Nietzsche and ArtLudovici, Anthony M. (Anthony Mario)
Philosophy
Nietzsche and Art
Ludovici, Anthony M. (Anthony Mario)
Aesthetics, German -- 19th century; Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 -- Aesthetics
"Thou the upholder of order, who knowest the twelve months with the
offspring of each, and who knowest the month that is engendered
afterwards.
"Thou who knowest the track of the wind, of the wide, the bright, the
mighty; and knowest those who reside on high.
"Thou the upholder of order, Varuna, sit down among thy people, thou,
the wise, sit there to govern.
"From thence perceiving all wondrous things, thou seest what has been
and what will be done.
"Thou who givest to men glory, and not half glory, who givest it even
to our own selves.
"Thou, O wise god, art Lord of all, of heaven and earth!"[51]
We can follow every word of this heartfelt worship with perfect
sympathy now.
"Thou, the upholder of order, who knowest the twelve months with the
offspring of each"--this is no empty praise. It is the cry of those
who feel inexpressibly grateful to their great artist; to him who has
put some meaning, some order into the world.
And "Thou who givest men glory, and not half glory"--here is the
sincere recognition of a people who have been raised and who not only
rejoice in their elevation, but also recognize that it has been a
creative act--a gift and a blessing from one who had something to
give. For the soul of man is a million times more sensitive to changes
in interpretation than the column of mercury is to changes in the
atmosphere, and nothing can be more grateful than the soul of man when
it is raised, however little, and thereby glorified.
[44] See Max Müller, _India. What can it teach us?_ pp. 154. 155; also
pp. 150 and 151.
[45] _W. P._, Vol. II, pp. 88, 89: "Happiness can be promised only by
Being: change and happiness exclude each other. The loftiest desire
is thus to be one with Being. That is the formula for the way to
happiness."
[46] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 313.
[47] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 264.
[48] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 244.
[49] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 252.
[50] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 290. See also p. 292: "Art is more divine
than truth."
[51] _W. P._, Vol. II, p. 133. See also Schopenhauer, _Parerga und
Paralipomena_, Vol. II, Chap. XV, "_Ueber Religion_," para. 176, where
this view is ably upheld.
[52] Rig-Veda, I, 23.
4. The Danger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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