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«We Philologists»

To what a great extent men are ruled by pure hazard, and how little reason itself enters into the question, is sufficiently shown by observing how few people have any real capacity for their professions and callings, and how many square pegs there are in round holes: happy and well chosen instances are quite exceptional, like happy marriages, and even these latter are not brought about by reason. A man chooses his calling before he is fitted to exercise his faculty of choice. He does not know the number of different callings and professions that exist; he does not know himself; and then he wastes his years of activity in this calling, applies all his mind to it, and becomes experienced and practical. When, afterwards, his understanding has become fully developed, it is generally too late to start something new; for wisdom on earth has almost always had something of the weakness of old age and lack of vigour about it. (далее…)

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«Thus Spake Zarathustra»

The phrase “the rearing of the Superman,” has very often been misunderstood. By the word “rearing,” in this case, is meant the act of modifying by means of new and higher values – values which, as laws and guides of conduct and opinion, are now to rule over mankind. In general the doctrine of the Superman can only be understood correctly in conjunction with other ideas of the author’s, such as: – the Order of Rank, the Will to Power, and the Transvaluation of all Values. He assumes that Christianity, as a product of the resentment of the botched and the weak, has put in ban all that is beautiful, strong, proud, and powerful, in fact all the qualities resulting from strength, and that, in consequence, all forces which tend to promote or elevate life have been seriously undermined. Now, however, a new table of valuations must be placed over mankind – namely, that of the strong, mighty, and magnificent man, overflowing with life and elevated to his zenith – the Superman, who is now put before us with overpowering passion as the aim of our life, hope, and will. And just as the old system of valuing, which only extolled the qualities favourable to the weak, the suffering, and the oppressed, has succeeded in producing a weak, suffering, and “modern” race, so this new and reversed system of valuing ought to rear a healthy, strong, lively, and courageous type, which would be a glory to life itself. Stated briefly, the leading principle of this new system of valuing would be: “All that proceeds from power is good, all that springs from weakness is bad.” (далее…)

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«Thoughts Out of Season, Part II»

If happiness and the chase for new happiness keep alive in any sense the will to live, no philosophy has perhaps more truth than the cynics: for the beasts happiness, like that of the perfect cynic, is the visible proof of the truth of cynicism. The smallest pleasure, if it be only continuous and make one happy, is incomparably a greater happiness than the more intense pleasure that comes as an episode, a wild freak, a mad interval between ennui, desire, and privation. But in the smallest and greatest happiness there is always one thing that makes it happiness: the power of forgetting, or, in more learned phrase, the capacity of feeling “unhistorically” throughout its duration. One who cannot leave himself behind on the threshold of the moment and forget the past, who cannot stand on a single point, like a goddess of victory, without fear or giddiness, will never know what happiness is; and, worse still, will never do anything to make others happy. The extreme case would be the man without any power to forget, who is condemned to see “becoming” everywhere. Such a man believes no more in himself or his own existence, he sees everything fly past in an eternal succession, and loses himself in the stream of becoming. At last, like the logical disciple of Heraclitus, he will hardly dare to raise his finger. Forgetfulness is a property of all action; just as not only light but darkness is bound up with the life of every organism. One who wished to feel everything historically, would be like a man forcing himself to refrain from sleep, or a beast who had to live by chewing a continual cud. Thus even a happy life is possible without remembrance, as the beast shows: but life in any true sense is absolutely impossible without forgetfulness. Or, to put my conclusion better, there is a degree of sleeplessness, of rumination, of “historical sense,” that injures and finally destroys the living thing, be it a man or a people or a system of culture. (далее…)

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«The Joyful Wisdom»

Perhaps more than one preface would be necessary for this book; and after all it might still be doubtful whether any one could be brought nearer to the experiences in it by means of prefaces, without having himself experienced something similar. It seems to be written in the language of the thawing-wind: there is wantonness, restlessness, contradiction and April-weather in it; so that one is as constantly reminded of the proximity of winter as of the victory over it: the victory which is coming, which must come, which has perhaps already come… Gratitude continually flows forth, as if the most unexpected thing had happened, the gratitude of a convalescent – for convalescence was this most unexpected thing. Joyful Wisdom: that implies the Saturnalia of a spirit which has patiently withstood a long, frightful pressure – patiently, strenuously, impassionately, without submitting, but without hope – and which is now suddenly oerpowered with hope, the hope of health, the intoxication of convalescence. What wonder that much that is unreasonable and foolish thereby comes to light: much wanton tenderness expended even on problems which have a prickly hide, and are not therefore fit to be fondled and allured. The whole book is really nothing but a revel after long privation and impotence: the frolicking of returning energy, of newly awakened belief in a to-morrow and after-to-morrow; of sudden sentience and prescience of a future, of near adventures, of seas open once more, and aims once more permitted and believed in. And what was now all behind me! This track of desert, exhaustion, unbelief, and frigidity in the midst of youth, this advent of grey hairs at the wrong time, this tyranny of pain, surpassed, however, by the tyranny of pride which repudiated the consequences of pain – and consequences are comforts, – this radical isolation, as defence against the contempt of mankind become morbidly clairvoyant, this restriction upon principle to all that is bitter, sharp, and painful in knowledge, as prescribed by the disgust which had gradually resulted from imprudent spiritual diet and pampering – it is called Romanticism, – oh, who could realise all those feelings of mine! He, however, who could do so would certainly forgive me everything, and more than a little folly, boisterousness and Joyful Wisdom – for example, the handful of songs which are given along with the book on this occasion, – songs in which a poet makes merry over all poets in a way not easily pardoned. – Alas, it is not only on the poets and their fine lyrical sentiments that this reconvalescent must vent his malignity: who knows what kind of victim he seeks, what kind of monster of material for parody will allure him ere long? Incipit trag?dia, it is said at the conclusion of this seriously frivolous book; let people be on their guard! Something or other extraordinarily bad and wicked announces itself: incipit parodia, there is no doubt… (далее…)

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«The Dawn of Day»

In the meantime, however, it will have become clear that Nietzsche tried to stop this threatening degradation of the human race, that he endeavoured to supplant the morality of altruism – the cause of this degradation – by another, a super-Christian morality, and that he has succeeded in this aim, if not where the masses and the classes are concerned, at any rate in the case of that small minority of thinkers to which he really wished to appeal. And this minority is naturally grateful to the philosopher for having supplied them with a morality which enables them to be “good” without being fools – an unpleasant combination which, unfortunately, the Nazarene morality is seldom able to avoid. This Nazarene morality has doubtless its own merits, and its “good” and “evil” in many cases coincide with ours; but common sense and certain intellectual qualities are not too highly appreciated in the table of Christian values (see, for instance, 1 Cor. iii. 19), whence it will be observed that the enlightenment of a Christian is not always quite equal to his otherwise excellent intentions. We Nietzschians, however, must show that patience to them which they always pretend to show to their opponents. Nietzsche himself, indeed, recommends this in Aphorism 103 of this book, an aphorism which is almost too well known to need repetition; for it likewise disproves the grotesque though widely circulated supposition that all kinds of immorality would be indulged in under the sway of the “Immoralistic” philosopher: (далее…)

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«The Birth of Tragedy»

In the autumn of 1864, he began his university life in Bonn, and studied philology and theology; at the end of six months he gave up theology, and in the autumn of 1865 followed his famous teacher Ritschl to the University of Leipzig. There he became an ardent philologist, and diligently sought to acquire a masterly grasp of this branch of knowledge. But in this respect it would be unfair to forget that the school of Pforta, with its staff of excellent teachers – scholars that would have adorned the chairs of any University – had already afforded the best of preparatory trainings to any one intending to take up philology as a study, more particularly as it gave all pupils ample scope to indulge any individual tastes they might have for any particular branch of ancient history. The last important Latin thesis which my brother wrote for the Landes-Schule, Pforta, dealt with the Megarian poet Theognis, and it was in the r?le of a lecturer on this very subject that, on the 18th January 1866, he made his first appearance in public before the philological society he had helped to found in Leipzig. The paper he read disclosed his investigations on the subject of Theognis the moralist and aristocrat, who, as is well known, described and dismissed the plebeians of his time in terms of the heartiest contempt The aristocratic ideal, which was always so dear to my brother, thus revealed itself for the first time. Moreover, curiously enough, it was precisely this scientific thesis which was the cause of Ritschls recognition of my brother and fondness for him. (далее…)

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«On the Future of our Educational Institutions – Homer and Classical Philology»

I am well aware of the nature of the community to whose serious consideration I now wish to commend that conversation – I know it to be a community which is striving to educate and enlighten its members on a scale so magnificently out of proportion to its size that it must put all larger cities to shame. This being so, I presume I may take it for granted that in a quarter where so much is done for the things of which I wish to speak, people must also think a good deal about them. In my account of the conversation already mentioned, I shall be able to make myself completely understood only to those among my audience who will be able to guess what I can do no more than suggest, who will supply what I am compelled to omit, and who, above all, need but to be reminded and not taught. (далее…)

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«On the Future of our Educational Institutions»

I am well aware of the nature of the community to whose serious consideration I now wish to commend that conversation – I know it to be a community which is striving to educate and enlighten its members on a scale so magnificently out of proportion to its size that it must put all larger cities to shame. This being so, I presume I may take it for granted that in a quarter where so much is done for the things of which I wish to speak, people must also think a good deal about them. In my account of the conversation already mentioned, I shall be able to make myself completely understood only to those among my audience who will be able to guess what I can do no more than suggest, who will supply what I am compelled to omit, and who, above all, need but to be reminded and not taught. (далее…)

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«Näin puhui Zarathustra»

Zarathustra astui yksin alas vuorta eik? kukaan kohdannut h?nt?. Mutta kun h?n saapui metsiin, seisoi ?kki? h?nen edess??n vanhus, joka oli j?tt?nyt pyh?n majansa, etsi?kseen juuria mets?st?. Ja n?in puhui vanhus Zarathustralle: (далее…)

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«Menschliches, Allzumenschliches: Ein Buch Fuer Freie Geister»

Dergestalt giebt der freie Geist sich in Bezug auf jenes R?thsel von Losl?sung Antwort und endet damit, indem er seinen Fall verallgemeinert, sich ?ber sein Erlebniss also zu entscheiden. Wie es mir ergieng, sagt er sich, muss es jedem ergehn, in dem eine Aufgabe leibhaft werden und `zur Welt kommen` will. Die heimliche Gewalt und Nothwendigkeit dieser Aufgabe wird unter und in seinen einzelnen Schicksalen walten gleich einer unbewussten Schwangerschaft, – lange, bevor er diese Aufgabe selbst ins Auge gefasst hat und ihren Namen weiss. Unsre Bestimmung verf?gt ?ber uns, auch wenn wir sie noch nicht kennen; es ist die Zukunft, die unserm Heute die Regel giebt. Gesetzt, dass es das Problem der Rangordnung ist, von dem wir sagen d?rfen, dass es unser Problem ist, wir freien Geister: jetzt, in dem Mittage unsres Lebens, verstehn wir es erst, was f?r Vorbereitungen, Umwege, Proben, Versuchungen, Verkleidungen das Problem n?thig hatte, ehe es vor uns aufsteigen durfte, und wie wir erst die vielfachsten und widersprechendsten Noth- und Gl?cksst?nde an Seele und Leib erfahren mussten, als Abenteurer und Weltumsegler jener inneren Welt, die Mensch heisst, als Ausmesser jedes H?her und Uebereinander, das gleichfalls Mensch heisst – ?berallhin dringend, fast ohne Furcht, nichts verschm?hend, nichts verlierend, alles auskostend, alles vom Zuf?lligen reinigend und gleichsam aussiebend – bis wir endlich sagen durften, wir freien Geister: Hier – ein neues Problem! Hier eine lange Leiter, auf deren Sprossen wir selbst gesessen und gestiegen sind, – die wir selbst irgend wann gewesen sind! Hier ein H?her, ein Tiefer, ein Unter-uns, eine ungeheure lange Ordnung, eine Rangordnung, die wir sehen hier – unser Problem! (далее…)