Chapter 13 two

So far we have considered Dionysus and his antagonist Apollo as artistic forces which emanate from nature itself without the intermediary of a human artist.Their artistic impulses are first satisfied in a direct manner in nature: on the one hand, as the world of dream images, the completion of which has nothing to do with the individual's intellectual level or artistic cultivation; A reality also does not pay attention to personal factors, and even deliberately destroys the individual, liberating the individual with a mysterious sense of unity.Confronted with these immediate artistic states of nature, every artist is an "imitator," and is either the Apollonian dream-artist or the Dionysian drunken artist, or (as in Greek tragedy) both. By.With regard to the latter, we may imagine that he, alone in Dionysian intoxication and mysterious self-abandonment, breaks away from the wandering chorus and falls drunk by the roadside; That is, his unity with the innermost foundation of the world appeared to him in a metaphorical dream image.

In light of these general premises and comparisons, we now examine the Greeks, to see how developed and to what heights the natural artistic impulse was reached in them; The relationship between nature, which is what Aristotle called "imitation of nature".In spite of the Greek dream literature and dream-telling anecdotes, we can still speak of Greek dreams only speculatively, though with a fair degree of certainty.In view of the incredibly accurate and reliable modeling power of their eyes, and their sincere and bright taste for colour, we cannot help but suppose (to the shame of posterity) that their dreams also had a line, outline, colour, arrangement The logic of causation, a theatrical effect similar to that of their finest cameos.Their perfection, if we can speak metaphorically, justifies us in seeing the dreaming Greeks as Homers, and Homer as one dreaming Greek.This has a deeper meaning than modern man dares to compare himself to Shakespeare in dreaming.

We do not need to conjecture, however, that there is a gulf between the Dionysian Greeks and the Dionysian barbarians.In various parts of the ancient world (not to speak of the modern world here), from Rome to Babylonia, we can point to the existence of Dionysias, whose type is at most as similar to that of the Greek Dionysia, which borrowed its name and emblem from the billy-goat. The bearded satyr is to Dionysus himself.At the heart of these festivals, almost everywhere, is a demented sexual indulgence whose tides overwhelm every home and its solemn rules; where the wildest beasts of nature go straight out of their reins, to the point that lust and brutality are abhorrent. I have always regarded it as a real "dirty drug for witches".The knowledge of these festivals permeated the Greeks from all land and sea routes, and in the face of their feverish excitement they seemed to have long and perfectly guarded an age with the majestic image of the Apollonian who held up the head of Medusa. , seems capable of resisting anything more dangerous than the grotesque and raging Dionysian impulses.This is Doric art in which the solemn gesture of negation of Apollo is immortalized.Once, however, a similar impulse finally breaks out from the deepest roots of the Greeks and makes a way out, resistance becomes problematic, if not impossible.At this time, the role of the god Delphi was limited to: through a timely conclusion of the peace treaty, the powerful opponent surrendered the destructive weapon.Looking back at this reconciliation, the most momentous moment in the history of Greek god worship, it is clear how fundamentally things changed.The two adversaries reconciled, and set strict boundaries that must be observed henceforth, exchanging regular salutes; the gulf was not entirely closed.But if we see how the power of Dionysus manifests itself under the pressure of this peace, we shall know that the Dionysian feasts of the Greeks were not as Contains a meaning of Salvation Day and Apotheosis Day.Only with the Greeks did nature reach its artistic acclaim, and the breakdown of the principle of individuation became an artistic phenomenon.Here, too, the abominable "sexy drug" of carnality and brutality fails, and is only reminded of it by the wonderful mixture and duality of the Dionysian passions—like drugs. Reminiscent of deadly poison.Its performance is that the pain is full of joy, and the cheers from the heart take away the mourning sound;In those Greek festivals Nature seemed to exhale sadly, as if to bemoan her disintegration into individuals.The singing and gestures of these double-tempered drunkards were something new and unknown to the Greek world of Homer's day, and the music of the Dionysians especially terrified them.Music seems to have always been regarded as Apollonian art, but it was precisely the movement of rhythm whose plastic power was developed to describe the Apollonian state.Apolline music is a Doric architecture of tones, but limited to certain tones, such as those of the harp.It is the non-Apollinian factors that determine the character of Dionysian music and music in general, such as the shocking power of tone, the rapid flow of rhyme, and the exquisite realm of harmony, are carefully excluded.In the Dionysian hymn, man is inspired to mobilize all his symbolic powers to the highest degree; certain unprecedented feelings, such as the lifting of the maya veil, the unity of the creativity of the race and even the creativity of nature, are eager to be expressed. .The essence of nature then expresses itself symbolically; there must be a new world of symbols, in which the whole body acquires symbolism, not only the lips, the face, the language, but also the rich dancing of the hands and feet.Then other symbolic faculties grow, and suddenly the symbolic power of music, which resides in rhythm, momentum, and harmony, surges up.In order to fully mobilize all symbolic powers, one must have reached the state of self-renunciation, and this state must be symbolically expressed through the above-mentioned ability.Therefore, Dionysians who sing carols are only understood by fellow-men!How the Apollonian Greeks must have been astonished to see them!Moreover, the astonishment grew with each passing day, mingled with a fear that perhaps all this was not so foreign to him, and that even his Apollonian belief was but a veil over the Dionysian world before him.