Regeneration: A Reply to Max NordauG. P. Putnam's sons, 1896 - 311 pages |
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aims alienist Anarchism Anarchists anti-semitism anti-semitist appear aspirations authors and artists beautiful believe Benjamin Kidd called causes character Church civilization consider corruption decay degeneracy degeneration dogmas echolalia educated emotional nature England English erotic ethics existence expression fact faith feeling France French German give Government happiness healthy Ibsen ideal ideas imagination influence instincts institutions intellectual Jews Jonas Lie Kreutzer Sonata laws liberty literature lives logic lunatics madness marriage masses Max Nordau means ment mental modern moral mysticism nation Nordau says Norway Norwegian object opinion painter Pantheism Parnassians Paul Verlaine phenomena Philistine poet poetry pre-Raphaelites present produced progress prove pure love question race readers reasoning regard religion of humanity religious Russia scientists selfish sense simply social society sound mind stigmata symbolists symbols tendency things tion Tolstoi's Ultramontanes upper classes views Wagner women words write yearning Zola
Popular passages
Page viii - And if, still unsatisfied, the human mind, with the yearning of a pilgrim for his distant home, will turn to the mystery from which it has emerged, seeking so to fashion it as to give unity to thought and faith, so long as this is done, not only without intolerance or bigotry of any kind, but with the enlightened recognition that ultimate fixity of conception is here unattainable, and that each succeeding age must be held free to fashion the mystery in accordance with its own needs — then...
Page viii - And if, unsatisfied with them all, the human mind, with the yearning of a pilgrim for his distant home, will turn to the mystery from which it has emerged, seeking so to fashion it as to give unity to thought and faith ; so long as this is done, not only without intolerance or bigotry of any kind, but with the enlightened recognition that ultimate fixity of conception is here unattainable, and that each succeeding...
Page 219 - All thoughts, all passions, all delights, Whatever stirs this mortal frame, All are but ministers of Love, And feed his sacred flame. Oft in my waking dreams do I Live o'er again that happy hour, When midway on the mount I lay, Beside the ruined tower.
Page viii - ... how absolutely universal is the extent and at the same time how completely subordinate the significance of the mission which mechanism has to fulfill in the structure of the world.
Page xii - Art, is commented upon, we have in view certain abstract results of human thought and action. Not only, however, is the current conception of Progress more or less vague, but it is in great measure erroneous. It takes in not so much the reality of Progress as its accompaniments — not so much the substance as the shadow. That progress in intelligence seen during the growth of the child into the man, or the savage into the philosopher, is commonly regarded as consisting in the greater number of facts...
Page 228 - O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to "act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene...
Page vii - ... satisfaction we had lost. And the more I myself have laboured to prepare the way for acceptance of the mechanical view of Nature in the region of organic life — in which region this view seemed to advance more timidly than the nature of the thing required — the more do I now feel impelled to bring into prominence the other aspect which was equally near to my heart during all those endeavours.
Page 132 - Now I have undertaken the work of investigating (as much as possible after your method) the tendencies of the fashions in art and literature; of proving that they have their source in the degeneracy of their authors, and that the enthusiasm of their admirers is for manifestations of more or less pronounced moral insanity, imbecility, and dementia.
Page 242 - Mystics, but especially ego-maniacs and filthy pseudo-realists, are enemies to society of the direst kind. Society must unconditionally defend itself against them. Whoever believes with me that society is the natural organic form of humanity, in which alone it can exist, prosper, and continue to develop itself to higher destinies; whoever looks upon civilization as a good, having value and deserving to be defended, must mercilessly crush under his thumb the anti-social vermin. To him, who with Nietzsche,...
Page viii - Science itself not unfrequently derives motive power from an ultrascientific source. Some of its greatest discoveries have been made under the stimulus of a non-scientific ideal. This was the case among the ancients, and it has been so amongst ourselves.