The Antichrist

by
Friedrich Nietzsche
Published 1895
translation by H.L. Mencken
Published 1920

PREFACE
This book belongs to the most rare of men. Perhaps not one of them is yet alive. It is possible that
they may be among those ho understand my !"arathustra!# ho could I $onfound myself ith
those ho are no sprouting ears%&&'irst the day after tomorro must $ome for me. (ome men are
born posthumously.
The $onditions under hi$h any one understands me) and necessarily understands me&&I kno
them only too ell. *ven to endure my seriousness) my passion) he must $arry intelle$tual integrity
to the verge of hardness. +e must be a$$ustomed to living on mountain tops&&and to looking upon
the ret$hed gabble of politi$s and nationalism as beneath him. +e must have be$ome indifferent,
he must never ask of the truth hether it brings profit to him or a fatality to him... +e must have an
in$lination) born of strength) for -uestions that no one has the $ourage for, the $ourage for the
forbidden; predestination for the labyrinth. The e.perien$e of seven solitudes. /e ears for ne
musi$. /e eyes for hat is most distant. 0 ne $ons$ien$e for truths that have hitherto remained
unheard. And the ill to e$onomi1e in the grand manner&&to hold together his strength) his
enthusiasm...2everen$e for self, love of self, absolute freedom of self.....
3ery ell) then4 of that sort only are my readers) my true readers) my readers foreordained# of hat
a$$ount are the rest?&&The rest are merely humanity.&&5ne must make one6s self superior to
humanity) in poer) in loftiness of soul)&&in $ontempt.
'2I*72I8+ 9. /I*T"(8+*.
1.
&&:et us look ea$h other in the fa$e. 9e are +yperboreans&&e kno ell enough ho remote our
pla$e is. !/either by land nor by ater ill you find the road to the +yperboreans!# even Pindar
1
)in
his day) kne that mu$h about us. ;eyond the /orth) beyond the i$e) beyond death--our life) our
happiness...9e have dis$overed that happiness, e kno the ay, e got our knoledge of it from
thousands of years in the labyrinth. 9ho else has found it%&&The man of today%&&!I don6t kno
either the ay out or the ay in, I am hatever doesn6t kno either the ay out or the ay in!&&so
sighs the man of today...This is the sort of modernity that made us ill)&&e si$kened on la1y pea$e)
$oardly $ompromise) the hole virtuous dirtiness of the modern <ea and /ay. This toleran$e and
largeur of the heart that !forgives! everything be$ause it !understands! everything is a siro$$o to
us. 2ather live amid the i$e than among modern virtues and other su$h south&inds4 . . . 9e ere
brave enough, e spared neither ourselves nor others, but e ere a long time finding out where to
dire$t our $ourage. 9e gre dismal, they $alled us fatalists. Our fate&&it as the fulness) the
tension) the storing up of poers. 9e thirsted for the lightnings and great deeds, e kept as far as
possible from the happiness of the eakling) from !resignation! . . . There as thunder in our air,
nature) as e embodied it) be$ame over$ast&&for we had not yet found the way. The formula of our
happiness# a <ea) a /ay) a straight line) a goal...
2.
9hat is good%&&9hatever augments the feeling of poer) the ill to poer) poer itself) in man.
9hat is evil%&&9hatever springs from eakness.
9hat is happiness%&&The feeling that poer increases&&that resistan$e is over$ome.
/ot $ontentment) but more poer, not pea$e at any pri$e) but ar, not virtue) but effi$ien$y =virtue
in the 2enaissan$e sense) virtu, virtue free of moral a$id>.
The eak and the bot$hed shall perish# first prin$iple of our $harity. 0nd one should help them to
it.
9hat is more harmful than any vi$e%&&Pra$ti$al sympathy for the bot$hed and the eak&&
8hristianity...
.
The problem that I set here is not hat shall repla$e mankind in the order of living $reatures =&&man
is an end&&># but hat type of man must be bred, must be willed, as being the most valuable) the
most orthy of life) the most se$ure guarantee of the future.
This more valuable type has appeared often enough in the past# but alays as a happy a$$ident) as
an e.$eption) never as deliberately willed. 3ery often it has been pre$isely the most feared, hitherto
it has been almost the terror of terrors ,&&and out of that terror the $ontrary type has been illed)
$ultivated and attained: the domesti$ animal) the herd animal) the si$k brute&man&&the 8hristian. . .
!.
?ankind surely does not represent an evolution toard a better or stronger or higher level) as
progress is no understood. This !progress! is merely a modern idea) hi$h is to say) a false idea.
The *uropean of today) in his essential orth) falls far belo the *uropean of the 2enaissan$e, the
pro$ess of evolution does not ne$essarily mean elevation) enhan$ement) strengthening.
True enough) it su$$eeds in isolated and individual $ases in various parts of the earth and under the
most idely different $ultures) and in these $ases a higher type $ertainly manifests itself,
something hi$h) $ompared to mankind in the mass) appears as a sort of superman. (u$h happy
strokes of high su$$ess have alays been possible) and ill remain possible) perhaps) for all time
to $ome. *ven hole ra$es) tribes and nations may o$$asionally represent su$h lu$ky a$$idents.
".
9e should not de$k out and embellish 8hristianity# it has aged a ar to the death against this
higher type of man) it has put all the deepest instin$ts of this type under its ban) it has developed its
$on$ept of evil) of the *vil 5ne himself) out of these instin$ts&&the strong man as the typi$al
reprobate) the !out$ast among men.! 8hristianity has taken the part of all the eak) the lo) the
bot$hed, it has made an ideal out of antagonism to all the self&preservative instin$ts of sound life, it
has $orrupted even the fa$ulties of those natures that are intelle$tually most vigorous) by
representing the highest intelle$tual values as sinful) as misleading) as full of temptation. The most
lamentable e.ample# the $orruption of Pas$al) ho believed that his intelle$t had been destroyed by
original sin) hereas it as a$tually destroyed by 8hristianity4&&
#.
It is a painful and tragi$ spe$ta$le that rises before me# I have dran ba$k the $urtain from the
rottenness of man. This ord) in my mouth) is at least free from one suspi$ion# that it involves a
moral a$$usation against humanity. It is used&&and I ish to emphasi1e the fa$t again&&ithout any
moral signifi$an$e# and this is so far true that the rottenness I speak of is most apparent to me
pre$isely in those -uarters here there has been most aspiration) hitherto) toard !virtue! and
!godliness.! 0s you probably surmise) I understand rottenness in the sense of decadence: my
argument is that all the values on hi$h mankind no fi.es its highest aspirations are decadence&
values.
I $all an animal) a spe$ies) an individual $orrupt) hen it loses its instin$ts) hen it $hooses) hen
it prefers, hat is in@urious to it. 0 history of the !higher feelings)! the !ideals of humanity!&&and it
is possible that I6ll have to rite it&&ould almost e.plain hy man is so degenerate. :ife itself
appears to me as an instin$t for groth) for survival) for the a$$umulation of for$es) for power:
henever the ill to poer fails there is disaster. ?y $ontention is that all the highest values of
humanity have been emptied of this ill&&that the values of decadence, of nihilism, no prevail
under the holiest names.
$.
8hristianity is $alled the religion of pity.&& Pity stands in opposition to all the toni$ passions that
augment the energy of the feeling of aliveness# it is a depressant. 0 man loses poer hen he
pities. Through pity that drain upon strength hi$h suffering orks is multiplied a thousandfold.
(uffering is made $ontagious by pity, under $ertain $ir$umstan$es it may lead to a total sa$rifi$e of
life and living energy&&a loss out of all proportion to the magnitude of the $ause =&&the $ase of the
death of the /a1arene>. This is the first vie of it, there is) hoever) a still more important one. If
one measures the effe$ts of pity by the gravity of the rea$tions it sets up) its $hara$ter as a mena$e
to life appears in a mu$h $learer light. Pity tharts the hole la of evolution) hi$h is the la of
natural sele$tion. It preserves hatever is ripe for destru$tion, it fights on the side of those
disinherited and $ondemned by life, by maintaining life in so many of the bot$hed of all kinds) it
gives life itself a gloomy and dubious aspe$t. ?ankind has ventured to $all pity a virtue =&&in every
superior moral system it appears as a eakness&&>, going still further) it has been $alled the virtue)
the sour$e and foundation of all other virtues&&but let us alays bear in mind that this as from the
standpoint of a philosophy that as nihilisti$) and upon hose shield the denial of life as
ins$ribed. ($hopenhauer as right in this# that by means of pity life is denied) and made worthy of
denial--pity is the te$hni$ of nihilism. :et me repeat# this depressing and $ontagious instin$t stands
against all those instin$ts hi$h ork for the preservation and enhan$ement of life# in the role of
protector of the miserable) it is a prime agent in the promotion of decadence--pity persuades to
e.tin$tion....5f $ourse) one doesn6t say !e.tin$tion!# one says !the other orld)! or !Aod)! or !the
true life)! or /irvana) salvation) blessedness.... This inno$ent rhetori$) from the realm of religious&
ethi$al balderdash) appears a good deal less innocent hen one refle$ts upon the tenden$y that it
$on$eals beneath sublime ords# the tenden$y to destroy life. ($hopenhauer as hostile to life# that
is hy pity appeared to him as a virtue. . . . 0ristotle) as every one knos) sa in pity a si$kly and
dangerous state of mind) the remedy for hi$h as an o$$asional purgative# he regarded tragedy as
that purgative. The instin$t of life should prompt us to seek some means of pun$turing any su$h
pathologi$al and dangerous a$$umulation of pity as that appearing in ($hopenhauer6s $ase =and
also) ala$k) in that of our hole literary decadence, from (t. Petersburg to Paris) from Tolstoi to
9agner>) that it may burst and be dis$harged. . . /othing is more unhealthy) amid all our unhealthy
modernism) than 8hristian pity. To be the do$tors here, to be unmer$iful here, to ield the knife
here&&all this is our business) all this is our sort of humanity) by this sign e are philosophers) e
+yperboreans 4&&
%.
It is ne$essary to say @ust whom e regard as our antagonists# theologians and all ho have any
theologi$al blood in their veins&&this is our hole philosophy. . . . 5ne must have fa$ed that mena$e
at $lose hand) better still) one must have had e.perien$e of it dire$tly and almost su$$umbed to it)
to reali1e that it is not to be taken lightly =&&the alleged free&thinking of our naturalists and
physiologists seems to me to be a @oke&&they have no passion about su$h things, they have not
suffered&&>. This poisoning goes a great deal further than most people think# I find the arrogant
habit of the theologian among all ho regard themselves as !idealists!&&among all ho) by virtue
of a higher point of departure) $laim a right to rise above reality) and to look upon it ith suspi$ion.
. . The idealist) like the e$$lesiasti$) $arries all sorts of lofty $on$epts in his hand =&&and not only in
his hand4>, he laun$hes them ith benevolent $ontempt against !understanding)! !the senses)!
!honor)! !good living)! !s$ien$e!, he sees su$h things as beneath him) as perni$ious and sedu$tive
for$es) on hi$h !the soul! soars as a pure thing&in&itself&&as if humility) $hastity) poverty) in a
ord) holiness, had not already done mu$h more damage to life than all imaginable horrors and
vi$es. . . The pure soul is a pure lie. . . (o long as the priest) that professional denier) $alumniator
and poisoner of life) is a$$epted as a higher variety of man) there $an be no anser to the -uestion)
9hat is truth% Truth has already been stood on its head hen the obvious attorney of mere
emptiness is mistaken for its representative.
&.
Bpon this theologi$al instin$t I make ar# I find the tra$ks of it everyhere. 9hoever has
theologi$al blood in his veins is shifty and dishonourable in all things. The patheti$ thing that
gros out of this $ondition is $alled faith: in other ords) $losing one6s eyes upon one6s self on$e
for all) to avoid suffering the sight of in$urable falsehood. People ere$t a $on$ept of morality) of
virtue) of holiness upon this false vie of all things, they ground good $ons$ien$e upon faulty
vision, they argue that no other sort of vision has value any more) on$e they have made theirs
sa$rosan$t ith the names of !Aod)! !salvation! and !eternity.! I unearth this theologi$al instin$t in
all dire$tions# it is the most idespread and the most subterranean form of falsehood to be found
on earth. 9hatever a theologian regards as true must be false# there you have almost a $riterion of
truth. +is profound instin$t of self&preservation stands against truth ever $oming into honour in any
ay) or even getting stated. 9herever the influen$e of theologians is felt there is a transvaluation of
values) and the $on$epts !true! and !false! are for$ed to $hange pla$es# hat ever is most
damaging to life is there $alled !true)! and hatever e.alts it) intensifies it) approves it) @ustifies it
and makes it triumphant is there $alled !false.!... 9hen theologians) orking through the
!$ons$ien$es! of prin$es =or of peoples&&>) stret$h out their hands for power, there is never any
doubt as to the fundamental issue# the ill to make an end) the nihilistic ill e.erts that poer...
1'.
0mong Aermans I am immediately understood hen I say that theologi$al blood is the ruin of
philosophy. The Protestant pastor is the grandfather of Aerman philosophy, Protestantism itself is
its peccatum originale. 7efinition of Protestantism# hemiplegi$ paralysis of 8hristianity&&and of
reason. ... 5ne need only utter the ords !Tubingen ($hool! to get an understanding of hat
Aerman philosophy is at bottom&&a very artful form of theology. . . The (uabians are the best liars
in Aermany, they lie inno$ently. . . . 9hy all the re@oi$ing over the appearan$e of Cant that ent
through the learned orld of Aermany) three&fourths of hi$h is made up of the sons of prea$hers
and tea$hers&&hy the Aerman $onvi$tion still e$hoing) that ith Cant $ame a $hange for the
better? The theologi$al instin$t of Aerman s$holars made them see $learly @ust what had be$ome
possible again. . . . 0 ba$kstairs leading to the old ideal stood open, the $on$ept of the !true orld)!
the $on$ept of morality as the essen$e of the orld =&&the to most vi$ious errors that ever
e.isted4>) ere on$e more) thanks to a subtle and ily s$epti$ism) if not a$tually demonstrable)
then at least no longer refutable... eason) the prerogative of reason) does not go so far. . . 5ut of
reality there had been made !appearan$e!, an absolutely false orld) that of being) had been turned
into reality. . . . The su$$ess of Cant is merely a theologi$al su$$ess, he as) like :uther and
:eibnit1) but one more impediment to Aerman integrity) already far from steady.&&
11.
0 ord no against Cant as a moralist. 0 virtue must be our invention, it must spring out of our
personal need and defen$e. In every other $ase it is a sour$e of danger. That hi$h does not belong
to our life menaces it, a virtue hi$h has its roots in mere respe$t for the $on$ept of !virtue)! as
Cant ould have it) is perni$ious. !3irtue)! !duty)! !good for its on sake)! goodness grounded
upon impersonality or a notion of universal validity&&these are all $himeras) and in them one finds
only an e.pression of the de$ay) the last $ollapse of life) the 8hinese spirit of Conigsberg. Duite the
$ontrary is demanded by the most profound las of self&preservation and of groth# to it) that
every man find hisown virtue) his own $ategori$al imperative. 0 nation goes to pie$es hen it
$onfounds its duty ith the general $on$ept of duty. /othing orks a more $omplete and
penetrating disaster than every !impersonal! duty) every sa$rifi$e before the ?olo$h of
abstra$tion.&&To think that no one has thought of Cant6s $ategori$al imperative as dangerous to
life!...The theologi$al instin$t alone took it under prote$tion 4&&0n a$tion prompted by the life&
instin$t proves that it is a right a$tion by the amount of pleasure that goes ith it# and yet that
/ihilist) ith his boels of 8hristian dogmatism) regarded pleasure as an ob"ection . . . 9hat
destroys a man more -ui$kly than to ork) think and feel ithout inner ne$essity) ithout any deep
personal desire) ithout pleasure&&as a mere automaton of duty% That is the re$ipe for decadence,
and no less for idio$y. . . Cant be$ame an idiot.&&0nd su$h a man as the $ontemporary of Aoethe4
This $alamitous spinner of $obebs passed for the Aerman philosopher&&still passes today4 . . . I
forbid myself to say hat I think of the Aermans. . . . 7idn6t Cant see in the 'ren$h 2evolution the
transformation of the state from the inorgani$ form to the organic? 7idn6t he ask himself if there
as a single event that $ould be e.plained save on the assumption of a moral fa$ulty in man) so
that on the basis of it) !the tenden$y of mankind toard the good! $ould be e#plained, on$e and for
all time% Cant6s anser# !That is revolution.! Instin$t at fault in everything and anything) instin$t as
a revolt against nature) Aerman decadence as a philosophy&&that is $ant!----
12.
I put aside a fe s$epti$s) the types of de$en$y in the history of philosophy# the rest haven6t the
slightest $on$eption of intelle$tual integrity. They behave like omen) all these great enthusiasts
and prodigies&&they regard !beautiful feelings! as arguments) the !heaving breast! as the bellos of
divine inspiration) $onvi$tion as the criterion of truth. In the end) ith !Aerman! inno$en$e) Cant
tried to give a s$ientifi$ flavour to this form of $orruption) this dearth of intelle$tual $ons$ien$e) by
$alling it !pra$ti$al reason.! +e deliberately invented a variety of reasons for use on o$$asions
hen it as desirable not to trouble ith reason&&that is) hen morality) hen the sublime
$ommand !thou shalt)! as heard. 9hen one re$alls the fa$t that) among all peoples) the
philosopher is no more than a development from the old type of priest) this inheritan$e from the
priest) this fraud upon self, $eases to be remarkable. 9hen a man feels that he has a divine mission)
say to lift up) to save or to liberate mankind&&hen a man feels the divine spark in his heart and
believes that he is the mouthpie$e of supernatural imperatives&&hen su$h a mission in. flames
him) it is only natural that he should stand beyond all merely reasonable standards of @udgment. +e
feels that he is himself san$tified by this mission) that he is himself a type of a higher order4 . . .
9hat has a priest to do ith philosophy4 +e stands far above it4&&0nd hitherto the priest has
ruled!--+e has determined the meaning of !true! and !not true!4
1.
:et us not under&estimate this fa$t# that we ourselves, e free spirits) are already a !transvaluation
of all values)! a visuali%ed de$laration of war and vi$tory against all the old $on$epts of !true! and
!not true.! The most valuable intuitions are the last to be attained, the most valuable of all are those
hi$h determine methods. 0ll the methods) all the prin$iples of the s$ientifi$ spirit of today) ere
the targets for thousands of years of the most profound $ontempt, if a man in$lined to them he as
e.$luded from the so$iety of !de$ent! people&&he passed as !an enemy of Aod)! as a s$offer at the
truth) as one !possessed.! 0s a man of s$ien$e) he belonged to the 8handala
2
... 9e have had the
hole patheti$ stupidity of mankind against us&&their every notion of hat the truth ought to be) of
hat the servi$e of the truth ought to be&&their every !thou shalt! as laun$hed against us. . . . 5ur
ob@e$tives) our methods) our -uiet) $autious) distrustful manner&&all appeared to them as absolutely
dis$reditable and $ontemptible.&&:ooking ba$k) one may almost ask one6s self ith reason if it as
not a$tually an aesthetic sense that kept men blind so long# hat they demanded of the truth as
pi$tures-ue effe$tiveness) and of the learned a strong appeal to their senses. It as our modesty that
stood out longest against their taste...+o ell they guessed that) these turkey&$o$ks of Aod4
1!.
9e have unlearned something. 9e have be $ome more modest in every ay. 9e no longer derive
man from the !spirit)! from the !god&head!, e have dropped him ba$k among the beasts. 9e
regard him as the strongest of the beasts be$ause he is the $raftiest, one of the results thereof is his
intelle$tuality. 5n the other hand) e guard ourselves against a $on$eit hi$h ould assert itself
even here# that man is the great se$ond thought in the pro$ess of organi$ evolution. +e is) in truth)
anything but the $ron of $reation# beside him stand many other animals) all at similar stages of
development... 0nd even hen e say that e say a bit too mu$h) for man) relatively speaking) is
the most bot$hed of all the animals and the si$kliest) and he has andered the most dangerously
from his instin$ts&&though for all that) to be sure) he remains the most interesting!&&0s regards the
loer animals) it as 7es$artes ho first had the really admirable daring to des$ribe them as
machina; the hole of our physiology is dire$ted toard proving the truth of this do$trine.
?oreover) it is illogi$al to set man apart) as 7es$artes did# hat e kno of man today is limited
pre$isely by the e.tent to hi$h e have regarded him) too) as a ma$hine. 'ormerly e a$$orded to
man) as his inheritan$e from some higher order of beings) hat as $alled !free ill!, no e
have taken even this ill from him) for the term no longer des$ribes anything that e $an
understand. The old ord !ill! no $onnotes only a sort of result) an individual rea$tion) that
follos inevitably upon a series of partly dis$ordant and partly harmonious stimuli&&the ill no
longer !a$ts)! or !moves.! . . . 'ormerly it as thought that man6s $ons$iousness) his !spirit)!
offered eviden$e of his high origin) his divinity. That he might be perfected, he as advised)
tortoise&like) to dra his senses in) to have no traffi$ ith earthly things) to shuffle off his mortal
$oil&&then only the important part of him) the !pure spirit)! ould remain. +ere again e have
thought out the thing better# to us $ons$iousness) or !the spirit)! appears as a symptom of a relative
imperfe$tion of the organism) as an e.periment) a groping) a misunderstanding) as an affli$tion
hi$h uses up nervous for$e unne$essarily&&e deny that anything $an be done perfe$tly so long as
it is done $ons$iously. The !pure spirit! is a pie$e of pure stupidity# take aay the nervous system
and the senses) the so&$alled !mortal shell)! and the rest is miscalculation--that is all4...
1".
Bnder 8hristianity neither morality nor religion has any point of $onta$t ith a$tuality. It offers
purely imaginary causes =!Aod! !soul)! !ego)! !spirit)! !free ill!&&or even !unfree!>) and purely
imaginary effects =!sin! !salvation! !gra$e)! !punishment)! !forgiveness of sins!>. Inter$ourse
beteen imaginarybeings =!Aod)! !spirits)! !souls!>, an imaginarynatural history =anthropo$entri$,
a total denial of the $on$ept of natural $auses>, an imaginary psychology =misunderstandings of
self) misinterpretations of agreeable or disagreeable general feelings&&for e.ample) of the states of
the nervus sympathicus ith the help of the sign&language of religio&ethi$al balderdash&&)
!repentan$e)! !pangs of $ons$ien$e)! !temptation by the devil)! !the presen$e of Aod!>, an
imaginaryteleology =the !kingdom of Aod)! !the last @udgment)! !eternal life!>.&&This purely
fictitious world, greatly to its disadvantage) is to be differentiated from the orld of dreams, the
later at least refle$ts reality) hereas the former falsifies it) $heapens it and denies it. 5n$e the
$on$ept of !nature! had been opposed to the $on$ept of !Aod)! the ord !natural! ne$essarily took
on the meaning of !abominable!&&the hole of that fi$titious orld has its sour$es in hatred of the
natural =&&the real4&&>) and is no more than eviden$e of a profound uneasiness in the presen$e of
reality. . . . This e#plains everything. 9ho alone has any reason for living his ay out of reality%
The man ho suffers under it. ;ut to suffer from reality one must be a botched reality. . . . The
preponderan$e of pains over pleasures is the $ause of this fi$titious morality and religion# but su$h
a preponderan$e also supplies the formula for decadence...
1#.
0 $riti$ism of the &hristian concept of 'od leads inevitably to the same $on$lusion.&&0 nation that
still believes in itself holds fast to its on god. In him it does honour to the $onditions hi$h
enable it to survive) to its virtues&&it pro@e$ts its @oy in itself) its feeling of poer) into a being to
hom one may offer thanks. +e ho is ri$h ill give of his ri$hes, a proud people need a god to
hom they $an make sacrifices. . . 2eligion) ithin these limits) is a form of gratitude. 0 man is
grateful for his on e.isten$e# to that end he needs a god.&&(u$h a god must be able to ork both
benefits and in@uries, he must be able to play either friend or foe&&he is ondered at for the good he
does as ell as for the evil he does. ;ut the $astration) against all nature) of su$h a god) making
him a god of goodness alone) ould be $ontrary to human in$lination. ?ankind has @ust as mu$h
need for an evil god as for a good god, it doesn6t have to thank mere toleran$e and humanitarianism
for its on e.isten$e. . . . 9hat ould be the value of a god ho kne nothing of anger) revenge)
envy) s$orn) $unning) violen$e% ho had perhaps never e.perien$ed the rapturous ardeurs of
vi$tory and of destru$tion% /o one ould understand su$h a god# hy should any one ant him%&&
True enough) hen a nation is on the donard path) hen it feels its belief in its on future) its
hope of freedom slipping from it) hen it begins to see submission as a first ne$essity and the
virtues of submission as measures of self&preservation) then it must overhaul its god. +e then
be$omes a hypo$rite) timorous and demure, he $ounsels !pea$e of soul)! hate&no&more) lenien$y)
!love! of friend and foe. +e morali1es endlessly, he $reeps into every private virtue, he be$omes
the god of every man, he be$omes a private $iti1en) a $osmopolitan. . . 'ormerly he represented a
people) the strength of a people) everything aggressive and thirsty for poer in the soul of a
people, no he is simply the good god...The truth is that there is no other alternative for gods#
either they are the ill to poer&&in hi$h $ase they are national gods&&or in$apa$ity for poer&&in
hi$h $ase they have to be good.
1$.
9herever the ill to poer begins to de$line) in hatever form) there is alays an a$$ompanying
de$line physiologi$ally) a decadence. The divinity of this decadence, shorn of its mas$uline virtues
and passions) is $onverted perfor$e into a god of the physiologi$ally degraded) of the eak. 5f
$ourse) they do not call themselves the eak, they $all themselves !the good.! . . . /o hint is
needed to indi$ate the moments in history at hi$h the dualisti$ fi$tion of a good and an evil god
first be$ame possible. The same instin$t hi$h prompts the inferior to redu$e their on god to
!goodness&in&itself! also prompts them to eliminate all good -ualities from the god of their
superiors, they make revenge on their masters by making a devil of the latter6s god.&&The good god)
and the devil like him&&both are abortions of decadence.&&+o $an e be so tolerant of the naEvetF
of 8hristian theologians as to @oin in their do$trine that the evolution of the $on$ept of god from
!the god of Israel)! the god of a people) to the 8hristian god) the essen$e of all goodness) is to be
des$ribed as progress?--(ut even 2enan does this. 0s if 2enan had a right to be naEve4 The
$ontrary a$tually stares one in the fa$e. 9hen everything ne$essary to ascending life, hen all that
is strong) $ourageous) masterful and proud has been eliminated from the $on$ept of a god, hen he
has sunk step by step to the level of a staff for the eary) a sheet&an$hor for the droning, hen he
be $omes the poor man6s god) the sinner6s god) the invalid6s god par e#cellence, and the attribute of
!saviour! or !redeemer! remains as the one essential attribute of divinity&&@ust what is the
signifi$an$e of su$h a metamorphosis% hat does su$h a reduction of the godhead imply%&&To be
sure) the !kingdom of Aod! has thus gron larger. 'ormerly he had only his on people) his
!$hosen! people. ;ut sin$e then he has gone andering) like his people themselves) into foreign
parts, he has given up settling don -uietly anyhere, finally he has $ome to feel at home
everyhere) and is the great $osmopolitan&&until no he has the !great ma@ority! on his side) and
half the earth. ;ut this god of the !great ma@ority)! this demo$rat among gods) has not be$ome a
proud heathen god# on the $ontrary) he remains a Ge) he remains a god in a $orner) a god of all the
dark nooks and $revi$es) of all the noisesome -uarters of the orld4 . . +is earthly kingdom) no
as alays) is a kingdom of the underorld) a souterrain kingdom) a ghetto kingdom. . . 0nd he
himself is so pale) so eak) so decadent . . . *ven the palest of the pale are able to master him&&
messieurs the metaphysi$ians) those albinos of the intelle$t. They spun their ebs around him for
so long that finally he as hypnoti1ed) and began to spin himself) and be$ame another
metaphysi$ian. Thereafter he resumed on$e more his old business of spinning the orld out of his
inmost being sub specie )pino%ae; thereafter he be $ame ever thinner and paler&&be$ame the
!ideal)! be$ame !pure spirit)! be$ame !the absolute)! be$ame !the thing&in&itself.! . . . The collapse
of a god: he be$ame a !thing&in&itself.!
1%.
The 8hristian $on$ept of a god&&the god as the patron of the si$k) the god as a spinner of $obebs)
the god as a spirit&&is one of the most $orrupt $on$epts that has ever been set up in the orld# it
probably tou$hes lo&ater mark in the ebbing evolution of the god&type. Aod degenerated into
the contradiction of life. Instead of being its transfiguration and eternal <ea4 In him ar is de$lared
on life) on nature) on the ill to live4 Aod be$omes the formula for every slander upon the !here
and no)! and for every lie about the !beyond!4 In him nothingness is deified) and the ill to
nothingness is made holy4 . . .
1&.
The fa$t that the strong ra$es of northern *urope did not repudiate this 8hristian god does little
$redit to their gift for religion&&and not mu$h more to their taste. They ought to have been able to
make an end of su$h a moribund and orn&out produ$t of the decadence. 0 $urse lies upon them
be$ause they ere not e-ual to it, they made illness) de$repitude and $ontradi$tion a part of their
instin$ts&&and sin$e then they have not managed to create any more gods. To thousand years have
$ome and gone&&and not a single ne god4 Instead) there still e.ists) and as if by some intrinsi$
right)&&as if he ere the ultimatum and ma#imum of the poer to $reate gods) of the creator
spiritus in mankind&&this pitiful god of 8hristian monotono&theism4 This hybrid image of de$ay)
$on@ured up out of emptiness) $ontradi$tion and vain imagining) in hi$h all the instin$ts of
decadence, all the $oardi$es and earinesses of the soul find their san$tion4&&
2'.
In my $ondemnation of 8hristianity I surely hope I do no in@usti$e to a related religion ith an
even larger number of believers# I allude to (uddhism. ;oth are to be re$koned among the nihilisti$
religions&&they are both decadence religions&&but they are separated from ea$h other in a very
remarkable ay. 'or the fa$t that he is able to compare them at all the $riti$ of 8hristianity is
indebted to the s$holars of India.&&;uddhism is a hundred times as realisti$ as 8hristianity&&it is
part of its living heritage that it is able to fa$e problems ob@e$tively and $oolly, it is the produ$t of
long $enturies of philosophi$al spe$ulation. The $on$ept) !god)! as already disposed of before it
appeared. ;uddhism is the only genuinely positive religion to be en$ountered in history) and this
applies even to its epistemology =hi$h is a stri$t phenomenalism> &&It does not speak of a
!struggle ith sin)! but) yielding to reality) of the !struggle ith suffering.! (harply differentiating
itself from 8hristianity) it puts the self&de$eption that lies in moral $on$epts be hind it, it is) in my
phrase)beyond good and evil.&&The to physiologi$al fa$ts upon hi$h it grounds itself and upon
hi$h it bestos its $hief attention are# first) an e.$essive sensitiveness to sensation) hi$h
manifests itself as a refined sus$eptibility to pain) and secondly, an e.traordinary spirituality) a too
protra$ted $on$ern ith $on$epts and logi$al pro$edures) under the influen$e of hi$h the instin$t
of personality has yielded to a notion of the !impersonal.! =&&;oth of these states ill be familiar to
a fe of my readers) the ob@e$tivists) by e.perien$e) as they are to me>. These physiologi$al states
produ$ed a depression, and ;uddha tried to $ombat it by hygieni$ measures. 0gainst it he
pres$ribed a life in the open) a life of travel, moderation in eating and a $areful sele$tion of foods,
$aution in the use of into.i$ants, the same $aution in arousing any of the passions that foster a
bilious habit and heat the blood, finally) no worry, either on one6s on a$$ount or on a$$ount of
others. +e en$ourages ideas that make for either -uiet $ontentment or good $heer&&he finds means
to $ombat ideas of other sorts. +e understands good) the state of goodness) as something hi$h
promotes health. *rayer is not in$luded) and neither is asceticism. There is no $ategori$al
imperative nor any dis$iplines) even ithin the alls of a monastery =&&it is alays possible to
leave&&>. These things ould have been simply means of in$reasing the e.$essive sensitiveness
above mentioned. 'or the same reason he does not advo$ate any $onfli$t ith unbelievers, his
tea$hing is antagonisti$ to nothing so mu$h as to revenge) aversion) ressentiment =&&!enmity never
brings an end to enmity!# the moving refrain of all ;uddhism. . .> 0nd in all this he as right) for it
is pre$isely these passions hi$h) in vie of his main regiminal purpose) are unhealthful. The
mental fatigue that he observes) already plainly displayed in too mu$h !ob@e$tivity! =that is) in the
individual6s loss of interest in himself) in loss of balan$e and of !egoism!>) he $ombats by strong
efforts to lead even the spiritual interests ba$k to the ego. In ;uddha6s tea$hing egoism is a duty.
The !one thing needful)! the -uestion !ho $an you be delivered from suffering)! regulates and
determines the hole spiritual diet. =&&Perhaps one ill here re$all that 0thenian ho also de$lared
ar upon pure !s$ientifi$ality)! to it) (o$rates) ho also elevated egoism to the estate of a
morality> .
21.
The things ne$essary to ;uddhism are a very mild $limate) $ustoms of great gentleness and
liberality) and no militarism, moreover) it must get its start among the higher and better edu$ated
$lasses. 8heerfulness) -uiet and the absen$e of desire are the $hief desiderata) and they are
attained. ;uddhism is not a religion in hi$h perfe$tion is merely an ob@e$t of aspiration#
perfe$tion is a$tually normal.&&Bnder 8hristianity the instin$ts of the sub@ugated and the oppressed
$ome to the fore# it is only those ho are at the bottom ho seek their salvation in it. +ere the
prevailing pastime) the favourite remedy for boredom is the dis$ussion of sin) self&$riti$ism) the
in-uisition of $ons$ien$e, here the emotion produ$ed by power =$alled !Aod!> is pumped up =by
prayer>, here the highest good is regarded as unattainable) as a gift) as !gra$e.! +ere) too) open
dealing is la$king, $on$ealment and the darkened room are 8hristian. +ere body is despised and
hygiene is denoun$ed as sensual, the $hur$h even ranges itself against $leanliness =&&the first
8hristian order after the banishment of the ?oors $losed the publi$ baths) of hi$h there ere 2H0
in 8ordova alone> . 8hristian) too, is a $ertain $ruelty toard one6s self and toard others, hatred of
unbelievers, the ill to perse$ute. (ombre and dis-uieting ideas are in the foreground, the most
esteemed states of mind) bearing the most respe$table names are epileptoid, the diet is so regulated
as to engender morbid symptoms and over&stimulate the nerves. 8hristian) again) is all deadly
enmity to the rulers of the earth) to the !aristo$rati$!&&along ith a sort of se$ret rivalry ith them
=&&one resigns one6s !body! to them&&one antsonly one6s !soul! . . . >. 0nd 8hristian is all hatred
of the intelle$t) of pride) of $ourage of freedom) of intelle$tual libertinage; 8hristian is all hatred of
the senses) of @oy in the senses) of @oy in general . . .
22.
9hen 8hristianity departed from its native soil) that of the loest orders) the underworld of the
an$ient orld) and began seeking poer among barbarian peoples) it no longer had to deal ith
e#hausted men) but ith men still inardly savage and $apable of self torture&&in brief) strong men)
but bungled men. +ere) unlike in the $ase of the ;uddhists) the $ause of dis$ontent ith self)
suffering through self) is not merely a general sensitiveness and sus$eptibility to pain) but) on the
$ontrary) an inordinate thirst for infli$ting pain on others) a tenden$y to obtain sub@e$tive
satisfa$tion in hostile deeds and ideas. 8hristianity had to embra$e barbaric $on$epts and
valuations in order to obtain mastery over barbarians# of su$h sort) for e.ample) are the sa$rifi$es
of the first&born) the drinking of blood as a sa$rament) the disdain of the intelle$t and of $ulture,
torture in all its forms) hether bodily or not, the hole pomp of the $ult. ;uddhism is a religion
for peoples in a further state of development) for ra$es that have be$ome kind) gentle and over&
spirituali1ed =&&*urope is not yet ripe for it&&># it is a summons 6that takes them ba$k to pea$e and
$heerfulness) to a $areful rationing of the spirit) to a $ertain hardening of the body. 8hristianity
aims at mastering beasts of prey; its modus operandi is to make them ill--to make feeble is the
8hristian re$ipe for taming) for !$ivili1ing.! ;uddhism is a religion for the $losing) over&earied
stages of $ivili1ation. 8hristianity appears before $ivili1ation has so mu$h as begun&&under $ertain
$ir$umstan$es it lays the very foundations thereof.
2.
;uddhism) I repeat) is a hundred times more austere) more honest) more ob@e$tive. It no longer has
to "ustify its pains) its sus$eptibility to suffering) by interpreting these things in terms of sin&&it
simply says) as it simply thinks) !I suffer.! To the barbarian) hoever) suffering in itself is s$ar$ely
understandable# hat he needs) first of all) is an e.planation as to why he suffers. =+is mere instin$t
prompts him to deny his suffering altogether) or to endure it in silen$e.> +ere the ord !devil! as
a blessing# man had to have an omnipotent and terrible enemy&&there as no need to be ashamed of
suffering at the hands of su$h an enemy.
&&0t the bottom of 8hristianity there are several subtleties that belong to the 5rient. In the first
pla$e) it knos that it is of very little $onse-uen$e hether a thing be true or not) so long as it is
believed to be true. Truth and faith# here e have to holly distin$t orlds of ideas) almost to
diametri$ally opposite orlds&&the road to the one and the road to the other lie miles apart. To
understand that fa$t thoroughly&&this is almost enough) in the 5rient) to ma+e one a sage. The
;rahmins kne it) Plato kne it) every student of the esoteri$ knos it. 9hen) for e.ample) a man
gets any pleasure out of the notion that he has been saved from sin) it is not ne$essary for him to be
a$tually sinful) but merely to feel sinful. ;ut hen faith is thus e.alted above everything else) it
ne$essarily follos that reason) knoledge and patient in-uiry have to be dis$redited# the road to
the truth be$omes a forbidden road.&&+ope) in its stronger forms) is a great deal more poerful
stimulans to life than any sort of reali1ed @oy $an ever be. ?an must be sustained in suffering by a
hope so high that no $onfli$t ith a$tuality $an dash it&&so high) indeed) that no fulfillment $an
satisfy it# a hope rea$hing out beyond this orld. =Pre$isely be$ause of this poer that hope has of
making the suffering hold out) the Areeks regarded it as the evil of evils) as the most malign of
evils, it remained behind at the sour$e of all evil.>
I
&&In order that love may be possible) Aod must
be$ome a person, in order that the loer instin$ts may take a hand in the matter Aod must be
young. To satisfy the ardor of the oman a beautiful saint must appear on the s$ene) and to satisfy
that of the men there must be a virgin. These things are ne$essary if 8hristianity is to assume
lordship over a soil on hi$h some aphrodisia$al or 0donis $ult has already established a notion as
to hat a $ult ought to be. To insist upon chastity greatly strengthens the vehemen$e and
sub@e$tivity of the religious instin$t&&it makes the $ult armer) more enthusiasti$) more soulful.&&
:ove is the state in hi$h man sees things most de$idedly as they are not. The for$e of illusion
rea$hes its highest here) and so does the $apa$ity for seetening) for transfiguring. 9hen a man is
in love he endures more than at any other time, he submits to anything. The problem as to devise
a religion hi$h ould allo one to love# by this means the orst that life has to offer is
over$ome&&it is s$ar$ely even noti$ed.&&(o mu$h for the three 8hristian virtues# faith) hope and
$harity# I $all them the three 8hristian ingenuities.--(uddhism is in too late a stage of development)
too full of positivism) to be shred in any su$h ay.&&
2!.
+ere I barely tou$h upon the problem of the origin of 8hristianity. The first thing ne$essary to its
solution is this# that 8hristianity is to be understood only by e.amining the soil from hi$h it
sprung&&it is not a rea$tion against Geish instin$ts, it is their inevitable produ$t, it is simply one
more step in the ae&inspiring logi$ of the Ges. In the ords of the (aviour) !salvation is of the
Ges.!
J
&&The second thing to remember is this# that the psy$hologi$al type of the Aalilean is still to
be re$ogni1ed) but it as only in its most degenerate form =hi$h is at on$e maimed and overladen
ith foreign features> that it $ould serve in the manner in hi$h it has been used# as a type of the
)aviour of mankind.
&&The Ges are the most remarkable people in the history of the orld) for hen they ere
$onfronted ith the -uestion) to be or not to be) they $hose) ith perfe$tly unearthly deliberation)
to be at any price: this pri$e involved a radi$al falsification of all nature) of all naturalness) of all
reality) of the hole inner orld) as ell as of the outer. They put themselves against all those
$onditions under hi$h) hitherto) a people had been able to live) or had even been permitted to live,
out of themselves they evolved an idea hi$h stood in dire$t opposition to natural $onditions&&one
by one they distorted religion) $ivili1ation) morality) history and psy$hology until ea$h be$ame a
$ontradi$tion of its natural significance. 9e meet ith the same phenomenon later on) in an
in$al$ulably e.aggerated form) but only as a $opy# the 8hristian $hur$h) put beside the !people of
Aod)! shos a $omplete la$k of any $laim to originality. Pre$isely for this reason the Ges are the
most fateful people in the history of the orld# their influen$e has so falsified the reasoning of
mankind in this matter that today the 8hristian $an $herish anti&(emitism ithout reali1ing that it is
no more than the final conse,uence of -udaism.
In my !Aenealogy of ?orals! I give the first psy$hologi$al e.planation of the $on$epts underlying
those to antitheti$al things) a noble morality and a ressentiment morality) the se$ond of hi$h is a
mere produ$t of the denial of the former. The Gudaeo&8hristian moral system belongs to the se$ond
division) and in every detail. In order to be able to say /ay to everything representing an ascending
evolution of life&&that is) to ell&being) to poer) to beauty) to self&approval&&the instin$ts of
ressentiment, here be$ome donright genius) had to invent an other orld in hi$h the acceptance
of life appeared as the most evil and abominable thing imaginable. Psy$hologi$ally) the Ges are a
people gifted ith the very strongest vitality) so mu$h so that hen they found themselves fa$ing
impossible $onditions of life they $hose voluntarily) and ith a profound talent for self&
preservation) the side of all those instin$ts hi$h make for decadence--not as if mastered by them)
but as if dete$ting in them a poer by hi$h !the orld! $ould be defied. The Ges are the very
opposite of decadents: they have simply been for$ed into appearing in that guise) and ith a
degree of skill approa$hing the non plus ultra of histrioni$ genius they have managed to put
themselves at the head of all decadent movements =&&for e.ample) the 8hristianity of Paul&&>) and
so make of them something stronger than any party frankly saying <es to life. To the sort of men
ho rea$h out for poer under Gudaism and 8hristianity)&&that is to say) to the priestly $lass-
decadence is no more than a means to an end. ?en of this sort have a vital interest in making
mankind si$k) and in $onfusing the values of !good! and !bad)! !true! and !false! in a manner that
is not only dangerous to life) but also slanders it.
2".
The history of Israel is invaluable as a typi$al history of an attempt to denaturi%e all natural values#
I point to five fa$ts hi$h bear this out. 5riginally) and above all in the time of the monar$hy)
Israel maintained the right attitude of things) hi$h is to say) the natural attitude. Its Gahveh as an
e.pression of its $ons$iousness of poer) its @oy in itself) its hopes for itself# to him the Ges
looked for vi$tory and salvation and through him they e.pe$ted nature to give them hatever as
ne$essary to their e.isten$e&&above all) rain. Gahveh is the god of Israel) and conse,uently the god
of @usti$e# this is the logi$ of every ra$e that has poer in its hands and a good $ons$ien$e in the
use of it. In the religious $eremonial of the Ges both aspe$ts of this self&approval stand revealed.
The nation is grateful for the high destiny that has enabled it to obtain dominion, it is grateful for
the benign pro$ession of the seasons) and for the good fortune attending its herds and its $rops.&&
This vie of things remained an ideal for a long hile) even after it had been robbed of validity by
tragi$ blos# anar$hy ithin and the 0ssyrian ithout. ;ut the people still retained) as a pro@e$tion
of their highest yearnings) that vision of a king ho as at on$e a gallant arrior and an upright
@udge&&a vision best visuali1ed in the typi$al prophet .i.e., $riti$ and satirist of the moment>) Isaiah.
&&;ut every hope remained unfulfilled. The old god no longer could do hat he used to do. +e
ought to have been abandoned. ;ut hat a$tually happened% simply this# the $on$eption of him
as changed--the $on$eption of him as denaturi%ed; this as the pri$e that had to be paid for
keeping him.&&Gahveh) the god of !@usti$e!&&he is in a$$ord ith Israel no more, he no longer
visuali1es the national egoism, he is no a god only $onditionally. . . The publi$ notion of this god
no be$omes merely a eapon in the hands of $leri$al agitators) ho interpret all happiness as a
reard and all unhappiness as a punishment for obedien$e or disobedien$e to him) for !sin!# that
most fraudulent of all imaginable interpretations) hereby a !moral order of the orld! is set up)
and the fundamental $on$epts) !$ause! and !effe$t)! are stood on their heads. 5n$e natural
$ausation has been sept out of the orld by do$trines of reard and punishment some sort of
unnatural $ausation be$omes ne$essary# and all other varieties of the denial of nature follo it. 0
god ho demands--in pla$e of a god ho helps) ho gives $ounsel) ho is at bottom merely a
name for every happy inspiration of $ourage and self&relian$e. . . /orality is no longer a refle$tion
of the $onditions hi$h make for the sound life and development of the people, it is no longer the
primary life&instin$t, instead it has be$ome abstra$t and in opposition to life&&a fundamental
perversion of the fan$y) an !evil eye! on all things. 9hat is Geish) what is 8hristian morality%
8han$e robbed of its inno$en$e, unhappiness polluted ith the idea of !sin!, ell&being
represented as a danger) as a !temptation!, a physiologi$al disorder produ$ed by the $anker orm
of $ons$ien$e...
2#.
The $on$ept of god falsified, the $on$ept of morality falsified ,&&but even here Geish priest $raft
did not stop. The hole history of Israel $eased to be of any value# out ith it4&&These priests
a$$omplished that mira$le of falsifi$ation of hi$h a great part of the ;ible is the do$umentary
eviden$e, ith a degree of $ontempt unparalleled) and in the fa$e of all tradition and all histori$al
reality) they translated the past of their people into religious terms) hi$h is to say) they $onverted
it into an idioti$ me$hanism of salvation) hereby all offen$es against Gahveh ere punished and
all devotion to him as rearded. 9e ould regard this a$t of histori$al falsifi$ation as something
far more shameful if familiarity ith the ecclesiastical interpretation of history for thousands of
years had not blunted our in$linations for uprightness in historicis. 0nd the philosophers support
the $hur$h# the lie about a !moral order of the orld! runs through the hole of philosophy) even
the neest. 9hat is the meaning of a !moral order of the orld!% That there is a thing $alled the
ill of Aod hi$h) on$e and for all time) determines hat man ought to do and hat he ought not
to do, that the orth of a people) or of an individual thereof) is to he measured by the e.tent to
hi$h they or he obey this ill of Aod, that the destinies of a people or of an individual
arecontrolled by this ill of Aod) hi$h reards or punishes a$$ording to the degree of obedien$e
manifested.&&In pla$e of all that pitiable lie reality has this to say# the priest, a parasiti$al variety of
man ho $an e.ist only at the $ost of every sound vie of life) takes the name of Aod in vain# he
$alls that state of human so$iety in hi$h he himself determines the value of all things !the
kingdom of Aod!, he $alls the means hereby that state of affairs is attained !the ill of Aod!,
ith $old&blooded $yni$ism he estimates all peoples) all ages and all individuals by the e.tent of
their subservien$e or opposition to the poer of the priestly order. 5ne observes him at ork#
under the hand of the Geish priesthood the great age of Israel be$ame an age of de$line, the *.ile)
ith its long series of misfortunes) as transformed into a punishment for that great age&during
hi$h priests had not yet $ome into e.isten$e. 5ut of the poerful and wholly free heroes of
Israel6s history they fashioned) a$$ording to their $hanging needs) either ret$hed bigots and
hypo$rites or men entirely !godless.! They redu$ed every great event to the idioti$ formula#
!obedient or disobedient to Aod.!&&They ent a step further# the !ill of Aod! =in other ords
some means ne$essary for preserving the poer of the priests> had to be determined--and to this
end they had to have a !revelation.! In plain *nglish) a giganti$ literary fraud had to be perpetrated)
and !holy s$riptures! had to be $on$o$ted&&and so) ith the utmost hierar$hi$al pomp) and days of
penan$e and mu$h lamentation over the long days of !sin! no ended) they ere duly published.
The !ill of Aod)! it appears) had long stood like a ro$k, the trouble as that mankind had
negle$ted the !holy s$riptures!. . . ;ut the 66ill of Aod66 had already been revealed to ?oses. . . .
9hat happened% (imply this# the priest had formulated) on$e and for all time and ith the stri$test
meti$ulousness) hat tithes ere to be paid to him) from the largest to the smallest =&&not forgetting
the most appeti1ing $uts of meat) for the priest is a great $onsumer of beefsteaks>, in brief) he let it
be knon @ust what he wanted, hat !the ill of Aod! as.... 'rom this time forard things ere
so arranged that the priest be$ame indispensable everywhere; at all the great natural events of life)
at birth) at marriage) in si$kness) at death) not to say at the 0sacrifice0 =that is) at meal&times>) the
holy parasite put in his appearan$e) and pro$eeded to denaturi%e it&&in his on phrase) to !san$tify!
it. . . . 'or this should be noted# that every natural habit) every natural institution =the state) the
administration of @usti$e) marriage) the $are of the si$k and of the poor>) everything demanded by
the life&instin$t) in short) everything that has any value in itself, is redu$ed to absolute
orthlessness and even made the reverse of valuable by the parasitism of priests =or) if you $hose)
by the !moral order of the orld!>. The fa$t re-uires a san$tion&&a poer to grant values be$omes
ne$essary) and the only ay it $an $reate su$h values is by denying nature. . . . The priest
depre$iates and dese$rates nature# it is only at this pri$e that he $an e.ist at all.&&7isobedien$e to
Aod) hi$h a$tually means to the priest) to !the la)! no gets the name of !sin!, the means
pres$ribed for !re$on$iliation ith Aod! are) of $ourse) pre$isely the means hi$h bring one most
effe$tively under the thumb of the priest, he alone $an !save!. Psy$hologi$ally $onsidered) !sins!
are indispensable to every so$iety organi1ed on an e$$lesiasti$al basis, they are the only reliable
eapons of poer, the priest lives upon sins, it is ne$essary to him that there be !sinning!. . . .
Prime a.iom# !Aod forgiveth him that repenteth!&&in plain *nglish) him that submitteth to the
priest.
2$.
8hristianity sprang from a soil so $orrupt that on it everything natural) every natural value) every
reality as opposed by the deepest instin$ts of the ruling $lass&&it gre up as a sort of ar to the
death upon reality) and as su$h it has never been surpassed. The !holy people)! ho had adopted
priestly values and priestly names for all things) and ho) ith a terrible logi$al $onsisten$y) had
re@e$ted everything of the earth as !unholy)! !orldly)! !sinful!&&this people put its instin$t into a
final formula that as logi$al to the point of self&annihilation# as&hristianity it a$tually denied
even the last form of reality) the !holy people)! the !$hosen people)! -ewish reality itself. The
phenomenon is of the first order of importan$e# the small insurre$tionary movement hi$h took the
name of Gesus of /a1areth is simply the Geish instin$t redivivus--in other ords) it is the priestly
instin$t $ome to su$h a pass that it $an no longer endure the priest as a fa$t, it is the dis$overy of a
state of e.isten$e even more fantasti$ than any before it) of a vision of life even more unreal than
that ne$essary to an e$$lesiasti$al organi1ation. 8hristianity a$tually denies the $hur$h...
I am unable to determine hat as the target of the insurre$tion said to have been led =hether
rightly or wrongly1 by Gesus) if it as not the Geish $hur$h&&!$hur$h! being here used in e.a$tly
the same sense that the ord has today. It as an insurre$tion against the !good and @ust)! against
the !prophets of Israel)! against the hole hierar$hy of so$iety&&not against $orruption) but against
$aste) privilege) order) formalism. It as unbelief in !superior men)! a /ay flung at everything that
priests and theologians stood for. ;ut the hierar$hy that as $alled into -uestion) if only for an
instant) by this movement as the stru$ture of piles hi$h) above everything) as ne$essary to the
safety of the Geish people in the midst of the !aters!&&it represented theirlast possibility of
survival, it as the final residuum of their independent politi$al e.isten$e, an atta$k upon it as an
atta$k upon the most profound national instin$t) the most poerful national ill to live) that has
ever appeared on earth. This saintly anar$hist) ho aroused the people of the abyss) the out$asts
and !sinners)! the 8handala of Gudaism) to rise in revolt against the established order of things&&and
in language hi$h) if the Aospels are to be $redited) ould get him sent to (iberia today&&this man
as $ertainly a politi$al $riminal) at least in so far as it as possible to be one in so absurdly
unpolitical a $ommunity. This is hat brought him to the $ross# the proof thereof is to be found in
the ins$ription that as put upon the $ross. +e died for his own sins&&there is not the slightest
ground for believing) no matter ho often it is asserted) that he died for the sins of others.&&
2%.
0s to hether he himself as $ons$ious of this $ontradi$tion&&hether) in fa$t) this as the only
$ontradi$tion he as $ogni1ant of&&that is -uite another -uestion. +ere) for the first time) I tou$h
upon the problem of the psychology of the )aviour.--I $onfess) to begin ith) that there are very
fe books hi$h offer me harder reading than the Aospels. ?y diffi$ulties are -uite different from
those hi$h enabled the learned $uriosity of the Aerman mind to a$hieve one of its most
unforgettable triumphs. It is a long hile sin$e I) like all other young s$holars) en@oyed ith all the
sapient laboriousness of a fastidious philologist the ork of the in$omparable (trauss.
5
0t that time
I as tenty years old# no I am too serious for that sort of thing. 9hat do I $are for the
$ontradi$tions of !tradition!% +o $an any one $all pious legends !traditions!% The histories of
saints present the most dubious variety of literature in e.isten$e, to e.amine them by the s$ientifi$
method) in the entire absence of corroborative documents, seems to me to $ondemn the hole
in-uiry from the start&&it is simply learned idling.
2&.
9hat $on$erns me is the psy$hologi$al type of the (aviour. This type might be depi$ted in the
Aospels) in hoever mutilated a form and hoever mu$h overladen ith e.traneous $hara$ters&&
that is) in spite of the Aospels, @ust as the figure of 'ran$is of 0ssisi shos itself in his legends in
spite of his legends. It is not a -uestion of mere truthful eviden$e as to hat he did) hat he said
and ho he a$tually died, the -uestion is) hether his type is still $on$eivable) hether it has been
handed don to us.&&0ll the attempts that I kno of to read the history of a !soul! in the Aospels
seem to me to reveal only a lamentable psy$hologi$al levity. ?. 2enan) that mountebank in
psychologicus, has $ontributed the to most unseemly notions to this business of e.plaining the
type of Gesus# the notion of the genius and that of the hero .0heros01. ;ut if there is anything
essentially unevangeli$al) it is surely the $on$ept of the hero. 9hat the Aospels make instin$tive is
pre$isely the reverse of all heroi$ struggle) of all taste for $onfli$t# the very in$apa$ity for
resistan$e is here $onverted into something moral# =!resist not evil 4!&&the most profound senten$e
in the Aospels) perhaps the true key to them>) to it) the blessedness of pea$e) of gentleness) the
inability to be an enemy. 9hat is the meaning of !glad tidings!%&&The true life) the life eternal has
been found&&it is not merely promised) it is here) it is in you; it is the life that lies in love free from
all retreats and e.$lusions) from all keeping of distan$es. *very one is the $hild of Aod&&Gesus
$laims nothing for himself alone&&as the $hild of Aod ea$h man is the e-ual of every other
man. . . .Imagine making Gesus a hero!&&0nd hat a tremendous misunderstanding appears in the
ord !genius!4 5ur hole $on$eption of the !spiritual)! the hole $on$eption of our $ivili1ation)
$ould have had no meaning in the orld that Gesus lived in. In the stri$t sense of the physiologist) a
-uite different ord ought to be used here. . . . 9e all kno that there is a morbid sensibility of the
ta$tile nerves hi$h $auses those suffering from it to re$oil from every tou$h) and from every effort
to grasp a solid ob@e$t. ;rought to its logi$al $on$lusion) su$h a physiologi$al habitus be$omes an
instin$tive hatred of all reality) a flight into the !intangible)! into the !in$omprehensible!, a distaste
for all formulae) for all $on$eptions of time and spa$e) for everything established&&$ustoms)
institutions) the $hur$h&&, a feeling of being at home in a orld in hi$h no sort of reality survives)
a merely !inner! orld) a !true! orld) an !eternal! orld. . . . !The Cingdom of Aod is
ithinyou0. . . .
'.
The instinctive hatred of reality: the $onse-uen$e of an e.treme sus$eptibility to pain and
irritation&&so great that merely to be !tou$hed! be$omes unendurable) for every sensation is too
profound.
The instinctive e#clusion of all aversion, all hostility, all bounds and distances in feeling: the
$onse-uen$e of an e.treme sus$eptibility to pain and irritation&&so great that it senses all resistan$e)
all $ompulsion to resistan$e) as unbearable anguish =&&that is to say) as harmful, as prohibited by
the instin$t of self&preservation>) and regards blessedness =@oy> as possible only hen it is no
longer ne$essary to offer resistan$e to anybody or anything) hoever evil or dangerous&&love) as
the only) as the ultimate possibility of life. . .
These are the to physiological realities upon and out of hi$h the do$trine of salvation has
sprung. I $all them a sublime super&development of hedonism upon a thoroughly unsalubrious soil.
9hat stands most $losely related to them) though ith a large admi.ture of Areek vitality and
nerve&for$e) is epi$ureanism) the theory of salvation of paganism. *pi$urus as a typical decadent:
I as the first to re$ogni1e him.&&The fear of pain) even of infinitely slight pain&&the end of this can
be nothing save a religion of love. . . .
1.
I have already given my anser to the problem. The prere-uisite to it is the assumption that the
type of the (aviour has rea$hed us only in a greatly distorted form. This distortion is very probable#
there are many reasons hy a type of that sort should not be handed don in a pure form) $omplete
and free of additions. The milieu in hi$h this strange figure moved must have left marks upon
him) and more must have been imprinted by the history) the destiny, of the early 8hristian
$ommunities, the latter indeed) must have embellished the type retrospe$tively ith $hara$ters
hi$h $an be understood only as serving the purposes of ar and of propaganda. That strange and
si$kly orld into hi$h the Aospels lead us&&a orld apparently out of a 2ussian novel) in hi$h
the s$um of so$iety) nervous maladies and !$hildish! idio$y keep a tryst&&must) in any $ase) have
coarsened the type# the first dis$iples) in parti$ular) must have been for$ed to translate an e.isten$e
visible only in symbols and in$omprehensibilities into their on $rudity) in order to understand it at
all&&in their sight the type $ould take on reality only after it had been re$ast in a familiar mould....
The prophet) the messiah) the future @udge) the tea$her of morals) the orker of onders) Gohn the
;aptist&&all these merely presented $han$es to misunderstand it . . . . 'inally) let us not underrate
the proprium of all great) and espe$ially all se$tarian veneration# it tends to erase from the
venerated ob@e$ts all its original traits and idiosyn$rasies) often so painfully strange&&it does not
even see them. It is greatly to be regretted that no 7ostoyevsky lived in the neighbourhood of this
most interesting decadent--2 mean some one ho ould have felt the poignant $harm of su$h a
$ompound of the sublime) the morbid and the $hildish. In the last analysis) the type) as a type of the
decadence, may a$tually have been pe$uliarly $omple. and $ontradi$tory# su$h a possibility is not
to be lost sight of. /evertheless) the probabilities seem to be against it) for in that $ase tradition
ould have been parti$ularly a$$urate and ob@e$tive) hereas e have reasons for assuming the
$ontrary. ?eanhile) there is a $ontradi$tion beteen the pea$eful prea$her of the mount) the sea&
shore and the fields) ho appears like a ne ;uddha on a soil very unlike India6s) and the
aggressive fanati$) the mortal enemy of theologians and e$$lesiasti$s) ho stands glorified by
2enan6s mali$e as 0le grand maitre en ironie.0 I myself haven6t any doubt that the greater part of
this venom =and no less of esprit1 got itself into the $on$ept of the ?aster only as a result of the
e.$ited nature of 8hristian propaganda# e all kno the uns$rupulousness of se$tarians hen they
set out to turn their leader into an apologia for themselves. 9hen the early 8hristians had need of
an adroit) $ontentious) pugna$ious and mali$iously subtle theologian to ta$kle other theologians)
they created a !god! that met that need) @ust as they put into his mouth ithout hesitation $ertain
ideas that ere ne$essary to them but that ere utterly at odds ith the Aospels&&!the se$ond
$oming)! !the last @udgment)! all sorts of e.pe$tations and promises) $urrent at the time.&&
2.
I $an only repeat that I set myself against all efforts to intrude the fanati$ into the figure of the
(aviour# the very ord imperieu#, used by 2enan) is alone enough to annul the type. 9hat the
!glad tidings! tell us is simply that there are no more $ontradi$tions, the kingdom of heaven
belongs to children; the faith that is voi$ed here is no more an embattled faith&&it is at hand) it has
been from the beginning) it is a sort of re$rudes$ent $hildishness of the spirit. The physiologists) at
all events) are familiar ith su$h a delayed and in$omplete puberty in the living organism) the
result of degeneration. 0 faith of this sort is not furious) it does not denoun$e) it does not defend
itself# it does not $ome ith !the sord!&&it does not reali1e ho it ill one day set man against
man. It does not manifest itself either by mira$les) or by reards and promises) or by !s$riptures!#
it is itself) first and last) its on mira$le) its on reard) its on promise) its on !kingdom of
Aod.! This faith does not formulate itself&&it simply lives, and so guards itself against formulae. To
be sure) the a$$ident of environment) of edu$ational ba$kground gives prominen$e to $on$epts of a
$ertain sort# in primitive 8hristianity one finds only $on$epts of a Gudaeo&&(emiti$ $hara$ter =&&that
of eating and drinking at the last supper belongs to this $ategory&&an idea hi$h) like everything
else Geish) has been badly mauled by the $hur$h>. ;ut let us be $areful not to see in all this
anything more than symboli$al language) semanti$s
K
an opportunity to speak in parables. It is only
on the theory that no ork is to be taken literally that this anti&realist is able to speak at all. (et
don among +indus he ould have made use of the $on$epts of (ankhya)
H
and among 8hinese he
ould have employed those of :ao&tse
8
&&and in neither $ase ould it have made any differen$e to
him.&&9ith a little freedom in the use of ords) one might a$tually $all Gesus a !free spirit!
9
&&he
$ares nothing for hat is established# the ord +illeth,
10
a hatever is established +illeth. 6The idea
of !life! as an e#perience, as he alone $on$eives it) stands opposed to his mind to every sort of
ord) formula) la) belief and dogma. +e speaks only of inner things# !life! or !truth! or !light! is
his ord for the innermost&&in his sight everything else) the hole of reality) all nature) even
language) has signifi$an$e only as sign) as allegory. &&+ere it is of paramount importan$e to be led
into no error by the temptations lying in 8hristian) or rather ecclesiastical pre@udi$es# su$h a
symbolism par e#cellence stands outside all religion) all notions of orship) all history) all natural
s$ien$e) all orldly e.perien$e) all knoledge) all politi$s) all psy$hology) all books) all art&&his
!isdom! is pre$isely a pure ignorance
11
of all su$h things. +e has never heard of culture; he
doesn6t have to make ar on it&&he doesn6t even deny it. . . The same thing may be said of the state)
of the hole bourgeoise so$ial order) of labour) of ar&&he has no ground for denying! the orld)!
for he knos nothing of the e$$lesiasti$al $on$ept of !the orld! . . . 3enial is pre$isely the thing
that is impossible to him.&&In the same ay he la$ks argumentative $apa$ity) and has no belief that
an arti$le of faith) a !truth)! may be established by proofs .--his proofs are inner !lights)! sub@e$tive
sensations of happiness and self&approval) simple !proofs of poer!&&>. (u$h a do$trine cannot
$ontradi$t# it doesn6t kno that other do$trines e.ist) or can e.ist) and is holly in$apable of
imagining anything opposed to it. . . If anything of the sort is ever en$ountered) it laments the
!blindness! ith sin$ere sympathy&&for it alone has !light!&&but it does not offer ob@e$tions . . .
.
In the hole psy$hology of the !Aospels! the $on$epts of guilt and punishment are la$king) and so
is that of reard. !(in)! hi$h means anything that puts a distan$e beteen Aod and man) is
abolished&&this is precisely the 0glad tidings.0 *ternal bliss is not merely promised) nor is it bound
up ith $onditions# it is $on$eived as the only reality&&hat remains $onsists merely of signs useful
in speaking of it.
The results of su$h a point of vie pro@e$t themselves into a ne way of life, the spe$ial
evangeli$al ay of life. It is not a !belief! that marks off the 8hristian, he is distinguished by a
different mode of a$tion, he a$ts differently. +e offers no resistan$e) either by ord or in his heart)
to those ho stand against him. +e dras no distin$tion beteen strangers and $ountrymen) Ges
and Aentiles =!neighbour)! of $ourse) means fello&believer) Ge>. +e is angry ith no one) and he
despises no one. +e neither appeals to the $ourts of @usti$e nor heeds their mandates =!(ear not at
all!> .
12
+e never under any $ir$umstan$es divor$es his ife) even hen he has proofs of her
infidelity.&&0nd under all of this is one prin$iple, all of it arises from one instin$t.&&
The life of the (aviour as simply a $arrying out of this ay of life&&and so as his death. . . +e no
longer needed any formula or ritual in his relations ith Aod&&not even prayer. +e had re@e$ted the
hole of the Geish do$trine of repentan$e and atonement, he +new that it as only by a way of
life that one $ould feel one6s self !divine)! !blessed)! !evangeli$al)! a !$hild of Aod.!4ot by
!repentan$e)!not by !prayer and forgiveness! is the ay to Aod# only the 'ospel way leads to
Aod&&it is itself !Aod4!&&9hat the Aospels abolished as the Gudaism in the $on$epts of !sin)!
!forgiveness of sin)! !faith)! !salvation through faith!&&the holeecclesiastical dogma of the Ges
as denied by the !glad tidings.!
The deep instin$t hi$h prompts the 8hristian ho to live so that he ill feel that he is !in heaven!
and is !immortal)! despite many reasons for feeling that he isnot !in heaven!# this is the only
psy$hologi$al reality in !salvation.!&&0 ne ay of life) not a ne faith.
!.
If I understand anything at all about this great symbolist) it is this# that he regarded only sub"ective
realities as realities) as !truths!&&hat he saw everything else) everything natural) temporal) spatial
and histori$al) merely as signs) as materials for parables. The $on$ept of !the (on of Aod! does not
$onnote a $on$rete person in history) an isolated and definite individual) but an !eternal! fa$t) a
psy$hologi$al symbol set free from the $on$ept of time. The same thing is true) and in the highest
sense) of the Aod of this typi$al symbolist) of the !kingdom of Aod)! and of the !sonship of Aod.!
/othing $ould he more un&8hristian than the crude ecclesiastical notions of Aod as a person, of a
!kingdom of Aod! that is to $ome) of a !kingdom of heaven! beyond) and of a !son of Aod! as the
second person of the Trinity. 0ll this&&if I may be forgiven the phrase&&is like thrusting one6s fist
into the eye =and hat an eye4> of the Aospels# a disrespe$t for symbols amounting to world-
historical cynicism. . . .;ut it is nevertheless obvious enough hat is meant by the symbols
!'ather! and !(on!&&not) of $ourse) to every one&&# the ord !(on! e.presses entrance into the
feeling that there is a general transformation of all things =beatitude>) and !'ather! e.presses that
feeling itself--the sensation of eternity and of perfe$tion.&&I am ashamed to remind you of hat the
$hur$h has made of this symbolism# has it not set an 0mphitryon story
1I
at the threshold of the
8hristian !faith!% 0nd a dogma of !imma$ulate $on$eption! for good measure% . . &&And thereby it
has robbed conception of its immaculateness--
The !kingdom of heaven! is a state of the heart&&not something to $ome !beyond the orld! or
!after death.! The hole idea of natural death is absent from the Aospels# death is not a bridge) not
a passing, it is absent be$ause it belongs to a -uite different) a merely apparent orld) useful only
as a symbol. The !hour of death! isnot a 8hristian idea&&!hours)! time) the physi$al life and its
$rises have no e.isten$e for the bearer of !glad tidings.! . . .
The !kingdom of Aod! is not something that men ait for# it had no yesterday and no day after
tomorro) it is not going to $ome at a !millennium!&&it is an e.perien$e of the heart) it is
everyhere and it is nohere. . . .
".
This !bearer of glad tidings! died as he lived and taught--not to !save mankind)! but to sho
mankind ho to live. It as a way of life that he be-ueathed to man# his demeanour before the
@udges) before the offi$ers) before his a$$users&&his demeanour on the cross. +e does not resist, he
does not defend his rights, he makes no effort to ard off the most e.treme penalty&&more) he
invites it. . . 0nd he prays) suffers and loves with those) in those) ho do him evil . . . 4ot to defend
one6s self) not to sho anger) not to lay blames. . . 5n the $ontrary) to submit even to the *vil 5ne&&
to love him. . . .
#.
&&9e free spirits&&e are the first to have the ne$essary prere-uisite to understanding hat nineteen
$enturies have misunderstood&&that instin$t and passion for integrity hi$h makes ar upon the
!holy lie! even more than upon all other lies. . . ?ankind as unspeakably far from our benevolent
and $autious neutrality) from that dis$ipline of the spirit hi$h alone makes possible the solution of
su$h strange and subtle things# hat men alays sought) ith shameless egoism) as their own
advantage therein, they $reated the church out of denial of the Aospels. . . .
9hoever sought for signs of an ironi$al divinity6s hand in the great drama of e.isten$e ould find
no small indi$ation thereof in the stupendous ,uestion-mar+ that is $alled 8hristianity. That
mankind should be on its knees before the very antithesis of hat as the origin) the meaning and
the law of the Aospels&&that in the $on$ept of the !$hur$h! the very things should be pronoun$ed
holy that the !bearer of glad tidings! regards as beneath him and behind him&&it ould be
impossible to surpass this as a grand e.ample of orld&histori$al irony&&
$.
&&5ur age is proud of its histori$al sense# ho) then) $ould it delude itself into believing that the
crude fable of the wonder-wor+er and )aviour $onstituted the beginnings of 8hristianity&&and that
everything spiritual and symboli$al in it only $ame later% Duite to the $ontrary) the hole history of
8hristianity&&from the death on the $ross onard&&is the history of a progressively $lumsier
misunderstanding of an original symbolism. 9ith every e.tension of 8hristianity among larger and
ruder masses) even less $apable of grasping the prin$iples that gave birth to it) the need arose to
make it more and more vulgar and barbarous&&it absorbed the tea$hings and rites of all the
subterranean $ults of the imperium omanum, and the absurdities engendered by all sorts of si$kly
reasoning. It as the fate of 8hristianity that its faith had to be$ome as si$kly) as lo and as vulgar
as the needs ere si$kly) lo and vulgar to hi$h it had to administer. 0 sic+ly barbarism finally
lifts itself to poer as the $hur$h&&the $hur$h) that in$arnation of deadly hostility to all honesty) to
all loftiness of soul) to all dis$ipline of the spirit) to all spontaneous and kindly humanity.--
&hristian values&&noble values# it is only e) e free spirits) ho have re&established this greatest
of all antitheses in values4. . . .
%.
&&I $annot) at this pla$e) avoid a sigh. There are days hen I am visited by a feeling bla$ker than
the bla$kest melan$holy&&contempt of man. :et me leave no doubt as to what I despise) whom I
despise# it is the man of today) the man ith hom I am unhappily $ontemporaneous. The man of
today&&I am suffo$ated by his foul breath4 . . . Toard the past) like all ho understand) I am full of
toleran$e) hi$h is to say) generous self&$ontrol# ith gloomy $aution I pass through hole
millenniums of this mad house of a orld) $all it !8hristianity)! !8hristian faith! or the !8hristian
$hur$h)! as you ill&&I take $are not to hold mankind responsible for its luna$ies. ;ut my feeling
$hanges and breaks out irresistibly the moment I enter modern times)our times. 5ur age +nows
better. . . 9hat as formerly merely si$kly no be$omes inde$ent&&it is inde$ent to be a 8hristian
today. And here my disgust begins.&&I look about me# not a ord survives of hat as on$e $alled
!truth!, e $an no longer bear to hear a priest pronoun$e the ord. *ven a man ho makes the
most modest pretensions to integrity must kno that a theologian) a priest) a pope of today not only
errs hen he speaks) but a$tually lies--and that he no longer es$apes blame for his lie through
!inno$en$e! or !ignoran$e.! The priest knos) as every one knos) that there is no longer any
!Aod)! or any !sinner)! or any !(aviour!&&that !free ill! and the !moral order of the orld! are
lies&&# serious refle$tion) the profound self&$on-uest of the spirit)allow no man to pretend that he
does not kno it. . . All the ideas of the $hur$h are no re$ogni1ed for hat they are&&as the orst
$ounterfeits in e.isten$e) invented to debase nature and all natural values, the priest himself is seen
as he a$tually is&&as the most dangerous form of parasite) as the venomous spider of $reation. . & &
9e kno) our conscience no knos&&@ust what the real value of all those sinister inventions of
priest and $hur$h has been and what ends they have served, ith their debasement of humanity to a
state of self&pollution) the very sight of hi$h e.$ites loathing)&&the $on$epts !the other orld)!
!the last @udgment)! !the immortality of the soul)! the !soul! itself# they are all merely so many in
instruments of torture) systems of $ruelty) hereby the priest be$omes master and remains master. .
.*very one knos this)but nevertheless things remain as before. 9hat has be$ome of the last tra$e
of de$ent feeling) of self&respe$t) hen our statesmen) otherise an un$onventional $lass of men
and thoroughly anti&8hristian in their a$ts) no $all themselves 8hristians and go to the
$ommunion table% . . . 0 prin$e at the head of his armies) magnifi$ent as the e.pression of the
egoism and arrogan$e of his people&&and yet a$knoledging) without any shame) that he is a
8hristian4 . . . 9hom) then) does 8hristianity deny% what does it $all !the orld!% To be a soldier,
to be a @udge) to be a patriot, to defend one6s self, to be $areful of one6s honour, to desire one6s on
advantage, to be proud . . . every a$t of everyday) every instin$t) every valuation that shos itself
in a deed, is no anti&8hristian# hat a monster of falsehood the modern man must be to $all
himself nevertheless) and without shame) a 8hristian4&&
&.
&&I shall go ba$k a bit) and tell you the authentic history of 8hristianity.&&The very ord
!8hristianity! is a misunderstanding&&at bottom there as only one 8hristian) and he died on the
$ross. The !Aospels! died on the $ross. 9hat) from that moment onard) as $alled the !Aospels!
as the very reverse of hat he had lived# !bad tidings)! a 3ysangelium.
1J
It is an error amounting
to nonsensi$ality to see in !faith)! and parti$ularly in faith in salvation through 8hrist) the
distinguishing mark of the 8hristian# only the 8hristian way of life, the life lived by him ho died
on the $ross) is 8hristian. . . To this day such a life is still possible) and for certain men even
ne$essary# genuine) primitive 8hristianity ill remain possible in all ages. . . . 4ot faith) but a$ts,
above all) an avoidance of a$ts) a different state of being. . . . (tates of $ons$iousness) faith of a
sort) the a$$eptan$e) for e.ample) of anything as true&&as every psy$hologist knos) the value of
these things is perfe$tly indifferent and fifth&rate $ompared to that of the instin$ts# stri$tly
speaking) the hole $on$ept of intelle$tual $ausality is false. To redu$e being a 8hristian) the state
of 8hristianity) to an a$$eptan$e of truth) to a mere phenomenon of $ons$iousness) is to formulate
the negation of 8hristianity. 2n fact, there are no &hristians. The !8hristian!&&he ho for to
thousand years has passed as a 8hristian&&is simply a psy$hologi$al self&delusion. 8losely
e.amined) it appears that) despite all his !faith)! he has been ruled only by his instin$ts&&and what
instincts!--In all ages&&for e.ample) in the $ase of :uther&&!faith! has been no more than a $loak) a
pretense) a curtain behind hi$h the instin$ts have played their game&&a shred blindness to the
domination of certain of the instin$ts . . .I have already $alled !faith! the spe$ially 8hristian form
of shrewdness--people alays tal+ of their !faith! and act a$$ording to their instin$ts. . . In the
orld of ideas of the 8hristian there is nothing that so mu$h as tou$hes reality# on the $ontrary) one
re$ogni1es an instin$tive hatred of reality as the motive poer) the only motive poer at the
bottom of 8hristianity. 9hat follos therefrom% That even here) in psychologicis, there is a radi$al
error) hi$h is to say one $onditioning fundamentals) hi$h is to say) one in substance. Take aay
one idea and put a genuine reality in its pla$e&&and the hole of 8hristianity $rumbles to
nothingness 4&&3ieed $almly) this strangest of all phenomena) a religion not only depending on
errors) but inventive and ingenious only in devising in@urious errors) poisonous to life and to the
heart&&this remains a spectacle for the gods&&for those gods ho are also philosophers) and hom I
have en$ountered) for e.ample) in the $elebrated dialogues at /a.os. 0t the moment hen their
disgust leaves them =&&and us4> they ill be thankful for the spe$ta$le afforded by the 8hristians#
perhaps be$ause of this $urious e.hibition alone the ret$hed little planet $alled the earth deserves
a glan$e from omnipoten$e) a sho of divine interest. . . . Therefore) let us not underestimate the
8hristians# the 8hristian) false to the point of innocence, is far above the ape&&in its appli$ation to
the 8hristians a ell&&knon theory of des$ent be$omes a mere pie$e of politeness. . . .
!'.
&&The fate of the Aospels as de$ided by death&&it hung on the !$ross.!. . . It as only death) that
une.pe$ted and shameful death, it as only the $ross) hi$h as usually reserved for the $anaille
only&&it as only this appalling parado. hi$h brought the dis$iples fa$e to fa$e ith the real
riddle# !9ho was it? what was it?0--The feeling of dismay) of profound affront and in@ury, the
suspi$ion that su$h a death might involve a refutation of their $ause, the terrible -uestion) !9hy
@ust in this ay%!&&this state of mind is only too easy to understand. +ere everything must be
a$$ounted for as ne$essary, everything must have a meaning) a reason) the highest sort of reason,
the love of a dis$iple e.$ludes all $han$e. 5nly then did the $hasm of doubt yan# 05ho put him to
death% ho as his natural enemy%!&&this -uestion flashed like a lightning&stroke. 0nser#
dominant Gudaism) its ruling $lass. 'rom that moment) one found one6s self in revolt against the
established order) and began to understand Gesus as in revolt against the established order. Bntil
then this militant) this nay&saying) nay&doing element in his $hara$ter had been la$king, hat is
more) he had appeared to present its opposite. 5bviously) the little $ommunity had not understood
hat as pre$isely the most important thing of all# the e.ample offered by this ay of dying) the
freedom from and superiority to every feeling of ressentiment--a plain indi$ation of ho little he
as understood at all4 0ll that Gesus $ould hope to a$$omplish by his death) in itself) as to offer
the strongest possible proof) or e#ample, of his tea$hings in the most publi$ manner. ;ut his
dis$iples ere very far from forgiving his death&&though to have done so ould have a$$orded ith
the Aospels in the highest degree, and neither ere they prepared to offer themselves) ith gentle
and serene $almness of heart) for a similar death. . . . 5n the $ontrary) it as pre$isely the most
unevangeli$al of feelings) revenge, that no possessed them. It seemed impossible that the $ause
should perish ith his death# !re$ompense! and !@udgment! be$ame ne$essary =&&yet hat $ould be
less evangeli$al than !re$ompense)! !punishment)! and !sitting in @udgment!4> &&5n$e more the
popular belief in the $oming of a messiah appeared in the foreground, attention as riveted upon
an histori$al moment# the !kingdom of Aod! is to $ome) ith @udgment upon his enemies. . . ;ut in
all this there as a holesale misunderstanding# imagine the !kingdom of Aod! as a last a$t) as a
mere promise4 The Aospels had been) in fa$t) the in$arnation) the fulfillment) thereali%ation of this
!kingdom of Aod.! It as only no that all the familiar $ontempt for and bitterness against
Pharisees and theologians began to appear in the $hara$ter of the ?aster as thereby turned into a
Pharisee and theologian himself4 5n the other hand) the savage veneration of these $ompletely
unbalan$ed souls $ould no longer endure the Aospel do$trine) taught by Gesus) of the e-ual right of
all men to be $hildren of Aod# their revenge took the form of elevating Gesus in an e.travagant
fashion) and thus separating him from themselves# @ust as) in earlier times) the Ges) to revenge
themselves upon their enemies) separated themselves from their Aod) and pla$ed him on a great
height. The 5ne Aod and the 5nly (on of Aod# both ere produ$ts of resentment . . . .
!1.
&&0nd from that time onard an absurd problem offered itself# !ho could Aod allo it4! To hi$h
the deranged reason of the little $ommunity formulated an anser that as terrifying in its
absurdity# Aod gave his son as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. 0t on$e there as an end of
the gospels4 (a$rifi$e for sin) and in its most obno.ious and barbarous form# sa$rifi$e of the
innocent for the sins of the guilty4 9hat appalling paganism 4&&Gesus himself had done aay ith
the very $on$ept of !guilt)! he denied that there as any gulf fi.ed beteen Aod and man, he lived
this unity beteen Aod and man) and that as pre$isely his !glad tidings!. . . 0nd not as a mere
privilege4&&'rom this time forard the type of the (aviour as $orrupted) bit by bit) by the do$trine
of @udgment and of the se$ond $oming) the do$trine of death as a sa$rifi$e) the do$trine of the
resurrection, by means of hi$h the entire $on$ept of !blessedness)! the hole and only reality of
the gospels) is @uggled aay&&in favour of a state of e.isten$e after death4 . . . (t. Paul) ith that
rabbini$al impuden$e hi$h shos itself in all his doings) gave a logi$al -uality to that $on$eption)
that indecent $on$eption) in this ay# 02f 8hrist did not rise from the dead) then all our faith is in
vain4!&&0nd at on$e there sprang from the Aospels the most $ontemptible of all unfulfillable
promises) the shameless do$trine of personal immortality. . . Paul even prea$hed it as a reward . . .
!2.
5ne no begins to see @ust what it as that $ame to an end ith the death on the $ross# a ne and
thoroughly original effort to found a ;uddhisti$ pea$e movement) and so establish happiness on
earth--real) not merely promised. 'or this remains&&as I have already pointed out&&the essential
differen$e beteen the to religions of decadence: ;uddhism promises nothing) but a$tually
fulfills, 8hristianity promises everything) but fulfills nothing.&&+ard upon the heels of the !glad
tidings! $ame the orst imaginable# those of Paul. In Paul is in$arnated the very opposite of the
!bearer of glad tidings!, he represents the genius for hatred) the vision of hatred) the relentless
logi$ of hatred. 5hat, indeed) has not this dysangelist sa$rifi$ed to hatred4 0bove all) the (aviour#
he nailed him to his own $ross. The life) the e.ample) the tea$hing) the death of 8hrist) the meaning
and the la of the hole gospels&&nothing as left of all this after that $ounterfeiter in hatred had
redu$ed it to his uses. (urely not reality, surely not histori$al truth4 . . . 5n$e more the priestly
instin$t of the Ge perpetrated the same old master $rime against history&&he simply stru$k out the
yesterday and the day before yesterday of 8hristianity) and invented his own history of &hristian
beginnings. Aoing further) he treated the history of Israel to another falsifi$ation) so that it be$ame
a mere prologue to his a$hievement# all the prophets) it no appeared) had referred to his
!(aviour.! . . . :ater on the $hur$h even falsified the history of man in order to make it a prologue
to 8hristianity . . . The figure of the (aviour) his tea$hing) his ay of life) his death) the meaning of
his death) even the $onse-uen$es of his death&&nothing remained untou$hed) nothing remained in
even remote $onta$t ith reality. Paul simply shifted the $entre of gravity of that hole life to a
pla$e behind this e.isten$e&&in the lie of the !risen! Gesus. 0t bottom) he had no use for the life of
the (aviour&&hat he needed as the death on the $ross) and something more. To see anything
honest in su$h a man as Paul) hose home as at the $entre of the (toi$al enlightenment) hen he
$onverts an hallu$ination into a proof of the resurre$tion of the (aviour) or even to believe his tale
that he suffered from this hallu$ination himself&&this ould be a genuine niaiserie in a
psy$hologist. Paul illed the end, therefore he also illed the means. &&9hat he himself didn6t
believe as salloed readily enough by the idiots among hom he spread his tea$hing.&&9hat he
anted as poer, in Paul the priest on$e more rea$hed out for poer&&he had use only for su$h
$on$epts) tea$hings and symbols as served the purpose of tyranni1ing over the masses and
organi1ing mobs. 5hat as the only part of 8hristianity that ?ohammed borroed later on% Paul6s
invention) his devi$e for establishing priestly tyranny and organi1ing the mob# the belief in the
immortality of the soul&&that is to say, the doctrine of 0"udgment0.
!.
9hen the $entre of gravity of life is pla$ed) not in life itself) but in !the beyond!&&in nothingness--
then one has taken aay its $entre of gravity altogether. The vast lie of personal immortality
destroys all reason) all natural instin$t&&hen$eforth) everything in the instin$ts that is benefi$ial) that
fosters life and that safeguards the future is a $ause of suspi$ion. (o to live that life no longer has
any meaning# this is no the !meaning! of life. . . . 9hy be publi$&spirited% 9hy take any pride in
des$ent and forefathers% 9hy labour together) trust one another) or $on$ern one6s self about the
$ommon elfare) and try to serve it% . . . ?erely so many !temptations)! so many strayings from
the !straight path.!&&0One thing only is ne$essary!. . . That every man) be$ause he has an !immortal
soul)! is as good as every other man, that in an infinite universe of things the !salvation! of every
individual may lay $laim to eternal importan$e, that insignifi$ant bigots and the three&fourths
insane may assume that the las of nature are $onstantly suspended in their behalf&&it is impossible
to lavish too mu$h $ontempt upon su$h a magnifi$ation of every sort of selfishness to infinity) to
insolence. 0nd yet 8hristianity has to thank pre$isely this miserable flattery of personal vanity for
its triumph--it as thus that it lured all the bot$hed) the dissatisfied) the fallen upon evil days) the
hole refuse and off&s$ouring of humanity to its side. The !salvation of the soul!&&in plain *nglish#
!the orld revolves around me.! . . . The poisonous do$trine) 0e,ual rights for all)! has been
propagated as a 8hristian prin$iple# out of the se$ret nooks and $rannies of bad instin$t 8hristianity
has aged a deadly ar upon all feelings of reveren$e and distan$e beteen man and man) hi$h
is to say) upon the first prere,uisite to every step upard) to every development of $ivili1ation&&out
of the ressentiment of the masses it has forged its $hief eapons against us, against everything
noble) @oyous and high spirited on earth) against our happiness on earth . . . To allo !immortality!
to every Peter and Paul as the greatest) the most vi$ious outrage upon noble humanity ever
perpetrated.--And let us not underestimate the fatal influen$e that 8hristianity has had) even upon
politi$s4 /oadays no one has $ourage any more for spe$ial rights) for the right of dominion) for
feelings of honourable pride in himself and his e-uals&&for the pathos of distance. . . 5ur politi$s is
si$k ith this la$k of $ourage4&&The aristo$rati$ attitude of mind has been undermined by the lie of
the e-uality of souls, and if belief in the !privileges of the ma@ority! makes and will continue to
ma+e revolution&&it is 8hristianity) let us not doubt) and &hristian valuations) hi$h $onvert every
revolution into a $arnival of blood and $rime4 8hristianity is a revolt of all $reatures that $reep on
the ground against everything that is lofty# the gospel of the !loly! lowers . . .
!!.
&&The gospels are invaluable as eviden$e of the $orruption that as already persistent within the
primitive $ommunity. That hi$h Paul) ith the $yni$al logi$ of a rabbi) later developed to a
$on$lusion as at bottom merely a pro$ess of de$ay that had begun ith the death of the (aviour.&&
These gospels $annot be read too $arefully, diffi$ulties lurk behind every ord. I $onfess&&I hope it
ill not be held against me&&that it is pre$isely for this reason that they offer first&rate @oy to a
psy$hologist&&as the opposite of all merely naive $orruption) as refinement par e#cellence, as an
artisti$ triumph in psy$hologi$al $orruption. The gospels) in fa$t) stand alone. The ;ible as a hole
is not to be $ompared to them. +ere e are among Ges# this is the first thing to be borne in mind
if e are not to lose the thread of the matter. This positive genius for $on@uring up a delusion of
personal !holiness! unmat$hed anyhere else) either in books or by men, this elevation of fraud in
ord and attitude to the level of an art--all this is not an a$$ident due to the $han$e talents of an
individual) or to any violation of nature. The thing responsible is race. The hole of Gudaism
appears in 8hristianity as the art of $on$o$ting holy lies) and there) after many $enturies of earnest
Geish training and hard pra$ti$e of Geish te$hni$) the business $omes to the stage of mastery. The
8hristian) that ultima ratio of lying) is the Ge all over again&&he is threefold the Ge. . . The
underlying ill to make use only of su$h $on$epts) symbols and attitudes as fit into priestly
pra$ti$e) the instin$tive repudiation of every other mode of thought) and every other method of
estimating values and utilities&&this is not only tradition) it is inheritance: only as an inheritan$e is
it able to operate ith the for$e of nature. The hole of mankind) even the best minds of the best
ages =ith one e.$eption) perhaps hardly human&&>) have permitted themselves to be de$eived. The
gospels have been read as a boo+ of innocence. . . surely no small indi$ation of the high skill ith
hi$h the tri$k has been done.&&5f $ourse) if e $ould a$tually see these astounding bigots and
bogus saints) even if only for an instant) the far$e ould $ome to an end)&&and it is pre$isely
be$ause 2 $annot read a ord of theirs ithout seeing their attitudini1ing that 2 have made am end
of them. . . . I simply $annot endure the ay they have of rolling up their eyes.&&'or the ma@ority)
happily enough) books are mere literature.&&:et us not be led astray# they say !@udge not)! and yet
they $ondemn to hell hoever stands in their ay. In letting Aod sit in @udgment they @udge
themselves, in glorifying Aod they glorify themselves, in demanding that every one sho the
virtues hi$h they themselves happen to be $apable of&&still more) hi$h they must have in order
to remain on top&&they assume the grand air of men struggling for virtue) of men engaging in a ar
that virtue may prevail. !9e live) e die) e sa$rifi$e ourselves for the good0 =&&!the truth)! !the
light)! !the kingdom of Aod!># in point of fa$t) they simply do hat they $annot help doing.
'or$ed) like hypo$rites) to be sneaky) to hide in $orners) to slink along in the shados) they $onvert
their ne$essity into aduty: it is on grounds of duty that they a$$ount for their lives of humility) and
that humility be$omes merely one more proof of their piety. . . 0h) that humble) $haste) $haritable
brand of fraud4 !3irtue itself shall bear itness for us.!. . . . 5ne may read the gospels as books of
moral sedu$tion# these petty folks fasten themselves to morality&&they kno the uses of morality4
?orality is the best of all devi$es for leading mankind by the nose!&&The fa$t is that the $ons$ious
$on$eit of the $hosen here disguises itself as modesty# it is in this ay that they) the !$ommunity)!
the !good and @ust)! range themselves) on$e and for always, on one side) the side of !the truth!&&
and the rest of mankind) !the orld)! on the other. . . In that e observe the most fatal sort of
megalomania that the earth has ever seen# little abortions of bigots and liars began to $laim
e.$lusive rights in the $on$epts of !Aod)! !the truth)! !the light)! !the spirit)! !love)! !isdom! and
!life)! as if these things ere synonyms of themselves and thereby they sought to fen$e themselves
off from the !orld!, little super&Ges) ripe for some sort of madhouse) turned values upside don
in order to meet their notions) @ust as if the 8hristian ere the meaning) the salt) the standard and
even thelast "udgment of all the rest. . . . The hole disaster as only made possible by the fa$t that
there already e.isted in the orld a similar megalomania) allied to this one in ra$e) to it) the
-ewish: on$e a $hasm began to yan beteen Ges and Gudaeo&8hristians) the latter had no $hoi$e
but to employ the self&preservative measures that the Geish instin$t had devised) even against the
Ges themselves) hereas the Ges had employed them only against non&Ges. The 8hristian is
simply a Ge of the !reformed! $onfession.&&
!".
&&I offer a fe e.amples of the sort of thing these petty people have got into their heads&&hat they
have put into the mouth of the ?aster# the unalloyed $reed of !beautiful souls.!&&
!0nd hosoever shall not re$eive you) nor hear you) hen ye depart then$e) shake off the dust
under your feet for a testimony against them. 3erily I say unto you) it shall be more tolerable for
(odom and Aomorrha in the day of @udgment) than for that $ity! =?ark vi) 11>&&+o evangelical!
!0nd hosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me) it is better for him that a
millstone ere hanged about his ne$k) and he ere $ast into the sea! =?ark i.) J2> .&&+o
evangelical! --
!0nd if thine eye offend thee) plu$k it out# it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of Aod
ith one eye) than having to eyes to be $ast into hell fire, 9here the orm dieth not) and the fire
is not -uen$hed.! =?ark i.) JH>
15
&&It is not e.a$tly the eye that is meant.
!3erily I say unto you) That there be some of them that stand here) hi$h shall not taste death) till
they have seen the kingdom of Aod $ome ith poer.! =?ark i.) 1.>&&9ell lied, lion4
1K
. . . .
!9hosoever ill $ome after me) let him deny himself) and take up his $ross) and follo me.
6or . . .0 .4ote of a psychologist. 8hristian morality is refuted by its fors: its reasons are against
it)&&this makes it 8hristian.> ?ark viii) IJ.&&
!Gudge not) that ye be not @udged. 9ith hat measure ye mete) it shall be measured to you again.!
=?atthe vii) l.>
1H
&&9hat a notion of @usti$e) of a !@ust! @udge4 . . .
!'or if ye love them hi$h love you) hat reard have ye% do not even the publi$ans the same%
0nd if ye salute your brethren only) hat do ye more than others? do not even the publi$ans so%!
=?atthe 3) JK.>
18
&&Prin$iple of !8hristian love!# it insists upon being ell paid in the end. . . .
!;ut if ye forgive not men their trespasses) neither ill your 'ather forgive your trespasses.!
=?atthe vi) 15.>&&3ery $ompromising for the said !father.!
!;ut seek ye first the kingdom of Aod) and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added
unto you.! =?atthe vi) II.>&&0ll these things# namely) food) $lothing) all the ne$essities of life. 0n
error, to put it mildly. . . . 0 bit before this Aod appears as a tailor) at least in $ertain $ases.
!2e@oi$e ye in that day) and leap for @oy# for) behold) your reard is great in heaven# for in the like
manner did their fathers unto the prophets.! =:uke vi) 78.1--2mpudent rabble4 It $ompares itself to
the prophets. . .
!Cno yea not that yea are the temple of Aod) and that the spirit of Aod delt in you% If any man
defile the temple of Aod) him shall 'od destroy; for the temple of Aod is holy) which temple yea
are.0 =Paul) 1 8orinthians iii) 1K.>
19
&&'or that sort of thing one $annot have enough $ontempt. . . .
!7o yea not kno that the saints shall @udge the orld% and if the orld shall be @udged by you) are
yea unorthy to @udge the smallest matters%! =Paul) 1 8orinthians vi) 2.>&&Bnfortunately) not
merely the spee$h of a lunati$. . .
This frightful impostor then pro$eeds# !Cno yea not that e shall @udge angels% ho mu$h more
things that pertain to this life%!. . .
!+at not Aod made foolish the isdom of this orld% 'or after that in the isdom of Aod the
orld by isdom kne not Aod) it pleased Aod by the foolishness of prea$hing to save them that
believe. . . . /ot many ise men after the flesh) not men mighty) not many noble are called: ;ut
Aod hat $hosen the foolish things of the orld to $onfound the ise, and Aod hat $hosen the eak
things of the orld $onfound the things hi$h are mighty, 0nd base things of the orld) and things
hi$h are despised) hat Aod $hosen) yea, and things hi$h are not) to bring to nought things that
are# That no flesh should glory in his presen$e.! =Paul) 1 8orinthians i) 20ff.>
20
&&In order to
understand this passage) a first rate e.ample of the psy$hology underlying every 8handala&
morality) one should read the first part of my !Aenealogy of ?orals!# there) for the first time) the
antagonism beteen a noble morality and a morality born of ressentiment and impotent
vengefulness is e.hibited. Paul as the greatest of all apostles of revenge. . . .
!#.
--5hat follows, then? That one had better put on gloves before reading the /e Testament. The
presen$e of so mu$h filth makes it very advisable. 5ne ould as little $hoose !early 8hristians! for
$ompanions as Polish Ges# not that one need seek out an ob@e$tion to them . . . /either has a
pleasant smell.&&I have sear$hed the /e Testament in vain for a single sympatheti$ tou$h, nothing
is there that is free) kindly) open&hearted or upright. In it humanity does not even make the first step
upard&&the instin$t for cleanliness is la$king. . . . 5nly evil instin$ts are there) and there is not
even the $ourage of these evil instin$ts. It is all $oardi$e, it is all a shutting of the eyes) a self&
de$eption. *very other book be$omes $lean) on$e one has read the /e Testament# for e.ample)
immediately after reading Paul I took up ith delight that most $harming and anton of s$offers)
Petronius) of hom one may say hat 7omeni$o ;o$$a$$io rote of 8easar ;orgia to the 7uke of
Parma# 0e tutto 2esto0--immortally healthy) immortally $heerful and sound. . . .These petty bigots
make a $apital mis$al$ulation. They atta$k) but everything they atta$k is thereby distinguished.
9hoever is atta$ked by an !early 8hristian! is surely not befouled . . . 5n the $ontrary) it is an
honour to have an !early 8hristian! as an opponent. 5ne $annot read the /e Testament ithout
a$-uired admiration for hatever it abuses&&not to speak of the !isdom of this orld)! hi$h an
impudent ind bag tries to dispose of !by the foolishness of prea$hing.! . . . *ven the s$ribes and
pharisees are benefitted by su$h opposition# they must $ertainly have been orth something to
have been hated in su$h an inde$ent manner. +ypo$risy&&as if this ere a $harge that the !early
8hristians! dared to make4&&0fter all) they ere the privileged, and that as enough# the hatred of
the 8handala needed no other e.$use. The !early 8hristian!&&and also) I fear) the !last 8hristian)!
whom 2 may perhaps live to see--is a rebel against all privilege by profound instin$t&&he lives and
makes ar for ever for !e-ual rights.! . . .(tri$tly speaking) he has no alternative. 9hen a man
proposes to represent) in his on person) the !$hosen of Aod!&&or to be a !temple of Aod)! or a
!@udge of the angels!&&then every other $riterion) hether based upon honesty) upon intelle$t) upon
manliness and pride) or upon beauty and freedom of the heart) be$omes simply !orldly!--evil in
itself. . . ?oral# every ord that $omes from the lips of an !early 8hristian! is a lie) and his every
a$t is instin$tively dishonest&&all his values) all his aims are no.ious) but whoever he hates)
whatever he hates) has real value . . . The 8hristian) and parti$ularly the 8hristian priest) is thus a
criterion of values.
&&?ust I add that) in the hole /e Testament) there appears but a solitary figure orthy of
honour% Pilate) the 2oman vi$eroy. To regard a Geish imbroglio seriously--that as -uite beyond
him. 5ne Ge more or less&& hat did it matter% . . . The noble s$orn of a 2oman) before hom the
ord !truth! as shamelessly mishandled) enri$hed the /e Testament ith the only saying that
has any value--and that is at on$e its $riti$ism and its destruction: !9hat is truth%!. . .
!$.
&&The thing that sets us apart is not that e are unable to find Aod) either in history) or in nature, or
behind nature&&but that e regard hat has been honoured as Aod) not as !divine)! but as pitiable)
as absurd) as in@urious, not as a mere error) but as acrime against life. . . 9e deny that Aod is
Aod . . . If any one ere to show us this 8hristian Aod) e6d be still less in$lined to believe in
him.&&In a formula# deus, ,ualem *aulus creavit, dei negatio.--(u$h a religion as 8hristianity)
hi$h does not tou$h reality at a single point and hi$h goes to pie$es the moment reality asserts
its rights at any point) must be inevitably the deadly enemy of the !isdom of this orld)! hi$h is
to say) of science--and it ill give the name of good to hatever means serve to poison) $alumniate
and cry down all intelle$tual dis$ipline) all lu$idity and stri$tness in matters of intelle$tual
$ons$ien$e) and all noble $oolness and freedom of the mind. !'aith)! as an imperative) vetoes
s$ien$e&&in pra#i, lying at any pri$e. . . . Paul well +new that lying&&that !faith!&&as ne$essary,
later on the $hur$h borroed the fa$t from Paul.&&The Aod that Paul invented for himself) a Aod
ho !redu$ed to absurdity! !the isdom of this orld! =espe$ially the to great enemies of
superstition) philology and medi$ine>) is in truth only an indi$ation of Paul6s resolute determination
to a$$omplish that very thing himself# to give one6s on ill the name of Aod) thora--that is
essentially Geish. Paul wants to dispose of the !isdom of this orld!# his enemies are the good
philologians and physi$ians of the 0le.andrine s$hool&&on them he makes his ar. 0s a matter of
fa$t no man $an be a philologian or a physi$ian ithout being also Antichrist. That is to say) as a
philologian a man sees behind the !holy books)! and as a physi$ian he sees behind the
physiologi$al degeneration of the typi$al 8hristian. The physi$ian says !in$urable!, the philologian
says !fraud.!. . .
!%.
&&+as any one ever $learly understood the $elebrated story at the beginning of the ;ible&&of Aod6s
mortal terror of science? . . . /o one) in fa$t) has understood it. This priest&book par e#cellence
opens) as is fitting) ith the great inner diffi$ulty of the priest# he fa$es only one great danger,
ergo, !Aod! fa$es only one great danger.&&
The old Aod) holly !spirit)! holly the high&priest) holly perfe$t) is promenading his garden# he
is bored and trying to kill time. 0gainst boredom even gods struggle in vain.
21
9hat does he do% +e
$reates man&&man is entertaining. . . ;ut then he noti$es that man is also bored. Aod6s pity for the
only form of distress that invades all paradises knos no bounds# so he forthith $reates other
animals. Aod6s first mistake# to man these other animals ere not entertaining&&he sought dominion
over them, he did not ant to be an !animal! himself.&&(o Aod $reated oman. In the a$t he
brought boredom to an end&&and also many other things4 9oman as the second mistake of
Aod.&&!9oman) at bottom) is a serpent) +eva!&&every priest knos that, !from oman $omes every
evil in the orld!&&every priest knos that) too. 9rgo, she is also to blame for science. . . It as
through oman that man learned to taste of the tree of knoledge.&&9hat happened% The old Aod
as sei1ed by mortal terror. ?an himself had been his greatest blunder, he had $reated a rival to
himself, s$ien$e makes men godli+e--it is all up ith priests and gods hen man be$omes
s$ientifi$4&&?oral# s$ien$e is the forbidden per se; it alone is forbidden. ($ien$e is the first of sins)
the germ of all sins) the original sin. This is all there is of morality.--!Thou shalt not kno!&&the
rest follos from that.&&Aod6s mortal terror) hoever) did not hinder him from being shred. +o
is one to protect one6s self against s$ien$e% 'or a long hile this as the $apital problem. 0nser#
5ut of paradise ith man4 +appiness) leisure) foster thought&&and all thoughts are bad thoughts4&&
?an must not think.&&0nd so the priest invents distress) death) the mortal dangers of $hildbirth) all
sorts of misery) old age) de$repitude) above all) sic+ness--nothing but devi$es for making ar on
s$ien$e4 The troubles of man don6t allow him to think. . . /evertheless&&ho terrible4&&) the edifi$e
of knoledge begins to toer aloft) invading heaven) shadoing the gods&&hat is to be done%&&
The old Aod invents war; he separates the peoples, he makes men destroy one another =&&the
priests have alays had need of ar....>. 9ar&&among other things) a great disturber of s$ien$e 4&&
In$redible4 Cnoledge) deliverance from the priests, prospers in spite of ar.&&(o the old Aod
$omes to his final resolution# !?an has be$ome s$ientifi$&&there is no help for it: he must be
drowned!0. . . .
!&.
&&I have been understood. 0t the opening of the ;ible there is the whole psy$hology of the priest.&&
The priest knos of only one great danger# that is s$ien$e&&the sound $omprehension of $ause and
effe$t. ;ut s$ien$e flourishes) on the hole) only under favourable $onditions&&a man must have
time) he must have an overflowing intelle$t) in order to !kno.! . . .0Therefore, man must be made
unhappy)!&&this has been) in all ages) the logi$ of the priest.&&It is easy to see @ust what, by this
logi$) as the first thing to $ome into the orld #&&0sin.0 . . . The $on$ept of guilt and punishment)
the hole !moral order of the orld)! as set up against s$ien$e&&against the deliveran$e of man
from priests. . . . ?an must not look outard, he must look inard. +e must not look at things
shredly and $autiously) to learn about them, he must not look at all, he must suffer . . . 0nd he
must suffer so mu$h that he is alays in need of the priest.&&0ay ith physi$ians4 5hat is needed
is a )aviour.--The $on$ept of guilt and punishment) in$luding the do$trines of !gra$e)! of
!salvation)! of !forgiveness!&&lies through and through) and absolutely ithout psy$hologi$al
reality&&ere devised to destroy man6s sense of causality: they are an atta$k upon the $on$ept of
$ause and effe$t 4&&0nd not an atta$k ith the fist) ith the knife) ith honesty in hate and love4
5n the $ontrary) one inspired by the most $oardly) the most $rafty) the most ignoble of instin$ts4
0n atta$k of priests! 0n atta$k of parasites! The vampirism of pale) subterranean lee$hes4 . . .
9hen the natural $onse-uen$es of an a$t are no longer !natural)! but are regarded as produ$ed by
the ghostly $reations of superstition&&by !Aod)! by !spirits)! by !souls!&&and re$koned as merely
!moral! $onse-uen$es) as reards) as punishments) as hints) as lessons) then the hole ground&
ork of knoledge is destroyed&&then the greatest of crimes against humanity has been
perpetrated.--I repeat that sin) man6s self&dese$ration par e#cellence, as invented in order to make
s$ien$e) $ulture) and every elevation and ennobling of man impossible, the priest rules through the
invention of sin.&&
"'.
&&In this pla$e I $an6t permit myself to omit a psy$hology of !belief)! of the !believer)! for the
spe$ial benefit of 6believers.! If there remain any today ho do not yet kno ho indecent it is to
be !believing!&&or ho mu$h a sign of decadence, of a broken ill to live&&then they ill kno it
ell enough tomorro. ?y voi$e rea$hes even the deaf.&&It appears) unless I have been in$orre$tly
informed) that there prevails among 8hristians a sort of $riterion of truth that is $alled !proof by
poer.! 'aith makes blessed# therefore it is true.!&&It might be ob@e$ted right here that blessedness
is not demonstrated) it is merely promised: it hangs upon !faith! as a $ondition&&one shall be
blessed because one believes. . . . ;ut hat of the thing that the priest promises to the believer) the
holly trans$endental !beyond!&&ho is that to be demonstrated%&&The !proof by poer)! thus
assumed) is a$tually no more at bottom than a belief that the effe$ts hi$h faith promises ill not
fail to appear. In a formula# !I believe that faith makes for blessedness&&therefore) it is true.! . . ;ut
this is as far as e may go. This !therefore! ould be absurdum itself as a $riterion of truth.&&;ut
let us admit) for the sake of politeness) that blessedness by faith may be demonstrated .--not merely
hoped for) and not merely promised by the suspi$ious lips of a priest># even so) could blessedness&&
in a te$hni$al term) pleasure--ever be a proof of truth% (o little is this true that it is almost a proof
against truth hen sensations of pleasure influen$e the anser to the -uestion !9hat is true%! or) at
all events) it is enough to make that !truth! highly suspi$ious. The proof by !pleasure! is a proof of
!pleasure&&nothing more, hy in the orld should it be assumed that true @udgments give more
pleasure than false ones) and that) in $onformity to some pre&established harmony) they ne$essarily
bring agreeable feelings in their train%&&The e.perien$e of all dis$iplined and profound minds
tea$hes the contrary. ?an has had to fight for every atom of the truth) and has had to pay for it
almost everything that the heart) that human love) that human trust $ling to. Areatness of soul is
needed for this business# the servi$e of truth is the hardest of all servi$es.&&9hat) then) is the
meaning of integrityin things intelle$tual% It means that a man must be severe ith his on heart)
that he must s$orn !beautiful feelings)! and that he makes every <ea and /ay a matter of
$ons$ien$e4&&'aith makes blessed#therefore, it lies. . . .
"1.
The fa$t that faith) under $ertain $ir$umstan$es) may ork for blessedness) but that this blessedness
produ$ed by an idee fi#e by no means makes the idea itself true) and the fa$t that faith a$tually
moves no mountains) but instead raises them up here there ere none before# all this is made
suffi$iently $lear by a alk through a lunatic asylum. 4ot, of $ourse) to a priest# for his instin$ts
prompt him to the lie that si$kness is not si$kness and lunati$ asylums not lunati$ asylums.
8hristianity finds si$kness necessary, @ust as the Areek spirit had need of a superabundan$e of
health&&the a$tual ulterior purpose of the hole system of salvation of the $hur$h is to ma+e people
ill. 0nd the $hur$h itself&&doesn6t it set up a 8atholi$ lunati$ asylum as the ultimate ideal%&&The
hole earth as a madhouse%&&The sort of religious man that the $hur$h wants is a typi$al decadent;
the moment at hi$h a religious $risis dominates a people is alays marked by epidemi$s of
nervous disorder, the inner orld! of the religious man is so mu$h like the !inner orld! of the
overstrung and e.hausted that it is diffi$ult to distinguish beteen them, the !highest! states of
mind) held up be fore mankind by 8hristianity as of supreme orth) are a$tually epileptoid in
form&&the $hur$h has granted the name of holy only to lunati$s or to giganti$ frauds in ma"orem dei
honorem. . . . 5n$e I ventured to designate the hole 8hristian system of training
22
in penan$e and
salvation =no best studied in *ngland> as a method of produ$ing a folie circulaire upon a soil
already prepared for it) hi$h is to say) a soil thoroughly unhealthy. /ot every one may be a
8hristian# one is not !$onverted! to 8hristianity&&one must first be si$k enough for it. . . .9e others)
ho have the courage for health and likeise for $ontempt)&&e may ell despise a religion that
tea$hes misunderstanding of the body4 that refuses to rid itself of the superstition about the soul4
that makes a !virtue! of insuffi$ient nourishment4 that $ombats health as a sort of enemy) devil)
temptation4 that persuades itself that it is possible to $arry about a !perfe$t soul! in a $adaver of a
body) and that) to this end) had to devise for itself a ne $on$ept of !perfe$tion)! a pale) si$kly)
idioti$ally e$stati$ state of e.isten$e) so&$alled !holiness!&&a holiness that is itself merely a series of
symptoms of an impoverished) enervated and in$urably disordered body4 . . . The 8hristian
movement) as a *uropean movement) as from the start no more than a general uprising of all
sorts of out$ast and refuse elements =&&ho no) under $over of 8hristianity) aspire to poer>&& It
does not represent the de$ay of a ra$e, it represents) on the $ontrary) a $onglomeration of
decadence produ$ts from all dire$tions) $roding together and seeking one another out. It as not)
as has been thought) the $orruption of anti-uity) of noble anti-uity) hi$h made 8hristianity
possible, one $annot too sharply $hallenge the learned imbe$ility hi$h today maintains that
theory. 0t the time hen the si$k and rotten 8handala $lasses in the hole imperium ere
8hristiani1ed) the contrary type) the nobility) rea$hed its finest and ripest development. The
ma@ority be$ame master, demo$ra$y) ith its 8hristian instin$ts) triumphed . . . 8hristianity as not
!national)! it as not based on ra$e&&it appealed to all the varieties of men disinherited by life) it
had its allies everyhere. 8hristianity has the ran$our of the si$k at its very $ore&&the instin$t
against the healthy, against health. *verything that is ell&&$onstituted) proud) gallant and) above
all) beautiful gives offen$e to its ears and eyes. 0gain I remind you of Paul6s pri$eless saying# !0nd
Aod hath $hosen the wea+ things of the orld) the foolish things of the orld) the base things of
the orld) and things hi$h are despised0:
2I
this as the formula, in hoc signo the decadence
triumphed.&&'od on the cross--is man alays to miss the frightful inner signifi$an$e of this
symbol%&&*verything that suffers) everything that hangs on the $ross) is divine. . . . 9e all hang on
the $ross) $onse-uently we are divine. . . . 9e alone are divine. . . . 8hristianity as thus a vi$tory#
a nobler attitude of mind as destroyed by it&&8hristianity remains to this day the greatest
misfortune of humanity.&&
"2.
8hristianity also stands in opposition to all intellectual ell&being)&&si$k reasoning is the only sort
that it can use as 8hristian reasoning, it takes the side of everything that is idioti$, it pronoun$es a
$urse upon !intelle$t)! upon the superbia of the healthy intelle$t. (in$e si$kness is inherent in
8hristianity) it follos that the typi$ally 8hristian state of !faith! must be a form of si$kness too)
and that all straight) straightforard and s$ientifi$ paths to knoledge must be banned by the
$hur$h as forbidden ays. 7oubt is thus a sin from the start. . . . The $omplete la$k of
psy$hologi$al $leanliness in the priest&&revealed by a glan$e at him&&is a phenomenon resulting
from decadence,&&one may observe in hysteri$al omen and in ra$hiti$ $hildren ho regularly the
falsifi$ation of instin$ts) delight in lying for the mere sake of lying) and in$apa$ity for looking
straight and alking straight are symptoms of decadence. !'aith! means the ill to avoid knoing
hat is true. The pietist) the priest of either se.) is a fraud because he is si$k# his instin$t demands
that the truth shall never be alloed its rights on any point. !9hatever makes for illness is good;
hatever issues from abundan$e) from super&abundan$e) from poer) is evil0: so argues the
believer. The impulse to lie&&it is by this that I re$ogni1e every foreordained theologian.&&0nother
$hara$teristi$ of the theologian is his unfitness for philology. 9hat I here mean by philology is) in a
general sense) the art of reading ith profit&&the $apa$ity for absorbing fa$ts without interpreting
them falsely) and without losing $aution) patien$e and subtlety in the effort to understand them.
Philology as ephe#is
2J
in interpretation# hether one be dealing ith books) ith nespaper
reports) ith the most fateful events or ith eather statisti$s&&not to mention the !salvation of the
soul.! . . . The ay in hi$h a theologian) hether in ;erlin or in 2ome) is ready to e.plain) say) a
!passage of ($ripture)! or an e.perien$e) or a vi$tory by the national army) by turning upon it the
high illumination of the Psalms of 7avid) is alays so daring that it is enough to make a
philologian run up a all. ;ut hat shall he do hen pietists and other su$h $os from (uabia
25
use the !finger of Aod! to $onvert their miserably $ommonpla$e and huggermugger e.isten$e into
a mira$le of !gra$e)! a !providen$e! and an !e.perien$e of salvation!% The most modest e.er$ise
of the intelle$t) not to say of de$en$y) should $ertainly be enough to $onvin$e these interpreters of
the perfe$t $hildishness and unorthiness of su$h a misuse of the divine digital de.terity. +oever
small our piety) if e ever en$ountered a god ho alays $ured us of a $old in the head at @ust the
right time) or got us into our $arriage at the very instant heavy rain began to fall) he ould seem so
absurd a god that he6d have to be abolished even if he e.isted. Aod as a domesti$ servant) as a letter
$arrier) as an almana$&&man&&at bottom) he is6 a mere name for the stupidest sort of $han$e. . . .
!7ivine Providen$e)! hi$h every third man in !edu$ated Aermany! still believes in) is so strong
an argument against Aod that it ould be impossible to think of a stronger. 0nd in any $ase it is an
argument against Aermans4 . . .
".
&&It is so little true that martyrs offer any support to the truth of a $ause that I am in$lined to deny
that any martyr has ever had anything to do ith the truth at all. In the very tone in hi$h a martyr
flings hat he fan$ies to be true at the head of the orld there appears so lo a grade of
intelle$tual honesty and su$h insensibility to the problem of !truth)! that it is never ne$essary to
refute him. Truth is not something that one man has and another man has not# at best) only
peasants) or peasant apostles like :uther) $an think of truth in any su$h ay. 5ne may rest assured
that the greater the degree of a man6s intelle$tual $ons$ien$e the greater ill be his modesty) his
discretion, on this point. To +now in five $ases) and to refuse) ith deli$a$y) to kno anything
further . . . !Truth)! as the ord is understood by every prophet) every se$tarian) every free&thinker)
every (o$ialist and every $hur$hman) is simply a $omplete proof that not even a beginning has
been made in the intelle$tual dis$ipline and self&$ontrol that are ne$essary to the unearthing of even
the smallest truth.&&The deaths of the martyrs) it may be said in passing) have been misfortunes of
history# they have misled . . . The $on$lusion that all idiots) omen and plebeians $ome to) that
there must be something in a $ause for hi$h any one goes to his death =or hi$h) as under
primitive 8hristianity) sets off epidemi$s of death&seeking>&&this $on$lusion has been an
unspeakable drag upon the testing of fa$ts) upon the hole spirit of in-uiry and investigation. The
martyrs have damaged the truth. . . . *ven to this day the $rude fa$t of perse$ution is enough to
give an honourable name to the most empty sort of se$tarianism.&&;ut hy% Is the orth of a $ause
altered by the fa$t that some one had laid don his life for it%&&0n error that be$omes honourable is
simply an error that has a$-uired one sedu$tive $harm the more# do you suppose) ?essrs.
Theologians) that e shall give you the $han$e to be martyred for your lies%&&5ne best disposes of
a $ause by respe$tfully putting it on i$e&&that is also the best ay to dispose of theologians. . . .
This as pre$isely the orld&histori$al stupidity of all the perse$utors# that they gave the
appearan$e of honour to the $ause they opposed&&that they made it a present of the fas$ination of
martyrdom. . . .9omen are still on their knees before an error be$ause they have been told that
some one died on the $ross for it. 2s the cross, then, an argument?--;ut about all these things there
is one) and one only) ho has said hat has been needed for thousands of years--:arathustra.
They made signs in blood along the ay that they ent) and their folly taught them that the truth is
proved by blood.
;ut blood is the orst of all testimonies to the truth, blood poisoneth even the purest tea$hing and
turneth it into madness and hatred in the heart.
0nd hen one goeth through fire for his tea$hing&&hat doth that prove% 3erily) it is more hen
one6s tea$hing $ometh out of one6s on burning4
2K
"!.
7o not let yourself be de$eived# great intelle$ts are s$epti$al. "arathustra is a s$epti$. The strength)
the freedom hi$h pro$eed from intelle$tual poer) from a superabundan$e of intelle$tual poer)
manifest themselves as s$epti$ism. ?en of fi.ed $onvi$tions do not $ount hen it $omes to
determining hat is fundamental in values and la$k of values. ?en of $onvi$tions are prisoners.
They do not see far enough) they do not see hat is below them# hereas a man ho ould talk to
any purpose about value and non&value must be able to see five hundred $onvi$tions beneath him&&
and behind him. . . . 0 mind that aspires to great things) and that wills the means thereto) is
ne$essarily s$epti$al. 'reedom from any sort of $onvi$tion belongs to strength) and to an
independent point of vie. . . That grand passion hi$h is at on$e the foundation and the poer of
a s$epti$6s e.isten$e) and is both more enlightened and more despoti$ than he is himself) drafts the
hole of his intelle$t into its servi$e, it makes him uns$rupulous, it gives him $ourage to employ
unholy means, under $ertain $ir$umstan$es it does not begrudge him even $onvi$tions. 8onvi$tion
as a means# one may a$hieve a good deal by means of a $onvi$tion. 0 grand passion makes use of
and uses up $onvi$tions, it does not yield to them&&it knos itself to be sovereign.&&5n the $ontrary)
the need of faith) of some thing un$onditioned by yea or nay) of 8arlylism) if I may be alloed the
ord) is a need of wea+ness. The man of faith) the !believer! of any sort) is ne$essarily a dependent
man&&su$h a man $annot posit himself as a goal) nor $an he find goals ithin himself. The
!believer! does not belong to himself, he $an only be a means to an end, he must be used up; he
needs some one to use him up. +is instin$t gives the highest honours to an ethi$ of self&effa$ement,
he is prompted to embra$e it by everything# his pruden$e) his e.perien$e) his vanity. *very sort of
faith is in itself an eviden$e of self&effa$ement) of self&estrangement. . . 9hen one refle$ts ho
ne$essary it is to the great ma@ority that there be regulations to restrain them from ithout and hold
them fast) and to hat e.tent $ontrol) or) in a higher sense) slavery, is the one and only $ondition
hi$h makes for the ell&being of the eak&illed man) and espe$ially oman) then one at on$e
understands $onvi$tion and !faith.! To the man ith $onvi$tions they are his ba$kbone. To avoid
seeing many things) to be impartial about nothing) to be a party man through and through) to
estimate all values stri$tly and infallibly&&these are $onditions ne$essary to the e.isten$e of su$h a
man. ;ut by the same token they are antagonists of the truthful man&&of the truth. . . . The believer
is not free to anser the -uestion) !true! or !not true)! a$$ording to the di$tates of his on
$ons$ien$e# integrity on this point ould ork his instant donfall. The pathologi$al limitations of
his vision turn the man of $onvi$tions into a fanati$&&(avonarola) :uther) 2ousseau) 2obespierre)
(aint&(imon&&these types stand in opposition to the strong) emancipated spirit. ;ut the grandiose
attitudes of these sic+ intelle$ts) these intelle$tual epilepti$s) are of influen$e upon the great
masses&&fanati$s are pi$tures-ue) and mankind prefers observing poses to listening to reasons. . . .
"".
&&5ne step further in the psy$hology of $onvi$tion) of !faith.! It is no a good hile sin$e I first
proposed for $onsideration the -uestion hether $onvi$tions are not even more dangerous enemies
to truth than lies. =!+uman) 0ll&Too&+uman)! I) aphorism J8I.>
2H
This time I desire to put the
-uestion definitely# is there any a$tual differen$e beteen a lie and a $onvi$tion%&&0ll the orld
believes that there is, but hat is not believed by all the orld4&&*very $onvi$tion has its history)
its primitive forms) its stage of tentativeness and error# it becomes a $onvi$tion only after having
been) for a long time) not one) and then) for an even longer time) hardly one. 9hat if falsehood be
also one of these embryoni$ forms of $onvi$tion%&&(ometimes all that is needed is a $hange in
persons# hat as a lie in the father be$omes a $onvi$tion in the son.&&I $all it lying to refuse to see
hat one sees) or to refuse to see it as it is# hether the lie be uttered before itnesses or not before
itnesses is of no $onse-uen$e. The most $ommon sort of lie is that by hi$h a man de$eives
himself# the de$eption of others is a relatively rare offen$e.&&/o) this ill not to see hat one
sees) this ill not to see it as it is) is almost the first re-uisite for all ho belong to a party of
hatever sort# the party man be$omes inevitably a liar. 'or e.ample) the Aerman historians are
$onvin$ed that 2ome as synonymous ith despotism and that the Aermani$ peoples brought the
spirit of liberty into the orld# hat is the differen$e beteen this $onvi$tion and a lie% Is it to be
ondered at that all partisans) in$luding the Aerman historians) instin$tively roll the fine phrases of
morality upon their tongues&&that morality almost oes its very survival to the fa$t that the party
man of every sort has need of it every moment%&&!This is our $onvi$tion# e publish it to the hole
orld, e live and die for it&&let us respe$t all ho have $onvi$tions4!&&I have a$tually heard su$h
sentiments from the mouths of anti&(emites. 5n the $ontrary) gentlemen4 0n anti&(emite surely
does not be$ome more respe$table be$ause he lies on prin$iple. . . The priests) ho have more
finesse in su$h matters) and ho ell understand the ob@e$tion that lies against the notion of a
$onvi$tion) hi$h is to say) of a falsehood that be$omes a matter of prin$iple because it serves a
purpose) have borroed from the Ges the shred devi$e of sneaking in the $on$epts) !Aod)! !the
ill of Aod! and !the revelation of Aod! at this pla$e. Cant) too) ith his $ategori$al imperative)
as on the same road# this as hispractical reason.
28
There are -uestions regarding the truth or
untruth of hi$h it is not for man to de$ide, all the $apital -uestions) all the $apital problems of
valuation) are beyond human reason. . . . To kno the limits of reason&&that alone is genuine.
philosophy. 9hy did Aod make a revelation to man% 9ould Aod have done anything superfluous%
?an could not find out for himself hat as good and hat as evil) so Aod taught him +is ill.
?oral# the priest does not lie&&the -uestion) !true! or !untrue)! has nothing to do ith su$h things
as the priest dis$usses, it is impossible to lie about these things. In order to lie here it ould be
ne$essary to knowhat is true. ;ut this is more than man can kno, therefore) the priest is simply
the mouth&pie$e of Aod.&&(u$h a priestly syllogism is by no means merely Geish and 8hristian,
the right to lie and the shrewd dodge of !revelation! belong to the general priestly type&&to the
priest of the decadence as ell as to the priest of pagan times =&&Pagans are all those ho say yes to
life) and to hom !Aod! is a ord signifying a$-uies$en$e in all things> &&The !la)! the !ill of
Aod)! the !holy book)! and !inspiration!&&all these things are merely ords for the $onditionsunder
hi$h the priest $omes to poer and with hi$h he maintains his poer)&&these $on$epts are to be
found at the bottom of all priestly organi1ations) and of all priestly or priestly&philosophi$al
s$hemes of governments. The !holy lie!&&$ommon alike to 8onfu$ius) to the 8ode of ?anu) to
?ohammed and to the 8hristian $hur$h&&is not even anting in Plato. !Truth is here!# this means)
no matter here it is heard) the priest lies. . . .
"#.
&&In the last analysis it $omes to this# hat is the end of lying% The fa$t that) in 8hristianity) !holy!
ends are not visible is my ob@e$tion to the means it employs. 5nly bad ends appear# the poisoning)
the $alumniation) the denial of life) the despising of the body) the degradation and self&
$ontamination of man by the $on$ept of sin&&therefore, its means are also bad.&&I have a $ontrary
feeling hen I read the 8ode of ?anu) an in$omparably more intelle$tual and superior ork)
hi$h it ould be a sin against the intelligence to so mu$h as name in the same breath ith the
;ible. It is easy to see hy# there is a genuine philosophy behind it) in it) not merely an evil&
smelling mess of Geish rabbinism and superstition)&&it gives even the most fastidious psy$hologist
something to sink his teeth into. 0nd) not to forget hat is most important) it differs fundamentally
from every kind of ;ible# by means of it the nobles, the philosophers and the arriors keep the
hip&hand over the ma@ority, it is full of noble valuations) it shos a feeling of perfe$tion) an
a$$eptan$e of life) and triumphant feeling toard self and life&&the sun shines upon the hole
book.&&0ll the things on hi$h 8hristianity vents its fathomless vulgarity&&for e.ample)
pro$reation) omen and marriage&&are here handled earnestly) ith reveren$e and ith love and
$onfiden$e. +o $an any one really put into the hands of $hildren and ladies a book hi$h
$ontains su$h vile things as this# !to avoid forni$ation) let every man have his on ife) and let
every oman have her on husband, . . . it is better to marry than to burn!%
29
0nd is it possible to
be a 8hristian so long as the origin of man is 8hristiani1ed) hi$h is to say) befouled, by the
do$trine of the immaculata conceptio? . . . I kno of no book in hi$h so many deli$ate and kindly
things are said of omen as in the 8ode of ?anu, these old grey&beards and saints have a ay of
being gallant to omen that it ould be impossible) perhaps) to surpass. !The mouth of a oman)!
it says in one pla$e) !the breasts of a maiden) the prayer of a $hild and the smoke of sa$rifi$e are
alays pure.! In another pla$e# !there is nothing purer than the light of the sun) the shado $ast by
a $o) air) ater) fire and the breath of a maiden.! 'inally) in still another pla$e&&perhaps this is also
a holy lie&&# !all the orifi$es of the body above the navel are pure) and all belo are impure. 5nly in
the maiden is the hole body pure.!
"$.
5ne $at$hes the unholiness of 8hristian means in flagranti by the simple pro$ess of putting the
ends sought by 8hristianity beside the ends sought by the 8ode of ?anu&&by putting these
enormously antitheti$al ends under a strong light. The $riti$ of 8hristianity $annot evade the
ne$essity of making 8hristianity contemptible.--0 book of las su$h as the 8ode of ?anu has the
same origin as every other good la&book# it epitomi1es the e.perien$e) the saga$ity and the
ethi$al e.perimentation of long $enturies, it brings things to a $on$lusion, it no longer $reates. The
prere-uisite to a $odifi$ation of this sort is re$ognition of the fa$t that the means hi$h establish
the authority of a sloly and painfully attained truth are fundamentally different from those hi$h
one ould make use of to prove it. 0 la&book never re$ites the utility) the grounds) the $asuisti$al
ante$edents of a la# for if it did so it ould lose the imperative tone) the !thou shalt)! on hi$h
obedien$e is based. The problem lies e.a$tly here.&&0t a $ertain point in the evolution of a people)
the $lass ithin it of the greatest insight) hi$h is to say) the greatest hindsight and foresight)
de$lares that the series of e.perien$es determining ho all shall live&&or can live&&has $ome to an
end. The ob@e$t no is to reap as ri$h and as $omplete a harvest as possible from the days of
e.periment and hard e.perien$e. In $onse-uen$e) the thing that is to be avoided above everything
is further e.perimentation&&the $ontinuation of the state in hi$h values are fluent) and are tested)
$hosen and $riti$i1ed ad infnitum. 0gainst this a double all is set up# on the one hand) revelation,
hi$h is the assumption that the reasons lying behind the las are not of human origin) that they
ere not sought out and found by a slo pro$ess and after many errors) but that they are of divine
an$estry) and $ame into being $omplete) perfe$t) ithout a history) as a free gift) a mira$le . . . ,
and on the other hand) tradition, hi$h is the assumption that the la has stood un$hanged from
time immemorial) and that it is impious and a $rime against one6s forefathers to bring it into
-uestion. The authority of the la is thus grounded on the thesis# Aod gave it) and the fathers lived
it.&&The higher motive of su$h pro$edure lies in the design to distra$t $ons$iousness) step by step)
from its $on$ern ith notions of right living =that is to say) those that have been proved to be right
by ide and $arefully $onsidered e.perien$e>) so that instin$t attains to a perfe$t automatism&&a
primary ne$essity to every sort of mastery) to every sort of perfe$tion in the art of life. To dra up
su$h a la&book as ?anu6s means to lay before a people the possibility of future mastery) of
attainable perfe$tion&&it permits them to aspire to the highest rea$hes of the art of life. To that end
the thing must be made unconscious: that is the aim of every holy lie.&&The order of castes, the
highest) the dominating la) is merely the ratifi$ation of an order of nature, of a natural la of the
first rank) over hi$h no arbitrary fiat) no !modern idea)! $an e.ert any influen$e. In every healthy
so$iety there are three physiologi$al types) gravitating toard differentiation but mutually
$onditioning one another) and ea$h of these has its on hygiene) its on sphere of ork) its on
spe$ial mastery and feeling of perfe$tion. It isnot ?anu but nature that sets off in one $lass those
ho are $hiefly intelle$tual) in another those ho are marked by mus$ular strength and
temperament) and in a third those ho are distinguished in neither one ay or the other) but sho
only medio$rity&&the last&named represents the great ma@ority) and the first to the sele$t. The
superior $aste&&I $all it the fewest--has) as the most perfe$t) the privileges of the fe# it stands for
happiness) for beauty) for everything good upon earth. 5nly the most intelle$tual of men have any
right to beauty) to the beautiful, only in them $an goodness es$ape being eakness. *ulchrum est
paucorum hominum:
I0
goodness is a privilege. /othing $ould be more unbe$oming to them than
un$outh manners or a pessimisti$ look) or an eye that sees ugliness--or indignation against the
general aspe$t of things. Indignation is the privilege of the 8handala, so is pessimism. 0The world
is perfect0--so prompts the instin$t of the intelle$tual) the instin$t of the man ho says yes to life.
!Imperfe$tion) hat ever is inferior to us) distan$e) the pathos of distan$e) even the 8handala
themselves are parts of this perfe$tion. !The most intelligent men) like the strongest, find their
happiness here others ould find only disaster# in the labyrinth) in being hard ith themselves
and ith others) in effort, their delight is in self&mastery, in them as$eti$ism be$omes se$ond
nature) a ne$essity) an instin$t. They regard a diffi$ult task as a privilege, it is to them a recreation
to play ith burdens that ould $rush all others. . . . Cnoledge&&a form of as$eti$ism.&&They are
the most honourable kind of men# but that does not prevent them being the most $heerful and most
amiable. They rule) not be$ause they ant to) but be$ause they are; they are not at liberty to play
se$ond.&&The second caste: to this belong the guardians of the la) the keepers of order and
se$urity) the more noble arriors) above all) the king as the highest form of arrior) @udge and
preserver of the la. The se$ond in rank $onstitute the e.e$utive arm of the intelle$tuals) the ne.t
to them in rank) taking from them all that is rough in the business of ruling&their folloers) their
right hand) their most apt dis$iples.&&In all this) I repeat) there is nothing arbitrary) nothing !made
up!, hatever is to the contrary is made up&&by it nature is brought to shame. . . The order of
$astes) the order of ran+, simply formulates the supreme la of life itself, the separation of the
three types is ne$essary to the maintenan$e of so$iety) and to the evolution of higher types) and the
highest types&&the ine,uality of rights is essential to the e.isten$e of any rights at all.&&0 right is a
privilege. *very one en@oys the privileges that a$$ord ith his state of e.isten$e. :et us not
underestimate the privileges of the mediocre. :ife is alays harder as one mounts the heights--the
$old in$reases) responsibility in$reases. 0 high $ivili1ation is a pyramid# it $an stand only on a
broad base, its primary prere-uisite is a strong and soundly $onsolidated medio$rity. The
handi$rafts) $ommer$e) agri$ulture) science, the greater part of art) in brief) the hole range of
occupational a$tivities) are $ompatible only ith medio$re ability and aspiration, su$h $allings
ould be out of pla$e for e.$eptional men, the instin$ts hi$h belong to them stand as mu$h
opposed to aristo$ra$y as to anar$hism. The fa$t that a man is publi$ly useful) that he is a heel) a
fun$tion) is eviden$e of a natural predisposition, it is not society, but the only sort of happiness that
the ma@ority are $apable of) that makes them intelligent ma$hines. To the medio$re medio$rity is a
form of happiness, they have a natural instin$t for mastering one thing) for spe$iali1ation. It ould
be altogether unorthy of a profound intelle$t to see anything ob@e$tionable in medio$rity in itself.
It is) in fa$t) the first prere-uisite to the appearan$e of the e.$eptional# it is a ne$essary $ondition to
a high degree of $ivili1ation. 9hen the e.$eptional man handles the medio$re man ith more
deli$ate fingers than he applies to himself or to his e-uals) this is not merely kindness of heart&&it is
simply his duty. . . . 9hom do I hate most heartily among the rabbles of today% The rabble of
(o$ialists) the apostles to the 8handala) ho undermine the orkingman6s instin$ts) his pleasure)
his feeling of $ontentment ith his petty e.isten$e&&ho make him envious and tea$h him revenge.
. . . 9rong never lies in une-ual rights, it lies in the assertion of !e-ual! rights. . . . 9hat is bad?
;ut I have already ansered# all that pro$eeds from eakness) from envy) from revenge.&&The
anar$hist and the 8hristian have the same an$estry. . . .
"%.
In point of fa$t) the end for hi$h one lies makes a great differen$e# hether one preserves thereby
or destroys. There is a perfe$t likeness beteen 8hristian and anar$hist# their ob@e$t) their instin$t)
points only toard destru$tion. 5ne need only turn to history for a proof of this# there it appears
ith appalling distin$tness. 9e have @ust studied a $ode of religious legislation hose ob@e$t it as
to $onvert the $onditions hi$h $ause life to flourish into an !eternal! so$ial organi1ation)&&
8hristianity found its mission in putting an end to su$h an organi1ation) because life flourished
under it. There the benefits that reason had produ$ed during long ages of e.periment and inse$urity
ere applied to the most remote uses) and an effort as made to bring in a harvest that should be as
large) as ri$h and as $omplete as possible, here) on the $ontrary) the harvest is blighted overnight. . .
.That hi$h stood there aere perennis, the imperium omanum, the most magnifi$ent form of
organi1ation under diffi$ult $onditions that has ever been a$hieved) and $ompared to hi$h
everything before it and after it appears as pat$hork) bungling) dilletantism--those holy anar$hists
made it a matter of !piety! to destroy !the orld)!which is to say, the imperium omanum, so that
in the end not a stone stood upon another&&and even Aermans and other su$h louts ere able to
be$ome its masters. . . . The 8hristian and the anar$hist# both are decadents; both are in$apable of
any a$t that is not disintegrating) poisonous) degenerating) blood-suc+ing; both have an instin$t of
mortal hatred of everything that stands up) and is great) and has durability) and promises life a
future. . . . 8hristianity as the vampire of the imperium omanum,-- overnight it destroyed the
vast a$hievement of the 2omans# the $on-uest of the soil for a great $ulture that could await its
time. 8an it be that this fa$t is not yet understood% The imperium omanum that e kno) and that
the history of the 2oman provin$es tea$hes us to kno better and better)&&this most admirable of all
orks of art in the grand manner as merely the beginning) and the stru$ture to follo as not to
prove its orth for thousands of years. To this day) nothing on a like s$ale sub specie aeterni has
been brought into being) or even dreamed of4&&This organi1ation as strong enough to ithstand
bad emperors# the a$$ident of personality has nothing to do ith su$h things&&the first prin$iple of
all genuinely great ar$hite$ture. ;ut it as not strong enough to stand up against the corruptest of
all forms of $orruption&&against 8hristians. . . . These stealthy orms) hi$h under the $over of
night) mist and dupli$ity) $rept upon every individual) su$king him dry of all earnest interest in real
things) of all instin$t for reality--this $oardly) effeminate and sugar&$oated gang gradually
alienated all !souls)! step by step) from that $olossal edifi$e) turning against it all the meritorious)
manly and noble natures that had found in the $ause of 2ome their on $ause) their on serious
purpose) their on pride. The sneakishness of hypo$risy) the se$re$y of the $onventi$le) $on$epts
as bla$k as hell) su$h as the sa$rifi$e of the inno$ent) the unio mystica in the drinking of blood)
above all) the sloly rekindled fire of revenge) of 8handala revenge&&all that sort of thing be$ame
master of 2ome# the same kind of religion hi$h) in a pre&e.istent form) *pi$urus had $ombatted.
5ne has but to read :u$retius to kno what *pi$urus made ar upon&&not paganism) but
!8hristianity)! hi$h is to say) the $orruption of souls by means of the $on$epts of guilt)
punishment and immortality.&&+e $ombatted the subterranean $ults) the hole of latent
8hristianity&&to deny immortality as already a form of genuine salvation.&&*pi$urus had
triumphed) and every respe$table intelle$t in 2ome as *pi$urean&&hen *aul appeared. . . Paul)
the 8handala hatred of 2ome) of !the orld)! in the flesh and inspired by genius&&the Ge) the
eternal Ge par e#cellence. . . . 9hat he sa as ho) ith the aid of the small se$tarian 8hristian
movement that stood apart from Gudaism) a !orld $onflagration! might be kindled, ho) ith the
symbol of !Aod on the $ross)! all se$ret seditions) all the fruits of anar$histi$ intrigues in the
empire) might be amalgamated into one immense poer. !(alvation is of the Ges.!&&8hristianity is
the formula for e.$eeding and summing up the subterranean $ults of all varieties) that of 5siris)
that of the Areat ?other) that of ?ithras) for instan$e# in his dis$ernment of this fa$t the genius of
Paul shoed itself. +is instin$t as here so sure that) ith re$kless violen$e to the truth) he put the
ideas hi$h lent fas$ination to every sort of 8handala religion into the mouth of the !(aviour! as
his on inventions) and not only into the mouth&&he made out of him something that even a priest
of ?ithras $ould understand. . . This as his revelation at 7amas$us# he grasped the fa$t that he
needed the belief in immortality in order to rob !the orld! of its value) that the $on$ept of !hell!
ould master 2ome&&that the notion of a !beyond! is the death of life. /ihilist and 8hristian# they
rhyme in Aerman) and they do more than rhyme.
"&.
The hole labour of the an$ient orld gone for naught: I have no ord to des$ribe the feelings that
su$h an enormity arouses in me.&&0nd) $onsidering the fa$t that its labour as merely preparatory)
that ith adamantine self&$ons$iousness it laid only the foundations for a ork to go on for
thousands of years) the hole meaning of anti-uity disappears4 . . To hat end the Areeks% to hat
end the 2omans%&&0ll the prere-uisites to a learned $ulture) all the methods of s$ien$e) ere
already there, man had already perfe$ted the great and in$omparable art of reading profitably&&that
first ne$essity to the tradition of $ulture) the unity of the s$ien$es, the natural s$ien$es) in allian$e
ith mathemati$s and me$hani$s) ere on the right road)&&the sense of fact, the last and more
valuable of all the senses) had its s$hools) and its traditions ere already $enturies old4 Is all this
properly understood% *very essential to the beginning of the ork as ready,&&and the most
essential) it $annot be said too often) are methods) and also the most diffi$ult to develop) and the
longest opposed by habit and la1iness. 9hat e have to day re$on-uered) ith unspeakable self&
dis$ipline) for ourselves&&for $ertain bad instin$ts) $ertain 8hristian instin$ts) still lurk in our
bodies&&that is to say) the keen eye for reality) the $autious hand) patien$e and seriousness in the
smallest things) the hole integrity of knoledge&&all these things ere already there) and had been
there for to thousand years4 /ore, there as also a refined and e.$ellent ta$t and taste4 4ot as
mere brain&drilling4 4ot as !Aerman! $ulture) ith its loutish manners4 ;ut as body) as bearing) as
instin$t&&in short) as reality. . . All gone for naught! 5vernight it be$ame merely a memory 4&&The
Areeks4 The 2omans4 Instin$tive nobility) taste) methodi$al in-uiry) genius for organi1ation and
administration) faith in and the will to se$ure the future of man) a great yes to everything entering
into the imperium omanum and palpable to all the senses) a grand style that as beyond mere art)
but had be$ome reality) truth) life . . &&0ll overhelmed in a night) but not by a $onvulsion of
nature4 /ot trampled to death by Teutons and others of heavy hoof4 ;ut brought to shame by
$rafty) sneaking) invisible) anemi$ vampires4 /ot $on-uered)&&only su$ked dry4 . . . +idden
vengefulness) petty envy) be$ame master! *verything ret$hed) intrinsi$ally ailing) and invaded by
bad feelings) the hole ghetto-world of the soul) as at on$e on top!--5ne needs but read any of
the 8hristian agitators) for e.ample) (t. 0ugustine) in order to reali1e) in order to smell) hat filthy
fellos $ame to the top. It ould be an error) hoever) to assume that there as any la$k of
understanding in the leaders of the 8hristian movement#&&ah) but they ere $lever) $lever to the
point of holiness) these fathers of the $hur$h4 9hat they la$ked as something -uite different.
/ature negle$ted&&perhaps forgot&&to give them even the most modest endoment of respe$table)
of upright) of cleanly instin$ts. . . ;eteen ourselves) they are not even men. . . . If Islam despises
8hristianity) it has a thousandfold right to do so# Islam at least assumes that it is dealing ith men. .
. .
#'.
8hristianity destroyed for us the hole harvest of an$ient $ivili1ation) and later it also destroyed
for us the hole harvest of /ohammedan $ivili1ation. The onderful $ulture of the ?oors in
(pain) hi$h as fundamentally nearer to us and appealed more to our senses and tastes than that
of 2ome and Aree$e) as trampled down =&&I do not say by hat sort of feet&&> 9hy% ;e$ause it
had to thank noble and manly instin$ts for its origin&&be$ause it said yes to life) even to the rare and
refined lu.uriousness of ?oorish life4 . . . The $rusaders later made ar on something before
hi$h it ould have been more fitting for them to have grovelled in the dust&&a $ivili1ation beside
hi$h even that of our nineteenth $entury seems very poor and very !senile.!&&9hat they anted)
of $ourse) as booty# the orient as ri$h. . . . :et us put aside our pre@udi$es4 The $rusades ere a
higher form of pira$y) nothing more4 The Aerman nobility) hi$h is fundamentally a 3iking
nobility) as in its element there# the $hur$h kne only too ell ho the Aerman nobility as to
be won . . . The Aerman noble) alays the !(iss guard! of the $hur$h) alays in the servi$e of
every bad instin$t of the $hur$h&&but well paid. . . 8onsider the fa$t that it is pre$isely the aid of
Aerman sords and Aerman blood and valour that has enabled the $hur$h to $arry through its ar
to the death upon everything noble on earth4 0t this point a host of painful -uestions suggest
themselves. The Aerman nobility stands outside the history of the higher $ivili1ation# the reason is
obvious. . . 8hristianity) al$ohol&&the to great means of $orruption. . . . Intrinsi$ally there should
be no more $hoi$e beteen Islam and 8hristianity than there is beteen an 0rab and a Ge. The
de$ision is already rea$hed, nobody remains at liberty to $hoose here. *ither a man is a 8handala
or he is not. . . . !9ar to the knife ith 2ome4 Pea$e and friendship ith Islam4!# this as the
feeling) this as the act) of that great free spirit) that genius among Aerman emperors) 'rederi$k II.
9hat4 must a Aerman first be a genius) a free spirit) before he $an feel decently? I $an6t make out
ho a Aerman $ould ever feel &hristian. . . .
#1.
+ere it be$omes ne$essary to $all up a memory that must be a hundred times more painful to
Aermans. The Aermans have destroyed for *urope the last great harvest of $ivili1ation that *urope
as ever to reap&&the enaissance. Is it understood at last) will it ever be understood) what the
2enaissan$e as% The transvaluation of &hristian values,--an attempt ith all available means) all
instin$ts and all the resour$es of genius to bring about a triumph of the opposite values) the more
noble values. . . . This has been the one great ar of the past, there has never been a more $riti$al
-uestion than that of the 2enaissan$e&&it is my -uestion too&&, there has never been a form of attac+
more fundamental) more dire$t) or more violently delivered by a hole front upon the $enter of the
enemy4 To atta$k at the $riti$al pla$e) at the very seat of 8hristianity) and there enthrone the more
noble values&&that is to say) to insinuate them into the instin$ts) into the most fundamental needs
and appetites of those sitting there . . . I see before me the possibility of a perfe$tly heavenly
en$hantment and spe$ta$le #&&it seems to me to s$intillate ith all the vibrations of a fine and
deli$ate beauty) and ithin it there is an art so divine) so infernally divine) that one might sear$h in
vain for thousands of years for another su$h possibility, I see a spe$ta$le so ri$h in signifi$an$e and
at the same time so onderfully full of parado. that it should arouse all the gods on 5lympus to
immortal laughter&&&aesar (orgia as pope! . . . 0m I understood% . . . 9ell then) that ould have
been the sort of triumph that 2 alone am longing for today&&# by it 8hristianity ould have been
swept away!--9hat happened% 0 Aerman monk) :uther) $ame to 2ome. This monk) ith all the
vengeful instin$ts of an unsu$$essful priest in him) raised a rebellion against the 2enaissan$e in
2ome. . . . Instead of grasping) ith profound thanksgiving) the mira$le that had taken pla$e# the
$on-uest of 8hristianity at its capital&&instead of this) his hatred as stimulated by the spe$ta$le. 0
religious man thinks only of himself.&&:uther sa only the depravity of the papa$y at the very
moment hen the opposite as be$oming apparent# the old $orruption) the peccatum originale,
8hristianity itself) no longer o$$upied the papal $hair4 Instead there as life4 Instead there as the
triumph of life4 Instead there as a great yea to all lofty) beautiful and daring things4 . . . 0nd
:uther restored the church: he atta$ked it. . . . The 2enaissan$e&&an event ithout meaning) a great
futility 4&&0h) these Aermans) hat they have not $ost us4 6utility--that has alays been the ork
of the Aermans.&&The 2eformation, :iebnit1, Cant and so&$alled Aerman philosophy, the ar of
!liberation!, the empire&every time a futile substitute for something that on$e e.isted) for
something irrecoverable . . . These Aermans) I $onfess) are my enemies# I despise all their
un$leanliness in $on$ept and valuation) their $oardi$e before every honest yea and nay. 'or
nearly a thousand years they have tangled and $onfused everything their fingers have tou$hed, they
have on their $ons$ien$e all the half&ay measures) all the three&eighths&ay measures) that
*urope is si$k of)&&they also have on their $ons$ien$e the un$leanest variety of 8hristianity that
e.ists) and the most in$urable and indestru$tible&&Protestantism. . . . If mankind never manages to
get rid of 8hristianity the 'ermans ill be to blame. . . .
#2.
&&9ith this I $ome to a $on$lusion and pronoun$e my @udgment. I condemn 8hristianity, I bring
against the 8hristian $hur$h the most terrible of all the a$$usations that an a$$user has ever had in
his mouth. It is) to me) the greatest of all imaginable $orruptions, it seeks to ork the ultimate
$orruption) the orst possible $orruption. The 8hristian $hur$h has left nothing untou$hed by its
depravity, it has turned every value into orthlessness) and every truth into a lie) and every
integrity into baseness of soul. :et any one dare to speak to me of its !humanitarian! blessings4 Its
deepest ne$essities range it against any effort to abolish distress, it lives by distress, it creates
distress to make itself immortal. . . . 'or e.ample) the orm of sin# it as the $hur$h that first
enri$hed mankind ith this misery4&&The !e-uality of souls before Aod!&&this fraud) this prete#t for
the rancunes of all the base&minded&&this e.plosive $on$ept) ending in revolution) the modern idea)
and the notion of overthroing the hole so$ial order&&this is &hristian dynamite. . . . The
!humanitarian! blessings of 8hristianity forsooth4 To breed out of humanitas a self&$ontradi$tion)
an art of self&pollution) a ill to lie at any pri$e) an aversion and $ontempt for all good and honest
instin$ts4 0ll this) to me) is the !humanitarianism! of 8hristianity4&&Parasitism as the only pra$ti$e
of the $hur$h, ith its anaemi$ and !holy! ideals) su$king all the blood) all the love) all the hope
out of life, the beyond as the ill to deny all reality, the $ross as the distinguishing mark of the
most subterranean $onspira$y ever heard of)&&against health) beauty) ell&being) intelle$t) +indness
of soul&&against life itself. . . .
This eternal a$$usation against 8hristianity I shall rite upon all alls) herever alls are to be
found&&I have letters that even the blind ill be able to see. . . . I $all 8hristianity the one great
$urse) the one great intrinsi$ depravity) the one great instin$t of revenge) for hi$h no means are
venomous enough) or se$ret) subterranean and small enough)&&I $all it the one immortal blemish
upon the human ra$e. . . .
0nd mankind re$kons time from the dies nefastus hen this fatality befell&&from the first day of
8hristianity4--5hy not rather from its last?--6rom today%&&The transvaluation of all values4 . . .
T+*
*/7
'55T/5T*( $reated and inserted by +.:. ?en$ken#
1. &f. the tenth Pythian ode. (ee also the fourth hook of +erodotus. The +yperboreans ere a
mythi$al people beyond the 2hipaean mountains) in the far /orth. They en@oyed unbroken
happiness and perpetual youth. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
2. The loest of the +indu $astes. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
I. That is) in Pandora6s bo.. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
J. Gohn iv) 22. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
5. 7avid 'riedri$h (trauss =1808&HJ>) author of !7as :eben Gesu! =18I5&K>) a very famous ork in
its day. /iet1s$he here refers to it. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
K. The ord )emioti+ is in the te.t) but it is probable that )emanti+ is hat /iet1s$he had in mind.
L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
H. 5ne of the si. great systems of +indu philosophy. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
8. The reputed founder of Taoism. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
9. /iet1s$he6s name for one a$$epting his on philosophy. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
10. That is) the stri$t letter of the la&&the $hief target of Gesus6s early prea$hing. L2*TB2/ T5
T*MTN
11. 0 referen$e to the !pure ignoran$e! .reine Thorheit1 of Parsifal. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
12. ?atthe v) IJ. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
1I. 0mphytrion as the son of 0l$aeus) Cing of Tiryns. +is ife as 0l$mene. 7uring his absen$e
she as visited by "eus) and bore +era$les. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
1J. (o in the te.t. 5ne of /iet1s$he6s numerous $oinages) obviously suggested by 9vangelium, the
Aerman for gospel.L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
15. To hi$h) ithout mentioning it) /iet1s$he adds verse J8. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
1K. 0 paraphrase of 7emetrius6 !9ell roar6d) :ion4! in a$t v) s$ene 1 of !0 ?idsummer /ight6s
7ream.! The lion) of $ourse) is the familiar 8hristian symbol for ?ark. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
1H. /iet1s$he also -uotes part of verse 2. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
18. The -uotation also in$ludes verse JH. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
19. 0nd 1H. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
20. 3erses 20) 21) 2K) 2H) 28) 29. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
21. 0 paraphrase of ($hiller6s !0gainst stupidity even gods struggle in vain.! L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
22. The ord training is in *nglish in the te.t. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
2I. I 8orinthians i) 2H) 28. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
2J. That is) to say) s$epti$ism. 0mong the Areeks s$epti$ism as also o$$asionally $alled
ephe$ti$ism. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
25. 0 referen$e to the Bniversity of Tubingen and its famous s$hool of ;ibli$al $riti$ism. The
leader of this s$hool as '. 8. ;aur) and one of the men greatly influen$ed by it as /iet1s$he6s
pet abomination) 7avid '. (trauss) himself a (uabian. 3ide O 10 and O 28. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
2K. The -uotations are from !0lso spra$h "arathustra! ii) 2J# !5f Priests.! L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
2H. The aphorism) hi$h is headed !The *nemies of Truth)! makes the dire$t statement#
!8onvi$tions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.! L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
28. 0 referen$e) of $ourse) to Cant6s !Critik der praktis$hen 3ernunft! =8riti-ue of Pra$ti$al
2eason>. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
29. I 8orinthians vii) 2) 9. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN
I0. 'e men are noble. L2*TB2/ T5 T*MTN