No More Learning

16.
First Principle of Civilisation. —Among
savage tribes there is a certain category of customs
which appear to aim at nothing but custom. They
therefore lay down strict, and, on the whole, super-
fluous regulations {e. g. the rules of the Kamcha-
dales, which forbid snow to be scraped off the boots
with a knife, coal to be stuck on the point of a
knife, or a piece of iron to be put into the fire—
and death to be the portion of every one who shall
act contrariwise! ) Yet these laws serve to keep
people continually reminded of the custom, and


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24 THE DAWN OF DAY.
the imperative necessity on their parts to conform
to it: and all this in support of the great principle
which stands at the beginning of all civilisation:
any custom is better than none.
17-
Goodness and Malignity. —At first men im-
posed their own personalities on Nature: every-
where they saw themselves and their like, i. e. their
own evil and capricious temperaments, hidden, as
it were, behind clouds, thunder-storms, wild beasts,
trees, and plants: it was then that they declared
Nature was evil Afterwards there came a time,
that of Rousseau, when they sought to distin-
guish themselves from Nature: they were so
tired of each other that they wished to have
separate little hiding-places where man and his
misery could not penetrate: then they invented
"nature is good. "
18.
The Morality of Voluntary Suffering. —
What is the highest enjoyment for men living in
a state of war in a small community, the existence
of which is continually threatened, and the morality
of which is the strictest possible? i. e. for souls which
are vigorous, vindictive, malicious, full of suspicion,
ready to face the direst events, hardened by priva-
tion and morality? The enjoyment of cruelty:
just as, in such souls and in such circumstances, it
would be regarded as a virtue to be ingenious and
insatiable in cruelty. Such a community would


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 25
find its delight in performing cruel deeds, casting
aside, for once, the gloom of constant anxiety and
precaution. Cruelty is one of the most ancient
enjoyments at their festivities. As a consequence
it is believed that the gods likewise are pleased by
the sight of cruelty and rejoice at it—and in this
way the belief is spread that voluntary suffering,
self-chosen martyrdom, has a high signification
and value of its own. In the community custom
gradually brings about a practice in conformity
with this belief: henceforward people become more
suspicious of all exuberant well-being, and more
confident as they find themselves in a state of great
pain; they think that the gods may be unfavour-
able to them on account of happiness, and favour-
able on account of pain—not compassionate! For
compassion is looked upon with contempt, and un-
worthy of a strong and awe-inspiring soul—but
agreeable to them, because the sight of human
suffering put these gods into good humour and
makes them feel powerful, and a cruel mind revels
in the sensation of power. It was thus that the
"most moral man" of the community was con-
sidered as such by virtue of his frequent suffering,
privation, laborious existence, and cruel mortifica-
tion—not, to repeat it again and again, as a means
of discipline or self-control or a desire for indi-
vidual happiness—but as a virtue which renders
the evil gods well-disposed towards the community,
a virtue which continually wafts up to them the
odour of an expiatory sacrifice. All those intel-
lectual leaders of the nations who reached the
point of being able to stir up the sluggish though


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26 THE DAWN OF DAY.
prolific mire of their customs had to possess this
factor of voluntary martyrdom as well as insanity
in order to obtain belief—especially, and above all,
as is always the case, belief in themselves! The
more their minds followed new paths, and were
consequently tormented by pricks of conscience,
the more cruelly they battled against their own flesh,
their own desires, and their own health—as if they
were offering the gods a compensation in pleasure,
lest these gods should wax wroth at the neglect of
ancient customs and the setting up of new aims.
Let no one be too hasty in thinking that we have
now entirely freed ourselves from such a logic of
feeling! Let the most heroic souls among us
question themselves on this very point. The least
step forward in the domain of free thought and
individual life has been achieved in all ages to the
accompanimentof physical and intellectual tortures:
and not only the mere step forward, no! but every
form of movement and change has rendered neces-
sary innumerable martyrs, throughout the entire
course of thousands of years which sought their
paths and laid down their foundation-stones, years,
however, which we do not think of when we speak
about "world-history," that ridiculously small
division of mankind's existence. And even in this
so-called world-history, which in the main is merely
a great deal of noise about the latest novelties,
there is no more important theme than the old,
old tragedy of the martyrs who tried to move the
mire. Nothing has been more dearly bought than
the minute portion of human reason and feeling of
liberty upon which we now pride ourselves. But


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 2J
it is this very pride which makes it almost im-
possible for us to-day to be conscious of that
enormous lapse of time, preceding the period of
"world-history" when "morality of custom " held
the field, and to consider this lapse of time as the
real and decisive epoch that established the character
of mankind: an epoch when suffering was con-
sidered as a virtue, cruelty as a virtue, hypocrisy
as a virtue, revenge as a virtue, and the denial of
the reason as a virtue, whereas, on the other hand,
well-being was regarded as a danger, longing for
knowledge as a danger, peace as a danger, com-
passion as a danger: an epoch when being pitied
was looked upon as an insult, work as an insult,
madness as a divine attribute, and every kind of
change as immoral and pregnant with ruin! You
imagine that all this has changed, and that
humanity must likewise have changed its character?
Oh, ye poor psychologists, learn to know yourselves
better!
19-
Morality and Stupefaction. —Custom re-
presents the experiences of men of earlier times in
regard to what they considered as useful and harm-
ful; but the feeling of custom (morality) does not
relate to these feelings as such, but to the age, the
sanctity, and the unquestioned authority of the
custom. Hence this feeling hinders our acquiring
new experiences and amending morals: i. e. mor-
ality is opposed to the formation of new and better
morals: it stupefies.


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28 THE DAWN OF DAY.
20.
Free-doers and Free-thinkers. — Com-
pared with free-thinkers, free-doers are at a dis-
advantage, because it is evident that men suffer
more from the consequences of actions than of
thoughts. If we remember, however, that both
seek their own satisfaction, and that free-thinkers
have already found their satisfaction in reflection
upon and utterance of forbidden things, there is
no difference in the motives; but in respect of
the consequences the issue will be decided against
the free-thinker, provided that it be not judged
from the most superficial and vulgar external
appearance, i. e. not as every one would judge it.
We must make up for a good deal of the calumny
with which men have covered all those who have,
by their actions, broken away from the authority of
some custom—they are generally called criminals.
Every one who has hitherto overthrown a law of
established morality has always at first been con-
sidered as a wicked man: but when it was after-
wards found impossible to re-establish the law, and
people gradually became accustomed to the change,
the epithet was changed by slow degrees. History
deals almost exclusively with these wicked men,
who later on came to be recognised as good men.
21.
"Fulfilment of the Law. "—In cases where
the observance of a moral precept has led to
different consequence from that expected and


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 29
promised, and does not bestow upon the moral man
the happiness he had hoped for, but leads rather to
misfortune and misery, the conscientious and timid
man has always his excuse ready: "Something
was lacking in the proper carrying out of the law. "
If the worst comes to the worst, a deeply-suffering
and down-trodden humanity will even decree: "It
is impossible to carry out the precept faithfully:
we are too weak and sinful, and, in the depths of
our soul, incapable of morality: consequently we
have no claim to happiness and success. Moral
precepts and promises have been given for better
beings than ourselves. "
22.
Works and Faith. —Protestant teachers are
still spreading the fundamental error that faith
only is of consequence, and that works must follow
naturally upon faith. This doctrine is certainly
not true, but it is so seductive in appearance that
it has succeeded in fascinating quite other intellects
than that of Luther {eg. the minds of Socrates and
Plato): though the plain evidence and experience
of our daily life prove the contrary. The most
assured knowledge and faith cannot give us either
the strength or the dexterity required for action,
or the practice in that subtle and complicated
mechanism which is a prerequisite for anything to
be changed from an idea into action. Then, I say,
let us first and foremost have works! and this
means practice! practice! practice! The neces-
sary faith will come later—be certain of that!


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30 THE DAWN OF DAY.
23-
In what Respect we are most Subtle. —
By the fact that, for thousands of years, things
(nature, tools, property of all kinds) were thought
to be alive and to possess souls, and able to hinder
and interfere with the designs of man, the feeling
of impotence among men has become greater and
more frequent than it need have been: for one
had to secure one's things like men and beasts,
by means of force, compulsion, flattery, treaties,
sacrifices—and it is here that we may find the
origin of the greater number of superstitious
customs, i. e. of an important, perhaps paramount,
and nevertheless wasted and useless division of
mankind's activity ! —But since the feeling of im-
potence and fear was so strong, and for such a
length of time in a state of constant stimulation,
the feeling of power in man has been developed in
so subtle a manner that, in this respect, he can
compare favourably with the most delicately-
adjusted balance. This feeling has become his
strongest propensity: and the means he discovered
for creating it form almost the entire history of
culture.
24.
The Proof of a Precept. —The worth or
worthlessness of a recipe—that for baking bread,
for example—is proved, generally speaking, by
the result expected coming to pass or not, provided,
of course, that the directions given have been care-


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 31
fully followed. The case is different, however,
when we come to deal with moral precepts, for
here the results cannot be ascertained, interpreted,
and divined. These precepts, indeed, are based
upon hypotheses of but little scientific value, the
proof or refutation of which by means of results is
impossible:—but in former ages, when all science
was crude and primitive, and when a matter was
taken for granted on the smallest evidence, then
the worth or worthlessness of a moral recipe was
determined as we now determine any other precept:
by reference to the results. I f the natives of Alaska
believe in a command which says: " Thou shalt not
throw a bone into the fire or give it to a dog," this
will be proved by the warning: " If thou dost thou
wilt have no luck when hunting. " Yet, in one
sense or another, it almost invariably happens that
one has " no luck when hunting. " It is no easy
matter to refute the worth of the precept in this
way, the more so as it is the community, and not
the individual, which is regarded as the bearer of
the punishment; and, again, some occurrence is
almost certain to happen which seems to prove the
rule.
25-
Customs and Beauty. —In justice to custom
it must not be overlooked that, in the case of all
those who conform to it whole-heartedly from the
very start, the organs of attack and defence, both
physical and intellectual, begin to waste away; i. e.
these individuals gradually become more beautiful!
For it is the exercise of these organs and their corre-


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32 THE DAWN OF DAY.
sponding feelings that brings about ugliness and
helps to preserve it. It is for this reason that the
old baboon is uglier than the young one, and that
the young female baboon most closely resembles
man, and is hence the most handsome. —Let us
draw from this our own conclusions as to the origin
of female beauty!
26.
Animals and Morals. —The rules insisted
upon in polite society, such, for example, as the
avoidance of everything ridiculous, fantastic, pre-
sumptuous; the suppression of one's virtues just as
much as of one's most violent desires, the instant
bringing of one's self down to the general level, sub-
mitting one's self to etiquette and self-depreciation:
all this, generally speaking, is to be found, as a
social morality, even in the lowest scale of the
animal world—and it is only in this low scale that
we see the innermost plan of all these amiable pre-
cautionary regulations: one wishes to escape from
one's pursuers and to be aided in the search for
plunder. Hence animals learn to control and to
disguise themselves to such an extent that some
of them can even adapt the colour of their
bodies to that of their surroundings (by means
of what is known as the "chromatic function ").
Others can simulate death, or adopt the forms
and colours of other animals, or of sand, leaves,
moss, or fungi (known to English naturalists as
"mimicry ").
It is in this way that an individual conceals him-
self behind the universality of the generic term


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 33
"man" or "society," or adapts and attaches him-
self to princes, castes, political parties, current
opinions of the time, or his surroundings: and we
may easily find the animal equivalent of all those
subtle means of making ourselves happy, thankful,
powerful, and fascinating. Even that sense of truth,
which is at bottom merely the sense of security, is
possessed by man in common with the animals: we
do not wish to be deceived by others or by our-
selves; we hear with some suspicion the promptings
of our own passions, we control ourselves and
remain on the watch against ourselves. Now, the
animal does all this as well as man; and in the
animal likewise self-control originates in the sense
of reality (prudence). In the same way, the animal
observes the effects it exercises on the imagination
of other beasts: it thus learns to view itself from
their position, to consider itself " objectively "; it
has its own degree of self-knowledge. The animal
judges the movements of its friends and foes, it
learns their peculiarities by heart and acts accord-
ingly: it gives up, once and for all, the struggle
against individual animals of certain species, and it
likewise recognises, in the approach of certain
varieties, whether their intentions are agreeable and
peaceful. The beginnings of justice, like those of
wisdom—in short, everything which we know as
the Socratic virtues—are of an animal nature: a
consequence of those instincts which teach us to
search for food and to avoid our enemies. If we
remember that the higher man has merely raised
and refined himself in the quality of his food and in
the conception of what is contrary to his nature, it
C


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34 THE DAWN OF DAY.
may not be going too far to describe the entire
moral phenomenon as of an animal origin.
27.
The Value of the Belief in Superhuman
PAssIONs. —The institution of marriage stubbornly
upholds the belief that love, although a passion, is
nevertheless capable of duration as such, yea, that
lasting, lifelong love may be taken as a general
rule. By means of the tenacity of a noble belief,
in spite of such frequent and almost customary
refutations — thereby becoming a pia fraus —
marriage has elevated love to a higher rank.
Every institution which has conceded to a passion
the belief in the duration of the latter, and responsi-
bility for this duration, in spite of the nature of
the passion itself, has raised the passion to a higher
level: and he who is thenceforth seized with such
a passion does not, as formerly, think himself
lowered in the estimation of others or brought into
danger on that account, but on the contrary believes
himself to be raised, both in the opinion of himself
and of his equals. Let us recall institutions and
customs which, out of the fiery devotion of a
moment, have created eternal fidelity; out of the
pleasure of anger, eternal vengeance; out of despair,
eternal mourning; out of a single hasty word,
eternal obligation. A great deal of hypocrisy and
falsehood came into the world as the result of such
transformations; but each time, too, at the cost of
such disadvantages, a new and superhuman concep-
tion which elevates mankind.


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 35
2 8.
State of Mind as Argument. — Whence
arises within us a cheerful readiness for action ? —
such is the question which has greatly occupied the
attention of men. The most ancient answer, and
one which we still hear, is: God is the cause; in
this way He gives us to understand that He ap-
proves of our actions. When, in former ages, people
consulted the oracles, they did so that they might
return home strengthened by this cheerful readi-
ness; and every one answered the doubts which
came to him, if alternative actions suggested them-
selves, by saying: "I shall do whatever brings
about that feeling. " They did not decide, in other
words, for what was most reasonable, but upon some
plan the conception of which imbued the soul with
courage and hope. A cheerful outlook was placed
in the scales as an argument and proved to be
heavier than reasonableness; for the state of mind
was interpreted in a superstitious manner as the
action of a god who promises success; and who,
by this argument, lets his reason speak as the
highest reasonableness. Now, let the consequences
of such a prejudice be considered when shrewd men,
thirsting for power, availed themselves of it—and
still do so ! " Bring about the right state of mind! "
—in this way you can do without all arguments and
overcome every objection!
29.
Actors of Virtue and Sin. —Among the
ancients who became celebrated for their virtue


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36 THE DAWN OF DAY.
there were many, it would seem, who acted to them-
selves, especially the Greeks, who, being actors by
nature, must have acted quite unconsciously, seeing
no reason why they should not do so. In addition,
every one was striving to outdo some one else's
virtue with his own, so why should they not have
made use of every artifice to show off their virtues,
especially among themselves, if only for the sake of
practice! Of what use was a virtue which one could
not display, and which did not know how to display
itself! —Christianity put an end to the career of
these actors of virtue; instead it devised the dis-
gusting ostentation and parading of sins: it brought
into the world a state of mendacious sinfulness (even
at the present day this is considered as bon ton
among orthodox Christians).
30.
Refined Cruelty as Virtue. —Here we have
a morality which is based entirely upon our thirst
for distinction—do not therefore entertain too high
an opinion of it! Indeed, we may well ask what
kind of an impulse it is, and what is its fundamental
signification? It is sought, by our appearance, to
grieve our neighbour, to arouse his envy, and to
awaken his feelings of impotence and degradation;
we endeavour to make him taste the bitterness of
his fate by dropping a little of our honey on his
tongue, and,while conferring thissupposed benefiton
him, looking sharply and triumphantly into his eyes.
Behold such a man, now become humble, and
perfect in his humility—and seek those for whom,
through his humility, he has for a long time been


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 37
preparing a torture; for you are sure to find them!
Here is another man who shows mercy towards
animals, and is admired for doing so—but there
are certain people on whom he wishes to vent his
cruelty by this very means. Look at that great
artist: the pleasure he enjoyed beforehand in con-
ceiving the envy of the rivals he had outstripped,
refused to let his powers lie dormant until he became
a great man—how many bitter moments in the
souls of other men has he asked for as payment foT
his own greatness! The nun's chastity: with what
threatening eyes she looks into the faces of other
women who live differently from her! what a vin-
dictive joy shines in those eyes! The theme is
short, and its variations, though they might well be
innumerable, could not easily become tiresome—for
it is still too paradoxical a novelty, and almost a
painful one, to affirm that the morality of distinction
is nothing, at bottom, but joy in refined cruelty.
When I say "at bottom," I mean here, every time
in the first generation. For, when the habit of some
distinguished action becomes hereditary, its root, so
to speak, is not transmitted, but only its fruits (for
only feelings, and not thoughts, can become heredi-
tary): and, if we presuppose that this root is not
reintroduced by education, in the second generation
the joy in the cruelty is no longer felt: but only
pleasure in the habit as such. This joy, however,
is the first degree of the " good. "
31-
Pride in Shrit. —The pride of man, which
strives to oppose the theory of our owu descent


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38 THE DAWN OF DAY.
from animals and establishes a wide gulf between
nature and man himself—this pride is founded
upon a prejudice as to what the mind is; and this
prejudice is relatively recent. In the long pre-
historical period of humanity it was supposed that
the mind was everywhere, and men did not look
upon it as a particular characteristic of their own.
Since, on the contrary, everything spiritual (includ-
ing all impulses, maliciousness, and inclinations)
was regarded as common property, and conse-
quently accessible to everybody, primitive mankind
was not ashamed of being descended from animals
or trees (the noble races thought themselves
honoured by such legends), and saw in the spiritual
that which unites us with nature, and not that which
severs us from her. Thus man was brought up in
modesty—and this likewise was the result of a
prejudice.
32.
The Brake. —To suffer morally, and then to
learn afterwards that this kind of suffering was
founded upon an error, shocks us. For there is a
unique consolation in acknowledging, by our suffer-
ing, a " deeper world of truth " than any other world,
and we would much rather suffer and feel ourselves
above reality by doing so (through the feeling that,
in this way, we approach nearer to that "deeper
world of truth "), than live without suffering and
hence without this feeling of the sublime. Thus
it is pride, and the habitual fashion of satisfying it,
which opposes this new interpretation of morality.
What power, then, must we bring into operation to



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THE DAWN OF DAY. 39
get rid of this brake? Greater pride? A new
pride?
33-
The Contempt of Causes, Consequences,
AND Reality. —Those unfortunate occurrences
which take place at times in the community, such
as sudden storms, bad harvests, or plagues, lead
members of the community to suspect that offences
against custom have been committed, or that new
customs must be invented to appease a new de-
moniac power and caprice. Suspicion and reason-
ing of this kind, however, evade an inquiry into the
real and natural causes, and take the demoniac cause
for granted. This is one source of the hereditary
perversion of the human intellect; and the other
one follows in its train, for, proceeding on the same
principle, people paid much less attention to the real
and natural consequences of an action than to the
supernatural consequences (the so-called punish-
ments and mercies of the Divinity). It is com-
manded, for instance, that certain baths are to be
taken at certain times: and the baths are taken,
not for the sake of cleanliness, but because the com-
mand has been made. We are not taught to avoid
the real consequences of dirt, but merely the sup-
posed displeasure of the gods because a bath has
been omitted. Under the pressure of superstitious
fear, people began to suspect that these ablutions
were of much greater importance than they seemed;
they ascribed inner and supplementary meanings to
them, gradually lost their sense of and pleasure in
reality, and finally reality is considered as valuable


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40 THE DAWN OF DAY.
only to the extent that it is a symbol. Hence a man
who is under the influence of the morality of
custom comes to despise causes first of all, secondly
consequences, and thirdly reality, and weaves all his
higher feelings (reverence, sublimity, pride, grati-
tude, love) into an imaginary world: the so-called
higher world. And even to-day we can see the
consequences of this: wherever, and in whatever
fashion, man's feelings are raised, that imaginary
world is in evidence. It is sad to have to say it;
but for the time being all higher sentiments must
be looked upon with suspicion by the man of
science, to so great an extent are they intermingled
with illusion and extravagance. Not that they
need necessarily be suspected per se and for ever;
but there is no doubt that, of all the gradual puri-
fications which await humanity, the purification of
the higher feelings will be one of the slowest.
34-
Moral Feelings and Conceptions. —It is
clear that moral feelings are transmitted in such a
way that children perceive in adults violent pre-
dilections and aversions for certain actions, and
then, like born apes, imitate such likes and dis-
likes. Later on in life, when they are thoroughly
permeated by these acquired and well-practised
feelings, they think it a matter of propriety and
decorum to provide a kind of justification for
these predilections and aversions. These "justifica-
tions," however, are in no way connected with the
origin or the degree of the feeling: people simply


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 41
accommodate themselves to the rule that, as rational
beings, they must give reasons for their pros and
cons, reasons which must be assignable and accept-
able into the bargain.
Up to this extent the history
of the moral feelings is entirely different from the
history of moral conceptions. The first-mentioned
are powerful before the action, and the latter
especially after it, in view of the necessity for making
one's self clear in regard to them.
35-
Feelings and their Descent from Judg-
ments. —" Trust in your feelings! " But feelings
comprise nothing final, original; feelings are based
upon the judgments and valuations which are trans-
mitted to us in the shape of feelings (inclinations,
dislikes). The inspiration which springs from a
feeling is the grandchild of a judgment—often an
erroneous judgment! —and certainly not one's own
judgment! Trusting in our feelings simply means
obeying our grandfather and grandmother more
than the gods within ourselves: our reason and
experience.
36.
A Foolish Piety, with Axriere-pensees. —
What! the inventors of ancient civilisations, the
first makers of tools and tape lines, the first builders
of vehicles, ships, and houses, the first observers of
the laws of the heavens and the multiplication tables
—is it contended that they were entirely different
from the inventors and observers of our own time,


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42 THE DAWN OF DAY.
and superior to them? And that the first slow
steps forward were of a value which has not been
equalled by the discoveries we have made with all
our travels and circumnavigations of the earth?
It is the voice of prejudice that speaks thus, and
argues in this way to depreciate the importance of
the modern mind. And yet it is plain to be seen
that, in former times, hazard was the greatest of
all discoverers and observers and the benevolent
prompter of these ingenious ancients, and that, in
the case of the most insignificant invention now
made, a greater intellect, discipline, and scientific
imagination are required than formerly existed
throughout long ages.
37-
Wrong Conclusions from Usefulness. —
When we have demonstrated the highest utility of
a thing, we have nevertheless made no progress
towards an explanation of its origin ; in other words,
we can never explain, by mere utility, the necessity
of existence. But precisely the contrary opinion
has been maintained up to the present time, even
in the domain of the most exact science. In
astronomy, for example, have we not heard it
stated that the (supposed) usefulness of the system
of satellites—(replacing the light which is dimin-
ished in intensity by the greater distance of the
sun, in order that the inhabitants of the various
celestial bodies should not want for light)—was
the final object of this system and explained its
origin? Which may remind us of the conclusions
of Christopher Colombus: The earth has been


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 43
created for man, ergo, if there are countries, they
must be inhabited. "Is it probable that the sun
would throw his rays on nothing, and that the
nocturnal vigils of the stars should be wasted upon
untravelled seas and unpeopled countries? "
38.
Impulses transformed by Moral Judg-
ments. —The same impulse, under the impression
of the blame cast upon it by custom, develops into
the painful feeling of cowardice, or else the plea-
surable feeling of humility, in case a morality, like
that of Christianity, has taken it to its heart and
called it good. In other words, this instinct will
fall under the influence of either a good conscience
or a bad one! In itself, like every instinct, it does
not possess either this or indeed any other moral
character and name, or even a definite accompany-
ing feeling of pleasure or displeasure; it does not
acquire all these qualities as its second nature until
it comes into contact with impulses which have
already been baptized as good and evil, or has been
recognised as the attribute of beings already weighed
and valued by the people from a moral point of
view. Thus the ancient conception of envy differed
entirely from ours. Hesiod reckons it among the
qualities of the good, benevolent Eris, and it was
not considered as offensive to attribute some kind
of envy even to the gods. This is easy to under-
stand in a state of things inspired mainly by emu-
lation, but emulation was looked upon as good,
and valued accordingly.


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44 THE DAWN OF DAY.
The Greeks were likewise different from us in
the value they set upon hope: they conceived it as
blind and deceitful. Hesiod in one of his poems
has made a strong reference to it—a reference so
strong, indeed, that no modern commentator has
quite understood it; for it runs contrary to the
modern mind, which has learnt from Christianity
to look upon hope as a virtue. Among the Greeks,
on the other hand, the portal leading to a know-
ledge of the future seemed only partly closed, and,
in innumerable instances, it was impressed upon
them as a religious obligation to inquire into the
future, in those cases where we remain satisfied with
hope. It thus came about that the Greeks, thanks
to their oracles and seers, held hope in small esteem,
and even lowered it to the level of an evil and a
danger.
The Jews, again, took a different view of anger
from that held by us, and sanctified it: hence they
have placed the sombre majesty of the wrathful
man at an elevation so high that a European can-
not conceive it. They moulded their wrathful and
holy Jehovah after the images of their wrathful
and holy prophets. Compared with them, all the
Europeans who have exhibited the greatest wrath
are, so to speak, only second-hand creatures.
39-
The Prejudice concerning " Pure Spirit. "
—Wherever the doctrine of pure spirituality has
prevailed, its excesses have resulted in the destruc-
tion of the tone of the nerves: it taught that the


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 45
body should be despised, neglected, or tormented,
and that, on account of his impulses, man himself
should be tortured and regarded with contempt.
It gave rise to gloomy, strained, and downcast
souls—who, besides, thought they knew the reason
of their misery and how it might possibly be re-
lieved ! " It must be in the body! For it still
thrives too well! "—such was their conclusion,
whilst the fact was that the body, through its
agonies, protested time after time against this
never-ending mockery. Finally, a universal and
chronic hyper-nervousness seized upon those
virtuous representatives of the pure spirit: they
learned to recognise joy only in the shape of
ecstasies and other preliminary symptoms of in-
sanity—and their system reached its climax when
it came to look upon ecstasy as the highest aim
of life, and as the standard by which all earthly
things must be condemned.
40.
Meditations upon Observances. —
Numerous moral precepts, carelessly drawn from
a single event, quickly became incomprehensible;
it was as difficult a matter to deduce their in-
tentions with any degree of certainty as it was to
recognise the punishment which was to follow the
breaking of the rule. Doubts were even held re-
garding the order of the ceremonies; but, while
people guessed at random about such matters,
the object of their investigations increased in im-
portance, it was precisely the greatest absurdity


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46 THE DAWN OF DAY.
of an observance that developed into a holy of
holies. Let us not think too little of the energy
wasted by man in this regard throughout thou-
sands of years, and least of all of the effects of
such meditations upon observances! Here we find
ourselves on the wide training-ground of the in-
tellect—not only do religions develop and con-
tinue to increase within its boundaries: but here
also is the venerable, though dreadful, primeval
world of science; here grow up the poet, the
thinker, the physician, the lawgiver. The dread
of the unintelligible, which, in an ambiguous
fashion, demanded ceremonies from us, gradually
assumed the charm of the intricate, and where
man could not unravel he learnt to create.
41.
TO DETERMINE THE ValUE OF THE ViTA
Contemplativa. —Let us not forget, as men lead-
ing a contemplative life, what kind of evil and
misfortunes have overtaken the men of the vita
activa as the result of contemplation—in short,
what sort of contra-account the vita activa has to
offer us, if we exhibit too much boastfulness before
it with respect to our good deeds. It would show
us, in the first place, those so-called religious
natures, who predominate among the lovers of
contemplation and consequently represent their
commonest type. They have at all times acted in
such a manner as to render life difficult to practical
men, and tried to make them disgusted with it,
if possible: to darken the sky, to obliterate the



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THE DAWN OF DAY. 47
sun, to cast suspicion upon joy, to depreciate hope,
to paralyse the active hand—all this they knew
how to do, just as, for miserable times and feelings,
they had their consolations, alms, blessings, and
benedictions. In the second place, it can show us
the artists, a species of men leading the vita con-
templativa, rarer than the religious element, but
still often to be met with. As beings, these people
are usually intolerable, capricious, jealous, violent,
quarrelsome: this, however, must be deduced
from the joyous and exalting effects of their
works.
Thirdly, we have the philosophers, men who
unite religious and artistic qualities, combined,
however, with a third element, namely, dialectics
and the love of controversy. They are the authors
of evil in the same sense as the religious men and
artists, in addition to which they have wearied many
of their fellow-men with their passion for dialectics,
though their number has always been very small.
Fourthly, the thinkers and scientific workers.
They but rarely strove after effects, and contented
themselves with silently sticking to their own
groove. Thus they brought about little envy and
discomfort, and often, as objects of mockery and
derision, they served, without wishing to do so, to
make life easier for the men of the vita activa.
Lastly, science ended by becoming of much advan-
tage to all; and if, on account of this utility, many
of the men who were destined for the vita activa
are now slowly making their way along the road
to science in the sweat of their brow, and not with-
out brain-racking and maledictions, this is not the


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48 THE DAWN OF DAY.
fault of the crowd of thinkers and scientific workers:
it is " self-wrought pain. " *
42.
Origin of the Vita Contemplativa. —Dur-
ing barbarous ages, when pessimistic judgments
held sway over men and the world, the individual,
in the consciousness of his full power, always en-
deavoured to act in conformity with such judg-
ments, that is to say, he put his ideas into action
by means of hunting, robbery, surprise attacks,
brutality, and murder: including the weaker forms
of such acts, as far as they are tolerated within the
community. When his strength declines, however,
and he feels tired, ill, melancholy, or satiated—
consequently becoming temporarily void of wishes
or desires—he is a relatively better man, that is
to say, less dangerous; and his pessimistic ideas
will now discharge themselves only in words and
reflections—upon his companions, for example, or
his wife, his life, his gods,—his judgments will be
evil ones. In this frame of mind he develops into
a thinker and prophet, or he adds to his super-
stitions and invents new observances, or mocks his
enemies. Whatever he may devise, however, all
the productions of his brain will necessarily reflect
his frame of mind, such as the increase of fear and
weariness, and the lower value he attributes to
action and enjoyment. The substance of these
productions must correspond to the substance of
* M. Henri Albert points out that this refers to a line of Paul
Gerhardt's well-known song: "Befiel du deine Wege. " Tr.



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THE DAWN OF DAY. 49
these poetic, thoughtful, and priestly moods; the
evil judgment must be supreme.
In later years, all those who acted continuously
as this man did in those special circumstances—
i. e. those who gave out pessimistic judgments, and
lived a melancholy life, poor in action—were called
poets, thinkers, priests, or "medicine-men. " The
general body of men would have liked to disregard
such people, because they were not active enough,
and to turn them out of the community; but there
was a certain risk in doing so: these inactive men
had found out and were following the tracks of
superstition and divine power, and no one doubted
that they had unknown means of power at their
disposal. This was the value which was set upon
the ancient race of contemplative natures—despised
as they were in just the same degree as they were
not dreaded! In such a masked form, in such an
ambiguous aspect, with an evil heart and often with
a troubled head, did Contemplation make its first
appearance on earth: both weak and terrible at
the same time, despised in secret, and covered in
public with every mark of superstitious veneration.
Here, as always, we must say: pudenda origo I
43-
How many Forces must now be united
IN A Thinker. —To rise superior to considerations
of the senses, to raise one's self to abstract con-
templations: this is what was formerly regarded
as elevation; but now it is not practicable for us
to share the same feelings. Luxuriating in the
D


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50 THE DAWN OF DAY.
most shadowy images of words and things; play-
ing with those invisible, inaudible, imperceptible
beings, was considered as existence in another
and higJter world, a world that sprang from the deep
contempt felt for the world which was percep-
tible to the senses, this seductive and wicked world
of ours. "These abstracta no longer mislead us,
but they may lead us"—with such words men
soared aloft. It was not the substance of these
intellectual sports, but the sports themselves, which
was looked upon as "the higher thing" in the
primeval ages of science. Hence we have Plato's
admiration for dialectics, and his enthusiastic belief
in the necessary relationship of dialectics to the
good man who has risen superior to the considera-
tions of his senses. It was not only knowledge
that was discovered little by little, but also the
different means of acquiring it, the conditions and
operations which precede knowledge in man. And
it always seemed as if the newly-discovered opera-
tion or the newly-experienced condition were not
a means of acquiring knowledge, but was even the
substance, goal, and sum-total of everything that
was worth knowing. What does the thinker re-
quire? ■— imagination, inspiration, abstraction,
spirituality, invention, presentiment, induction,
dialectics, deduction, criticism, ability to collect
materials, an impersonal mode of thinking, con-
templation, comprehensiveness, and lastly, but not
least, justice, and love for everything that exists—
but each one of these means was at one time con-
sidered, in the history of the vita contemplatrva, as
a goal and final purpose, and they all secured for



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THE DAWN OF DAY. SI
their inventors that perfect happiness which fills
the human soul when its final purpose dawns upon
it.
44-
Origin and Meaning. — Why does this
thought come into my mind again and again,
always in more and more vivid colours ? —that, in
former times, investigators, in the course of their
search for the origin of things, always thought that
they found something which would be of the highest
importance for all kinds of action and judgment:
yea, that they even invariably postulated that the
salvation of mankind depended upon insight into
the origin of things—whereas now, on the other
hand, the more we examine into origins, the less
do they concern our interests: on the contrary,
all the valuations and interestedness which we
have placed upon things begin to lose their mean-
ing, the more we retrogress where knowledge is
concerned and approach the things themselves.
The origin becomes of less significance in proportion
as we acquire insight into it; whilst things nearest
to ourselves, around and within us, gradually begin
to manifest their wealth of colours, beauties,
enigmas, and diversity of meaning, of which earlier
humanity never dreamed. In former ages thinkers
used to move furiously about, like wild animals in
cages, steadily glaring at the bars which hemmed
them in, and at times springing up against them
in a vain endeavour to break through them: and
happy indeed was he who could look through a
gap to the outer world and could fancy that


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52 THE DAWN OF DAY.
he saw something of what lay beyond and afar
off.
45-
A Tragic Termination to Knowledge. —
Of all the means of exaltation, human sacrifices
have at times done most to elevate man. And
perhaps the one powerful thought—the idea of
self-sacrificing humanity—might be made to pre-
vail over every other aspiration, and thus to prove
the victor over even the most victorious. But to
whom should the sacrifice be made? We may
already swear that, if ever the constellation of such
an idea appeared on the horizon, the knowledge of
truth would remain the single but enormous object
with which a sacrifice of such a nature would be
commensurate—because no sacrifice is too great
for it . In the meantime the problem has never
been expounded as to how far humanity, con-
sidered as a whole, could take steps to encourage
the advancement of knowledge; and even less as
to what thirst for knowledge could impel humanity
to the point of sacrificing itself with the light of an
anticipated wisdom in its eyes. When,perhaps, with
a view to the advancement of knowledge, we are
able to enter into communication with the inhabi-
tants of other stars, and when, during thousands of
years, wisdom will have been carried from star to
star, the enthusiasm of knowledge may rise to such
a dizzy height!
46.
Doubt in Doubt. —" What a good pillow doubt
is for a well-balanced head! " This saying of


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THE DAWN OF DAY. 53
Montaigne always made Pascal angry, for nobody
ever wanted a good pillow so much as he did.
Whatever was the matter with him?
47-
Words block up OUR Path. —Wherever
primitive men put down a word, they thought they
had made a discovery. How different the case
really was ! —they had come upon a problem, and,
while they thought they had solved it, they had in
reality placed an obstacle in the way of its solution.
Now, with every new piece of knowledge, we stumble
over petrified words and mummified conceptions,and
would rather break a leg than a word in doing so.
48.
"Know Thyself" is the Whole of Science.
-—Only when man shall have acquired a knowledge
of all things will he be able to know himself. For
things are but the boundaries of man.
49.
The New Fundamental Feeling: our
Final Corruptibility. —In former times people
sought to show the feeling of man's greatness by
pointing to his divine descent. This, however, has
now become a forbidden path, for the ape stands at
its entrance, and likewise other fearsome animals,
showing their teeth in a knowing fashion, as if to
say, No further this way! Hence people now try the
opposite direction: the road along which humanity
is proceeding shall stand as an indication of their


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52
THE DAWN OF DAY.
he saw something of what lay beyond and afar
off.
45.
A TRAGIC TERMINATION TO KNOWLEDGE. —
Of all the means of exaltation, human sacrifices
have at times done most to elevate man. And
perhaps the one powerful thought—the idea of
self-sacrificing humanity-might be made to pre-
vail over every other aspiration, and thus to prove
the victor over even the most victorious. But to
whom should the sacrifice be made? We may
already swear that, if ever the constellation of such
an idea appeared on the horizon, the knowledge of
truth would remain the single but enormous object
with which a sacrifice of such a nature would be
commensurate--because no sacrifice is too great
for it. In the meantime the problem has never
been expounded as to how far humanity, con-
sidered as a whole, could take steps to encourage
the advancement of knowledge; and even less as
to what thirst for knowledge could impel humanity
to the point of sacrificing itself with the light of an
anticipated wisdom in its eyes. When, perhaps, with
a view to the advancement of knowledge, we are
able to enter into communication with the inhabi-
tants of other stars, and when, during thousands of
years, wisdom will have been carried from star to
star, the enthusiasm of knowledge may rise to such
a dizzy height!
46.
DOUBT IN DOUBT. —“What a good pillow doubt
is for a well-balanced head ! ” This saying of


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THE DAWN OF DAY.
53
Montaigne always made Pascal angry, for nobody
ever wanted a good pillow so much as he did.
Whatever was the matter with him?
47.
WORDS BLOCK UP OUR PATH. Wherever
primitive men put down a word, they thought they
had made a discovery. How different the case
really was ! - they had come upon a problem, and,
while they thought they had solved it, they had in
reality placed an obstacle in the way of its solution.
Now, with every new piece of knowledge, we stumble
over petrified words and mummified conceptions, and
would rather break a leg than a word in doing so.
48.
“KNOW THYSELF” IS THE WHOLE OF SCIENCE.
Only when man shall have acquired a knowledge
of all things will he be able to know himself. For
things are but the boundaries of man.
49.
THE NEW FUNDAMENTAL FEELING: OUR
FINAL CORRUPTIBILITY. —In former times people
sought to show the feeling of man's greatness by
pointing to his divine descent. This, however, has
now become a forbidden path, for the ape stands at
its entrance, and likewise other fearsome animals,
showing their teeth in a knowing fashion, as if to
say, No further this way! Hence people now try the
opposite direction : the road along which humanity
is proceeding shall stand as an indication of their


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54 THE DAWN OF DAY.
greatness and their relationship to God. But alas!
this, too, is useless! At the far end of this path
stands the funeral urn of the last man and grave-
digger (with the inscription, Nihil humani a vie
alicnum putd). To whatever height mankind may
have developed—and perhaps in the end it will not
be so high as when they began ! —there is as little
prospect of their attaining to a higher order as there
is for the ant and the earwig to enter into kinship
with God and eternity at the end of their career on
earth. What is to come will drag behind it that
which has passed: why should any little star, or
even any little species on that star, form an excep-
tion to that eternal drama? Away with such senti-
mentalities!
50.
Belief in Inebriation. —Those men who have
moments of sublime ecstasy, and who, on ordinary
occasions, on account of the contrast and the exces-
sive wearing away of their nervous forces, usually
feel miserable and desolate, come to consider such
moments as the true manifestation of their real
selves, of their " ego," and their misery and dejec-
tion, on the other hand, as the effect of the " non-
ego" This is why they think of their environment,
the age in which they live, and the whole world in
which they have their being, with feelings of
vindictiveness. This intoxication appears to them
as their true life, their actual ego; and everywhere
else they see only those who strive to oppose and
^prevent this intoxication, whether of an intellectual,
moral, religious, or artistic nature.



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THE DAWN OF DAY. 55
Humanity owes no small part of its evils to these
fantastic enthusiasts; for they are the insatiable
sowers of the weed of discontent with one's self and
one's neighbour, of contempt for the world and the
age, and, above all, of world-lassitude. An entire
hell of criminals could not, perhaps, bring about
such unfortunate and far-reaching consequences,
such heavy and disquieting effects that corrupt
earth and sky, as are brought about by that
"noble" little community of unbridled, fantastic,
half-mad people—of geniuses, too—who cannot
control themselves, or experience any inward joy,
until they have lost themselves completely: while,
on the other hand, the criminal often gives a proof
of his admirable self-control, sacrifice, and wisdom,
and thus maintains these qualities in those who fear
him. Through him life's sky may at times seem
overcast and threatening, but the atmosphere ever
remains brisk and vigorous. —Furthermore, these
enthusiasts bring their entire strength to bear on
the task of imbuing mankind with belief in inebria-
tion as in life itself: a dreadful belief! As savages
are now quickly corrupted and ruined by "fire-
water," so likewise has mankind in general been
slowly though thoroughly corrupted by these
spiritual " fire-waters " of intoxicating feelings and
by those who keep alive the craving for them. It
may yet be ruined thereby.
5i-
SUCH AS WE STILL ARE. —" Let us be indulgent
to the great one-eyed! " said Stuart Mill, as if it


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56 THE DAWN OF DAY.