Friedrich_Nietzsche - Untimely_Meditations_(Cambridge_Texts_in_the_History_of_Philosophy__1997)

Untimely Meditationsnative courage: for here he ought to have turned his back on his 'we'and boldly derived a moral code for life out of the bellum omnium contraomnes * and the privileges of the strong - though such a code would,to be sure, have to originate in an intrepid mind such as that of Hobbes,and in a grand love of truth quite different from that which explodesonly in angry outbursts against priests, miracles and the 'worldhistoricalhumbug' of the resurrection. For with a genuine Darwinianethic, seriously and consistently carried through, he would have hadagainst him the philistine whom with such outbursts he attracts tohis side.'All moral behaviour' says Strauss, 'is a self-determination of theindividual according to the idea of the species.' Translated into comprehensiblelanguage, all this means is: Live as a man and not as anape or a seal! Unfortunately this imperative is altogether withoutforce and useless, because the concept of man yokes together themost diverse and manifold things, for example the Patagonian andMaster Strauss, and because no one will venture to demand: 'Live asa Patagonian!' and at the same time 'LivCi as Master Strauss!' If,however, anyone should go so far as to demand of himself: 'Live as agenius', that is to say as the ideal expression of the species man, buthappened to be either a Patagonian or Master Strauss, how we wouldthen have to suffer from the importunities of natural fools thirstingfor genius Lichtenberg in his day already had to complain of theirmushroom-like growth in Germany - and demanding of us withwild cries that we listen to their latest confessions of faith. Strauss hasnot yet even learned that no idea can ever make men better or moremoral, and that preaching morals is as easy as finding grounds forthem is difficult; his task was much rather to take the phenomena ofhuman goodness, compassion, love and self-abnegation, which doin fact exist, and derive and explain them from his Darwinist presuppositions:while he preferred by a leap into the imperative to fleefrom the task of explanation. In making this leap he is even able toelude, with an easy and frivolous hop, Darwin's fundamental proposition.'Do not ever forget', says Struass, 'that you are a man and nota mere creature of nature: do not ever forget that all others arelikewise men, that is to say, with all their individual differences thesame as you, with the same needs and demands as you that is theepitome of all morality.' But whence sounds this imperative? Howcan man possess it in himself, since, according to DaIWin, he is pre-"bellum omnium contra omnes: war of all against all30