oswald spengler - nietzsche & his century

8/13/2019 Oswald Spengler - Nietzsche & His Century

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Nietzsche &His CenturyOswald Spengler

from http://www.counter-currents.com/2010/08/nietzsche-and-his-century/

An address delivered on October 15, 1924, Nietzsches eightieth birthday, at the Nietzsche Archive,Weimar

Looing bac at the nineteenth cent!ry and letting its great men "ass be#ore the minds eye, $e canobserve an amazing thing abo!t the #ig!re o# %riedrich Nietzsche, something that $as hardly noticeablein his o$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 +ada"tation- each o# them made sacri#ice a#tersacri#ice to the s"irit o# the time&

Only one "erson re"resents a radical de"art!re #rom this "attern& .# the $ord +!ntimely, $hich hehimsel# coined, is a""licable to anyone at all, then it is Nietzsche& One searches in vain thro!gho!t his$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&

.n this res"ect he is the antithesis o#, and yet in some $ays "ro#o!ndly related to, the second /erman o#modern times $hose li#e $as one great symbol0 /oethe& (hese are the only t$o notable /ermans

$hose eistence has "ro#o!nd signi#icance a"art #rom and in addition to their $ors& eca!se both$ere a$are o# this #rom the beginning and contin!ally gave !tterance to this a$areness, their eistencehas become a treas!re #or o!r nation and an integral "art o# its s"irit!al history&

.t $as /oethes good #ort!ne to be born at the high noon o# Western c!lt!re, at a time o# rich andmat!re intellect!ality $hich he himsel# event!ally came to re"resent& 3e had only to become thee"itome o# his o$n time in order to achieve the disci"lined grande!r im"lied by those $ho later calledhim the +Olym"ian&

Nietzsche lived a cent!ry later, and in the meantime a great change had occ!rred, one $hich $e are
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only no$ able to com"rehend& .t $as his #ate to come into the $orld a#ter the ococo "eriod, and tostand amid the totally c!lt!reless 167s and 187s& 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 movedabo!t in social circles in his day, the $ay they tho!ght, $rote, and #elt&

/oethe lived at a time #illed $ith res"ect #or #orm- Nietzsche longed des"erately #or #orms that hadbeen shattered and abandoned& /oethe needed only to a##irm $hat he sa$ and e"erienced aro!nd him-

Nietzsche had no reco!rse b!t to "rotest "assionately against everything contem"orary, i# he $as toresc!e anything his #orebears had be:!eathed to him as a c!lt!ral heritage&

oth o# these men strove d!ring their $hole lives #or strict inner #orm and disci"line& !t theeighteenth cent!ry $as itsel# +in #orm& .t "ossessed the highest ty"e o# society that Western )!ro"ehas ever no$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 thescattered remains, "reserved $ith great di##ic!lty, o# aristocratic and middle*class tradition&

/oethe $as able to !nderstand and solve the great "roblems o# his time as a recognized member o# hissociety, as $e learn in Wilhelm MeisterandElective Affinities- Nietzsche co!ld remain tr!e to his tasonly by t!rning his bac on society& 3is #right#!l loneliness stands as a symbol over against /oethes

cheer#!l gregario!sness& One o# these great men gave sha"e to eisting things- the other brooded overnoneisting things& One o# them $ored #or a "revailing #orm- 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 /ermanintellect!als, Nietzsche $as the only born m!sician& All the others ; thiners, "oets, and "ainters alie; have either been sha"ers o# material or have taen material a"art& Nietzsche lived, #elt, and tho!ghtby ear& 3e $as, a#ter all, hardly able to !se his eyes& 3is "rose is not +$ritten, it is heard ; one mighteven 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 $as their melody, their meter& 3e discovered the m!sical eyso# #oreign c!lt!res& e#ore him, no one ne$ o# the tem"o o# history& A great many o# his conce"ts ;

the


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strove to em!late 'haes"eare&

(his tragic state o# a##airs "rod!ced in /ermany a series o# o!tstanding artistic "ersonalities at a time$hen )ngland and %rance had already gone over to "rod!cing literati ; art and tho!ght as a "ro#essionrather than a destiny& !t it also ca!sed the #ragmentation and #r!stration e"ressed in m!ch o# o!r art,the th$arting o# #inal aims and artistic thoro!ghness&

(oday $e !se the terms +lassical and +omantic to denote the antithesis that a""eared aro!nd 177every$here in Western )!ro"e, literary =etersb!rg incl!ded& /oethe $as a lassic to the same etentthat Nietzsche $as a omantic, b!t these $ords merely designate the "redominant h!es in theiressential nat!res& )ach o# them also "ossessed the other "otentiality, $hich at times !rged its $ay to the#oregro!nd& /oethe, $hoseFaust*monolog!es and West-Eastern Divanare high "oints o# omanticsensibility, strove at all times to con#ine this !rge #or distance and bo!ndlessness $ithin clear and stricttraditional #orms&

'imilarly, Nietzsche o#ten s!""ressed his ac:!ired inclination #or the lassical and rational, $hich helda t$o#old #ascination #or him by reason o# tem"erament and "hilological "ro#ession, to $hat he termedthe


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esare orgia&

(hese t$o tendencies are tragically "resent in the most recent /erman history& ismarc $as a lassico# "olitics& 3e based his calc!lations entirely on things that eisted, things he co!ld see and mani"!late&(he #anatical "atriots neither loved nor !nderstood him !ntil his creative $or a""eared as a #inished"rod!ct, !ntil he co!ld be romantically trans#ig!red as a mythic "ersonage0 +(he Old Ban o# the 'aon%orests& On the other hand, L!d$ig .. o# avaria, $ho "erished as a omantic and $ho never created

or even co!ld have created anything o# end!ring val!e, act!ally received this ind o# love D$itho!tret!rning itE, not only #rom the "eo"le at large, b!t also #rom artists and thiners $ho sho!ld havelooed more closely& @leist is regarded in /ermany $ith, at best, a rel!ctant admiration that istantamo!nt to re>ection, "artic!larly in those instances $here he s!cceeded in overcoming his o$nomantic nat!re& 3e is in$ardly :!ite remote #rom most /ermans, !nlie Nietzsche, $hose nat!re anddestiny $ere in many $ays similar to the avarian ings, and $ho is instinctively honored even bythose $ho have never read him&

Nietzsches longing #or remoteness also e"lains his aristocratic taste, $hich $as that o# a com"letelylonely and visionary "ersonality& Lie the Ossian*ty"e omanticism that originated in 'cotland, theearly lassicism o# the eighteenth cent!ry began on the (hames and $as later taen across to theontinent& .t is im"ossible to consider it a"art #rom the ationalism o# the same "eriod& (he lassicistsengaged in the act o# creativity conscio!sly and deliberately- they re"laced #ree imagination $ithno$ledge, at times even $ith scholarly er!dition& (hey !nderstood the /rees, the enaissance, andinevitably also the $orld o# contem"orary active a##airs& (hese )nglish lassicists, all o# them o# highsocial standing, hel"ed create liberalism as a "hiloso"hy o# li#e as it $as !nderstood by %rederic the/reat and his cent!ry0 the deliberate ignoring o# distinctions that $ere no$n to eist in the "racticalli#e b!t $ere in any case not considered as obstacles- the rational "reocc!"ation $ith matters o# "!blico"inion that co!ld neither be gotten rid o# nor h!shed !", b!t that someho$ had to be renderedharmless& (his !""er*class lassicism gave rise to )nglish democracy ; a s!"erior #orm o# tactics, nota codi#ied "olitical "rogram& .t $as based on the long and intensive e"erience o# a social strat!m thathabit!ally dealt $ith real and "racticable "ossibilities, and that $as there#ore never in danger o# losingits essential congeniality&

/oethe, $ho $as also conscio!s o# his social ran, $as never an aristocrat in the "assionate, theoreticalsense ; !nlie Nietzsche, $ho laced the habit!ation to reg!lar "ractical e"erience& Nietzsche neverreally became #amiliar $ith the democracy o# his time in all its strength and $eaness& (o be s!re, herebelled against the herd instinct $ith the $rath o# his etremely sensitive so!l, b!t the chie# ca!se o#his anger $as to be #o!nd some$here in the historical "ast&

3e $as do!btless the #irst to demonstrate in s!ch radical #ashion ho$ 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 alltimes the "a$ns and victims o# the "ersonal $ill o# individ!als and classes born to be r!lers& =eo"lehad sensed this o#ten eno!gh be#ore, b!t Nietzsche $as the #irst to destroy the traditional image o#+h!manity as "rogress to$ard the sol!tion o# ideal "roblems thro!gh the agency o# its leaders& 3erein

lies the immense di##erence bet$een the historiogra"hy o# a Nieb!hr or a ane, $hich as an idea $aslie$ise o# omantic origin, and Nietzsches method o# historical vision& 3is $ay o# looing into theso!l o# "ast e"ochs and "eo"les overcame the mere "ragmatic str!ct!re o# #acts and events&

Fet s!ch a techni:!e re:!ired detachment& )nglish lassicism, $hich "rod!ced the #irst modernhistorian o# /reece in /eorge /rote ; a b!sinessman and "ractical "olitician ; $as :!ite ecl!sivelythe a##air o# higher society& .t ennobled the /rees by regarding them as "eers, by +"resent*ing them inthe tr!est sense o# the $ord as disting!ished, c!ltivated, intellect!ally re#ined h!man beings $ho at alltimes acted +in good taste ; even 3omer and =indar, "oets $hom the )nglish school o# classical"hilology $as the #irst to "re#er over 3orace and Girgil&


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%rom the higher circles o# )nglish society this lassicism entered the only corres"onding circles in/ermany, 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 /oethes li#e became the symbol o# cheer#!lconviviality and "!r"ose#!l activity& Weimar $as the #riendly center o# intellect!al /ermany, a "lacethat o##ered calm satis#action to a degree !nno$n by any other /erman $riter, an o""ort!nity #orharmonio!s gro$th, mat!ring, and ageing that $as lassical in a s"eci#ically /erman sense&

Net to this career there is the other, $hich lie$ise ended in Weimar& .t started o!t in the secl!sion o#a =rotestant "astors home, the cradle o# many i# not most o# /ermanys great minds, and reached itsheight in the s!n*drenched solit!de o# the )ngadin&

No other /erman has ever lived s!ch an im"assioned "rivate eistence, #ar removed #rom all societyand "!blicity ; tho!gh all /ermans, even i# they are +"!blic "ersonalities, have a longing #or s!chsolit!de& 3is intense yearning #or #riendshi" $as in the last analysis sim"ly his inability to lead agen!ine social li#e, and th!s it $as a more s"irit!al #orm o# loneliness& .nstead o# the #riendly +/oetheho!se on Weimars %ra!en"lan, $e see the >oyless little cottages in 'ils*Baria, the solit!de o# themo!ntains and the sea, and #inally a solitary breado$n in (!rin ; it $as the most thoro!ghlyomantic career the nineteenth cent!ry ever o##ered&

Nevertheless, his need to comm!nicate $as stronger than he himsel# believed, m!ch stronger at anyrate than /oethes, $ho $as one o# the most tacit!rn o# men des"ite the social li#e that s!rro!nded him&/oethesElective Affinitiesis a secretive boo, not to s"ea o# Wilhelm Meisters Years of WanderingandFaust ..& 3is most "ro#o!nd "oems are monolog!es& (he a"horisms o# Nietzsche are nevermonolog!es- nor are the Night 'ong and theDionysus Dithyrambs com"letely monolog!es& Aninvisible $itness is al$ays "resent, al$ays $atching& (hat is $hy he remained at all times a believing=rotestant& All the omantics lived in schools and coteries, and Nietzsche invented something o# thesort by imagining that his #riends $ere, as listeners, his intellect!al "eers& Or again, he created in theremote "ast and #!t!re a circle o# intimates, only to com"lain to them, lie Novalis and 3Clderlin, o#his loneliness& 3is $hole li#e $as #illed $ith the tort!re and bliss o# ren!nciation, o# the desire tos!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#& Fet that is ho$ he develo"ed insight into the so!l o# e"ochs and c!lt!res thatco!ld never reveal their secrets to sel#*ass!red, lassical minds&

(his organic "essimism o# his being e"lains the $ors and the se:!ence in $hich they a""eared& We$ho $ere not able to e"erience the great #lo!rishing o# materialism in the mid*nineteenth cent!rysho!ld never cease to be amazed at the a!dacity that $ent into the $riting, at s!ch a tender age andcontrary to the o"inions o# contem"orary "hilological scholarshi", o# The Birth of Tragedy& (he #amo!santithesis o# A"ollo and


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midst o# this vision he "laced the '!"erman and his "ro"het, ?arath!stra, re"resenting the incarnatemeaning 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& %or this very reason theyhave eerted a c!rio!s attraction on every /erman so!l& %or in every /erman so!l there is a "lace$here dreams are dreamed o# social ideals and a #iner #!t!re #or manind& /oethe laced s!ch a cornerin 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!rs- 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 $orld, a :!estionthat had accom"anied him since childhood& y doing so he bro!ght to an end the "eriod o# Western"hiloso"hy that had considered the ty"es o# no$ledge as its central "roblem& (his ne$ :!estionlie$ise had t$o ans$ers0 a lassical and a omantic ans$er or, to "!t it in the terms o# the time, asocial and an aristocratic ans$er& +Li#e has val!e to the same degree as it serves the totality ; that$as the ans$er o# the ed!cated )nglishmen $ho had learned at O#ord to disting!ish bet$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& +Li#e is all the more val!able, the stronger its instincts are ; that $as theans$er given by Nietzsche, $hose o$n li#e $as delicate and easily in>!red& e that as it may, #or the

very reason that he $as remote #rom the active li#e he $as able to gras" its mysteries& 3is !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 mae history, no matter $hat others may "rove or "reachagainst it& 3e did not concern himsel# $ith the conce"t!al analysis o# +$ill- to him the most im"ortantthing $as the image o# active, creative, destr!ctive Will in history& (he +conce"t o# $ill gave $ay tothe +as"ect o# $ill& 3e did not teach, he sim"ly "ointed matters o!t0 +(h!s it $as, and th!s it shall be&)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 oneK And bet$een Nietzschescontem"oraries, $ith their sentimental "lans #or im"roving the $orld, and this demonstration o# hard#actsK '!ch an accom"lishment "laces this last omantic thiner at the very "innacle o# his cent!ry& .n

this $e are all his "!"ils, $hether $e $ish to be or not, $hether $e no$ him $ell or not& 3is visionhas already im"erce"tibly con:!ered the $orld& No one $rites history any more $itho!t seeing thingsin his light&

3e !ndertoo to eval!ate li#e !sing #acts as the sole criteria, and the #acts ta!ght that the stronger or$eaer $ill to s!cceed determines $hether li#e is val!able or $orthless, that goodness and s!ccess arealmost m!t!ally ecl!sive& 3is image o# the $orld reached its c!lmination $ith a magni#icent criti:!eo# morality in $hich, instead o# "reaching morality, he eval!ated the moralities that have arisen inhistory ; not according to any +tr!e moral system b!t according to their s!ccess& (his $as indeed a+reval!ation o# all val!es, and altho!gh $e no$ no$ that he misstated the antithesis o# hristian andmaster*morality as a res!lt o# his "ersonal s!##ering d!ring the 17s, nonetheless the !ltimate

antithesis o# h!man eistence lay behind his statement- he so!ght it, and sensed it, and believed that hehad ca"t!red it $ith his #orm!la&

.# instead o# +master morality $e $ere to say the instinctive "ractice o# men $ho are determined toact, and instead o# +hristian morality the theoretical $ays in $hich contem"lative "ersons eval!ate,then $e $o!ld have be#ore !s the tragic nat!re o# all manind, $hose dominant ty"es $ill #orevermis!nderstand, combat, and s!##er #rom each other&


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gotten rid o# $ith laments and moral condemnations& Ban is th!s, li#e is th!s, history is th!s&

=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& !t the more he !nderstood, the more shyly he $ithdre$ #rom contact $ith action& .n this $ayhis omantic destiny reached #!l#illment& Inder the #orce o# these last insights, the #inal stage o# hiscareer too sha"e in strict contrast to that o# /oethe, $ho $as not #oreign to action b!t $ho regarded

his tr!e calling as "oetry, and there#ore restrained his actions cheer#!lly&

/oethe, the =rivy o!ncilor and Binister, the celebrated #ocal "oint o# )!ro"ean intellect, $as able tocon#ess d!ring his last year o# li#e, in the #inal act o# his Faust, that he looed !"on his li#e as havingattained #!l#illment& +(arry no$, tho! art so #airK ; that is a "hrase e"ressive o# the most bliss#!lsatiety, s"oen at the moment $hen the active "hysical $or is com"leted !nder %a!sts command, toend!re no$ and #orevermore& .t $as the great and #inal symbol o# the lassicism to $hich this li#e hadbeen dedicated, and $hich led #rom the controlled c!lt!ral ed!cation o# the eighteenth cent!ry to thecontrolled eercise o# "ersonal talent o# the nineteenth&

Fet one cannot create distance, one can only "roclaim it& !st as %a!sts death bro!ght a lassicalcareer 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 $orld and thehighest "eas come ever clear into vie$& (his "!zzling #inal e"isode o# his li#e is the very reasonNietzsches eistence has had the stronger in#l!ence on the $orld ever since& /oethes li#e $as a #!llli#e, and that means that it bro!ght something to com"letion& o!ntless /ermans $ill honor /oethe,live $ith him, and see his s!""ort- b!t he can never trans#orm them& Nietzsches e##ect is atrans#ormation, #or the melody o# his vision did not end $ith his death& (he omantic attit!de iseternal- tho!gh its #orm may at times be !ni#ied and com"lete, its tho!ght never is& .t $ill al$ayscon:!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 andadversaries& )ven i# someday no one reads his $ors any longer, his vision $ill end!re and be creative&

3is $or is not a "art o# o!r "ast to be en>oyed- it is a tas that maes servants o# !s all& As a tas it is

inde"endent o# his boos and their s!b>ect matter, and th!s a "roblem o# /erman destiny& .n an age thatdoes not tolerate other$orldly ideals and taes vengeance on their a!thors, $hen the only thing o#recognized val!e is the ind o# r!thless action that Nietzsche ba"tized $ith the name o# esare orgia,$hen the morality o# the ideolog!es and $orld im"rovers is limited more radically than ever tos!"er#l!o!s and innoc!o!s $riting and s"eech*maing ; in s!ch an age, !nless $e learn to act as realhistory $ants !s to act, $e $ill cease to eist as a "eo"le& We cannot live $itho!t a #orm o# $isdomthat does not merely console in di##ic!lt sit!ations, b!t hel"s one to get o!t o# them& (his ind o# hard$isdom made its #irst a""earance in /erman tho!ght $ith Nietzsche, des"ite the #act that it $ascloaed 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& 3is heritage is the obligation to live historyin the same $ay&

%irst "!blished in '"engler,%eden und Aufs&t'eDB!nich, 198E&

oswald spengler - nietzsche & his century

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