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THE PRESENT AGE AGE
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Our age is essentially one of understanding and reection, without passion, oentarily !ursting into enthusias, and shrewdly relapsing into repose" #f we had statistical ta!les of the consuption of intelligence fro generation to generation as we ha$e for spirits, we should !e astounded at the enorous aount of scruple and deli!eration consued !y sall, well%to%do failies li$ing &uietly, and at the aount which the young, and e$en children, use" 'or (ust as the children)s children)s crusade ay !e said to typify the *iddle *iddle Ages, Ages, precocious children are typical of the present age" #n fact one is tepted to as+ as+ wheth hether er ther there e is a sing single le an an lef left ready eady,, for for once once,, to co coit it an outrageous folly" Nowada Nowadays ys not e$en e$en a suicid suicide e +ills +ills hisel hiselff in desper desperati ation" on" efor efore e ta+ing the step he deli!erates so long and so care fully that he literally cho+es with thought" #t is e$en &uestiona!le whether he ought to !e called a suicide, since it is really thought which ta+es his life" He does not die with deli!eration !ut from deli!eration" #t wou would ther herefor efore e !e $ery $ery didi-cult cult to prosec osecut ute e the the pres presen entt generation in $iew of its legal &ui!!les. in fact, its a!ility, $irtuosity and good sense consists in trying to reach a (udgeent and a decision without e$er going as far as action" #f one ay say of the re$olutionary period that it runs wild, one would ha$e to say of the present that it runs !adly" etween the, the indi$idual and his generation always !ring each other to a standstill, with the result that the prosecuting attorney would /nd it ne0t to ipossi!le to get any any fact act ad aditt itted1! ed1!ec ecau ause se nothi othin ng reall eally y hap happen pens" To (udg (udge e fro fro innuera!le indications, one would conclude that soething &uite e0ceptional had either (ust happened or was (ust a!out to happen" 2et 2et any such conclusion would !e &uite wrong" #ndications are, indeed, the only achie$eents of the age3 and its s+ill and in$enti$eness in constructing fascinating illusions, its !ursts of enthusias, using as a deceitful escape soe pro(ected change of for, ust !e rated as high in the scale of cle$erness and of the negati$e use of stre streng ngth th as the the pass passio iona nate te,, crea creati ti$e $e ener energy gy of the the re$ol e$olut utio ion n in the the corre correspo spondi nding ng scale scale of energ energy y" ut the prese present nt genera generatio tion, n, wearied wearied !y its chierical e4orts, relapses into coplete indolence" #ts condition is that of a an an who who has has only only fall fallen en aslee asleep p towa toward rds s orn ornin ing. g. /rst /rst of all all coe coe grea greatt dreas, then a feeling of la5iness, and /nally a witty or cle$er e0cuse for reaining in !ed" Howe$er well%eaning and strong the indi$idual an ay !e 6if he could only use his strength7, he still has not the passion to !e a!le to tear
Soren A" 8ier+egaard" New 2or+ . Harper Torch!oo+s, 9:;<"
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hisel hiselff fro fro the coils coils and seducti$ seducti$e e uncert uncertain ainty ty of reec reectio tion" n" Nor do his surroundings supply the e$ents or produce the general enthusias necessary in order to free hi" #nstead of coing to his help, his milieu fors around hi a nega negati ti$e $e inte intell llec ectu tual al oppo opposi siti tion on,, whic which h (ugg (uggle les s for for a oe oent nt with with a decepti$e prospect, only to decei$e hi in the end !y pointing to a !rilliant way out of the di-culty 1 !y showing hi that the shrewdest thing of all is to do nothing" 'or at the !otto of the tergi$ersation of the present age is vis inertiae, and e$ery one without passion congratulates hiself upon !eing the /rst to disco$er it, and so !ecoes cle$erer still" =uring the re$olution ars were distri!uted freely, (ust as during the >rusades the insignia of the e0ploit were !estowed upon en, !ut nowadays people are supplied with rules of careful conduct and ready rec+oners to facilitate (udgeent" #f a generation were gi$en the diploatic tas+ of postponing any action in such a way as to a+e it see as if soething were (ust a!out to happen, then we should ha$e to adit that our age had perfored as rear+a!le a feat as the re$olutionary age" ?et any one try forgetting all he +nows of the age and its actual relati$ity which is so enhanced !y failiarity, and then arri$e, as it were, fro another world. if he were then to read a !oo+ or an article in the papers, or erely to spea+ to soe passer%!y, his ipression would !e. @Good hea$ens, soething is going going to happe happen n to%nigh to%nightt 1 or perhap perhaps s soeth soething ing happen happened ed the night night !efore last") A re$olutionary age is an age of action3 ours is the age of ad$ertisee ad$ertiseent nt and pu!licity pu!licity"" Nothing Nothing e$er happens happens !ut there there is iediate iediate pu!licity e$erywhere" #n the present age a re!ellion is, of all things, the ost unthin unthin+a +a!le !le"" Such Such an e0pr e0press ession ion of streng strength th would would see see ridicu ridiculou lous s to the calculating intelligence of our ties" On the other hand a political $irtuoso igh ightt !rin !ring g o4 a feat feat alo alost st as rear ear+a +a!l !le" e" He igh ightt writ write e a ani anife fest sto o sugg sugges esti ting ng a gene genera rall asse asse! !ly ly at whic which h peop people le shou should ld deci decide de upon upon a re!ellion, and it would !e so carefully worded that e$en the censor would let it pass" At the eeting itself he would !e a!le to create the ipression that his audience had re!elled, after which they would all go &uietly hoe 1 ha$ing spent a $ery pleasant e$ening" Aong A ong the young en of today a profound and prodigious learning is alost unthin+a!le3 they would /nd it ridiculous On the other hand a scienti/c $irtuoso ight draw up a su!scription for outlining an all e!racing syste which he purposed to write and, what is more, in such a way that the reader would feel he had already read the syste3 for the age of encyclopae encyclopaedists dists,, when en wrote wrote gigantic gigantic folios folios with unreitting unreitting pains, is gone" gone" Now is the turn of those those light%weig light%weight ht encyclopaedist encyclopaedists s who, en passant, deal with all the sciences and the whole of e0istence" E&ually unthin+a!le aong the young en of today is a truly religious renunciation of the world, adhered to with daily self%denial" On the other hand alost any theological student student is capa!le capa!le of soething soething far ore wonderful wonderful He could found a society with the sole o!(ect of sa$ing all those who are lost" The age of great and good actions is past, the present is the age of anticipation when e$en recognition is recei$ed recei$ed in ad$ance" ad$ance" No one is satis/ed satis/ed with doing doing soething soething de/nite, de/nite, e$ery one wants to feel attered !y reection with the illusion of ha$ing disco$ered at the $ery least a new continent" ?i+e a young an who decides to wor+ for his e0aination in all earnest fro Septe!er 9st, and in order to strengthen his his resol esolut utio ion n deci decide des s to ta+ ta+e a holi holida day y duri during ng Augu August st,, so the the pres presen entt
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generation sees 1 though this is decidedly ore di-cult to understand 1 to ha$e ade a solen resolution that the ne0t generation should set to wor+ seriously, and in order to a$oid distur!ing or delaying the ne0t generation, the present attends to 1 the !an&uets" Only there is a di4erence. the young an understands hiself in the light%heartedness of youth, whereas our generation is serious 1 e$en at !an&uets" There is no ore action or decision in our day than there is perilous delight in swiing in shallow waters" ut (ust as a grown%up, struggling delightedly in the wa$es, calls to those younger than hiself. @>oe on, (up in &uic+ly @1 the decision in e0istence, so to spea+ 6of course it is in the indi indi$i $idu dual al77 call calls s out out to the the youn young g who who are are not not as yet yet wor worn out out !y o$er o$er reecti$e thought or o$er!urdened !y the illusions of reecti$e thought. >oe on, on, leap leap chee cheerf rful ully ly,, e$en e$en if it ean eans s a ligh lighth thea eart rted ed leap leap,, so long long as it is deci decisi si$e $e"" #f you you are are capa capa!l !le e of !ein !eing g a an, an, then then dang danger er and and the the hars harsh h (udgeent of e0istence e0istence on your thoughtlessness thoughtlessness will help you to !ecoe one" #f the (ewel which e$ery one desired to possess lay far out on a fro5en la+e where the ice was $ery thin, watched o$er !y the danger of death, while, closer in, the ice was perfectly safe, then in a passionate age the crowds would would applaud applaud the courage courage of the an who $entured out, they would tre!le for hi and with hi in the danger of his decisi$e action, they would grie$e o$er hi if he were drowned, they would a+e a god of hi if he secured the pri5e" ut in an age without passion, in a reecti$e age, it would !e otherwise" People would thin+ each other cle$er in agreeing that it was nreasona!le nreasona!le and not not e$en e$en wort worth h whil while e to $ent $entur ure e so far far out" out" And And in this this way way they they woul would d transfor daring and enthusiasm into a feat of skill, so as to do soething, for after all @soething ust !e done") The crowds would go out to watch fro a safe safe place, place, and with with the eyes eyes of connoi connoisse sseurs urs apprai appraise se the accop accoplis lished hed s+ater who could s+ate alost to the $ery edge 6i"e" as far as the ice was still safe and the danger ha$e not yet !egun7 and then turn !ac+" The ost accoplished s+ater would anage to go out to the furtherost point and then perfor a still ore dangerous loo+ing run, so as to a+e the spectators hold their !reath and say. @2e GodsB How ad3 he is ris+ing his life") ut loo+, and you will see that his s+ill was so astonishing that he anaged to turn !ac+ (ust in tie, while the ice was perfectly safe and there was still no danger" As at the theatre, the crowd would applaud and acclai hi, surge hoeward with the heroic artist in their idst, to honour hi with a agni/cent !an&uet" 'or intelligence has got the upper hand to such an e0tent that it transfors the real tas+ into an unreal tric+ and reality into a play" =uring the !an&uet adi adira rati tion on woul would d reac reach h its its heig height ht"" Now Now the the prop proper er rela relati tion on !etw !etwee een n the the adirer and the o!(ect of adiration is one in which the adirer is edi/ed !y the thought that he is a an li+e the hero, hu!led !y the thought that he is incapa incapa!le !le of such such great great action actions, s, yet orall orally y encour encourage aged d to eulat eulate e hi according to his powers3 !ut where intelligence has got the upper hand the char charac acte terr of adi adira rati tion on is cop cople lete tely ly alte altere red" d" E$en E$en at the the heig height ht of the the !an&uet, when the applause was loudest, the adiring guests would all ha$e a shrewd notion that the action of the an who recei$ed all the honour was not really so e0traordinary, and that only !y chance was the gathering for hi, since after all, with a little practice, e$ery one could ha$e done as uch"
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riey, instead of !eing strengthened in their discernent and encouraged to do good, the guests would ore pro!a!ly go hoe with an e$en stronger predi predispo sposit sition ion to the ost ost danger dangerous ous,, if also also the ost ost respe respect cta!l a!le, e, of all diseases. to adire in pu!lic what is considered uniportant in pri$ate1since e$erything is ade into a (o+e" And so, stiulated !y a gush of adiration, they they are are all cof cofo orta! rta!ly ly agr agreed eed that that they hey igh ightt (ust (ust as well ell adi adirre thesel$es" 'ore orerl rly y it was was agre agreed ed that that a an an stoo stood d or fell fell !y his his acti action ons3 s3 nowadays, on the contrary, e$ery one idles a!out and coes o4 !rilliantly with the help of a little reection, +nowing perfectly well what ought to !e done" ut ut what what two two peop people le tal+i al+ing ng toge togeth ther er,, or the the spea spea+ +ers ers at a eet eetin ing, g, understand perfectly presented to the as a thought or as an o!ser$ation, they cannot understand at all in the for of action" #f%sae one were to o$erhear what people said ought to !e done, and then in a spirit of irony, and for no other reason, proceeded to act accordingly e$ery one would !e aa5ed" They would /nd it rash, yet as soon as they had tal+ed it o$er they would /nd that it was (ust what should !e done" The present age with its sudden enthusiass followed !y apathy and indolence is $ery near the coic3 !ut those who understand the coic see &uite clearly that the coic is not where the present age iagines" Now satire, if it is to do a little good and not cause ieasura!le har, ust !e /rly !ase !ased d upon upon a cons consis iste tent nt ethi ethica call $iew $iew of life life,, a natu natura rall dist distin inct ctio ion n which renounces the success of the oent3 otherwise the cure will !e in/nitely worse than the disease" The really coic thing is that an age such as this should try to !e witty and huorous3 for that is ost certainly the last and ost acro!atic way out of the ipasse" Chat, indeed, is there for an age of reection and thought to defy with huourD 'or, !eing without passion, it has lost all feeling for the $alues of eros, for enthusias and sincerity in politics and religion, or for piety, adiration and doesticity in e$eryday life" ut e$en if the $ulgar laugh, life only oc+s at the wit which +nows no $alues" To !e witty without possessing the riches of inwardness is li+e s&uandering oney upon lu0uries and dispensing with necessities, or, as the pro$er! says, li+e selling one)s !reeches to !uy a wig" ut an age without passion has no $alues, and e$eryt e$erythin hing g is transf transfor ored ed into into repr represe esenta ntatio tional nal ideas" ideas" Thus Thus there there are are certain rear+s and e0pressions current which, though true and reasona!le up to a point, are lifeless" On the other hand no hero, no lo$er, no thin+er, no +night of the faith, no proud an, no an in despair would clai to ha$e e0perienced the copletely and personally" And (ust as one longs for the clin+ of real oney after the crac+le of !an+%notes, one longs nowadays for a litt little le origi rigin nalit ality y" 2et what what is or ore spon sponta tan neou eous than than witD itD #t is or ore spontaneous, at least ore surprising, e$en than the /rst !ud of spring and the the /rst /rst tend tender er shoo shoots ts of grai grain" n" Chy, Chy, e$en e$en if spri spring ng carn carne e acco accord rdin ing g to agr agreee eeent nt it woul would d stil stilll !e spri spring ng,, !ut !ut wit wit upon upon agr agreee eeent nt woul would d !e disgusting" ut, ut, now, now, supp suppos osin ing g that that as a relie elieff fro fro fe$e fe$eri rish sh and and sudd sudden en enthusiass things went so far that wit, that di$ine accident1an additional fa$our which coes as a sign fro the gods, fro the ysterious source of
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the ine0plica!le, so that not e$en the wittiest of en dares to say. to%orrow, !ut adoringly says. when it pleases the gods1!ut supposing that wit were to !e tran transf sfor ore ed d into into its its sha! sha!!i !ies estt cont contrar rary, y, a tri$ tri$ia iall nece necess ssit ity, y, so that that it !ecae a pro/ta!le !ranch of trade to anufacture and a+e up and rea+e, and !uy up old and new witticiss 1 what an epigra on a witty ageB #n the end, therefore, oney will !e the one thing people will desire, which is oreo$er only representati$e, representati$e, an a!straction" Nowadays a young an hardly en$ies anyone his gifts, his art, the lo$e of a !eautiful girl, or his fae3 he only en$ies hi his oney" Gi$e e oney, he will say, and # a sa$ed" ut the young an will not run riot, he will not deser$e what repentance repays" He would die with nothing to reproach hiself with, and under the ipression that if only he had had the oney he ight really ha$e li$ed and ight e$en ha$e achie$ed soething great" After these general o!ser$ations, and ha$ing copared the present age with the re$olutionary age, it will !e in order to go !ac+ to the dialectical and categorical de/nitions of the present age, regardless whether they are present at a gi$en oent or not" Ce are concerned here with the @how) of the age, and this how) ust !e de/ned fro a uni$ersal standpoint, the /nal conse&uen conse&uences ces of which can !e reached reached !y deduction deduction,, a posse ad esse, and $eri/ed !y o!ser$ation and e0perience ab esse ad posse. As far as its signi/cance is concerned it is, of course, possi!le that the wor+ of reection, which is the tas+ !efore the present age, ay ultiately !e e0plained in a higher for of e0istence" As for its &uality, there is no dou!t that the indi$idual resting in his reection can !e (ust as well%intentioned as a passionate an who has ade his decision3 and con$ersely there ay !e (ust as uch e0cuse for the an whose passions run away with hi as for a an whose fault is ne$er apparent, though he is cle$erly aware that he lets hiself !e decei$ed !y !is reection" The results of reection are !oth dangerous and unforeseea!le !ecause one can ne$er tell whether the decision which sa$es a an fro e$il is reached after thorough consideration, or whether it is siply the e0haustion resulting fro reection which pre$ents hi fro doing wrong" One One thin thing, g, howe howe$e $er, r, is cert certai ain, n, an incr increa ease sed d powe powerr of ree reect ctio ion n li+ li+e an increased +nowledge only adds to an)s aiction, and a!o$e all it is certain that for the indi$idual as for the generation no tas+ is ore di-cult than to esca escape pe fro fro the the tep tepta tati tion ons s of ree reect ctio ion, n, sip siply ly !eca !ecaus use e they they are are so dialectical and the result of one cle$er disco$ery ay gi$e the whole &uestion a new new tur turn, !eca !ecaus use e at any any oe oent nt ree reect ctio ion n is capa capa!l !le e of e0pl e0plai aini ning ng e$erything &uite di4erently and allowing one soe way of escape3 !ecause at the last last oent oent of a reec reecti$ ti$e e decisi decision on reec reectio tion n is capa!l capa!le e of changi changing ng e$erything 1 after one has ade far greater e0ertions than are necessary to get a an of character into the idst of things" ut these are only the e0cuses of reection and the real position in reection reains unchanged, for it is only altered within reectio reection" n" E$en if a certain in(ustice is done to the present age when it is copared to a coplete and closed period 6the present present age is still struggling struggling with all the di-culties di-culties of
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@!ecoing), such a &uali/cation is only a reecti$e &uali/cation3 and then, in return, its uncertainty is /lled with hope. A passionate tuultuous age will overth overthrow row everyt everythin hing, g, pull pull everything everything down; !ut a re$olutionary age, that is at the sae tie reecti$e and and pass passio ionl nles ess, s, tran transf sfor ors s that that e0pre 0press ssio ion n of stre streng ngth th into into a feat of dial dialec ecti tics cs:: it leav leaves es ever everyt ythi hing ng stan standi ding ng but but cunn cunnin ingl gly y empt emptie ies s it of signicance. Instead of culminating in a rebellion it reduces the inward reality of all relationships to a reective tension which leaves everything standing but makes the whole of life ambiguous: so that everything continues to exist pri$at atis issi sie e,, it su fact factua uall lly y whil whilst st by a dial dialec ecti tica call dece deceit it,, pri$ supp ppli lies es a secr secret et interpretation that it does not exist. *orality is character, character is that which is engra$ed ! χαρασσοω "; !ut !ut the the sand sand and and the the sea sea ha$e ha$e no char charac acte terr and and neit neithe herr has has a!st a!stra ract ct intelligence, for character is reality inwardness" #orality, as energy, is also character3 !ut to !e neither oral nor ioral is erely a!iguous, and a!iguity enters into life when the &ualitati$e distinctions are wea+ened !y a gnawing reection" The re$olt of the passions is eleental, the dissolution !rought a!out !y a!iguity is a silent sorites 9 that goes on night and day" The distinction !etween good and e$il is ener$ated !y a super/cial, superior and theoretical +nowledge of e$il, and !y a supercilious cle$erness which is aware that goodness is neither appreciated nor worth while in this world, that it is tantaount to stupidity" No one is any longer carried away !y the desire for the good to perfor great things, no one is precipitated !y e$il into atrocious sins, and so there is nothing for either the good or the !ad to tal+ a!out, and yet yet for for that that $ery $ery reas reason on peop people le goss gossip ip all all the the ore ore,, sinc since e a!i a!igu guit ity y is tre treen endo dous usly ly sti stiul ulat atin ing g and and uch uch or ore $er! $er!os ose e than than re(o re(oic icin ing g o$er o$er goodness or repentance o$er e$il" The springs of life, which are only what they are !ecause of the &ualitati$e di4erentiating power of passion, lose their elasticity" The distance separating a thing fro its opposite in &uality no longer regulates the inward relation of things" Ali inwardness is lost, and to that e0tent the relation no longer e0ists, or else fors a colourless cohesion" The negati$e law is this. opposites are una!le to dispense with each other and una!le to hold together" The positi$e law is that they are a!le to dispense with each other and are a!le to hold together or, stated positi$ely. opposites are una!le to dispense with each other !ecause of the conne0ion !etween the" ut when the inward relation is wanting another ta+es its place. a &uality is no longer related to its contra contrary3 ry3 instead, instead, the partne partners rs !oth !oth stand stand and o!ser o!ser$e $e each each other other and the stat state e of tens tensio ion n thus thus prod produc uced ed is real really ly the the end end of the the rela relati tion onsh ship ip.. 'or e0ap 0aple le,, the the adi adirrer no long longer er chee cheerf rful ully ly and and happi appily ly ac+n ac+now owle ledg dges es greatness, proptly e0pressing his appreciation, and then re!elling against its pride and arrogance" Nor is the relationship in any sense the opposite" The adirer and the o!(ect of adiration stand li+e two polite e&uals, and o!ser$e each other" A su!(ect no longer freely honours his +ing or is angered at his 1
A for of sophis leading !y gradual steps fro truth to a!surdity" 1 Tr"
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a!ition" To !e a su!(ect has coe to ean soething &uite di4erent3 it eans to !e a third third party party. The su!(ect ceases to ha$e a position within the relationship3 he has no direct relation to the +ing !ut siply !ecoes an o!ser$er and deli!erately wor+s out the pro!le3 i"e" the relation of a su!(ect to his +ing" 'or a tie coittee after coittee is fored, so long, that is to say, as there are still people who passionately want to !e what they ought to !e3 !ut in the end the whole age !ecoes a coittee" A father no longer curses his son in anger, using all a ll his parental authority, nor does a son defy his father, a conict which ight end in the inwardness of forgi$eness3 on the contra contrary, ry, their their relat relation ionshi ship p is irre irrepr proac oacha! ha!le, le, for it is reall really y in proce process ss of ceasing to e0ist, since they are no longer related to one another within the rela relati tion onsh ship ip33 in fact fact it has has !eco !ecoe e a pro! pro!le le in whic which h the the two two part partne ners rs o!ser$e each other as in a gae, instead of ha$ing any relation to each other, and they note down each other)s rear+s instead of showing a /r de$otion" *ore and ore people renounce the &uiet and odest tas+s of life, that are so iportant and pleasing to God, in order to achie$e soething greater3 in order to thin+ o$er the relationships of life in a higher relationship till in the end the whole generation has !ecoe a representation, who represent""" it is di-cult to say who; and who thin+ a!out these relationships for whose sa+e it is not easy to disco$er" A diso!edient youth is no longer in fear of his schoolaster 1 the relation is rather one of indi4erence in which schoolaster and pupil discuss how a good school should !e run" To go to school no longer eans to !e in fear of the aster, or erely to learn, !ut rather iplies !eing interested in the the pro! pro!le le of educ educat atio ion" n" Agai Again n the the di4e di4ere rent ntia iati ting ng rela relati tion on of an an to woa woan n is ne$e ne$err !ro+ !ro+en en in an auda audaci ciou ousl sly y lice licent ntio ious us ann anner3 er3 dece decenc ncy y is o!ser$ed o!ser$ed in such a way that one can only descri!e descri!e these innocent !orderline !orderline irtations as tri$ial" Chat in fact should should one call such relationsh relationshipsD ipsD A tension, tension, 9 thin+, thin+, is the the !est !est desc descri ript ptio ion, n, not, not, howe howe$e $er, r, a tens tensio ion n whic which h stra strain ins s the the forc forces es to !rea+ing%point, !ut rather a tension which e0hausts life itself and the /re of that enthusias and inwardness which a+es the fetters of dependance and the the crow crown n of doi doini nion on ligh light, t, whic which h a+ a+es the the chil child) d)s s o!ed o!edie ienc nce e and and the the father)s authority (oyful, the adiration of the su!(ect and the e0altation of the great fearless, which gi$es recogni5ed iportance to the aster and thus to the disciple occasion to learn, which unites woan)s wea+ness and an)s strength in the e&ual strength of de$otion" As it is the relationships still e0ist !ut they lac+ the force which a+es it possi!le for the to draw together in inwardness and unite in harrnony" lhe relationship e0presses its presence and its a!senc a!sence e sirnul sirnultan taneou eously sly,, not cople copletel tely y !ut rather rather as though though it were were drawled out, half%awa+e and uninterruptedly" Perhaps # can e0plain what # ean !y a $ery siple illustrationD # once +new a faily who owned a grandfather cloc+ whose wor+s for soe reason or other had got out of order" ut the fault did not result in the spring suddenly unwinding, or in the chain !rea+ing or in the hand ceasing to stri+e3 on the contrary, it went on stri+ing in a curiously a!stract, though confusing, way" lt did not stri+e twel$e ties at twel$e o)cloc+ and once at one o)cloc+, !ut struc+ once ali through the day at regular inter$ais" #t went on stri+ing ali day long !ut ne$er ga$e a de/nite tie"
8
The sae applies to a state of e0hausted tension. the relationship continues3 soething is e0pressed with an a!stract continuity which pre$ents any any real eal !rea !rea+, +, !ut !ut alth althou ough gh it ust ust ne$e ne$ert rthe hele less ss !e desc descri ri!e !ed d as an e0pr e0pres essi sion on of the the rela relati tion onsh ship ip,, the the rela relati tion onsh ship ip is not not only only a!i a!igu guou ousl sly y e0pressed, e0pressed, it is alost eaningless" #t is this decepti$e lull in the relationship which continues the relation as a fact3 the danger is that it fa$ours the cunning depri$ations of reection" Against a re!ellion one can use force, and an o!$ious counterfeit has only to wait for its punishent3 !ut dialecticai coplications are di-cult to root out, and it re&uires e$en !etter ears to trac+ down the stealthy o$eent of reection along its secret and a!iguous path" The esta!lished order of things continues to e0ist, !ut it is its a!igu a!iguity ity which which satis/ satis/es es our reec reecti$ ti$e e and and passio passionle nless ss age" age" No one, one, for e0aple, wishes to do away with the power of the +ing, !ut if little !y little it could !e transfored into soething purely /ctitious e$ery one would !e &uite prep prepar ared ed to chee cheerr hi" hi" No one, one, for for e0ap 0aple le,, wish wishes es to !rin !ring g a!ou a!outt the the down downfa fall ll of the the ein einen ent, t, !ut !ut if dist distin inct ctio ion n coul could d !e show shown n to !e pure purely ly /ctitious then e$ery one would !e prepared to adire it" #n the sarne way people are &uite prepared to lea$e the >hristian terinology untouched, !ut they can surreptitiously interpolate that it in$ol$es no decisi$e thought" And so they reain unrepentan unrepentant, t, for after all they ha$e destroy destroyed ed nothing" nothing" They no ore desire a powerful +ing than an heroic li!erator or religious authority" #n all innocence they want the esta!lished order to continue, !ut they ha$e the ore or iess certain reecti$e +nowledge that it no longer e0ists" lhen they proudly iagine that their attitude is ironical1as though real irony were not essentially a concealed enthusias in a negati$e age 6(ust as the hero is enthusias ade anifest in a positi$e age7, as though irony did not in$ol$e sacri/ce, when its greatest aster was put to death" This reecti$e tension ultiately constitutes itself into a principie, and (ust as in a passionate age enthusiasm is the unifying principie, so in an age which is $ery $ery reec reecti$ ti$e e and passion passionles less s envy is the negati$e unifying principie" This ust not, howe$er, !e interpreted as an ethical charge3 the idea of reection is, if one ay so e0press it, en$y, and it is therefore twofold in its action. it is sel/sh within the indi$idual and it results in the sel/shness of the society around hi, which thus wor+s against hi" The en$y in reection 6within the indi$idual7 pre$ents hi a+ing a decision passionately" #f, for a oent, it should see as though an indi$idual were a!out to succeed in throwing o4 the yo+e of reection, he is at once pulled up !y the opposition of the reection which surrounds hi" The en$y which springs fro reection iprisons an)s will and his strength" 'irst of all the indi$idual has to !rea+ loose fro the !onds of his own reection, !ut e$en then he is not free" #nstead he /nds hiself in the $ast prison fored !y the reection of those around hi, for !ecause of his relation to his own reection he also has a certain relation to the reection around hi" He can only only esca escape pe fro fro this this seco second nd ipr ipris ison one ent nt thr through ough the the inwa inward rdne ness ss of religion, no atter how clearly he ay percei$e the falseness of the situation"
9
Cith e$ery eans in its power reection pre$ents people fro reali5ing that !oth the indi$idual and the age are thus iprisoned, not iprisoned !y tyrants or priests or no!les or the secret police, !ut !y reection itself, and it does so !y ain ainta tain inin ing g the the a att tteri ering ng and and conc concei eite ted d noti notion on that that the the possibility of re eec ecti tion on is far far supe superi rior or to a er ere deci sel/sh sh en$y en$y a+ a+es such such decisi sion on.. A sel/ deands upon the indi$idual that !y as+ing too uch it pre$ents hi fro doing anything" #t spoils hi li+e an indulgent other, for the en$y within hi pre$ents the indi$idual fro de$oting hiself to others" *oreo$er, the en$y whic which h surr surrou ound nds s hi hi and and in whic which h he part partic icip ipat ates es !y en$y en$yin ing g othe others rs,, is en$ious in a negati$e and critical sense" ut ut the the furt furthe herr it is car carried ried the the or ore clea clearl rly y does does the the en$y en$y of reection !ecoe a oral ressentiment. Fust as air in a sealed space !ecoes poisonous, so the iprisonent of reection de$elops a culpa!le ressentiment if it is not $entilated !y action or incident of any +ind" #n reection the state of strain 6or tension as we called it7 results in the neutrali5ation of all the higher powe powers rs,, and and ali ali that that is low low and and desp despic ica! a!le le coe coes s to the the for fore, its its $ery $ery ipudence gi$ing the spurious e4ect of strength, while protected !y its $ery !aseness it a$oids attracting the attention of ressentiment. #t is a fundaental truth of huan nature that an is incapa!le of reai reainin ning g peran peranent ently ly on the height heights, s, of contin continuin uing g to adir adire e anythi anything" ng" Huan nature needs $ariety" E$en in the ost enthusiastic ages people ha$e always li+ed to (o+e en$iously a!out their superiors" That is perfectly in order and is entirely (ustia!le so long as after ha$ing laughed at the great they can once ore ioo+ upon the with adiration3 adiration3 otherwise otherwise the gae is not worth worth the candle candle"" #n that way ressentim ressentiment ent /nds an outlet e$en in an enthusiastic age" And as long as an age, e$en though less enthusiastic, has the strength to gi$ gi$e ressentim ressentiment ent its proper character and has ade up its d what its e0pression e0pression signies, ressentiment has its own, though dangerous, iportance" #n Gree Greece ce,, for for e0a e0apl ple, e, the the for for ressen too+ was ostrac ostracis is,, a self self ressentim timent ent too+ defe defens nsi$ i$e e e4or e4ort, t, as it wer were, on the the part part of the the ass asses es to pres preser$ er$e e thei theirr e&u e&uili! ili!ri riu u in face face of the the outst tstandi andin ng &ual &ualit itie ies s of the the ein einen entt" The outstanding an was e0iled, !ut e$ery one understood how diaiectical the relationship was, ostracis !eing a ar+ of distinction" Thus, in representing a soewhat earlier period in the spirit of Aristophanes, it would !e ore ironical to let a copletely uniportant person !e ostraci5ed than to let hi !ecoe dictator, !ecause ostracis is the negati$e ar+ of greatness" ut it would !e stiil !etter to let the story end with the peopie recalling the an who they had ostraci5ed !ecause they could no longer do without hi, and he wouid then !e a coplete ystery to the country of his e0ile, which wouid, of course, !e &uite &uite una!le una!le to disco$ disco$er er anythi anything ng rear rear+a +a!ie !ie a!out hi" #n #he $nights Aristophanes gi$es us a picture of the /nal state of corruption in which the $ulgar ra!!le ends when 1 (ust as in Ti!et they worship the =alai ?aa)s e0creent 1 they conteplate their own scu in its representati$es3 and that, in a deocracy, is a degree of corruption copara!le to auctioning the crow crown n in a ona onarc rchy hy"" ut ut as long as ressen ressentim timent ent still has any character, ostracis is a negati$e ar+ of distinction" The an who told Aristides that he had $oted for his e0ile @!ecause he could not endure hearing Aristides called the only (ust an) did not deny Aristides) Aristides) einence, einence, !ut aditted aditted soething soething
10
a!out hiself" He aditted that his relation to distinction was the unhappy lo$e of en$y, instead of the happy lo$e of adiration, !ut he did not try to !elittle that distinction" On the other side, the ore reection gets the upper hand and thus a+es people indolent, the ore dangerous ressentiment !ecoes, !ecause it no longer has su-cient character to a+e it conscious of its signi/cance" ereft of that character reection is cowardly and $acillating, and according to circustances interprets the sarne thing in a $ariety of ways" #t tries to treat it as a (o+e, and if that falls, to regard it as an insult, and when that falls, to disiss it as nothing at all3 or else it will treat the thing as a witticis, and if that falls then say that it was eant as a oral satire deser$ing attention, and if that does not succeed, add that it is not worth !othering a!out" Thus ress !ecoe es s the the cons consti titu tuen entt prin princi cipl ple e of want want of ressen enti time ment nt !eco character, which fro utter wretchedness tries to snea+ itself a position, all the tie safeguarding itself !y conceding that it is less than nothing" The ressentiment which results fro want of character can ne$er understand that einent einent distinctio distinction n really really is distinctio distinction" n" Neither Neither does it understan understand d itself itself !y recogni5ing distinction negati$ely 6as in the case of ostracis7 !ut wants to drag it down, wants to !elittle it so that it really ceases to !e distinguished" And ress only defe defen nds itse itseif if again gainst st ali ali existing for fors s of ressen enti time ment nt not only distinction !ut against that which is stiil to come. The ress the pro process cess of ressen enti time ment nt which is esta establ blis ishi hing ng itse itself lf is the le$elling, and while a passionate age stors ahead setting up new things and tear tearin ing g down down old, old, rais raisin ing g and and deo deoli lish shin ing g as it goes goes,, a re eec ecti ti$e $e and and passionle passionless ss age does e0actly e0actly the contrary. contrary. it hinders and sties all action3 it le$els le$els"" ?e$el ?e$eliin iing g is a siient siient,, athe atheati aticai cai,, and a!stra a!stract ct occupa occupatio tion n which which shuns uphea$als" #n a !urst of oentary enthusias people ight, in their despondency, e$en long for a isfortune in order to feel the powers of life, !ut the apathy which follows is no ore helped !y a distur!ance than an engineer le$elling a piece of land" At its ost $iolent a re!ellion is li+e a $olcanic eruption and drowns e$ery other sound" At its a0iu the le$elling process is a deathly silence in which one can hear one)s heart !eat, a science which nothing can pierce, in which e$erything is engulfed, powerless to resist" One an can !e at the head of a re!ellion, !ut no one can !e at the head of the le$elling process alone, for in that case he would !e the leader and would thus escape !eing le$elled" Each indi$idual within his own little circle can cooperate in the le$elling, !ut it is an a!stract power, and the le$elling process is the $ictor $ictory y of a!stra a!stracti ction on o$er o$er the indi$i indi$idua dual" l" The le$ell le$elling ing proce process ss in oder odern n ties, corresponds, in reection, to fate in anti&uity" The dialectic of anti&uity tended towards leadership 6the great indi$idual and the asses 1 the free an and the sla$es73 so far the dialectic of >hristendo tends towards representation 6the a(ority sees itself in its representati$e and is set free !y the consciousness that it is the a(ority which which it repr represe esente nted, d, in a sort sort of selfco selfconsc nsciou iousne sness7 ss733 the dialec dialectic tic of the present age tends towards e&uality, and its ost logical 1 though ista+en 1
11
ful/llent is le$elling, as the negati$e unity of the negati$e reciprocity of all indi$iduals" #t ust !e o!$ious to e$ery one that the profound signi/cance of the le$e le$ell llin ing g proc proces ess s lies lies in the the fact fact that that it ean eans s the the pred predo oin inan ance ce of the the category @generation) o$er the category @indi$iduality)" #n anti&uity the total nu!er of the indi$iduals was there to e0press, as it were, the $alue of the outstanding indi$idual" Nowadays the standard of $alue has !een changed so that e%ually, appro0iately so and so any en go to one indi$idual, and one need only !e sure of ha$ing the right nu!er in order to ha$e iportance" #n anti&uity the indi$idual in the asses had no iportance whatsoe$er3 the outstanding indi$idual signi/ed the all" The present age tends towards a atheatical e&uality in which e&ually in all classes appro0iately so and so any people go to one indi$idual" indi$idual" 'orer 'orerly ly the outstanding outstanding indi$idual indi$idual could allow hiself hiself e$erything e$erything and the indi$idual indi$idual in the asses nothing nothing at ali" Now e$er e$eryo yone ne +no +nows that that so and and so any any a+e a+e an indi indi$ $idua iduall and and &uit &uite e consistently peopie add thesel$es together 6it is called (oining together, !ut that is only a polite eupheis7 for the ost tri$ial purposes" Siply in order to put a passing whi into practice a few people add thesel$es together, and the thing is done 1 then they dare do it" 'or that reason not e$en a preeinently gifted an can free hiself fro reection, !ecause he $ery soon !ecoes conscious of hiself as a fractional part in soe &uite tri$ial atter, atter, and so fails to achie$e achie$e the in/nite in/nite freedo of religion" religion" The fact that se$eral peopie united together ha$e the courage to eet death does not nowadays ean that each, indi$idually, has the courage, for, e$en ore than death, the indi$idual fears the (udgeent and protest of reection upon his wishing to ris+ soething on his own" The indi$idual no longer !elongs to God, to hiself, to his !elo$ed, to his art or to his science, he is conscious of !elonging in all things to an a!straction to which he is su!(ected !y reection, (ust as a self !elongs to an estate" That is why people !and together in cases where it is an a!solute contradiction to !e ore than one" The apotheosis of the the positi siti$e $e princ rincip iple le of asso associ ciat atio ion n is now nowaday adays s the de$o de$our urin ing g and and deorali5ing principle which in the sla$ery of reection a+es e$en $irtues into viti vitia a sp sple lend ndid ida. a. There is no other reason for this than that eternal responsi!ility, and the religious singling out of the indi$idual !efore God, is ignor ignored" ed" Chen Chen corrup corruptio tion n sets sets in at that that point point people people see+ see+ consol consolati ation on in copany, and so reection catches the indi$idual for life" And those who do not reali5e e$en the !eginning of this crisis are engulfed without further ado in the reecti$e relationship" The le$elling process is not the action of an indi$idual !ut the wor+ of ree reect ctio ion n in the the hand hands s of an a!st a!stra ract ct powe powerr" #t is ther theref efor ore e poss possi! i!le le to calc calcul ulat ate e the the law law go$e go$ern rning ing it in the the sae sae way way that that one one calc calcul ulat ates es the the diagonal in a parallelogra of forces" The indi$idual who le$els down is hiself engulfed in the process and so on, and while he sees to +now sel/shly what he is doing one can only say of people en masse that they +now not what they do3 for (ust as collecti$e enthusias produces a surplus which does not coe fro the indi$idual, there is also a surplus in this case" A deon is called up o$er who no indi$idual has any power, and though the $ery a!straction of le$elling gi$es the indi$idual a oentary, sel/sh +ind of en(oyent, he is at
12
the sae tie signing signing the warrant warrant for his own doo" doo" Enthusias Enthusias may end in disaster, disaster, !ut le$elling le$elling is eo ipso the destruction of the indi$idual" No age, and therefore riot the present age, can !ring the scepticis of that process to a halt, for as soon as it tries to stop it, the law of the le$elling process is again called into action" #t can therefore only !e held up !y the indi$idual attaining the religious courage which springs fro his indi$idual religious isolation" # was once the witness of a street ight in which three en ost sha shaef eful ully ly set set upon upon a four fourth th"" The The crow crowd d stoo stood d and and watc watche hed d the the with with indignation3 e0pressions e0pressions of disgust !egan to enli$en the scene3 then se$eral of the onloo+ers set on one of the three assailants and +noc+ed hi down and !eat hi" The a$engers had, in fact, applied precisely the sae rules as the o4enders" #f # ay !e allowed to do so, # will introduce y own uniportant self into the story and continue" # went up to one of the a$engers and tried !y arguent to e0plain to hi how illogical his !eha$iour was3 !ut it seeed &uite ipossi!le for hi to discuss the &uestion. he could only repeat that such a rascal richly deser$ed to ha$e three people against hi" The huour of the situation would ha$e !een e$en ore apparent to soe one who had not seen the !eginning of the !rawl, and so siply heard one an saying of another 6who was alone7 that he was three against one, and heard the rear+ (ust when the $ery re$erse was the case 1 when they were three to one against hi" #n the /rst place it was huorous !ecause of the contradiction which it in$ol$ed, as when the policean told a an standing in the street) to +indly disperse)" Secondly it had all the huour of self contradiction" ut what # learnt fro it was that # had !etter gi$e up all hope of putting a stop to that scepticis, lest it should turn upon e" No single indi$idual 6# ean no outstanding indi$idual 1 in the sense of leadership and concei$ed according to the dialectical category @fate)7 will !e a!le to arrest the a!stract process of le$elling, for it is negati$ely soething higher, and the age of chi$alry is gone" No society or association can arrest that a!stract power, siply !ecause an association h itself in the ser$ice of the le$elling process" Not e$en the indi$iduality of the di4erent nationalities can can arre arrest st it, it, for for on a high higher er plan plane e the the a!st a!stra ract ct proc proces ess s of le$e le$ell llin ing g is a nega negati ti$e $e repr epresen esenta tati tion on of hum humanit anity y pure ure and unal unallo loye yed. d. The a!stract le$elling process, that self%co!ustion of the huan race, produced !y the friction which arises when the indi$idual ceases to e0ist as singled out !y religion, is !ound to continue, li+e a trade wind, and consue e$erything" ut throug through h it each each indi$i indi$idua duall for hisel hiselff ay recei recei$e $e once once ore ore a relig religiou ious s education and, in the highest sense, will !e helped !y the examen rigorosum of the le$elling process to an essentially religious attitude" 'or the younger en who, howe$er strongly they personality ay cling to what they adire as einent, reali5e fro the !eginning that the le$elling process is e$il in !oth the sel/sh indi$idual and in the sel/sh generation, !ut that it can also, if they desire it honestly and !efore God, !ecoe the starting point for the highest life 1 for the it will indeed !e an education to li$e in the age of le$elling" Their age will, in the $ery highest sense, de$elop the religiously and at the sae tie educate the aesthetically and intellectually, !ecause in this way the coic will recei$e its a!solute e0pression" The highest for of the coic aris arises es prec precis isel ely y when when the the indi indi$i $idu dual al coe coes s dir directl ectly y unde underr the the in/n in/nit ite e
13
a!st a!stra ract ctio ion n of @pu @pure huan uanit ity) y),, with ithout out any any of those hose inte interredia ediary ry &uali/cations which teper the huour of an)s position and strengthen its pathos pathos,, withou withoutt any of the concr concrete ete partic particula ulars rs of organ organi5a i5atio tion n which which the le$elling process destroys" ut that again is only another e0pression e0pression of the fact that an)s only sal$ation lies in the reality of religion for each indi$idual" And it will add fuel to their enthusias to understand that it is in fact thr through ough err error that that the the indi indi$i $idu dual al is gi$e gi$en n acce access ss to the the high highes est, t, if he courageously desires it" ut the le$elling process will ha$e to continue, and ust !e copleted, (ust as the scandal had to coe into the world, though woe to the !y who it coes" #t has often !een said that a reforation should !egin with each an refor reforin ing g hisel hiselff" That, That, howe$e howe$er, r, is not what what actual actually ly happen happened, ed, for the reforation produced a hero who paid God dearly enough for his position as hero" y (oining up with hi directly people !uy cheap, indeed at !argain prices, what he had paid for so dearly3 !ut they do not !uy the highest of all things" The a!stract principle of le$elling, on the contrary, li+e the !iting east wind, wind, has no person personal al relat relation ion to any indi$idu indi$idual al !ut has only only an a!stra a!stract ct relationship which is the sae for e$ery one" There, no hero su4ers for others, or helps the3 the tas+aster of all ali+e is the le$elling process which itself ta+es on their education" And the an who learns ost fro the le$elling and hiself !ecoes greatest does not !ecoe an outstanding an or a hero 1 that would only ipede the le$elling process, which is rigidity consistent to the end 1 he hiself pre$ents that fro happening !ecause he has understood the eaning of le$elling3 he !ecoes a an and nothing else, in the coplete e&ualitarian sense" That is the idea of religion" ut, under those conditions, the e&ualitarian order is se$ere and the pro/t is seeingly $ery sall3 seeingly, for unless the indi$idual learns in the reality of religion and !efore God to !e content with hiself, and learns, instead of doinating others, to doinate hiself, content as priest to !e his own audience, and as author his own reader, if he will not learn to !e satis/ed with that as the highest, !ecause it is the e0pression of the e&uality of all en !efore God and of our li+eness to othe others rs,, then then he will will not not esca escape pe fro fro re eec ecti tion on"" #t ay ay !e that that for for one one decepti$e oent it will see to hi, in relation to his gifts, as though he were le$elling, !ut in the end he will sin+ down !eneath the le$elling process" There is no good calling upon a Holger =ans+e or a *artin ?uther3 their day is o$er and at !otto it is only the indi$idual)s la5iness which a+es a an long to ha$e ha$e the the !ac+, !ac+, a world worldly ly ipati ipatienc ence e which which prefe prefers rs to !uy soet soethin hing g cheap, second%hand, rather than to !uy the highest of all things $ery dear and /rst%hand" #t is worse than useless to found society after society, !ecause negati$ely spea+ing there is soething a!o$e the, e$en though the short% sighted e!er of the society cannot see it" The principle of indi$iduality in its immediate and !eautiful foration is sy!oli5ed for the generation in the outstanding and einent indi$idual3 it groups su!ordinate indi$idualities round the representati$e" This principle of indi indi$i $idu dual alit ity, y, in its its eter eterna nall truth, uses the a!straction and e&uality of the gene genera rati tion on to le$e le$ell down down,, and and in that that way way co%op co%oper erat ates es in de$e de$elo lopi ping ng the the indi$idual religiously into a real an" 'or the le$elling process is as powerful
14
where teporary things are concerned as it is ipotent where eternal things are concerned" Reection is a snare in which one is caught, !ut, once the @leap) of enthusias has !een ta+en, the relation is a di4erent one and it !ecoes a noose which drags one into eternity" Reection is and reains the hardes hardestt credi creditor tor in e0ist e0istenc ence3 e3 hither hitherto to it has cunnin cunningly gly !ought !ought up all the possi!le $iews of life, !ut it cannot !uy the essentially religious and eternal $iew of life3 on the other hand, it can tept people astray with its da55ling !rilliance, and dishearten the !y reinding the of all the past" ut, !y leaping into the depths, one learns to help oneself, learns to lo$e others as uch uch as ones onesel elf, f, e$en e$en thou though gh one one is accu accuse sed d of arro arroga ganc nce e and and prid pride e 1 !ecause one will not accept help 1 or of sel/shness, !ecause one will not cunningly decei$e people !y helping the, i"e" !y helping the to escape their highest destiny" Should any one coplain that what 9 ha$e set forth here is +nown to all and could !e said !y any one, then y answer is. the ore the errier 1 # a not as+ing for a position of einence and # ha$e nothing against e$ery one +nowing y opinion, unless that were to ean, in a sense, that it is to !e ta+en fro e and there!y put at the disposal of a negati$e association" So long as # ha$e perission to retain the, y opinions do not lose their $alue !y !eing +nown to e$ery one" Throughout any changes the tendency in odern ties has reained a le$elling one" These changes thesel$es ha$e not, howe$er, all of the, !een le$elling, for they are none of the a!stract enough, each ha$ing a certain concrete reality" To soe e0tent it is true that the le$elling process goes on when one great an attac+s another, so that !oth are wea+ened, or when one is neutrali5ed !y the other, or when an association of people, in these thesel$e l$es s wea+, wea+, grow grow strong stronger er than than the einen einent" t" ?e$el ?e$ellin ling g can also also !e accop accoplis lished hed !y one partic particula ularr caste, caste, e"g" e"g" the clerg clergy, y, the !ourg !ourgeoi eois, s, the peasants, !y the people thesel$es" ut all that is only the /rst o$eent of an a!stract power within the concreteness of indi$iduality" indi$iduality" #n order that e$erything should !e reduced to the sae le$el, it is /rst of all necessary to procure a phanto, its spirit, a onstrous a!straction, an all%e!racing soething which is nothing, a irage 1 and that phanto is the publi public. c. #t is only in an age which is without passion, yet reecti$e, that such a phanto can de$elop itself with the help of the Press which itself !ecoes an a!straction" #n ties of passion and tuult and enthusias, e$en when when a peop people le desi desire re to reali eali5e 5e a fruitl fruitless ess idea and lay waste and destroy e$erything. e$en then there is no such thing as a pu!lic" There are parties and they are concrete" The Press, in ties such as those, ta+es on a concrete char charac acte terr acco accorrding ding to the the di$i di$isi sion on of part partie ies" s" ut ut (ust (ust as sede sedent ntar ary y professional people are the /rst to ta+e up any fantastic illusion which coes their way, so a passionless, sedentary, reecti$e age, in which only the Press e0hi!its a $ague sort of life, fosters this phanto" The pu!lic is, in fact, the real ?e$elling ?e$elling *aster rather than the actual actual le$eller, le$eller, for whene$er whene$er le$elling is only appro0iately accoplished it is done !y soething, !ut the pu!lic is a onstrous nothing" The pu!lic is a concept which could not ha$e occurred in anti&uity anti&uity !ecause the people people en masse, in corpore, too+ part in any situation situation
15
which which arose arose,, and were were respo responsi nsi!le !le for the action actions s of the indi$idu indi$idual, al, and, and, oreo$er, the indi$idual was personally present and had to su!it at once to applause or disappro$al for his decision" Only when the sense of association in society is no longer strong enough to gi$e life to concrete realities is the Press a!le to create that a!straction @ the pu!lic), consisting of unreal indi$iduals who ne$er are and ne$er can !e united in an actual situation or organi5ation 1 and yet are held together as a whole" The pu!lic is a host, ore nuerous than all the peoples together, !ut it is a !ody which can ne$er !e re$iewed, it cannot e$en !e represented, !ecau !ecause se it is an a!stra a!stracti ction" on" Ne$ert Ne$erthel heless ess,, when when the age is reec reecti$ ti$e e and passionless and destroys e$erything concrete, the pu!lic !ecoes e$erything and and is supp suppos osed ed to incl includ ude e e$er e$eryt ythi hing ng"" And And that that agai again n show shows s how how the the indi$idual is thrown !ac+ upon hiself" hiself" The real oent in tie and the real situation !eing siultaneous with real people, each of who is soething. that is what helps to sustain the indi$i indi$idua dual" l" ut the e0ist e0istenc ence e of a pu!lic pu!lic produ produces ces neithe neitherr a situat situation ion nor siultaneity" The indi$idual reader of the Press is not the pu!lic, and e$en though little !y little a nu!er of indi$iduals or e$en all of the should read it, the siultaneity is lac+ing" 2ears 2ears ight !e spent gathering the pu!lic together, and and stil stilll it woul would d not not !e ther there" e" This This a!st a!stra ract ctio ion, n, whic which h the the indi indi$i $idu dual als s so illogically for, &uite rightly repulses the indi$idual instead of coing to his help" The an who has no opinion of an e$ent at the actual oent accepts the opinion of the a(ority, or, if he is &uarrelsoe, of the inority" inority" ut it ust !e ree!ered that !oth a(ority and inority are real people, and that is why the indi$idual is assisted !y adhering to the" A pu!lic, on the contrary, is an a!straction" To To adopt the opinion of this or that an eans that one +nows that they will !e su!(ected to the sae dangers as oneself, that they will !e led astray with one if the opinion leads astray" ut to adopt the sae opinion as the pu!lic pu!lic is a decept decepti$e i$e consolat consolation ion !ecause !ecause the pu!lic pu!lic is only there there in abstr abstract acto. o. Chilst, therefore, no a(ority has e$er !een so certain of !eing righ rightt and and $ict $ictor orio ious us as the the pu!l pu!lic ic,, that that is not not uch uch cons consol olat atio ion n to the the indi$idual, for a pu!lic is a phanto which for!ids all personal contact" And if a an adopts pu!lic opinion today and is hissed to%orrow he is hissed !y the pu!lic" A generation, a people, an asse!ly of the people, a eeting or a an, are responsi!le for what they are and can !e ade ashaed if they are inconstant and unfaithful3 !ut a pu!lic reains a pu!lic" A people, an asse!ly or a an can change to such an e0tent that one ay say. they are no longer the sae3 a pu!lic on the other hand can !ecoe the $ery opposite and still !e the sae 1 a pu!lic" ut it is precisely !y eans of this a!straction and this a!stract discipline that the indi$idual will !e fored 6in so far as the indi$idual is not already fored !y his inner life7, if he does not succu! in the process, taught to !e content, in the highest religious sense, with hiself and and his his relat elatio ion n to God, God, to !e at one one with with his hisel elff inst instea ead d of !ein !eing g in agreeent with a pu!lic which destroys e$erything that is relati$e, concrete and particular in life3 educated to /nd peace within hiself and with God, instead of counting hands" And the ultiate di4erence !etween the odern
16
world and anti&uity is. that @the whole) is not concrete and is therefore una!le to support the indi$idual, or to educate hi as the concrete should 6though without de$eloping hi a!solutely7, !ut is an a!straction which !y its a!stract e&uality repels hi and thus helps hi to !e educated a!solutely 1 unless he succu!s in the process" The taedium taedium vitae so constant in anti&uity was due to the fact that the outstanding indi$idual was what others could not be; the inspiration of odern ties will !e that any an who /nds hiself, religiously spea+ing, has only achie$ed what every one can achieve. A pu!lic is neither a nation, nor a generation, nor a counity, nor a society, nor these particular en, for all these are only what they are through the the conc concre rete te33 no sing single le pers person on who who !elo !elong ngs s to the the pu!l pu!lic ic a+ a+es a real real coitent3 for soe hours of the day, perhaps, he !elongs to the pu!lic 1 at oents when he is nothing else, since when he really is what he is he does not for part of the pu!lic" *ade up of such indi$iduals, of indi$iduals at the oents when they are nothing, a pu!lic is a +ind of gigantic soething, an a!stract and deserted $oid which is e$erything and nothing" ut on this !asis any one can arrogate to hiself a pu!lic, and (ust as the Roan >hurch chi chier eric ical ally ly e0ten 0tende ded d its its fro frontie ntiers rs !y app appoin ointing ting !ish ishops ops in part partib ibus us indelium indelium,, so a pu!lic is soething which e$ery one can clai, and e$en a drun+en sailor e0hi!iting a @peep%show) has dialectically a!solutely the sae right to a pu!lic as the greatest an3 he has (ust as logical a right to put all those any noughts in front of his single nu!er" A pu!lic is e$erything and nothing, the ost dangerous of all powers and the ost insigni/cant. one can spea+ to a whole nation in the nae of the pu!l pu!lic ic,, and and stil stilll the the pu!l pu!lic ic will will !e less less than than a sing single le real real an, an, howe howe$e $err uniportant" The &uali/cation @pu!lic) is produced !y the decepti$e (uggling of an age of reection, which a+es it appear attering to the indi$idual who in this this way can arrogat arrogate e to hisel hiselff this this onste onster, r, in copar copariso ison n with with which which conc concre rete te realit ealitie ies s see see poor poor"" The The pu!l pu!lic ic is the the fair fairy y stor story y of an age age of understanding, which in iagination a+es the indi$idual into soething e$en grea greate terr than than a +ing +ing a!o$ a!o$e e his his peop people le< !ut the pu!lic is also a gruesoe a!straction through which the indi$idual will recei$e his religious foration 1 or sin+" The Press is an a!straction 6since a paper is not a concrete part of a nation and only in an a!stract sense an indi$idual7 which in con(unction with the passionless and reecti$e character of the age produces that a!stract phanto. a pu!lic which in its turn is really the le$elling power" >onse&uently it has an iportance apart fro its negati$e religious iportance" The fewer ideas there are at any tie, the ore indolent and e0hauste e0hausted d !y !ursts !ursts of enthusias enthusias will it !e3 ne$ertheless, ne$ertheless, if we iagine the Press growing wea+er and wea+er !ecause no e$ents or ideas catch hold of 2
As an author # ha$e fortunately ne$er sought for or had a pu!lic, !ut ha$e contented yself with @the indi$idual), and on account of that liitation ha$e alost !ecoe a pro$er! All 8ier+egaard)s religious discourses, which for a large part of his wor+s, were dedicated to that indi$idual, @who with (oy and than+fulness # call y reader !ecause he reads, not thin+ing of the author, !ut of GodIJ"
17
the the age, age, the the ore ore easi easily ly will will the the proc proces ess s of le$e le$ell llin ing g !eco !ecoe e a har harfu full pleasure, a for of sensual into0ication which aes up for a oent, siply a+ing the e$il worse and the conditions of sal$ation ore di-cult and the pro!a!ility of decline ore certain" Although the deorali5ation !rought a!out !y auto autocr crac acy y and and the the deca decay y of re$ol e$olut utio iona nary ry peri period ods s ha$e ha$e ofte often n !een !een descri!ed, the decay of an age without passion is soething (ust as harful, though, on account of its a!iguity, it is less o!$ious" #t ay not !e without interest to consider this point" *ore and ore indi$idual indi$iduals, s, owing to their !loodless !loodless indolence, indolence, will aspire aspire to !e nothing nothing at all 1 in order to !ecoe the pu!lic. that a!stract whole fored in the ost ludicrous way, !y all participants !ecoing a third party 6an onloo+er7" This indolent ass which understands nothing and does nothing itself, this gallery, is on the loo+%out for distraction and soon a!andons itself to the idea that e$erything that any one does is done in order to gi$e it 6the pu!lic7 soething to gossip a!out" That indolent ass sits with its legs crossed, wearing an air of superi superiori ority, ty, and anyone anyone who tries tries to wor+, wor+, whethe whetherr +ing, +ing, o-cia o-cial, l, school school%% teacher or the !etter type of (ournalist, the poet or the artist, has to struggle to drag the pu!lic along with it, while the pu!lic thin+s in its own superior way that it is the horse" #f # tried to iagine the pu!lic as a particular person 6for although soe !etter indi$iduals oentarily !elong to the pu!lic they ne$ertheless ha$e soething concrete a!out the, which holds the in its grip e$en if they ha$e not attained the supree religious attitude7, # should perhaps thin+ of one of the Roan eperors, a large well%fed /gure, su4ering fro !oredo, loo+ing only for the sensual into0ication of laughter, since the di$ine gift of wit is not earthly enough" And so for a change he wanders a!out, indolent rather than !ad, !ut with a negati$e desire to doinate" E$ery one who has read the classical authors +nows how any things a >aesar could try out in order to +ill tie" #n the sae way the pu!lic +eeps a dog to ause it" That dog is the su of the literary world" K #f there is soe one superior to the rest, perhaps e$en a great an, the dog is set on hi and the fun !egins" The dog goes for hi, snap snappi ping ng and and tear tearin ing g at his his coat coat%t %tai ails ls,, allo allowi wing ng itse itself lf e$er e$ery y poss possi! i!le le ill% ill% annered failiarity 1 until the pu!lic tires, and says it ay stop" That is an e0aple of how the pu!lic le$els" Their !etters and superiors in strength are ishandled 1 and the dog reains a dog which e$en the pu!lic despises" The le$elling is therefore done !y a third party3 a none0istent pu!lic le$elling with the help of a third third party which in its insigni/can insigni/cance ce is less than nothing, nothing, !eing already ore than le$elled" And so the pu!lic is unrepentant, for it was after all not the pu!lic that acted !ut the dog3 (ust as one says to children1the cat)s other did it" The pu!lic is unrepentant 1 it was not really !elittling any one3 it (ust (ust want wanted ed a litt little le aus ause een ent" t" 'or had had the the le$e le$ell llin ing g ipl iple een entt !een !een rear+a!ly energetic, the indolent pu!lic would ha$e !een fooled !ecause the ipleent itself would ha$e !een in the way3 !ut when their !etters are held down !y the insigni/cant and the insigni/cant !y itse9f, then no one is &uit of anything" 3
8ier+egaard was lapooned" #he &orsair, the paper in which 8ier+egaard
18
The pu!lic is unrepentant, for it is not they who own the dog 1 they only su!scri!e" They neither set the dog on any one, nor whistle it o4 1 directly" #f as+ed they would answer. the dog is not ine, it has no aster" And if the dog had to !e +illed they would say. it was really a good thing that !ad% te teper pered dog was put put down down,, e$er e$ery y one want anted it +ill +illed ed 1 e$en e$en the the su!scri!ers" Perha erhaps ps soe soe one, one, fai faili liar ari5 i5in ing g his hisel elff with with such such a case case,, and and inclined to /0 his attention upon the outstanding indi$idual who su4ered at the hands of the pu!lic, ay !e of the opinion that such an ordeal is a great isfortune" # cannot at all agree with such an opinion, for any one who really wishes to !e helped to attain the highest is in fact !ene/ted !y undergoing such a isfortune, and ust rather desire it e$en though people ay !e led to re!el" The really terri!le thing is the thought of all the li$es that are or easily ay !e wasted" # will not e$en ention those who are lost, or at any rate led copletely astray. those who play the part of the dog for oney, !ut the any who are helpless, thoughtless and sensual, who li$e superior la5y li$es and ne$er recei$e any deeper ipression of e0istence than this eaningless grin, and all those !ad people who are led into further teptation !ecause in their stupidity they e$en !ecoe self%iportant !y coiserating with the one who is attac+ed, without e$en understanding that in such a position the person person attac+ attac+ed ed is always always the strong stronger, er, withou withoutt unders understan tandin ding g that that in this this case case the the ter terri!le ri!le and and iron ironic ical al trut truth h appl applie ies. s. Ceep eep not not o$er o$er hi hi !ut !ut o$er o$er yoursel$es" That is the le$elling process at its lowest, for it always e&uates itself to the di$ di$iso isor !y eans eans of which hich e$er e$ery y one is reduc educed ed to a co coon on denoinator" Eternal life is also a sort of le$elling, and yet that is not so, !eca !ecau use the the co coon on deno denoi ina nato torr is that that e$er e$ery y one one shou should ld reall eally y and and essentially !e a an in a religious sense" Hith Hither erto to # ha$e ha$e !een !een deal dealin ing g with with the the dial dialec ecti tica call cate catego gori ries es and and &uali/cations, and with their conse&uences, whether actually present at any gi$en gi$en oent oent or not" not" # shall shall now a!andon a!andon the dialecti dialectical cal analys analysis is of the pres presen entt age age in orde orderr to arri arri$e $e dial dialec ecti tica call lly y at its its conc concre rete te a-r a-rat atio ions ns rega regard rdin ing g e$er e$eryd yday ay life life"" #t is here here that that the the dar+ dar+er er side side will will !e seen seen33 !ut !ut although this cannot !e denied, it is e&ually certain that (ust as reection itself is not e$il, so a $ery reecti$e age has its lighter side, siply !ecause a higher degree of reection iplies greater signi/cance than iediate passion3 for when enthusias inter$enes to gather the powers of reection together into a decision, and !ecause reection confers, on the a$erage, a greater capacity for action 1 then, when religion enters in, it ta+es coand of that increased capacity for action" Reection is not the e$il3 !ut a reecti$e condition and the deadloc+ which it in$ol$es, !y transforing the capacity for action into a eans of escape fro action, is !oth corrupt and dangerous, and leads in the end to a retrograde o$eent"
19
The present age is essentially one of understanding lac+ing in pass passio ion, n, and and has has ther theref efor ore e a!ol a!olis ishe hed d the the principle of contradiction. y copar copariso ison n with with a passi passiona onate te age, age, an age withou withoutt passio passion n gains gains in scope what it loses in intensity. intensity. ut this scope may once again !ecoe the condition of a still still higher higher for, for, if a corre correspo spondi nding ng intens intensity ity assue assues s contr control ol of the e0tended /eld of acti$ity which is put at its disposal" The a!olition of the principle of contradiction, e0pressed in ters of e0istence, eans to li$e in contradict contradiction ion with oneself oneself"" The creati$e creati$e onipotenc onipotence e of the di4erentiat di4erentiating ing power of passion, which a+es the indi$idual copletely at one with hiself is transfored into the e0tended scope of reecti$e understanding. as a result of +nowing and !eing e$erything possi!le, one is in contradiction with oneself, i"e" nothing at all" The principle of contradiction strengthens the indi$idual)s faithfulness to hiself and a+es hi as constant as the nu!er three spo+en of so !eau !eauti tifu full lly y !y Socr Socrat ates es,, when when he says says that that it woul would d rath rather er endu endure re anything than !ecoe four or e$en a large round nu!er, and in the sae way the indi$idual would rather su4er and !e true to hiself than !e all anner of things in contradiction with hiself" Chat Chat is talkativen talkativeness' ess' #t is the result of doing away with the $ital distinction !etween tal+ing and +eeping silent" Only soe one who +nows how to reain essentially silent can really tal+1and act essentially" Silence is the essence of inwardness, of the inner life" *ere gossip anticipates real tal+, and to e0press what is still in thought wea+ens action !y forestalling it" ut soe one who can really tal+, !ecause he +nows how to reain silent, will not tal+ a!out a $ariety of things !ut a!out one thing only, and he will +now when to tal+ and when to reain silent" Chere ere scope is concerned, tal+ati$eness wins the day, it (a!!ers on incessantly a!out e$erything and nothing" Chen peop people) le)s s atte attent ntio ion n is no long longer er turn turned ed inwa inward rds, s, when when they they are are no long longer er satis/ed with their own inner religious li$es, !ut turn to others and to things outs outsid ide e the these sel$ l$es es,, wher where e the the rela relati tion on is inte intell llec ectu tual al,, in sear search ch of that that satisfaction, when nothing iportant e$er happens to gather the threads of life life toget ogeth her wit with the /nalit ality y of a cat catastr strophe. phe. that hat is the the tie tie for for tal+ati$eness" #n a passionate age great e$ents 6for they correspond to each other7 gi$e people soething to tal+ a!out" Tal+ati$eness, on the contrary, has, in &uite another sense, plenty to tal+ a!out" And when the e$ent is o$er, and silence follows, there is still soething to ree!er and to thin+ a!out while while one reai reains ns silent silent"" ut ut tal+a tal+ati$ ti$ene eness ss is afraid afraid of the silenc silence e which which re$eals its eptiness" The law go$erning artistic production applies, on a saller scale, to e$ery one in daily life" E$ery an who has a real e0perience e0periences at the sae tie all its possi!ilities in an ideal sense, including the opposite possi!ilit possi!ility y" Aestheti Aesthetically cally these these possi!ili possi!ilities ties are his lawful lawful property property"" Not so, howe$er, his pri$ate and personal reality" His tal+ and his production !oth rest upon his silence" The ideal perfection of his tal+ and of his production will correspond to his silence, and the a!solute e0pression of that silence will !e that the ideal will include the &ualitati$ely opposite possi!ility" ut as soon as the artist prostitutes his own reality he is no longer essentially producti$e" His !eginning is his end, and his $ery /rst word will !e a sin against the odesty of the ideal" This type of artistic production is therefore e$en, aesthetically
20
spea+ing, a +ind of pri$ate gossip" #t is easily recogni5ed !ecause it is not !alanced !y its opposite3 for ideality is the !alance of opposites" 'or e0aple, if the an who is o$ed to write !y su4ering is really initiated into the real of idea ideals ls,, he will will repr reprod oduc uce e the the happ happin ines ess s as well well as the the su4e su4eri ring ng of his his e0perience with the sae a4ection" The condition of his attaining this ideal is the silence with which he shuts o4 his own real personality" personality" Otherwise, in spite of all all prec precau auti tion ons, s, such such as chan changi ging ng the the scen scene e to Afric frica, a, his his one%s one%sid ided ed predilection will !e pri$ately recogni5a!le" 'or an author, li+e any one else, ust ha$e his own pri$ate personality, !ut it ust !e his own αδυτον (; and (ust as the entrance to a house is !arred !y the crossed !ayonets of the guards, the the appr approa oach ch to a an) an)s s pers person onal alit ity y is !arr !arred ed !y the the dial dialec ecti tica call cros cross s of &ualitati$e opposites in an ideal e&uili!riu" Chat is true of the greater relationship and is $ery clear in the a!o$e circu circusta stance nces, s, which which is why they were were instan instanced ced,, is also also true true in a lesser lesser degree of the saller ones3 and, once again, silence is the conditio sine %ua non of all educated social intercourse" The ore thoroughly an grasps the ideal and the idea 1 in silence 1 the ore capa!le will he !e of reproducing an)s daily life so that it sees as though he only tal+ed of particular things at a certain distance" The less ideal, the ore super/cial his tal+, and his con$ersation will !ecoe a eaningless repetition of naes, of) a!solutely relia!le) pri$ate inforation of what this and that person 1 entioning all their naes 1 had said, Lc" Lc", and con$ersation in general will ta+e on a tal+ati$e con/dential note a!out what one is doing or going to do, what one would ha$e said on a certain occasion, which particular girl one is a+ing lo$e to, why ne$ertheless one does not want to arry" The introspection of silence is the condition of all educated social intercourse3 the e0teriori5ed caricature of inwardness is $ulgarity and tal+ati$eness" One One /nds /nds e0cell 0cellen entt e0a e0apl ples es of the the +ind +ind of tal+ tal+at ati$ i$en enes ess s # a M referring to in the no$el" #t consists entirely of tri$ialities, people)s naes are always entioned and they are people whose tri$ial way of life is interesting !ecause of their naes" People who are tal+ati$e certainly chatter away a!out soething and, indeed, their one wish is to ha$e an e0cuse for ore gossip, !ut the su!(ect is non%e0istent fro the ideal point of $iew" #t always consists of soe tri$ial fact such as that *r" *arsden is engaged and has gi$en his /ance a Persian shawl3 that Petersen, the poet, is going to write soe new poes, or that *arcussen, the actor, ispronounced a certain word last night" #f we could suppose for a oent that there was a law which did not for!id people tal+ing, !ut siply ordered that e$erything which was spo+en a!out should !e treated as though it had happened /fty years ago, the gossips would !e done for, they would !e in despair" On the other hand, it would not really interfere with any one who could really tal+" That an actor should ha$e isp ispro rono noun unce ced d a word word coul could d only only !e inte intere rest stin ing g if ther there e was was soe soeth thin ing g interesting in the ispronunciation itself, in which case the /fty years a+e no di4erence 1 !ut *iss Gusta, for e0aple, would !e in despair, she who had !een at the theatre that $ery e$ening, in a !o0 with Alderan Caller)s wife3 4
Holy of Holies" Chich 8ier+egaard 8ier+egaard was re$iewing. #he #wo )ges.
5
21
for for was was it not not she who noticed the slip and e$en noticed a e!er of the chorus siling, Lc" Lc" #t really would !e a shae and cruelty to all those silly gossiping people who ust all the sae !e allowed to li$e 1 and so the law is only posited" Cith gossip, therefore, the $ital distinction !etween what is pri$ate and and what what is pu!l pu!lic ic is o!li o!lite tera rate ted, d, and and e$er e$eryt ythi hing ng is redu reduce ced d to a +ind +ind of pri$ate%pu!lic gossip which corresponds ore or less to the pu!lic of which it fors fors part" part" The pu!lic pu!lic is pu!lic pu!lic opinio opinion n which which inter interest ests s itself itself in the ost pri$ate concerns" Soething that no!ody would dare to tell to a gathering, that that no!ody no!ody could could talk a!out, and which e$en the gossips would not li+e to adit to ha$ing gossiped a!out, can perfectly well !e written for the pu!lic and, as a e!er of the pu!lic, people ay +now all a!out it" Chat Chat is forml formless essnes ness' s' #t is the result of doing away with the $ital distinctio distinction n !etween !etween for for and content" content" 'orless 'orlessness ness ay, therefor therefore, e, unli+e unli+e adness or stupidity, ha$e a content that is true, !ut the truth it contains can ne$er !e essentially true" #t will !e capa!le of !eing e0tended so as to include e$erything or touch upon e$erything, whereas a real content is clearly, and, if one li+es, isera!ly liited !ecause of its intensity and self a!sorption" The uni$ersality of forlessness in a passionless !ut reecti$e age is e0pressed, e0pressed, oreo$er, not only !y the fact that the ost $aried ideas are found dallyi dallying ng in the sae sae copan copany y !ut !y the diaet diaetric rically ally opposite opposite fact fact that that people /nd a paraount longing for and pleasure in acting on principle)" A principle, as the word indicates, is what coes /rst, i"e" the su!stance, the idea in the unde$eloped for of feeling and of enthusias which dri$es on the indi$idual !y its own inner power" That is entirely wanting in a passionless indi$idual" To To hi a principle is soething purely e0ternal for the sa+e of which he does one thing as willingly as another, and the opposite of !oth into the !argain" The life of an indi$idual without passion is not the de$elopent of a self%re$ealing principle" On the contrary, his inner life is soething hurrying along, always on the o$e and always hurrying to do soething @on principle)" A prin princi cipl ple, e, in that that sens sense, e, !eco !ecoe es s a ons onstr trou ous s soe soeth thin ing g or othe other, r, an a!straction, (ust li+e the pu!lic" And while the pu!lic is soething or other so onstrous that not all the nations of the world and all the souls in eternity put togeth together er are are as nuer nuerous ous,, e$ery e$ery one, one, e$en e$en a drun+ drun+en en sailor sailor,, can ha$e a pu!lic, and the sae is true of @a principle)" #t is soething iense which e$en the ost insigni/cant an can add to the ost insigni/cant action, and thus !ecoe treendously self%iportant" Chen an honest insigni/cant an suddenly !ecoes a hero for the sa+e of a principle, the result is &uite as coic as though fashion decreed that e$ery one was to wear a cap with a pea+ thirty feet long" #f a an had a little !utton sewn on the inner poc+et of his coat @on principle) his otherwise otherwise uniportant uniportant and &uite ser$icea!le ser$icea!le action would !ecoe charged with iportance 1 it is not ipro!a!le that it would result in the foration of a society" #t is acting on principle) which does away with the $ital distinction which hich cons consti titu tute tes s decen ecency cy" 'or dece decenc ncy y is ie ied diate iate 6whet whethe herr the the iediateness is original or ac&uired7" #t has its seat in feeling and in the
22
ipulse and consistency of an inner enthusias" @On principle) one can do anything and what one does is, fundaentally, a atter of indi4erence, (ust as a an)s an)s life life reai reains ns insign insigni/c i/cant ant e$en e$en though though @on princi principle) ple) he gi$es gi$es his support to all the @needs of the ties), e$en when, !y $irtue of !eing a ute and in that capacity as @the organ of pu!lic opinion) he is as well +nown as the /gures on a !arrel%organ that can o$e forward and !ow, plate in hand" @On principle) a an can do anything, ta+e part in anything and hiself reain inhuan and indeterinate" @On principle) a an ay interest hiself in the founding of a !rothel 6there are plenty of social studies on the su!(ect written !y the health authorities7, and the sae an can @on principle) assist in the pu!licatio pu!lication n of a new Hyn oo+ !ecause it is supposed supposed to !e the great need of the ties" ut it would !e as un(usti/a!le to conclude fro the /rst fact that he was de!auched as it would, perhaps, !e to conclude fro the second that he read or sang hyns" #n this way e$erything !ecoes perissi!le if done @on principle)" The police can go to certain places on @o-cial duty) to which no one one else else can can go, go, !ut !ut as a resu result lt one one cann cannot ot dedu deduce ce anyt anythi hing ng fro fro thei theirr presence" #n the sae way one can do anything @on principle) and a$oid all personal responsi!ility" People pull to pieces @on principle) what they adire personally, which is nonsensical, for while it is true that e$erything creati$e is latently poleical, since it has to a+e roo for the new which it is !ringing into the world, a purely destructi$e process is nothing and its principle is eptiness 1 so what does it need space forD ut odesty, repentance and responsi!ility cannot easily stri+e root in ground where e$erything is done, @on principle @" Chat Chat is superciality and the desire to show o4D Super/ciality is the resul resultt of doing doing away away with with the $ital $ital distin distincti ction on !etwee !etween n concea conceale lent nt and and anifestation" #t is the anifestation of eptiness, !ut where ere scope is concerned it wins, !ecause it has the ad$antage of da55ling people with its !rilli !rilliant ant shas" shas" Real anife anifesta statio tion n is hooge hoogeneo neous, us, !ecaus !ecause e it is reall really y prof profo ound und, wher wherea eas s super uper/ /ciali ialitty has has a $ari $aried ed and and omniu omnium m gather gatherum um appe appeara aranc nce" e" #ts #ts lo$e lo$e of show showin ing g o4 is the the self self%a %ad dir irat atio ion n of conc concei eitt in reection" The concealent and reser$e of inwardness is not gi$en tie in which to concei$e an essential ystery, which can then !e ade anifest, !ut is dist distur ur!e !ed d long long !efo !efore re that that tie tie coe coes s and and so, so, as a rewa reward rd,, ree reect ctio ion n attracts the ga5e of egotis upon its $aried shas whene$er possi!le" Chat is irt the resu esult of doin oing away away wit with the the $ita $itall irtat atio ion' n' #t is the distinction !etween real lo$e and real de!auchery" Neither the real lo$er nor the the real eal de!a de!auc uche hee e are are guil guilty ty of irti irting ng"" A irt irtat atio ion n only only toys toys with with the the possi!ility and is therefore a for of indulgence which dares to touch e$il and fails to reali5e the good" To act @on principle @is also a +ind of irtation, !ecause it reduces oral action to an a!straction" ut in ere scope irtation has all the ad$antages, for one can irt with anything, !ut one can only really lo$e one girl" 'ro the point of $iew of lo$e, properly understood, any addition is really a su!traction 6e$en though in a confused age a capricious an ay !e !linded !y pleasure7, and the ore one adds the ore one ta+es away" Chat is reas the resul esultt of doin doing g away away with with the the $ita $itall reason onin ing' g' #t is the distinction which separates su!(ecti$ity and o!(ecti$ity" As a for of a!stract
23
thought reasoning is not profoundly dialectical enough3 as an opinion and a con$ con$ic icti tion on it lac+s lac+s full full%! %!lo lood oded ed indi indi$i $idu dual alit ity y" ut ut wher where e ere ere scop scope e is conc concer erne ned, d, reas reason onin ing g has has all all the the appa appare rent nt ad$a ad$ant ntag age3 e3 for for a thin thin+ +er can can encopass his science, a an can ha$e an opinion upon a particular su!(ect and a con$iction as a result of a certain $iew of life, !ut one can reason a!out anything" #n our our own own day anony nony ity ity has ac&u ac&uir ired ed a far far or ore pregna egnan nt sign signi/ i/ca canc nce e than than is per perhaps haps reali eali5e 5ed. d. it has has an alo alost st epig epigra ra at atic ic signi/cance" People not only write anonyously, they sign their anonyous wor+s. they e$en tal+ anonyously" anonyously" The $ery soul of a writer should go into his style, and a an puts his whole personality into the style of his con$ersation, though though liited liited !y the e0ceptio e0ception n which *atthias *atthias >laudius noted when he said that if any one con(ured a !oo+ its esprit should appear1 unless there was no esprit in it" Nowadays one can tal+ with any one, and it ust !e aditted that people)s opinions are e0ceedingly sensi!le, yet the con$ersation lea$es one with the ipression of ha$ing tal+ed to an anonyity" The sae person will say the ost contradictory things and, with the utost cal, a+e a rear+, which coing fro hi is a !itter satire on his own life" The rear+ itself ay !e sensi!le enough, and of the +ind that sounds well at a eeting, and ay ser$e in a discussion preliinary to coing to a decision, in uch the sae way that paper is ade out of rags" ut all these opinions put together do not a+e one huan, personal opinion such as you ay hear fro &uite a siple an who tal+s a!out $ery little !ut really does tal+" People)s rear+s are so o!(ecti$e, so all%inclusi$e, that it is a atter of coplete indi4erence who e0presses the, and where huan speech is concerned that is the sae as acti acting ng @on @on prin princi cipl ple) e)"" And And so our our tal+ tal+ !eco !ecoe es s li+ li+e the the pu!l pu!lic ic,, a pur pure a!straction" There is no longer any one who +nows how to tal+, and instead, o!(ecti$e thought produces an atosphere, an a!stract sound, which a+es huan huan speec speech h super superuo uous, us, (ust (ust as achin achinery ery a+es a+es an super superuou uous" s" #n Gerany they e$en ha$e phrase%!oo+s for the use dri$ers, and it will end with lo$ers sitting together tal+ing anonyously" #n fact there are hand!oo+s for e$erything, and $ery soon education, all the world o$er, will consist in learning a grea greate terr or less lesser er nu! nu!er er of co coen ents ts !y hear heart, t, and and peop people le will will e0ce e0cell according to their capacity for singling out the $arious facts li+e a printer singling out the letters, !ut copletely ignorant of the eaning of anything" Thus our own age is essentially one of understanding, and on the a$erage, perhaps, ore +nowledgea!le than any forer generation, !ut it is without passion" E$ery one +nows a great deal, we all +now which way we ought to go and all the di4erent ways we can go, !ut no!ody is willing to o$e" #f at last soe one were to o$ercoe the reection within hi and happened to act, then iediately thousands of reections would for an outw outwar ard d o!st o!stac acle le"" Only Only a prop propos osal al to reco recons nsid ider er a plan plan is gree greete ted d with with enthusias3 action is et !y indolence" Soe of the superior and self%satis/ed /nd the enthusias of the an who tried to act ridiculous, others are en$ious !ecause he ade a !eginning when, after all, they knew (ust as well as he did what should !e done 1 !ut did not do it" Still others use the fact that soe one has acted in order to produce nuerous critical o!ser$ations and gi$e $ent to a store of arguents, deonstrating how uch ore sensi!ly the
24
thing thing could could ha$e ha$e !een !een done3 done3 others others again, again, !usy !usy these thesel$e l$es s guess guessing ing the outcoe and, if possi!le, inuencing e$ents a little so as to fa$our their own hypothesis" #t is said that two English no!leen were once riding along a road when they et a an whose horse had run away with hi and who, !eing in danger of falling o4, shouted for help" One of the Englishen turned to the other and said, @A hundred guineas he falls o4") @Ta+en,) said the other" Cith that they spurred their horses to a gallop and hurried on ahead to open the toil%gates and to pre$ent anything fro getting in the way of the runaway horse" #n the sae way, though without that heroic and illionaire%li+e spleen, our own reecti$e and sensi!le age is li+e a curious, critical and worldly%wise person who, at the ost, has $itality enough to lay a wager" wager" ?ife)s e0istential tas+s ha$e lost the interest of reality3 illusion cannot !uil !uild d a sanc sanctu tuar ary y for for the the di$i di$ine ne grow growth th of inwa inwarrdnes dness s whic which h ripe ripens ns to decisions" One an is curious a!out another, e$ery one is undecided, and their way of escape is to say that soe one ust coe who will do soething 1 and then they will !et on hi" #t is &uite ipossi!le ipossi!le for the counity counity or the idea of associati association on to sa$e sa$e our our age" age" On the the cont contra rary ry,, asso associ ciat atio ion n is the the scep scepti tici cis s,, whic which h is nece necess ssar ary y in orde orderr that that the the de$e de$elo lop pen entt of indi indi$i $idu dual alit ity y ay ay proc procee eed d uniforly, so that the indi$idual will either !e lost or, disciplined !y such a!stractions, will /nd hiself religiously" religiously" Nowadays the principle of association 6which at the ost is only $alid where aterial interests are concerned7 is not positi$e !ut negati$e3 it is an escape, a distraction and an illusion" =ialectically the the posi positi tion on is this this.. the the prin princi cipl ple e of asso associ ciat atio ion, n, !y str strengt engthe heni ning ng the the indi$idual, ener$ates hi3 it strengthens nuerically, !ut ethically that is a wea+ening" #t is only after the indi$idual has ac&uired an ethical outloo+, in face of the whole world, that there can !e any suggestion of really (oining together" together" Otherwise the association of indi$iduals who are in thesel$es wea+, is (ust as disgusting and as harful as the arriage of children" 'orerly the so$ereign and the great each had their opinion and the rest were satis/ed and decided enough to reali5e that they dared not or could not ha$e an opinion" Now e$ery one can ha$e an opinion3 !ut they ha$e to !and together nuerically in order to ha$e one" Twenty%/$e signatures a+e the ost frightful stupidity into an opinion, and the considered opinion of a /rst%class ind is only a parado0" ut when the conte0t is eaningless it is useless to ta+e a !road sur$ey" The !est that can !e done is to consider each part of speech !y itself" And if only nonsense coes out of a an)s outh it is useless to try and a+e a coherent speech, and it is !etter to ta+e each word separately 1 and so with indi$iduals" The change which will coe a!out is this" #n the old order 6which sprang sprang fro fro the relat relation ion !etwee !etween n the indi$i indi$idua duall and the genera generatio tion7 n7 the o-cers, generals, heroes 6i"e" the an of distinction, the leader within his own sphere7 were recogni*able, and e$ery one 6in proportion to his authority7, with his little detachent, /tted pictures&uely and organically into the whole, !oth
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supporting and supported !y the whole" 'ro now on the great an, the leader 6according to his position7 will !e without authority !ecause he will ha$e di$inely understood the dia!olical principle of the le$elling process3 he will will !e unrecogni*able; he will +eep his distinction hidden li+e a plain%clothes policean, and his support will only !e negati$e, i"e" repelling people, whereas the in/nite indi4erence of a!straction (udges e$ery indi$idual and e0aines hi in his isolation" This order is dialectically the $ery opposite of that of the Prophets and Fudges, and (ust as the danger for the lay in their authority not !ein !eing g reco recogn gni5 i5ed ed so nowa nowada days ys the the unre unreco cogn gni5 i5a! a!le le is in dang danger er of !ein !eing g recogni5e recogni5ed, d, and of !eing persuaded persuaded to accept accept recognitio recognition n and iportance iportance as an authority, which could only hinder the highest de$elopent" 'or they are unrecogni5a!le and go a!out their wor+ li+e secret agents, not !ecause of any pri$ate instruction fro GodB 1 for that is the case of Prophets and Fudges 1 !ut are unrecogni5a!le 6without authority7 !ecause they ha$e understood the uni$ersal in e&uality !efore God, and, !ecause they reali5e this and their own respo espons nsi! i!il ilit ity y e$er e$ery y oe oent nt,, are are thus thus pre$ pre$en ente ted d fro fro !ein !eing g guil guilty ty of thoughtlessly reali5ing in an inconsistent for this consistent perception" This order is dialectically the opposite of the organi5ing order sy!oli5ed in the outstanding personality, which a+es the generation into a support for the indi$i indi$idua dual, l, where whereas as now, now, li+e li+e an a!str a!stract action ion,, the genera generatio tion n is negati negati$el $ely y supported !y the unrecogni5a!le, and turns poleically against the indi$idual 1 in order to sa$e e$ery single indi$idual religiously" religiously" And so when the generation, which itself desired to le$el and to !e eancipated, to destroy authority and at the sae tie itself, has, through the scepticis of the principle association, started the hopeless forest /re of a!stractio a!straction3 n3 when as a result result of le$elling le$elling with this scepticis, scepticis, the generation generation has rid itself of the indi$idual and of e$erything organic and concrete, and put in its place @huanity) and the nuerical e&uality of an and an. when the gene genera rati tion on has, has, for for a oe oent nt,, deli deligh ghte ted d in this this unli unlii ite ted d pano panora raa a of a!stract in/nity, unrelie$ed !y e$en the sallest einence, undistur!ed !y e$en the slightest interest, a sea of desert3 then the tie has coe for wor+ to !egin, for e$ery indi$idual ust wor+ for hiself, each for hiself" No longer can the indi$idual, as in forer ties, turn to the great for help when he grows confused" That is past3 he is either lost in the di55iness of unending a!straction or sa$ed for e$er in the reality of religion" Perhaps $ery any will cry out in despair, !ut it will not help the 1 already it is too late" #f it is true that in for forer er tie ties s auth author orit itie ies s and and powe powers rs wer were isu isuse sed d and and !rou !rough ghtt upon upon thesel$es the neesis of re$olution, it was wea+ness and ipotence which, desiring to stand alone, !rought this /nal neesis upon the" Nor shall any of the unrecogni5a!le presue to help directly or to spea+ directly or to teach directly at the head of the asses, in order to direct their decisions, instead of gi$ing his negati$e support and so helping the indi$idual to a+e the decision which he hiself has reached3 any other course would !e the end of hi, !eca !ecaus use e he woul would d !e indu indulg lgin ing g in the the shor short% t%si sigh ghte ted d cop copas assi sion on of an, an, instead of o!eying the order of di$inity, of an angry, yet so erciful, di$inity" 'or the de$elopent is, in spite of e$erything, a progress !ecause all the indi indi$i $idu dual als s who who are are sa$e sa$ed d will will rece recei$ i$e e the the spec speci/ i/c c weig weight ht of reli religi gion on,, its its essence at /rst hand, fro God hiself" Then it will !e said. @ !ehold, all is in readi eadine ness ss,, see see how how the the crue cruelt lty y of a!st a!stra ract ctio ion n a+ a+es the the true true for for of
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worldliness only too e$ident, the a!yss of eternity opens !efore you, the sharp scythe of the le$eller a+es it possi!le for e$ery one indi$idually to leap o$er the !lade 1 and !ehold, it is God who waits" ?eap, then, into the ars of God)" ut the @unrecogni5a!le) neither can nor dares help an, not e$en his ost faithful disciple, his other, or the girl for who he would gladly gi$e his life. they ust a+e the leap thesel$es, for God)s lo$e is not a second%hand gift" And yet the @unrecogni5a!le) 6according to his degree7 will ha$e a dou!le wor+ copared with the @outstanding) an 6of the sae degree7, !ecause he will not only ha$e to wor+ continuously, !ut at the sae tie la!our to conceal his wor+" ut the desolate a!straction of the le$elling process will always !e continued !y its ser$ants, lest it should end with a return of the old order" The ser$ants of the le$elling process are the ser$ants of the powers of e$il, for le$elling itself does not coe fro di$inity and all good en will at ties grie$e o$er its desolation, !ut di$inity allows it and desires to !ring the highest into relation with the indi$idual, i"e" with each and e$ery an" The ser$ants of the le$elling process are +nown to hi who is @unrecogni5a!le), !ut he dare not use either power or authority against the, for that would !e to re$erse the de$elo de$elope pent, nt, since since it would would !ecoe !ecoe iedi iediate ately ly appar apparent ent to a third third person that the) unrecogni5a!le) was an authority, and in that way the third an would !e pre$ented fro attaining to the highest" Only Only !y su4e su4eri ring ng can can the the @unr @unrec ecog ogni ni5a 5a!l !le) e) dar dare to help help on the the le$elling process and, !y the sae su4ering action, (udge the instruents" He dare not o$ercoe the le$elling process directly, that would !e his end, for it woul would d !e the the sae sae as acti acting ng with with auth author orit ity y" ut ut he will will o$er o$erco coe e it in su4ering, and in that way e0press e0press once ore the law of his e0istence, which is not to doinate, to guide, to lead, !ut to ser$e in su4ering and help indirectly" Those who ha$e not ade the leap will loo+ upon his unrecogni5a!le action, his su4ering as failure3 those who ha$e ade the leap will suspect that it was $ictory, !ut they can ha$e no certainty, for they could only !e ade certain !y hi, and if he ga$e that certainty to a single person it would !e the end of hi, !ecause he would ha$e !een unfaithful to the di$inity in desiring to play at !eing authority. that would ean that he had failed3 not only !y !eing unfaithful to God in trying to use authority, !ut !ecause he did not o!ey God and and teac teach h en en to lo$e lo$e one one anot anothe herr !y cop copel elli ling ng his hisel elf, f, so that that e$en e$en though they !egged hi to do so he should not ha$e decei$ed the !y e0erting authority" ut # !rea+ o4" All this is only fooling, for if it is true that e$ery an ust wor+ for his own sal$ation, then all the prophecies a!out the future of the world are only only $alua! $alua!le le and allowa!l allowa!le e as a recr recreat eation ion,, or a (o+e, (o+e, li+e li+e playing !owls or cards" ut it ust ust always always !e ree ree!er !ered ed that that reec reectio tion n is not in itself itself soething harful, that, on the contrary, it is necessary to wor+ through it in order that one)s actions should !e ore intensi$e" The stages of all actions whic which h are are perf perfor ore ed d with with enth enthus usia ias s are are as follo follows ws.. /rst /rst of all all coe coes s iediate enthusias, then follows the stage of cle$erness which, !ecause
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ie iedi diat ate e enth enthus usia ias s does does not not calc calcul ulat ate, e, assu assue es s with with a calc calcul ulat atin ing g cle$erness the appearance of !eing the higher3 and /nally coes the highest and ost intensi$e enthusias which follows the stage of cle$erness, and is therefore a!le to see the shrewdest plan of action !ut disdain it, and there!y recei$e the intensity of an eternal enthusias" 'or the tie !eing, howe$er, and and for for soe soe tie tie to coe coe,, this this real really ly inte intens nsi$ i$e e enth enthus usia ias s will will reai eain n copletely isunderstood, and the &uestion is whether it can e$er !ecoe popular, i"e" whether one ay presue upon such a degree of cle$erness in the a$erage an that cle$erness will no longer seduce and enchant hi, and ay presue that he will !e a!le to doinate it !y ha$ing attained the highest for of enthusias, !ut as it were s&uander it 1 for an enthusiastic action, !eing always the opposite of shrewd, is ne$er o!$ious" The enthusias of Socrates was not iediate" On the contrary, he was cle$er enough to see what he had to do in order to escape, although he disdained to act according to that opinion, (ust as he refused the pro4ered speech" That is why there is noth nothin ing g o!$i o!$iou ous s a!ou a!outt his his hero heroic ic deat death, h, and and e$en e$en in deat death h he reai eaine ned d ironical !y putting to the shrewd and the cle$er the &uestion whether he could really ha$e !een cle$er, since he did the re$erse" That is the point at which cle$erness is left hanging in id%air, hoisted with its own reecti$e (udgeent and that of the world a!out it, afraid that an action perfored in the teeth of cle$erness ay !e confused with an action perfored without cle$erness" An iediate enthusias does not +now such a danger, and therefore re&uires the impetus of the ost intense enthusias in order to get through life" Such an enthusias is not ere rhetorical twaddle a!out high seriousness @, a still @higher @higher seriousnes seriousness s @and an all highest seriousness)" seriousness)" #t can !e +nown +nown fro fro its cate catego gory ry.. that that it acts acts agai agains nstt unde unders rsta tand ndin ing" g" Neit Neithe herr does does ie iedi diat ate e goodness +now the danger of reection 1 where goodness and wea+ness are ista+en and confused3 and it is precisely for that reason that, after reection, it re&uires a religious impetus to set goodness aoat again" #n our our tie ties, s, when when so littl little e is done done,, an e0tr e0trao aord rdin inar ary y nu! nu!er er of prophecies, apocalypses, glances at and studies of the future appear, and there is nothing to do !ut to (oin in and !e one with the rest" 2et # ha$e the ad$antage o$er the any who !ear a hea$y responsi!ility when they prophesy and gi$e warnings, !ecause # can !e perfectly certain that no one would thin+ of !elie$ing e" So # do not as+ that any one should a+e a cross in their calendar or otherwise !other to see whether y words are ful/lled" #f they are ful/ ful/ll lled ed,, then then peop people le will will ha$e ha$e soe soeth thin ing g else else to thin thin+ + a!ou a!outt than than y accidental !eing and if they are not ful/lled, well, then # shall siply !e a prophet in the odern sense of the word 1 for a prophet nowadays eans to progn prognost ostica icate te and nothin nothing g ore" ore" #n a certai certain n sense sense a proph prophet et canno cannott do anything else" #t was pro$idence that ful/lled the words of the older prophets, so perhaps we odern prophets, lac+ing the addition coing fro pro$idence, ight say with Thales. what we predict will either happen or not3 for to us too has God granted the gift of prophecy"
