Chapter 2 The Birth of Tragedy Vol 2

tragic birth vol. human, too human 1876～1878 Volume 1 Chapter 4 From the Soul of the Artist and Writer 145 The perfect work should be done in one go. ——When we appreciate all perfect works, we often ignore the problem of its generation, and just delight in the work in front of us, as if it jumped out of the ground with a wave of a magic stick.Here we seem to be still under the lingering influence of an ancient mythical feeling.We are almost in the mood (for example, in Greek temples like Peshton's) as if some morning a god had built his dwelling out of these gigantic blocks, or as if some A spiritual creature was suddenly cast into a boulder by magic, and now he wants to use it to tell.

①PaAstum, a Greek immigrant city, is located in southern Italy and has the famous rectangular hall "Bazilica". The artist knows that his work comes to its full effect only when it is convincingly improvised, miraculously accomplished; so he subtly fosters this illusion, making the passionate restlessness of the beginning Factors such as the chaos of blind grasping and the dream of attentive listening are introduced into art as deceptive means to make the viewer or listener fall into a certain state of mind, believing that this perfect work popped out all at once. —It goes without saying that the science of art categorically rejects this illusion, pointing out the misunderstandings and habituations of the understanding by which the understanding falls into the trap of the artist.

146 The artist's sense of truth. —The artist's morality is weaker than that of the thinker in the knowledge of truth; he refuses to lose the brilliant and profound interpretation of life, and resists plain methods and conclusions.He seems to be striving for the higher dignity and meaning of the human being; in fact he is unwilling to part with the most effective premises of his art, such as fantasy, myth, ambiguity, extremes, symbolism, overestimation of the individual, a certain miracle in genius Faith: Therefore, he believes that the continuation of his creative behavior is more important than the devotion to truth in science, and he feels that this devotion is too monotonous.

147 The Art of Being a Spiritual Witch. —Art, besides its task of preserving, also performs that of slightly recolouring faded impressions; and when it has accomplished this task, it weaves a bond for the epochs and recalls their ghosts.Although it is only the false life of the cemetery, or the dream return of a lost lover, at least for a moment, the old feeling is awakened again, and the heart beats to a rhythm it has forgotten.For the sake of this universal utility of art, the artist is to be forgiven even if he does not stand at the forefront of enlightening and continuing to masculinize mankind: he is a child all his life, or remains a teenager, resting in a place attacked by his artistic impulses. In terms of status; while the feeling in the early life is recognized as similar to the ancient feeling, and farther away from the modern feeling.He unconsciously makes it his mission to make the human child; this is his glory and his limit.

148 Poets are the ones who make life easier. ——If poets want to make people's life easier, they draw their eyes away from the suffering present, or let the past shine a beam of light, so that the present presents new colors.In order to be able to do this, they themselves must in some respects be backward-facing beings; so that one can use them as a bridge to distant times and impressions, to religions and cultures that are or have died.They have always been and must be Remainers at heart.As for the drugs with which they relieve the miseries of life, it may indeed be said: they soothe and heal only for a moment, for a moment; , calming it down and dissipating it.

149 Beautiful slow arrow. —The noblest beauty is a beauty which does not attract you all at once, without a violent and intoxicating attack (such beauty is easily repulsed), but is, on the contrary, a beauty which penetrates gradually, so that one hardly knows it. We take it away without realizing it, and we meet it again in a dream, but after it stays quietly in our hearts for a long time, it completely occupies us, filling our eyes with tears and filling our hearts with longing. —What do we long for when we contemplate beauty?The desire to be beautiful in ourselves: we think that much happiness must be connected with it. —but this is a misunderstanding.

150 The spiritualization of art. —Where religion recedes, art rises.It absorbs a lot of emotions and emotions born of religion, puts it in its own heart, makes itself deeper and more spiritual, so as to be able to convey sublimation and enlightenment, otherwise it cannot do this.The torrential river of religious emotion has repeatedly breached its banks to conquer new territories.But the growing enlightenment shakes religious creeds and raises fundamental doubts.As a result, this emotion was expelled from the field of religion by the Enlightenment and devoted itself to art; it also entered political life on individual occasions, and even entered science directly.Wherever a higher gloom is perceived in human struggle, one infers that there lingers the restlessness of the soul, the smoke of incense, and the shadow of churches.

151 Why does rhythm beautify. —Rhythm casts a veil over reality; it creates artificiality in speech and impurity in thought; it casts shadows on thought, making them appear and disappear.Just as shadows are necessary for beautification, so "blur" is necessary for clarity. —Art makes the spectacle of life bearable, because it throws over it a veil of impure thought. 152 The art of an ugly soul. —It would be placing too narrow a limit on art if only the well-behaved, morally balanced soul could express itself in art.In plastic arts as well as in music and poetry, besides the art of the beautiful soul, there is also the art of the ugly soul; perhaps it is this art which most achieves the strongest effect of art, breaking hearts, moving stones, and transforming animals into men. .

153 Art weighs on the mind of the thinker. —How strong is the need for metaphysics, and how difficult it is for human nature to say goodbye to it, is shown by the fact that even if a free thinker has renounced all metaphysics, the highest effects of art can still easily strike the root in his soul. Metaphysical strings that have long been out of tune, or even broken, are like, when listening to a certain passage of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, he will feel in his heart the dream of immortality, far away from the earth, floating in the cathedral of stars: The stars twinkled around him, and the earth gradually sank into the abyss. —if he realizes this state, he will feel a deep pang in his heart, and sigh to the person who brought back his lost love-so-called religion or metaphysics-for him.His sanity was tested in this instant.

154 Play with life. —The lightness and roughness of Homeric fantasy are necessary in order to soothe and temporarily relieve over-excited emotions and over-acute intellects.Says their understanding: How harsh life seems!They don't lie to themselves, but they deliberately make fun of life with lies.Simonides persuaded his countrymen to regard life as a game; seriousness as pain was too familiar to them (human suffering is the subject of most songs of the gods), and they knew that only art can relieve suffering. for joy.But, as punishment for this knowledge, they are so tormented by the desire for fiction that they are as incapable of extricating themselves from lies and deceit in everyday life, as all poetic peoples are liars and without a sense of guilt.Neighboring peoples sometimes really despaired of them.

① Simonides (Simonides) 500 BC ancient Greek poet. 155 Faith in inspiration. —Artists like to make people believe in epiphanies, what is called inspiration; as if the idea of ​​a work of art and a poem, the basic thought of a philosophy, were a ray of benevolent light from heaven.In fact, the imagination of good artists and thinkers is constantly producing, good and bad products, but their judgment is highly keen and skilled, rejecting, choosing, and putting together; as one can now see from Beethoven's notes He did so gradually, in part by selecting the most magnificent melodies from various drafts.Whoever indulges in reproducing memories with less strict choice may become a greater improviser; but artistic improvisation is deeply connected with serious and painstakingly selected artistic ideas.All great men are great workers, tirelessly not only inventing, but also discarding, examining, revising and rearranging. 156 Talk about inspiration. —If creativity has been blocked for a long time, its flow blocked by an obstacle, it seems a miracle that at last there is such a sudden outpouring, as of an immediate inspiration, without previous inner work.This creates a common delusion, and the continuation of this delusion, as mentioned above, has quite a lot to do with the interest of all artists in it.Capital is only accumulated, it does not fall from the sky overnight.Moreover, this seeming inspiration is found elsewhere, for example in the realms of good, morality, and evil. 157 The pain of genius and its value. ——An artistic genius is willing to make people happy, but if he stands at a very high level, he is easy to be mediocre; he brings out delicious food, but people don't want to taste it.This sometimes arouses ridiculous sentimentality in him; for he has no right at all to compel people to be happy.His flute blows, but no one wants to dance: is this a tragedy? --may be.But as compensation for this deficiency, he after all has more pleasure in creating than other people have in all other kinds of activity.People think his pain is exaggerated because he shouts too loudly and his mouth is too eloquent; sometimes his pain is really great, but it is only because his vanity and jealousy are too strong.Scientific geniuses like Kepler and Spinoza were generally not so eager for success, nor were they so ostentatious about their truly great suffering.He may look to the hereafter with considerable certainty, and forsake the present; but an artist who does this is always performing a hopeless play, which cannot be performed without heartbreak.On rare occasions—when a man combines skill, intellectual genius, and moral genius—to the above-mentioned sufferings is added a suffering which may be regarded as a very special exception in the world: a An impersonal, transpersonal feeling towards a people, humanity, all cultures, all suffering beings; this feeling is valuable because it is associated with extremely difficult and lofty realizations (sympathy itself is of little value) . —However, by what scale, by what scales, is its truth measured? Is not almost suspicious of all who speak of such feelings of their own? 158 Great doom. — Every great phenomenon is subject to deterioration, and this is especially true in the field of art.The example of great men excites vain natures to superficial imitation or emulation.Moreover, it is the misfortune of all great geniuses to stifle many of the weaker forces and germs, and seem to desolate nature around them.One of the luckiest cases in the development of an art is that of more geniuses against each other; and in this competition the weaker natures often get some air and sunshine too. 159 Art is harmful to the artist. ——If art strongly attracts a person, it will lead him back to the most prosperous era of art. The educational function of art is retrograde.Artists pay more and more attention to sudden excitement, believe in ghosts and gods, deify nature, hate science, change their emotions like the ancients, eager to subvert all environments that are not conducive to art, and in this regard, they are as extreme and unfair as children.The artist is already a stagnant creature, because he stays in the games of youth and childhood; now he is regressively educated and gradually returns to another age.Thus at last a violent conflict between him and his contemporaries had a tragic end; as—according to ancient legend—Homer and Aeschylus finally lived and died in sorrow. 160 created characters. —It is grandstanding and exaggeration to say that the dramatist (and the artist in general) really creates character, and art celebrates an unexpected, and seemingly additional, victory thanks to the existence and circulation of the statement.In fact, when we cite this or that character of a real living man, we know very little about him, and generalize very superficially.Our very imperfect attitude towards man corresponds to the poet, who draws (so-called "creation") a superficial sketch of man just as superficially as we know him.There is a great deal of falsehood in these characters which the artist has created; it is not at all a flesh-and-blood product of nature, but, like the painter, is a little too thin for them to stand up to close inspection.Even if it is said that the characters of ordinary living people are often contradictory, it is completely wrong to say that the characters created by the dramatist are the prototypes that emerge before nature.A real person is a whole, a thing of complete necessity (even in so-called contradictions), although we do not always recognize this necessity.Fictitious characters, phantasms also tend to signify something necessary, but only in the presence of those who understand real people in a crude, unnatural simplification, so that some oft-repeated thick lines are paired with many A light, with many shadows and penumbras painted around it, fully suffices for them.It is easy for them to take phantoms for real and necessary people, because they are accustomed to take a phantom, a projection, an arbitrary abbreviation for the whole real person. ——Painters and sculptors want to express people's "ideas", which is even more empty fantasy and sensory deception.Whoever says this is tyrannized by the eye, which sees only the outer surface and skin of the human body; and the internal organs are also ideas.Plastic art wants to make character visible under the skin; language art does the same by means of words, by imitating character with sound.Art starts from man's natural ignorance, and goes beyond what is inside him (whether physical or character): for art does not belong to physicists and philosophers. 161 Self-assessment in belief in artists and philosophers. —We all think that a work of art, an artist, is proved to be good if it fascinates us and shocks us.However, here we must first prove our own excellence in judgment and feeling, which is not always the case.In the field of plastic arts, who is more fascinating than Bernini?Who, after Demosthenes, was more influential than the orator who introduced the Asiatic style and made it dominant for two hundred years?The domination of an entire century proves nothing of the excellence and enduring utility of a style: so should not be attached to a sincere belief in any one artist.Such a belief is not only the belief that our feelings are true, but also that our judgments are correct, which may, respectively or simultaneously, develop too coarsely or too finely, too intensely or too loosely.A philosophy, a religion, which gives happiness and consolation, does not in the least justify their truth, any more than a madman's happiness from his fixed ideas justifies them. ① Bernini (L. Bernini, 1598-1680), an Italian sculptor and architect, is one of the main representatives of Baroque art. 162 A superstition of genius born of vanity. —We think very highly of ourselves, but we do not expect to be able to draw a Raphaelite sketch or write a Shakespeare play, so we laugh at ourselves that this talent is extraordinary A miracle, a very rare chance, or, if we have religious feelings, a divine favor.So our vanity and self-love promote the superstition of genius: for only that day genius is conceived to be so remote from us, like a miracle, that he cannot hurt (i.e., like Goethe, the unenvious People who also call Shakespeare his most distant star in the sky; recall here the poem: "Man does not long for the stars").Yet, if we disregard the cues of our vanity, the activities of genius seem in no way fundamentally different from those of the inventor of machinery, the astronomer, the historian, the tactician.If we imagine those whose minds are positively directed in one direction, who use everything as raw material, who are always ardently watching the inner lives of themselves and others, finding patterns and revelations here and there, and tirelessly combining their own methods , then all these activities are clear at a glance.What a genius does is nothing more than learning to lay foundations and build buildings, always looking for raw materials, and always thinking about processing.Every human activity is astonishingly complex, not only those of genius, but no activity is a "miracle." —Where does the belief arise that genius exists only in artists, orators, and philosophers, that only they have "intuition"? ("Intuition" seems to be their magic pair of spectacles through which they can directly see "essence"!) People apparently only talk of genius on such occasions: the effects of great intellect are extremely pleasant to them, Make them feel no longer jealous.Calling someone "divine" means: "Here we don't have to compete".Again, everything that is finished and perfect is astonishing, and everything that is in the making is despised.It has the advantage that no one can see on an artist's work how it was made, because just being able to see how it was made cools people's enthusiasm.Perfect performance art rejects any examination of its rehearsal process, and instead works powerfully as the immediate perfection of the work.So performing artists, not scientists, are seen primarily as gifted.In fact, exalting one another and suppressing one another is just a childishness of reason. 163 The seriousness of the craft. — Not to mention genius, natural talent!There are many men of limited endowment who deserve to be mentioned, who achieved greatness by virtue of certain qualities which are known but kept secret, and who become what are called "geniuses."They all had the seriousness of that able workman who learns to build parts perfectly before he ventures to build great wholes; The effect is more interesting.For example, the prescription of being a good novelist is easy to prescribe, but to carry it out there are certain qualities that are often overlooked when a person says "I don't have enough talent."Write hundreds of novels, each not exceeding two pages, but so succinctly that every word is necessary; jot down anecdotes every day until you are good at discovering the most concise and most meaningful Infectious forms; unremittingly collecting and depicting people's typical and personalities; first seize every opportunity to narrate and listen to people's narration, pay attention to observe and listen to the reactions of those present; travel like a landscape painter and fashion painter ; extracts from various disciplines which, if vividly described, produce artistic effect; and finally, meditate on the motives of human action, not discarding every didactic hint in this respect, the collector who does such things day and night.Might as well spend decades in this multifaceted practice, and then, what is made in this workshop can be made public. — But how do most people do it?They start not with parts, but with the whole.They may have done well and conspicuously for a time, but then, for just and natural reasons, they have done worse and worse. —Reason and character are sometimes insufficient to formulate such plans of an artist's life, and in their place fate and hardship lead the future master step by step through all the necessary stages of his craft. 164 The Pros and Cons of Genius Superstitions. — Belief in great, eminent, prolific intellects, though not necessarily, is often associated with a purely religious or semi-religious superstition that these intellects are the source of superhumanity, possessing a certain singularity Ability, by which knowledge can be obtained in a way that is very different from ordinary people.Everyone believes that they seem to have pierced through the cloak of phenomena and looked directly at the essence of the world. Without going through the hardships of science, with this magical vision, they can convey something ultimately effective and decisive about people and the world.So long as there are believers in miracles in the field of knowledge, it may be considered that believers themselves must benefit from them, and that their developing faculties can be best cultivated by their absolute obedience to these great men of intellect. and training.On the other hand, it is at least questionable whether superstitions about genius, its privileges, its special powers are deeply ingrained in the genius himself.At any rate, if man is assailed by a fear of himself, whether the famous fear of Caesar, or the fear of genius now under consideration; In the midst of this, he begins to drift off and think he is superhuman, which is a dangerous symptom after all.The gradual consequence is that he thinks he can be irresponsible, possesses privileges, believes that he has magical blessings and absolutions, and will be furious if anyone tries to compare him with others or even value him less, and expose the shortcomings of his works.As he has ceased to criticize himself, the feathers of his feathers have at last fallen: superstition has cut at the root of his strength, and may even turn him into a hypocrite when he has lost it.It would perhaps be more instructive to men of great intellect to have a clear idea of ​​their strength and its source, what purely human traits converged in them, and what fortunate circumstances met them: First, great energy, firmness towards a goal, great personal courage; second, educational luck, early access to good teachers, models and methods.Of course, if their aim is to have as great an effect as possible, they will all the more feign ignorance of themselves and, by the way, make semi-crazy gestures; for people are always amazed and envious of their power.By means of this power they paralyze and delusion a man who walks before him a supernatural teacher.Yes, it is uplifting to believe that someone has supernatural powers.In this sense, as Plato said, madness greatly benefits mankind. —In rare cases, this kind of madness can also be a means of keeping an unrestrained nature firmly in check.In private life, crazy visions often have the therapeutic value of poison; but in every "genius" who believes in divinity, it will eventually become poisonous as the "genius" grows old.Recall, as an example, Napoleon, whose character no doubt grew into a powerful whole through his belief in himself, in his destiny, and the resulting contempt for humanity, which puts him above all modern above man, but this belief finally turned into a fatalism bordering on madness, which robbed him of his keen eyesight and led to his ruin. 165 Genius and frivolity. —Among artists, it is precisely that original, self-made man who sometimes writes the most vapid stuff, whereas the dependent nature, the so-called wit, is full of love for all possible beauty. Memory, even when talent is insufficient, can write something reasonable.But originals are cut off from themselves, so memory does not help them, and they become empty. 166 public. ——The public desires nothing more from tragedy than to be moved and to cry; on the contrary, when an artist sees a new tragedy, he is interested in ingenious technical inventions and artistic skills. Arrangement and treatment, renovation of old themes and old ideas. ——His standpoint is the aesthetic standpoint for artworks, the creator's standpoint; the public's standpoint is to try something new and only look at the subject matter.The person in between has nothing to say, he is neither a public nor an artist, and he does not know what he wants, so his interests are vague and insignificant. 167 Art education for the public. —So long as the same subject has not been dealt with a hundred times by many masters, the public cannot learn beyond the interest of the subject; but when they have long recognized the subject from many versions, they no longer feel the thrill of novelty and tension. , they themselves will finally grasp and appreciate the nuances and ingenious and original creations in dealing with the subject. 168 The artist and his followers must be in sync. —The progress from one grade of style to another should be gradual, so that not only the artist himself, but also the listener and spectator, go along and know for sure what is going on.Otherwise, there would be a gulf between the artist creating his work at a mysterious height and the public no longer able to reach that height, and finally sinking down again.For if the artist ceases to lift his public, the public will fall swiftly, and the higher genius lifts them up, the deeper and more dangerously they fall, like those who are carried up into the sky by a goshawk and unfortunately fall from the eagle's feet like a turtle. 169 Funny source. ——Imagine that for thousands of years, man has been the animal prone to the highest level of fear. All sudden and unexpected encounters force him to be ready to fight at any time, and perhaps even to die. Even in the later social environment, everything is safe. Based on anticipation and habit in thought and action, then we should not be surprised that if everything sudden and unexpected in speech and action does not cause danger and damage, people will suddenly relax and transform into the opposite of fear. : The trembling and tightened heart that was trembling because of fear suddenly relaxed and stretched - so the person laughed.This transition from momentary terror to momentary indulgence is called the comic.In tragic phenomena, on the contrary, man passes rapidly from great and continuous indulgence to great terror; but in mortal beings great and continuous indulgence is much less cause than terror, so that the world is far more comic than human. There are many more tragedies; people laugh much more often than they mourn. 170 Artist's ambition. —Greek artists, like the tragic poets, wrote for victory; without competition their whole art would be inconceivable: Hesiod's good Eris, ambitious of success, gave their creativity wings.This kind of fame first requires their works to be perfect in their own eyes, and they understand excellence in this way, and are contemptuous of popular taste and public opinion that praises a work of art; so Aeschylus and Euripides have long been without achievements, until at last they have produced for themselves judges of art who judge their works according to the standards they have established.Therefore, they strive to defeat their competitors in front of their own judgment seat according to their own evaluation, and they want to be truly better; then they ask the outside world to agree with their evaluation and ratify their judgment.Striving for honor here means "making yourself a winner and wanting to be seen".To seek the latter without the former is called vanity.To have the latter without losing the latter is called pride. ① Eris (Eris), the goddess of competition and disputes in Hesiod's theogony. 171 Inevitability in works of art. —He who speaks of necessity in works of art, if he is an artist, intends to enhance the glory of art (in majorem artis gloriam), if he is a layman, he does so out of ignorance.The form of a work of art expresses its thought, and thus its language, which, like all languages, is always somewhat sloppy.A sculptor may add or discard many small brushstrokes; the same may be true of a performance artist, whether an actor or a performer or conductor in the field of music.These many small touches and embellishments, which please him today, may not tomorrow, exist not so much for art as for the artist, who now and then needs dessert when he is compelled to austerely restrain himself in order to express the main idea. Hearts and toys so as not to be too hard on yourself. 172 Forget about the master. —The pianist who plays the works of the masters plays best if he forgets the masters, and it seems that he is telling his own life or experiencing something at the moment.Of course, if he was worthless, it would be repulsive for him to talk about his life.So he must know how to appeal to the audience's imagination. This again explains all the weakness and stupidity of Virtuosentum. 173 Correction of fate (Corriger la fortune). —In the life of a great artist there are such bad encounters as those which compel a painter to sketch his most important works as fleeting Sonata in B major) leaves us with only an unsatisfactory piano excerpt from a symphony.Here, the later artist should try to revise the lives of the masters after the fact: for example, as a connoisseur of the complete effects of the orchestra, he can resurrect for us the symphony that seems to have died on the piano. 174 zoom out. ——Some things, things or people cannot stand the reduction process.The group of Laocoon cannot be reduced to a minifigure for display; it must be large.But still rarer is that which is inherently small is subjected to magnification; so the biographer is more successful in making a great man small than in making a small one great. 175 Inspiration in Modern Art. —Now, when artists devote themselves to the sensuous effect of their works of art, they often miscalculate; because their spectators or listeners no longer have the fullness of their senses, quite contrary to the intention of the artist, but are caught by their works of art in a In the "brightness" of an almost boring feeling. —Perhaps, where their sensibility begins, the artist's sensibility ends, so the two meet at best at one point. 176 Shakespeare as moralist. —Shakespeare was deliberate about passions, and there must have been a short cut from his temperament to many passions (dramaists are generally pretty wicked people).But he cannot talk about passions like Montaigne, but expresses his observations of passions through the mouths of passionate characters; and though this is unnatural, his plays are rich in thought, and all others are inferior by comparison. Appears empty, and thus easily arouses general hatred. —Schiller's aphorisms (which are almost always based on false or worthless sensibility) are theatrical aphorisms, (and have a strong effect as theatrical aphorisms; Shakespeare's aphorisms, on the contrary, do honor to his example Montaigne, There is serious thought in its refined form, but it is therefore too remote and subtle for the theater audience to be effective. 177 Good at being listened to. ——Not only must be good at playing, but also be good at being listened to.If the venue is too large, the violin in the master's hand can only chirp; in such a place, people will confuse the master with an imbecile. 178 incomplete effect. --The reliefs stimulate the imagination so powerfully, because they seem to be coming out of the wall, and then come to a sudden stop when they are somehow hindered.In the same way, sometimes, a kind of idea, a kind of complete philosophy is more effective than the relief-style incomplete expression, which can leave room for the reader and encourage him to continue to complete what the strong contrast sets off. , think to the end, and overcome the obstacles that have prevented it from completely getting out so far. 179 Against Qi Qi. — Art is most easily recognized as art when it wears shabby clothes. 180 collective intelligence. —A good writer has not only his own wit, but also that of his friends. 181 Double misunderstanding. —The misfortune of the sharp and bright writers is that they are regarded as superficial, and therefore not labored upon; 182 relationship to science. —Anyone who has to discover something in a subject for himself, and then feel warm and amiable, does not really like this subject. 183 key. —an idea to which great value is attached by the eminent, and which is ridiculed by the mediocre, is to the former a key to hidden treasures, and to the latter a scrap of iron. 184 untranslatable. —What is untranslatable in a book is neither the best nor the worst in it. 185 Writer's paradox. —A reader attacks a writer for a so-called contradiction, but often the contradiction is not in the writer's book at all, but in the reader's head. 186 humor. —The most humorous writers make people smile almost imperceptibly. 187 Antithesis. ——Antithese is a narrow gate through which error likes to creep towards truth. 188 The thinker as a stylist. —Most thinkers write poorly because they convey to us not only their thoughts but the thoughts of their thoughts. 189 thoughts in the poem. —The poet brings his thought grandly in the chariot of rhythm; usually because the thought cannot walk. 190 A crime against the spirit of the reader. —If the writer denies his talent merely in order to be on an equal footing with the reader, he is guilty of the only capital sin which the reader will never forgive if he discovers it.You can gossip about all the bad things about a man, but in this way, as it is said, one must know to revive his vanity. 191 Sincere boundaries. —Even the most sincere writer, when he tries to complete a long sentence, leaves a word too often. 192 best author. —The best author is he who is ashamed to be a writer. 193 治理作家的苛法。——应当把作家看作罪犯，只有在极罕见的场合才有言论自由或得到赦免：这是对付书籍泛滥的一种办法。 194 现代文化的小丑。——中世纪宫廷里的小丑与我们的无聊文人相仿，这是同一类人，理智不健全，诙谐，夸张，愚蠢，其存在有时只是为了用打诨和饶舌缓和情绪的激昂，用叫喊掩盖重大事件的过于沉重庄严的钟声；从前是为王公贵族效劳，现在是为党派效劳（正如在党派意识和党派纪律中，民众对于王公的旧式顺从大部分延续到了今天）。但整个现代文学家的状况与无聊文人相距很近了，这是"现代文化的小丑"，倘若把他们看作理智不健全的人，便也可以宽大待之。 把写作视为职业，实在是一种疯狂。 195 仿效希腊人。——由于几百年来情感的夸张，一切词汇都变得模糊而肿胀了，这种情况严重地妨碍了认识。高级文化，在认识的支配（倘若不是专制）下，必须有情感的大清醒和一切词汇的强浓缩；在这方面，狄摩西尼时代的希腊人是我们的楷模。一切现代论著的特点便是夸张；即使它们简单地写下，其中的词汇仍然令人感到很古怪。周密的思考，简练，冷峻，质朴，甚至有意矫枉过正，质言之，情感的自制和沉默寡言——这是唯一的补救。——此外，这种冷峻的写作方式和情感方式作为一种对照，在今天也是很有魅力的；当然，其中也有新的危险。因为严历的冷峻和高度的热烈一样也是一种刺激手段。 196 好小说家坏理论家。——在好小说家那里，人物行为中常常表现出一种令人惊异的心理上的准确性和因果关系，而与他们心理学思考的笨拙适成可笑的对照：以致他们的修养在一个时刻显得很卓越，紧接着又显得很可怜了。常常有这种情况：他们明显地错误解释他们自己的人物及其行为，——这种事听起来如此不可信，然而是确确凿凿的。也许，大钢琴家很少思考技术条件以及每根手指的专门德行、不德、功用和训练（长短短格伦理学），当他谈论这些事情时便会出严重的错误。 197 熟人的著作及其读者。——我们读熟人（朋友或敌人）的著作有双重心情，一方面我们的认识在此时不断耳语："这是他写的，是他的内在知识、他的经验、他的禀赋的标志"；同时另一种认识又力求弄清，这著作本身的成就是什么，不看其著者，它本身应当获得什么评价，它本身提供了什么新知识。这两种阅读和衡量方式彼此干扰，不言而喻，也彼此对立。即使和一位朋友谈话，也只有当两人只想着事情本身而忘掉他们是朋友之时，才能有认识上的好收获。 198 节律的牺牲。——大作家们改变有些段落的节律纯粹是因为，他们不承认一般读者能够掌握这些段落在他们的初稿中所用的节奏：所以他们为这些读者简化节奏，优先采用人们熟悉的节律。——关于当今读者节律上的无能这种顾虑已经引起许多感叹，因为这已经造成许多牺牲。——优秀音乐家们的处境岂不也很相似吗？ 199 不完全之作为艺术感染力的手段。——不完全常常比完全更有效果，尤其在颂歌之中：为了颂歌的自的，正需要一种诱惑人的不完全，作为一种非理性的因素来使听者的想象力幻见一片大海，又象雾一样罩住对岸，即罩住被赞颂对象的界限。倘若向人们历数一个人的赫赫功绩，详尽而铺张，便总会使人们猜疑这是全部功绩。完全的赞颂者高踞于被赞颂者之上，他仿佛在俯视后者，所以完全所发生的效果大为减弱。 200 写作和教学中的审慎。——谁刚开始写作并感觉到自己的写作热情，他从他所从事和经历的一切中就几乎只领会可以充当写作材料的东西。他不再想自己，而只想着作家及其读者：他有志于观察，但不是为自己所用。谁是教师，他就多半不善于为他自己的利益做自己的事情，他始终想着他的学生的利益，任何知识只有是他能够教授的，才会使他感兴趣。最后，他把自己看作一条知识的通道，归根到底看作工具，以致丧失了为自己的真诚。 201 坏作家是必要的。——永远必须有坏作家，因为他们符合不发展、不成熟之辈的趣味；后者如同成熟者一样有其需要。倘若人的寿命更长些，那么变成熟的人的数量就会超过或至少等同于不成熟者；然而，绝大多数人死得过于年轻，这就是说，永远有更多的不发展的理智连同坏的趣味。而且，这些人带着青年人过激的态度渴望其需要的满足，他们强迫产生坏作家。 202 太近和太远。——读者和作者常常互不理解，因为作者太熟悉他的题目，几乎感到它无聊了，所以他放弃了所知道的许多例子；而读者却对这事物生疏，如果不给他举例，就容易觉得根据不足。 203 从前的艺术准备。——在文科中学的全部课程中，最有价值的是拉丁文体的练习，这恰是一种艺术练习，相反，其他一切课程仅以求知为目的。把德语作文放在首位是野蛮的，因为我们没有成长为统一修辞的标准德语文体；宵过，倘若想通过德语作文来推动思想的练习，则不妨暂时不顾文体，把思想练习和描写练习分开，如此必更有益。描写练习应当关系到某一给定内容的多重结构，而非关系到独立发明一种内容。对给定内容作纯粹描写是拉丁文体的任务，老教师在这方面有一种久已失传的精微听觉。倘若从前谁学会出色地运用一种当时的语言写作，便应当归功于这种练习（现在人们却被迫去学古代法国人）；但不止于此，他通过实践还获得了关于形式之高贵和艰难的概念，一般来说是在唯一正确的路上为艺术作准备。 204 黑暗与强光并陈。——在一般情况下不善于清晰阐明其思想的作家，在个别情况下就喜欢选用最强烈、最夸张的标记和最高级形容词，从而产生一种光照效果，宛如斑驳的林荫道上的耀眼火炬。 205 作家的画艺。如果象一位化学家那样从对象自身中析取绘画的色彩，然后又象一位艺术家那样来运用它，就能最生动地描绘一个有意味的对象。这样，便可以让画面从色彩的交界和转变中显现出来。于是，画面获得了某种富有魅力的自然素质，它使得对象本身成为有意味的。 206 令人翩翩起舞的书——有一些作家，他们把不可能的事描绘得象可能的事一样，谈论起灵性和天才就好象它们只是一种心境和爱好似的，以此产生出一种奔放自由的情感，宛如人以足尖站立，遏止不住地要翩翩起舞了。 207 不成熟的思想——不但成年，而且少年和童年也有一种自在的价值，不能仅仅看作过渡和桥梁；与此同理，不成熟的思想也自有其价值。所以，人们不应当用精细的解释来折磨诗人，而应当欣喜于其地平线的不确定，仿佛通往更丰富思想的道路还敞开着。人们站在门槛前；人们象在挖掘宝藏时那样期待着，仿佛马上就会有一种意味深长的幸运发现。诗人预先显示了思想家在发现一个重要思想时的快乐，因而使我们渴慕不已，去捕捉这个思想；然而它从我们头顶上翩翩飞过，展现最绚丽的蝶翅——它终于离我们逃走了。 208 ——再令每位作家惊奇的是。书一旦脱稿之后，便以独立的生命继续生存了；他似乎觉得，它象昆虫的一截脱落下来，继续走它自己的路去了。也许他完全遗忘了它，也许他超越了其中所写的见解，也许他自己也不再理解它，失去了构思此书时一度载他飞翔的翅膀；与此同时，它寻找它的读者，点燃生命，使人幸福，给人震惊，唤来新的作品，成为决心和行动的动力——简言之，它象一个赋予了精神和灵魂的生灵一样生活着，但还不是人。——作者获得了最幸福的命运，他年老之时可以说，他身上一切创造的、有力的、高尚的、澄明的思想和情感，在他的作品中继续生存着，即使他自己只是残灰，火种却到处复燃并且流传。——如果你设想一下，一个人的每个行动，而不仅是一本书，以某种方式成为其他的行动、决心、思想的诱因，一切已出现的牢不可分地同将出现的相结合，那么，你就是认识了实际存在着的真正的不朽，即运动的不朽：一度运动之物，如同昆虫嵌在琥珀中一样，嵌进了万有的总联系之中，从而变得永恒了。 209 老年的快乐。——思想家以及艺术家，其较好的自我逃入了作品中，当他看到他的肉体和精神渐渐被时间磨损毁坏时，便感觉到一种近乎恶意的快乐，犹如他躲在角落里看一个贼撬他的钱柜，而他知道钱柜是空的，所有的财宝已安全转移。 210 宁静的丰收。——天生的精神贵族是不太勤奋的；他们的成果在宁静的秋夜出现并从树上坠落、无需焦急的渴望，催促，除旧布新。不间断的创作愿望是平庸的，显不了虚荣、嫉妒、功名欲。倘若一个人是什么，他就根本不必去做什么——而仍然大有作为。在"制作的"人之上，还有一个更高的种族。 211 阿喀琉斯和荷马。——事情总是象阿喀琉斯①和荷马之间的情形那样：前者有经历，感受，而后者则描写它们。一个真正的作家只给予别人的激情和经验以言词，他是艺术家，要从他的少量体验中悟出很多东西。艺术家绝不是具有巨大激情的人，但是他们常常做出这种人的样子，无意中觉得，倘若他们自己的生活能为他们这方面的体验辩护，人们就会更相信他们所描绘的激情。一个人只要放纵自己，对自己不加约束，公开表露他的愤怒和欲望，全世界就立刻叫喊起来：他多么热情奔放！但是，撕心裂肺的、折磨并且常常吞噬个人的激情却意味着：谁经历它们，谁就必定不在戏剧、诗歌或小说中描写它们。艺术家常常是无节制的人，在这一点上他们恰好不是艺术家；不过这是另一个问题了。 ①阿喀琉斯（Achilles），荷马史诗《伊里亚特》中的英雄。 212 关于艺术效果的古老怀疑。——真的如亚里士多德所认为，怜悯和恐惧因悲剧而得渲泄，使得听众可以心平气和地回家去么？精神历程可以减少人的恐惧和迷信么？在一些物理事件中，例如在性欲中，随着需要的满足，冲动的确会缓和并暂时低落下去。但是，恐惧和怜悯并非这种意义上的欲求松弛的特定器官的需要。而且，天长日久，每一冲动尽管有周期性的缓和，却因习于满足而增强了。很可能，怜悯和恐惧在每一个别场合因悲剧而得缓和与渲泄，但在总体上却因悲剧的影响而强化。柏拉图认为，总的来说，人们因悲剧而变得更胆怯更多愁善感了，这是有道理的。悲剧诗人自己也势必获得一种阴郁的、充满恐怖的世界观，一颗柔弱敏感、爱流眼泪的心灵，同样地，倘若悲剧诗人以及酷爱他们的全体市民愈来愈漫无节制地堕落，这也是与柏拉图的看法相合的。——但是，一般来说，我们有什么权利回答柏拉图提出的艺术的道德影响这个重大问题呢？我们就算有艺术——但艺术的影响、随便哪种影响又在哪里呢？ 213 对荒谬的快乐。——人怎么能对荒谬感到快乐？只要世界上还有笑，情况就会如此；甚至可以说，凡有幸福之处，便有对荒谬的快乐。经验转为反面，合目的转为无目的，必然转为任意，这个过程倘若没有造成损害，只是一时心血来潮而发生，就会使人高兴，因为这暂时把我们从必然、合目的、经验之压迫下解放出来，而我们平时是把它们看作我们的无情主宰的；当被期待之物（它通常使人不安、紧张）无害地来到，我们便游戏和欢笑。这是奴隶在农神节的快乐。 214 现实的高贵化。——由于人们视爱情冲动为神圣，怀着虔敬的感激领略它的威力，所以，时间一久，这种激情便渗透了崇高的观念，事实上变得极高贵了。一些民族凭藉这种理想化的艺术从疾病中创造出文化的伟大助力：例如希腊人，在早期曾受流行的神经病（属于癫痫和舞蹈病）的折磨，从中创造出了美好的酒神狂女的典型。——希腊人丝毫没有那种矮墩墩的健康；——他们的秘密是，倘若疾病有威力，也可以尊它为神。 215 music. ——音东并非自在自为地对我们的内心如此充满意义，如此令人深深感动，以致可以把它看作情感的直接语言；而是它同诗的原始联系赋予节律的运动和声调的抑扬以许多象征意义，使我们现在误以为，它直接向内心倾诉又直接发自内心。只是经过歌曲、歌剧以及音画的数百次尝试之后，声音艺术占据了象征手法的广大领域，戏剧音乐才成为可能。 "纯音乐"或者是形式本身，此时音乐处在原始状态，按照节拍和不同强度发出的声音即可给人快感；或者是无需诗歌便可领会的形式所表达的象征，此时两种艺术在长期发展中业已结合，音乐形式终于完全同概念和情感交织在一起。停留在音乐发展之中的人可以纯粹从形式上感受一首曲子，而更先进的人对同一首曲子却处处从象征上加以理解。音乐并非自在地深刻和充满意义的，它并不表达"意志"、"自在之物"；唯有在音乐象征占据了全部内心生活领域的时代，理智才会生此误解。理智自己把这种意义置入了音响之中，正如在建筑学中，理智同样把意义置入了线与度量的关系之中，其实这种意义与力学规律是毫不相干的。 216 表情姿势和语言。 ——表情姿势的模仿比语言更古老，它是不由自主地发生的，即使在今天，人们普遍控制表情姿势，很有教养地支配肌肉，它仍如此强烈，以致我们看到一张激动的脸时，自己的脸部神经不可能毫无反应（可以观察到，一个人假装打呵欠会引起别人自然打呵欠）。The imitated gesture brings the imitator back to the feeling that the gesture expresses on the face or body of the imitated.人们就是这样学会相互理解的，婴儿也是这样学会理解母亲的。Generally, painful feelings are expressed through facial gestures that cause pain in themselves (such as hair pulling, chest pounding, violent twisting and twitching of facial muscles).Conversely, happy facial gestures are inherently joyful and therefore easy to understand (laughter is originally a happy tickle and is used to express other happy feelings). ——人们一旦通过表情姿势相互理解了，表情姿势的一种象征就会产生。我是说，人们会就一种音符语言达成协议，虽则开始时是声音和表情姿势（象征性地做一下）并用，后来才只用声音。 ——看来从前也时常发生同一过程，这一过程如今在音乐、尤其是戏剧音乐的发展中呈现在我们的耳目之前：一开始，没有阐明题旨的舞蹈和哑剧（表情姿势语言），音乐便是空洞的嘈音，在长期习惯于音乐和动作的配合之后，耳朵才训练得能够立刻分辩声音的形态，终于达到顿悟的高度，完全不再需要可见的动作，而能理解无动作的音乐。于是才有所谓纯音乐，即其中的一切无需其他辅助手段就立刻被象征性地理解的音乐。 217 高级艺术的非感性化。——新音乐的艺术发展使理智得到特殊的训练，从而使我们的耳朵也日益理智化了。所以，比起我们的前辈来，我们现在能忍受更大的音量，更多的"喧哗"，因为我们训练得更善于去倾听其中的理性了。事实上，我们的全部感官正是由于它们立刻寻求理性，即探问"有何意义"而不再探问"是何"，所以变得有些迟钝了。例如，按平均律调节音调占据绝对支配地位，便暴露了这种迟钝；因为现在尚能辨别例如升C小调和降D小调之间的细微差别的耳朵已属例外。就这一点而论，我们的耳朵已经变粗糙了。然后，原来与感官相敌对的世界的丑的方面也成了音乐的地盘；其势力范围因此举而令人惊谔地扩展到表达崇高、恐怖、神秘的东西：我们的音乐如今使过去喑哑的事物也开口说话了。有些画家以相似的方式使眼睛理智化了，远远超出了从前所谓的色彩快感和形式快感。在这里，原来被视为丑的世界方面也被艺术理解力占领了。——这一切会导致什么结果呢？眼睛和耳朵愈是善于思想，它们就愈是接近一个界限，在那里它们非感性化了：快感误置于头脑中，感官本身变得迟钝而衰弱，象征愈来愈取代存在——因而，我们从这条路比从任何其他路更加确定地走向野蛮。同时这还意味着：世界比任何时候更丑，但它也比任何时候更蕴含着一个美的世界的意义。然而，隐义的香烟愈是飘散消失，能够感知它的人就愈少，而其余的人终于停留在丑之中，想要直接享受它，却又必定归于失败。所以，在德国有音乐发展的两股潮流：这里，有万把人带着高级、细腻的要求，愈来愈注意倾听"有何意义"；那里，芸芸众生愈来愈不能理解蕴含在感性的丑这种形式中的意义，因而以愈来愈浓的兴趣学会抓住本身丑恶的东西，即音乐中的低级感性。 218 石头比从前更是石头。——一般来说，我们不再理解建筑艺术，至少久已不象我们理解音乐那样地理解它。我们已经脱离了线与形的象征，我们也荒废了修辞的声音效果，从出生的第一刻起，我们从文化的母乳中就不再吸取这些品性了。在一座希腊的或基督教的建筑物上，原先每个细节都赋有意义，关系到事物的一种更高的秩序：这种无穷意味的情调如一层魔幻的纱幕罩在建筑物的四周。美仅仅附带地进入这个体系，根本不妨碍敬畏和崇高，不妨碍因近神和魔幻作用而圣化的基本情感；美至多缓和了恐惧——但这种恐惧处处皆是前提。——在我们现代，一座建筑物的美是什么呢？它就象一个没有灵性的女人的漂亮脸蛋一样，乃是假面具一类的东西。 219 现代音乐的宗教来源。——充满灵气的音乐是在特棱特宗教会议之后复兴的天主教中经帕莱斯特里那之手产生的①，他帮助新觉醒的真切而深刻动荡的心灵发出声来；然后，在新教中经巴赫之手也做到了这一点，他靠了虔信派而深刻化，摆脱了他原来的教条本性。这两种兴起的前提和必要准备是执着于音乐，如同文艺复兴和前文艺复兴时代所特有的那样，特别是那种对音乐的学术研究，那种对和声技巧的本质上的科学兴趣。另一方面，还必须已经有过歌剧，外行从中发现了自己对过分学究气的冷静的音乐的反感，因而希望重新给音乐女神以灵魂。——没有那种深刻的宗教情绪变化，没有内心激情的渐渐消失，音乐就会仍然是学究气或歌剧气的；反宗教改革的精神是现代音乐的精神（因为巴赫音乐中的虔信主义也是一种反宗教改革）。所以，我们深深有负于宗教生活。——音乐是艺术领域里的反文艺复兴；属于此列的还有牟里罗②的后期绘画，也许还有巴罗克风格：无论如何要比文艺复兴的或古代的建筑更属此列。也许现在人们还可以问：倘若我们现代音乐能够移动石块，它会聚集起这些石块造成一座古典建筑吗？我十分怀疑。因为支配着音乐的因素，如激情，对高昂紧张心情的爱好，不惜一切代价变得生动的意愿，感觉的迅速转换，明暗的强烈浮雕效果，狂喜和单纯的并存，——这一切都曾经一度支配过绘画艺术并且创造出新的风格准则：——但既不是在古代，也不是在文艺复兴时代。 ①特棱特宗教会议，天主教会于1545-1563年间在瑞士特棱特举行的三次宗教会议，旨在反对宗教改革运动和新教。 ②牟里罗（Murill，1618～1682），西班牙画家。 220 艺术中的彼岸。——人们深为痛心地承认，一切时代的艺术家在其才华横溢的顶峰，恰恰把我们今日视为谬误的一种观念提举到了神化的地步：他们是人类的宗教迷误和哲学迷误的颂扬者，倘无对人类的绝对真理的信念，他们不会这么做。如果根本除去对这一真理的信念，驾于人类知识与迷误两端的虹彩黯然失色，那么，象《神曲》、拉斐尔的绘画、米开朗基罗的壁画、哥特式教堂这一类艺术就决不可能复兴，它们不仅以艺术对象的宇宙意义、而且以其形而上意义为自身的前提。于是曾经有过这样一种艺术，这样一种艺术家的信念，便仅仅成了动人的传说。 221 诗中的革命。——法国戏剧家加于自己的严格限制，如情节、地点、时间三一律，关于风格、诗格、句式的法则，关于选择语言和思想的法则，乃是一种重要的练习，正如同现代音乐发展中对位法和赋格曲的练习，或者希腊演说术中的高尔吉亚①风格一样。如此约束自己似乎是荒谬的；但是，除了首先极严格地（也许是极专断地）限制自己之外，没有别的办法可以摆脱自然主义。人们如此逐渐学会优雅地走过哪怕是架在无底深渊上的窄桥，其收获是动作练得极其灵巧，正如音乐史向如今活着的一切人所证明的那样。在这里可以看到，束缚如何一步步放松，直到最后仿佛可以完全解除：这个"仿佛"乃是艺术中必然发展的最高成果。在现代诗艺中缺乏这种从自造的束缚中逐渐摆脱出来的幸运过程。莱辛使得法国形式即当时唯一的形式在德国受嘲笑，并让人们参照莎士比亚，因而，人们不是循序渐进地摆脱束缚，而是一跃而入于自然主义——也就是说，退回艺术的开端。歌德试图摆脱自然主义，其办法是用种种方式不断重新自加束缚；然而，发展的线索一旦中断，即使最有才华的人也只是从事不断的试验。席勒的形式有相当的确定性，这要归功于他尽管否认、却在无意中尊崇着法国悲剧的典范，与莱辛保持着相当的距离（众所周知，他贬薄莱辛的悲剧尝试）。在伏尔秦之后，法国人突然也缺乏足够的才能，来把悲剧的发展从限制中引向自由的外观；他们后来遵照德国榜样也一跃而入于艺术的一种卢梭式自然状态，从事起试验来了。只要时时阅读伏尔泰的《穆罕默德》，就可以清楚地知道，由于传统的中断，欧洲文化究竟不可挽回地失去了什么。伏尔泰是用希腊规范来约束自己由巨大悲剧暴风雨所孕育的动荡不宁的灵魂的最后一位伟大戏剧家，他具备一切德国人所不具备的能力，因为法国人的天性要比德国人的天性远远接近希腊人；他也是在处理散文语言时犹有希腊人的耳朵、希腊艺术家的责任心、希腊的质朴和优雅的最后一位伟大作家；他甚至还是一身兼备最高精神自由和绝对非革命观点而并不怯懦彷徨的最后一批人中的一个。在他之后，现代精神带着它的不安，它对规范和约束的憎恨，支配一切领域，先是借革命的狂热挣脱缰绳，然后当它对自己突然感到畏惧惊恐之时，又重新给自己套上缰绳，——不过是逻辑的缰绳，而非艺术规范的缰绳了。虽则由于这一解放，我们一时得以欣赏各民族的诗歌，一切生长在隐蔽角落的、原始的、野生的、奇丽的、硕大无比的东西，从民歌到"伟大的野蛮人"莎士比亚；我们玩味迄今一切艺术民族感到陌生的地方色彩和时装的乐趣；我们充分利用当代"野蛮的优点"，歌德就以之反对席勒，为他的《浮士德》的缺乏形式辩护。但为时多久呢？一切民族一切风格的诗歌的滚滚洪流必定冲刷掉那尚能借以幽静生长的土壤；一切诗人不论一开始力量多大，必定成为试探着的模仿者，大胆的复制者；至于公众，在表现力量的控制中，在一切艺术手段的协调中，业已忘记欣赏真正的艺术行为，必定愈益为力量而推崇力量，为色彩而推崇色彩，为思想而推崇思想，为灵感而推崇灵感，因而倘若不是剥离出来，就全然不能欣赏艺术品的要素和条件，最后自然而然地提出要求：艺术家必须把它们剥离出来交到他们手上。是的，人们抛弃了法国艺术和希腊艺术的"不合理"束缚，但不知不觉地习惯于把一切束缚、一切限制都视为不合理了；于是艺术力求解除它们，其间便经历了——真是富有教益——它的原始、幼稚、不完全、已往的冒险和过度等一切状态：它用毁灭来诠释它的产生和变化。有一位伟人，他的直觉完全可以信赖，他的理论所缺少的只是三十年以上的实践，——拜伦有一次说："诗歌一般所达到的我都达到了，我愈是对此加以深思，就愈是坚信我们全部走在错误的路上，人人都一样。我们全都追随着一个内在错误的革命体系——我们或下一代仍将达到同一种信念。"这同一个拜伦又说："我把莎士比亚看作最坏的榜样，同时也看作最特殊的诗人。"而歌德后半生成熟的艺术见解所表达的不正是同一层意思吗？他岂非凭借这种见解而超出好几代人，使我们大体上可以认为，歌德或许还完全没有发生影响，他的时代或许刚刚在到来？正是由于他的天性使他长期执着于诗歌革命的道路，正是由于他最深切地体会了因传统中断而在新的发现、展望和补救手段中间所暴露的一切，似乎从艺术废墟里发掘出的一切，所以他后来的改弦更辙才如此沉重。这表明他意识到了一个深刻的要求：恢复艺术传统；在毁坏尚且必须有巨大力气的地方，倘若臂力太弱不足以建设，那么至少也要靠眼睛的想象力来把古庙的断垣残柱复原为昔日的完美整体。所以，他生活在艺术中就象生活在对真正艺术的回忆中一样：他的诗歌是回忆、理解久已消逝的古老艺术时代的手段。他的要求尽管不能靠现代的力量来满足；但是，这方面的痛苦却因一种快乐而得到充分补偿：这要求一度曾经满足过，而且我们仍然可以分享这种满足。不是个人，而是或多或少理想的面具；不是现实，而是一种象征性的普遍；时代特性、地方色彩淡薄得几乎不可见，使之化为神话；当代感觉和当代社会问题凝聚在最简单的形式中，撇除它们的刺激、紧张、病态的特征，使它们除了在艺术意义上之外，在其他任