Nietzsche And His Century

An address delivered on October 15, 1924, Nietzsches eightieth birthday, at the Nietzsche Archive, Weimar First !blished in " engler, Reden und Aufstze #$!nich, 19%&'(

)oo*ing bac* at the nineteenth cent!ry and letting its great men ass be+ore the minds eye, ,e can observe an amazing thing abo!t the +ig!re o+ Friedrich Nietzsche, something that ,as hardly noticeable in his o,n time( All the other o!tstanding ersonages, incl!ding Wagner, "trindberg, and -olstoy, re+lect to a certain degree the color and sha e o+ those years( .ach o+ them ,as someho, bo!nd ! ,ith the shallo, o timism o+ the rogress/ mongers, ,ith their social ethics and !tilitarianism, their hiloso hy o+ matter and energy, ragmatism and 0ada tation01 each o+ them made sacri+ice a+ter sacri+ice to the s irit o+ the time( Only one erson re resents a radical de art!re +rom this attern( 2+ the ,ord 0!ntimely,0 ,hich he himsel+ coined, is a licable to anyone at all, then it is Nietzsche( One searches in vain thro!gho!t his ,hole li+e and all o+ his tho!ght +or any indication that he might have yielded in,ardly to any vog!e or +ad( 2n this res ect he is the antithesis o+, and yet in some ,ays ro+o!ndly related to, the second 3erman o+ modern times ,hose li+e ,as one great symbol4 3oethe( -hese are the only t,o notable 3ermans ,hose e5istence has ro+o!nd signi+icance a art +rom and in addition to their ,or*s( 6eca!se both ,ere a,are o+ this +rom the beginning and contin!ally gave !tterance to this a,areness, their e5istence has become a treas!re +or o!r nation and an integral art o+ its s irit!al history(

2t ,as 3oethes good +ort!ne to be born at the high noon o+ Western c!lt!re, at a time o+ rich and mat!re intellect!ality ,hich he himsel+ event!ally came to re resent( 7e had only to become the e itome o+ his o,n time in order to achieve the disci lined grande!r im lied by those ,ho later called him the 0Olym ian(0 Nietzsche lived a cent!ry later, and in the meantime a great change had occ!rred, one ,hich ,e are only no, able to com rehend( 2t ,as his +ate to come into the ,orld a+ter the 8ococo eriod, and to stand amid the totally c!lt!reless 19:;s and 19&;s( <onsider the streets and ho!ses he had to live in, the clothing +ashions, +!rnit!re, and social mores he had to observe( <onsider the ,ay eo le moved abo!t in social circles in his day, the ,ay they tho!ght, ,rote, and +elt( 3oethe lived at a time +illed ,ith res ect +or +orm1 Nietzsche longed des erately +or +orms that had been shattered and abandoned( 3oethe needed only to a++irm ,hat he sa, and e5 erienced aro!nd him1 Nietzsche had no reco!rse b!t to rotest assionately against everything contem orary, i+ he ,as to resc!e anything his +orebears had be=!eathed to him as a c!lt!ral heritage( 6oth o+ these men strove d!ring their ,hole lives +or strict inner +orm and disci line( 6!t the eighteenth cent!ry ,as itsel+ 0in +orm(0 2t ossessed the highest ty e o+ society that Western .!ro e has ever *no,n( -he nineteenth cent!ry had neither a disting!ished society nor any other *ind o+ +ormal attrib!tes( A art +rom the incidental c!stoms o+ the !rban ! er class it ossessed only the scattered remains, reserved ,ith great di++ic!lty, o+ aristocratic and middle/class tradition( 3oethe ,as able to !nderstand and solve the great roblems o+ his time as a recognized member o+ his society, as ,e learn in Wilhelm Meister and Elective Affinities1 Nietzsche co!ld remain tr!e to his tas* only by t!rning his bac* on society( 7is +right+!l loneliness stands as a symbol over against 3oethes cheer+!l gregario!sness( One o+ these great men gave sha e to e5isting things1 the other brooded over none5isting things( One o+ them ,or*ed +or a revailing +orm1 the other against a revailing +ormlessness(

Aside +rom this, ho,ever, +orm ,as something very di++erent +or each o+ them( O+ all the great 3erman intellect!als, Nietzsche ,as the only born m!sician( All the others // thin*ers, oets, and ainters ali*e // have either been sha ers o+ material or have ta*en material a art( Nietzsche lived, +elt, and tho!ght by ear( 7e ,as, a+ter all, hardly able to !se his eyes( 7is rose is not 0,ritten,0 it is heard // one might even say s!ng( -he vo,els and cadences are more im ortant than the similes and meta hors( What he sensed as he s!rveyed the ages ,as their melody, their meter( 7e discovered the m!sical *eys o+ +oreign c!lt!res( 6e+ore him, no one *ne, o+ the tem o o+ history( A great many o+ his conce ts // the >ionysian, the ?athos o+ >istance, the .ternal 8ec!rrence // are to be !nderstood =!ite m!sically( 7e sensed the rhythm o+ ,hat is called nobility, ethics, heroism, distinction, and master morality( 7e ,as the +irst to e5 erience as a sym hony the image o+ history that had been created by scholarly research o!t o+ data and n!mbers // the rhythmic se=!ence o+ ages, c!stoms, and attit!des( 7e himsel+ had m!sic, @!st as he ,al*ed, s o*e, dressed, e5 erienced other eo le, stated roblems, and dre, concl!sions( What Bildung had been +or 3oethe, ,as +or Nietzsche tact in the broadest sense4 social, moral, historical, and ling!istic tact, a +eeling +or the ro er se=!ence o+ things, made all the *eener by his s!++ering in an age that had very little o+ this +eeling( )i*e Aarath!stra, 3oethes -asso ,as born o+ s!++ering, b!t -asso s!cc!mbed to a +eeling o+ ,ea*ness ,hen challenged by a contem orary ,orld ,hich he loved and ,hich he regarded as s! erior to himsel+( Aarath!stra abhorred the contem orary ,orld, and +led +rom it to distant ,orlds o+ the ast and +!t!re( -he inability to +eel 0at home0 in ones o,n time // that is a 3erman c!rse( 6eca!se o+ the g!ilt o+ o!r ast ,e came into bloom too late and too s!ddenly( 6eginning ,ith Blo stoc* and )essing, ,e had to cover in eighty years a distance +or ,hich other nations had cent!ries( For this reason ,e never develo ed a +ormal inner

tradition or a disting!ished society that co!ld act as g!ardian o+ s!ch a tradition( We borro,ed +orms, moti+s, roblems, and sol!tions +rom all sides and str!ggled ,ith them, ,hereas others gre, ! ,ith them and in them( O!r end ,as im licit in o!r beginning( 7einrich von Bleist discovered // he ,as the +irst to do so // the roblematics o+ 2bsen at the same time that he strove to em!late "ha*es eare( -his tragic state o+ a++airs rod!ced in 3ermany a series o+ o!tstanding artistic ersonalities at a time ,hen .ngland and France had already gone over to rod!cing literati // art and tho!ght as a ro+ession rather than a destiny( 6!t it also ca!sed the +ragmentation and +r!stration e5 ressed in m!ch o+ o!r art, the th,arting o+ +inal aims and artistic thoro!ghness( -oday ,e !se the terms 0<lassical0 and 08omantic0 to denote the antithesis that a eared aro!nd 19;; every,here in Western .!ro e, literary ?etersb!rg incl!ded( 3oethe ,as a <lassic to the same e5tent that Nietzsche ,as a 8omantic, b!t these ,ords merely designate the redominant h!es in their essential nat!res( .ach o+ them also ossessed the other otentiality, ,hich at times !rged its ,ay to the +oregro!nd( 3oethe, ,hose Fa!st/monolog!es and West-Eastern Divan are high oints o+ 8omantic sensibility, strove at all times to con+ine this !rge +or distance and bo!ndlessness ,ithin clear and strict traditional +orms( "imilarly, Nietzsche o+ten s! ressed his ac=!ired inclination +or the <lassical and rational, ,hich held a t,o+old +ascination +or him by reason o+ tem erament and hilological ro+ession, to ,hat he termed the >ionysian, at least ,hen he ,as eval!ating( 6oth men ,ere borderline cases( C!st as 3oethe ,as the last o+ the <lassics, Nietzsche ,as, ne5t to Wagner, the last o+ the 8omantics( 6y their lives and their creations they e5ha!sted the ossibilities o+ these t,o movements( A+ter them, it ,as no longer ossible to render the meaning o+ the ages in the same ,ords and images // the imitators o+ the <lassical drama and the latter/day Aarath!stras have roved this( $oreover, it is im ossible to invent a ne, method o+ seeing and saying li*e theirs( 3ermany may ,ell bring +orth im ressive

+ormative minds in the +!t!re1 ho,ever, +ort!nate +or !s, they ,ill nonetheless be isolated occ!rrences, +or ,e have reached the end o+ the grand develo ment( And they ,ill al,ays be overshado,ed by the t,o great +ig!res o+ 3oethe and Nietzsche( An essential characteristic o+ Western <lassicism ,as its intense reocc! ation ,ith the contem orary ,orld( While see*ing to control h!man drives that tend in o osite directions, it attem ted to ma*e the ast and the +!t!re coalesce in the contem orary sit!ation( 3oethes dict!m abo!t the 0>emands o+ the >ay,0 his 0cheer+!l resent,0 im ly a+ter all that he called ! on vario!s *inds o+ ast +ig!res and events // his 3ree*s, his 8enaissance, 3Dtz von 6erlichingen, Fa!st, and .gmont // in order to in+!se them ,ith the s irit o+ his o,n time( -he res!lt is that ,hen reading s!ch ,or*s as Tasso or Iphigenia ,e are not at all mind+!l o+ historical recedent( C!st the o osite is the case ,ith the 8omantics1 their ro er domain ,as remote laces and times( -hey longed +or ,ithdra,al +rom the resent to distant and +oreign realms, to the ast and +!t!re o+ history( None o+ them ever had a ro+o!nd relationshi ,ith the things that s!rro!nded him( -he 8omantic is enticed by ,hatever is strange to his nat!re, the <lassic by ,hat is ro er to his nat!re( Noble dreamers on the one hand, noble masters o+ dreams on the other( -he one ty e adored the con=!erors, rebels, and criminals o+ the ast, or ideal states and s! ermen o+ the +!t!re1 the other ty e constr!ed statesmanshi in ractical, methodical terms or, li*e 3oethe and 7!mboldt, even racticed it themselves( One o+ 3oethes great master ieces is the conversation bet,een .gmont and William o+ Orange( 7e loved Na oleon, +or he ,as ,itness to his deeds in his o,n time and locality( 7e ,as never able to recreate artistically the violent ersonalities o+ the ast1 his aesar ,ent !n,ritten( 6!t that is recisely the ty e o+ ersonality that Nietzsche ,orshi ed // +rom a distance( At close range, as ,ith 6ismarc*, he ,as re elled by them( Na oleon ,o!ld also have re elled him( 7e ,o!ld have

seemed to him !nco!th, shallo,, and mindless, li*e the Na oleonic ty es that lived aro!nd him // the great .!ro ean oliticians and the ro!gh/and/ready b!sinessmen ,hom he never even sa,, m!ch less !nderstood( 7e needed a vast distance bet,een the -hen and the No, in order to have a gen!ine relationshi ,ith a given reality( -h!s he created his "! erman and, almost as arbitrarily, the +ig!re o+ <esare 6orgia( -hese t,o tendencies are tragically resent in the most recent 3erman history( 6ismarc* ,as a <lassic o+ olitics( 7e based his calc!lations entirely on things that e5isted, things he co!ld see and mani !late( -he +anatical atriots neither loved nor !nderstood him !ntil his creative ,or* a eared as a +inished rod!ct, !ntil he co!ld be romantically trans+ig!red as a mythic ersonage4 0-he Old $an o+ the "a5on Forests(0 On the other hand, )!d,ig 22 o+ 6avaria, ,ho erished as a 8omantic and ,ho never created or even co!ld have created anything o+ end!ring val!e, act!ally received this *ind o+ love #,itho!t ret!rning it', not only +rom the eo le at large, b!t also +rom artists and thin*ers ,ho sho!ld have loo*ed more closely( Bleist is regarded in 3ermany ,ith, at best, a rel!ctant admiration that is tantamo!nt to re@ection, artic!larly in those instances ,here he s!cceeded in overcoming his o,n 8omantic nat!re( 7e is in,ardly =!ite remote +rom most 3ermans, !nli*e Nietzsche, ,hose nat!re and destiny ,ere in many ,ays similar to the 6avarian *ings, and ,ho is instinctively honored even by those ,ho have never read him( Nietzsches longing +or remoteness also e5 lains his aristocratic taste, ,hich ,as that o+ a com letely lonely and visionary ersonality( )i*e the Ossian/ty e 8omanticism that originated in "cotland, the early <lassicism o+ the eighteenth cent!ry began on the -hames and ,as later ta*en across to the <ontinent( 2t is im ossible to consider it a art +rom the 8ationalism o+ the same eriod( -he <lassicists engaged in the act o+ creativity conscio!sly and deliberately1 they re laced +ree imagination ,ith *no,ledge,

at times even ,ith scholarly er!dition( -hey understood the 3ree*s, the 8enaissance, and inevitably also the ,orld o+ contem orary active a++airs( -hese .nglish <lassicists, all o+ them o+ high social standing, hel ed create liberalism as a hiloso hy o+ li+e as it ,as !nderstood by Frederic* the 3reat and his cent!ry4 the deliberate ignoring o+ distinctions that ,ere *no,n to e5ist in the ractical li+e b!t ,ere in any case not considered as obstacles1 the rational reocc! ation ,ith matters o+ !blic o inion that co!ld neither be gotten rid o+ nor h!shed ! , b!t that someho, had to be rendered harmless( -his ! er/class <lassicism gave rise to .nglish democracy // a s! erior +orm o+ tactics, not a codi+ied olitical rogram( 2t ,as based on the long and intensive e5 erience o+ a social strat!m that habit!ally dealt ,ith real and racticable ossibilities, and that ,as there+ore never in danger o+ losing its essential congeniality( 3oethe, ,ho ,as also conscio!s o+ his social ran*, ,as never an aristocrat in the assionate, theoretical sense // !nli*e Nietzsche, ,ho lac*ed the habit!ation to reg!lar ractical e5 erience( Nietzsche never really became +amiliar ,ith the democracy o+ his time in all its strength and ,ea*ness( -o be s!re, he rebelled against the herd instinct ,ith the ,rath o+ his e5tremely sensitive so!l, b!t the chie+ ca!se o+ his anger ,as to be +o!nd some,here in the historical ast( 7e ,as do!btless the +irst to demonstrate in s!ch radical +ashion ho, in all c!lt!res and e ochs o+ the ast the masses co!nt +or nothing, that they s!++er +rom history b!t do not create it, that they are at all times the a,ns and victims o+ the ersonal ,ill o+ individ!als and classes born to be r!lers( ?eo le had sensed this o+ten eno!gh be+ore, b!t Nietzsche ,as the +irst to destroy the traditional image o+ 0h!manity0 as rogress to,ard the sol!tion o+ ideal roblems thro!gh the agency o+ its leaders( 7erein lies the immense di++erence bet,een the historiogra hy o+ a Nieb!hr or a 8an*e, ,hich as an idea ,as li*e,ise o+ 8omantic origin, and Nietzsches method o+ historical vision( 7is ,ay o+

loo*ing into the so!l o+ ast e ochs and eo les overcame the mere ragmatic str!ct!re o+ +acts and events( Eet s!ch a techni=!e re=!ired detachment( .nglish <lassicism, ,hich rod!ced the +irst modern historian o+ 3reece in 3eorge 3rote // a b!sinessman and ractical olitician // ,as =!ite e5cl!sively the a++air o+ higher society( 2t ennobled the 3ree*s by regarding them as eers, by 0 resent/ing0 them in the tr!est sense o+ the ,ord as disting!ished, c!ltivated, intellect!ally re+ined h!man beings ,ho at all times acted 0in good taste0 // even 7arner and ?indar, oets ,hom the .nglish school o+ classical hilology ,as the +irst to re+er over 7orace and Firgil( From the higher circles o+ .nglish society this <lassicism entered the only corres onding circles in 3ermany, the co!rts o+ the small rinci alities, ,here the t!tors and reachers acted as intermediaries( -he co!rtly atmos here o+ Weimar ,as the ,orld in ,hich 3oethes li+e became the symbol o+ cheer+!l conviviality and !r ose+!l activity( Weimar ,as the +riendly center o+ intellect!al 3ermany, a lace that o++ered calm satis+action to a degree !n*no,n by any other 3erman ,riter, an o ort!nity +or harmonio!s gro,th, mat!ring, and ageing that ,as <lassical in a s eci+ically 3erman sense( Ne5t to this career there is the other, ,hich li*e,ise ended in Weimar( 2t started o!t in the secl!sion o+ a ?rotestant astors home, the cradle o+ many i+ not most o+ 3ermanys great minds, and reached its height in the s!n/drenched solit!de o+ the .ngadin( No other 3erman has ever lived s!ch an im assioned rivate e5istence, +ar removed +rom all society and !blicity // tho!gh all 3ermans, even i+ they are 0 !blic0 ersonalities, have a longing +or s!ch solit!de( 7is intense yearning +or +riendshi ,as in the last analysis sim ly his inability to lead a gen!ine social li+e, and th!s it ,as a more s irit!al +orm o+ loneliness( 2nstead o+ the +riendly 03oethe ho!se0 on Weimars Fra!en lan, ,e see the @oyless little cottages in "ils/$aria, the solit!de o+ the mo!ntains and the sea,

and +inally a solitary brea*do,n in -!rin // it ,as the most thoro!ghly 8omantic career the nineteenth cent!ry ever o++ered( Nevertheless, his need to comm!nicate ,as stronger than he himsel+ believed, m!ch stronger at any rate than 3oethes, ,ho ,as one o+ the most tacit!rn o+ men des ite the social li+e that s!rro!nded him( 3oethes Elective Affinities is a secretive boo*, not to s ea* o+ Wilhelm Meister!s "ears of Wandering and #aust II( 7is most ro+o!nd oems are monolog!es( -he a horisms o+ Nietzsche are never monolog!es1 nor are the $ight %ong and the Dion&sus Dith&ram's com letely monolog!es( An invisible ,itness is al,ays resent, al,ays ,atching( -hat is ,hy he remained at all times a believing ?rotestant( All the 8omantics lived in schools and coteries, and Nietzsche invented something o+ the sort by imagining that his +riends ,ere, as listeners, his intellect!al eers( Or again, he created in the remote ast and +!t!re a circle o+ intimates, only to com lain to them, li*e Novalis and 7Dlderlin, o+ his loneliness( 7is ,hole li+e ,as +illed ,ith the tort!re and bliss o+ ren!nciation, o+ the desire to s!rrender and to +orce his inner nat!re, to bind himsel+ in same ,ay to something that al,ays roved to be +oreign to himsel+( Eet that is ho, he develo ed insight into the so!l o+ e ochs and c!lt!res that co!ld never reveal their secrets to sel+/ass!red, <lassical minds( -his organic essimism o+ his being e5 lains the ,or*s and the se=!ence in ,hich they a eared( We ,ho ,ere not able to e5 erience the great +lo!rishing o+ materialism in the mid/ nineteenth cent!ry sho!ld never cease to be amazed at the a!dacity that ,ent into the ,riting, at s!ch a tender age and contrary to the o inions o+ contem orary hilological scholarshi , o+ The Birth of Traged&( -he +amo!s antithesis o+ A ollo and >ionys!s contains m!ch more than even todays average reader can com rehend( -he most signi+icant thing abo!t that essay ,as not that its a!thor discovered an inner con+lict in 0<lassical0 3reece, the 3reece that had been the !rest mani+estation o+ 0h!manity0 +or all others

e5ce t erha s 6acho+en and 6!rc*hardt( $ore im ortant still ,as that even at that age he ossessed the s! erior vision that allo,ed him to eer into the heart o+ ,hole c!lt!res as i+ they ,ere organic, living individ!als( We need only read $ommsen and <!rti!s to notice the tremendo!s di++erence( -he others regarded 3reece sim ly as the s!m o+ conditions and events occ!rring ,ithin a certain s an o+ time and s ace( O!r resent/day method o+ loo*ing at history o,es its origin, b!t not its de th, to 8omanticism( 2n Nietzsches day, history, as +ar as 3reece and 8ome ,ere concerned, ,as little more than a lied hilology, and as +ar as the Western eo les ,ere concerned little more than a lied archival research( 2t invented the idea that history began ,ith ,ritten records( -he liberation +rom this vie, came o!t o+ the s irit o+ m!sic( Nietzsche the m!sician invented the art o+ +eeling ones ,ay into the style and rhythm o+ +oreign c!lt!res, aside +rom and o+ten in contradiction to the ,ritten doc!ments( 6!t ,hat did ,ritten doc!ments matter any,ayG With the ,ord 0>ionys!s0 Nietzsche discovered ,hat the archaeologists event!ally bro!ght to light thirty years later // the !nder,orld and the !nderso!l o+ <lassical c!lt!re, and !ltimately the s irit!al +orce that !nderlies all o+ history( 7istorical descri tion had become the sychology o+ history( -he eighteenth cent!ry and <lassicism, incl!ding 3oethe, believed in 0c!lt!re0 // a single, tr!e, mental and moral c!lt!re as the tas* o+ a !ni+ied h!manity( From the very beginning Nietzsche s o*e =!ite !n+orcedly o+ 0c!lt!res0 as o+ nat!ral henomena that sim ly began at a certain time and lace, ,itho!t reason or goal or ,hatever an all/too/h!man inter retation might ,ish to ma*e o+ it( 0At a certain time0 // the oint ,as made clear +rom the very +irst time in Nietzsches boo* that all o+ these c!lt!res, tr!ths, arts, and attit!des are ec!liar to a mode o+ e5istence that ma*es its a earance at one certain time and then disa ears +or good( -he idea that every historical +act is the e5 ression o+ a s irit!al stim!l!s, that c!lt!res, e ochs, estates, and races have a so!l li*e

that o+ individ!als // this ,as s!ch a great ste +or,ard in historical de th/analysis that even the a!thor himsel+ ,as at the time not a,are o+ its +!ll im lications( 7o,ever, one o+ the things the 8omantic yearns +or is to esca e +rom himsel+( -his yearning, together ,ith the great mis+ort!ne o+ having been born in that artic!lar eriod in history, ca!sed Nietzsche to serve as a herald +or the most banal +orm o+ realism in his second boo*, (uman) All-Too-(uman( -hese ,ere the years ,hen Western 8ationalism, a+ter abandoning its glorio!s beginnings ,ith 8o!ssea!, Foltaire, and )essing, ended as a +arce( >ar,ins theories, together ,ith the ne, +aith in matter and energy, became the religion o+ the big cities1 the so!l ,as regarded as a chemical rocess involving roteins, and the meaning o+ the !niverse boiled do,n to the social ethics o+ enlightened hilistines( Not a single +iber o+ Nietzsches being ,as arty to these develo ments( 7e had already given vent to his disg!st in the +irst o+ his 0Hntimely $editations,0 b!t the scholar in him envied <ham+ort and Fa!venarg!es and their lighthearted and some,hat cynical manner o+ treating serio!s to ics in the style o+ the grand monde( -he artist and enth!siast in him ,as er le5ed by the massive sobriety o+ an .!gen >Ihring, ,hich he mistoo* +or tr!e greatness( ?riestly character that he ,as, he roceeded to !nmas* religion as re@!dice( No, the goal o+ li+e ,as *no,ledge, and the goal o+ history became +or him the develo ment o+ intelligence( 7e said this in a tone o+ ridic!le that served to heighten his o,n assion, recisely beca!se it h!rt to do so, and beca!se he s!++ered +rom the !nrealizable longing to create in the midst o+ his o,n time a sed!ctive ict!re o+ the +!t!re that ,o!ld contrast ,ith everything he ,as born into( While the ecstatic !tilitarianism o+ the >ar,inian school ,as e5tremely remote +rom his ,ay o+ thin*ing, he too* +rom it certain secret revelations that no tr!e >ar,inist ever dreamed o+( 2n The Da*n of Da& and The +a& %cience there a eared, in addition to a

,ay o+ loo*ing at things that ,as meant to be rosaic and even scorn+!l, another techni=!e o+ e5amining the ,orld // a restrained, =!iet, admiring attit!de that enetrated dee er than any mere realist co!ld ever ho e to achieve( Who, be+ore Nietzsche, had ever s o*en in the same ,ay o+ the so!l o+ an age, an estate, a ro+ession, o+ the riest and the hero, or o+ man and ,omanG Who had ever been able to s!mmarize the sychology o+ ,hole cent!ries in an almost meta hysical +orm!laG Who had ever ost!lated in history, rather than +acts and 0eternal tr!ths,0 the t&pes o+ heroic, s!++ering, visionary, strong, and diseased li+e as the act!al s!bstance o+ events as they ha enG -hat ,as a ,holly ne, *ind o+ living +orms, and co!ld have been discovered only by a born m!sician ,ith a +eeling +or rhythm and melody( Follo,ing this resentation o+ the hysiognomy o+ the ages o+ history, a science o+ ,hich he ,as and ,ill al,ays be the creator, he reached to the o!ter limits o+ his vision to describe the symbols o+ a +!t!re, his +!t!re, ,hich he needed in order to be cleansed o+ the resid!e o+ contem orary tho!ght( 2n one s!blime moment he con@!red the image o+ .ternal 8ec!rrence, as it had been vag!ely s!rmised by 3erman mystics in the $iddle Ages // an endless circling in the eternal void, in the night o+ immeas!rable eons, a ,ay to lose ones so!l !tterly in the mysterio!s de ths o+ the cosmos, regardless o+ ,hether s!ch things are scienti+ically @!sti+iable or not( 2nto the midst o+ this vision he laced the "! erman and his ro het, Aarath!stra, re resenting the incarnate meaning o+ h!man history, in all its brevity, on the lanet that ,as his home( All three o+ these creations ,ere com letely distant, im ossible to relate to contem orary conditions( For this very reason they have e5erted a c!rio!s attraction on every 3erman so!l( For in every 3erman so!l there is a lace ,here dreams are dreamed o+ social ideals and a +iner +!t!re +or man*ind( 3oethe lac*ed s!ch a corner in his so!l, and that is ,hy he never became a tr!ly o !lar ersonage( -he eo le sensed this lac*, and th!s they called him aloo+ and +rivolo!s( We shall never overcome this

reverie o+ o!rs1 it re resents ,ithin !s the !nlived ortion o+ a great ast( Once having arrived at this height, Nietzsche osed the =!estion as to the val!e o+ the ,orld, a =!estion that had accom anied him since childhood( 6y doing so he bro!ght to an end the eriod o+ Western hiloso hy that had considered the ty es o+ *no,ledge as its central roblem( -his ne, =!estion li*e,ise had t,o ans,ers4 a <lassical and a 8omantic ans,er or, to !t it in the terms o+ the time, a social and an aristocratic ans,er( 0)i+e has val!e to the same degree as it serves the totality0 // that ,as the ans,er o+ the ed!cated .nglishmen ,ho had learned at O5+ord to disting!ish bet,een ,hat a erson stated as his considered o inion and ,hat the same erson did at decisive moments as a olitician or b!sinessman( 0)i+e is all the more val!able, the stronger its instincts are0 // that ,as the ans,er given by Nietzsche, ,hose o,n li+e ,as delicate and easily in@!red( 6e that as it may, +or the very reason that he ,as remote +rom the active li+e he ,as able to gras its mysteries( 7is !ltimate !nderstanding o+ real history ,as that the Will to ?o,er is stronger than all doctrines and rinci les, and that it has al,ays made and +orever ,ill ma*e history, no matter ,hat others may rove or reach against it( 7e did not concern himsel+ ,ith the conce t!al analysis o+ 0,ill01 to him the most im ortant thing ,as the image o+ active, creative, destr!ctive Will in history( -he 0conce t0 o+ ,ill gave ,ay to the 0as ect0 o+ ,ill( 7e did not teach, he sim ly ointed matters o!t4 0-h!s it ,as, and th!s it shall be(0 .ven i+ theoretical and riestly individ!als ,ill it a tho!sand times di++erently, the rimeval instincts o+ li+e ,ill still emerge victorio!s( What a di++erence bet,een "cho enha!ers ,orld vie, and this oneJ And bet,een Nietzsches contem oraries, ,ith their sentimental lans +or im roving the ,orld, and this demonstration o+ hard +actsJ "!ch an accom lishment laces this last 8omantic thin*er at the very innacle o+ his cent!ry( 2n this ,e are all his

! ils, ,hether ,e ,ish to be or not, ,hether ,e *no, him ,ell or not( 7is vision has already im erce tibly con=!ered the ,orld( No one ,rites history any more ,itho!t seeing things in his light( 7e !ndertoo* to eval!ate li+e !sing +acts as the sole criteria, and the +acts ta!ght that the stronger or ,ea*er ,ill to s!cceed determines ,hether li+e is val!able or ,orthless, that goodness and s!ccess are almost m!t!ally e5cl!sive( 7is image o+ the ,orld reached its c!lmination ,ith a magni+icent criti=!e o+ morality in ,hich, instead o+ reaching morality, he eval!ated the moralities that have arisen in history // not according to any 0tr!e0 moral system b!t according to their s!ccess( -his ,as indeed a 0reval!ation o+ all val!es,0 and altho!gh ,e no, *no, that he misstated the antithesis o+ <hristian and master/morality as a res!lt o+ his ersonal s!++ering d!ring the 199;s, nonetheless the !ltimate antithesis o+ h!man e5istence lay behind his statement1 he so!ght it, and sensed it, and believed that he had ca t!red it ,ith his +orm!la( 2+ instead o+ 0master morality0 ,e ,ere to say the instinctive ractice o+ men ,ho are determined to act, and instead o+ 0<hristian morality0 the theoretical ,ays in ,hich contem lative ersons eval!ate, then ,e ,o!ld have be+ore !s the tragic nat!re o+ all man*ind, ,hose dominant ty es ,ill +orever mis!nderstand, combat, and s!++er +rom each other( >eed and tho!ght, reality and ideal, s!ccess and redem tion, strength and goodness // these are +orces that ,ill never come to terms ,ith one another( Eet in historical reality it is not the ideal, goodness, or morality that revails // their *ingdom is not o+ this ,orld // b!t rather decisiveness, energy, resence o+ mind, ractical talent( -his +act cannot be gotten rid o+ ,ith laments and moral condemnations( $an is thus, li+e is thus, history is thus( ?recisely beca!se all action ,as +oreign to him, beca!se he *ne, only ho, to thin*, Nietzsche !nderstood the +!ndamental essence

o+ the active li+e better than any great active ersonality in the ,orld( 6!t the more he !nderstood, the more shyly he ,ithdre, +rom contact ,ith action( 2n this ,ay his 8omantic destiny reached +!l+illment( Hnder the +orce o+ these last insights, the +inal stage o+ his career too* sha e in strict contrast to that o+ 3oethe, ,ho ,as not +oreign to action b!t ,ho regarded his tr!e calling as oetry, and there+ore restrained his actions cheer+!lly( 3oethe, the ?rivy <o!ncillor and $inister, the celebrated +ocal oint o+ .!ro ean intellect, ,as able to con+ess d!ring his last year o+ li+e, in the +inal act o+ his #aust, that he loo*ed ! on his li+e as having attained +!l+illment( 0-arry no,, tho! art so +airJ0 // that is a hrase e5 ressive o+ the most bliss+!l satiety, s o*en at the moment ,hen the active hysical ,or* is com leted !nder Fa!sts command, to end!re no, and +orevermore( 2t ,as the great and +inal symbol o+ the <lassicism to ,hich this li+e had been dedicated, and ,hich led +rom the controlled c!lt!ral ed!cation o+ the eighteenth cent!ry to the controlled e5ercise o+ ersonal talent o+ the nineteenth( Eet one cannot create distance, one can only roclaim it( C!st as Fa!sts death bro!ght a <lassical career to an end, the mind o+ the loneliest o+ ,anderers vanished ,ith a c!rse ! on his age d!ring those mysterio!s days in -!rin, ,hen he ,atched the last mists disa ear +rom his image o+ the ,orld and the highest ea*s come ever clear into vie,( -his !zzling +inal e isode o+ his li+e is the very reason Nietzsches e5istence has had the stronger in+l!ence on the ,orld ever since( 3oethes li+e ,as a +!ll li+e, and that means that it bro!ght something to com letion( <o!ntless 3ermans ,ill honor 3oethe, live ,ith him, and see* his s! ort1 b!t he can never trans+orm them( Nietzsches e++ect is a trans+ormation, +or the melody o+ his vision did not end ,ith his death( -he 8omantic attit!de is eternal1 tho!gh its +orm may at times be !ni+ied and com lete, its tho!ght never is( 2t ,ill al,ays con=!er ne, areas, either destroying them or changing them radically( Nietzsches

ty e o+ vision ,ill ass on to ne, +riends and enemies, and these in t!rn ,ill hand it do,n to other +ollo,ers and adversaries( .ven i+ someday no one reads his ,or*s any longer, his vision ,ill end!re and be creative( 7is ,or* is not a art o+ o!r ast to be en@oyed1 it is a tas* that ma*es servants o+ !s all( As a tas* it is inde endent o+ his boo*s and their s!b@ect matter, and th!s a roblem o+ 3erman destiny( 2n an age that does not tolerate other,orldly ideals and ta*es vengeance on their a!thors, ,hen the only thing o+ recognized val!e is the *ind o+ r!thless action that Nietzsche ba tized ,ith the name o+ <esare 6orgia, ,hen the morality o+ the ideolog!es and ,orld im rovers is limited more radically than ever to s! er+l!o!s and innoc!o!s ,riting and s eech/ma*ing // in s!ch an age, !nless ,e learn to act as real history ,ants !s to act, ,e ,ill cease to e5ist as a eo le( We cannot live ,itho!t a +orm o+ ,isdom that does not merely console in di++ic!lt sit!ations, b!t hel s one to get o!t o+ them( -his *ind o+ hard ,isdom made its +irst a earance in 3erman tho!ght ,ith Nietzsche, des ite the +act that it ,as cloa*ed in tho!ghts and im ressions he had gathered +rom other so!rces( -o the eo le most +amished +or history in all the ,orld, he sho,ed history as it really is( 7is heritage is the obligation to live history in the same ,ay(