Overman

I spent roughly three hours of my Saturday afternoon immersed in Friedrich Nietzsche's The Antichrist (Ludovici translation-- the above image is of the Mencken translation). This 100 page essay is a thorough demonstration of Nietzsche's feelings towards Christianity. You can expect some bloggy pontification on this work in the very near future, but for now, I leave you with this:

Do not let us undervalue the fact that we ourselves, we free spirits, are already a "transvaluation of all values," an incarnate declaration of war agains all the old concepts "true" and "untrue" and of a triumplh over them. The most valuable standpoints are always the last to be found: but the most valuable standpoints are the methods. All the methods and the first principles of our modern scientific procedure, had for years to encounter the profoundest contempt: association with them meant exclusion from the society of decent people-- one was regarded as an "enemy of God," as a scoffer at truth and as "one possessed." With one's scientific nature, one belonged to the Chandala. We have had the whole feeling of mankind against us; hitherto their notion of that which ought to be truth, of that which ought to serve the purpose of truth: every "thou shalt," has been directed against us. . . . Our objects, our practices, our calm, our distrustful manner-- everything about us seemed to them absolutely despicable and beneath contempt. After all, it might be asked with some justice, whether the thing which kept mankind blindfold so long, were not an aesthetic taste: what they demanded of truth was a picturesque effect, and from the man of science what they expected was that he should make a forcible appeal to their senses. It was our modesty which ran counter to their taste so long... And oh! how well they guessed this, did these divine turkey-cocks!--

"Turkey-cocks" ... interesting choice of words.

Update!: Full online version here.