Friday, November 18, 2005

Nietzsche from "Human, All Too Human

The martyr against his will.— In one party, there was a man who was too anxious and cowardly ever to contradict his comrades. They used him for every service; they demanded everything of him, because he was more afraid of the bad opinions of his companions than of death itself. His was a miserable, weak soul. They recognized this and on the basis of those qualities they made him first into a hero and finally into a martyr. Although the cowardly man always said "no" inwardly, he always said "yes" with his lips, even on the scaffold, when he died for the views of his party. Next to him stood one of his old comrades, who tyrannized him so by word and glance that he really did suffer death in the most seemly way, and has since been celebrated as a martyr and a man of great character.

1 Comments:

Blogger atomicvelvetsigh said...

Voilà un homme!

Man is basically drawn to either fear or strength. with fear comes submission and humiliation. with strength comes domination and pride. But all these are weaknesses which Man is bound to live.

In analyzing the story above, the man feared the domination of other beings he could not escape. But this domination comes not with strength for they needed this 'weak' man to do their duties.

but in his fear cometh greatness, a martyr, which actually ridiculed his own being, for his true opposition was kept within, which resulted to loss of life (his material body and of living).

so in conclusion, it seems.. that if he tried to escape his comrades, he wouldnt have been celebrated as great, but as a coward. which in irony is a display of braveness for standing forth for his own beliefs. the question now is, which is better?

ok, thats it for now.. lol
btw, do you have a copy of Nietzsche's "Hymn to Life"?

12:41 PM  

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