THE
APPEARANCE
OF HEROISM.
Nietzsche - v09 - The Dawn of Day
How greedy
man appears in this light! he cannot even let the
past escape him: he even wishes to have it still!
282.
Danger in Beauty. —This woman is beautiful
and intelligent: alas, how much more intelligent she
would have become if she had not been beautiful!
283.
Domestic and Mental Peace. —Our habitual
mood depends upon the mood in which we maintain
our habitual entourage.
284.
New Things as Old Ones. —Many people
seem irritated when something new is told them:
R
## p. 258 (#340) ############################################
/
/
. ■
2J8 THE DAWN OF DAY.
they feel the ascendancy which the news has given
to the person who has learnt it first.
285.
What are the Limits of the Ego. —The
majority of people take under their protection, as
it were, something that they know, as if the fact
of knowing it was sufficient in itself to make it
their property. The acquisitiveness of the egoistic
feeling has no limits: Great men speak as if they
had behind them the whole of time, and had
placed themselves at the head of this enormous
host; and good women boast of the beauty of their
children, their clothes, their dog, their physician,
or their native town, but the only thing they dare
not say is, " I am all that. " Chi non ha non e—
as they say in Italy.
286.
Domestic Animals, Pets and the Like. —
Could there be anything more repugnant than the
sentimentality which is shown to plants and animals
—and this on the part of a creature who from the
very beginning has made such ravages among
them as their most ferocious enemy,—and who
ends by even claiming affectionate feelings from his
weakened and mutilated victims! Before this kind
of " nature" man must above all be serious, if he
is any sort of a thinking being.
287.
Two FRIENDS. —They were friends once, but
now they have ceased to be so, and both of them
## p. 259 (#341) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 259
broke off the friendship at the same time, the one
because he believed himself to be too greatly mis-
understood, and the other because he thought he
was known too intimately—and both were wrong!
For neither of them knew himself well enough.
288.
The Comedy of the Noble Souls. —Those
whocannot succeed in exhibiting a noble and cordial
familiarity endeavour to let the nobleness of their
nature be seen by their exercise of reserve and
strictness, and a certain contempt for familiarity,
as if their strong sense of confidence were ashamed
to show itsell.
289.
Where we may say Nothing against
Virtue. —Among cowards it is thought bad form
to say anything against bravery, for any expression
of this kind would give rise to some contempt;
and unfeeling people are irritated when anything
is said against pity. *
290.
A Waste. —We find that with irritable and
abrupt people their first words and actions generally
afford no indication of their actual character—they
are prompted by circumstances, and are to some
* The fiercest protests against Nietzsche's teaching even
now come from the " unfeeling people. " Hence the difficulty
—now happily past—of introducing him into Anglo-Saxon
countries. —Tr.
## p. 260 (#342) ############################################
260 THE DAWN OF DAY.
extent simply reproductions of the spirit of these
circumstances. Because, however, as the words
have been uttered and the deeds done,the subsequent
words and deeds, indicating the real nature of such
people, have often to be used to reconcile, amend,
or extinguish the former.
291.
ARROGANCE. —Arrogance is an artificial and
simulated pride; but it is precisely the essential
nature of pride to be incapable of artifice, simu-
lation, or hypocrisy—and thus arrogance is the
hypocrisy of the incapacity for hypocrisy, a very
difficult thing, and one which is a failure in most
cases. But if we suppose that, as most frequently
happens, the presumptuous person betrays himself,
then a treble annoyance falls to his lot: people
are angry with him because he has endeavoured to
deceive them, and because he wished to show himself
superior to them, and finally they laugh at him
because he failed in both these endeavours. How
earnestly, therefore, should we dissuade our fellow-
men from arrogance!
292.
A Species of Misconception. —When we hear
somebody speak it is often sufficient for his pro-
nunciation of a single consonant (the letter r, for
example) to fill us with doubts as to the honesty
of his feelings: we are not accustomed to this
particular pronunciation, and should have to make
it ourselves as it were arbitrarily—it sounds "forced"
## p. 261 (#343) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 26i
to us. This is the domain of the greatest possible
misconception: and it is the same with the style
of a writer who has certain habits which are not the
habits of everybody. His "artlessness" is felt as
such only by himself, and precisely in regard to that
which he himself feels to be " forced " (because he
has yielded in this matter to the prevailing fashion
and to so called "good taste"), he may perhaps
give pleasure and inspire confidence.
293-
Thankful. —One superfluous grain of gratitude
and piety makes one suffer as from a vice—in
spite of all one's independence and honesty one
begins to have a bad conscience.
294.
Saints. —It is the most sensual men who find
it necessary to avoid women and to torture their
bodies.
295.
The Subtlety of Serving. —One of the most
subtle tasks in the great art of serving is that of
serving a more than usually ambitious man, who,
indeed, is excessively egoistic in all things, but is
entirely adverse to being thought so (this is part
of his ambition). He requires that everything shall
be according to his own will and humour, yet in
such a way as to give him the appearance of always
having sacrificed himself, and of rarely desiring
anything for himself alone.
## p. 262 (#344) ############################################
262 THE DAWN OF DAY.
296.
Duelling. —I think it a great advantage, said
some one, to be able to fight a duel—if, of course,
it is absolutely necessary; for I have at all times
brave companions about me. The duel is the last
means of thoroughly honourable suicide left to us;
but it is unfortunately a circuitous means, and not
even a certain one.
297.
PERNicIOUs. —A young man can be most surely
corrupted when he is taught to value the like-
minded more highly than the differently minded.
298.
Hero-Worship and its Fanatics. —The
fanatic of an ideal that possesses flesh and blood
is right as a rule so long as he assumes a negative
attitude, and he is terrible in his negation: he
knows what he denies as well as he knows himself,
for the simple reason that he comes thence, that he
feels at home there, and that he has always the
secret fear of being forced to return there some
day. He therefore wishes to make his return im-
possible by the manner of his negation. As soon
as he begins to affirm, however, he partly shuts his
eyes and begins to idealise (frequently merely for
the sake of annoying those who have stayed at
home). We might say that there was something
artistic about this—agreed, but there is also some-
thing dishonest about it.
## p. 263 (#345) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 263
The idealist of a person imagines this person to
be so far from him that he can no longer see him
distinctly, and then he travesties that which he can
just perceive into something "beautiful"—that is
to say, symmetrical, vaguely outlined, uncertain.
Since he wishes to worship from afar that ideal
which floats on high in the distance, he finds
it essential to build a temple for the object of
his worship as a protection from the profanum
vulgus. He brings into this temple for the object
of his worship all the venerable and sanctified objects
which he still possesses, so that his ideal may benefit
by their charm, and that, nourished in this way, it
may grow more and more divine. In the end he
really succeeds in forming his God, but, alas for
him! there is some one who knows how all this
has been done, viz. his intellectual conscience; and
there is also some one who, quite unconsciously,
begins to protest against these things, viz. the
deified one himself, who, in consequence of all this
worship, praise, and incense, now becomes com-
pletely unbearable and shows himself in the most
obvious and dreadful manner to be non-divine, and
only too human.
In a case like this there is only one means of
escape left for such a fanatic; he patiently suffers
himself and his fellows to be maltreated, and inter-
prets all this misery in maiorem dei gloriam by a
new kind of self-deceit and noble falsehood. He
takes up a stand against himself, and in doing so
experiences, as an interpreter and ill-treated person,
something like martyrdom—and in this way he
climbs to the height of his conceit. Men of this
## p. 264 (#346) ############################################
264 THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the " genius " and the
"hero," which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulae of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle,that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain! )
299.
The Appearance of Heroism. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
Condescending towards the Flatterer.
—It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
"Strength of Character. "—" What I have
said once I will do "—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#347) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. —There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#348) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#349) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. · 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
It bered the lat w and
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#350) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#351) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
( 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#352) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the“ genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. — Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I'have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#353) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
· 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#354) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the“ genius” and the
“ hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. — Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do ”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#355) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
. 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority — There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#356) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
-It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them : but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#357) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves,and thus encourages a sense of weaknessinus.
302.
Once, Twice, and Thrice True. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
The Pastime of the Psychologist. —He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. —There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 266 (#358) ############################################
266 THE DAWN OF DAY.
304.
The Destroyers of the World. —When
some men fail to accomplish what they desire to
do they exclaim angrily, "May the whole world
perish! " This odious feeling is the height of envy
which reasons thus: because I cannot have one
thing the whole world in general must have no-
thing! the whole world shall not exist!
305.
Greed. —When we set out to buy something our
greed increases with the cheapness of the object—
Why? Is it because the small differences in price
make up the little eye of greed?
306.
The Greek Ideal. —What did the Greeks ad-
mire in Ulysses? Above all his capacity for lying
and for taking a shrewd and dreadful revenge, his
being equal to circumstances, his appearing to
be nobler than the noblest when necessary, his
ability to be everything he desired, his heroic
pertinacity, having all means within his command,
possessing genius—the genius of Ulysses is an
object of the admiration of the gods, they smile
when they think of it—all this is the Greek ideal!
What is most remarkable about it is that the con-
tradiction between seeming and being was not felt
in any way, and that as a consequence it could not
be morally estimated. Were there ever such ac-
complished actors?
## p. 267 (#359) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 267
307-
Facta! Yes, Facta Ficta! —The historian
need not concern himself with events which have
actually happened, but only those which are
supposed to have happened; for none but the latter
have produced an effect. The same remark applies
to the imaginary heroes. His theme—this so-called
world-history—what is it but opinions on imag-
inary actions and their imaginary motives, which
in their turn give rise to opinions and actions
the reality of which, however, is at once evaporated,
and is only effective as vapour,—a continual gener-
ating and impregnating of phantoms above the
dense mists of unfathomable reality. All historians
record things which have never existed, except in
imagination.
308.
Not to understand Trade is Noble. —To
sell one's virtue only at the highest price, or
even to carry on usury with it as a teacher, a
civil servant, or an artist, for instance, brings genius
and talent down to the level of the common trades-
man. We must be careful not to be clever with
our wisdom!
3°9-
Fear and Love. —The general knowledge of
mankind has been furthered to a greater extent by
fear than by love; for fear endeavours to find out
who the other is, what he can do, and what he
wants: it would be dangerous and prejudicial to
## p. 268 (#360) ############################################
268 THE DAWN OF DAY.
be deceived on this point. On the other hand,
love is induced by its secret craving to discover
as many beautiful qualities as possible in the
loved object, or to raise this loved object as
high as possible: it is a joy and an advantage
to love to be deceived in this way—and this is
why it does it.
310.
Good-natured People. —Good-natured people
have acquired their character from the continual fear
of foreign attacks in which their ancestors lived,—
these ancestors, who were in the habit of mitigating
and tranquillising, humbling themselves, preventing,
distracting, flattering, and apologising, concealing
their grief and anger, and preserving an unruffled
countenance,—and they ultimately bequeathed all
this delicate and well-formed mechanism to their
children and grandchildren. These latter, thanks
to their more favourable lot, did not experience this
feeling of dread, but they nevertheless continue in
the same groove.
3i 1-
The so-called Soul. —The sum-total of those
internal movements which come naturally to men,
and which they can consequently set in motion
readily and gracefully, is called the soul—men are
looked upon as void of soul when they let it be
seen that their inward emotions are difficult and
painful to them.
## p. 269 (#361) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 269
312.
The Forgetful Ones. — In outbursts of
passion and the delusions of dreams and madness,
man rediscovers his own primitive history, and that
of humanity: animality and its savage grimaces.
For once his memory stretches back into the past,
while his civilised condition is developed from the
forgetfulness of these primitive experiences, that is
to say, from the failing of this memory. He who,
as a forgetful man of a higher nature, has always
remained aloof from these things, does not under-
stand men—but it is an advantage if from time
to time there are individuals who do not under-
stand men, individuals who are, so to speak, created
from the divine seed and born of reason.
313-
The Friend whom we want no Longer.
—That friend whose hopes we cannot satisfy we
should prefer to have as an enemy.
314-
In the Society of Thinkers. —In the midst
of the ocean of becoming we adventurers and birds
of passage wake up on an island no larger than a
small boat, and here we look round us for a moment
with as much haste and curiosity as possible; for
how quickly may some gale blow us away or some
wave sweep over the little island and leave nothing
of us remaining I Here, however, upon this little
## p. 270 (#362) ############################################
270 THE DAWN OF DAY.
piece of ground we meet with other birds of passage
and hear of still earlier ones,—and thus we live
together for one precious minute of recognition and
divining, amid the cheerful fluttering of wings
and joyful chirping, and then adventure in spirit
far out on the ocean, feeling no less proud than the
ocean itself.
315.
Parting with Something. —To give up some
of our property, or to waive a right, gives pleasure
when it denotes great wealth. Generosity may be
placed in this category.
316.
Weak Sects. —Those sects which feel that they
will always remain weak hunt up a few intelligent
individual adherents, wishing to make up in quality
what they lack in quantity. This gives rise to no
little danger for intelligent minds.
317.
The Judgment of the Evening. —The man
who meditates upon his day's and life's work when
he has reached the end of his journey and feels
weary, generally arrives at a melancholy conclusion;
but this is not the fault of the day or his life, but
of weariness. —In the midst of creative work we do
not take time, as a rule, to meditate upon life and
existence, nor yet in the midst of our pleasures:
## p. 271 (#363) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 271
but if by a chance this did happen once we should
no longer believe him to be right who waited for
the seventh day and for repose to find everything
that exists very beautiful. —He had missed the
right moment.
318.
Beware of Systemisers ! —There is a certain
amount of comedy about systemisers: in trying to
complete a system and to round off its horizon they
have to try to let their weaker qualities appear in
the same style as their stronger ones. —They wish
to represent complete and uniformly strong natures.
319-
Hospitality. —The object of hospitality is to
paralyse all hostile feeling in a stranger. When
we cease to look upon strangers as enemies,
hospitality diminishes; it flourishes so long as its
evil presupposition does.
320.
The Weather. —An exceptional and uncertain
state of the weather makes men suspicious even of
one another: at the same time they come to like
innovations, for they must diverge from their ac-
customed habits. This is why despots like those
countries where the weather is moral.
321.
Danger in Innocence. —Innocent people
become easy victims in all circumstances because
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272 THE DAWN OF DAY.
their lack of knowledge prevents them from dis-
tinguishing between moderation and excess, and
from being betimes on their guard against them-
selves. It is as a result of this that innocent, that
is, ignorant young women become accustomed to
the frequent enjoyment of sexual intercourse, and
feel the want of it very much in later years when
their husbands fall ill or grow prematurely old.
It is on account of this harmless and orthodox
conception, as if frequent sexual intercourse were
right and proper, that they come to experience
a need which afterwards exposes them to the
severest tribulations, and even worse.
Considering the matter, however, from a higher
and more general point of view, whoever loves a
man or a thing without knowing him or it, falls
a prey to something which he would not love if
he could see it. In all cases where experience,
precautions, and prudent steps are required, it is the
innocent man who will be most thoroughly cor-
rupted, for he has to drink with closed eyes the
dregs and most secret poison of everything put
before him. Let us consider the procedure of all
princes, churches, sects, parties, and corporations:
Is not the innocent man always used as the sweetest
bait for the most dangerous and wicked traps ? —
just as Ulysses availed himself of the services of
the innocent Neoptolemos to cheat the old and
infirm anchorite and ogre of Lemnos out of his bow
and arrows. Christianity, with its contempt for
the world, has made ignorance a virtue—innocence,
perhaps because the most frequent result of this
innocence is precisely, as I have indicated above,
## p. 273 (#365) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 273
guilt, the sense of guilt, and despair: In other words,
a virtue which leads to Heaven by the circuitous
route of Hell; for only then can the gloomy pro-
pylaea of Christian salvation be thrown open, and
only then is the promise of a posthumous second
innocence effective. This is one of the finest in-
ventions of Christianity!
322.
Living without a Doctor when Possible.
—It seems to me that a sick man lives more care-
lessly when he is under medical observation than
when he attends to his own health. In the first
case it suffices for him to obey strictly all his
Doctor's prescriptions; but in the second case he
gives more attention to the ultimate object of these
prescriptions, namely, his health; he observes
much more, and submits himself to a more severe
discipline than the directions of his physician would
compel him to do.
All rules have this effect: they distract our
attention from the fundamental aim of the rule, and
make us more thoughtless. But to what heights of
immoderation and destruction would men have
risen if ever they had completely and honestly left
everything to the Godhead as to their physician,
and acted in accordance with the words "as God
will"!
323-
The Darkening of the Heavens. —Do you
know the vengeance of those timid people who
s
## p. 274 (#366) ############################################
274 THE DAWN OF DAY.
behave in society just as if they had stolen their
limbs? The vengeance of the humble, Christian-
like souls who just manage to slink quietly through
the world? The vengeance of those who always
judge hastily, and are as hastily said to be in the
wrong? The vengeance of all classes of drunkards,
for whom the morning is always the most miser-
able part of the day? and also of all kinds of
invalids and sick and depressed people who have no
longer the courage to become healthy?
The number of these petty vengeful people, and,
even more, the number of their petty acts of revenge,
is incalculable. The air around us is continually
whizzing with the discharged arrows of their
malignity, so that the sun and the sky of their
lives become darkened thereby,— and, alas! not
only theirs, but more often ours and other men's:
and this is worse than the frequent wounds which
they make on our skins and hearts. Do we not
occasionally deny the existence of the sun and sky
merely because we have not seen them for so long?
—Well then, solitude! because of this, solitude!
324-
The Psychology of the Actor. —It is the
blissful illusion of all great actors to imagine that
the historical personages whom they are repre-
senting were really in the same state of mind as
they themselves are when interpreting them—but
in this they are very much mistaken. Their powers
of imitation and divination, which they would fain
exhibit as a clairvoyant faculty, penetrate only
## p. 275 (#367) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 275
far enough to explain gestures, accent, and looks,
and in general anything exterior: that is, they can
grasp the shadow of the soul of a great hero, states-
man, or warrior, or of an ambitious, jealous, or
desperate person—they penetrate fairly near to
the soul, but they never reach the inmost spirit of
the man they are imitating.
It would, indeed, be a fine thing to discover that
instead of thinkers, psychologists, or experts we
required nothing but clairvoyant actors to throw
light upon the essence of any condition. Let us
never forget, whenever such pretensions are heard,
that the actor is nothing but an ideal ape—so much
of an ape is he, indeed, that he is not capable of
believing in the "essence" or in the "essential ":
everything becomes for him merely performance,
intonation, attitude, stage, scenery, and public.
325.
Living and Believing Apart. —The means
of becoming the prophet and wonder-worker of
one's age are the same to-day as in former times:
one must live apart, with little knowledge, some
ideas, and a great deal of presumption—we then
finish by believing that mankind cannot do without
us, because it is clear that we can do without it.
When we are inspired with this belief we find
faith. Finally, a piece of advice to him who
needs it (it was given to Wesley by Boehler,
his spiritual teacher): "Preach faith until you
have it; then you will preach it because you
have it! "
## p. 276 (#368) ############################################
276 THE DAWN OF DAY.
326.
Knowing our Circumstances. — We may
estimate our powers, but not our power. Not only
do circumstances conceal it from us and show it to
us time about,but they even exaggerate or dimin-
ish it. We must consider ourselves as variable
quantities whose productive capacity may in favour-
able circumstances reach the greatest possible
heights: we must therefore reflect upon these cir-
cumstances, and spare no pains in studying them.
327-
A FAbLE. —The Don Juan of knowledge—no
philosopher or poet has yet succeeded in discover-
ing him. He is wanting in love for the things he
recognises, but he possesses wit, a lust for the hunt-
ing after knowledge, and the intrigues in connection
with it, and he finds enjoyment in all these, even up
to the highest and most distant stars of knowledge
—until at last there is nothing left for him to
pursue but the absolutely injurious side of know-
ledge, just as the drunkard who ends by drinking
absinthe and aquafortis. That is why last of all
he feels a longing for hell, for this is the final
knowledge which seduces him. Perhaps even this
would disappoint him, as all things do which one
knows! and then he would have to stand still for
all eternity, a victim to eternal deception, and trans-
formed into his enemy, the Stony Guest, who longs
for an evening meal of knowledge which will never
more fall to his share! for the whole world of things
## p. 277 (#369) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 277
will not have another mouthful left to offer to these
hungry men.
328.
What Idealistic Theories Disclose. —We
are most certain to find idealistic theories among
unscrupulously practical men; for such men stand
in need of the lustre of these theories for the sake
of their reputation. They adopt them instinctively
without by any means feeling hypocritical in doing
so—no more hypocritical than Englishmen with
their Christianity and their Sabbath-keeping. On
the other hand, contemplative natures who have to
keep themselves on their guard against all kinds
of fantasies and who dread to be reputed as
enthusiasts, are only to be satisfied with hard
realistic theories: they take possession of them
under the same instinctive compulsion without
thereby losing their honesty.
329-
The Calumniators of Cheerfulness. —
People who have been deeply wounded by the dis-
appointments of life look with suspicion upon all
cheerfulness as if it were something childish and
puerile, and revealed a lack of common sense that
moves them to pity and tenderness, such as one
would experience when seeing a dying child caress-
ing his toys on his death-bed. Such men appear to
see hidden graves under every rose; rejoicings,
tumult, and cheerful music appear to them to be the
voluntary illusions of a man who is dangerously ill
## p. 278 (#370) ############################################
278 THE DAWN OF DAY.
and yet wishes to take a momentary draught from
the intoxicating cup of life. But this judgment about
cheerfulness is merely the reflection of the latter on
the dark background of weariness and ill-health: in
itself it is something touching, irrational, and piti-
able, even childlike and puerile, but connected with
that second childhood which follows in the train of
old age, and is the harbinger of death.
330.
man appears in this light! he cannot even let the
past escape him: he even wishes to have it still!
282.
Danger in Beauty. —This woman is beautiful
and intelligent: alas, how much more intelligent she
would have become if she had not been beautiful!
283.
Domestic and Mental Peace. —Our habitual
mood depends upon the mood in which we maintain
our habitual entourage.
284.
New Things as Old Ones. —Many people
seem irritated when something new is told them:
R
## p. 258 (#340) ############################################
/
/
. ■
2J8 THE DAWN OF DAY.
they feel the ascendancy which the news has given
to the person who has learnt it first.
285.
What are the Limits of the Ego. —The
majority of people take under their protection, as
it were, something that they know, as if the fact
of knowing it was sufficient in itself to make it
their property. The acquisitiveness of the egoistic
feeling has no limits: Great men speak as if they
had behind them the whole of time, and had
placed themselves at the head of this enormous
host; and good women boast of the beauty of their
children, their clothes, their dog, their physician,
or their native town, but the only thing they dare
not say is, " I am all that. " Chi non ha non e—
as they say in Italy.
286.
Domestic Animals, Pets and the Like. —
Could there be anything more repugnant than the
sentimentality which is shown to plants and animals
—and this on the part of a creature who from the
very beginning has made such ravages among
them as their most ferocious enemy,—and who
ends by even claiming affectionate feelings from his
weakened and mutilated victims! Before this kind
of " nature" man must above all be serious, if he
is any sort of a thinking being.
287.
Two FRIENDS. —They were friends once, but
now they have ceased to be so, and both of them
## p. 259 (#341) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 259
broke off the friendship at the same time, the one
because he believed himself to be too greatly mis-
understood, and the other because he thought he
was known too intimately—and both were wrong!
For neither of them knew himself well enough.
288.
The Comedy of the Noble Souls. —Those
whocannot succeed in exhibiting a noble and cordial
familiarity endeavour to let the nobleness of their
nature be seen by their exercise of reserve and
strictness, and a certain contempt for familiarity,
as if their strong sense of confidence were ashamed
to show itsell.
289.
Where we may say Nothing against
Virtue. —Among cowards it is thought bad form
to say anything against bravery, for any expression
of this kind would give rise to some contempt;
and unfeeling people are irritated when anything
is said against pity. *
290.
A Waste. —We find that with irritable and
abrupt people their first words and actions generally
afford no indication of their actual character—they
are prompted by circumstances, and are to some
* The fiercest protests against Nietzsche's teaching even
now come from the " unfeeling people. " Hence the difficulty
—now happily past—of introducing him into Anglo-Saxon
countries. —Tr.
## p. 260 (#342) ############################################
260 THE DAWN OF DAY.
extent simply reproductions of the spirit of these
circumstances. Because, however, as the words
have been uttered and the deeds done,the subsequent
words and deeds, indicating the real nature of such
people, have often to be used to reconcile, amend,
or extinguish the former.
291.
ARROGANCE. —Arrogance is an artificial and
simulated pride; but it is precisely the essential
nature of pride to be incapable of artifice, simu-
lation, or hypocrisy—and thus arrogance is the
hypocrisy of the incapacity for hypocrisy, a very
difficult thing, and one which is a failure in most
cases. But if we suppose that, as most frequently
happens, the presumptuous person betrays himself,
then a treble annoyance falls to his lot: people
are angry with him because he has endeavoured to
deceive them, and because he wished to show himself
superior to them, and finally they laugh at him
because he failed in both these endeavours. How
earnestly, therefore, should we dissuade our fellow-
men from arrogance!
292.
A Species of Misconception. —When we hear
somebody speak it is often sufficient for his pro-
nunciation of a single consonant (the letter r, for
example) to fill us with doubts as to the honesty
of his feelings: we are not accustomed to this
particular pronunciation, and should have to make
it ourselves as it were arbitrarily—it sounds "forced"
## p. 261 (#343) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 26i
to us. This is the domain of the greatest possible
misconception: and it is the same with the style
of a writer who has certain habits which are not the
habits of everybody. His "artlessness" is felt as
such only by himself, and precisely in regard to that
which he himself feels to be " forced " (because he
has yielded in this matter to the prevailing fashion
and to so called "good taste"), he may perhaps
give pleasure and inspire confidence.
293-
Thankful. —One superfluous grain of gratitude
and piety makes one suffer as from a vice—in
spite of all one's independence and honesty one
begins to have a bad conscience.
294.
Saints. —It is the most sensual men who find
it necessary to avoid women and to torture their
bodies.
295.
The Subtlety of Serving. —One of the most
subtle tasks in the great art of serving is that of
serving a more than usually ambitious man, who,
indeed, is excessively egoistic in all things, but is
entirely adverse to being thought so (this is part
of his ambition). He requires that everything shall
be according to his own will and humour, yet in
such a way as to give him the appearance of always
having sacrificed himself, and of rarely desiring
anything for himself alone.
## p. 262 (#344) ############################################
262 THE DAWN OF DAY.
296.
Duelling. —I think it a great advantage, said
some one, to be able to fight a duel—if, of course,
it is absolutely necessary; for I have at all times
brave companions about me. The duel is the last
means of thoroughly honourable suicide left to us;
but it is unfortunately a circuitous means, and not
even a certain one.
297.
PERNicIOUs. —A young man can be most surely
corrupted when he is taught to value the like-
minded more highly than the differently minded.
298.
Hero-Worship and its Fanatics. —The
fanatic of an ideal that possesses flesh and blood
is right as a rule so long as he assumes a negative
attitude, and he is terrible in his negation: he
knows what he denies as well as he knows himself,
for the simple reason that he comes thence, that he
feels at home there, and that he has always the
secret fear of being forced to return there some
day. He therefore wishes to make his return im-
possible by the manner of his negation. As soon
as he begins to affirm, however, he partly shuts his
eyes and begins to idealise (frequently merely for
the sake of annoying those who have stayed at
home). We might say that there was something
artistic about this—agreed, but there is also some-
thing dishonest about it.
## p. 263 (#345) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 263
The idealist of a person imagines this person to
be so far from him that he can no longer see him
distinctly, and then he travesties that which he can
just perceive into something "beautiful"—that is
to say, symmetrical, vaguely outlined, uncertain.
Since he wishes to worship from afar that ideal
which floats on high in the distance, he finds
it essential to build a temple for the object of
his worship as a protection from the profanum
vulgus. He brings into this temple for the object
of his worship all the venerable and sanctified objects
which he still possesses, so that his ideal may benefit
by their charm, and that, nourished in this way, it
may grow more and more divine. In the end he
really succeeds in forming his God, but, alas for
him! there is some one who knows how all this
has been done, viz. his intellectual conscience; and
there is also some one who, quite unconsciously,
begins to protest against these things, viz. the
deified one himself, who, in consequence of all this
worship, praise, and incense, now becomes com-
pletely unbearable and shows himself in the most
obvious and dreadful manner to be non-divine, and
only too human.
In a case like this there is only one means of
escape left for such a fanatic; he patiently suffers
himself and his fellows to be maltreated, and inter-
prets all this misery in maiorem dei gloriam by a
new kind of self-deceit and noble falsehood. He
takes up a stand against himself, and in doing so
experiences, as an interpreter and ill-treated person,
something like martyrdom—and in this way he
climbs to the height of his conceit. Men of this
## p. 264 (#346) ############################################
264 THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the " genius " and the
"hero," which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulae of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle,that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain! )
299.
The Appearance of Heroism. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
Condescending towards the Flatterer.
—It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
"Strength of Character. "—" What I have
said once I will do "—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#347) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. —There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#348) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#349) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. · 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
It bered the lat w and
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#350) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#351) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
( 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#352) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the“ genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. — Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I'have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#353) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
· 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#354) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the“ genius” and the
“ hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a “worm compared with such a being. " (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. — Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
- It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them: but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do ”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#355) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY.
. 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves, and thus encourages a sense of weaknessin us.
302.
ONCE, TWICE, AND THRICE TRUE. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
· THE PASTIME OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST. -He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority — There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 265 (#356) ############################################
264
THE DAWN OF DAY.
kind to be found, for example, in the entourage of
Napoleon: indeed, perhaps it may have been he who
inspired the soul of his century with that romantic
prostration in the presence of the “genius "and the
“hero,” which was so foreign to the spirit of rational-
ism of the nineteenth century—a man about whom
even Byron was not ashamed to say that he was
a "worm compared with such a being. ” (The
formulæ of this prostration have been discovered by
Thomas Carlyle, that arrogant old muddle-head and
grumbler, who spent his long life in trying to ro-
manticise the common sense of his Englishmen:
but in vain ! )
299.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEROISM. —Throwing
ourselves in the midst of our enemies may be a
sign of cowardice.
300.
CONDESCENDING TOWARDS THE FLATTERER.
-It is the ultimate prudence of insatiably ambi-
tious men not only to conceal their contempt for
man which the sight of flatterers causes them : but
also to appear even condescending to them, like a
God who can be nothing if not condescending.
301.
“STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. ”—“What I have
said once I will do”—This manner of thinking is
believed to indicate great strength of character.
## p. 265 (#357) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 265
How many actions are accomplished, not because
they have been selected as being the most rational,
but because at the moment when we thought of
them they influenced our ambition and vanity by
some means or another, so that we do not stop
until we have blindly carried them out. Thus they
strengthen in us our belief in our character and
our good conscience, in short our strength; whilst
the choice of the most rational acts possible brings
about a certain amount of scepticism towards our-
selves,and thus encourages a sense of weaknessinus.
302.
Once, Twice, and Thrice True. —Men lie
unspeakably and often, but they do not think about
it afterwards, and generally do not believe in it.
303.
The Pastime of the Psychologist. —He
thinks he knows me, and fancies himself to be
subtle and important when he has any kind of rela-
tions with me; and I take care not to undeceive
him. For in such a case I should suffer for it,
while now he wishes me well because I arouse
in him a feeling of conscious superiority. —There
is another, who fears that I think I know him,
and feels a sense of inferiority at this. As a
result he behaves in a timid and vacillating manner,
in my presence, and endeavours to mislead me
in regard to himself so that he may regain an
ascendancy over me.
## p. 266 (#358) ############################################
266 THE DAWN OF DAY.
304.
The Destroyers of the World. —When
some men fail to accomplish what they desire to
do they exclaim angrily, "May the whole world
perish! " This odious feeling is the height of envy
which reasons thus: because I cannot have one
thing the whole world in general must have no-
thing! the whole world shall not exist!
305.
Greed. —When we set out to buy something our
greed increases with the cheapness of the object—
Why? Is it because the small differences in price
make up the little eye of greed?
306.
The Greek Ideal. —What did the Greeks ad-
mire in Ulysses? Above all his capacity for lying
and for taking a shrewd and dreadful revenge, his
being equal to circumstances, his appearing to
be nobler than the noblest when necessary, his
ability to be everything he desired, his heroic
pertinacity, having all means within his command,
possessing genius—the genius of Ulysses is an
object of the admiration of the gods, they smile
when they think of it—all this is the Greek ideal!
What is most remarkable about it is that the con-
tradiction between seeming and being was not felt
in any way, and that as a consequence it could not
be morally estimated. Were there ever such ac-
complished actors?
## p. 267 (#359) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 267
307-
Facta! Yes, Facta Ficta! —The historian
need not concern himself with events which have
actually happened, but only those which are
supposed to have happened; for none but the latter
have produced an effect. The same remark applies
to the imaginary heroes. His theme—this so-called
world-history—what is it but opinions on imag-
inary actions and their imaginary motives, which
in their turn give rise to opinions and actions
the reality of which, however, is at once evaporated,
and is only effective as vapour,—a continual gener-
ating and impregnating of phantoms above the
dense mists of unfathomable reality. All historians
record things which have never existed, except in
imagination.
308.
Not to understand Trade is Noble. —To
sell one's virtue only at the highest price, or
even to carry on usury with it as a teacher, a
civil servant, or an artist, for instance, brings genius
and talent down to the level of the common trades-
man. We must be careful not to be clever with
our wisdom!
3°9-
Fear and Love. —The general knowledge of
mankind has been furthered to a greater extent by
fear than by love; for fear endeavours to find out
who the other is, what he can do, and what he
wants: it would be dangerous and prejudicial to
## p. 268 (#360) ############################################
268 THE DAWN OF DAY.
be deceived on this point. On the other hand,
love is induced by its secret craving to discover
as many beautiful qualities as possible in the
loved object, or to raise this loved object as
high as possible: it is a joy and an advantage
to love to be deceived in this way—and this is
why it does it.
310.
Good-natured People. —Good-natured people
have acquired their character from the continual fear
of foreign attacks in which their ancestors lived,—
these ancestors, who were in the habit of mitigating
and tranquillising, humbling themselves, preventing,
distracting, flattering, and apologising, concealing
their grief and anger, and preserving an unruffled
countenance,—and they ultimately bequeathed all
this delicate and well-formed mechanism to their
children and grandchildren. These latter, thanks
to their more favourable lot, did not experience this
feeling of dread, but they nevertheless continue in
the same groove.
3i 1-
The so-called Soul. —The sum-total of those
internal movements which come naturally to men,
and which they can consequently set in motion
readily and gracefully, is called the soul—men are
looked upon as void of soul when they let it be
seen that their inward emotions are difficult and
painful to them.
## p. 269 (#361) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 269
312.
The Forgetful Ones. — In outbursts of
passion and the delusions of dreams and madness,
man rediscovers his own primitive history, and that
of humanity: animality and its savage grimaces.
For once his memory stretches back into the past,
while his civilised condition is developed from the
forgetfulness of these primitive experiences, that is
to say, from the failing of this memory. He who,
as a forgetful man of a higher nature, has always
remained aloof from these things, does not under-
stand men—but it is an advantage if from time
to time there are individuals who do not under-
stand men, individuals who are, so to speak, created
from the divine seed and born of reason.
313-
The Friend whom we want no Longer.
—That friend whose hopes we cannot satisfy we
should prefer to have as an enemy.
314-
In the Society of Thinkers. —In the midst
of the ocean of becoming we adventurers and birds
of passage wake up on an island no larger than a
small boat, and here we look round us for a moment
with as much haste and curiosity as possible; for
how quickly may some gale blow us away or some
wave sweep over the little island and leave nothing
of us remaining I Here, however, upon this little
## p. 270 (#362) ############################################
270 THE DAWN OF DAY.
piece of ground we meet with other birds of passage
and hear of still earlier ones,—and thus we live
together for one precious minute of recognition and
divining, amid the cheerful fluttering of wings
and joyful chirping, and then adventure in spirit
far out on the ocean, feeling no less proud than the
ocean itself.
315.
Parting with Something. —To give up some
of our property, or to waive a right, gives pleasure
when it denotes great wealth. Generosity may be
placed in this category.
316.
Weak Sects. —Those sects which feel that they
will always remain weak hunt up a few intelligent
individual adherents, wishing to make up in quality
what they lack in quantity. This gives rise to no
little danger for intelligent minds.
317.
The Judgment of the Evening. —The man
who meditates upon his day's and life's work when
he has reached the end of his journey and feels
weary, generally arrives at a melancholy conclusion;
but this is not the fault of the day or his life, but
of weariness. —In the midst of creative work we do
not take time, as a rule, to meditate upon life and
existence, nor yet in the midst of our pleasures:
## p. 271 (#363) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 271
but if by a chance this did happen once we should
no longer believe him to be right who waited for
the seventh day and for repose to find everything
that exists very beautiful. —He had missed the
right moment.
318.
Beware of Systemisers ! —There is a certain
amount of comedy about systemisers: in trying to
complete a system and to round off its horizon they
have to try to let their weaker qualities appear in
the same style as their stronger ones. —They wish
to represent complete and uniformly strong natures.
319-
Hospitality. —The object of hospitality is to
paralyse all hostile feeling in a stranger. When
we cease to look upon strangers as enemies,
hospitality diminishes; it flourishes so long as its
evil presupposition does.
320.
The Weather. —An exceptional and uncertain
state of the weather makes men suspicious even of
one another: at the same time they come to like
innovations, for they must diverge from their ac-
customed habits. This is why despots like those
countries where the weather is moral.
321.
Danger in Innocence. —Innocent people
become easy victims in all circumstances because
## p. 272 (#364) ############################################
272 THE DAWN OF DAY.
their lack of knowledge prevents them from dis-
tinguishing between moderation and excess, and
from being betimes on their guard against them-
selves. It is as a result of this that innocent, that
is, ignorant young women become accustomed to
the frequent enjoyment of sexual intercourse, and
feel the want of it very much in later years when
their husbands fall ill or grow prematurely old.
It is on account of this harmless and orthodox
conception, as if frequent sexual intercourse were
right and proper, that they come to experience
a need which afterwards exposes them to the
severest tribulations, and even worse.
Considering the matter, however, from a higher
and more general point of view, whoever loves a
man or a thing without knowing him or it, falls
a prey to something which he would not love if
he could see it. In all cases where experience,
precautions, and prudent steps are required, it is the
innocent man who will be most thoroughly cor-
rupted, for he has to drink with closed eyes the
dregs and most secret poison of everything put
before him. Let us consider the procedure of all
princes, churches, sects, parties, and corporations:
Is not the innocent man always used as the sweetest
bait for the most dangerous and wicked traps ? —
just as Ulysses availed himself of the services of
the innocent Neoptolemos to cheat the old and
infirm anchorite and ogre of Lemnos out of his bow
and arrows. Christianity, with its contempt for
the world, has made ignorance a virtue—innocence,
perhaps because the most frequent result of this
innocence is precisely, as I have indicated above,
## p. 273 (#365) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 273
guilt, the sense of guilt, and despair: In other words,
a virtue which leads to Heaven by the circuitous
route of Hell; for only then can the gloomy pro-
pylaea of Christian salvation be thrown open, and
only then is the promise of a posthumous second
innocence effective. This is one of the finest in-
ventions of Christianity!
322.
Living without a Doctor when Possible.
—It seems to me that a sick man lives more care-
lessly when he is under medical observation than
when he attends to his own health. In the first
case it suffices for him to obey strictly all his
Doctor's prescriptions; but in the second case he
gives more attention to the ultimate object of these
prescriptions, namely, his health; he observes
much more, and submits himself to a more severe
discipline than the directions of his physician would
compel him to do.
All rules have this effect: they distract our
attention from the fundamental aim of the rule, and
make us more thoughtless. But to what heights of
immoderation and destruction would men have
risen if ever they had completely and honestly left
everything to the Godhead as to their physician,
and acted in accordance with the words "as God
will"!
323-
The Darkening of the Heavens. —Do you
know the vengeance of those timid people who
s
## p. 274 (#366) ############################################
274 THE DAWN OF DAY.
behave in society just as if they had stolen their
limbs? The vengeance of the humble, Christian-
like souls who just manage to slink quietly through
the world? The vengeance of those who always
judge hastily, and are as hastily said to be in the
wrong? The vengeance of all classes of drunkards,
for whom the morning is always the most miser-
able part of the day? and also of all kinds of
invalids and sick and depressed people who have no
longer the courage to become healthy?
The number of these petty vengeful people, and,
even more, the number of their petty acts of revenge,
is incalculable. The air around us is continually
whizzing with the discharged arrows of their
malignity, so that the sun and the sky of their
lives become darkened thereby,— and, alas! not
only theirs, but more often ours and other men's:
and this is worse than the frequent wounds which
they make on our skins and hearts. Do we not
occasionally deny the existence of the sun and sky
merely because we have not seen them for so long?
—Well then, solitude! because of this, solitude!
324-
The Psychology of the Actor. —It is the
blissful illusion of all great actors to imagine that
the historical personages whom they are repre-
senting were really in the same state of mind as
they themselves are when interpreting them—but
in this they are very much mistaken. Their powers
of imitation and divination, which they would fain
exhibit as a clairvoyant faculty, penetrate only
## p. 275 (#367) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 275
far enough to explain gestures, accent, and looks,
and in general anything exterior: that is, they can
grasp the shadow of the soul of a great hero, states-
man, or warrior, or of an ambitious, jealous, or
desperate person—they penetrate fairly near to
the soul, but they never reach the inmost spirit of
the man they are imitating.
It would, indeed, be a fine thing to discover that
instead of thinkers, psychologists, or experts we
required nothing but clairvoyant actors to throw
light upon the essence of any condition. Let us
never forget, whenever such pretensions are heard,
that the actor is nothing but an ideal ape—so much
of an ape is he, indeed, that he is not capable of
believing in the "essence" or in the "essential ":
everything becomes for him merely performance,
intonation, attitude, stage, scenery, and public.
325.
Living and Believing Apart. —The means
of becoming the prophet and wonder-worker of
one's age are the same to-day as in former times:
one must live apart, with little knowledge, some
ideas, and a great deal of presumption—we then
finish by believing that mankind cannot do without
us, because it is clear that we can do without it.
When we are inspired with this belief we find
faith. Finally, a piece of advice to him who
needs it (it was given to Wesley by Boehler,
his spiritual teacher): "Preach faith until you
have it; then you will preach it because you
have it! "
## p. 276 (#368) ############################################
276 THE DAWN OF DAY.
326.
Knowing our Circumstances. — We may
estimate our powers, but not our power. Not only
do circumstances conceal it from us and show it to
us time about,but they even exaggerate or dimin-
ish it. We must consider ourselves as variable
quantities whose productive capacity may in favour-
able circumstances reach the greatest possible
heights: we must therefore reflect upon these cir-
cumstances, and spare no pains in studying them.
327-
A FAbLE. —The Don Juan of knowledge—no
philosopher or poet has yet succeeded in discover-
ing him. He is wanting in love for the things he
recognises, but he possesses wit, a lust for the hunt-
ing after knowledge, and the intrigues in connection
with it, and he finds enjoyment in all these, even up
to the highest and most distant stars of knowledge
—until at last there is nothing left for him to
pursue but the absolutely injurious side of know-
ledge, just as the drunkard who ends by drinking
absinthe and aquafortis. That is why last of all
he feels a longing for hell, for this is the final
knowledge which seduces him. Perhaps even this
would disappoint him, as all things do which one
knows! and then he would have to stand still for
all eternity, a victim to eternal deception, and trans-
formed into his enemy, the Stony Guest, who longs
for an evening meal of knowledge which will never
more fall to his share! for the whole world of things
## p. 277 (#369) ############################################
THE DAWN OF DAY. 277
will not have another mouthful left to offer to these
hungry men.
328.
What Idealistic Theories Disclose. —We
are most certain to find idealistic theories among
unscrupulously practical men; for such men stand
in need of the lustre of these theories for the sake
of their reputation. They adopt them instinctively
without by any means feeling hypocritical in doing
so—no more hypocritical than Englishmen with
their Christianity and their Sabbath-keeping. On
the other hand, contemplative natures who have to
keep themselves on their guard against all kinds
of fantasies and who dread to be reputed as
enthusiasts, are only to be satisfied with hard
realistic theories: they take possession of them
under the same instinctive compulsion without
thereby losing their honesty.
329-
The Calumniators of Cheerfulness. —
People who have been deeply wounded by the dis-
appointments of life look with suspicion upon all
cheerfulness as if it were something childish and
puerile, and revealed a lack of common sense that
moves them to pity and tenderness, such as one
would experience when seeing a dying child caress-
ing his toys on his death-bed. Such men appear to
see hidden graves under every rose; rejoicings,
tumult, and cheerful music appear to them to be the
voluntary illusions of a man who is dangerously ill
## p. 278 (#370) ############################################
278 THE DAWN OF DAY.
and yet wishes to take a momentary draught from
the intoxicating cup of life. But this judgment about
cheerfulness is merely the reflection of the latter on
the dark background of weariness and ill-health: in
itself it is something touching, irrational, and piti-
able, even childlike and puerile, but connected with
that second childhood which follows in the train of
old age, and is the harbinger of death.
330.
