The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-09-18
struggle between the powers of good
and of evil" Something else also be

struggle between the powers Of good
and of evil" Something else also be
comes clear-namely, that there Is
no reason for wonder in the fact that
German statesmen break their words,
seeing that in their view power is
"the criterion of truth" and national
ism is bovine" also, that the Off
cial German military Gazette means
what it says-"Woe to the vanquish-
ed" There was more than rhetoric
in the description by prominent
French journalist when he wrote OF
'barbarians rushing against civiliza-
ton"
The problem that next presented
itself to NietZsche's mind was how
best to bring about the great enter
prise: and this is his answer-"The
changes and transformations which
have hitherto taken place in morals
were caused by successful crimes"
BY the force of his own argument he
now necessarily praises war; that is
to be "the successful crime" which
shall usher in the new mankind and
the new morality of master and
Slaves" war and courage have done
more great things than charity. What
is the good? We ask. To be brave is
good. Live your life of obedience
ord Of war" Nietzsche glorified war
red war;" and his is the siren sor
Turing to destruction. How deeply his
panegyric of devastation has infected
the mind of General Bernhard has
been already shown; and Bernhard
is only one in the Superman Pen
Germanic ring of blood and IRON
which surrounds the Kaiser's throne.
European morals being still of a
Christian or civilized order, Nietzsche
must needs look, or pretend to look,
for a plausible pretext which shall
permit the Superman to throw out
his challenge; and he points to an at
tack upon Russia, primitive and colos-
sal, as likely to be justified in the in
terest of civilization, while keeping
the real end out of sight. The real
end, as we have seen, was the des-
troying of present civilization and the
planting of the race of Supermen lin
the lands of the remotest SEAS
H010 ywh0 LVrnT nnt1
Colonies today; British Colonies to-
morrow; or both at the same time.
Nietzsche taught Germany to believe
that she could crush the British peo-
plea fundamentally mediocre
species ponderous, con-
science-stricken, herding animals
The plebeianism of modern
ideas is Englands work and inven-
ton" All Britain's greatest names,
from Shakespeare down, are mud
dle-headed," and so on.
Fed upon such stuff, the warmon-
gers of Germany prepared for and en-
tered upon their present task. No
doubt they thought the hazard suffi-
emily perilous but Neitzsche thought
so too; yet he advised them to take
the risk-"Man is a rope stretched
between the animal and the Super
i mana rope over an abyss. A
faring, a dangerous looking-back a
dangerus trembling and hating"
Nevertheless, he urges the command,
| Forward and shouts to his Super
man three tch-words-"Courage,
Hope" illusions" The last is the
most interesting-"In the present
state of knowledge, illusions, logical
fiction, false opinions Ito which syn
thetic judgment apriori belong) are
the most indispensable to us; often
more than truth they are life-further
ing, life-preserving, species-preserv
ing, perhaps species-rearing.
Well, the rope over the abyss is
Germany's million of soldiers. Over
the backs of these ordinary men do
the Supermen essay to enter into a
new world-or fall into the abyss.
One word more. Nietzsche died
mad; he imagined himself at success
sive periods in his last phase" to be,
first, a notorious murderer; second,
King Of Italy; and, last of all, God.
Does the parallel hold here?
WALTER SHAW.