Free bilingual books

Ecce homo. Wie man wird, was man ist
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1888)

Downloading books is available only for authorized users


Downloading books is available only for authorized users

Ecce Homo Ecce homo. Wie man wird, was man ist
11
As it is my intention within a very short time to confront my
fellow-men with the very greatest demand that has ever yet been made
upon them, it seems to me _above_ all necessary to declare here who
and what I am. As a matter of fact, this ought to be pretty well
known already, for I have not "held my tongue" about myself. But
the disparity which obtains between the greatness of my task and the
smallness of my contemporaries, is revealed by the fact that people
have neither heard me nor yet seen me. I live on my own self-made
credit, and it is probably only a prejudice to suppose that I am alive
at all. I do but require to speak to any one of the scholars who come
to the Ober-Engadine in the summer in order to convince myself that I
am _not_ alive.... Under these circumstances, it is a duty--and one
against which my customary reserve, and to a still greater degree the
pride of my instincts, rebel--to say: _Listen! for I am such and such a
person. For Heaven's sake do not confound me with any one else!_


In Voraussicht, dass ich über Kurzem mit der schwersten Forderung
an die Menschheit herantreten muss, die je an sie gestellt wurde,
scheint es mir unerlässlich, zu sagen, wer ich bin. Im Grunde dürfte
man's wissen: denn ich habe mich nicht "unbezeugt gelassen". Das
Missverhältniss aber zwischen der Grösse meiner Aufgabe und der
Kleinheit meiner Zeitgenossen ist darin zum Ausdruck gekommen, dass
man mich weder gehört, noch auch nur gesehn hat. Ich lebe auf meinen
eignen Credit hin, es ist vielleicht bloss ein Vorurtheil, dass ich
lebe?... Ich brauche nur irgend einen "Gebildeten" zu sprechen, der im
Sommer ins Oberengadin kommt, um mich zu überzeugen, dass ich nicht
lebe... Unter diesen Umständen giebt es eine Pflicht, gegen die
im Grunde meine Gewohnheit, noch mehr der Stolz meiner Instinkte
revoltirt, nämlich zu sagen: Hört mich! denn ich bin der und der.
Verwechselt mich vor Allem nicht!


  • well: You use well to say that something was done in a good way.
  • ever: Ever means at any time.
  • suppose: To suppose is to guess.
  • necessary: If something is necessary, you must do it.
  • require: To require something is to say that it is necessary.
  • against: To be against something is to be touching it or opposed to it.
  • still: Still is used when you say that a situation keeps going on.
  • either: Either is used with or to say there are two or more possibilities.
  • thin: If someone or something is thin, they are not fat.
  • demand: To demand something is to say strongly that you want it.
  • yet: Yet is used to say something has not happened up to now.
  • else: If you talk about something else, you talk about something different.
  • alive: If someone or something is alive, they are not dead.
  • already: If something happens already, it happens before a certain time.
  • serve: To serve someone is to give them food or drinks.
  • task: A task is work that someone has to do.
  • neither: You use neither to connect two negative statements.
  • ride: To ride something is to travel on it. You can ride an animal, a bike, etc.
  • own: To own something means to have it. That thing belongs to you.
  • within: You use within to say that something is inside another thing.
  • gain: If you gain something, you get more of it.
  • above: If something is above, it is at a higher level than something else.


  • Next chapter