126 of this edition), is out
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
Nietzsche - v18 - Epilogue, Index
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Title: The complete works of Friedrich Nietzsche. The first complete
and authorized English translation, edited by Dr. Oscar Levy.
Author: Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.
Publisher: [Edinburgh and London : T. N. Foulis, 1909-1913. ]
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THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF
FRIEDRICH glETZSCHE
The First Complete and Authorised English Translation
EDITED BY
Dr. OSCAR LEVY
VOLUME EIGHTEEN
INDEX TO THE COMPLETE
WORKS
## p. ii (#10) ##############################################
Of the First Edition
containing Fifteen Hundred Copies
this is
No.
522
## p. iii (#11) #############################################
INDEX
TO NIETZSCHE
COMPILED BY
ROBERT GUPPY
VOCABULARY OP FOREIGN QUOTATIONS
OCCURRING IN THE WORKS OF NIETZSCHE
TRANSLATED BY
PAUL V. COHN, B. A.
With an Introductory Essay:
The Nietzsche Movement in England
(A Retrospect—a Confession—a Prospect)
By Dr. Oscar Levy
T. N. FOULIS, PUBLISHER
91 GT. RUSSELL ST. , LONDON, &. 15 FREDERICK ST. , EDINBURGH
1913
## p. iv (#12) ##############################################
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Printed by Momison & Gi» Limited, Edinburgh
## p. v (#13) ###############################################
LIST OF CONTENTS
PAGE
1. The Nietzsche Movement in England (A Re-
trospect—A Confession—A Prospect), by the
Editor ------ ix
2. Index to the Complete Works of Friedrich
Nietzsche ------ i
3. Index of Foreign Quotations - - - 363
285950
## p. vi (#14) ##############################################
## p. vii (#15) #############################################
ERRATA
In accordance with the request made by a number of sub-
scribers the Editor begs to announce that these volumes
have been re-arranged and are now in chronological order.
So that the volume numbers found in the index contained
in the eighteenth volume may more readily be referred to,
it is suggested that the following corrections be made on
the half-titles of these volumes:—
-The Birth of Tragedy (III. ), now Vol. I.
-Thoughts Out of Season, Vol. I. (I. ), now Vol. IV.
- Do. do. Vol. II. (II. ), now Vol. V.
Human, All-too-Human, Vol. I. (VII. ), now Vol. VI.
Thus Spake Zarathustra (IV. ), now Vol. XI.
Beyond Good and Evil (V. ), now Vol. XII.
Will to Power, Vol. I. (IX. ), now Vol. XIV.
## p. viii (#16) ############################################
## p. ix (#17) ##############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT
IN ENGLAND
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND
A PROSPECT
BY THE EDITOR
With this—the eighteenth and last volume of the
authorised translation of Nietzsche's works into Eng-
lish—a task is brought to an end which it has taken
twenty years to carry to a final and successful conclu-
sion. It was in the year 1893 that Nietzsche's name
is first mentioned in one of the books of the unfortun-
ate English poet John Davidson. In the following
year a group of German, English, and Scottish ad-
mirers of Nietzsche arranged to bring out an author-
ised version of the German thinker's works, three
volumes of which were actuallypublished in 1896 and
1897. The reception of these books was so discourag-
ing that no further arrangements could be made by
the publishing firm, which shortly afterwards, owing
chiefly to the extensive liabilities incurred by the
Nietzsche edition, had to give up business. In the
next six years—from 1897 to 1903—in spite of various
endeavours by some indefatigable defenders of the
faith. itwas found absolutely impossibleto get ahear-
ix
## p. x (#18) ###############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
ing for Nietzsche either with the public, the Press, or
the publishers. Their hopes went down to freezing-
point when, in 1903, The Dawn of Day was given to
the public, only to meet again with a cold reception.
But in 1907 the party had somewhat recovered its
spirit, and as a last experiment brought out a trans-
lation of Beyond Good and Evil—this time at private
risk, for no publisher could be induced to take up an
author twice repudiated. This translation was one
which had been made nearly ten years ago, but until
then had never seen, and was never expected to see,
the light of publicity. 11 turned out to be a success—a
half-hearted success perhaps, but one that at last told
the few inmates of the Nietzschean ark that the waters
of democracy had diminished, and that at least some
higher peaksof humanity were free from the appalling
deluge. The success encouraged them once more to
take up theirold project ofthe publication of the com-
plete works. New arrangements were made with the
Nietzsche-Archiv, whose authorities were found most
willing to come to another agreement for a fresh edi-
tion. In May 1909 the first four volumes of this, the
present translation, left the press and were favourably
received, though yet by a small and none too enthusi-
astic public. Towards the end of the same year three
more volumes were published. In [Qioand 1911 the
remaining ten volumes of the translation appeared,
while most of the previously published volumes went
into a second and even a third edition. No volume
was published in 1912,but with the index the last and,
as is to be hoped, a very useful volume is added to this,
the most complete and voluminous translation of any
foreign philosopher into the English language.
## p. xi (#19) ##############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
So the hour of victory has arrived at last, and over
some of my fellow-workers upon this edition, I know,
there has come a feeling not unlike that experienced
by the Great Frederick's grenadiers after the battle of
Leuthen—the feeling of an over-full andgrateful heart,
which at the close of the victorious day made all the
soldiers round their camp-fires burst out into the grave
andstirringtunesofthe Lutheran hymn :" Nowthank
we all our God! " Unfortunately (or fortunately) the
brave Nietzscheans are in the same position as the
Great Frederick himself, who, being a Voltairian, was
probably the only one present who could not join in
the chorus of thanks to the Higher Power, because he
knew that the Higher Power generally fights on the
side of the Higher Will-Power; because he knew that
the firm will of a small minority can move even the
mountain of the highest majority. But let us forget
just for the moment that flattering comparison with
the greatPrussian Kingand his grenadiers, and let us
rather adopt a little of that humility so dear to our
antagonists; for by adopting sincerely that attitude we
may possibly conciliate to a certain extent a religion
whose weaknesses we have fought with such unex-
pected success. Let us be modest as to our achieve-
ment, and let us openly confess that our work of trans-
lation, as it now appears, is by no means so perfect as
might be desired, that it not only falls short of the
original, as most translations must, but that it probably
contains various errors which may have arisen from a
misinterpretation of Nietzsche. True, every possible
care has been taken to avoid such errors; and every
nerve was strained by the translators to reproduce the
racy, witty. picturesque style of Nietzschein adequate
xi
## p. xii (#20) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
English, but no man, however versatile, can hope to
understand another perfectly; and no translator. how-
ever gifted, can pretend to equal in another tongue
the endlessly rich nuances and rhythms of a poet like
Nietzsche. Will our readers kindly forgive us if we
have not always attained an ideal which was too high
above us to be reached at all; will they forgive us when
we assure them that no one has suffered from that
unattained ideal more than ourselves? I sincerely hope
that we shall be judged with indulgence on this point,
especially when I repeat here the promise I made in
the Editorial Note to one of the first volumes of this
edition {Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii): "As this
cause is somewhat holy to me, I am ready to listen to
any suggestions as to improvements of style or sense
comingfrom qualified sources. . . . Ihavenotentered
into any engagements with publishers, not even with
the present one, which could hinder my task, bind me
down to any text found faulty, or make me consent to
omission or falsification or "sugaring " of the origin-
al text to further the sales of the books. I am there-
fore in a position to give every attention to a work
which I consider as of no less importance for the
country of my residence than for the country of my
birth, as well as for the rest of Europe. "
But while we may well be modest about what we
have done, it would be absurd to play the humble hy-
pocrite about the fact that we have done it, that we
have been abletosecure apublic forNietzschein Eng-
land at all. For England was no doubt the most im-
portant country of all to conquer for Nietzschean
thought. I do not mean on account of her ubiquitous
language, thanks to which Nietzsche is now read not
xii
## p. xiii (#21) ############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
only in South Africa and Australia, in Canada and
America, but even upon the banks of the Nile and the
Ganges, and under the pagodas and cherry-trees of
China and Japan. I am thinking of anotherand more
important reason, which became a conviction to me
during the progress of this publication: the firm con-
viction that if we could not obtain a hearing for Niet-
zsche in England,his wonderful and at the same time
very practical thought might be lost for ever to the
world—a world that would then quickly be darkened
over again by the ever-threatening clouds of obscur-
antism and barbarism.
But, it might be objected here, has not Nietzsche
been translated into almost all tongues; are there
not complete Russian, Polish, Spanish, Italian, and
French versions of his works, not to speak of the lan-
guages of the smaller European nations? Why, then,
need we attach such importance to the propagation of
his gospel in the Anglo-Saxon world? That. ofcourse,
mightbeofferedasajustobjection; butalittlethought
and explanation will provehowvery different are con-
ditions in England from those on the Continent, and
that precisely in the most important matter of all, in
the matter with which Nietzsche's thought is princi-
pally occupied—in the matter of religion.
To state this difference briefly and plainly: in Eng-
land the most truly Christian public is not found
amongst the wealthy,the powerful,the aristocracy: it
is found, just as in the time of Jesus, amongst the lower,
or rather the lower-middle, classes. It is amongst the
frequenters of chapels and Nonconformist churches
that the true spirit of Christianity is most alive and
most vividly felt; it is the man of humble and modest
xiii
## p. xiv (#22) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
position who takes the religion of the humble, of the
modest, of the peaceful, most seriously, because this re-
ligion, which originated amongst his class, even now
aftertwo thousand years exactly suits his taste, flatters
his secret wishes and ambitions, and satisfies alike his
heart and hishead. his hopes andhis hatreds. Nothing
of this—I should like to call it most natural—condi-
tion is to be discovered on the Continent, where the
historical development has been quite different, and
has absolutely confused and even effaced any such
obvious distinction between fervent and less fervent
Christians. On theContinent, where, as is well known,
the French Revolution has had much more influence
than inEngland. the reactionagainstthat Revolution
has likewise been very much stronger, and (strange to
say) that reaction of the powerful, the rich, and the
aristocrats has appropriated the Christian religion
to itself in order to fight the revolutionary lower
classes, which were strongly, but wrongly, suspected
by them of a lack of Christian spirit Wrongly, I say,
because they quite forgot that Christianity, in spite of
a benignantmask. isinrealityarevolutionary religion,
and that not the lack of religion, but the very spirit of
religion, had driven the French people to cut off the
heads of their king and their aristocrats. Now, when
the Revolution was vanquished and the full tide of
the Restoration had set in, the monarchs of Prussia,
Russia, and Austria had nothing better to do than to
found the Holy Alliance, which was joined by most
monarchs of Europe (except the Prince-Regent of
England) and adopted Christianity and the princi-
ples of justice, peace, and charity (the requirements
of all the lower strata of society) as their shibboleth:
xiv
## p. xv (#23) ##############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
in other words, it was they, the princes, the powerful,
the masters, who adopted the tenets of the religion
of the slaves. In opposition to them, and in order to
fight their "enemies and oppressors," the liberal and
socialistic lower classes of the Continent have more
or less loudly proclaimed a sort of atheism, although
it is precisely they who most fervently believe, if not
in the Christian God, at least in something much more
important than this God—to wit, His morality.
Thus, as will easily be seen,on the Continent every-
thing is muddled in matters of religion; what should
be below is above, and what should be above is be-
low; whereas in England everything is comparatively
natural: the religion of those below is still most alive
amongst those below, while the upper classes are much
more permeated by the non -Christian spirit—by the
spirit of a Voltaire and aGibbon. In England, there-
fore, at election times the battle-cry can still be heard:
"To Hell with the Dukes and the Lords: vote for
Christ 1" while on the Continent Christ fights side
by side with the aristocrats, who pretend to be on the
most intimate terms with Him, the enemy of proud
names and worldly riches. French officers of good fa-
milies nowadays regularly attend mass, not from a
deep inner relationship to the Prince of Peace on the
Cross, but in order to protest against what they sup-
pose to be the most impudent atheism of the rebellious
lower classes. German Junkers pretend to be pillars
of the throne and altar, not knowing or not wishing to
know that the teaching given out at the altar is, so
long as it is delivered without falsehood, subversive
of all thrones and all authorities. Wealth and beauty
all over the Continent, from a reaction against the
xv
## p. xvi (#24) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
"materialistic " lower classes, feels itself coerced into
doing homage to a God who stood for poverty and
equality against full pockets and rosy cheeks. With
perfect justice, therefore, the Liberals and Socialists
on the Continent reproach the upper classes with
hypocrisy, while in England the hypocrisy is much
more on the side of the Liberal and middle classes.
For, why do not these Liberals carry out their Chris-
tian principles? Why not establish equality? Why
not abolish capitalism? . . . " But it is impossible to do
all that! " Ah! . . . is Christianity then impossible?
It is on account of these peculiar religious condi-
tions that Nietzschean thought seems more likely to
be understood in England than any other country of
Europe, for in England, and only in England, can it
still be seen that Nietzsche was right in describing
Christianity as the religion of the lower classes, while
ontheContinent his whole attack seems tobe without
significance. his whole philosophy based upon assump-
tion. But why not—it might be objected—rely much
more upon another country, a country much more
Nietzschean than England, a country where the
translation of Nietzsche has been subsidised by the
Government, and one which besides enjoys the repu-
tation of being the most intellectual of European
nations—why not rely upon modern France for the
practical success of Nietzsche? The answer to this
important objection is very simple, and it is this:
that French free-thought—although certainly of a
much more independent nature than what is called
free-thought elsewhere—that French free-thought, I
say, is not too much to be depended upon when it
is supposed to turn in earnest against an old religion,
xvi
## p. xvii (#25) ############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
It must never be forgotten that Catholicism, unlike
Protestantism, has really entered into the hearts of
its believers; that the head of a Latin may be as free-
thinking and daring as possible, but that his heart
will shrink nevertheless from drawing the final con-
clusions of his intellectual persuasion. Catholicism,
besides, is an admirable system, thought out by real
connoisseurs of human nature; it is well adapted to
the requirements of Southerners, and it has not yet
quite led to those intolerable conditions which Niet-
zsche so constantlyattacks in his works. There is still
a remnant of patriarchalism left in Latin countries; the
family is not yet totally undermined; nor woman in
open rebellion ; nor the authority of the father quite
abolished; nor are the children imbued with the in-
flexible conviction that" they must live their own lives
at all cost! " And, as patriarchalism in domestic and
business life has not yet quite disappeared in these
countries, there has up to now been no necessity for
the State to take care of millions of slaves, many of
whom are beyond any care and hope, many whose
propagation even threatens our society with an ig-
noble death from suffocation by its own refuse.
There is no doubt that Protestantism (whatever
good it may have done in other fields) has created
these sad conditionsaround us: with its idea of equal-
ity it has split humanity into thousands of anarchical
atoms, with its idea of liberty it has thrown responsi-
bility upon weak shoulders, with its idea of charity it
has helped these weak and worthless people to sur-
vive, nay, to pullulate as freely as possible. Now, as
Protestantism is the principal object of Nietzsche's
attack, and as affairs are not quite so desperate
b xvii
## p. xviii (#26) ###########################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
amongst the Catholics as amongst the Protestants,
a French or Italian free-thinker, though most willing-
ly agreeing with Nietzsche's remarks about Christi-
anity, will only too readily save himself by drawing
a line between Catholicism and Christianity. "One
should be too good a Catholicto be a good Christian,"
one of the foremost Nietzscheans of France wrote the
other day. Nowthisin my opinion is agrave error—an
error. by the way,not shared bythehead of the Catho-
lic Church, who has rightly, from this point of view,
put the works of Friedrich Nietzsche on the " Index
Expurgatorius. " It is a great mistake, I think, to hide
behind the Church in order to escape the consequences
of true Christianity, for the Church, even the Catholic
Church, the least Christian of all Christian Churches,
will never give up the faith: it would make itself su-
perfluous as a physician if it ever ceased from distri-
buting its peculiar poison. In spite, therefore, of all my
respect for the most intellectual country in Europe, I
have the greatest doubt whether it will not and should
not be a Protestant country that oughttotake the lead
in the matter of Nietzschean thought. And since the
country of our philosopher, as he rightly prophesied
himself (see Ecce Homo, p. 126 of this edition), is out
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
"This is a difficult country to move, my friend, a
difficult country indeed," said the aged Disraeli once
xviii
## p. xix (#27) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to the young and enthusiastic Socialist Mr. Hynd-
man; and if anyone besides Disraeli has ever experi-
enced the truth of this saying. it is we. who havebrought
this edition to a successful conclusion. The stoical
"ataraxia" of the Anglo-Saxon world is—to put it
mildly—something terrible; but why put it mildly?
That in matters of the intellect England is a real
brick wall there is not the slightest doubt, as some
almost ineffaceable bruises on the heads of my fellow-
workers and myself will for ever demonstrate to any
unbeliever. In saying this I of course in no way de-
sire to utter any specially adverse criticism—on the
contrary, I rather admire this characteristic in an
otherwise unprincipled world, in a world which only
too often pretends to be tolerant of all ideas, because
it has no original ideas of itsown. Such open-minded
people are the last for whom Nietzsche wrote, and the
early active acceptance of Nietzsche by just such
people was and is still our greatest danger—a much
greaterdanger than the passive resistance of that fatal
brick wall. No, if I am to have any choice in the
matter, let me deal with the British brick wall: at
least it is no yielding softness, at least there is firmness
in that stupidity, and once it is conquered you can
with certainty rely and build upon a brick wall, how-
ever obstinate the resistance may have been. . .
126 of this edition), is out
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
"This is a difficult country to move, my friend, a
difficult country indeed," said the aged Disraeli once
xviii
## p. xix (#27) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to the young and enthusiastic Socialist Mr. Hynd-
man; and if anyone besides Disraeli has ever experi-
enced the truth of this saying. it is we. who havebrought
this edition to a successful conclusion. The stoical
"ataraxia" of the Anglo-Saxon world is—to put it
mildly—something terrible; but why put it mildly?
That in matters of the intellect England is a real
brick wall there is not the slightest doubt, as some
almost ineffaceable bruises on the heads of my fellow-
workers and myself will for ever demonstrate to any
unbeliever. In saying this I of course in no way de-
sire to utter any specially adverse criticism—on the
contrary, I rather admire this characteristic in an
otherwise unprincipled world, in a world which only
too often pretends to be tolerant of all ideas, because
it has no original ideas of itsown. Such open-minded
people are the last for whom Nietzsche wrote, and the
early active acceptance of Nietzsche by just such
people was and is still our greatest danger—a much
greaterdanger than the passive resistance of that fatal
brick wall. No, if I am to have any choice in the
matter, let me deal with the British brick wall: at
least it is no yielding softness, at least there is firmness
in that stupidity, and once it is conquered you can
with certainty rely and build upon a brick wall, how-
ever obstinate the resistance may have been. . . .
But I do not wish to dwell any longer upon the re-
sistance we encountered, lest it might be thought that
this is only done for the purpose of glorifying our
achievements or of exalting our pluck in overcoming
obstacles. It is for a much more modest reason that
I have to draw the reader's attention to the conditions
under which Nietzsche has been introduced into Eng-
xix
## p. xx (#28) ##############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
pricstsandprofessors,politicians and petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#29) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann, have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag, others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a " never. " One fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back, one fights
rather ruthlessly, one is consequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#30) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
priests and professors. politicians and petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#31) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann. have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag, others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a " never. " O ne fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back,one fights
ratherruthlessly, one isconsequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#32) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
priestsandprofessors,politiciansand petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#33) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann. have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag,others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a "never. " One fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back, one fights
rather ruthlessly, one isconsequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#34) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
doubt about it, I openly confess it, and I even say it
with pride. For our doing was not without danger to
ourselves, and our want of caution proves at least
one thing: that we had a real purpose, a real aim in
view—an aim that made us forget the ordinary laws
of prudence and circumspection which are otherwise
so dear to the literary world.
Butthoughwe have nodoubt used immoral means,
let no one think that we have used them for an im-
moral end. I know that the popular opinion is still
to the contrary; I know that Nietzsche's teaching is
still considered as thatof a pitiless monster. or as that
of a weak man trying to pose as a strong one, or, at
its best. as the dream of a romanticand feverish brain.
No one, I fear. except myself. has ever pointed out the
deep piety and religious feeling(seemy Editorial Note
to Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii) underlying his
cause. And now, after the longyears during which my
thought has occupied itself with his work, this opinion
of mine, that Nietzsche's doctrine is not, as it appears
to be, the negation of Christianity, but rather its per-
fectly logical outcome, has grown within me to an
almost invincible conviction.
Tostate it as shortly as possible: Nietzsche's attack
on Judaism and Christianity is caused by his honest
intellectuality. But where, it may be asked, does this
honesty originate—this intellectual honesty which
forbids itself not only the belief in the Supernatural,
but also, what is much more important, the belief in the
current Christian values of good and evilrlBy what
means have we found out that good and evil are not
different moral shades, like black and white, but that
all good qualities are in reality refined evil ones, that
/
xxii
## p. xxi (#35) #############################################
J-
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
evil is the root of all good, and that he who cuts up the
rootwilltherebydestroythefruit? Whohasultimate-
ly taught us that all is egotism, that all must be egot-
ism, that one must be "evil," that one must take root,
that one must be firm on one's evil legs to be "good,"
and that the goodness of the non-evil man is merely
weakness, if not a cautious request from others to be
good tohim^Who brought this truth home to us; by
what extraordinary power did we moderns obtain an
insightintothevery nature of things? Did Nietzsche's
much vaunted pagans have any idea of this profound
psychology? No, they did not—Nietzsche himself is
obliged to ask: "What did the Greeks know of the
soul? " But who, then, I beg to ask again, made us a
gift of this extraordinaryinsight, which no doubt con-
stitutes the most important discovery the world has
ever made?
The answer is a very simple one: it is a gift from the
chosen race. it is the Semitic idea itself. it is the Chris-
tian conscience, which has allowed us to see the root
of our very being, which has lit up the abyss within us—
an abyss that no pagan searchlight could ever have
illuminated. ItistheJudaeo-Christiandoctrineofsin
thathas forced everyone of us to turn his eyes towards
himself, to descend into himself, to scrutinise himself,
to get to know himself, and that with a discipline
growing more severe from generation to generation.
And in fact wehave learned to know ourselves,and to
know ourselves to such an extent that we cannot be-
lieve any longer in these Semitic ideas,that wecannot
believe any more in sin and in the wickedness of egot-
ism, that we cannot believe any more in the Jewish
distinction between good and evil. Andnotonlyhave
xxiii
## p. xxii (#36) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
doubt about it, I openly confess it, and I even say it
with pride. For our doing was not without danger to
ourselves, and our want of caution proves at least
one thing: that we had a real purpose, a real aim in
view—an aim that made us forget the ordinary laws
of prudence and circumspection which are otherwise
so dear to the literary world.
But though we have no doubt used immoral means,
let no one think that we have used them for an im-
moral end. I know that the popular opinion is still
to the contrary; I know that Nietzsche's teaching is
stillconsidered as thatof a pitiless monster. or as that
of a weak man trying to pose as a strong one, or, at
its best. as the dream of a romanticand feverish brain.
No one, I fear, except myself, has ever pointed out the
deep piety and religious feeling (see my Editorial Note
to Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii) underlying his
cause. Andnow. after the long years during which my
thought has occupied itself with hiswork. this opinion
of mine, that Nietzsche's doctrine is not, as it appears
to be, the negation of Christianity, but rather its per-
fectly logical outcome, has grown within me to an
almost invincible conviction.
To state it as shortly as possible: Nietzsche's attack
on Judaism and Christianity is caused by his honest
intellectuality. But where, it may be asked, does this
honesty originate—this intellectual honesty which
forbids itself not only the belief in the Supernatural,
but also, what is much more important, the belief in the
current Christian values of good and evilpfBy what
means have we found out that good and evil are not
different moral shades, like black and white, but that
all good qualities are in reality refined evil ones, that
xxii (
## p. xxiii (#37) ###########################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
evil is the root of all good, and that he who cuts up the
root will thereby destroy the fruit? Who has ultimate-
ly taught us that all is egotism, that all must be egot-
ism, that one must be "evil," that one must take root,
that one must be firm on one's evil legs to be "good,"
and that the goodness of the non-evil man is merely
weakness, if not a cautious request from others to be
good to him J Who brought this truth home to us; by
what extraordinary power did we moderns obtain an
insightintothevery nature of things? Did Nietzsche's
much vaunted pagans have any idea of this profound
psychology? No, they did not—Nietzsche himself is
obliged to ask: "What did the Greeks know of the
soul? " But who, then, I beg to ask again, made us a
gift of this extraordinary insight, which no doubt con-
stitutes the most important discovery the world has
ever made?
The answer is a very simple one: it is a gift from the
chosen race. it is the Semitic idea itself. it is the Chris-
tian conscience, which has allowed us to see the root
of ourvery being, which haslituptheabysswithin us—
an abyss that no pagan searchlight could ever have
illuminated. ItistheJudaeo-Christiandoctrineofsin
that has forced every one of us to turn his eyes towards
himself, to descend into himself, to scrutinise himself,
to get to know himself, and that with a discipline
growing more severe from generation to generation.
And in fact wehave learned to know ourselves,and to
know ourselves to such an extent that we cannot be-
lieve any longer in these Semitic ideas,that wecannot
believe any more in sin and in the wickedness of egot-
ism, that we cannot believe any more in the Jewish
distinction between good and evil. And not only have
I
xxiii
## p. xxiv (#38) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
we got to know ourselves, but we have likewise gained
knowledgeof others. oureyes have been opened to the
human origin of all history and religion, so that the
only interesting question about any religion for us
now is this: "Cui bono? For whose advantage, for
the benefit of what type of man, was this religion
invented? " All this has been taught to us by the
Judaeo-Christian conscience; but the same consci-
ence and the same conscientiousness which made us
search and find out our innermost heart, now, after the
discovery of the real state of things, force us into dis-
carding this very conscience with all its errors and
wrong conclusions. I n other words: it is our religion
which forbids us any further belief in our religion,
it is our morality which gave the death-blow to our
morality.
We cannot help ourselves. We must dismiss this
old morality; we must try to find another, a higher, a
more natural form of morality, but, let me repeat it,
out 0/morality, out of piety, out of honesty. We can-
not pretend to be altruists any longer! We cannot
be liars! Our parents have been decent, law-abiding,
religious people; and we have inherited their sense
of honour and truthfulness, we have it in our blood!
fAway with lies, away with the babble of brotherhood,
away with all the poisonous hypocrisy of to-day ! 1
f "One sees what has really gained the victory over
the Christian God—Christian morality itself, the con-
ception of veracity taken ever more strictly, the con-
fessional subtlety of the Christian conscience, trans-
lated and sublimated to the scientific conscience, to
intellectual purity at any price," says Nietzsche him-
self in \hc Joyful Wisdom {Aph. 357). . . . Are these
xxiv
## p. xxv (#39) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
the words of an irreligious person? Is this the voice
of a real immoralist—the speech of a despairing an-
archist? This then is the much-dreaded and self-
styled Antichrist? Why, if there ever was a true son
of the Semitic idea, a noble defender of that ancient
faith and its Christian supplement, it is Friedrich
Nietzsche. If there ever was a true Christian, it was
he. Not only is he not the Antichrist; he is the very
opposite of it, he is what Goethe said of Spinoza:
Christianissimus. It is his enemies' faith, the faith of
those people in whom the religious consciencehas not
yet blossomed out into the intellectual conscience, that
ought to be questioned; it is they who, compared with
him, are only wavering sceptics and cowardly idealists,
or at best backward Christians, undeveloped Chris-
tians, Christians on a lower plane. Ah—what a car-
nival of shame will seize upon modern Europe when
the full significance of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought
dawns upon her, when she realises at last what a noble,
brave, and truly religious character has been exposed
by her to neglect, misunderstanding, and ridicule! )
But I am carried away by my subject, and I did not
wish to be carried away; I wished to be gentle and
"dignified" at this important juncture of the Niet-
zschean propaganda. Let metherefore fall back upon
a less intense and more literary note and say a few
calmer words to those for whom Nietzsche, though
perhaps they do not yet know it, will soon become an
indispensable friend and guide. And I would mention
here—amongst the first—the artists, though I have
my doubts whether my recommendation of Nietzsche
to them is not superfluous. For artists were the first
to welcome Nietzsche and have even honoured him
XXV
## p. xxvi (#40) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
with the flattering name of " our philosopher," while,
on the other hand, it may safely be predicted that
scholars, schoolmasters, and clergymen will be the
last to do homage to him—and that for the simple
reason that the latter have an easy and the former a
difficult life to live. Qt will be seen that by " artist"
here is meant a man who, in whatever direction. has to
break new ground,has to create new values, to destroy
old errors, and to pay the bill for such daring—that is
to say, to live a lonely life, and such men, by nature
healthier, prouder, braver than others (for otherwise
they would not have undertaken a great task), are
likewise more sensitive and vulnerable (for otherwise
they would not see new things), and therefore urgent-
ly require the cheerfulness, the joyful wisdom, the
honest optimism, that speaks out of the pages of our
philosopher. )
fThey must likewise learn from Nietzsche, what
every leader ought to learn, but what is most difficult
to sensuous artists, and that is a certain simple, nay
ascetic, way of living, not for the benefit of their souls
like the Christian, not out of poverty of spirit and body
like the Philistine, but for the benefit of their object,
their art, their aim, their aspirations and desires. ) It
was a hard life that Nietzsche lived himself, it is a
hard life that he recommends to his followers. And
as ideas to thecontrary still prevail in England, and as
(tomygreat regret) thenameof Nietzschenowthreat-
ens to become popular, all-too-popular, I would only
mention as a warning to would-be disciples, and as a
proof of my statement, the case of Mr. Ernest Horn-to-
effer. Mr. Horneffer, one of the foremost German '.
Nietzscheans. of late openly proclaimed his conversion
'V!
xxvi
## p. xxvii (#41) ###########################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to monism (in Englandbestknown as the naturalistic
philosophy of Ernest Haeckel), giving as his reason
for doing so that Nietzsche "expected too much from
human beings. " That was at least right and honest:
"riestpas diable qui veut" as the French say, and
n'est pas Nietzschten non plus qui veut. (Let unholy
hands keep aloof from inspired writings/let the laity
believe in their old religions and their new philoso-
phies, and let Nietzsche be the philosopher for those
only who have to stand alone, but who for this very
reason need an example and perhaps a guide more
than any other. J
It is, then, to the pioneers of science, to those who
have left the safe shore of religion and are now ex-
plorers upon a treacherous and unknown sea, that
Nietzsche should be most urgently recommended, all
the more as they have neglected and ignored him too
much in the past, (ft is not good to neglect one's best
friends; it is all the worse if one stands in urgent need
of them. But to ignore one's enemies is the greatest
danger of all—a danger, however, into which men of
science, who are far too busy with the smallest and re-
motest things to see the nearest and greatest, are only
too apt to fall Jit is a strange thing that those who ex-
clusively rely upon the senses are as a rule not sensitive
people, that those who ought to see best see nothing,
and are, for instance,quite capable of cheerfully laying
out their garden near the edge of a volcano that is by
no means extinct. Scientists have no idea that all can
again be swamped and killed in a night. They have no
suspicion even of a volcano, for it does not spit fire and
brimstone any more, but only murmurs "love " and
sweet persuasion. It nolongerroarsandthunders. it no
xxvii
## p. xxviii (#42) ##########################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
longer slays thousands in one furious eruption; it has
become quite gentle, quite a drawing-room, a lecture-
room volcano, and the only sign that it is a volcano is,
that it still produces plenty of smoke. Let scientists
beware of the smoke-producing metaphysicians, of
the fog-loving, fog-favouring obscurantists, who no
longer look like theologians, but walk about dressed
like gentlemen and know how to hide their spiritual
cloven hoof under scientific apparel.
Find more books at https://www. hathitrust. org.
Title: The complete works of Friedrich Nietzsche. The first complete
and authorized English translation, edited by Dr. Oscar Levy.
Author: Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.
Publisher: [Edinburgh and London : T. N. Foulis, 1909-1913. ]
Copyright:
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## p. i (#9) ################################################
THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF
FRIEDRICH glETZSCHE
The First Complete and Authorised English Translation
EDITED BY
Dr. OSCAR LEVY
VOLUME EIGHTEEN
INDEX TO THE COMPLETE
WORKS
## p. ii (#10) ##############################################
Of the First Edition
containing Fifteen Hundred Copies
this is
No.
522
## p. iii (#11) #############################################
INDEX
TO NIETZSCHE
COMPILED BY
ROBERT GUPPY
VOCABULARY OP FOREIGN QUOTATIONS
OCCURRING IN THE WORKS OF NIETZSCHE
TRANSLATED BY
PAUL V. COHN, B. A.
With an Introductory Essay:
The Nietzsche Movement in England
(A Retrospect—a Confession—a Prospect)
By Dr. Oscar Levy
T. N. FOULIS, PUBLISHER
91 GT. RUSSELL ST. , LONDON, &. 15 FREDERICK ST. , EDINBURGH
1913
## p. iv (#12) ##############################################
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Printed by Momison & Gi» Limited, Edinburgh
## p. v (#13) ###############################################
LIST OF CONTENTS
PAGE
1. The Nietzsche Movement in England (A Re-
trospect—A Confession—A Prospect), by the
Editor ------ ix
2. Index to the Complete Works of Friedrich
Nietzsche ------ i
3. Index of Foreign Quotations - - - 363
285950
## p. vi (#14) ##############################################
## p. vii (#15) #############################################
ERRATA
In accordance with the request made by a number of sub-
scribers the Editor begs to announce that these volumes
have been re-arranged and are now in chronological order.
So that the volume numbers found in the index contained
in the eighteenth volume may more readily be referred to,
it is suggested that the following corrections be made on
the half-titles of these volumes:—
-The Birth of Tragedy (III. ), now Vol. I.
-Thoughts Out of Season, Vol. I. (I. ), now Vol. IV.
- Do. do. Vol. II. (II. ), now Vol. V.
Human, All-too-Human, Vol. I. (VII. ), now Vol. VI.
Thus Spake Zarathustra (IV. ), now Vol. XI.
Beyond Good and Evil (V. ), now Vol. XII.
Will to Power, Vol. I. (IX. ), now Vol. XIV.
## p. viii (#16) ############################################
## p. ix (#17) ##############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT
IN ENGLAND
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND
A PROSPECT
BY THE EDITOR
With this—the eighteenth and last volume of the
authorised translation of Nietzsche's works into Eng-
lish—a task is brought to an end which it has taken
twenty years to carry to a final and successful conclu-
sion. It was in the year 1893 that Nietzsche's name
is first mentioned in one of the books of the unfortun-
ate English poet John Davidson. In the following
year a group of German, English, and Scottish ad-
mirers of Nietzsche arranged to bring out an author-
ised version of the German thinker's works, three
volumes of which were actuallypublished in 1896 and
1897. The reception of these books was so discourag-
ing that no further arrangements could be made by
the publishing firm, which shortly afterwards, owing
chiefly to the extensive liabilities incurred by the
Nietzsche edition, had to give up business. In the
next six years—from 1897 to 1903—in spite of various
endeavours by some indefatigable defenders of the
faith. itwas found absolutely impossibleto get ahear-
ix
## p. x (#18) ###############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
ing for Nietzsche either with the public, the Press, or
the publishers. Their hopes went down to freezing-
point when, in 1903, The Dawn of Day was given to
the public, only to meet again with a cold reception.
But in 1907 the party had somewhat recovered its
spirit, and as a last experiment brought out a trans-
lation of Beyond Good and Evil—this time at private
risk, for no publisher could be induced to take up an
author twice repudiated. This translation was one
which had been made nearly ten years ago, but until
then had never seen, and was never expected to see,
the light of publicity. 11 turned out to be a success—a
half-hearted success perhaps, but one that at last told
the few inmates of the Nietzschean ark that the waters
of democracy had diminished, and that at least some
higher peaksof humanity were free from the appalling
deluge. The success encouraged them once more to
take up theirold project ofthe publication of the com-
plete works. New arrangements were made with the
Nietzsche-Archiv, whose authorities were found most
willing to come to another agreement for a fresh edi-
tion. In May 1909 the first four volumes of this, the
present translation, left the press and were favourably
received, though yet by a small and none too enthusi-
astic public. Towards the end of the same year three
more volumes were published. In [Qioand 1911 the
remaining ten volumes of the translation appeared,
while most of the previously published volumes went
into a second and even a third edition. No volume
was published in 1912,but with the index the last and,
as is to be hoped, a very useful volume is added to this,
the most complete and voluminous translation of any
foreign philosopher into the English language.
## p. xi (#19) ##############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
So the hour of victory has arrived at last, and over
some of my fellow-workers upon this edition, I know,
there has come a feeling not unlike that experienced
by the Great Frederick's grenadiers after the battle of
Leuthen—the feeling of an over-full andgrateful heart,
which at the close of the victorious day made all the
soldiers round their camp-fires burst out into the grave
andstirringtunesofthe Lutheran hymn :" Nowthank
we all our God! " Unfortunately (or fortunately) the
brave Nietzscheans are in the same position as the
Great Frederick himself, who, being a Voltairian, was
probably the only one present who could not join in
the chorus of thanks to the Higher Power, because he
knew that the Higher Power generally fights on the
side of the Higher Will-Power; because he knew that
the firm will of a small minority can move even the
mountain of the highest majority. But let us forget
just for the moment that flattering comparison with
the greatPrussian Kingand his grenadiers, and let us
rather adopt a little of that humility so dear to our
antagonists; for by adopting sincerely that attitude we
may possibly conciliate to a certain extent a religion
whose weaknesses we have fought with such unex-
pected success. Let us be modest as to our achieve-
ment, and let us openly confess that our work of trans-
lation, as it now appears, is by no means so perfect as
might be desired, that it not only falls short of the
original, as most translations must, but that it probably
contains various errors which may have arisen from a
misinterpretation of Nietzsche. True, every possible
care has been taken to avoid such errors; and every
nerve was strained by the translators to reproduce the
racy, witty. picturesque style of Nietzschein adequate
xi
## p. xii (#20) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
English, but no man, however versatile, can hope to
understand another perfectly; and no translator. how-
ever gifted, can pretend to equal in another tongue
the endlessly rich nuances and rhythms of a poet like
Nietzsche. Will our readers kindly forgive us if we
have not always attained an ideal which was too high
above us to be reached at all; will they forgive us when
we assure them that no one has suffered from that
unattained ideal more than ourselves? I sincerely hope
that we shall be judged with indulgence on this point,
especially when I repeat here the promise I made in
the Editorial Note to one of the first volumes of this
edition {Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii): "As this
cause is somewhat holy to me, I am ready to listen to
any suggestions as to improvements of style or sense
comingfrom qualified sources. . . . Ihavenotentered
into any engagements with publishers, not even with
the present one, which could hinder my task, bind me
down to any text found faulty, or make me consent to
omission or falsification or "sugaring " of the origin-
al text to further the sales of the books. I am there-
fore in a position to give every attention to a work
which I consider as of no less importance for the
country of my residence than for the country of my
birth, as well as for the rest of Europe. "
But while we may well be modest about what we
have done, it would be absurd to play the humble hy-
pocrite about the fact that we have done it, that we
have been abletosecure apublic forNietzschein Eng-
land at all. For England was no doubt the most im-
portant country of all to conquer for Nietzschean
thought. I do not mean on account of her ubiquitous
language, thanks to which Nietzsche is now read not
xii
## p. xiii (#21) ############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
only in South Africa and Australia, in Canada and
America, but even upon the banks of the Nile and the
Ganges, and under the pagodas and cherry-trees of
China and Japan. I am thinking of anotherand more
important reason, which became a conviction to me
during the progress of this publication: the firm con-
viction that if we could not obtain a hearing for Niet-
zsche in England,his wonderful and at the same time
very practical thought might be lost for ever to the
world—a world that would then quickly be darkened
over again by the ever-threatening clouds of obscur-
antism and barbarism.
But, it might be objected here, has not Nietzsche
been translated into almost all tongues; are there
not complete Russian, Polish, Spanish, Italian, and
French versions of his works, not to speak of the lan-
guages of the smaller European nations? Why, then,
need we attach such importance to the propagation of
his gospel in the Anglo-Saxon world? That. ofcourse,
mightbeofferedasajustobjection; butalittlethought
and explanation will provehowvery different are con-
ditions in England from those on the Continent, and
that precisely in the most important matter of all, in
the matter with which Nietzsche's thought is princi-
pally occupied—in the matter of religion.
To state this difference briefly and plainly: in Eng-
land the most truly Christian public is not found
amongst the wealthy,the powerful,the aristocracy: it
is found, just as in the time of Jesus, amongst the lower,
or rather the lower-middle, classes. It is amongst the
frequenters of chapels and Nonconformist churches
that the true spirit of Christianity is most alive and
most vividly felt; it is the man of humble and modest
xiii
## p. xiv (#22) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
position who takes the religion of the humble, of the
modest, of the peaceful, most seriously, because this re-
ligion, which originated amongst his class, even now
aftertwo thousand years exactly suits his taste, flatters
his secret wishes and ambitions, and satisfies alike his
heart and hishead. his hopes andhis hatreds. Nothing
of this—I should like to call it most natural—condi-
tion is to be discovered on the Continent, where the
historical development has been quite different, and
has absolutely confused and even effaced any such
obvious distinction between fervent and less fervent
Christians. On theContinent, where, as is well known,
the French Revolution has had much more influence
than inEngland. the reactionagainstthat Revolution
has likewise been very much stronger, and (strange to
say) that reaction of the powerful, the rich, and the
aristocrats has appropriated the Christian religion
to itself in order to fight the revolutionary lower
classes, which were strongly, but wrongly, suspected
by them of a lack of Christian spirit Wrongly, I say,
because they quite forgot that Christianity, in spite of
a benignantmask. isinrealityarevolutionary religion,
and that not the lack of religion, but the very spirit of
religion, had driven the French people to cut off the
heads of their king and their aristocrats. Now, when
the Revolution was vanquished and the full tide of
the Restoration had set in, the monarchs of Prussia,
Russia, and Austria had nothing better to do than to
found the Holy Alliance, which was joined by most
monarchs of Europe (except the Prince-Regent of
England) and adopted Christianity and the princi-
ples of justice, peace, and charity (the requirements
of all the lower strata of society) as their shibboleth:
xiv
## p. xv (#23) ##############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
in other words, it was they, the princes, the powerful,
the masters, who adopted the tenets of the religion
of the slaves. In opposition to them, and in order to
fight their "enemies and oppressors," the liberal and
socialistic lower classes of the Continent have more
or less loudly proclaimed a sort of atheism, although
it is precisely they who most fervently believe, if not
in the Christian God, at least in something much more
important than this God—to wit, His morality.
Thus, as will easily be seen,on the Continent every-
thing is muddled in matters of religion; what should
be below is above, and what should be above is be-
low; whereas in England everything is comparatively
natural: the religion of those below is still most alive
amongst those below, while the upper classes are much
more permeated by the non -Christian spirit—by the
spirit of a Voltaire and aGibbon. In England, there-
fore, at election times the battle-cry can still be heard:
"To Hell with the Dukes and the Lords: vote for
Christ 1" while on the Continent Christ fights side
by side with the aristocrats, who pretend to be on the
most intimate terms with Him, the enemy of proud
names and worldly riches. French officers of good fa-
milies nowadays regularly attend mass, not from a
deep inner relationship to the Prince of Peace on the
Cross, but in order to protest against what they sup-
pose to be the most impudent atheism of the rebellious
lower classes. German Junkers pretend to be pillars
of the throne and altar, not knowing or not wishing to
know that the teaching given out at the altar is, so
long as it is delivered without falsehood, subversive
of all thrones and all authorities. Wealth and beauty
all over the Continent, from a reaction against the
xv
## p. xvi (#24) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
"materialistic " lower classes, feels itself coerced into
doing homage to a God who stood for poverty and
equality against full pockets and rosy cheeks. With
perfect justice, therefore, the Liberals and Socialists
on the Continent reproach the upper classes with
hypocrisy, while in England the hypocrisy is much
more on the side of the Liberal and middle classes.
For, why do not these Liberals carry out their Chris-
tian principles? Why not establish equality? Why
not abolish capitalism? . . . " But it is impossible to do
all that! " Ah! . . . is Christianity then impossible?
It is on account of these peculiar religious condi-
tions that Nietzschean thought seems more likely to
be understood in England than any other country of
Europe, for in England, and only in England, can it
still be seen that Nietzsche was right in describing
Christianity as the religion of the lower classes, while
ontheContinent his whole attack seems tobe without
significance. his whole philosophy based upon assump-
tion. But why not—it might be objected—rely much
more upon another country, a country much more
Nietzschean than England, a country where the
translation of Nietzsche has been subsidised by the
Government, and one which besides enjoys the repu-
tation of being the most intellectual of European
nations—why not rely upon modern France for the
practical success of Nietzsche? The answer to this
important objection is very simple, and it is this:
that French free-thought—although certainly of a
much more independent nature than what is called
free-thought elsewhere—that French free-thought, I
say, is not too much to be depended upon when it
is supposed to turn in earnest against an old religion,
xvi
## p. xvii (#25) ############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
It must never be forgotten that Catholicism, unlike
Protestantism, has really entered into the hearts of
its believers; that the head of a Latin may be as free-
thinking and daring as possible, but that his heart
will shrink nevertheless from drawing the final con-
clusions of his intellectual persuasion. Catholicism,
besides, is an admirable system, thought out by real
connoisseurs of human nature; it is well adapted to
the requirements of Southerners, and it has not yet
quite led to those intolerable conditions which Niet-
zsche so constantlyattacks in his works. There is still
a remnant of patriarchalism left in Latin countries; the
family is not yet totally undermined; nor woman in
open rebellion ; nor the authority of the father quite
abolished; nor are the children imbued with the in-
flexible conviction that" they must live their own lives
at all cost! " And, as patriarchalism in domestic and
business life has not yet quite disappeared in these
countries, there has up to now been no necessity for
the State to take care of millions of slaves, many of
whom are beyond any care and hope, many whose
propagation even threatens our society with an ig-
noble death from suffocation by its own refuse.
There is no doubt that Protestantism (whatever
good it may have done in other fields) has created
these sad conditionsaround us: with its idea of equal-
ity it has split humanity into thousands of anarchical
atoms, with its idea of liberty it has thrown responsi-
bility upon weak shoulders, with its idea of charity it
has helped these weak and worthless people to sur-
vive, nay, to pullulate as freely as possible. Now, as
Protestantism is the principal object of Nietzsche's
attack, and as affairs are not quite so desperate
b xvii
## p. xviii (#26) ###########################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
amongst the Catholics as amongst the Protestants,
a French or Italian free-thinker, though most willing-
ly agreeing with Nietzsche's remarks about Christi-
anity, will only too readily save himself by drawing
a line between Catholicism and Christianity. "One
should be too good a Catholicto be a good Christian,"
one of the foremost Nietzscheans of France wrote the
other day. Nowthisin my opinion is agrave error—an
error. by the way,not shared bythehead of the Catho-
lic Church, who has rightly, from this point of view,
put the works of Friedrich Nietzsche on the " Index
Expurgatorius. " It is a great mistake, I think, to hide
behind the Church in order to escape the consequences
of true Christianity, for the Church, even the Catholic
Church, the least Christian of all Christian Churches,
will never give up the faith: it would make itself su-
perfluous as a physician if it ever ceased from distri-
buting its peculiar poison. In spite, therefore, of all my
respect for the most intellectual country in Europe, I
have the greatest doubt whether it will not and should
not be a Protestant country that oughttotake the lead
in the matter of Nietzschean thought. And since the
country of our philosopher, as he rightly prophesied
himself (see Ecce Homo, p. 126 of this edition), is out
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
"This is a difficult country to move, my friend, a
difficult country indeed," said the aged Disraeli once
xviii
## p. xix (#27) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to the young and enthusiastic Socialist Mr. Hynd-
man; and if anyone besides Disraeli has ever experi-
enced the truth of this saying. it is we. who havebrought
this edition to a successful conclusion. The stoical
"ataraxia" of the Anglo-Saxon world is—to put it
mildly—something terrible; but why put it mildly?
That in matters of the intellect England is a real
brick wall there is not the slightest doubt, as some
almost ineffaceable bruises on the heads of my fellow-
workers and myself will for ever demonstrate to any
unbeliever. In saying this I of course in no way de-
sire to utter any specially adverse criticism—on the
contrary, I rather admire this characteristic in an
otherwise unprincipled world, in a world which only
too often pretends to be tolerant of all ideas, because
it has no original ideas of itsown. Such open-minded
people are the last for whom Nietzsche wrote, and the
early active acceptance of Nietzsche by just such
people was and is still our greatest danger—a much
greaterdanger than the passive resistance of that fatal
brick wall. No, if I am to have any choice in the
matter, let me deal with the British brick wall: at
least it is no yielding softness, at least there is firmness
in that stupidity, and once it is conquered you can
with certainty rely and build upon a brick wall, how-
ever obstinate the resistance may have been. . .
126 of this edition), is out
of the question on account of its low-church morality,
its mental confusion, its indecision in matters of in-
tellect, it became a most urgent necessity to carry
conviction to that country which has the most deep-
ly rooted aversion to any convictions—and especi-
ally to those pronounced in dictatorial terms—to
England.
"This is a difficult country to move, my friend, a
difficult country indeed," said the aged Disraeli once
xviii
## p. xix (#27) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to the young and enthusiastic Socialist Mr. Hynd-
man; and if anyone besides Disraeli has ever experi-
enced the truth of this saying. it is we. who havebrought
this edition to a successful conclusion. The stoical
"ataraxia" of the Anglo-Saxon world is—to put it
mildly—something terrible; but why put it mildly?
That in matters of the intellect England is a real
brick wall there is not the slightest doubt, as some
almost ineffaceable bruises on the heads of my fellow-
workers and myself will for ever demonstrate to any
unbeliever. In saying this I of course in no way de-
sire to utter any specially adverse criticism—on the
contrary, I rather admire this characteristic in an
otherwise unprincipled world, in a world which only
too often pretends to be tolerant of all ideas, because
it has no original ideas of itsown. Such open-minded
people are the last for whom Nietzsche wrote, and the
early active acceptance of Nietzsche by just such
people was and is still our greatest danger—a much
greaterdanger than the passive resistance of that fatal
brick wall. No, if I am to have any choice in the
matter, let me deal with the British brick wall: at
least it is no yielding softness, at least there is firmness
in that stupidity, and once it is conquered you can
with certainty rely and build upon a brick wall, how-
ever obstinate the resistance may have been. . . .
But I do not wish to dwell any longer upon the re-
sistance we encountered, lest it might be thought that
this is only done for the purpose of glorifying our
achievements or of exalting our pluck in overcoming
obstacles. It is for a much more modest reason that
I have to draw the reader's attention to the conditions
under which Nietzsche has been introduced into Eng-
xix
## p. xx (#28) ##############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
pricstsandprofessors,politicians and petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#29) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann, have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag, others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a " never. " One fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back, one fights
rather ruthlessly, one is consequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#30) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
priests and professors. politicians and petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#31) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann. have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag, others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a " never. " O ne fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back,one fights
ratherruthlessly, one isconsequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#32) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
land; it is in order to excuse us, the Nietzscheans, for
the manner in which it was accomplished.
This manner of our campaign has very often been
blamed in private conversations as well as in public
utterances, and, let me say it at once, not without
some shadow of justice. Our publications have been
very loud, our lectures aggressive, our conversations
"conceited. " I myself have openly indulged in sneers
and sarcasms of a most hearty calibre, as the Preface
to this very edition and all the prefaces I wrote to the
books of my friends will prove. I have likewise, I con-
fess, encouraged some of my contributors to indulge
in a similar language—a languagewhich is both jar-
ring and discomfiting to the ordinary inhabitant of
this island, accustomed as he is to have the more
polite forms of parliamentary discussion preserved
even in his literature. I know it, and I confess it; but,
let me say at once, I do not at all regret it. The
reason for all this extraordinary behaviour is only
too plain: we were an insignificant minority in a state
of war with a vast majority, whose arrows, as the
Persian ambassador once upon a time said to the
Spartans, would well have been able to darken the
sun.
We were a hopelessly small garrison in the midst
of alarmingly hostile surroundings. Everybody was
against us: not openly, to be sure, but, what is worse,
silently, sullenly, instinctively. In front of us stood
a most powerful phalanx composed of everything
thatdirectstheintellect of this country—a phalanxof
priestsandprofessors,politiciansand petticoats. One
might have thought that some solitaries, a few of the
independent thinkers, or some of the literary cele-
xx
## p. xxi (#33) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
brities of modern England would have come to our
rescue; but, apart from a misunderstanding of our
cause and a very private and secret encouragement,
not a soul stirred, not a mouth opened, not a finger
was moved in our favour. Add to this that we were
really a beaten crew, that England had stated before
she would have nothing to do with Nietzsche. Re-
member that we were likewise a terribly decimated
crew. Of the older Nietzscheans, of those who stood
sponsor for the first edition, only two, Mr. Thomas
Common and Mr. William Haussmann. have remain-
ed faithful to the cause. Some have left the flag,others
have disappeared, one has become a Catholic. John
Davidson, a true Nietzschean likewise, though one
more intoxicated than inspired by Nietzsche, has
even taken his own life. What wonder! The battle-
field of thought has its dead, its wounded, and its
deserters as well as any other—and only the com-
fortable citizen who has no idea of what this higher
warfare is like will shrug his shoulders at those who
come to grief during their noble but dangerous enter-
prise.
In other words: it was a case of "now or never,"
and of at least one of our army I know for a certainty
that he would not have survived a "never. " One fights
well with broken bridges behind one's back, one fights
rather ruthlessly, one isconsequently not very particu-
lar about the means. "Je riaimepas la guerre a Feau
de rose" as Napoleon used to say. "If moral support
will not do, we must give immoral support to Greece,"
as Bismarck once remarked. And we have certainly
helped our cause by all possible means, open or secret,
lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral—there is no
xxi
## p. xxi (#34) #############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
doubt about it, I openly confess it, and I even say it
with pride. For our doing was not without danger to
ourselves, and our want of caution proves at least
one thing: that we had a real purpose, a real aim in
view—an aim that made us forget the ordinary laws
of prudence and circumspection which are otherwise
so dear to the literary world.
Butthoughwe have nodoubt used immoral means,
let no one think that we have used them for an im-
moral end. I know that the popular opinion is still
to the contrary; I know that Nietzsche's teaching is
still considered as thatof a pitiless monster. or as that
of a weak man trying to pose as a strong one, or, at
its best. as the dream of a romanticand feverish brain.
No one, I fear. except myself. has ever pointed out the
deep piety and religious feeling(seemy Editorial Note
to Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii) underlying his
cause. And now, after the longyears during which my
thought has occupied itself with his work, this opinion
of mine, that Nietzsche's doctrine is not, as it appears
to be, the negation of Christianity, but rather its per-
fectly logical outcome, has grown within me to an
almost invincible conviction.
Tostate it as shortly as possible: Nietzsche's attack
on Judaism and Christianity is caused by his honest
intellectuality. But where, it may be asked, does this
honesty originate—this intellectual honesty which
forbids itself not only the belief in the Supernatural,
but also, what is much more important, the belief in the
current Christian values of good and evilrlBy what
means have we found out that good and evil are not
different moral shades, like black and white, but that
all good qualities are in reality refined evil ones, that
/
xxii
## p. xxi (#35) #############################################
J-
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
evil is the root of all good, and that he who cuts up the
rootwilltherebydestroythefruit? Whohasultimate-
ly taught us that all is egotism, that all must be egot-
ism, that one must be "evil," that one must take root,
that one must be firm on one's evil legs to be "good,"
and that the goodness of the non-evil man is merely
weakness, if not a cautious request from others to be
good tohim^Who brought this truth home to us; by
what extraordinary power did we moderns obtain an
insightintothevery nature of things? Did Nietzsche's
much vaunted pagans have any idea of this profound
psychology? No, they did not—Nietzsche himself is
obliged to ask: "What did the Greeks know of the
soul? " But who, then, I beg to ask again, made us a
gift of this extraordinaryinsight, which no doubt con-
stitutes the most important discovery the world has
ever made?
The answer is a very simple one: it is a gift from the
chosen race. it is the Semitic idea itself. it is the Chris-
tian conscience, which has allowed us to see the root
of our very being, which has lit up the abyss within us—
an abyss that no pagan searchlight could ever have
illuminated. ItistheJudaeo-Christiandoctrineofsin
thathas forced everyone of us to turn his eyes towards
himself, to descend into himself, to scrutinise himself,
to get to know himself, and that with a discipline
growing more severe from generation to generation.
And in fact wehave learned to know ourselves,and to
know ourselves to such an extent that we cannot be-
lieve any longer in these Semitic ideas,that wecannot
believe any more in sin and in the wickedness of egot-
ism, that we cannot believe any more in the Jewish
distinction between good and evil. Andnotonlyhave
xxiii
## p. xxii (#36) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
doubt about it, I openly confess it, and I even say it
with pride. For our doing was not without danger to
ourselves, and our want of caution proves at least
one thing: that we had a real purpose, a real aim in
view—an aim that made us forget the ordinary laws
of prudence and circumspection which are otherwise
so dear to the literary world.
But though we have no doubt used immoral means,
let no one think that we have used them for an im-
moral end. I know that the popular opinion is still
to the contrary; I know that Nietzsche's teaching is
stillconsidered as thatof a pitiless monster. or as that
of a weak man trying to pose as a strong one, or, at
its best. as the dream of a romanticand feverish brain.
No one, I fear, except myself, has ever pointed out the
deep piety and religious feeling (see my Editorial Note
to Thoughts out of Season, vol. i. p. viii) underlying his
cause. Andnow. after the long years during which my
thought has occupied itself with hiswork. this opinion
of mine, that Nietzsche's doctrine is not, as it appears
to be, the negation of Christianity, but rather its per-
fectly logical outcome, has grown within me to an
almost invincible conviction.
To state it as shortly as possible: Nietzsche's attack
on Judaism and Christianity is caused by his honest
intellectuality. But where, it may be asked, does this
honesty originate—this intellectual honesty which
forbids itself not only the belief in the Supernatural,
but also, what is much more important, the belief in the
current Christian values of good and evilpfBy what
means have we found out that good and evil are not
different moral shades, like black and white, but that
all good qualities are in reality refined evil ones, that
xxii (
## p. xxiii (#37) ###########################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
evil is the root of all good, and that he who cuts up the
root will thereby destroy the fruit? Who has ultimate-
ly taught us that all is egotism, that all must be egot-
ism, that one must be "evil," that one must take root,
that one must be firm on one's evil legs to be "good,"
and that the goodness of the non-evil man is merely
weakness, if not a cautious request from others to be
good to him J Who brought this truth home to us; by
what extraordinary power did we moderns obtain an
insightintothevery nature of things? Did Nietzsche's
much vaunted pagans have any idea of this profound
psychology? No, they did not—Nietzsche himself is
obliged to ask: "What did the Greeks know of the
soul? " But who, then, I beg to ask again, made us a
gift of this extraordinary insight, which no doubt con-
stitutes the most important discovery the world has
ever made?
The answer is a very simple one: it is a gift from the
chosen race. it is the Semitic idea itself. it is the Chris-
tian conscience, which has allowed us to see the root
of ourvery being, which haslituptheabysswithin us—
an abyss that no pagan searchlight could ever have
illuminated. ItistheJudaeo-Christiandoctrineofsin
that has forced every one of us to turn his eyes towards
himself, to descend into himself, to scrutinise himself,
to get to know himself, and that with a discipline
growing more severe from generation to generation.
And in fact wehave learned to know ourselves,and to
know ourselves to such an extent that we cannot be-
lieve any longer in these Semitic ideas,that wecannot
believe any more in sin and in the wickedness of egot-
ism, that we cannot believe any more in the Jewish
distinction between good and evil. And not only have
I
xxiii
## p. xxiv (#38) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
we got to know ourselves, but we have likewise gained
knowledgeof others. oureyes have been opened to the
human origin of all history and religion, so that the
only interesting question about any religion for us
now is this: "Cui bono? For whose advantage, for
the benefit of what type of man, was this religion
invented? " All this has been taught to us by the
Judaeo-Christian conscience; but the same consci-
ence and the same conscientiousness which made us
search and find out our innermost heart, now, after the
discovery of the real state of things, force us into dis-
carding this very conscience with all its errors and
wrong conclusions. I n other words: it is our religion
which forbids us any further belief in our religion,
it is our morality which gave the death-blow to our
morality.
We cannot help ourselves. We must dismiss this
old morality; we must try to find another, a higher, a
more natural form of morality, but, let me repeat it,
out 0/morality, out of piety, out of honesty. We can-
not pretend to be altruists any longer! We cannot
be liars! Our parents have been decent, law-abiding,
religious people; and we have inherited their sense
of honour and truthfulness, we have it in our blood!
fAway with lies, away with the babble of brotherhood,
away with all the poisonous hypocrisy of to-day ! 1
f "One sees what has really gained the victory over
the Christian God—Christian morality itself, the con-
ception of veracity taken ever more strictly, the con-
fessional subtlety of the Christian conscience, trans-
lated and sublimated to the scientific conscience, to
intellectual purity at any price," says Nietzsche him-
self in \hc Joyful Wisdom {Aph. 357). . . . Are these
xxiv
## p. xxv (#39) #############################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
the words of an irreligious person? Is this the voice
of a real immoralist—the speech of a despairing an-
archist? This then is the much-dreaded and self-
styled Antichrist? Why, if there ever was a true son
of the Semitic idea, a noble defender of that ancient
faith and its Christian supplement, it is Friedrich
Nietzsche. If there ever was a true Christian, it was
he. Not only is he not the Antichrist; he is the very
opposite of it, he is what Goethe said of Spinoza:
Christianissimus. It is his enemies' faith, the faith of
those people in whom the religious consciencehas not
yet blossomed out into the intellectual conscience, that
ought to be questioned; it is they who, compared with
him, are only wavering sceptics and cowardly idealists,
or at best backward Christians, undeveloped Chris-
tians, Christians on a lower plane. Ah—what a car-
nival of shame will seize upon modern Europe when
the full significance of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought
dawns upon her, when she realises at last what a noble,
brave, and truly religious character has been exposed
by her to neglect, misunderstanding, and ridicule! )
But I am carried away by my subject, and I did not
wish to be carried away; I wished to be gentle and
"dignified" at this important juncture of the Niet-
zschean propaganda. Let metherefore fall back upon
a less intense and more literary note and say a few
calmer words to those for whom Nietzsche, though
perhaps they do not yet know it, will soon become an
indispensable friend and guide. And I would mention
here—amongst the first—the artists, though I have
my doubts whether my recommendation of Nietzsche
to them is not superfluous. For artists were the first
to welcome Nietzsche and have even honoured him
XXV
## p. xxvi (#40) ############################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
with the flattering name of " our philosopher," while,
on the other hand, it may safely be predicted that
scholars, schoolmasters, and clergymen will be the
last to do homage to him—and that for the simple
reason that the latter have an easy and the former a
difficult life to live. Qt will be seen that by " artist"
here is meant a man who, in whatever direction. has to
break new ground,has to create new values, to destroy
old errors, and to pay the bill for such daring—that is
to say, to live a lonely life, and such men, by nature
healthier, prouder, braver than others (for otherwise
they would not have undertaken a great task), are
likewise more sensitive and vulnerable (for otherwise
they would not see new things), and therefore urgent-
ly require the cheerfulness, the joyful wisdom, the
honest optimism, that speaks out of the pages of our
philosopher. )
fThey must likewise learn from Nietzsche, what
every leader ought to learn, but what is most difficult
to sensuous artists, and that is a certain simple, nay
ascetic, way of living, not for the benefit of their souls
like the Christian, not out of poverty of spirit and body
like the Philistine, but for the benefit of their object,
their art, their aim, their aspirations and desires. ) It
was a hard life that Nietzsche lived himself, it is a
hard life that he recommends to his followers. And
as ideas to thecontrary still prevail in England, and as
(tomygreat regret) thenameof Nietzschenowthreat-
ens to become popular, all-too-popular, I would only
mention as a warning to would-be disciples, and as a
proof of my statement, the case of Mr. Ernest Horn-to-
effer. Mr. Horneffer, one of the foremost German '.
Nietzscheans. of late openly proclaimed his conversion
'V!
xxvi
## p. xxvii (#41) ###########################################
A RETROSPECT, A CONFESSION, AND A PROSPECT
to monism (in Englandbestknown as the naturalistic
philosophy of Ernest Haeckel), giving as his reason
for doing so that Nietzsche "expected too much from
human beings. " That was at least right and honest:
"riestpas diable qui veut" as the French say, and
n'est pas Nietzschten non plus qui veut. (Let unholy
hands keep aloof from inspired writings/let the laity
believe in their old religions and their new philoso-
phies, and let Nietzsche be the philosopher for those
only who have to stand alone, but who for this very
reason need an example and perhaps a guide more
than any other. J
It is, then, to the pioneers of science, to those who
have left the safe shore of religion and are now ex-
plorers upon a treacherous and unknown sea, that
Nietzsche should be most urgently recommended, all
the more as they have neglected and ignored him too
much in the past, (ft is not good to neglect one's best
friends; it is all the worse if one stands in urgent need
of them. But to ignore one's enemies is the greatest
danger of all—a danger, however, into which men of
science, who are far too busy with the smallest and re-
motest things to see the nearest and greatest, are only
too apt to fall Jit is a strange thing that those who ex-
clusively rely upon the senses are as a rule not sensitive
people, that those who ought to see best see nothing,
and are, for instance,quite capable of cheerfully laying
out their garden near the edge of a volcano that is by
no means extinct. Scientists have no idea that all can
again be swamped and killed in a night. They have no
suspicion even of a volcano, for it does not spit fire and
brimstone any more, but only murmurs "love " and
sweet persuasion. It nolongerroarsandthunders. it no
xxvii
## p. xxviii (#42) ##########################################
THE NIETZSCHE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
longer slays thousands in one furious eruption; it has
become quite gentle, quite a drawing-room, a lecture-
room volcano, and the only sign that it is a volcano is,
that it still produces plenty of smoke. Let scientists
beware of the smoke-producing metaphysicians, of
the fog-loving, fog-favouring obscurantists, who no
longer look like theologians, but walk about dressed
like gentlemen and know how to hide their spiritual
cloven hoof under scientific apparel.
