Ascetic Priest as a Conserving Force

Linked from Essay III, Section 13: "You will see my point: this ascetic priest, this apparent enemy of life, this denier - precisely his is among the greatest conserving and yes - creating forces of life."

[T]he man of ressentiment is neither upright nor naive nor honest and straightforward with himself. His soul squints; his spirit loves hiding places, secret paths and back doors, every covert entices him as his world, his security, his refreshment; he understands how to keep silent,
how not to forget, how to wait, how to be provisionally self-deprecating and humble. A race of such men of ressentiment is bound to become eventually cleverer than any noble race; it will also honor cleverness to a far greater degree: namely as a condition of existence of the first importance.

From Genealogy, Essay I, Section 11, p. 38-39

Reader's Question

• How does Nietzsche develop the "character" of the man of ressentiment until he becomes the ascetic priest? What characteristics does he have from his first appearance in Essay I; which ones reveal themselves as most significant in Essay III?

RETURN TO ESSAY THREE

Joseph's Rise to Power and the Ascetic Priest

Linked from Essay III, Section 13: "...this ascetic priest, this apparent enemy of life, this denier - precisely his is among the greatest conserving and yes - creating forces of life."

And the seven years of the plenty that had been in the land of Egypt came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said, and there was famine in all the lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread. And all the land of Egypt was hungry and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all of Egypt, 'Go to Joseph. What he says to you, you must do.'"

Genesis 41:53-55

Reader's Questions

• Think about Joseph's rise to power. Does he fit the mold of the ascetic priest"?
• When Joseph enforced stockpiling of resources in times of plenty, might he have been seen as an "apparent enemy of life"? Do you think Joseph's actions is what Nietzsche is describing?

RETURN TO ESSAY THREE