161

Beauty appropriate to the age.  If our sculptors, painters and composers want to hit off the spirit of the age they must depict beauty as bloated, gigantic and nervous: just as the Greeks, under the spell of their morality of moderation, saw and depicted beauty as the Apollo Belvedere. We ought really to call him ugly! But our stupid 'classicists' have robbed us of all honesty!

162

Contemporary irony.  At the present moment it is the way of Europeans to treat all great interests with irony, because one is so busy in their service one has no time to take them seriously.

163

Contra Rousseau⁷⁰.  If it is true that our civilisation has something pitiable about it, you have the choice of concluding with Rousseau that 'this pitiable civilisation is to blame for our bad morality', or against Rousseau that 'our good morality is to blame for this pitiableness of our civilisation. Our weak, unmanly, social concepts of good and evil and their tremendous ascendancy over body and soul have finally weakened all bodies and souls and snapped the self-reliant, independent, unprejudiced men, the pillars of a strong civilisation: where one still encounters bad morality one beholds the last ruins of these pillars.' Thus paradox stands against paradox! The truth cannot possibly be on both sides: and is it on either of them? Test them and see.

164

Perhaps premature.  At the present time it seems that, under all kinds of false, misleading names and mostly amid great uncertainty, those who do not regard themselves as being bound by existing laws and customs are making the first attempts to organise themselves and therewith to create for themselves a right: while hitherto they had lived, corrupt and corrupting, denounced as criminals, free-thinkers, immoral persons, and villains, and under the ban of outlawry and bad conscience. One ought to find this on the whole fair and right, even though it may make the coming century a dangerous one and put everybody under the necessity of carrying a gun: by this fact alone it constitutes a counter-force which is a constant reminder that there is no such thing as a morality with an exclusive monopoly of the moral, and that every morality that affirms itself alone destroys too much valuable strength and is bought too dear. Men who deviate from the usual path and are so often the inventive and productive men shall no longer be sacrificed; it shall not even be considered disgraceful to deviate from morality, either in deed or thought; numerous novel experiments shall be made in ways of life and modes of society; a tremendous burden of bad conscience shall be expelled from the world  these most universal goals ought to be recognised and furthered by all men who are honest and seek the truth!

165

When morality is not boring.  The chief moral commandments which a people is willing to be taught and have preached at it again and again are related to its chief failings, and thus it is never bored by them. The Greeks, who all too frequently failed to evidence moderation, cold courage, fairmindedness or rationality in general, were glad to give ear to the four Socratic virtues⁷¹  for they had such need of them and yet so little talent for them!