Destiny and History by Friedrich Nietzsche Lyrics
Gedanken (Thoughts).
Easter Vacation 1862.
FW Nietzsche.
[Mp II, 18, 1] Were we in a position to take a fresh, unbiased look at Christian teachings and at the history of Christianity, we might see ourselves forced to express opinions that are contrary to generally held views. However, since we have been under the yoke of custom and prejudice from early on, our minds' natural development and the formation of our temperaments has been stifled by childhood impressions, we almost believe that we have to consider it a transgression if we choose a more liberal position, in order to be able to form an impartial and timely opinion on religion and Christianity on its base.
Such an attempt is not the work of a few weeks, but that of an entire lifetime.
How could one destroy the authority of nearly two-thousand years, the testimony of the most ingenious men of all times, how could one lift oneself above all those troubles and blessings of the development of a religion that have left their deep impressions on world history, with fantasies and immature ideas?
The desire to attempt to solve philosophical problems about which differences of opinion have been waged for several millennia is a truly an audacity, to topple views that, in the eyes of some of the most ingenious men, have elevated man to his status as a true human being, to attempt to unite science and philosophy, without even knowing the main results of either one, to ultimately postulate a system of reality that is based on science and history, while the unity of world history and the most basic principles have not been revealed to the human mind, yet.
To dare to venture out into the sea of doubt, without a compass and without a guide, is foolishness and the demise of undeveloped minds; most will be crushed by storms, and only few will discover new territories.
Out of the midst of a vast ocean of ideas one then longs for dry land: how often was I, in fruitless speculations, not overcome by the longing for history! and for science!
History and science, those wonderful treasures of our entire past, the prophets of our future, they alone are the secure bases on which we can build our towers of speculation.
How often did not all of existing philosophy appear as a veritable tower of Babylon to me; to reach high up into the sky, that is the aim of all great endeavors; heaven on earth would almost be its equal.
An endless confusion, in the minds of the people is the result; there will still be many upheavals before the masses finally will have understood that the entire Christianity is based on assumptions; the existence of God, immortality, the authority of the Bible, inspiration and other issues will always remain problems. I have tried to deny everything: oh, it is easy to tear down, but rebuilding! And even tearing down appears easier than it is; through childhood impressions, the influence of our parents, our upbringing, our innermost has been molded in such a way that it is not easy to tear out those prejudices by means of reasoning or sheer will power. The power of tradition, the need for something higher, the breaking-off with all existing traditions, the dissolution of all forms of society, the doubt, if mankind has not already been misguided by a chimera, the sense of one's own audacity and daring: all of this wrestles with each other in a terrible struggle until ultimately, painful experiences, sad events, lead our hearts back to our old childhood faith. However, the observation of the impression of such doubts created in one's mind, has to be a contribution to one's own cultural history. It is not conceivable in any other way than that something remains behind, a result of all that speculation that might not always be knowledge, but also a belief, nay, even what, sometimes, stimulates or suppresses a moral feeling.
As much as custom is a product of an era, of a nation, of a way of thinking, as much, morality is a product of general human development. It is the sum of all truths for our world; it is possible that it will not mean more in the infinite world than the product of a way of thinking does in our world; it is possible that , in turn, a universal truth will develop out of the products of truth of particular worlds!
We barely know if mankind, itself, is not merely a level, an episode, in the overall scheme, in the development, if it is not a deliberate phenomenon of God. Is not man, perhaps, only the development of the stone through the medium of the plant, the animal? Would not, already, in this, perfection or fulfillment have been reached and would not in this lie history, too? Will this constant development never have an end? What are the power sources of this great clock-work? They are hidden, however, they are the same in the great clock we call history. The face of the clock can be compared to the events. The big hand on the clock moves on, hour by hour, in order to begin its journey anew after it has reached the number twelve; a new world era begins.
And could one not consider immanent humanity to be that power source? (With this, both views would be united.) Or are higher considerations and schemes controlling everything? Is man only a means or is he the purpose?
To us, he is the purpose, for us, there is change, for us, there are eras and epochs. After all, how could we recognize higher considerations or schemes. We only see how ideas are formed out of the same force, from humanity, under external impressions, how these take on form and life, how they become the property of all their conscience, their sense of duty; how the continuing development and production forms new material from it, how they shape life, how they govern history, how they feed each other (even) in their struggle and how, out of this mixture, new developments emerge. A variety of streams, struggling with each other, in ebb and tide, all moving towards the eternal ocean.
Everything moves in ever-increasing circles around each other: man is one of the inner circles. If he wants to measure the vibrations of the outer circles, then he has to reflect and consider the circles around him and move thus, step by step, towards the outermost circle. The circles next to him are the histories of nations, societies, and mankind. It is the task of science to find the common center of all vibrations, the infinitely small circle; how, that man is searching for this center within himself and for himself at the same time, we realize what singular importance history and science have to hold for us.
Since man is drawn into the circles of world history, a struggle between the individual will and collective will arises; this points towards that infinitely important problem, namely the question of the justification of the individual in the framework of his nation, the justification of nations within the framework of mankind, the justification of mankind within the world; in this also lies the basic relationship of destiny and history.
Man is not in a position to grasp the highest concept of universal history; however, the great historian as well as the great philosopher become prophets, since both reflect upon and consider the relationships of all circles, from the innermost to the outermost. The position of destiny, however, is not secured, yet; let us take a look at human life in order to recognize some individual justifications and thereby also some overall justifications.
What determines happiness in our lives? Do we owe it to the events into the whirlwind of which we are swept? Or does not, rather, our temperament lend its color to all events? Does not everything appear to us in the reflection of our own personalities? And do the vents not, so to say, only set the stage for our fate, while the strength and weakness with which they affect us actually depends on our own temperaments? Emerson recommends that we consult ingenious physicians, as to how much is not decided by temperament and how much is, basically, decided by it.
However, our temperaments are nothing else but our mental states on which our circumstances and events have left their impressions. What is it that draws the souls of so many men with all might down to the low and commonplace and that prevents the flight of their ideas into higher regions? A fatalistic construction of their skulls and gone structures, the station in life of their parents, their everyday conditions, the commonplace atmosphere of their surroundings, even the monotony of their homelands. We have been influenced without carrying within ourselves the strength to develop an antidote (to this influence), without realizing that we have been influenced. It is a painful feeling to give up one's independence in the process of an unconscious acceptance of outer impressions, to have the capabilities of one's own soul crushed by the power of custom and traditions, and to have engraved into one's soul, against one's own will, the roots of confusion.
At a larger scale, we find all of this again in the histories of nations. Many nations that have been confronted by the same events have, after all, been influenced in very different ways.
Therefore, it is small-minded if one wants to impose on all of mankind one form of state, government or society, quasi in stereotypical form, all social and communist ideas suffer from this misconception. Man is, after all, never the same everywhere; however, as soon as it would be possible to overthrow the entire past of the world by means of a strong will, we would immediately join the ranks of independent Gods, and world history would mean nothing else to us but a dreamlike state of being lost in reverie; the curtain falls, and man finds himself, like a child, playing with worlds, like a child that awakens at dawn and wipes away all nightmares with a smile.
Free will appears as that which is not chained, as that which is deliberate; it is the infinitely free, roaming, the mind. Destiny, however, is a necessity if we do not want to believe that world history is made up of dream-like meanderings, that the unspeakable pain of humanity is a fidget of imagination, the we, ourselves, are the powerless objects of our own fantasies. Destiny is the infinite force of resistance against free will, free will without destiny is as inconceivable as mind without real good or evil, since, after all, a certain quality or trait is always the product of contrasts.
Time and again, destiny preaches the principle: "The events are what determine events!" If that were the only true principle, man would be the object of dark forces, not responsible for his own mistakes, entirely free from moral distinctions, a necessary link in a chain. Man is happy when he does not realize his own situation, when he does not convulsively jerk his chains, when he does not, in insane lust and desire, want to confuse the world and its mechanisms!
Perhaps, free will is nothing but the highest potential of destiny, in a similar manner as mind can only be the most infinitely small substance, as good can only be the most subtle development of evil. If we consider the word world history in the most encompassing way, then it would (have to be considered) the history of matter. After all, there still have to exist higher principles in the face of which all differences have to flow together into a great unity, prior to which everything is in development, where everything flows towards a gigantic ocean, where all developments of the world find themselves again, united, merged, all one.–
Easter Vacation 1862.
FW Nietzsche.
[Mp II, 18, 1] Were we in a position to take a fresh, unbiased look at Christian teachings and at the history of Christianity, we might see ourselves forced to express opinions that are contrary to generally held views. However, since we have been under the yoke of custom and prejudice from early on, our minds' natural development and the formation of our temperaments has been stifled by childhood impressions, we almost believe that we have to consider it a transgression if we choose a more liberal position, in order to be able to form an impartial and timely opinion on religion and Christianity on its base.
Such an attempt is not the work of a few weeks, but that of an entire lifetime.
How could one destroy the authority of nearly two-thousand years, the testimony of the most ingenious men of all times, how could one lift oneself above all those troubles and blessings of the development of a religion that have left their deep impressions on world history, with fantasies and immature ideas?
The desire to attempt to solve philosophical problems about which differences of opinion have been waged for several millennia is a truly an audacity, to topple views that, in the eyes of some of the most ingenious men, have elevated man to his status as a true human being, to attempt to unite science and philosophy, without even knowing the main results of either one, to ultimately postulate a system of reality that is based on science and history, while the unity of world history and the most basic principles have not been revealed to the human mind, yet.
To dare to venture out into the sea of doubt, without a compass and without a guide, is foolishness and the demise of undeveloped minds; most will be crushed by storms, and only few will discover new territories.
Out of the midst of a vast ocean of ideas one then longs for dry land: how often was I, in fruitless speculations, not overcome by the longing for history! and for science!
History and science, those wonderful treasures of our entire past, the prophets of our future, they alone are the secure bases on which we can build our towers of speculation.
How often did not all of existing philosophy appear as a veritable tower of Babylon to me; to reach high up into the sky, that is the aim of all great endeavors; heaven on earth would almost be its equal.
An endless confusion, in the minds of the people is the result; there will still be many upheavals before the masses finally will have understood that the entire Christianity is based on assumptions; the existence of God, immortality, the authority of the Bible, inspiration and other issues will always remain problems. I have tried to deny everything: oh, it is easy to tear down, but rebuilding! And even tearing down appears easier than it is; through childhood impressions, the influence of our parents, our upbringing, our innermost has been molded in such a way that it is not easy to tear out those prejudices by means of reasoning or sheer will power. The power of tradition, the need for something higher, the breaking-off with all existing traditions, the dissolution of all forms of society, the doubt, if mankind has not already been misguided by a chimera, the sense of one's own audacity and daring: all of this wrestles with each other in a terrible struggle until ultimately, painful experiences, sad events, lead our hearts back to our old childhood faith. However, the observation of the impression of such doubts created in one's mind, has to be a contribution to one's own cultural history. It is not conceivable in any other way than that something remains behind, a result of all that speculation that might not always be knowledge, but also a belief, nay, even what, sometimes, stimulates or suppresses a moral feeling.
As much as custom is a product of an era, of a nation, of a way of thinking, as much, morality is a product of general human development. It is the sum of all truths for our world; it is possible that it will not mean more in the infinite world than the product of a way of thinking does in our world; it is possible that , in turn, a universal truth will develop out of the products of truth of particular worlds!
We barely know if mankind, itself, is not merely a level, an episode, in the overall scheme, in the development, if it is not a deliberate phenomenon of God. Is not man, perhaps, only the development of the stone through the medium of the plant, the animal? Would not, already, in this, perfection or fulfillment have been reached and would not in this lie history, too? Will this constant development never have an end? What are the power sources of this great clock-work? They are hidden, however, they are the same in the great clock we call history. The face of the clock can be compared to the events. The big hand on the clock moves on, hour by hour, in order to begin its journey anew after it has reached the number twelve; a new world era begins.
And could one not consider immanent humanity to be that power source? (With this, both views would be united.) Or are higher considerations and schemes controlling everything? Is man only a means or is he the purpose?
To us, he is the purpose, for us, there is change, for us, there are eras and epochs. After all, how could we recognize higher considerations or schemes. We only see how ideas are formed out of the same force, from humanity, under external impressions, how these take on form and life, how they become the property of all their conscience, their sense of duty; how the continuing development and production forms new material from it, how they shape life, how they govern history, how they feed each other (even) in their struggle and how, out of this mixture, new developments emerge. A variety of streams, struggling with each other, in ebb and tide, all moving towards the eternal ocean.
Everything moves in ever-increasing circles around each other: man is one of the inner circles. If he wants to measure the vibrations of the outer circles, then he has to reflect and consider the circles around him and move thus, step by step, towards the outermost circle. The circles next to him are the histories of nations, societies, and mankind. It is the task of science to find the common center of all vibrations, the infinitely small circle; how, that man is searching for this center within himself and for himself at the same time, we realize what singular importance history and science have to hold for us.
Since man is drawn into the circles of world history, a struggle between the individual will and collective will arises; this points towards that infinitely important problem, namely the question of the justification of the individual in the framework of his nation, the justification of nations within the framework of mankind, the justification of mankind within the world; in this also lies the basic relationship of destiny and history.
Man is not in a position to grasp the highest concept of universal history; however, the great historian as well as the great philosopher become prophets, since both reflect upon and consider the relationships of all circles, from the innermost to the outermost. The position of destiny, however, is not secured, yet; let us take a look at human life in order to recognize some individual justifications and thereby also some overall justifications.
What determines happiness in our lives? Do we owe it to the events into the whirlwind of which we are swept? Or does not, rather, our temperament lend its color to all events? Does not everything appear to us in the reflection of our own personalities? And do the vents not, so to say, only set the stage for our fate, while the strength and weakness with which they affect us actually depends on our own temperaments? Emerson recommends that we consult ingenious physicians, as to how much is not decided by temperament and how much is, basically, decided by it.
However, our temperaments are nothing else but our mental states on which our circumstances and events have left their impressions. What is it that draws the souls of so many men with all might down to the low and commonplace and that prevents the flight of their ideas into higher regions? A fatalistic construction of their skulls and gone structures, the station in life of their parents, their everyday conditions, the commonplace atmosphere of their surroundings, even the monotony of their homelands. We have been influenced without carrying within ourselves the strength to develop an antidote (to this influence), without realizing that we have been influenced. It is a painful feeling to give up one's independence in the process of an unconscious acceptance of outer impressions, to have the capabilities of one's own soul crushed by the power of custom and traditions, and to have engraved into one's soul, against one's own will, the roots of confusion.
At a larger scale, we find all of this again in the histories of nations. Many nations that have been confronted by the same events have, after all, been influenced in very different ways.
Therefore, it is small-minded if one wants to impose on all of mankind one form of state, government or society, quasi in stereotypical form, all social and communist ideas suffer from this misconception. Man is, after all, never the same everywhere; however, as soon as it would be possible to overthrow the entire past of the world by means of a strong will, we would immediately join the ranks of independent Gods, and world history would mean nothing else to us but a dreamlike state of being lost in reverie; the curtain falls, and man finds himself, like a child, playing with worlds, like a child that awakens at dawn and wipes away all nightmares with a smile.
Free will appears as that which is not chained, as that which is deliberate; it is the infinitely free, roaming, the mind. Destiny, however, is a necessity if we do not want to believe that world history is made up of dream-like meanderings, that the unspeakable pain of humanity is a fidget of imagination, the we, ourselves, are the powerless objects of our own fantasies. Destiny is the infinite force of resistance against free will, free will without destiny is as inconceivable as mind without real good or evil, since, after all, a certain quality or trait is always the product of contrasts.
Time and again, destiny preaches the principle: "The events are what determine events!" If that were the only true principle, man would be the object of dark forces, not responsible for his own mistakes, entirely free from moral distinctions, a necessary link in a chain. Man is happy when he does not realize his own situation, when he does not convulsively jerk his chains, when he does not, in insane lust and desire, want to confuse the world and its mechanisms!
Perhaps, free will is nothing but the highest potential of destiny, in a similar manner as mind can only be the most infinitely small substance, as good can only be the most subtle development of evil. If we consider the word world history in the most encompassing way, then it would (have to be considered) the history of matter. After all, there still have to exist higher principles in the face of which all differences have to flow together into a great unity, prior to which everything is in development, where everything flows towards a gigantic ocean, where all developments of the world find themselves again, united, merged, all one.–