Beyond Good and Evil — Page 3
The philosophy of the dogmatists, it is to be hoped, was only a promise for thousands of years afterwards, as was astrology in still earlier times, in the service of which probably more labour, gold, acuteness, and patience have been spent than on any actual science hitherto: we owe to it, and to its "super-terrestrial" pretensions in Asia and Egypt, the grand style of architecture.
Die Philosophie der Dogmatiker war, so ist zu hoffen, nur ein Versprechen für Jahrtausende danach, wie es die Astrologie in noch früheren Zeiten war, in deren Dienst wahrscheinlich mehr Arbeit, Gold, Scharfsinn und Geduld aufgewendet worden sind als auf irgendeine wirkliche Wissenschaft bisher: wir verdanken ihr, und ihren „überirdischen" Anmaßungen in Asien und Ägypten, den großen Stil der Architektur.
It seems that in order to inscribe themselves upon the heart of humanity with everlasting claims, all great things have first to wander about the earth as enormous and awe-inspiring caricatures: dogmatic philosophy has been a caricature of this kind--for instance, the Vedanta doctrine in Asia, and Platonism in Europe.
Es scheint, dass alle großen Dinge, um sich mit ewigen Ansprüchen in das Herz der Menschheit einzuschreiben, zunächst als ungeheure und ehrfurchtgebietende Karrikaturen auf der Erde umherwandeln müssen: die dogmatische Philosophie war eine Karikatur dieser Art – zum Beispiel die Vedanta-Lehre in Asien und der Platonismus in Europa.
Let us not be ungrateful to it, although it must certainly be confessed that the worst, the most tiresome, and the most dangerous of errors hitherto has been a dogmatist error--namely, Plato's invention of Pure Spirit and the Good in Itself.
Seien wir ihr gegenüber nicht undankbar, obwohl gewiss eingestanden werden muss, dass der schlimmste, der lästigste und der gefährlichste aller bisherigen Irrtümer ein dogmatischer Irrtum war – nämlich Platons Erfindung des reinen Geistes und des Guten an sich.
But now when it has been surmounted, when Europe, rid of this nightmare, can again draw breath freely and at least enjoy a healthier--sleep, we, WHOSE DUTY IS WAKEFULNESS ITSELF, are the heirs of all the strength which the struggle against this error has fostered.
Aber nun, da er überwunden ist, da Europa, von diesem Alptraum befreit, wieder frei aufatmen und wenigstens einen gesünderen – Schlaf genießen kann, sind wir, DEREN PFLICHT DIE WACHHEIT SELBST IST, die Erben all der Kraft, welche der Kampf gegen diesen Irrtum gezeitigt hat.
It amounted to the very inversion of truth, and the denial of the PERSPECTIVE--the fundamental condition--of life, to speak of Spirit and the Good as Plato spoke of them; indeed one might ask, as a physician: "How did such a malady attack that finest product of antiquity, Plato?
Es kam einer wahrhaftigen Umkehrung der Wahrheit und der Verleugnung der PERSPEKTIVE – der Grundbedingung – des Lebens gleich, vom Geist und vom Guten so zu sprechen, wie Platon von ihnen sprach; ja, man könnte als Arzt fragen: „Wie konnte eine solche Krankheit jenes feinste Erzeugnis des Altertums, Platon, befallen?
Vocabulary
- Die
- Feminine/plural definite article meaning 'the'
- Philosophie
- The study of fundamental questions about existence and knowledge
- der
- Masculine definite article meaning 'the'
- Dogmatiker
- A person who asserts doctrines as absolute truth
- war
- Past tense of 'sein'; was
- so
- So, thus, in this way
- ist
- Third person singular present of 'sein'; is
- zu
- To, too, or infinitive particle
- hoffen
- To hope for something desired
- nur
- Only, merely, just
- ein
- Indefinite article; a, an
- Versprechen
- A promise or commitment made to someone
- für
- Preposition meaning for
- Jahrtausende
- Millennia; periods of one thousand years each
- danach
- After that, thereafter, subsequently
- wie
- How, as, like
- es
- Neuter pronoun meaning it
- die
- Feminine/plural definite article meaning 'the'
- Astrologie
- Astrology; study of celestial influence on human affairs
- in
- Preposition meaning in, into
- noch
- Still, yet, even
- früheren
- Earlier, former, previous (inflected adjective form)
- Zeiten
- Times, eras, periods of history
- deren
- Relative/possessive pronoun meaning whose, of which
- Dienst
- Service, duty, work performed for another
- wahrscheinlich
- Probably, likely, in all probability
- mehr
- More, greater in quantity or degree
- Arbeit
- Work, labor, effort expended on a task
- Gold
- Gold; precious yellow metal of high value
- Scharfsinn
- Acuity, sharp-mindedness, keen intellectual insight
- und
- Conjunction meaning and
- Geduld
- Patience, the capacity to wait calmly
- aufgewendet
- Expended, spent, used up (past participle of aufwenden)
- worden
- Past participle of 'werden'; been (auxiliary in passive)
- sind
- Third person plural present of 'sein'; are
- als
- Than, as, when (conjunction)
- auf
- On, onto, upon (preposition)
- irgendeine
- Any, some (indefinite pronoun, feminine form)
- wirkliche
- Real, actual, genuine (inflected adjective)
- Wissenschaft
- Science, systematic knowledge through study and research
- bisher
- Until now, so far, up to this point
- wir
- First person plural pronoun; we
- verdanken
- To owe something to someone; to be indebted
- ihr
- Her, its, their; dative/possessive pronoun
- überirdischen
- Supernatural, unearthly, above-earthly (inflected adjective)
- Anmaßungen
- Pretensions, arrogant claims, presumptuous assertions
- Asien
- Asia; the largest continent on Earth
- Ägypten
- Egypt; North African country with ancient civilization
- den
- Definite article; masculine accusative or dative plural 'the'
- großen
- Great, large, grand (inflected adjective)
- Stil
- Style, manner, characteristic way of expression
- Architektur
- Architecture; the art of designing buildings
- Es
- Neuter pronoun it; also impersonal subject
- scheint
- Seems, appears (third person singular of scheinen)
- dass
- That (subordinating conjunction)
- alle
- All, every, each (plural adjective/pronoun)
- Dinge
- Things, objects, matters, affairs
- um
- Around, at, in order to (preposition/conjunction)
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, themselves
- mit
- With, along with (preposition)
- ewigen
- Eternal, everlasting, endless (inflected adjective)
- Ansprüchen
- Claims, demands, aspirations (dative plural)
- das
- Neuter definite article or pronoun; the, that
- Herz
- Heart; the organ or metaphor for emotion
- Menschheit
- Humanity, mankind, the human race collectively
- einzuschreiben
- To inscribe, to engrave oneself into something
- zunächst
- First of all, initially, at first
- ungeheure
- Enormous, monstrous, tremendous (inflected adjective)
- ehrfurchtgebietende
- Awe-inspiring, commanding reverence and deep respect
- Karrikaturen
- Caricatures, distorted exaggerated representations or portrayals
- Erde
- Earth, ground, soil; also the planet Earth
- umherwandeln
- To wander around, roam about aimlessly
- müssen
- Must, to have to (modal verb)
- dogmatische
- Dogmatic, asserting doctrines as unquestionable truth
- eine
- Feminine indefinite article; a, an
- Karikatur
- A caricature; an exaggerated distorted depiction
- dieser
- This, of this (demonstrative pronoun/adjective)
- Art
- Kind, type, sort, manner
- zum
- Contraction of zu dem; to the
- Beispiel
- Example, instance used to illustrate a point
- Platonismus
- Platonism; philosophical system derived from Plato's teachings
- Europa
- Europe; the western peninsula of the Eurasian continent
- Seien
- Subjunctive/imperative of sein; be (formal imperative plural)
- gegenüber
- Opposite, toward, with respect to (preposition)
- nicht
- Not, negation particle
- undankbar
- Ungrateful, not showing gratitude or appreciation
- obwohl
- Although, even though (subordinating conjunction)
- gewiss
- Certainly, surely, definitely; certain
- eingestanden
- Admitted, confessed (past participle of eingestehen)
- werden
- To become; auxiliary verb for future or passive
- muss
- Must, has to (third person singular of müssen)
- schlimmste
- Worst, most terrible (superlative of schlimm)
- lästigste
- Most annoying, most bothersome (superlative of lästig)
- gefährlichste
- Most dangerous, most perilous (superlative of gefährlich)
- aller
- Of all, genitive plural of alle
- bisherigen
- Previous, hitherto existing (inflected adjective)
- Irrtümer
- Errors, mistakes, false beliefs (plural of Irrtum)
- dogmatischer
- Dogmatic (genitive/strong inflection of dogmatisch)
- Irrtum
- Error, mistake, false belief or assumption
- nämlich
- Namely, that is to say, specifically
- Erfindung
- Invention, creation, fabrication of something new
- des
- Masculine/neuter genitive definite article; of the
- reinen
- Pure, clean (inflected adjective form of rein)
- Geistes
- Spirit, mind, intellect (genitive singular of Geist)
- Guten
- The Good, goodness (nominalized adjective, genitive form)
- an
- At, on, to (preposition)
- Aber
- But, however (coordinating conjunction)
- nun
- Now, at this point in time
- da
- There, since, as (adverb or conjunction)
- er
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- überwunden
- Overcome, conquered (past participle of überwinden)
- von
- From, of, by (preposition)
- diesem
- This (dative masculine/neuter demonstrative pronoun)
- Alptraum
- Nightmare, a frightening or oppressive dream
- befreit
- Freed, liberated (past participle of befreien)
- wieder
- Again, once more, anew
- frei
- Free, unrestrained, at liberty
- aufatmen
- To breathe a sigh of relief; to breathe freely
- wenigstens
- At least, at the very minimum
- einen
- Masculine accusative indefinite article; a, an
- gesünderen
- Healthier (comparative of gesund, inflected form)
- Schlaf
- Sleep, slumber, the state of rest
- genießen
- To enjoy, to savor, to take pleasure in
- kann
- Can, is able to (third person singular of können)
- DEREN
- Whose, of which (relative/possessive pronoun, emphatic)
- PFLICHT
- Duty, obligation, responsibility (emphatic capitalization)
- DIE
- The (feminine/plural definite article, emphatic caps)
- WACHHEIT
- Wakefulness, alertness, vigilance, being awake
- SELBST
- Itself, oneself, even (emphatic particle)
- IST
- Is (third person singular of sein, emphatic caps)
- Erben
- Heirs, inheritors; those who receive an inheritance
- all
- All, whole, every (uninflected form of alle)
- Kraft
- Strength, force, power, energy
- welche
- Which, that (relative pronoun, feminine/plural)
- Kampf
- Struggle, fight, battle, conflict
- gegen
- Against, opposed to (preposition)
- diesen
- This (accusative masculine demonstrative pronoun)
- hat
- Has (third person singular of haben)
- kam
- Came (past tense of kommen)
- einer
- A, one (dative feminine or genitive indefinite article)
- wahrhaftigen
- True, genuine, truthful (inflected adjective)
- Umkehrung
- Reversal, inversion, turning upside down
- Wahrheit
- Truth, the quality of being true or accurate
- Verleugnung
- Denial, repudiation, disavowal of something
- PERSPEKTIVE
- Perspective, point of view, way of seeing things
- Grundbedingung
- Fundamental condition, basic prerequisite for something
- Lebens
- Life's, of life (genitive singular of Leben)
- gleich
- Equal, same, immediately; right away
- vom
- Contraction of von dem; from the
- Geist
- Spirit, mind, intellect, ghost
- sprechen
- To speak, to talk, to converse
- ihnen
- Them, to them (dative plural pronoun)
- sprach
- Spoke (past tense of sprechen)
- ja
- Yes; indeed, in fact (emphatic particle)
- man
- One, you, people in general (impersonal pronoun)
- könnte
- Could, might (subjunctive of können)
- Arzt
- Doctor, physician, medical practitioner
- fragen
- To ask, to question, to inquire
- Wie
- How, in what way (interrogative adverb)
- konnte
- Could, was able to (past tense of können)
- solche
- Such, of such a kind (demonstrative adjective)
- Krankheit
- Illness, disease, sickness, ailment
- jenes
- That (demonstrative pronoun, neuter form)
- feinste
- Finest, most refined (superlative of fein, inflected)
- Erzeugnis
- Product, result, output, thing produced
- Altertums
- Antiquity's, of antiquity (genitive of Altertum)
- befallen
- To befall, to afflict, to attack or overtake
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