No More Learning

Was fear so frequency the indamental basis of
that awe which overcame us at the sight of any-
thing bitherto unknown and mysterious, and which
taught us to fall upon our knees before the unin-
telligible, and to beg for mercy? And has the
world, perhaps, through the very fact that we have


## p. 381 (#535) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY.
383
grown less timid, lost some of the charms it
formerly had for us? Is it not possible that our
own dignity and stateliness, our formidable char-
acter, has decreased together with our spirit of
dread? Perhaps we value the world and our-
selves less highly since we have begun to think
more boldly about it and ourselves? Perhaps there
will come a moment in the future when this cour-
ageous spirit of thinking will have reached such a
point that it will feel itself soaring in supreme pride,
far above men and things—when the wise man,
being also the boldest, will see himself, and even
more particularly existence, the lowest of all be-
neath himself ?
This type of courage, which is not far removed
from excessive generosity, has been lacking in
humanity up to the present. —Oh, that our poets
might once again become what they once were:
seers, telling us something about what might
possibly happen! now that what is real and what
is past are being ever more and more taken from
them, and must continue to be taken from them
—for the time of innocent counterfeiting is at an
end! Let them try to enable us to anticipate
future virtues, or virtues that will never be found
on earth, although they may exist somewhere in
the world ! -purple-glowing constellations and
whole Milky Ways of the beautiful! Where are
ye, ye astronomers of the ideal ?
552.
IDEAL SELFISHNESS. —Is there a more sacred
state than that of pregnancy? To perform every


## p. 382 (#536) ############################################

382 THE DAWN OF DAY.
in a sunnier light: discernment not only envelops
all things in its own beauty, but in the long run
permeates the things themselves with its beauty—
may ages to come bear witness to the truth of this
statement! In the meantime let us recall an old
experience: two men so thoroughly different in
every respect as Plato and Aristotle were agreed
in regard to what constituted superior happiness
—not merely their own and that of men in general,
but happiness in itself, even the happiness of the
gods. They found this happiness to lie in know-
ledge, in the activity of a well practised and in-
ventive understanding (not in "intuition" like the
German theologians and semi-theologians; not in
visions, like the mystics; and not in work, like the
merely practical men). Similar opinions were ex-
pressed by Descartes and Spinoza. What great
delight must all these men have felt in knowledge!
and how great was the danger that their honesty
might give way, and that they themselves might
become panegyrists of things!
SSL
Future Virtues. — How has it come about
that, the more intelligible the world has become,
the more all kinds of ceremonies have diminished?
Was fear so frequently the fundamental basis of
that awe which overcame us at the sight of any-
thing hitherto unknown and mysterious, and which
taught us to fall upon our knees before the unin-
telligible, and to beg for mercy? And has the
world, perhaps, through the very fact that we have


## p. 383 (#537) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 383
grown less timid, lost some of the charms it
formerly had for us? Is it not possible that our
own dignity and stateliness, our formidable char-
acter, has decreased together with our spirit of
dread? Perhaps we value the world and our-
selves less highly since we have begun to think
more boldly about it and ourselves? Perhaps there
will come a moment in the future when this cour-
ageous spirit of thinking will have reached such a
point that it will feel itself soaring in supreme pride,
far above men and things—when the wise man,
being also the boldest, will see himself, and even
more particularly existence, the lowest of all be-
neath himself?
This type of courage, which is not far removed
from excessive generosity, has been lacking in
humanity up to the present. —Oh, that our poets
might once again become what they once were:
seers, telling us something about what might
possibly happen! now that what is real and what
is past are being ever more and more taken from
them, and must continue to be taken from them
—for the time of innocent counterfeiting is at an
end! Let them try to enable us to anticipate
future virtues, or virtues that will never be found
on earth, although they may exist somewhere in
the world! —purple-glowing constellations and
whole Milky Ways of the beautiful! Where are
ye, ye astronomers of the ideal?
552.
Ideal Selfishness. —Is there a more sacred
state than that of pregnancy? To perform every


## p. 384 (#538) ############################################

384 THE DAWN OF DAY.
one of our actions in the silent conviction that in
one way or another it will be to the benefit of that
which is being generated within us—that it must
augment its mysterious value, the very thought of
which fills us with rapture? At such a time we
refrain from many things without having to force
ourselves to do so: we suppress the angry word,
we grasp the hand forgivingly; our child must be
born from all that is best and gentlest. We shun
our own harshness and brusqueness in case it should
instil a drop of unhappiness into the cup of the
beloved unknown. Everything is veiled, ominous;
we know nothing about what is going on, but
simply wait and try to be prepared. During this
time, too, we experience a pure and purifying feel-
ing of profound irresponsibility, similar to that felt
by a spectator before a drawn curtain; it is grow-
ing, it is coming to light; we have nothing to do
with determining its value, or the hour of its arrival.
We are thrown back altogether upon indirect,
beneficent and defensive influences. "Something
greater than we are is growing here "—such is our
most secret hope: we prepare everything with a
view to his birth and prosperity—not merely every-
thing that is useful, but also the noblest gifts of our
souls.
We should, and can, live under the influence of
such a blessed inspiration! Whether what we are
looking forward to is a thought or a deed, our
relationship to every essential achievement is none
other than that of pregnancy, and all our vain-
glorious boasting about "willing" and "creating"
should be cast to the winds! True and ideal


## p. 385 (#539) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 385
selfishness consists in always watching over and
restraining the soul, so that our productiveness may
come to a beautiful termination. Thus in this
indirect manner we must provide for and watch
over the good of all; and the frame of mind, the
mood in which we live, is a kind of soothing oil
which spreads far around us on the restless souls.
—Still, these pregnant ones are funny people!
let us therefore dare to be funny also, and not
reproach others if they must be the same. And
even when this phenomenon becomes dangerous
and evil we must not show less respect to that which
is generating within us or others than ordinary
worldly justice, which does not allow the judge or
the hangman to interfere with a pregnant woman.
553-
Circuitous Routes. —Where does all this
philosophy mean to end with its circuitous routes?
Does it do more than transpose into reason, so to
speak, a continuous and strong impulse—a craving
for a mild sun, a bright and bracing atmosphere,
southern plants, sea breezes, short meals of meat,
eggs, and fruit, hot water to drink, quiet walks for
days at a time, little talking, rare and cautious
reading, living alone, pure, simple, and almost
soldier-like habits—a craving, in short, for all
things which are suited to my own personal taste?
a philosophy which is in the main the instinct for
a personal regimen—an instinct that longs for my
air, my height, my temperature, and my kind of
health, and takes the circuitous route of my head
to persuade me to it!
2li


## p. 386 (#540) ############################################

386 THE DAWN OF DAY.
There are many other and certainly more lofty
philosophies, and not only such as are more gloomy
and pretentious than mine—and are they perhaps,
taking them as a whole, nothing but intellectual
circuitous routes of the same kind of personal im-
pulses ? —In the meantime I look with a new eye
upon the mysterious and solitary flight of a butter-
fly high on the rocky banks of the lake where so
many plants are growing: there it flies hither and
thither, heedless of the fact that its life will last
only one more day, and that the night will be too
cold for its winged fragility. For it, too, a philo-
sophy might be found, though it might not be
my own.
5 54-
LEADING. *—When we praise progress we only
praise the movement and those who do not let us
remain on the same spot, and in the circumstances
this is certainly something, especially if we live
among Egyptians. In changeable Europe, how-
ever, where movement is " understood," to use their
own expression, "as a matter of course "—alas, if
we only understood something about it too! —I
praise leaders and forerunners: that is to say, those
who always leave themselves behind, and do not
care in the least whether any one is following them
or not. "Wherever I halt I find myself alone:
why should I halt! the desert is still so wide ! "—
such is the sentiment of the true leader.
* The play upon the words Vorschritt (leading) and
Fortschrilt (progress) cannot be rendered in English. —Tr.


## p. 387 (#541) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 387
5S5-
The least Important are Sufficient. —
We ought to avoid events when we know that even
the least important of them frequently enough leave
a strong impression upon us—and these we cannot
avoid. —The thinker must possess an approximate
canon of all the things he still wishes to experience.
556.
The Four Virtues. —Honest towards our-
selves, and to all and everything friendly to us;
brave in the face of our enemy; generous towards
the vanquished; polite at all times: such do the
four cardinal virtues wish us to be.
557-
Marching against an Enemy. —How pleas-
ant is the sound of even bad music and bad motives
when we are setting out to march against an
enemy!
558.
Not concealing One's Virtues. —I love
those men who are as transparent as water, and
who, to use Pope's expression, hide not from view
the turbid bottom of their stream. Even they, how-
ever, possess a certain vanity, though of a rare and
more sublimated kind: some of them would wish
us to see nothing but the mud, and to take no
notice of the clearness of the water which enables
us to look right to the bottom. No less a man than


## p. 388 (#542) ############################################

388 THE DAWN OF DAY.
Gautama Buddha has imagined the vanity of these
few in the formula, " Let your sins appear before
men, and conceal your virtues. " But this would
exhibit a disagreeable spectacle to the world—it
would be a sin against good taste.
559-
"Nothing in Excess ! "—How often is the
individual recommended to set up a goal which it
is beyond his power to reach, in order that he may
at least attain that which lies within the scope of
his abilities and most strenuous efforts! Is it really
so desirable, however, that he should do so? Do
not the best men who try to act according to this
doctrine, together with their best deeds, necessarily
assume a somewhat exaggerated and distorted ap-
pearance on account of their excessive tension ? and
in the future will not a grey mist of failure envelop
the world, owing to the fact that we may see every-
where struggling athletes and tremendous gestures,
but nowhere a conqueror crowned with the laurel,
and rejoicing in his victory?
560.
What we are Free to do. —We can act as
the gardeners of our impulses, and—which few
people know—we may cultivate the seeds of anger,
pity, vanity, or excessive brooding, and make these
things fecund and productive, just as we can train
a beautiful plant to grow along trellis-work. We
may do this with the good or bad taste of a


## p. 389 (#543) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 389
gardener, and as it were, in the French, English,
Dutch, or Chinese style. We may let nature take
its own course, only trimming and embellishing a
little here and there; and finally, without any
knowledge or consideration, we may even allow the
plants to spring up in accordance with their own
natural growth and limitations, and fight out their
battle among themselves,—nay, we can even take
delight in such chaos, though we may possibly
have a hard time with it! All this is at our option:
but how many know that it is? Do not the majority
of people believe in themselves as complete and
perfect facts? and have not the great philosophers
set their seal on this prejudice through their doctrine
of the unchangeability of character?
561.
Letting our Happiness also Shine. —In the
same way as painters are unable to reproduce the
deep brilliant hue of the natural sky, and are com-
pelled to use all the colours they require for their
landscapes a few shades deeper than nature has
made them—just'as they,by means of this trick, suc-
ceed in approaching the brilliancy and harmony of
nature's own hues, so also must poets and philoso-
phers, for whom the luminous rays of happiness
are inaccessible, endeavour to find an expedient.
By picturing all things a shade or two darker than
they really are, their light, in which they excel, will
produce almost exactly the same effect as the
sunlight, and will resemble the light of true happi-
ness. —The pessimist, on the other hand, who paints


## p. 390 (#544) ############################################

390 THE DAWK OF DAY.
all things in the blackest and most sombre hues,
only makes use of bright flames, lightning, celestial
glories, and everything that possesses a glaring,
dazzling power, and bewilders our eyes: to him
light only serves the purpose of increasing the
horror, and of making us look upon things as being
more dreadful than they really are
562.
The Settled and the Free. —It is only in
the Underworld that we catch a glimpse of that
gloomy background of all that bliss of adventure
which forms an everlasting halo around Ulysses
and his like, rivalling the eternal phosphorescence
of the sea,—that background which we can never
forget: the mother of Ulysses died of grief and
yearning for her child. The one is driven on from
place to place, and the heart of the other, the tender
stay-at-home friend,breaks through it—so it always
is. Affliction breaks the hearts of those who live
to see that those whom they love best are desert-
ing their former views and faith,—it is a tragedy
brought about by the free spirits,—a tragedy which,
indeed, occasionally comes to their own knowledge.
Then, perhaps, they too, like Ulysses, will be forced
to descend among the dead to get rid of their
sorrow and to relieve their affliction.
563-
The Illusion of the Moral Order of the
UNIVERSE. —There is no " eternal justice" which
^


## p. 391 (#545) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 391
requires that every fault shall be atoned and paid
for,—the belief that such a justice existed was a
terrible delusion, and useful only to a limited extent;
just as it is also a delusion that everything is guilt
which is felt as such. It is not the things themselves,
but the opinions about thingsthatdo not exist,which
have been such a source of trouble to mankind.
564.
By the Side of Experience. —Even great in-
tellects have only a hand-breadth experience—in
the immediate proximity of this experience their
reflection ceases, and its place is taken by unlimited
vacuity and stupidity.
565.
Dignity and Ignorance. —Wherever we
understand we become amiable, happy, and in-
genious; and when we have learnt enough, and
have trained our eyes and ears, our souls show
greater plasticity and charm. We understand so
little, however, and are so insufficiently informed,
that it rarely happens that we seize upon a thing
and make ourselves lovable at the same time,—on
the contrary we pass through cities, nature, and
history with stiffness and indifference, at the same
time taking a pride in our stiff and indifferent
attitude, as if it were simply due to superiority.
Thus our ignorance and our mediocre desire for
knowledge understand quite well how to assume a
mask of dignity and character.


## p. 392 (#546) ############################################

392 THE DAWS Of DAT.
566.
Living Cheaply. —The cheapest and mcst in-
nocent mode of life is that of the tnr^krr: for, to
mention at once its most important feature, he has
the greatest need of those very things which others
neglect and look upon with contempt. In the
second place he is easily pleased and ha* no desire
for any expensive pleasures. His task is not diffi-
cult, but, so to speak, southern; his days and nights
are not wasted by remorse; he moves, eats, drinks,
and sleeps in a manner suited to his intellect, in
order that it may grow calmer, stronger, and
clearer. Again, he takes pleasure in his body and
has no reason to fear it; he does not require
society, except from time to time in order that he
may afterwards go back to his solitude with even
greater delight. He seeks and finds in the dead
compensation for the living, and can even replace
his friends in this way—viz^ by seeking out among
the dead the best who have ever lived. —Let us
consider whether it is not the contrary desires and
habits which have made the life of man expensive,
and as a consequence difficult and often unbearable.
In another sense, however, the thinker's life is
certainly the most expensive, for nothing is too
good for him; and it would be an intolerable
privation for him to be deprived of the best.
567.
In the Field. —" We should take things more
cheerfully than they deserve; especially because for


## p. 393 (#547) ############################################

THE DAWN OF DAY. 393
a very long time we have taken them more seriously
than they deserved. " So speak the brave soldiers
of knowledge.
568.
POET and Bird. —The bird Phoenix showed the
poet a glowing scroll which was being gradually
consumed in the flames. "Be not alarmed," said
the bird, "it is your work! It does not contain
the spirit of the age, and to a still less extent the
spirit of those who are against the age: so it must
be burnt. But that is a good sign. There is many
a dawn of day. "
569.
To THE Lonely Ones. —If we do not respect
the honour of others in our soliloquies as well as
in what we say publicly, we are not gentlemen.
570.
Losses. —There are some losses which com-
municate to the soul a sublimity in which it ceases
from wailing, and wanders about silently, as if in the
shade of some high and dark cypresses.
571.
The Battle-Field Dispensary of the Soul.
—What is the most efficacious remedy ? —Victory.
572.
Life shall Comfort us. —If, like the thinker,
we live habitually amid the great current of ideas


## p. 394 (#548) ############################################

OTHER NIETZSCHEAN LITERATURE
THE MASTERY OF LIFE.
By G. T. WRENCH.
(STEPHEN SWIFT. )
(In the Press. )
This book is a review of the history of civilisation with the
object of discovering, in the phrase of Nietzsche, “under
what conditions and where the plant man flourished best. "
The review shows that the patriarchal family has always
been the foundation of peoples who have been distinguished
for their joy in and power over life, and have expressed their
joy and power in art works which have been their peculiar
glory and the object of admiration and wonder of other
peoples. On the other hand, peoples who have not based
themselves on the larger humanity of patriarchalism, and
who have not cultivated a masterful aristocracy, have been
distinguished by a weaker and often miserable attitude
towards life, and by an expression, not of power, joy, and
quality, but of exhaustion, pessimism, and doubts about the
objects of existence.
The author contrasts the two types of peoples, the orderly
and artistic, and the dehumanised or mechanical, and shows
how the latter may hope to attain to the mastery of life, both
social and individual. But to carry out the change of social
basis and values, a new kind of men is needed, and this need
leads the author in the last pages to advocate as an essential
preliminary the self-culture of power and will which Nietzsche
taught so brilliantly through the mouth of Zarathustra.


## p. 395 (#549) ############################################

OTHER NIETZSCHEAN LITERATURE
ENGLISH LITERATURE
(1880–1905).
By J. M. KENNEDY.
(STEPHEN SWIFT. )
(In the Press. )
The history of English Literature in the last generation
constitutes one of its most fascinating periods, not merely for
the historian, but also, and in a much greater degree, for the
psychologist. The two great features of the middle and
later Victorian era, viz. , Puritanism and Materialism, may be
said to have reached their climax about 1880, and their effect
is still felt on English Literature even at the present day.
By applying certain Nietzschean principles of literary, artistic,
and psychological criticism to the period in question,
Mr. J. M. Kennedy has shown how our modern writers have
been influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by the two
characteristics referred to. His book deals, from a psycho-
logical as well as a literary standpoint, with such well-known
writers as Wilde, Davidson, Shaw, Wells, and Fiona
Macleod, together with several authors who, although
influential in their particular circle, are less known to the
general public, such as Gissing and Ernest Dowson. As a
guide to many puzzling tendencies in recent English litera-
ture, the book forms an invaluable document.
The name of the brilliant young writer has become widely
known in a comparatively short time by his vivid and racy
criticism of English politics, the English Church, and English
Literature. Mr. Kennedy was one of the first of English
critics to recognise the necessity of breaking with last
century's liberal and romantic traditions. He has in all his
books tried to provide the Tory party, which allowed itself
likewise to be infected by the spirit of the age, with a sound
basis of new ideas and principles.


## p. (#550) ################################################

PUBLISHER'S ANNOUNCEMENT.
As this Nietzsche translation is now on the point of being
completed, the publisher begs to suggest to that part of
the public which takes the lead in matters of taste and
intellect, that these volumes should not be wanting in the
library of any cultured person. The antagonism to Nietzsche's
teaching, which first took the form of icy silence and after-
wards that of violent contradiction, has considerably dimin-
ished since his real meaning has become more generally
known through this translation. The opinion is now gaining
ground that in Nietzsche's life-work a totally new standpoint
in matters of politics, art, literature, and theology is to be
found. Even his enemies now readily acknowledge that
Nietzsche at least wrote in an extraordinarily vigorous and
bracing style—a style which distinguishes bim from all
dry-as-dust philosophers, especially those of German origin.
As the Yorkshire Weekly Post of roth June 1911 has it
“He stands out in the foggy firmament of German thought
like a bright particular star. With the possible exception of
Heine and Schopenhauer, no one has wielded the German
language to better effect. . . . "
The translations have won high praise from press and
public. They have been written by scholars thoroughly
conversant with the German tongue, who have spared
no pains in rendering Nietzsche's passionate and poetic
style in adequate English. Valuable and original introduc-
tions are added to each of the volumes, giving all particulars
as to dates, circumstances, Nietzsche's development, &c. , so
that each volume may be bought separately.
An exhaustive index, such as exists in none of the
numerous translations, and not even in the German original,
will shortly be published as a fitting coping stone to
what the Liverpool Courier has called “this monumental
translation. "
T. N. FOULIS, 13 AND 15 FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH,
and 21 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON, E. C.


## p. (#551) ################################################

THE WORKS OF
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE.
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## p. (#552) ################################################

OTHER NIETZSCHEAN LITERATURE
WHO IS TO BE MASTER OF
THE WORLD?
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
By A. M. LUDOVICI.
With a Preface by Dr. Oscar Levy.
Crown 8vo, 216 pages, 2s. 6d. net.
(t. N. Foulis. )
In this book the author has made a plain and lucid
statement of Nietzsche's views. The work embodies the
Three Lectures recently given at University College,
London, and other matter besides—together with copious
references to the numerous philosophers, historians, and
scientists who may be said to have led up to Friedrich
Nietzsche's position.
"The lectures are well worth reading, as showing what Nietzsche-
anism really means. "—Glasgow Herald.
"If this little book does not impel some young and gallant spirits
to the works of the philosopher, I shall be surprised. .