Jocks on property as dhett, so those who hold consistently ‘0 our kind of faith regard all contempy for human fe, al cruelty and indiference as tantarhount fo king, And not only things present can be llled, but the things of the Tuaieea wel. (23) Leadership means lite o us, service everything. Before al ober virtues, we culvateteverence, but we do not ivereverence to persons, (244) ‘There is no other way to growth and Sulitlment thanthe ‘most periect unfolding of one's own essence Be diye” 4s the ideal lw, a eat for a young man: there is no ther ay o trad and development, ‘This way Is made dificult by many moral and other obstacles. The world would rather sce us adapted and weak than independent, and for every man who fa ind Viualzed beyond the average, this is & source of lifelong strugale, Each man must decide for himself, according te his own resources and his own needs, how far to aubeat to conventions or to defy them. When he thiows the conventions, the demands of family, state, cllecuey to the winds, it mus be in fll awareness tht he i dng 50 at his own perl There is no oblectve way of measuring ‘the amount of danger a man is capable of taking on hing self. Every exces, every oversteppitg of one's dwn Mica Sure must be paid for; no man can go to far in indepen. dence or in adapration with impunity (2451 Pleasant a it sto adapt oneself to anes environment and to the sprit of the times, the plearures of inteppty are reatr and more lasting 1248) % The Task of the Inoue ‘We should devote ourselves tothe needs and problems of he day only i we ae prepared to tae & pattisan stand fd commit curseives entirely Sine I know of no party tvnose ais I can fully approve, this course isnot open 10 [471 ne wo wi ot ge ahead any Ese yo tm pet Ine demagogten oper no minster. ema ge heed wherever nan dos what heehee fo what i ‘ite demand of hm, whae stnergoenty om pally inde (a8) I here and nov, in the face of todays difcules and requirements, we behave with acartain smount of human ‘conc, itis possible thatthe future, to, wil be human. (249) man of character revel ¢ most cian pty ‘thon removed fom ht ul spe of He he nes Snes cntoringenedingner T3501) and no le A profound desire to travel i no diferent poignant than de dangerous yearning to think without [ear totum the world on its ead, and 0 obtain answers fom al hing pero and evn, cao be a petsed by plans or books it demands more and costs owe, we must put ou heart’ blood int Ie (50)We are the playthings nt ofa bind power outside us, but ofthe gifts, weaknesses, and other hereditary factors that ‘Aman brings into te world with him, The ata of mean ‘ngful life sto hear the eall ofthis ier voice and ab far 4s possible to follow i. The essential, then, isto know Yourself; tis does not mean to judge and ty to change yourself but t do your utmost to give your life the form foreshadowed by your inimations, (244) Your theoretical question as to whether a hman fe is ‘worth more than the St. Matihew Passion is evolu, and the answer to which you incline fs dangerous, A man ‘without culture, without history, without ati less dese able than any animal, and to hold that sheer lifes worth ‘more than history and arts to think in terms of “blood and sol” an attitude which, as we know, has no regard Whatever for human life and is preservation. A human Individual is not higher value fn himself, but only a2 possibilty, ab way tothe spit (35) (One can always become innocent agein provided one faces up to one's suffering and gut ad suffers them (0 ‘the end instead of blaming them on others, (238) On the whole Tam distrustful of heroism and also of stoicism. In my ewn fe, except for few rae instances, have held that my shortest way through the word of pain was the way that le straight trough pan, [2371 Virwes, like talents, are dangerous, though in speci ‘tuations they aze useful hypertropies, rather lke goose e ‘The Taste ofthe Individual livers foreed to enonmous size Since I can develop no talent or virta im mytelt without diverting the requisite poychie energy ftom other impulses, every highly deve: {ped virtue involves a specialization at the expense of ‘bter aspects of fe that are repressed and left to languish, just sis posable to low up the inlet atthe expense ofthe senses, o feeling atthe expanse of reason, [238] Feel with all the sufering of the word, but don't tum Your strength to matters in which you are helpless; ex: pend ton your neighbor whom you can help, love, and ‘heer. 12391 (ur mission i to gain rue discernment ofthe contrac, frst as contraries, but then as poles of aun. 1240) les not our tack wo come closer to one another any more than sun and moon ar land and sea will ever meet. Out foal isto know one another, to see and leatn to revere the fer for whet he is: out own counterpart end com> plement (240) The winner ts always he who ean love, beAndulgent, and orgve, not he who selrghteously condemns. (aay ‘We Kil when ste close our eyes to poverty, aficton, oF infamy. We kill when, because it Is easier, we counts hance or even pretend to approve of atrophied socal, politcal, edveational, and religous institutions, instead of Fesclutly combating them. Just as a consistent soctalit &%Ie begin to confront dhs brutal meaninglessnest nd to fect mean on That oe hg scien ‘ans capable of and ical bes capte a oy ‘alse is dane better by animals, a Most men do no slr from meaningless, any ‘ae than the earthmorm oe. ut pecs eee eh ose and lok for meaning are he mesa ot ee 08 man 1235) Problems do not exist in erder to be solved; they are ‘merely the poles tat engender the tens srt gender the tension necessary for (236) Every strong men invasibly achieves what tive leads him to strive foe. a) (237) JE nt forthe beast within us we wou nas ld be cafes (38) er mtn, oa be yen stars efx pron Wh fc, has lott nborm dntny He tans ma eae hat led ening wont ha ona Wh sen on Pups ren Man, a conceived by God and God and as sen by the trate fa Wisdom of the peoples for some thousands of ea vas created with a capaiy for ting pos se things that are of h 1 use to him, with an organ for the Deauifl Spit and senses parte equly bie ‘ont of beauty, and as long ae man ts able amid soe 60 ‘The Tasks ofthe Individual tebulations and dangers of hit fe to enjoy such things — atures play of cols, a painting. the voice ofthe storm, of the see, of manmade music; av lang as ho is able, Cinder hip surface needs and Snterests, to se and fel the ‘world as'¢ whole, to derive joy and wisdom, amusement land eympathy from the thousands of relationships, core Spondences, analogies, and echoes that speak tous etx ‘ally from things great and small—the Ue of a playing Ikten’s head, the moduladons of a sonata, che touching look in the eyes of dog, a great poems as long as man thas ths capacity, he wil know how to deal with what is problemade in his existence and continually to fad new nearing i he ife, for “meaning” is precisely the unity of {he manifold, the poner of the human split to sense unity and harmony inthe worlds confusion, (239) 1 have always believed, ana I sil belive, that whatever good or bad fortune mey come our way we ean always {ge it meaning and transform ft into something of value. [Nekther for myself nor fr others shall Tever abandon this belie (238) Intelligence noble and beneficial only when i serves the ‘ruth; ence it Btrays the truth, once cass off reverence, DDecomes venal and opportunistic, it becomes a power for ‘el, far worse than animal, instinctive bestallty, which slovayeretaing some ofthe innocence of nature 1332] “The eufferings of the word should find ut indestructible fm our innermost being, but not armored against them by seme sort of perfect philosophy. (2331 6When a man is looking for something, it easily comes about dhat his mind sees only what he is ooking for-—that hhe can find nothing, assimilate nothing, because he can think only of what he is looking for, Because he has an aim, beease he is possessed by hea. To seek is to have an am, To fin isto be fee and open, to have no aim, (218) Patience is the most dificult thing of all and the only thing that is worth learning. All nature, all grow, al peace, everything that lowers and is beaudful inthe World depends on patience, requires time, silence, ust, And faith tn long-term processes which far exceed any Single lfedme, which are accesible to the insight of no ‘one person, and which in thelr totality can be experienced ‘only by peoples and epochs, not by nidviduals, (219 “To each man ie sts diferent, unique task, Conse quendy there Ss nd such thing at an innate, predee ‘ned cepa for fe, merely by aeceping the place in Iie that he himecl i not choose and eying to make the ‘most of i, even the weakest and poorest of men can, in bis own way, lead & worthy. authentic life and mean something t others. That ie tuo humanity, it always uses» noble, healing power, even when te man To whom the task has fallen fe por devil with whom one Youd not wish tochange places (220) ‘The kpowlodge or belief cha all knowledge ie fragmen- tary should sop no one from going on with hs bulding and atsining the possible, [231] 8 ‘The Tasks ofthe Induct “The best weapons against the infalos of life are cour. ge, an independent mind, and_ patience. Courage Strengthens, dhe independent mind amuses, and patlence tives peace. [233] ‘As ara, the bad, stupid periods of my life have agreed {eith me more than the reatonable and setingy sucess {ulones. I mast have patience, not reason. must snk my roots deeper, not shake my branches. (33) ‘We require sill ancther education besides the intellect ‘We have submited tothe ethic ofthe Order, not so 38 to bend out intelloctualy acuve fe sno a vogetaive dream life, but onthe contrary, 0 a8 to make ourselves capable of the highest intellects achlovement. We should not escape from the vita atte wo the uta conterplatca, nor Conversely, but move back and forth between the to, ‘make ourselves at home both, participate in bot, (2341 Life meaningless, cruel, stupid, and nevertheless mag- pilcent—it does not make fun of man (for that requires Intelgence), bue concerns Steelf with man no more than twith de earthworm. To suppose hat man in particular 8 {whim and cruel game of nature isa fallacy that man Irimielf has thought up Because he takes himself oo ferlously. First of ll, we must recogalae that we men have no harder time oft than birds oF ants, hat actually fur ife is easler and more beautiful. We must take the Crucky of fe and the inexorably of desth into our. Seives, not by moaning, but by expeiencing our despair the full. Only then, only when we have taken all the Cruelty or meaninglssncis of ngture into ourselves, can =Deods—are never done by one who fast asks, “What should do?" [208 ‘All eultursl achievement in this world has been brought Ideals are threatened, But ywhen a now ideal, a new, possibly dangerous and terrifying Impulse of growth Knocks at the door, noone is home, (209 ‘All cultural achievement inthis word has been brought about by men who conceived Sdeals and hopes far exceed Ing what was possible at the moment, tam] ‘The greater 2 man's education and the privileges he has enjoyed, the greater should be his sacrifces in une of need, [ar] (One who accepts a calling is not only accepting agit and ‘command, hefs also taking a kindof guile upon himself, Just as when a soldier Is singled out from among bi ‘comrades t become an aficar; the greater his sense of fll toward his comrades, the worthier he wil be of his promotion, (212) ‘To think is to discern causes; this alone transforms fel ‘ngs into insights that are not lst, but take on substance and radiance, (213) Dont say that any emotion i insignificant, that any ‘emotion is unwordhyt They are all good, very good, even hatred, even envy, jealousy, cruelty. We Ive by nothing 6 The Tasks ofthe Endod cle than out poor, beautiful, magnificent emotions, and ‘very emotion we disregard is «sar chat we extinguish, (214) From everything that man has desived he has been sepa: tated only by time-by time, that fantastic invention. Is ne of the prope, one ofthe crutches, we must throw avay Af we want tobe free. 125] “The more we demand of ourselves, or the more the task in hand demands of us, he more dependant we are on rmeditation as a source of strength, on the continually ‘enewed reconliation of sist and soul ‘All the tly great men inthe history of the world heve lther known how to meditate or unconsciously found the ‘way to the place where meditation leads ut. The rest, feven the strongest and mote gifted, have all falled and been defeated in the end, Because thle task or ambitious dream so took possession of them, so possessed them that thy lot the fecuty of detachment from current contin wencies. {286 ) My life, as Ise i, should be @ transcending, @ progres: sion from stage to stage; one sphere after another should be traversed and left behind, just as a piece of music completes and leaves behind i¢ theme after theme, tempo afer tompo, never weary, always awake, always fully flee tothe present In connection withthe experience of waking, I had noticed that such stages and spheres exist, land thatthe end of each period of hfe always caries & tonality of fading and dying, which leads the way to a new sphere, an awakening fresh start. (217)Doth, but i is infinitely strong, stronger than Snerti, stronger than sel'seeking song than vant (1971 No precious jewel isso inyuerably beautfl chat habit and lvelesness cannot take aay its luster, according, ltscems tome, we should sve for the at of devoting the same reverence and love to the customary beauties azcund us a8 We doo readily to those thet are faraway [198] Opinions interest me only when they ead to deedstand sacrifices. Consequently, I very much prefer a man who {hinks the opposite from myself, but who appeals to me and impresses me as a man, eo one who agrees with me but whom I suspeet of being a coward and a windbas, (1991 Realty Is what we cannot under any circumstances be satisfied with, what we must ot under any circumstances ‘worship or admire, fori is accident, a waste product of life. The only way we ean change iti by denying it by Wwe ate stronger tha is Under no circumstances ean we, who from art, nature, oF fhe sciences have acquired a feeling for quality and undertaken wo foster It, be under abigation to foster ‘quantity and ether in the Wester orn the Eastern way, promote the fallacy that human problems ean be saved in fhe same ay as mathematical ones. We must work for the values in which we really Belov, even f we can do so only in the most restricted sphere, (200) Ies not crucial forthe vale and grow of myself that I should at all times be conscious of the things that are 54 ‘The Tash ofthe Inatedual ‘mportant tome, but ony that I maintain good, easy, id relations between the spheres of consciousness and af the tunconscious, We are not thinking machines, but orga [202 }) ‘We must begin not with political methods and forms of government, but at the binning, withthe building of the personality, if we wish again to have minds and men eapable of securing our future. (208) Its easier to die for a eause than to ive fort [204] ‘Man i not determinate, clearly defined once and for all he fe something in process of development, an expert ‘ment, am intimation ofthe future, the quest and yearning lof nature for new forms and new posibiites. (295 ‘inte is obedionce. The question is only: Whom are we to obey? For selfs alto obedience. But all the other Vitues, dhe vitues that are 50 highly esteemed and praised, consis in obedience to man-made laws. Sel-will, {S the only virtue that takes no account of these laws. A self-wiled man obeys a different la, tho one law hold Absolutely sacred—the lar in himself, his own “wil” [208 | What repels me exists for me-no leks than what I love But what I dont know and don’ want to know, what leaves me indifferent, what is unrelated to me and does nat spea to me, does not exit for me—and the more oft theres, che lower I myself standin the scale of being (207) SFPractice ought to be the cansoquence of thought, not the other way round, (386) 1 hold that 1 am not responsble fr the mesningtulness or reaninglessness of life, but that I am responsible for ‘what do with my own unique fe. 1287] ‘When fat comes to @ man from outside fell him ax an sow fells deer. When it comes to him from within, from his sonermost being, strengthens him and makes Dim into a god (388) 1 you know that your struggle wil be unsuccessful that will not make your fe shallow and stupid. Te wil be uch more so if you struggle for something good and ‘deal and think you are sare to atain fe 1189) Yes, there is such a thing as peace, but there is no peace {hat awvels in us eternally and newer leaves us, There ls nly a peace that must be wen time and time agein by Unceasing struggle, that mrt be won each day anew C390) [Every colt that has not bien suffered tothe end and. resclved wil recur, [198] God does not send us despa in order to kil us; he sends {tin order to awaken us tnew ie. (192) Undoubtedly i is very hand wo live with lasting physical = The Tasks of he Enea pln. Men of heroic character resist pa, try to deny it, And grit their teeth after the manner ofthe Reman Stas But attractive ay this attitude s, we are inclined to doubt ‘whether one ean relly conquer pain. For my part have ben most successful in living with pain, not when Lave ‘sisted ut when I have given in fot, a one gives in 10 runkennese oo an adventure (193) [Every attempt to take culture the human spirit and Se omands, seriously and to live by it leads invariably to despair. Salvation then comes from the realization that Wwe have gone to0 far in ebjectfying subjective experi ‘ences and states. OF course, such experiences of salvation fare no quarantee against new despa. Bur they promote ‘he bei tha ll despair can be overoome from within, (194) ‘We mutt become 30 aloné, 30 utterly alone, that we withdraw into our Snnermost self. Iti a way of biter suffering. But then our solitude is overcame, we are 20 lenges alone, for we find that our snnermort self fs the spit, that t's God, de indivsble, And suddenly we find ‘uratves inthe midst ofthe world, yet undisturbed by St ‘muliplcty, fo in our innermost soul we know eurselves tobe one with al being, (95 Loneliness i the way by whlch destiny endeavors to lead ‘man wo himself 1198] Conscience has nothing todo with morality of lw; ican ‘enter ino tho most tert, the most deadly conts with 8You say that the quest ofthe self less important than ‘nding the right relationship to ahers, But these are not two different things. Anyone who socks hie authentic self seeks atthe same time the noem of al fe, forthe Snne- ‘ost selfs the same in all men It is God, i “meaning” That is why the Brahman says of every other being: “Tat foeam asi—that is thyseifT” He knows that he eannot vharm another being without harming hmeelf, and that egos spotless, [783 Only by understanding can we get the better of destiny. (76) Some people regard themselves as perfect, but only be ‘ause they demand itl of themselves, 7} Man is nota permanent, unchanging creation (this was tha deal of antiguty despite the contradictory ntimatone of its philosophers); he is rather an experiment and ‘wansidon, a narrow, dangerous bridge between nature land spirit His innermost destiny dives im toward the split toward God: his innermost yearning drives hit ‘ture, back to the mother: hie life ea fearful wavering between these two powers. 78} Nothing 1s so impossible to describe in words, yet so necessary wo impress upon the minds of men as certain things whose exitence is neither demonstrable not pro able but which pious, cnscientious men have dwelt with 4s though they existed and so brought one step closer Deing and to the possiblity of being born. 791 The Tesh of he Intoual The digniy of man stands and falls with hs ability to set himself goals in the realm of the unatainable, and his tragedy les inthe fac that he has the ways and practices ofthe world agalnat his, [#89] We should not seok but find, not judge but contemplate snd understand, abeorb and digest what we have ab- forbed, We should feel our whole being to be akin and tuned to the whele. Only then can we stand in a ue relationship to nature. (38) 1 don't know whether the world hat ever been bettered; pethaps thas always been as good and as bad as tis. But {his I do know. if ever the world bas been bettered, If has ever been made richer, more alive, happier, mere dangerous, more amusing, this has not been the work of reformers, of betteers, but of true selfscckers wo have zh goal end no purpoces, who are content to live and tobe themecves (183) (Chaos demands to be recognized and experienced before leting self be converted into anew order (383) Every destiny, however much it may seem to be deter mined by certain situations, bears within it llth poss Uildes of life and transformation implicit in the man himself. And the more childhood, gratitude, and capacity forlove we have, the greater these willbe. fern) Time and time again we cling 10 the things we have learned to love, we call his Sdely, but iis only Inara (3851 PaThe Tasks of the Individual S« ‘vis to yourself, to what makes you different, to Your felings, Your destiny! There fe no other way. Where it leads I'dontt know, only that i leads to if, realty, to burning necessiry. You may find this unbearable apd take you lf; that course Is open to all, the Uhought oft often makes one feel better as it does me, But to ele {dus path by dealsion, by bewayal of your ov destiny and ture, by sasmallation tothe “normal"—of that you arp Incapable, You would not succeed for long, and. your despatr would be greter than is now ny Life takes on meaning when we remove St a8 far as possible from the naive striving for selsh pleasure, and Dutt in the tervice of something, f we take this service Seriously, the “moaning” comes of sof 173) ‘Asa rue; fear of madness is merely fear of life of the demands mado on us by our development and our im fines. Betwoen nalve instinctual fe and wht me con fciously want and strive tobe, chere is always a gulf, We cannot bridge i, but I believe wo ean leap over i that we can do so continually, many hundreds of times; each me requires courage, and each ie we fear to make the leap. 1174) cyor deny that te sometimes useful to judge people on the Dasis of such typologies, There are active and conten plative men, Bue behind chem there is a unity. To my hind, only a man embodying both these oppesizos can be truly alive and, under favorable circumstances, exer lary. Theve no objection elther tothe relentless worker ft the hermit who contemplates his nave, but Tam {Unable fo ind either of them interesting, let slone exem- lary. The man { look for and hope fr is one capable both Et living inthe world and of being alone, of action a6 well fs meditauon, And if in my wltings I stem to give the ‘contemplative Ife procedence over the active lf, iis probably because, aI se shem, cur world and times are Til of men who are active, alert, and competent, but ‘ncapable of contemplation (3631 ‘An erplane and a moon rocket are undoubtedly splendid, iraifyng things, but in view of the word's history we find it hard to Believe that they can appreciably modify the elations between man and man, > 64) {In the phase of innocence, lous and Rational battle each fother very much like cillsen of efferent temperaments, Tn the second phase, having achieved knowledge, the two contrary poles combat each other with the violence, passion, and tragedy thet charactenze conflicts between Tn the third phase, the combatants begin to know each cocker, no longer as allen beings, but as interdependent. They begin to love and to youmn for one another. From {his point, the road leeds to posses of humanity, whose teaization has thus far not been glimpsed by human eyes. 13651 Society and the natu ‘When we fear someone, iis because we have given this someone power over us (166) “The less able 1 am to believe in our epoch and the more i and depraved mankind scams in my eyes, the less L Took to revolution as the remedy and the more I believe in the magico love C87) However close human beings may be to one another, there is always a gulf between them that only love can bridge, and even then the bridges only temporary. (398 [No one can feel a vibration Sn others unless he has iin imei (369) “Mankind—that is, the majority of men—has always been opposed to those who desired the good, for the Imasses ee neither good nor ei they are above all inert, find hate nothing 9 much as appeals to their conscience, Development toward higher things, the conquest of ego jm and inertia yl always be the work of individuals, never of majorite. U7} ‘When by hand struggle a personality has broken away from is origins, not inlined to surrender its dearly tought freedom and responsibilty to any dogma, pro gram, schoo, tend, or dgue um)‘Ais inthe oficial hierarchy is a stop not toward free ‘om but toward constraint. The greater the povter that pols wih the office, the sticter the servitude. The ‘Sronger the man's character, the more all independence ‘on his art wil be frowned on [1501 People do's Mike originale, they peter to have everything at second hand. They like the new only when 1s served ‘up digested and adapted, diminished and protifie, (1551 (Only an individual can do the impossible in the struggle fagatnat hie natural divs, A community, a nation cannot they demand tobe treated Sn a purely praclcl way, with concessions and adjustments 1158) (Ofcourse, there are many people who find Ife easier and ‘who seem tobe, or actually are, “happier”; people without problems are those who ate not strongly individualized (1571 All my lfe Ihave stood up forthe individual, che person Aliy, I do not belie thee fs any such thing asa Unt ‘ered law that does the individual any good. Laws and Prescriptions are not for individual, but for dbo many, for herds, nations, and collcuvitis. True personalities have a harder but also a better time of it they do not benefit from the protectin ofthe herd, ut know the oys of thelr ‘own imaginations If they survive the years oftheir youth, they must beara heavy responsibilty. 158] ‘The funetion of normal men, I saw, was t safeguard and consolidate the existing form of aac, species, a way of Me, s0 as to provide a firm base, something to fall back 2 Society and the Indole fon, The function of the visionaries, on the other hand, {wes to leap and caper, to dreain of what had never been thought of before, in order thatthe Bish might some day become a land animal andthe ape an anthropotd (359) My work was to defend “private” individual lfe against the threat of mechanization, war, the state, and mass deals. Tas well swave that It often takes more courage to be merely human, without heroism, dha it does to Be hero [1601 ‘All appeals to herolem are repressions a} ‘The spisttal man-—and this ¢ my hope forthe future— should not become just another successfl money maker. He should aot sit at the tables of the sich or share in ‘helt humurles, He should be more or less of an asc, bur be should not be ridiculed fr it; no, he should be reepected, and provided as a matter of course with 2 ‘inimum of material goods, jst asin times of monastic fulture a monk, though forbidden to have pxsate posses ‘ons, was enabled to ive and enjoyed a share, proportional tohisachioverent, in the glory and authority of his oder. Spinitual if cannot be dicted by an aristocracy, arstoc roy is hereditary, and spet i nt, in the paysical sense, Inherited, A sellordered spiritual Ife must revolve ‘round an oligarchy ofthe most pritual, but every means tf education must be open to the gited. {162} My fest article of faith i the uni behind and above the opposites. OF course, Ido not deny the possibilty of Eling up schemas such as “ace” and “eantamplatve 8of trth to anything ele, even to one's country Is teason. ‘The acholar who Knowingly says what Ss untrue, know: {gy gives his suppor to ies and forgets, stanserese ing Rundamental, organi laws; furthermore, all momen- ae ppearances to the contrary, he s doing is nation io’ genn but only harm, he is posoning thought and Jusdce and promodng everything that is Bosble and ei 344 It isthe duty of us men of the spit to defy the steam feller of standardization and not to generalize but to ‘ferent. (1451 Spirit cannot fight againat power, or quality against quan 348) To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile ‘Mhout bosuityat people and isations, to compensate Yor the chertage of love inthe workd with more love in ‘Shall, private mater; tobe more faithful in ovr work, 0 ‘how greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtain- ble Hom mockery and eis: all ese are things we cando (47) “Try your level best to find he mode of life dha ight for Jou even if it means neglcting your “duties.” Duties [eal al, or atleast a good part, oftheir sanciy from rant of courage to ght for ones privat i. (48 ‘Arman who is *itadjusted the world” is always on the plntof nding himsele, ne who fs adjusted tothe world Reve fds mse, bat gets tbe a eabinet minister 149) ” Society andthe Entel ‘ery aspiration to instil soul into life is oulawed by the powers that be, [150] Colleagues” ike o congregate but seldom get along: 38] Don't ask, “Ts my atte toward life dhe right one?"—to {hat question heres no answer. Every austude isa right ae evtay other, all are a par of fe. Ask instead, “Since twas fam, since [have these particular needs and prob- Thane which oem to be spazed so many others, what must T'do Im order to bear life, novortheles, and Af possible Toake vomething good of 12" If you realy listen to your Iinermostvolce the answer wl be something ike this ‘Since Tam av lam, Lshould nelther envy nor despise ‘ph for being diferent. 1 should not ask whether my Bung fs ight’ but accept my soul and its needs just as 1 aeeege anybody, my name, my origins: as something fives and inescapable, which Laaust say yes to and stand Ep oc even if the whole world should oppose it” [352] Under usual clrcumstances we assume that a government (feat an excallent cen, a justified child of God, a (roperiy agged and woeful member of the community, Tncreas a madman is @ poor sick devi, to be tolerated {Tht ted, but worthless. But then come days oF hours, abely after we have spent & good deal of tme with Finfercors er madmen, when the contrary suddenly be- imme tue! dien we dcover thatthe madman quely ‘Heure in his happiness, «philosopher, a favorite of God, eon in character and content with himself and his faith fhe profesor or offal, on the osher hand, seems super ‘Boone, mediocre in ebaracter, without personality or ind iality,mterchangeable, (3531 "Money na poser are inventions of distrust 11351 ‘When we hate someone, i because we hate some pert at ourselves in his image, We dont get excited about any. thing that snot in ourselves, 136] Clarity sbout one’s felings and about the implications fd consequences of one's actons is posible nly in good, Staunch men who believe in life and overtake a step {hey wil be unable to approve of tomorrow and the day oe Te is not my good fortune to be one of them; I fel find act Ie one who does not balleve in tomorrow and regards each day 2s the last (37) ‘We can understand one another, but we ean interpret only ourseves. (381 “The bourgeois atuude has always been present in man- ind, it simply the striving for a balance between the textremes and polarities of human behavior. T1391 “Those who rise higher and are given greater tasks 10 perform do not gen more freedom but only more respon Sit (401 tm the Indian view, that ss, from the standpoint of the Upanishads and of all preBuddhist philosophy, my peighbor isnot ony “a man like me"; be is I, he fs one ‘with me, for dhe ivsion between him and me, between I {Ind Thou, is delusion, maya, And the entre ethical mes 8 Society andthe Intra lng of brotheriy love is contained in this Interpretation Foto dhowe who have understood thatthe world is one, fs cbviosly absurd thatthe parts and limbs of this whole should harm one another. [rary Al degeneration begins with taking bg things seriously fd regarding it ap se-evident that tle things should hot be taken seriously, To revere humanity but torment tne’ servants t0 hold county or church of party sacred ‘but ty do one’s daly work poorly and sloppy: that fs the boginning of all comrupdon, Against ie dhere Is only one emody. to disregard for the ime being all th supposedly ferour and sacred things such as polidcal convictions, philosophy, and patriotism in oneself and others, and Jnstead to give seious attention tothe small and smallest things, tothe dues ofthe moment. (ay 1 do not regard the dutiful officer as inferior to the de- fenseless martyr; each has his place, and his worth is texactly equal t his loyalty and the sacrifices he makes, ‘When an officer docs hie duty, he has my full respect he does not do so, if though insisting that his soldiers Salute him prompdy, he thinks fist of himself in. an fmergency, he isa scoundrel And lkowise: Hf a pacifist [reaches nontesstence and nonviolence all his life, but Fans for bombs and cannon to defend him when danger {hreatens, then he ois a stoundel C3 Though we are prepared to sacrifice our wellbeing, our Comfort, and our life tothe nation when itis in danger, this docs not mean that we are prepared to sacrifice the {lst fel tothe interests ofthe day, to dhe generals ot {he nation To ster intellectual integrity andthe sense 39When a man fels the need of justitying his lif, the erux 1s not any abjective, universally valid level of achieve ‘ment, but whether he has embodied his born essences fully and purely ax poesible in his life and actions, ‘A thousand temptations are always deflecting us from ‘his path, but dhe most compelling of them all is that deep own we should lke o be quite diferent frm what we ar, that we try to lve up wo prototypes and ideals that we anno, and indeed should not, atain. This temptation ts especialy strong in highly gifted men and is more danger ‘ous than the vulgar hazards of mere egoism, because it Dear an appearance of nobility and morally (351 ‘My tas isnot to give others what is objectively bes, but to go my own way with as much purity and Honesty a8 possible a (38) ‘Among men who have become coe in an organized state land social system, nothing s more unusual and harder to ‘ome by dan what fs reasonable and natural (37) Jn my experience, the wort enemy and coruptr of man 1s the tendeney™reulting from ment lanes and te diese for peace of mindto jin group and ergnter, tous wih set dogmas, be they slg ot pole Ta) [is alla matter of courage. The bravest of us often ose it then we tend to look for programs, for assurances and (grantees. Courago has heed of reason, bit itis not Feason' chil, springs from deeper strata [139] 36 Society andthe Ine In democratic and intellectually saturated times Ike ours, {tie quite an achievement eo discover that there Is no such thing as “normal man” possessing this and that quality land thinking in accordance with this and that Kanda ‘category, but that sde by sde with th uninteresting herd there are occasional superior men who, thaugh often pathological, are endowod withthe possiblity of telling the truth, to wit thatthe ways of life are inexorable and ‘hat every individual stands aba symbol fr the whole, [190] ‘Although the true saint demands & high degree of asce ‘lam of meal, fe fe moderate if not indulgent in his ‘demands on the asetciam of others cary [A decent man can't take a single step without making (133) “Those who wish to live long must seve, Those who wish torule donot ive long Osa) ‘Man sn the mass is alien to me and highly suspect. Since the days of my youth, when the massee were sll gov texed by strong des and repression, since 1914, we have fen what they are capable of. No, what I lve in man is the possiblities ofthe individual. The thought that man kind might cease wo exist the day after tomorrow doesnot terrify me, But ie would geeve me deeply to know that there would be no Goethe, no Morike, no Tlstoy, no Chekhov, no Renoir of Cézanne tomorrow, ar no mare of thore people who are capable of feeling joy and sadnesseternal pantheon for those who have defied this demand land prefered to de rather than betray thelr "elwil™ 127) What often obstructs or delays my steps in pracel fe, what looks lke hesitation ar indecision, may bo a weak: ‘ess, bc itis the very opposite of fvlity ti a tong {ling that man is responsible for everything he docs (08) Man has won mastery over this earth, and he is not @ ‘good master. But the awakened and the men of good will ‘rust nevertheless do their bit, not with doctines and Sermons, but by tying to lve meaningfully, each in is own sphere, TH91 ‘To tll the teu, the only inventions I daike and distrust axe the “useful” one. All thee supposedly useful achieve ments have an execrable aftermath, they are all 20 shabby, s0 ungenerous, so shortsighted all 0 soon the ‘motive behind them, he vanity or greed, becomes evident, fand everywhere these useful marks of etilization leave ‘behind them a long tall of cruelty, war, death, and Ridden misery. Civilization covers ce cart with slag nd ‘garbage heaps, impressive world fare and glossy auto- ‘bile shows are not the only consequence of useful fnventins, they leo give slse to armies of pale-faced, underpaid miner, to disease and desolation, Man paye for steam engines and turbines with deep sears on his own face and on the face of the earth, withthe degradation oF ‘worker and employer, with strikes, wars, and other hide fous evils, Yet when a men invented the violin or com pose the ala in Figaro, there was no price a allo ay. Mozart and Mértke cost the world vary leds, They were 4 Society and the Fda as cheap a8 sunshine; every employee of an engineering frm costs more [20) ven a superficial man disinclined to thought fools the ‘age-old need of finding 4 meaning in his life. When he ‘eases to find one, privat fe falls prey to frenzied self seeking and doadly far. a] {cis easy to transform te into money, Just as electrical Ccurent ean easly be transformed ino light and heat. ‘What is insane and ignoble about that stupidest of all maxim isthe underlying assumpuon that "money" is a ‘preme valve (3) {seems to me that for many suferers from grave mental ines the sun logs of thelr fortunes and the shatering oftheir faith in the sanctity of money would be no mistor tune at all, but dhe surest, indeed the only posible salva tion, And likewise, i seems to me that ft would be most ‘desirable in this prevent day life of ours i the exclusive Cult of work and money could be counteracted by a fea ing forthe play of the moment, an openness to chance, a ‘quay we al suffer from the lack of. (331 “Though we recognize nether “yood" nor bad” right noe left convictions, we do recogalze wo kinds of people ‘those who ty to lve according to thelr convictions and those who meray Keep them in their pockets. That is eur ‘only eriterion of judgment. C4) 35possible to be great scoundrel without ever doing any” {hing shat forlddan, [395] “Those who cannot think or take responsibilty for dhem- salvos ed, and clamor for, leader. (198 } “The man who isto ry to think for mse and tobe bis ‘own judge accommodates himself to existing laws, such fe they ae, He has easy (297) What I never wish for, not even in my worst hours s an sverage state of mind, halfway becween good and bad, a Tukewatm, tolerable mean, No, rather an exaggerated sing of the pendulum rather worse torment, and to rake up for t let my happy moments be a lie more ‘Man, I belive s capable of great exaltation and of great bbaseness, he can rire to the lovel of a demigod and descend to that of & heli dev; but after doing something treat o lo, he always snape back to is normal state of being. Every swing to demanie savagery is invariably fl Towed by a teacton, by man’s inborn yearning for oder sind modertion, (199) “The wise are always few. But pehaps they need the rasoes who enfold and ide Uhm as much as the masses ‘eed them Tr10] 1m those times of dlaaster and wniversal fear, it became apparent that the more aman attunes his life and 2 Society andthe Peel thought tothe spiritual and transpersonal, the more be her learned to venerate, observe, worship, seve, and stecfice, dhe more useful hes cn) ‘Men of courage and character always give others @ very queasy feeling [2] Where the nobler animals perish, dhe rabbit conquers; i Takes no demands, feels happy, and reproduces prod ously. 123) ‘There ts nothing 90 evil, savage, and cruel in nature 35 the normal man. ca) ‘Today artists and Antllectuals are all neurasthenic, oF ruber, our nerves axe not Weak at all, but normal, forthe {euth ofthe matter is that nerves were made to transit feelings, and we artes With our sensitive nerves do not fegard curselves as sick, but regard the present-day bus ‘pessman, technician, or weight te, who can fol happy Ina modern elty with ite note, desolation, and absolutely Hotentotlike conumotion, as degenerate. fers) ‘Arman who has afew aoions and does not live in secon. dance wit them fs said to have character, He merely Srimates in sue ways that he dinksdiferendy, that be has ideas of his own, 18] ‘The same mankind that paises and demands obedience to ks artery laws a8 the supreme virnie reserves is 8tnd defiance, between recognition of collective values and {ie rescue ofthe personality, (98) When especialy gifted and delcaely organied human ‘beings become avare of the cleavages within ther, when like every genius they overcome the delusion thatthe per sonalty is one and come 1 seo themselves as made up of several parts, as bundles of many selves, they need only express this insight and the majority wil instantly lock them up, invoke stientic authority, and diagnose schizo: phrenla, so as to protect mankind from heating the truth ‘ut of the mouths ofthese unfortunates, (901 Nothing makes te multitude angrier than when someone {orees them to change thet opinion of him. [700 } Good Lord, what a world this is, where tis Impossible to ‘be decent without becoming neurote! [ar }| What is grea or small, important or unimportant? ‘The Peychianat call a an nbalanoed if he eat sens veyed violent smal upset, smal feitaons, all Anju to his dignity, when quite posshy the same in ‘ual wil bear up bravely under suflerngs and shocks that mest men Sind very bad to take. A nan whofe dnsensiive wo constant hurlatons, who pats up ithe ‘owt wretched muse, the most miserable xciectare the most pouted air without complain, but whe pounds the tbe tnd eles looty murder when nee {5 te carrot at ea wa nan taverns I have oftn seen men of good reputation, gem aly rgarde as prtely normal nd nore eatse ° Society and the Individual and fume so fanatially, 40 rudely, so bestilly espe Gially when they felt the need of blatnng fellow player for their lsses—that I vary much wanted to sek out the rarest psychiatiat and have these unfortunates, com. ‘ited. The wuth is that there are many standard, all of Which deserve consideration, but I eantot bring myself to hold any of thom, including that of science and the of the ‘official morality of the moment, sated, [102 ) Every man Je the center of the word. Around him it seem to revolve willingly; each man and his fetme axe the culmination and elimax of history: behind him na ‘dons and millennia have died away, and abeed of him ‘here is nothing. The whole gigene apperstis of history seems to serve only the climactic point of the present ‘moment. To the primitive man every disturbance of thls feeling that he Is the center, dat be is safe on the shore While all others are carted away by the curent, if @ threat, He refutes to be awakened and enlightened, to dim, awakening, thought, and contact with reality are hostile and ediows, and with instinctive loathing he turns away from these whom he secs alficted with sates of wakefulness, from seers, questioner, geniuses, prophets, {nd madmen. [203] The same man who is not permitted to transgress the ‘most trifng ethical lw fo his own benefit allowed to do anyehing, to commit the mor evble crimes for cll: tivity, haion, and Fatherland. Then actions that are for biden in every other context Became his heroic duty. [204] ach one of us must discover for himself what i per ‘missible and what i forbidden—forbidden to him, Is 3tSociety and the Individual ‘ue cvossn rocsren people st the harder i for them to get acquainted, (931 ‘The only things dhat dhe bourgeois calls “eal” ar those that are peresived identically by allo atleast by many. (941 ‘A criminal” people say, meaning & man who has done semething that others have forbidden him todo [953 For the good clizen evrything Is sacrosanct that has to o withthe community, everything that he shares with ‘many and if posible with all that never reminds im of loneliness, of birth snd death, ar of his innermost sl. 96) My experience has been this: [have never been attacked ‘orepat upon for any stupl, nsignificane, wortles tng TThave done, every ime {have been reviled i has been for A thought o atin that later proved to be right. (971 Anyone who has attained high degree of individuality runt recognize thi life is a struggle between sacrifice 29