Chapter 18 The Birth of Tragedy Chapter Four

birth of tragedy Chapter Four Regarding this kind of simple artist, if we use dreams as a metaphor, we can give us some inspiration.Imagine a dreamer; he indulges in the dream and does not want to disturb his dream, saying to himself: "It's a dream, I'll just go on dreaming!" From this we can infer that he experienced a kind of On the other hand, in order to be able to dream contentedly in the meditation center, he must completely forget the reality of the day and the pressing worries.Therefore, under the guidance of Apollo, the god of dreams, we can elucidate all these phenomena as follows: Although in both aspects of life, in waking and dreaming, the former does seem to be infinitely preferable, more important, more valuable, more worthwhile. However, as to the mysterious origin of our being as phenomenal existence, I frankly contend that we should also give considerable weight to dreams, however fanciful it may seem.For the more spiritually I became aware of this omnipotent artistic impulse, and saw its ardor to appear as illusion and to be saved through illusion, the more I felt the need to make the following metaphysical postulate: the real being and the One, this Eternity and contradiction also need the phantom of ecstasy, the illusion of happiness, to constantly rescue it; since we are in this illusion and are made of it, we must feel that it is the real nothingness, time and space. , the infinite variety of cause and effect, in other words, the reality of experience, if we ignore our own "reality" for a moment, if we regard the reality of our experience, and the reality of the world in general, as the ever-present representations of the One , then it might as well regard dreams as illusions of illusions, and thus as the high satisfaction of the original illusionary pleasure.It is for this reason that the soul of the soul feels indescribably delighted with the naive artist and the naive work of art, that is, with the illusion of illusion.Raphael is one of these immortal naive artists. In a symbolic painting, he shows us the process of transforming illusion into illusion, the original process of naive artist and Oneiroi culture.In the lower half of his painting "Jesus Transfiguration", the children in concentration, the disappointed artisans, and the bewildered believers reflect the primitive and eternal pain, the only foundation of the world, and the "illusion" in the painting is the source of all things The reflection of the eternal contradiction.Now, from this illusion, like a fragrant fragrance, a new world of illusion arises, but those who are in the first illusion are blind to it-it is floating in the purest bliss. Floating light, it is the observation of amazement when the body and mind are at ease.Here, in the sublime symbol of art, we experience the world of Oneiroi's beauty and its foundation, the terrible epigram of Silenus, and we intuitively understand the interdependence of the two.However, Oneiroi appears before us again as the personification of the principle of individuality.Only thus can the ultimate purpose of the One, which is saved through illusion, be fully attained.Oneiroi shows us in his sublime manner that this world of suffering is entirely necessary, because through it one has to have the illusion of salvation.

So, in the complacency of meditation, he sat peacefully on this kindly sail and crossed the sea of ​​suffering. This worship of the principle of individuality, as a general mandatory moral law, has only one law—the law of individuality, that is, keeping the sphere of the individual, which the Greeks called moderation.Apollo, the god of virtue, requires his believers to do everything in moderation. In order to be restrained, they must have self-knowledge.Therefore, in addition to the aesthetic requirements, the requirements of "knowing yourself" and "be careful not to go too far" are also put forward; The characteristics of the times, the characteristics of the barbarian world other than Oneiroi.Prometheus should be pecked by goshawks because he loved mankind with the love of the iron gods; Oedipus should be caught in a chaotic whirlpool of evil because he was too clever in answering the riddle of the Sphinx.Apollo, the god of Delphi, explained ancient Greek history in this way.

Similarly, in the eyes of the Oneiroi-style Greeks, the influence of the Dionysian culture seems to be ironic and barbaric, but at the same time he has to admit that he has a deep connection with those overthrown Irony gods and heroes. We are closely connected.Not only that, but he also felt that all his life, beautiful and modest as it was, rested on a foundation of pain and knowledge which Dionysian culture had exposed to him.Just look, Oneiroi cannot live without Dionysus!Ironic and barbaric enlightenment, then, is no less important than that of the Oneiroi.Now, imagine this realm based on illusion and moderation, fortified by art, invaded by the ecstasy of the Dionysian carnival, in which we hear all the exultation, Great compassion, great wisdom, great wisdom, and even heart-wrenching whistling; then, let us ask: What is the meaning of the ghostly harp sound of Apollo, the god of poetry, compared with this devilish folk song, in this intoxicated Before the art of telling the truth, the goddess of the art of illusion pales!The wisdom of Silenus cried out to the silent Olympian Oneiroi: "Alas! Alas!" At this moment, the self-contained individual fell into a state of ecstasy, and suddenly forgot the rules of the Oneiroi. .Excessiveness becomes truth, extremes will reverse, and joy comes from sorrow. This is an appeal from the heart of the soul.Therefore, whenever the Dionysian culture invaded, the Oneiroi culture was sublated and eliminated.However, the reverse is also true.Whenever Dionysus' attack was thwarted, the majesty of Oneiroi appeared unprecedentedly domineering.So, in my opinion, I can only understand the Doris realm and Doris art as a poorly run bastion of Oneiroi culture.Because such a tenacious, indifferent, heavily guarded art, such a rigorous martial training, and such a ruthless political system can only be maintained for a long time if it constantly resists the primitive wildness of Dionysian culture.

So far, I have only developed my opinion at the beginning of this article, that is, the two types of cultures of Dionysus and Oneiroi, which complement each other through metabolism, always dominate the Greek genius.Under the dominion of Oneiroi's esthetic impulse, the Homeric world develops from the Bronze Age with its ironic theocratic wars and stern folk philosophy; ; So the Oneiroi culture rose up against this new force, and finally reached the majesty of Doris art and Doris worldview.Thus, if the ancient history of Greece is divided into four major artistic stages, it is now necessary for us to further explore the ultimate goal of these developments and progress, otherwise we may think that the age finally reached, the age of Dorian art, is the art of these arts. The peak and destination of the impulse.In that age, the sublime and famous works of art of Attic tragedy and Dionysian drama come before our eyes, which were the common goals of these two tendencies; , produced the child—she was both Antigone and Cassandra.

①In Greek tragedy, Antigone is a strong and unyielding woman who upholds traditional morality, and Cassandra is a so-called "barbarian" woman. Here, the former represents the Oneiroi culture, and the latter represents the Dionysian culture. Greek tragedy is The product of the combination of the two.