Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-26
Nie+zsche
WrongAbou+
Current War
Leonardo do Vinci Rated
|. More Practical Prophet
By BENJAMIN DE CASSERES

HAVE quoted q lot OF propn-
i cts of the past in regard TO
the current war, and here's an
other one to add TO the collec-
ton.
The prophecy was made by
Frederick Nietzsche. the Ger
man prophet sof the superman.
who wrote in his "Genealogy of
Morals in 1887:
within fifty years the Babel
governments will clash in a gi-
gantic war for the markets of
the world"
The year 1914 was. only 27
years after the prophecy.
NietZsche hit the nail on the
head about World War No. l.
1t was fundamentally for "the
markets of the world" and
Germany iost those markets.
But he was wrong about the
current war 1t is not for the
markets of the world It is a
conflict between two diametri-
cally opposed ways of life-the
slave way and the free way.
But after all, il was not par
ticularly risky TO. predict a
world war back in 1887. Ger
many was becoming militaristic.
France was out for revenge be-
cause Of her defeat in the
Franco-Prussian war. Russia
was beginning 10 simmer with
revolutionary movements and
England was tearing around in
Africa.
What more probable. then.
that one day they would 90 al
it?-which they did.
DUT here is a more practical
- prophet ie lived some five
hundred years ago / was re-
Gently looking al his amazing
work in the New York Museum
of Science and Industry in
Rockefeller Center.
This announcer of things 10
come was Leonardo da Ninci.
who seemed to carry within his
skull all the inventions and
eadgets of what We call the
modern world"
In this exhibit there arc
sketches of flying machines.
Self-driving' cars tthe automo-
bile), ball-bearing machines. the
submarine. traffic signaling
gadgets for the ideal city of
the future" the canal-lock sys-
TEN. the hydraulic ventilator
air-conditioned rooms. the buzz
saw. the steam shovel. pile
drivers.
There are a lot Of other things
so up-to-date-on paper only
that il leads one TO believe that
this astounding man was not
prophet at all. that he was. in
fact. remembering things that
he had seen in some previous
life.
Indeed. what is prophecy and
foresight but the recollection OF
that which hath already been,
projected on the screen of to-
morrow?
DUT back to the world scrim-
ID mage.
What has the heroic man
ideal Of the human race 10 do
with this ware Everything. says
Professor Tolman OF pennsyl-
vanla State College. lie says
the myth of the heroic man,
as incarnated in Stain. MusSo-
lini and Hitler is really the
cause of the war And. further.
he predicts "the overthrow OF
the heroic man idea
Now, | fear that Professor
| Tolman will wait some millions
of years before we ever get rid
of the heroic man" idea. As n
matter of fact. think the
heroic man myth that is IN
every mothers son and every
/ papa's daughter of US. despite
its perversions, is one OF the
healthiest of our normal in
stincts.
The heroic man" the super
man." is the fellow who Is our
very self as we dream we'd like
to be. Call him Tor herr Her
cules, Aladdin, Caesar. Napo-
leon, Tom Paine, Lincoln. Paul
Bunyan, Dick Tracy. Gargan-.
tua. the Wizard of or. Joan OF
Arc, Victor Hugo, d'Artagnan.
Spinoza or Jack the Giant Killer
it makes no difference. These
real and fictional characters
+ are ourselVves become real
+ VicariOuSlV