Book Two: A Criticism of the Highest Values That Have Prevailed Hitherto
Concluding remarks concerning the criticism of morality§405 To what extent is the self-destruction of morality still a sign of its own strength? We Europeans have within us the blood of those who were ready to die for their faith; we have taken morality frightfully seriously and there is nothing which we have not, at one time, sacrificed to it. On the other hand, our intellectual subtlety has been reached essentially through the vivisection of our consciences. We do not yet know the “whither” towards which we are urging our steps, now that we have departed from the soil of our forebears. But it was on this very soil that we acquired the strength which is now driving us from our homes in search of adventure and it is thanks to that strength that we are now in mid-sea, surrounded by untried possibilities and things undiscovered we can no longer choose, we must be conquerors, now that we have no land in which we feel at home and in which we would want to “survive”. A concealed “Yes” is driving us forward and it is stronger than all our “No’s”. Even our strength no longer bears with us in the old swampy land: we venture out into the open, we attempt the task. The world is still rich and undiscovered and even to perish were better than to be half-men or poisonous men. Our very strength itself urges us to take to the sea; there where all suns have hitherto sunk we know of a new world —
And this ends The Will to Power, at least so far as this Web site is concerned. We’re only about halfway through, but I can find no complete text version on the Web that won’t need more time cleaning/editing it than I’m willing to spend; so that’s that. It is one of Nietzsche’s most popular works, however, and those who are interested in reading the rest ought to be able to walk into any Barnes & Noble store and leave with a copy. Of course, there are good editions available immediately for those of you who have e-readers.