The Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic

The Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche is a philosophical work that delves into the historical and psychological origins of Western moral values. Nietzsche argues that traditional moral concepts, such as good and evil, have their roots in a slave morality born out of resentment and the desire for power among the oppressed. He contrasts this with the earlier master morality of aristocratic classes. Nietzsche challenges conventional moral values and calls for a reevaluation of these values in light of human history and psychology, advocating for a more authentic and individualistic morality. This edition brings the 1913 translation made by Horace B. Samuel (1883-1950). “If this writing be obscure to any individual, and jar on his ears, I do not think that it is necessarily I who am to blame. It is clear enough, on the hypothesis which I presuppose, namely, that the reader has first read my previous writings and has not grudged them a certain amount of trouble: it is not, indeed, a simple matter to get really at their essence. Take, for instance, my Zarathustra; I allow no one to pass muster as knowing that book, unless every single word therein has at some time wrought in him a profound wound, and at some time exercised on him a profound enchantment: then and not till then can he enjoy the privilege of participating reverently in the halcyon element, from which that work is born, in its sunny brilliance, its distance, its spaciousness, its certainty. In other cases the aphoristic form produces difficulty, but this is only because this form is treated too casually. An aphorism properly coined and cast into its final mould is far from being “deciphered” as soon as it has been read; on the contrary, it is then that it first requires to be expounded–of course for that purpose an art of exposition is necessary. The third essay in this book provides an example of what is offered, of what in such cases I call exposition: an aphorism is prefixed to that essay, the essay itself is its commentary. Certainly one quality which nowadays has been best forgotten–and that is why it will take some time yet for my writings to become readable–is essential in order to practise reading as an art–a quality for the exercise of which it is necessary.” — Nietzsche