Beyond Good and Evil: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche uses again and again in Beyond Good and Evil that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
philosopher/fəˈɫɑsəfɝ/113× in the book
… which is to tempt us to many a hazardous enterprise, the famous Truthfulness of which all philosophers have hitherto spoken with respect, what questions has this Will to Truth not laid before us!
morality/mɝˈæɫəti/88× in the book
… it is always well (and wise) to first ask oneself: "What morality do they (or does he) aim at?"
instinct/ˈɪnstɪŋkt/71× in the book
… just as little is "being-conscious" OPPOSED to the instinctive in any decisive sense; the greater part of the conscious thinking of a philosopher is secretly influenced by his instincts, and forced into definite channels.
hitherto/ˈhɪˌðɝˈtu/61× in the book
… such as will have other tastes and inclinations, the reverse of those hitherto prevalent—philosophers of the dangerous "Perhaps" in every sense of the term.
conscience/ˈkɑnʃəns/56× in the book
… of their prejudices, which they dub "truths,"—and VERY far from having the conscience which bravely admits this to itself, very far from having the good taste of the courage which goes so far as to let this be understood …
noble/ˈnoʊbəɫ/52× in the book
Oh, you noble Stoics, what fraud of words!
sympathy/ˈsɪmpəθi/46× in the book
The latter, when they write books, are in the habit at present of taking the side of criminals; a sort of socialistic sympathy is their favourite disguise.
nowadays/ˈnaʊəˌdeɪz/43× in the book
… actual, and certain"—will encounter a smile and two notes of interrogation in a philosopher nowadays.
refine/ɹəˈfaɪn/32× in the book
… even from the logician's point of view, to get along without the little "one" (to which the worthy old "ego" has refined itself).
honour/ˈɑnɝ/31× in the book
The belief in "immediate certainties" is a MORAL NAIVETE which does honour to us philosophers; but—we have now to cease being "MERELY moral" men!
sentiment/ˈsɛnəmənt/29× in the book
… is cruelly befooled and abused, until a man learns to introduce a little art into his sentiments, and prefers to try conclusions with the artificial …
namely/ˈneɪmɫi/28× in the book
It has gradually become clear to me what every great philosophy up till now has consisted of—namely, the confession of its originator …
consequently/ˈkɑnsəˌkwɛntɫi/27× in the book
… and on the face of it, the word signifies "Flatterers of Dionysius"—consequently, tyrants' accessories and lick-spittles …
mankind/ˈmænˈkaɪnd/24× in the book
Let us call this period the PRE-MORAL period of mankind; the imperative, "Know thyself!"
conceal/kənˈsiɫ/24× in the book
He, the old school-teacher of Samos, who sat concealed in his little garden at Athens, and wrote three hundred books, perhaps out of rage and ambitious envy of Plato, who knows!
genius/ˈdʒinjəs/24× in the book
… where by a freak of nature, genius is bound to some such indiscreet billy-goat and ape, as in the case of the Abbe Galiani …
betray/bɪˈtɹeɪ/23× in the book
… and non-freedom; it is suspicious to have such feelings—the person betrays himself.
folly/ˈfɑɫi/22× in the book
… it is a sort of logical violation and unnaturalness; but the extravagant pride of man has managed to entangle itself profoundly and frightfully with this very folly.
deceive/dɪˈsiv/22× in the book
Granting that he deceived himself in this matter; the development and rapid flourishing of German philosophy depended nevertheless on his pride …
conception/kənˈsɛpʃən/22× in the book
… notwithstanding that it disguised itself so boldly, in hoary and senile conceptions), than to take it seriously …
sacrifice/ˈsækɹəˌfaɪs/22× in the book
Never yet did a PROFOUNDER world of insight reveal itself to daring travelers and adventurers, and the psychologist who thus "makes a sacrifice"—it is not the sacrifizio dell' intelletto, on the contrary!—will at least be entitled to demand in return that psychology shall once more be recognized as the queen of the sciences …
divine/dɪˈvaɪn/22× in the book
They divined in him—and as it were behind the questionableness of his frail and wretched appearance—the superior force which wished to test itself by such a subjugation; the strength of will …
contrary/ˈkɑntɹɛɹi/21× in the book
In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal …
stupidity/stuˈpɪdɪˌti/20× in the book
If any one should find out in this manner the crass stupidity of the celebrated conception of "free will" and put it out of his head altogether, I beg of him to carry his "enlightenment" a step further …
disguise/dɪsˈɡaɪz/20× in the book
One can do no greater wrong to the whole of this exuberant and eccentric movement (which was really youthfulness, notwithstanding that it disguised itself so boldly, in hoary and senile conceptions) …
cruelty/ˈkɹuəɫti/19× in the book
… inquisitive to a fault, investigators to the point of cruelty, with unhesitating fingers for the intangible …
oneself/ˌwənˈsɛɫf/19× in the book
… to understand how the abstrusest metaphysical assertions of a philosopher have been arrived at, it is always well (and wise) to first ask oneself: "What morality do they (or does he) aim at?"
attain/əˈteɪn/19× in the book
… a peculiar narrowness of interpretation, attained supremacy precisely thereby: the origin of an action was interpreted in the most definite sense possible …
delight/dɪˈɫaɪt/19× in the book
People were beside themselves with delight over this new faculty, and the jubilation reached its climax when Kant further discovered a moral faculty in man—for at that time Germans were still moral …
therein/ðɛˈɹɪn/18× in the book
… works away industriously to that end, WITHOUT the rest of the scholarly impulses taking any material part therein.
herd/ˈhɝd/18× in the book
… is the universal, green-meadow happiness of the herd, together with security …
charm/ˈtʃɑɹm/18× in the book
It is certainly not the least charm of a theory that it is refutable; it is precisely thereby that it attracts the more subtle minds.
valuation/væɫjuˈeɪʃən/17× in the book
The Jews—a people "born for slavery," as Tacitus and the whole ancient world say of them; "the chosen people among the nations," as they themselves say and believe—the Jews performed the miracle of the inversion of valuations, by means of which life on earth obtained a new and dangerous charm for a couple of millenniums.
distrust/dɪˈstɹəst/17× in the book
In this transition one punishes oneself by distrust of one's sentiments; one tortures one's enthusiasm with doubt …
vanity/ˈvænəti/17× in the book
In the background of all their personal vanity, women themselves have still their impersonal scorn—for "woman".
skepticism/ˈskɛptɪˌsɪzəm/17× in the book
The skepticism with regard to suffering, fundamentally only an attitude of aristocratic morality, was not the least of the causes, also, of the last great slave-insurrection which began with the French Revolution.
reverence/ˈɹɛvɝəns/16× in the book
Where the populace eat and drink, and even where they reverence, it is accustomed to stink.
fundamentally/ˌfəndəˈmɛnəɫi/16× in the book
… persuasively, and CONVINCINGLY upon an age with fundamentally plebeian tastes—in fact, it follows instinctively the canon of truth of eternal popular sensualism.
philosophical/ˌfɪɫəˈsɑfɪkəɫ/16× in the book
… I now say to myself that the greater part of conscious thinking must be counted among the instinctive functions, and it is so even in the case of philosophical thinking; one has here to learn anew …
elevation/ˌɛɫəˈveɪʃən/15× in the book
… and serpentine in man, serves as well for the elevation of the human species as its opposite—we do not even say enough when we only say THIS MUCH, and in any case we find ourselves here …
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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