Macmillan

Nietzsche
INTRODUCTION
xi
and a refutationof the systemsof thinkingmade use of by
antecedent doctrinaires, and secondly,by definingthe
hypotheseson which his own philosophyis built. This
chapteris a most important one, settingforth,as it does,the
rationale of his doctrine of the will to power. It establishes
Nietzsche's philosophic positionand presentsa closelyknit
explanation of the course pursuedin the followingchapters.
The relativity of all truth" the hypothesis so often assumed
in his "
previouswork here defends by analogy
and argument. Using other leadingforms of philosophy
as a ground for exploration, he questionsthe absolutism of
truth and shows wherein lies the difficulty of a
Nietzsche, in his analysesand
final definition.
criticisms, is not solely
destructive: he is subterraneously constructing his own
philosophical system founded on the "will to power." This
phraseis used many times in the carefulresearch of the first
chapter. As the book proceedsțhis doctrine develops.
Nietzsche's best definition of what he calls the "free
the intellectual aristocrat,
The
"free spirit," however,must not be confused
with the superman. The former is the "bridge"which the
spirit," namely: the thinkingman,
the philosopher and ruler,is contained in the twenty-six
pages of the second chapterof "Beyond Good and Evil."
In a
"
series of paragraphslongerthan is Nietzsche's wont
the leadingcharacteristicsof this superiorman are de-
"
scribed
present-day man must cross in the process of surpassing himself.
In the delineationand analysis of him, as presentedto
us here,we can glimpsehis most salient mental features.
Heretofore,as in "Thus Spake Zarathustra,"he has been
but partially and provisionally defined. Now his instincts
and desires, his habits and activities are outlined. Furthermore,
we are given an explanation of his relation to the
inferior man and to the organismsof his environment. The
chapter is a most importantone, for at many pointsit is a
subtle elucidation of many of Nietzsche's dominant philosophic
principles. By inference țhe differences of class
distinctionare strictly drawn. The slave-morality {sklavtnaral)and
the master-morality (herrenmoral) though as
,
yet undefined,are balanced againsteach other: and the
deportmental standardsof the masters and slaves are defined