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My nihilism is based on concrete experiences. [p.70]* * *
I regard it as a mistake to call Dionysus a god; I contest it. He has a place on Mount Olympus as a close relative, also as a guest of honor. Dionysus is more than a god and less—he is earth exposed, nature revealed. He is a demon, a polymorphic Titan. This is not contradicted by one of the myths about him which says he was torn to shreds by the Titans—that is simply the way they are. Dionysus himself is torn, he tears, he is overpowering. His place is not so much on Olympus as in Eleusis, between Persephone and Demeter.[…]
Rather than expatiating on this, I wish to focus on the present. The fact that we, largely in a passive manner, are participating in a fall of the gods is obvious as far away as India and New Guinea. Titanic forces in mechanical disguise are supplanting the gods. Wherever Zeus no longer rules, crown, scepter, and borders are becoming senseless; with Ares, the heroes are making their farewells; and with Great Pan, nature is dying. Wherever Aphrodite is waning, there is promiscuous interbreeding.
The power of Dionysus testifies to the fact that he alone survives. He is the master of festivities in palaces and among the masses, he is at home with princes and beggars. His light enchants the mayfly, which burns itself on him. [pp.70-71]
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Frederick III, German Emperor, King of Prussia, ruled for ninety days before succumbing to his cancer of the larynx. I can picture Bismarck going to the monarch's bed and submitting documents for him to sign. What are provinces, the Black Eagle, unrest in the Silesian mining districts, compared with the small knot in the throat—the kaiser no longer listens to the chancellor, he pays heed only to clearing his throat, torturously forcing the mucus through the tube. Man is alone. [p.114]* Reprinted from Aladdin’s Problem by Ernst Jünger, Marsilio Publishers, 1990
