Friedrich Nietzsche

“ Morality is, of old, well versed in the diabolical art of persuasion : even in our days there is no orator who would not have recourse to it (listen to our anarchists, for instance: how morally they speak in order to per-suade! In the end they even call themselves the "good and the just") . ”

“ Nothing has ever impressed the German mind more deeply, nothing has “tempted" it more, than that most dangerous conclusion of all, which, in the opinion of every true Roman, is an insult to the intellect: credo quia absurdum est; with this conclusion the German logic makes its first appearance in the history of the Christian dogma ”

“ I have not been philologist in vain, perhaps I still am, that is, a teacher of slow reading. I even write slowly. It is not only my habit, but even my fancy—perhaps a malicious fancy —to write nothing else but what may drive everybody to despair who is "pressed for time." ”

“ In other words, he would not have needed it, had he not considered one thing more important than all other things: to make the modern realm "unassailable," or rather "unintelligible" to reason—so strongly did he feel convinced of the assail-ableness of a moral order of things by reason. For, as regards nature and history, and the utter imnorality of nature and history, Kant was a pessimist, as every true Germany of old; he believed in morals, not because they are verified by nature and history, but in spite of their being constantly contradicted by nature and history. ”

“ I descended into the lowest depths, I searched to the bottom, I began to examine and unearth an old faith on which for thousands of years we philosophers used to build as on the safest foundation—ever again, though, as yet, every structure collapsed. ”

“ They often succeed in paralysing and misleading the critical will by one sole glance—they occasionally even know how to turn it upon itself: so that, like unto the scorpion, it thrusts the sting into its own heart. ”

“ But it is past all doubt that even to us a "thou shalt" is still speaking, even we still obey a stern law above us—and this is the last moral precept which impresses itself even upon us, which even we obey: in this respect, if in any, we are still conscientious people: viz., we do not wish to return to that which we consider outlived and decayed, to something "not worth believing," be it called God, virtue, truth, justice, charity, we do not approve of any deceptive bridges to old ideals; we are radically hostile to all that wants to mediate and to amalgamate with us ”

“ What is the cause that from the times of Plato all philosophical architects in Europe have built in vain? That everything which they themselves honestly and seriously looked upon as aere perennius threatens to collapse or has already fallen to ruins? ”

“ In this book we meet with one who works in the bowels of the earth, boring, mining, undermining. You can watch hin, provided you have eyes for such work of the deep—proceeding slowly, prudently, gently, inexorably, without betraying the weariness which follows in the train of every long privation of light and air ”

“ But morals have not only various horrors at their command to ward off critical hands and instruments of torture : their security rests much more in a certain art of fascination whereon they may pride themselves they know how to "inspire." ”

“ For whoever pursues a course of his own, meets nobody: this is peculiar to the “course of one’s own.” Nobody comes to his assistance; any danger, emergency, wickedness and bad weather, has to be faced alone. ”

“ I began to undermine our faith in morals. But you do not understand me?
3
As yet we have made good and evil the least, last subjects of our meditation : it always was too dangerous a thing to do. Conscience, good reputation, hell, occa-sionally even the police, did not and do not permit ofimpartiality ; in presence of morality, as in face of allauthority, we are not allowed to think, much less to speak: we have to obey! ”

“ I began to undermine our faith in morals. ”