Beyond Good and Evil — Page 9
In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal; and above all, his morality furnishes a decided and decisive testimony as to WHO HE IS,--that is to say, in what order the deepest impulses of his nature stand to each other.
Im Philosophen hingegen ist absolut nichts Unpersönliches; und vor allem liefert seine Moral ein entschiedenes und entscheidendes Zeugnis darüber, WER ER IST,--das heißt, in welcher Rangordnung die tiefsten Triebe seiner Natur zueinander stehen.
7. How malicious philosophers can be!
7. Wie boshaft Philosophen sein können!
I know of nothing more stinging than the joke Epicurus took the liberty of making on Plato and the Platonists; he called them Dionysiokolakes.
Ich kenne nichts Stechenderes als den Scherz, den Epikur sich gegenüber Platon und den Platonikern erlaubte; er nannte sie Dionysiokolakes.
In its original sense, and on the face of it, the word signifies "Flatterers of Dionysius"--consequently, tyrants' accessories and lick-spittles;
In seinem ursprünglichen Sinne und auf den ersten Blick bedeutet das Wort „Schmeichler des Dionysios" -- folglich Helfershelfer der Tyrannen und Speichellecker;
besides this, however, it is as much as to say, "They are all ACTORS, there is nothing genuine about them" (for Dionysiokolax was a popular name for an actor).
darüber hinaus jedoch will es so viel sagen wie: „Sie sind allesamt SCHAUSPIELER, nichts an ihnen ist echt" (denn Dionysiokolax war ein volkstümlicher Name für einen Schauspieler).
And the latter is really the malignant reproach that Epicurus cast upon Plato: he was annoyed by the grandiose manner, the mise en scene style of which Plato and his scholars were masters--of which Epicurus was not a master!
Und Letzteres ist wirklich der bösartige Vorwurf, den Epikur gegen Platon erhob: ihn ärgerte die grandiosische Art, der Inszenierungsstil, in dem Platon und seine Schüler Meister waren -- in dem Epikur kein Meister war!
He, the old school-teacher of Samos, who sat concealed in his little garden at Athens, and wrote three hundred books, perhaps out of rage and ambitious envy of Plato, who knows!
Er, der alte Schulmeister von Samos, der verborgen in seinem kleinen Garten zu Athen saß und dreihundert Bücher schrieb, vielleicht aus Wut und ehrgeizidem Neid auf Platon -- wer weiß!
Greece took a hundred years to find out who the garden-god Epicurus really was.
Griechenland brauchte hundert Jahre, um herauszufinden, wer der Gartengott Epikur wirklich war.
Did she ever find out?
Hat sie es jemals herausgefunden?
8. There is a point in every philosophy at which the "conviction" of the philosopher appears on the scene; or, to put it in the words of an ancient mystery:
8. Es gibt in jeder Philosophie einen Punkt, an dem die „Überzeugung" des Philosophen auf den Plan tritt; oder, um es mit den Worten eines alten Mysteriums auszudrücken:
Adventavit asinus, Pulcher et fortissimus.
Adventavit asinus, Pulcher et fortissimus.
Vocabulary
- Im
- In the; contraction of 'in dem'
- Philosophen
- Philosophers; plural of Philosoph
- hingegen
- However; on the other hand; conversely
- ist
- Is; third person singular of sein
- absolut
- Absolute; complete; without qualification
- nichts
- Nothing; not anything whatsoever
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- vor
- Before; in front of; prior to
- allem
- All; everything; above all
- liefert
- Supplies; provides; delivers evidence
- seine
- His; its; possessive pronoun masculine
- Moral
- Morality; moral principles; ethics
- ein
- A; an; one indefinite article
- entscheidendes
- Decisive; determining; conclusive evidence
- Zeugnis
- Testimony; evidence; certificate; witness
- darüber
- About it; concerning that; thereupon
- WER
- Who; interrogative pronoun masculine nominative
- ER
- He; it; third person singular pronoun
- IST
- Is; present tense of sein
- das
- The; that; definite article neuter
- heißt
- Means; is called; that is to say
- in
- In; into; within a space
- welcher
- Which; what; interrogative pronoun feminine
- die
- The; she; it; definite article
- tiefsten
- Deepest; most profound; lowest depths
- Triebe
- Drives; impulses; instincts; motivations
- seiner
- His; its; possessive pronoun genitive
- Natur
- Nature; character; essence; natural world
- zueinander
- To each other; toward one another
- stehen
- Stand; be located; are in relation
- Wie
- How; in what way; what manner
- boshaft
- Malicious; spiteful; wicked; mean-spirited
- sein
- To be; his; its; possessive pronoun
- können
- Can; to be able; may; be possible
- Ich
- I; first person singular pronoun nominative
- kenne
- Know; am acquainted with; recognize
- als
- Than; as; when; comparative conjunction
- den
- The; that; definite article accusative
- Scherz
- Joke; jest; mockery; something amusing
- sich
- Himself; herself; itself; reflexive pronoun
- gegenüber
- Opposite; toward; across from; against
- erlaubte
- Allowed; permitted; granted; made possible
- er
- He; it; third person singular pronoun
- nannte
- Called; named; referred to; termed
- sie
- She; they; it; third person pronoun
- In
- In; into; within a space
- seinem
- His; its; possessive pronoun dative
- ursprünglichen
- Original; primitive; primordial; initial meaning
- Sinne
- Sense; meaning; mind; perception
- auf
- On; upon; at; upward direction
- ersten
- First; at first; initial; primary
- Blick
- Glance; look; sight; at first sight
- bedeutet
- Means; signifies; indicates; has meaning
- Wort
- Word; term; saying; verbal expression
- Schmeichler
- Flatterer; sycophant; one who flatters
- des
- The; of the; genitive definite article
- folglich
- Consequently; therefore; thus; as a result
- Helfershelfer
- Accomplice; henchman; associate in crime
- der
- The; who; definite article masculine
- Tyrannen
- Tyrants; despots; autocratic rulers plural
- hinaus
- Out; beyond; outside; furthermore
- jedoch
- However; yet; but; nevertheless still
- will
- Wants; wishes; intends; will to
- es
- It; this; that; neuter pronoun
- so
- So; thus; in this way; like
- viel
- Much; many; a lot; abundance
- sagen
- Say; tell; speak; express verbally
- wie
- Like; as; how; in what way
- Sie
- You; formal polite second person pronoun
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →