''Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is'' () is the last original book written by philosopher

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

before his death in 1900. It was written in 1888 and was not published until 1908. According to one of Nietzsche's most prominent English translators, Walter Kaufmann, the book offers "Nietzsche's own interpretation of his development, his works, and his significance." The book contains several chapters with self-laudatory titles, such as "Why I Am So Wise", "Why I Am So Clever", "Why I Write Such Good Books" and "Why I Am a Destiny". Kaufmann's '' Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist'' notes the internal parallels, in form and language, to Plato's ''Apology'' which documented the

Trial of Socrates The Trial of Socrates (399 BCE) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: ''asebeia'' ( impiety) against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrat ...

. In effect, Nietzsche was putting himself on trial with this work, and his sardonic judgments and chapter headings can be seen as mordant, mocking, self-deprecating, or sly. Within this work, Nietzsche is self-consciously striving to present a new image of the philosopher and of himself, for example, a philosopher "who is not an

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

n academic nor an

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

nian sage, but

Dionysian The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by Fri ...

."Kaufmann, p. 202. On these grounds, Kaufmann considers ''Ecce Homo'' a literary work comparable in its artistry to

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

's paintings. Nietzsche argues that he is a great philosopher because of his withering assessment of the pious fraud of the entirety of Philosophy which he considered as a retreat from honesty when most necessary, and a cowardly failure to pursue its stated aim to its ''reasonable'' end. Nietzsche insists that his suffering is not noble but the expected result of hard inquiry into the deepest recesses of human self-deception, and that by overcoming one's agonies a person achieves more than any relaxation or accommodation to intellectual difficulties or literal threats. He proclaims the ultimate value of everything that has happened to him (including his father's early death and his near-blindness – an example of love of Fate or ''

amor fati is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessa ...

''). Nietzsche's primary point is that to be "a man" alone is to be actually more than "a Christ". One of the main purposes of ''Ecce Homo'' was to offer Nietzsche's own perspective on his work as a philosopher and

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

. He wrote: "Under these circumstances I have a duty against which my habits, even more the pride of my instincts, revolt at bottom – namely, to say: ''Hear me! For I am such and such a person. Above all, do not mistake me for someone else!''" Throughout the course of the book, he expounds — in the characteristically

hyperbolic Hyperbolic may refer to: * of or pertaining to a hyperbola, a type of smooth curve lying in a plane in mathematics ** Hyperbolic geometry, a non-Euclidean geometry ** Hyperbolic functions, analogues of ordinary trigonometric functions, defined u ...

style found in his later period (1886–1888) — upon his life as a child, his tastes as an individual, and his vision for humanity. He gives reviews and insights about his various works, including: '' The Birth of Tragedy'', '' The Untimely Meditations'', ''

Human, All Too Human ''Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits'' () is a book by 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, originally published in 1878. A second part, ''Assorted Opinions and Maxims'' (), was published in 1879, and a third part, ''The Wande ...

'', '' The Dawn'', ''

The Gay Science ''The Gay Science'' (; sometimes translated as ''The Joyful Wisdom'' or ''The Joyous Science'') is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882, and followed by a second edition in 1887 after the completion of ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' and ...

'', ''

Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; it was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. ...

'', ''

Beyond Good and Evil ''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' () is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' but with a more polemical approach. It was first published in 1886 ...

'', ''

On the Genealogy of Morality ''On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic'' (; sometimes also translated as ''On the Genealogy of Morals'') is an 1887 book by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It consists of a preface and three interrelated treatises ('Abhandlungen' in Ge ...

'', ''

Twilight of the Idols ''Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer'' () is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889. Genesis ''Twilight of the Idols'' was written in just over a week, between 26 August and 3 September 18 ...

'' and '' The Case of Wagner''. The last chapter of ''Ecce Homo'', entitled "Why I Am a Destiny", is primarily concerned with reiterating Nietzsche's thoughts on Christianity, corroborating Christianity's decadence and his ideas as to uncovering

Christian morality Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

. He signs the book "Dionysus versus the Crucified."

Notes

References

* Kaufmann, Walter. "Editor's Introduction" in ''On the Genealogy of Morals'' (translated by Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale) and Ecce Homo (translated by Walter Kaufmann), edited by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Vintage, 1967. pp. 201–209.

Bibliography

* Andreas Urs Sommer, Kommentar zu Nietzsches Der Antichrist. Ecce homo. Dionysos-Dithyramben. Nietzsche contra Wagner (= Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften (Hg.): Historischer und kritischer Kommentar zu Friedrich Nietzsches Werken, vol. 6/2). XXI + 921 pages. Berlin / Boston: Walter de Gruyter 2013. () (the comprehensive standard commentary on "Ecce homo")

External links

Ecce homo
standard critical text published by Nietzsche Source (in original German)
Ecce homo, abridged English text at archive.org
(Ludovici translation) *''Nietzsche's Ecce homo, Notebooks and Letters: 1888–1889'' / Translation by Daniel Fidel Ferrer (2023). Free at archive.org https://archive.org/details/ferrer-ecce-homo-translation-2023-nov __NOTOC__ {{Authority control 1908 non-fiction books Books by Friedrich Nietzsche Books critical of Christianity Books published posthumously German memoirs