 have been assembled together by means of steadfast struggling and willing4 ,and thus1 in the end1 a man appears who is such a monster of strength1 that he craves for a monstrous task4 ,for it is our power which has command of us3 and the wretched intellectual play of aims and intentions and motivations lies only in the foreground--however much weak eyes may recognise the principal factors in these things4 #iij4 ,the sublime man has the highest value1 even when he is most delicate and fragile1 because an abundance of very difficult and rare things have been reared through many generations and united in him4 #iig4 ,i teach that there are higher and lower men1 and that a single individual may under certain circumstances justify whole millenniums of existence --that is to say1 a wealthier1 more gifted1 greater1 and more complete man1 as compared with innumerable imperfect and fragmentary men4 #iih4 ,away from rulers and rid of all bonds1 live the highest men3 and in the rulers they have their instruments4 #iii4 ,the order of rank3 he who determines values and leads the will of millenniums1 and does this by leading the highest natures--he is the highest man4 #ajjj4 ,i fancy ,i have divined some of the things that lie hidden in the soul of the highest man2 perhaps every man who has divined so much must go to ruin3 but he who has seen the highest man must do all he can to make him possible4 ,fundamental thought3 we must make the future the standard of all our valuations--and not seek the laws for our conduct behind us4 #ajja4 ,not mankind1 but ,superman is the goal6 #ajjb4 ,come l'uom s'eterna4444--,inf4 xv4 #he4 ,,ii4 ,,dionysus4 #ajjc4 ,to him who is one of ,nature's lucky strokes1 to1 him unto whom my heart goes out1 to him who is carved from one integral block1 which is hard1 sweet1 and fragrant--to him from whom even my nose can derive some pleasure--let this book be dedicated4 ,he enjoys that which is beneficial to him4 ,his pleasure in anything ceases when the limits of what is beneficial to him are overstepped4 ,he divines the remedies for partial injuries2 his illnesses are the great stimulants of his existence4 ,he understands how to exploit his serious accidents4 ,he grows stronger under the misfortunes which threaten to annihilate him4 ,he instinctively gathers from all he sees1 hears1 and experiences1 the materials for what concerns him most1--he pursues a selective principle1--he rejects a good deal4 ,he reacts with that tardiness which long caution and deliberate pride have bred in him1--he tests the stimulus3 whence does it come8 whither does it lead8 ,he does not submit4 ,he is always in his own company1 whether his intercourse be with books1 with men1 or with ,nature4 ,he honours anything by choosing it1 by conceding to it1 by trusting it4 #ajjd4 ,we should attain to such a height1 to such a lofty eagle's ledge1 in our observation1 as to be able to understand that everything happens1 just as it ought to happen3 and that all imperfection1 and the pain it brings1 belong to all that which is most eminently desirable4 #ajje4 ,towards #ahgf ,i experienced a fright2 for ,i saw that everything ,i had most wished for up to that time was being compromised4 ,i realised this when ,i perceived what ,wagner was actually driving at3 and ,i was bound very fast to him--by all the bonds of a profound similarity of needs1 by gratitude1 by the thought that he could not be replaced1 and by the absolute void which ,i saw facing me4 ,just about this time ,i believed myself to be inextricably entangled in my philology and my professorship--in the accident and last shift of my life3 ,i did not know how to get out of it1 and was tired1 used up1 and on my last legs4 ,at about the same time ,i realised that what my instincts most desired to attain was precisely the reverse of what ,schopenhauer's instincts wanted--that is to say1 a justification of life1 even where it was most terrible1 most equivocal1 and most false3 to this end1 ,i had the formula ,dionysian in my hand4 ,schopenhauer's interpretation of the absolute as will was certainly a step towards that concept of the absolute which supposed it to be necessarily good1 blessed1 true1 and integral1 but ,schopenhauer did not understand how to deify this will3 he remained suspended in the moral-,christian ideal4 ,indeed1 he was still so very much under the dominion of ,christian values1 that1 once he could no longer regard the absolute as ,god1 he had to conceive it as evil1 foolish1 utterly reprehensible4 ,he did not realise that there is an infinite number of ways of being different1 and even of being ,god4 #ajjf4 ,hitherto1 moral values have been the highest values3 does anybody doubt this8 ,if we bring down the values from their pedestal1 we thereby alter all values2 the principle of their order of rank which has prevailed hitherto is thus overthrown4 #ajjg4 ,transvalue values--what does this mean8 ,it implies that all spontaneous motives1 all new1 future1 and stronger motives1 are still extant2 but that they now appear under false names and false valuations1 and have not yet become conscious of themselves4 ,we ought to have the courage to become1 conscious1 and to affirm all that which has been attained--to get rid of the humdrum character of old valuations1 which makes us unworthy of the best and strongest things that we have achieved4 #ajjh4 ,any doctrine would be superfluous for which everything is not already prepared in the way of accumulated forces and explosive material4 ,a transvaluation of values can only be accomplished when there is a tension of new needs1 and a new set of needy people who feel all old values as painful1--although they are not conscious of what is wrong4 #ajji4 ,the standpoint from which my values are determined3 is abundance or desire active8 444 ,is one a mere spectator1 or is one's own shoulder at the wheel--is one looking away or is one turning aside8 444 ,is one acting spontaneously1 as the result of accumulated strength1 or is one merely reacting to a goad or to a stimulus8 444 ,is one simply acting as the result of a paucity of elements1 or of such an overwhelming dominion over a host of elements that this power enlists the latter into its service if it requires them8 444 ,is one a problem one's self or is one a solution already8 444 ,is one perfect through the smallness of the task1 or imperfect owing to the extraordinary character of the aim8 444 ,is one genuine or only an actor2 is one genuine as an actor1 or only the bad copy of an actor8 is one a representative or the creature represented8 ,is one a personality or merely a rendezvous of personalities8 444 ,is one ill from a disease or from surplus health8 ,does one lead as a shepherd1 or as an exception 7third alternative3 as a fugitive78 ,is one in need of dignity1 or can one play the clown8 ,is one in search of resistance1 or is one evading it8 ,is one imperfect owing to one's precocity or to one's tardiness8 ,is it one's nature to say yea1 or no1 or is one a peacock's tail of garish parts8 ,is one proud enough not to feel ashamed even of one's vanity8 ,is one still able to feel a bite of conscience 7this species is becoming rare2 formerly conscience had to bite too often3 it is as if it now no longer had enough teeth to do so78 ,is one still capable of a duty8 7there are some people who would lose the whole joy of their lives if they were deprived of their duty--this holds good especially of feminine creatures1 who are born subjects74 #ajaj4 ,supposing our common comprehension of the universe were a misunderstanding1 would it be possible to conceive of a form of perfection1 within the limits of which even such a misunderstanding as this could be sanctioned8 ,the concept of a new form of perfection3 that which does not correspond to our logic1 to our beauty1 to our good1 to our truth1 might be perfect in a higher sense even than our ideal is4 #ajaa4 ,our most important limitation3 we must not deify the unknown2 we are just beginning to know so little4 ,the false and wasted endeavours4 ,our new world3 we must ascertain to what extent we are the creators of our valuations--we will thus be able to put sense into history4 ,this belief in truth is reaching its final logical conclusion in us--ye know how it reads3 that if there is anything at all that must be worshipped it is appearance2 that falsehood and not truth is--divine4 #ajab4 ,he who urges rational thought forward1 thereby also drives its antagonistic power--mysticism and foolery of every kind--to new feats of strength4 ,we should recognise that every movement is 7#a7 partly the manifestation of fatigue resulting from a previous movement 7satiety after it1 the malice of weakness towards it1 and disease72 and 7#b7 partly a newly awakened accumulation of long slumbering forces1 and therefore wanton1 violent1 healthy4 #ajac4 ,health and morbidness3 let us be careful6 ,the standard is the bloom of the body1 the agility1 courage1 and cheerfulness of the mind--but also1 of course1 how much morbidness a man can bear and overcome1--and convert into health4 ,that which would send more delicate natures to the dogs1 belongs to the stimulating means of great health4 #ajad4 ,it is only a question of power3 to have all the morbid traits of the century1 but to balance them ,i by means of overflowing1 plastic1 and rejuvenating power4 ,the strong man4 #ajae4 ,concerning the strength of the nineteenth century4--,we are more medival than the eighteenth century2 not only more inquisitive or more susceptible to the strange and to the rare4 ,we have revolted against the ,revolution1 444 ,we have freed ourselves from the fear of reason1 which was the spectre of the eighteenth century3 we once more dare to be childish1 lyrical1 absurd1 in a word1 we are musicians4 ,and we are just as little frightened of the ridiculous as of the absurd4 ,the devil finds that he is tolerated even by ,god3#f better still1 he has become interesting as one who has been misunderstood and slandered for ages1--we are the saviours of the devil's honour4 ,we no longer separate the great from the terrible4 ,we reconcile good things1 in all their complexity1 with the very worst things2 we have overcome the desideratum of the past 7which wanted goodness to grow without the increase of evil74 ,the cowardice towards the ideal1 peculiar to the ,renaissance1 has diminished--we even dare to aspire to the latter's morality4 ,intolerance towards priests and the ,church has at the same time come to an end2 ,it is immoral to believe in ,god--but this is precisely what we regard as the best possible justification of this belief4 ,on all these things we have conferred the civic rights of our minds4 ,we do not tremble before the back side of good things 7we even look for it1 we are brave and inquisitive enough for that71 of ,greek antiquity1 of morality1 of reason1 of good taste1 for instance 7we reckon up the losses which we incur with all this treasure3 we almost reduce ourselves to poverty with such a treasure74 ,neither do we conceal the back side of evil things from ourselves4 ,footnote #f3 ,this is reminiscent of ,goethe's ,faust1 ,see ,prologue in ,heaven4--,tr4 #ajaf4 ,that which does us honour4--,if anything does us honour1 it is this3 we have transferred our seriousness to other things2 all those things which have been despised and laid aside as base by all ages1 we regard as important--on the other hand1 we surrender fine feelings at a cheap rate4 ,could any aberration be more dangerous than the contempt of the body8 ,as if all intellectuality were not thereby condemned to become morbid1 and to take refuge in the vapeurs of idealism6 ,nothing that has been thought out by ,christians and idealists holds water3 we are more radical4 ,we have discovered the smallest world everywhere as the most decisive4 ,the paving-stones in the streets1 good air in our rooms1 food understood according to its worth3 we value all the necessaries of life seriously1 and despise all beautiful soulfulness as a form of levity and frivolity4 ,that which has been most despised hitherto1 is now pressed into the front rank4 #ajag ,in the place of ,rousseau's man of ,nature1 the nineteenth century has discovered a much more genuine image of ,man1--it had the courage to do this4444 ,on the whole1 the ,christian concept of man has in a way been reinstalled4 ,what we have not had the courage to do1 was to call precisely this man par excellence1 good1 and to see the future of mankind guaranteed in him4 ,in the same way1 we did not dare to regard the growth in the terrible side of man's character as an accompanying feature of every advance in culture2 in this sense we are still under the influence of the ,christian ideal1 and side with it against paganism1 and likewise against the ,renaissance concept of virt4 ,but the key of culture is not to be found in this way3 and in praxi we still have the forgeries of history in favour of the good man 7as if he alone constituted the progress of humanity7 and the socialistic ideal 7i4e4 the residue of ,christianity and of ,rousseau in the de-,christianised world74 ,the fight against the eighteenth century3 it meets with its greatest conquerors in ,goethe and ,napoleon4 ,schopenhauer1 too1 fights against the eighteenth century2 but he returns involuntarily to the seventeenth--he is a modern ,pascal1 with ,pascalian valuations1 without ,christianity4 ,schopenhauer was not strong enough to invent a new yea4 ,napoleon3 we see the necessary relationship between the higher and the terrible man4 ,man reinstalled1 and her due of contempt and fear restored to woman4 ,highest activity and health are the signs of the great man2 the straight line and grand style rediscovered in action2 the mightiest of all instincts1 that of life itself1--the lust of dominion1--heartily welcomed4 #ajah4 7,revue des deux mondes1 #aeth ,february #ahhg4 ,taine concerning ,napoleon7 ,suddenly the master faculty reveals itself3 the artist1 which was latent in the politician1 comes forth from his scabbard2 he creates dans l'idal et l'impossible4 ,he is once more recognised as that which he is3 the posthumous brother of ,dante and of ,michelangelo2 and verily1 in view of the definite contours of his vision1 the intensity1 the coherence1 and inner consistency of his dream1 the depth of his meditations1 the superhuman greatness of his conception1 he is their equal3 son gnie a la mme taille et la mme structure2 il est un des trois esprits souverains de la renaissance italienne4 ,nota bene4 ,dante1 ,michelangelo1 ,napoleon4 #ajai4 ,concerning the pessimism of strength4 ,in the internal economy of the primitive man's soul1 the fear of evil preponderates4 ,what is evil6 ,three kinds of things3 accident1 uncertainty1 the unexpected4 ,how does primitive man combat evil8--,he conceives it as a thing of reason1 of power1 even as a person4 ,by this means he is enabled to make treaties with it1 and generally to operate upon it in advance--to forestall it4 --,another expedient is to declare its evil and harmful character to be but apparent3 the consequences of accidental occurrences1 and of uncertainty and the unexpected1 are interpreted as well-meant1 as reasonable4 --,a third means is to interpret evil1 above all1 as merited3 evil is thus justified as a punishment4 --,in short1 man submits to in all religious and moral interpretations are but forms of submission to evil4--,the belief that a good purpose lies behind all evil1 implies the renunciation of any desire to combat it4 ,now1 the history of every culture shows a diminution of this fear of the accidental1 of the uncertain1 and of the unexpected4 ,culture means precisely1 to learn to reckon1 to discover causes1 to acquire the power of forestalling events1 to acquire a belief in necessity4 ,with the growth of culture1 man is able to dispense with that primitive form of submission to evil 7called religion or morality71 and that justification of evil4 ,now he wages war against evil1--he gets rid of it4 ,yes1 a state of security1 of belief in law and the possibility of calculation1 is possible1 in which consciousness regards these things with tedium1--in which the joy of the accidental1 of the uncertain1 and of the unexpected1 actually becomes a spur4 ,let us halt a moment before this symptom of highest culture1 ,i call it the pessimism of strength4 ,man now no longer requires a justification of evil2 justification is precisely what he abhors3 he enjoys evil1 pur1 cru2 he regards purposeless evil as the most interesting kind of evil4 ,if he had required a ,god in the past1 he now delights in cosmic disorder without a ,god1 a world of accident1 to the essence of which terror1 ambiguity1 and seductiveness belong4 ,in a state of this sort1 it is precisely goodness which requires to be justified--that is to say1 it must either have an evil and a dangerous basis1 or else it must contain a vast amount of stupidity3 in which case it still pleases4 ,animality no longer awakens terror now2 a very intellectual and happy wanton spirit in favour of the animal in man1 is1 in such periods1 the most triumphant form of spirituality4 ,man is now strong enough to be able to feel ashamed of a belief in ,god3 he may now play the part of the devil's advocate afresh4 ,if in practice he pretends to uphold virtue1 it will be for those reasons which lead virtue to be associated with subtlety1 cunning1 lust of gain1 and a form of the lust of power4 ,this pessimism of strength also ends in a theodicy1 i4e4 in an absolute saying of yea to the world--but the same arguments will be raised in favour of life which formerly were raised against it3 and in this way1 in a conception of this world as the highest ideal possible1 which has been effectively attained4 #ajbj4 ,the principal kinds of pessimism3-- ,the pessimism of sensitiveness 7excessive irritability with a preponderance of the feelings of pain74 ,the pessimism of the will that is not free 7otherwise expressed3 the lack of resisting power against stimuli74 ,the pessimism of doubt 7shyness in regard to everything fixed1 in regard to all grasping and touching74 ,the psychological conditions which belong to these different kinds of pessimism1 may all be observed in a lunatic asylum1 even though they are there found in a slightly exaggerated form4 ,the same applies to ,nihilism 7the penetrating feeling of nonentity74 ,what1 however1 is the nature of ,pascal's moral pessimism1 and the metaphysical pessimism of the ,vednta-,philosophy8 ,what is the nature of the social pessimism of anarchists 7as of ,shelley71 and of the pessimism of compassion 7like that of ,leo ,tolstoy and of ,alfred de ,vigny78 ,are all these things not also the phenomena of decay and sickness8444 ,and is not excessive seriousness in regard to moral values1 or in regard to other-world fictions1 or social calamities1 or suffering in general1 of the same order8 ,all such exaggeration of a single and narrow standpoint is in itself a sign of sickness4 ,the same applies to the preponderance of a negative over an affirmative attitude6 ,in this respect we must not confound with the above3 the joy of saying and doing no1 which is the result of the enormous power and tenseness of an affirmative attitude--peculiar to all rich and mighty men and ages4 ,it is1 as it were1 a luxury1 a form of courage too1 which opposes the terrible1 which has sympathy with the frightful and the questionable1 because1 among other things1 one is terrible and questionable3 the ,dionysian in will1 intellect1 and taste4 #ajba4 ,my ,five ,noes4 7#a7 ,my fight against the feeling of sin and the introduction of the notion of punishment into the physical and metaphysical world1 likewise into psychology and the interpretation of history4 ,the recognition of the fact that all philosophies and valuations hitherto have been saturated with morality4 7#b7 ,my identification and my discovery of the traditional ideal1 of the ,christian ideal1 even where the dogmatic form of ,christianity has been wrecked4 ,the danger of the ,christian ideal resides in its valuations1 in that which can dispense with concrete expression3 my struggle against latent ,christianity 7for instance1 in music1 in ,socialism74 7#c7 ,my struggle against the eighteenth century of ,rousseau1 against his ,nature1 against his good man1 his belief in the dominion of feeling--against the pampering1 weakening1 and moralising of man3 an ideal born of the hatred of aristocratic culture1 which in practice is the dominion of unbridled feelings of resentment1 and invented as a standard for the purpose of war 7the ,christian morality of the feeling of sin1 as well as the morality of resentment1 is an attitude of the mob74 7#d7 ,my fight against ,romanticism1 in which the ideals of ,christianity and of ,rousseau converge1 but which possesses at the same time a yearning for that antiquity which knew of sacerdotal and aristocratic culture1 a yearning for virt1 and for the strong man--something extremely hybrid2 a false and imitated kind of stronger humanity1 which appreciates extreme conditions in general and sees the symptom of strength in them 7the cult of passion2 an imitation of the most expressive forms1 furore espressivo1 originating not out of plenitude1 but out of want74--7,in the nineteenth century there are some things which are born out of relative plenitude--i4e4 out of well-being2 cheerful music1 etc4--among poets1 for instance1 ,stifter and ,gottfried ,keller give signs of more strength and inner well-being than--4 ,the great strides of engineering1 of inventions1 of the natural sciences and of history 787 are relative products of the strength and self-reliance of the nineteenth century47 7#e7 ,my struggle against the predominance of gregarious instincts1 now science makes common cause with them2 against the profound hate with which every kind of order of rank and of aloofness is treated4 #ajbb4 ,from the pressure of plenitude1 from the tension of forces that are continually increasing within us and which cannot yet discharge themselves1 a condition is produced which is very similar to that which precedes a storm3 we--like ,nature's sky--become overcast4 ,i hat1 too1 is pessimism444 ,a teaching which puts an end to such a condition by the fact that it commands something3 a transvaluation of values by means of which the accumulated forces are given a channel1 a direction1 so that they explode into deeds and flashes of lightning-does not in the least require to be a hedonistic teaching3 in so far as it releases strength which was compressed to an agonising degree1 it brings happiness4 #ajbc4 ,pleasure appears with the feeling of power4 ,happiness means that the consciousness of power and triumph has begun to prevail4 ,progress is the strengthening of the type1 the ability to exercise great will-power1 everything else is a misunderstanding and a danger4 #ajbd4 ,there comes a time when the old masquerade and moral togging-up of the passions provokes repugnance3 naked ,nature2 when the quanta of power are recognised as decidedly simple 7as determining rank72 when grand style appears again as the result of great passion4 #ajbe4 ,the purpose of culture would have us enlist everything terrible1 step by step and experimentally1 into its service2 but before it is strong enough for this it must combat1 moderate1 mask1 and even curse everything terrible4 ,wherever a culture points to anything as evil1 it betrays its fear and therefore weakness4 ,thesis3 everything good is the evil of yore which has been rendered serviceable4 ,standard3 the more terrible and the greater the passions may be which an age1 a people1 and an individual are at liberty to possess1 because they are able to use them as a means1 the higher is their culture3 the more mediocre1 weak1 submissive1 and cowardly a man may be1 the more things he will regard as evil3 according to him the kingdom of evil is the largest4 ,the lowest man will see the kingdom of evil 7i4e4 that which is forbidden him and which is hostile to him7 everywhere4 #ajbf4 ,it is not a fact that happiness follows virtue--but it is the mighty man who first declares his happy state to be virtue4 ,evil actions belong to the mighty and the virtuous3 bad and base actions belong to the subjected4 ,the mightiest man1 the creator1 would have to be the most evil1 inasmuch as he makes his ideal prevail over all men in opposition to their ideals1 and remoulds them according to his own image4 ,evil1 in this respect1 means hard1 painful1 enforced4 ,such men as ,napoleon must always return and always settle our belief in the self-glory of the individual afresh3 he himself1 however1 was corrupted by the means he had to stoop to1 and had lost noblesse of character4 ,if he had had to prevail among another kind of men1 he could have availed himself of other means2 and thus it would not seem necessary that a ,csar must become bad4 #ajbg4 ,man is a combination of the beast and the super-beast2 higher man a combination of the monster and the superman3#g these opposites belong to each other4 ,with every degree of a man's growth towards greatness and loftiness1 he also grows downwards into the depths and into the terrible3 we should not desire the one without the other2--or1 better still3 the more fundamentally we desire the one1 the more completely we shall achieve the other4 ,footnote #g3 ,the play on the ,german words3 ,unthier and berthier1 ,unmensch and bermensch1 is unfortunately not translatable4--,tr4 #ajbh4 ,terribleness belongs to greatness3 let us not deceive ourselves4 #ajbi4 ,i have taught the knowledge of such terrible things1 that all ,epicurean contentment is impossible concerning them4 ,dionysian pleasure is the only adequate kind here3 ,i was the first to discover the tragic4 ,thanks to their superficiality in ethics1 the ,greeks misunderstood it4 ,resignation is not the lesson of tragedy1 but only the misunderstanding of it6 ,the yearning for nonentity is the denial of tragic wisdom1 its opposite6 #ajcj4 ,a rich and powerful soul not only gets over painful and even terrible losses1 deprivations1 robberies1 and insults3 it actually leaves such dark infernos in possession of still greater plenitude and power2 and1 what is most important of all1 in possession of an increased blissfulness in love4 ,i believe that he who has divined something of the most fundamental conditions of love1 will understand ,dante for having written over the door of his ,inferno3 ,i also am the creation of eternal love4 #ajca4 ,to have travelled over the whole circumference of the modern soul1 and to have sat in all its corners--my ambition1 my torment1 and my happiness4 ,veritably to have overcome pessimism1 and1 as the result thereof1 to have acquired the eyes of a ,goethe--full of love and goodwill4 #ajcb4 ,the first question is by no means whether we are satisfied with ourselves2 but whether we are satisfied with anything at all4 ,granting that we should say yea to any single moment1 we have then affirmed not only ourselves1 but the whole of existence4 ,for nothing stands by itself1 either in us or in other things3 and if our soul has vibrated and rung with happiness1 like a chord1 once only and only once1 then all eternity was necessary in order to bring about that one event1--and all eternity1 in this single moment of our affirmation1 was called good1 was saved1 justified1 and blessed4 #ajcc4 ,the passions which say yea4 ,i ride1 happiness1 health1 the love of the sexes1 hostility and war1 reverence1 beautiful attitudes1 manners1 strong will1 the discipline of lofty spirituality1 the will to power1 and gratitude to the ,earth and to ,life3 all that is rich1 that would fain bestow1 and that refreshes1 gilds1 immortalises1 and deifies ,life--the whole power of the virtues that glorify--all declaring things good1 saying yea1 and doing yea4 #ajcd4 ,we1 many or few1 who once more dare to live in a world purged of morality1 we pagans in faith1 we are probably also the first who understand what a pagan faith is3 to be obliged to imagine higher creatures than man1 but to imagine them beyond good and evil2 to be compelled to value all higher existence as immoral existence4 ,we believe in ,olympus1 and not in the man on the cross4 #ajce4 ,the more modern man has exercised his idealising power in regard to a ,god mostly by moralising the latter ever more and more--what does that mean8--nothing good1 a diminution in man's strength4 ,as a matter of fact1 the reverse would be possible3 and indications of this are not wanting4 ,god imagined as emancipation from morality1 comprising the whole of the abundant assembly of ,life's contrasts1 and saving and justifying them in a divine agony4 ,god as the beyond1 the superior elevation1 to the wretched cul-de-sac morality of ,good and ,evil4 #ajcf4 ,a humanitarian ,god cannot be demonstrated from the world that is known to us3 so much are ye driven and forced to conclude to-day4 ,but what conclusion do ye draw from this8 ,he cannot be demonstrated to us3 the scepticism of knowledge4 ,you all fear the conclusion3 ,from the world that is known to us quite a different ,god would be demonstrable1 such a one as would certainly not be humanitarian--and1 in a word1 you cling fast to your ,god1 and invent a world for ,him which is unknown to us4 #ajcg4 ,let us banish the highest good from our concept of ,god3 it is unworthy of a ,god4 ,let us likewise banish the highest wisdom3 it is the vanity of philosophers who have perpetrated the absurdity of a ,god who is a monster of wisdom3 the idea was to make ,him as like them as possible4 ,no6 ,god as the highest power--that is sufficient6--,everything follows from that1 even--the world6 #ajch ,and how many new ,gods are not still possible6 ,i1 myself1 in whom the religious--that is to say1 the god-creating instinct occasionally becomes active at the most inappropriate moments3 how very differently the divine has revealed itself every time to me6 444 ,so many strange things have passed before me in those timeless moments1 which fall into a man's life as if they came from the moon1 and in which he absolutely no longer knows how old he is or how young he still may be6 444 ,i would not doubt that there are several kinds of gods4444 ,some are not wanting which one could not possibly imagine without a certain halcyonic calm and levity4444 ,light feet perhaps belong to the concept ,god4 ,is it necessary to explain that a ,god knows how to hold ,himself preferably outside all ,philistine and rationalist circles8 also 7between ourselves7 beyond good and evil8 ,his outlook is a free one--as ,goethe would say4--,and to invoke the authority of ,zarathustra1 which cannot be too highly appreciated in this regard3 ,zarathustra goes as far as to confess1 ,i would only believe in a ,god who knew how to dance 444 ,again ,i say3 how many new ,gods are not still possible6 ,certainly ,zarathustra himself is merely an old atheist3 he believes neither in old nor in new gods4 ,zarathustra says1 he would--but ,zarathustra will not4444 ,take care to understand him well4 ,the type ,god conceived according to the type of creative spirits1 of great men4 #ajci4 ,and how many new ideals are not1 at bottom1 still possible8 ,here is a little ideal that ,i seize upon every five weeks1 while upon a wild and lonely walk1 in the azure moment of a blasphemous joy4 ,to spend one's life amid delicate and absurd things2 a stranger to reality1 half-artist1 half-bird1 half-metaphysician2 without a yea or a nay for reality1 save that from time to time one acknowledges it1 after the manner of a good dancer1 with the tips of one's toes2 always tickled by some happy ray of sunlight2 relieved and encouraged even by sorrow --for sorrow preserves the happy man2 fixing a little tail of jokes even to the most holy thing3 this1 as is clear1 is the ideal of a heavy spirit1 a ton in weight of the spirit of gravity4 #ajdj4 ,from the military-school of the soul4 7,dedicated to the brave1 the good-humoured1 and the abstinent47 ,i should not like to undervalue the amiable virtues2 but greatness of soul is not compatible with them4 ,even in the arts1 grand style excludes all merely pleasing qualities4 999999 ,in times of painful tension and vulnerability1 choose war4 ,war hardens and develops muscle4 999999 ,those who have been deeply wounded have the ,olympian laughter2 a man only has what he needs4 999999 ,it has now already lasted ten years3 no sound any longer reaches me--a land without rain4 ,a man must have a vast amount of humanity at his disposal in order not to pine away in such drought4#h ,footnote #h3 ,for the benefit of those readers who are not acquainted with the circumstances of ,nietzsche's life1 it would be as well to point out that this is a purely personal plaint1 comprehensible enough in the mouth of one who1 like ,nietzsche1 was for years a lonely anchorite4--,tr4 #ajda4 ,my new road to an affirmative attitude4--,philosophy1 as ,i have understood it and lived it up to the present1 is the voluntary quest of the repulsive and atrocious aspects of existence4 ,from the long experience derived from such wandering over ice and desert1 ,i learnt to regard quite differently everything that had been philosophised hitherto3 the concealed history of philosophy1 the psychology of its great names came into the light for me4 ,how much truth can a spirit endure2 for how much truth is it daring enough8--this for me was the real measure of value4 ,error is a piece of cowardice 444 every victory on the part of knowledge1 is the result of courage1 of hardness towards one's self1 of cleanliness towards one's self4444 ,the kind of experimental philosophy which ,i am living1 even anticipates the possibility of the most fundamental ,nihilism1 on principle3 but by this ,i do not mean that it remains standing at a negation1 at a no1 or at a will to negation4 ,it would rather attain to the very reverse--to a ,dionysian affirmation of the world1 as it is1 without subtraction1 exception1 or choice--it would have eternal circular motion3 the same things1 the same reasoning1 and the same illogical concatenation4 ,the highest state to which a philosopher can attain3 to maintain a ,dionysian attitude to ,life--my formula for this is amor fati4 ,to this end we must not only consider those aspects of life which have been denied hitherto1 as3 necessary1 but as desirable1 and not only desirable to those aspects which have been affirmed hitherto 7as complements or first prerequisites1 so to speak71 but for their own sake1 as the more powerful1 more terrible1 and more veritable aspects of life1 in which the latter's will expresses itself most clearly4 ,to this end1 we must also value that aspect of existence which alone has been affirmed until now2 we must understand whence this valuation arises1 and to how slight an extent it has to do with a ,dionysian valuation of ,life3 ,i selected and understood that which in this respect says yea 7on the one hand1 the instinct of the sufferer2 on the other1 the gregarious instinct2 and thirdly1 the instinct of the greater number against the exceptions74 ,thus ,i divined to what extent a stronger kind of man must necessarily imagine--the elevation and enhancement of man in another direction3 higher creatures1 beyond good and evil1 beyond those values which bear the stamp of their origin in the sphere of suffering1 of the herd1 and of the greater number--,i searched for the data of this topsy-turvy formation of ideals in history 7the concepts pagan1 classical1 noble1 have been discovered afresh and brought forward74 #ajdb4 ,we should demonstrate to what extent the religion of the ,greeks was higher than ,judo-,christianity4 ,the latter triumphed because the ,greek religion was degenerate 7and decadent74 #ajdc4 ,it is not surprising that a couple of centuries have been necessary in order to link up again--a couple of centuries are very little indeed4 #ajdd4 ,there must be some people who sanctify functions1 not only eating and drinking1 and not only in memory of them1 or in harmony with them2 but this world must be for ever glorified anew1 and in a novel fashion4 #ajde4 ,the most intellectual men feel the ecstasy and charm of sensual things in a way which other men --those with fleshy hearts--cannot possibly imagine1 and ought not to be able to imagine3 they are sensualists with the best possible faith1 because they grant the senses a more fundamental value than that fine sieve1 that thinning and mincing machine1 or whatever it is called1 which in the language of the people is termed spirit ,the strength and power of the senses--this is the most essential thing in a sound man who is one of ,nature's lucky strokes3 the splendid beast must first be there--otherwise what is the value of all humanisation8 #ajdf4 7#a7 ,we want to hold fast to our senses1 and to the belief in them--and accept their logical conclusions6 ,the hostility to the senses in the philosophy that has been written up to the present1 has been man's greatest feat of nonsense4 7#b7 ,the world now extant1 on which all earthly and living things have so built themselves1 that it now appears as it does 7enduring and proceeding slowly71 we would fain continue building--not criticise it away as false6 7#c7 ,our valuations help in the process of building2 they emphasise and accentuate4 ,what does it mean when whole religions say3 ,everything is bad and false and evil8 ,this condemnation of the whole process can only be the judgment of the failures6 7#d7 ,true1 the failures might be the greatest sufferers and therefore the most subtle6 ,the contented might be worth little6 7#e7 ,we must understand the fundamental artistic phenomenon which is called ,life1--the formative spirit1 which constructs under the most unfavourable circumstances3 and in the slowest manner possible----,the proof of all its combinations must first be given afresh3 it maintains itself4 #ajdg4 ,sexuality1 lust of dominion1 the pleasure derived from appearance and deception1 great and joyful gratitude to ,life and its typical conditions--these things are essential to all paganism1 and it has a good conscience on its side4--,that which is hostile to ,nature 7already in ,greek antiquity7 combats paganism in the form of morality and dialectics4 #ajdj4 ,an anti-metaphysical view of the world--yes1 but an artistic one4 #ajdi4 ,apollo's misapprehension3 the eternity of beautiful forms1 the aristocratic prescription1 ,thus shall it ever be6 ,dionysus4 ,sensuality and cruelty4 ,the perishable nature of existence might be interpreted as the joy of procreative and destructive force1 as unremitting creation4 #ajej4 ,the word ,dionysian expresses3 a constraint to unity1 a soaring above personality1 the common-place1 society1 reality1 and above the abyss of the ephemeral1 the passionately painful sensation of superabundance1 in darker1 fuller1 and more fluctuating conditions2 an ecstatic saying of yea to the collective character of existence1 as that which remains the same1 and equally mighty and blissful throughout all change1 the great pantheistic sympathy with pleasure and pain1 which declares even the most terrible and most questionable qualities of existence good1 and sanctifies them2 the eternal will to procreation1 to fruitfulness1 and to recurrence2 the feeling of unity in regard to the necessity of creating and annihilating4 ,the word ,apollonian expresses3 the constraint to be absolutely isolated1 to the typical individual1 to everything that simplifies1 distinguishes1 and makes strong1 salient1 definite1 and typical to freedom within the law4 ,the further development of art is just as necessarily bound up with the antagonism of these two natural art-forces1 as the further development of mankind is bound up with the antagonism of the sexes4 ,the plenitude of power and restraint1 the highest form of self-affirmation in a cool1 noble1 and reserved kind of beauty3 the ,apollonianism of the ,hellenic will4 ,this antagonism of the ,dionysian and of the ,apollonian in the ,greek soul1 is one of the great riddles which made me feel drawn to the essence of ,hellenism4 ,at bottom1 ,i troubled about nothing save the solution of the question1 why precisely ,greek ,apollonianism should have been forced to grow out of a ,dionysian soil3 the ,dionysian ,greek had need of being ,apollonian2 that is to say in order to break his will to the titanic1 to the complex1 to the uncertain1 to the horrible by a will to measure1 to simplicity1 and to submission to rule and concept4 ,extravagance1 wildness1 and ,asiatic tendencies lie at the root of the ,greeks4 ,their courage consists in their struggle with their ,asiatic nature3 they were not given beauty1 any more than they were given ,logic and moral6 naturalness3 in them these things are victories1 they are willed and fought for--they constitute the triumph of the ,greeks4 #ajea4 ,it is clear that only the rarest and most lucky cases of humanity can attain to the highest and most sublime human joys in which ,life celebrates its own glorification2 and this only happens when these rare creatures themselves and their forbears have lived a long preparatory life leading to this goal1 without1 however1 having done so consciously4 ,it is then that an overflowing wealth of multifarious forces and the most agile power of free will and lordly command exist together in perfect concord in one man2 then the intellect is just as much at ease1 or at home1 in the senses as the senses are at ease or at home in it2 and everything that takes place in the latter must give rise to extraordinarily subtle joys in the former4 ,and vice vers3 just think of this vice vers for a moment in a man like ,hafiz2 even ,goethe1 though to a lesser degree1 gives some idea of this process4 ,it is probable that1 in such perfect and well-constituted men1 the most sensual functions are finally transfigured by a symbolic elatedness of the highest intellectuality2 in themselves they feel a kind of deification of the body and are most remote from the ascetic philosophy of the principle ,god is a ,spirit3 from this principle it is clear that the ascetic is the botched man who declares only that to be good and ,god which is absolute1 and which judges and condemns4 ,from that height of joy in which man feels himself completely and utterly a deified form and self-justification of nature1 down to the joy of healthy peasants and healthy semi-human beasts1 the whole of this long and enormous gradation of the light and colour of happiness was called by the ,greek--not without that grateful quivering of one who is initiated into secret1 not without much caution and pious silence--by the godlike name3 ,dionysus4 ,what then do all modern men--the children of a crumbling1 multifarious1 sick and strange age know of the compass of ,greek happiness1 how could they know anything about it6 ,whence would the slaves of modern ideas derive their right to ,dionysian feasts6 ,when the ,greek body and soul were in full bloom1 and not1 as it were1 in states of morbid exaltation and madness1 there arose the secret symbol of the loftiest affirmation and transfiguration of life and the world that has ever existed4 ,there we have a standard beside which everything that has grown since must seem too short1 too poor1 too narrow3 if we but pronounce the word ,dionysus in the presence of the best of more recent names and things1 in the presence of ,goethe1 for instance1 or ,beethoven1 or ,shakespeare1 or ,raphael1 in a trice we realise that our best things and moments are condemned4 ,dionysus is a judge6 ,am ,i understood8 ,there can be no doubt that the ,greeks sought to interpret1 by means of their ,dionysian experiences1 the final mysteries of the destiny of the soul and everything they knew concerning the education and the purification of man1 and above all concerning the absolute hierarchy and inequality of value between man and man4 ,there is the deepest experience of all ,greeks1 which they conceal beneath great silence1--we do not know the ,greeks so long as this hidden and sub-terranean access to them remains obstructed4 ,the indiscreet eyes of scholars will never perceive anything in these things1 however much learned energy may still have to be expended in the service of this excavation--2 even the noble zeal of such friends of antiquity as ,goethe and ,winckelmann1 seems to savour somewhat of bad form and of arrogance1 precisely in this respect4 ,to wait and to prepare oneself2 to await the appearance of new sources of knowledge2 to prepare oneself in solitude for the sight of new faces and the sound of new voices2 to cleanse one's soul ever more and more of the dust and noise1 as of a country fair1 which is peculiar to this age2 to overcome everything ,christian by something super-,christian1 and not only to rid oneself of it1--for the ,christian doctrine is the counter-doctrine to the ,dionysian2 to rediscover the ,south in oneself1 and to stretch a clear1 glittering1 and mysterious southern sky above one2 to reconquer the southern healthiness and concealed power of the soul1 once more for oneself2 to increase the compass of one's soul step by step1 and to become more supernational1 more ,european1 more super-,european1 more ,oriental1 and finally more ,hellenic--for ,hellenism was1 as a matter of fact1 the first great union and synthesis of everything ,oriental1 and precisely on that account1 the beginning of the ,european soul1 the discovery of our new world3--he who lives under such imperatives1 who knows what he may not encounter some day8 ,possibly--a new dawn6 #ajeb4 ,the two types2 ,dionysus and ,christ on the ,cross4 ,we should ascertain whether the typically religious man is a decadent phenomenon 7the great innovators are one and all morbid and epileptic72 but do not let us forget to include that type of the religious man who is pagan4 ,is the pagan cult not a form of gratitude for1 and affirmation of1 ,life8 ,ought not its most representative type to be an apology and deification of ,life8 ,the type of a well-constituted and ecstatically overflowing spirit6 ,the type of a spirit which absorbs the contradictions and problems of existence1 and which solves them6 ,at this point ,i set up the ,dionysus of the ,greeks3 the religious affirmation of ,life1 of the whole of ,life1 not of denied and partial ,life 7it is typical that in this cult the sexual act awakens ideas of depth1 mystery1 and reverence74 ,dionysus versus ,christ2 here you have the contrast4 ,it is not a difference in regard to the martyrdom1--but the latter has a different meaning4 ,life itself--,life s eternal fruitfulness and recurrence caused anguish1 destruction1 and the will to annihilation4 ,in the other case1 the suffering of the ,christ as the ,innocent ,one stands as an objection against ,life1 it is the formula of ,life's condemnation4--,readers will guess that the problem concerns the meaning of suffering2 whether a ,christian or a tragic meaning be given to it4 ,in the first case it is the road to a holy mode of existence2 in the second case existence itself is regarded as sufficiently holy to justify an enormous amount of suffering4 ,the tragic man says yea even to the most excruciating suffering3 he is sufficiently strong1 rich1 and capable of deifying1 to be able to do this2 the ,christian denies even the happy lots on earth3 he is weak1 poor1 and disinherited enough to suffer from life in any form4 ,god on the ,cross is a curse upon ,life1 a signpost directing people to deliver themselves from it2--,dionysus cut into pieces is a promise of ,life3 it will be for ever born anew1 and rise afresh from destruction4 ,,iii4 ,,eternal ,,recurrence4 #ajec4 ,my philosophy reveals the triumphant thought through which all other systems of thought must ultimately perish4 ,it is the great disciplinary thought3 those races that cannot bear it are doomed2 those which regard it as the greatest blessing are destined to rule4 #ajed4 ,the greatest of all fights3 for this purpose a new weapon is required4 ,a hammer3 a terrible alternative must be created4 ,europe must be brought face to face with the logic of facts1 and confronted with the question whether its will for ruin is really earnest4 ,general levelling down to mediocrity must be avoided4 ,rather than this it would be preferable to perish4 #ajee4 ,a pessimistic attitude of mind and a pessimistic doctrine and ecstatic ,nihilism1 may in certain circumstances even prove indispensable to the philosopher--that is to say1 as a mighty form of pressure1 or hammer1 with which he can smash up degenerate1 perishing races and put them out of existence2 with which he can beat a track to a new order of life1 or instil a longing for nonentity in those who are degenerate and who desire to perish4 #ajef4 ,i wish to teach the thought which gives unto many the right to cancel their existences--the great disciplinary thought4 #ajeg4 ,eternal ,recurrence4 ,a prophecy4 #a4 ,the exposition of the doctrine and its theoretical first principles and results4 #b4 ,the proof of the doctrine4 #c4 ,probable results which will follow from its being believed4 7,it makes everything break open47 7a7 ,the means of enduring it4 7b7 ,the means of ignoring it4 #d4 ,its place in history is a means4 ,the period of greatest danger4 ,the foundation of an oligarchy above peoples and their interests3 education directed at establishing a political policy for humanity in general4 ,a counterpart of ,jesuitism4 #ajeh4 ,the two greatest philosophical points of view 7both discovered by ,germans74 7a7 ,that of becoming and that of evolution4 7b7 ,that based upon the values of existence 7but the wretched form of ,german pessimism must first be overcome67-- ,both points of view reconciled by me in a decisive manner4 ,everything becomes and returns for ever1 escape is impossible6 ,granted that we could appraise the value of existence1 what would be the result of it8 ,the thought of recurrence is a principle of selection in the service of power 7and barbarity674 ,the ripeness of man for this thought4 #ajei4 #a4 ,the thought of eternal recurrence3 its first principles which must necessarily be true if it were true4 ,what its result is4 #b4 ,it is the most oppressive thought3 its probable results1 provided it be not prevented1 that is to say1 provided all values be not transvalued4 #c4 ,the means of enduring it3 the transvaluation of all values4 ,pleasure no longer to be found in certainty1 but in uncertainty2 no longer cause and effect1 but continual creativeness2 no longer the will to self-preservation1 but to power2 no longer the modest expression it is all only subjective1 but it is all our work6 let us be proud of it4 #ajfj4 ,in order to endure the thought of recurrence1 freedom from morality is necessary2 new means against the fact pain 7pain regarded as the instrument1 as the father of pleasure2 there is no accretive consciousness of pain72 pleasure derived from all kinds of uncertainty and tentativeness1 as a counterpoise to extreme fatalism2 suppression of the concept necessity2 suppression of the will2 suppression of absolute knowledge4 ,greatest elevation of man's consciousness of strength1 as that which creates superman4 #ajfa4 ,the two extremes of thought--the materialistic and the platonic--are reconciled in eternal recurrence3 both are regarded as ideals4 #ajfb4 ,if the universe had a goal1 that goal would have been reached by now4 ,if any sort of unforeseen final state existed1 that state also would have6 been reached4 ,if it were capable of any halting or stability of any being1 it would only have possessed this capability of becoming stable for one instant in its development2 and again becoming would have been at an end for ages1 and with it all thinking and all spirit4 ,the fact of intellects being in a state of development proves that the universe can have no goal1 no final state1 and is incapable of being4 ,but the old habit of thinking of some purpose in regard to all phenomena1 and of thinking of a directing and creating deity in regard to the universe1 is so powerful1 that the thinker has to go to great pains in order to avoid thinking of the very aimlessness of the world as intended4 ,the idea that the universe intentionally evades a goal1 and even knows artificial means wherewith it prevents itself from falling into a circular movement1 must occur to all those who would fain attribute to the universe the capacity of eternally regenerating itself--that is to say1 they would fain impose upon a finite1 definite force which is invariable in quantity1 like the universe1 the miraculous gift of renewing its forms and its conditions for all eternity4 ,although the universe is no longer a ,god1 it must still be capable of the divine power of creating and transforming2 it must forbid itself to relapse into any one of its previous forms2 it must not only have the intention1 but also the means1 of avoiding any sort of repetition1 every second of its existence1 even1 it must control every single one of its movements1 with the view of avoiding goals1 final states1 and repetitions and all the other results of such an unpardonable and insane method of thought and desire4 ,all this is nothing more than the old religious mode of thought and desire1 which1 in spite of all1 longs to believe that in some way or other the universe resembles the old1 beloved1 infinite1 and infinitely-creative ,god--that in some way or other the old ,god still lives--that longing of ,spinoza's which is expressed in the words deus sive natura 7what he really felt was natura sive deus74 ,which1 then1 is the proposition and belief in which the decisive change1 the present preponderance of the scientific spirit over the religious and god-fancying spirit1 is best formulated8 ,ought it not to be3 the universe1 as force1 must not be thought of as unlimited1 because it cannot be thought of in this way1--we forbid ourselves the concept infinite force1 because it is incompatible with the idea of force8 ,whence it follows that the universe lacks the power of eternal renewal4 #ajfc4 ,the principle of the conservation of energy inevitably involves eternal recurrence4 #ajfd4 ,that a state of equilibrium has never been reached1 proves that it is impossible1 but in infinite space it must have been reached4 ,likewise in spherical space4 ,the form of space must be the cause of the eternal movement1 and ultimately of all imperfection4 ,that energy and stability and immutability are contradictory4 ,the measure of energy 7dimensionally7 is fixed though it is essentially fluid4 ,that which is timeless must be refuted1 any given moment of energy1 the absolute conditions for a new distribution of all forces are present1 it cannot remain stationary4 ,change is part of its essence1 therefore time is as well2 by this means1 however1 the necessity of change has only been established once more in theory4 #ajfe4 ,a certain emperor always bore the fleeting nature of all things in his mind1 in order not to value them too seriously1 and to be able to live quietly in their midst4 ,conversely1 everything seems to me much too important for it to be so fleeting1 ,i seek an eternity for everything3 ought one to pour the most precious salves and wines into the sea8 ,my consolation is that everything that has been is eternal3 the sea will wash it up again4 #ajff4 ,the new concept of the universe4 ,the universe exists2 it is nothing that grows into existence and that passes out of existence4 ,or1 better still1 it develops1 it passes away1 but it never began to develop1 and has never ceased from passing away2 it maintains itself in both states4 ,it lives on itself1 its excrements are its nourishment4 ,we need not concern ourselves for one instant with the hypothesis of a created world4 ,the concept create is to-day utterly indefinable and unrealisable2 it is but a word which hails from superstitious ages1 nothing can be explained with a word4 ,the last attempt that was made to conceive of a world that began occurred quite recently1 in many cases with the help of logical reasoning1--generally1 too1 as you will guess1 with an ulterior theological motive4 ,several attempts have been made lately to show that the concept that the universe has an infinite past 7regressus in infinitum7 is contradictory1 it was even demonstrated1 it is true1 at the price of confounding the head with the tail4 ,nothing can prevent me from calculating backwards from this moment of time1 and of saying3 ,i shall never reach the end2 just as ,i can calculate without end in a forward direction1 from the same moment4 ,it is only when ,i wish to commit the error--,i shall be careful to avoid it--of reconciling this correct concept of a regressus in infinitum with the absolutely unrealisable concept of a finite progressus up to the present2 only when ,i consider the direction 7forwards or backwards7 as logically indifferent1 that ,i take hold of the head--this very moment--and think ,i hold the tail3 this pleasure ,i leave to you1 ,mr4 ,dhring6444 ,i have come across this thought in other thinkers before me1 and every time ,i found that it was determined by other ulterior motives 7chiefly theological1 in favour of a creator spiritus74 ,if the universe were in any way able to congeal1 to dry up1 to perish2 or if it were capable of attaining to a state of equilibrium2 or if it had any kind of goal at all which a long lapse of time1 immutability1 and finality reserved for it 7in short1 to speak metaphysically1 if becoming could resolve itself into being or into nonentity71 this state ought already to have been reached4 ,but it has not been reached3 it therefore follows4444 ,this is the only certainty we can grasp1 which can serve as a corrective to a host of cosmic hypotheses possible in themselves4 ,if1 for instance1 materialism cannot consistently escape the conclusion of a finite state1 which ,william ,thomson has traced out for it1 then materialism is thereby refuted4 ,if the universe may be conceived as a definite quantity of energy1 as a definite number of centres of energy1--and every other concept remains indefinite and therefore useless1--it follows therefrom that the universe must go through a calculable number of combinations in the great game of chance which constitutes its existence4 ,in infinity1 at some moment or other1 every possible combination must once have been realised2 not only this1 but it must have been realised an infinite number of times4 ,and inasmuch as between every one of these combinations and its next recurrence every other possible combination would necessarily have been undergone1 and since every one of these combinations would determine the whole series in the same order1 a circular movement of absolutely identical series is thus demonstrated3 the universe is thus shown to be a circular movement which has already repeated itself an infinite number of times1 and which plays its game for all eternity4--,this conception is not simply materialistic2 for if it were this1 it would not involve an infinite recurrence of identical cases1 but a finite state4 ,owing to the fact that the universe has not reached this finite state1 materialism shows itself to be but an imperfect and provisional hypothesis4 #ajfg4 ,and do ye know what the universe is to my mind8 ,shall ,i show it to you in my mirror8 ,this universe is a monster of energy1 without beginning or end2 a fixed and brazen quantity o2 energy which grows neither bigger nor smaller1 which does not consume itself1 but only alters its face2 as a whole its bulk is immutable1 it is a household without either losses or gains1 but likewise without increase and without sources of revenue1 surrounded by nonentity as by a frontier1 it is nothing vague or wasteful1 it does not stretch into infinity2 but it is a definite quantum of energy located in limited space1 and not in space which would be anywhere empty4 ,it is rather energy everywhere1 the play of forces and force-waves1 at the same time one and many1 agglomerating here and diminishing there1 a sea of forces storming and raging in itself1 for ever changing1 for ever rolling back over in calculable ages to recurrence1 with an ebb and flow of its forms1 producing the most complicated things out of the most simple structures2 producing the most ardent1 most savage1 and most contradictory things out of the quietest1 most rigid1 and most frozen material1 and then returning from multifariousness to uniformity1 from the play of contradictions back into the delight of consonance1 saying yea unto itself1 even in this homogeneity of its courses and ages2 for ever blessing itself as something which recurs for all eternity1--a becoming which knows not satiety1 or disgust1 or weariness3--this1 my ,dionysian world of eternal self-creation1 of eternal self-destruction1 this mysterious world of twofold voluptuousness2 this1 my ,beyond ,good and ,evil without aim1 unless there is an aim in the bliss of the circle1 without will1 unless a ring must by nature keep goodwill to itself1--would you have a name for my world8 ,a solution of all your riddles8 ,do ye also want a light1 ye most concealed1 strongest and most undaunted men of the blackest midnight8--,this world is the ,will to ,power--and nothing else6 ,and even ye yourselves are this will to power--and nothing besides6