|
|
|
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A Very Timely Meditation on Pleasure Seekers
in the Age of Dionysus
Processed by IIvIx
Would anyone care to take a look into the realm of the young pleasure-seekers?
Who is brave enough here?... Very well, step forward, my dear Mr. Daredevil,
and stare down into their dark workshop, wherein frolic these beautiful
beasts, adorned with clothes and finery of the greatest quality (albeit
in such small quantities! Why how immodest the creatures that play in
this warren!), yet unburdened by the morals that the men of the surface
world claim as their own. Are your eyes adjusting to the light yet?
Intense yet faltering, like our steps into their lair... Wait for just
a further moment, my friend, for entrance to this grotesque subterrainea
is obstructed by the presence of another kind of beast, those unrefined
men of strength that act as gargoyles watching over the restless crusaders
that wait impatiently to lay siege to this fortified land. These unhandsome
men must be pacified with both gold and the unspoken reassurance of
honesty of intent, for in the domain of Dionysus only his wishes are
to be respected. There! Go on! Now it is my turn to listen, tell
me what is going on down there!
- “I can see nothing,
but hear all the more. There is a cautious, sly whispering that comes
from all corners, conspiratorial and twitchy. From below there echoes
a greater sound, a thundering rumble that resonates through every object
and person here, as if it were some sort of divine glue, a mysterious
force that has its own gravity, pulling us further down into the abyss.”
- Go on!
- “And amongst these
untroubled hedonists is passed an unwritten etiquette, every bit as
strict as that of the waking world, yet a perversion of the rules that
those surface-dwellers hold dear, for in this place stranger can approach
stranger, man can engage in fleeting carnal congress with man, as can
woman with woman (Oh! much to the delight of the surrounding congregation!).
It is indeed as you said- the exhibition of desire is heartily encouraged.”
- Go on!
- “I peer down the
stairs and am confronted with a spectacle that would shock those of
weaker constitution than my own, for the scene that unfolds is so unlikely
as to be somewhat unnerving. A multitude of fallen souls, having abandoned
worship of the Judaeo-Christian God, have forged a new god in
their own image, born out of their rejection of the newly old values
of ressentiment. This new idol is a god that rewards the hedonist
and the powerful, rather than the suffering and weak. And this god they
have made stands upon a pedestal, surrounded by zoetrope images and
celestial lights in such a way that I am unable to focus on him directly.
Yet I am assured by those who surround me that the source of their joy
is a mere mortal, beatified via nothing more than nimble manipulation
of an esoteric gramophone device. I am suspicious as to the true origins
of what appears to be such great joy.”
- And so you should
be, my friend of the most dangerous curiosity, for you would be fool
indeed not to question whether this elevated mortal is the font of such
a blissful spring. How can the action of man alone have manifested itself
in an utterly transcendental state for all those concerned? Well, lean
closer and I will show you what secret lies in the murky depths of this
spring. Look upon it carefully now, for it is only a small thing, and
I will concur that it appears barely capable of producing an effect
of any magnitude. Yet this is the product (or should that be by-product?
I admit that I know not of the intentions of its enigmatic creator)
of that most striking of human accomplishments- science. Yes,
my dear colleague, by some ironic twist of fortune, that most respected
of pursuits, that of the ascetic ideal, has been tainted and distorted
so as to produce something of no practicable use whatsoever, and of
no value to that lonesome learned man, but something that has an extraordinary
power to generate devotion in those who partake in its consumption (who
claim that it is a splendid panacea). How can this be so, that such
a substance is treated with such adoration yet denounced in equal measure?
My friend, if you would continue to show such courage as you have done
thus far, and follow me just a little way further, I can offer you a
furtive peek into this kingdom of the most elusive of intoxications!
- “I admit that
I was a little anxious as to the nature of the revelation that was offered
me, so much so that when it initially appeared that nothing was to occur,
I thought of pouring great scorn upon you, my false prophet. Then… An
epiphany! Such sugary sweetness clings to every sound. I yearn to join
in the festivities, to dance and to cavort with these brazen young devotees
of Dionysus in a frenzy of sensuality. Indeed, to indulge in simple
follies brings me delight far in excess of that which is warranted by
such actions. Ultimately, I wish to be consumed by the heavenly scene
that has unfurled before me, taking my leave only at that fateful hour
when my body is bent from exhaustion (although my spirit will still
be strong!), and not a moment before.”
- Ah yes, my dear
convert, you have tasted now that experience that lesser men are both
envious and fearful of. Such bliss! Such ecstasy! Is the inner nature
of this experience not exactly as my great teacher Schopenhauer suggested
it was- that in the pure aesthetic experience the will is overwhelmed
in the presence of majestic beauty, that one becomes a passive and calm
being, an empty vessel into which is poured the sweet nectar of life
untainted by malice or agenda? Does one not feel that the connexion
between oneself and those other men, usually so distant as to pass by
unnoticed, is made to appear uncomplicated (and stranger still- that
one feels ennobled by this connexion)?
- “Yes! Yes!”
- So you have contracted
a rare (and no doubt valuable) condition indeed! But keep your wits
sharp, for the insights into this world we have entered are to be made
on the heady return from this rapture. It is only now, after we have
danced with the followers of this faith, and sipped at their sublime
chalice, that we can gaze into the crowd that surrounds us, and make
the (oh, how I am tempted to say ill-advised!) attempt to see truly
what they see. And what a world I see through such wide eyes! An unattractive
juxtaposition is always lingering at the periphery of my vision- the
delicate union of brutality with beauty is inescapable, if not immediately
apparent. Where is this brutality? Why, it does not take much of an
effort to observe, if one is so inclined- it is witnessed in the motions
made as the body is contorted so, and the rhythmic intensity of the
primitive and so robust music that the body answers. As the ego has
been subdued, as the mind has been calmed, so the physical rises as
new champion! Given the fragile state of this union, how long before
ecstasy gives way to agony, and the noble athlete becomes degenerate
thug? Not long enough I fear! And how long before the gentle play of
cub with kitten becomes a manic exchange, leading ultimately to confusion,
and the mind becomes clouded with faint and mutable notions, and that
sugary sweetness becomes sticky syrup? Enough! Bad air! It is time to
leave this place, and return to the surface once again, to ruminant
over the mediocrities and complexities that trouble lesser men, to dwell
amongst these men. Yet it must be remembered that these poor devils
amount to nothing more than cold, boring old frogs. We immoralists-
it is we who have the courage to take up dangerous pursuits, ennoble
our passions, and thus it is we who are the truly interesting animals
Nietzsche is available for reviews,
commentary and other journalistic activities, email him for details and rates. Reprint
with permission only.
|
|
|
|
