Friedrich_Nietzsche - Untimely_Meditations_(Cambridge_Texts_in_the_History_of_Philosophy__1997)

Untimely Meditationsvalues only the imitations of an epigone or the icon-like portraitureof the present, he knows that the latter will glorify him and augmentgeneral contentment with 'actuality', while the fo rmer, as well asbeing quite harmless, will even enhance his reputation as a judge ofclassical taste - for he has, as aforesaid, come to terms once and forall with the classics themselves. Finally, he invents for his habits,modes of thinking, likes and dislikes, the general formula 'healthiness',and dismisses every uncomfortable disturber of the peace asbeing sick and neurotic. Thus David Strauss, a true satisfait with thestate of our culture and a typical philistine, once spoke characteristicallyof 'Arthur Schopenhauer's ingenious but in many waysunhealthy and unprofitable philosophizing'. For it is a cruel fact that'the spirit' is accustomed most often to descend upon the 'unhealthyand unprofitable', and on those occasions when he is honest withhimself even the philistine is aware that the philosophies his kindproduce and bring to market are in many ways spiritless, thoughthey are of course extremely healthy and profitable.For now and then the philistines, whel) they are alone by themselves,take wine together and recall, in honest, naive and loquaciousfashion, the great deeds of the war; on these occasions many thingscome to light that are otherwise anxiously concealed, and sometimesone of them even lets out the fundamental secrets of the entirebrotherhood. Such a thing occurred very recently in the case of acelebrated aesthetician of the Hegelian school of reasoning. Theprovocation was, to be sure, sufficiently unusual: a circle of philistineswas celebrating the memory of a true and genuine nonphilistine,and one moreover who in the strictest sense of the wordperished by the philistines: the memory of the glorious HOlderlin;and the well-known aesthetician thus had a right on this occasion tospeak of tragic souls which perish through contact with 'reality' - theword reality here understood in the sense, already alluded to, ofphilistine rationality. But 'reality' is now something different fromwhat it was in Holderlin's day, and it may well be asked whether hewould have been able to find his way in the present great age. 'I donot know', said Friedrich Vischer, 'whether his gentle soul couldhave endured all the harshness involved in any war or all the rottennesswe have seen advancing since the war in every sphere of life.Perhaps he would again have sunk back into despair. He was one ofthe unarmed souls, he was the Werther of Greece, a lover withouthope; his was a life full of gentleness and desire, but there was alsostrength and substance in his will, and greatness, richness and life in12