THE FORGETFUL ONES.—In outbursts of passion and the delusions of dreams
and madness, man rediscovers his own primitive history, and that of
humanity: animality and its savage grimaces. For once his memory stretches
back into the past, while his civilised condition is developed from the
forgetfulness of these primitive experiences, that is to say, from the
failing of this memory. He who, as a forgetful man of a higher nature, has
always remained aloof from these things, does not understand men—but it is
an advantage if from time to time there are individuals who do not
understand men, individuals who are, so to speak, created from the divine
seed and born of reason.
313.
THE FRIEND WHOM WE WANT NO LONGER.—That friend whose hopes we cannot
satisfy we should prefer to have as an enemy.
314.
IN THE SOCIETY OF THINKERS.—In the midst of the ocean of becoming we
adventurers and birds of passage wake up on an island no larger than a
small boat, and here we look round us for a moment with as much haste and
curiosity as possible; for how quickly may some gale blow us away or some
wave sweep over the little island and leave nothing of us remaining! Here,
however, upon this little piece of ground we meet with other birds of
passage and hear of still earlier ones,—and thus we live together for one
precious minute of recognition and divining, amid the cheerful fluttering
of wings and joyful chirping, and then adventure in spirit far out on the
ocean, feeling no less proud than the ocean itself.
315.
PARTING WITH SOMETHING.—To give up some of our property, or to waive a
right, gives pleasure when it denotes great wealth. Generosity may be
placed in this category.
316.
WEAK SECTS.—Those sects which feel that they will always remain weak hunt
up a few intelligent individual adherents, wishing to make up in quality
what they lack in quantity. This gives rise to no little danger for
intelligent minds.
317.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE EVENING.—The man who meditates upon his day’s and
life’s work when he has reached the end of his journey and feels weary,
generally arrives at a melancholy conclusion; but this is not the fault of
the day or his life, but of weariness.—In the midst of creative work we do
not take time, as a rule, to meditate upon life and existence, nor yet in
the midst of our pleasures: but if by a chance this did happen once we
should no longer believe him to be right who waited for the seventh day
and for repose to find everything that exists very beautiful.—He had
missed the right moment.
318.
BEWARE OF SYSTEMISERS!—There is a certain amount of comedy about
systemisers: in trying to complete a system and to round off its horizon
they have to try to let their weaker qualities appear in the same style as
their stronger ones.—They wish to represent complete and uniformly strong
natures.
319.