Dancing on the ceiling

“No one can spend more than he has—that is true of individuals, it is also true of nations.  If one spends oneself on power, grand politics, economic affairs, world commerce, parliamentary institutions, military interests—if one expends in this direction the quantum of reason, seriousness, will, self-overcoming that one is, then there will be a shortage in the other direction.  Culture and the state—one should not deceive oneself over this—are antagonists: the ‘cultural state’ is merely a modern idea.  The one lives off the other, the one thrives at the expense of the other.  All great cultural epochs are epochs of political decline: that which is great in the cultural sense has been unpolitical, even anti-political.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (trans. Hollingdale; emphasis in original)

6 thoughts on “Dancing on the ceiling”

  1. Hi, Chris. Haven’t seen you around lately and it’s good to see you again. I hope all is well with you.

  2. It’s not bad here. Susan and I live less than 500 feet from the lake and visit it almost every day. If it wasn’t for that, I would be going crazy. I’m getting a lot of writing done. I had expected to have a job by now. I am not out of money yet, but I’ve reached the point where I will work for the first firm that will pay my minimal price.

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