Guest guest Posted February 24, 2001 Report Share Posted February 24, 2001 Nobody is born beautiful. Beauty is no accident. See what history sid. The beauty of a race or a family, their grace and graciousness in all gestures, is won by work: like genius, it is the end result of the accumulated work of generations. One must have made great sacrifices to good taste, one must have done much and omitted much, for its sake-- 17th century France is admirable in both respects--and good taste must have furnished a principle for selecting company, place, dress, sexual satisfaction; one must have preferred beauty to advantage, habit, opinion, and lazyness. Supreme rule: before oneself too, one must not " let oneself go. " The good things are immeasurably costly; and the law always holds that those who have them are different from those who acquire them. All that is good is inherited: whatever is not inherited is imperfect, is a mere beginning. In Athens, in the time of Cicero (who expresses his surprise about this), the men and boys were far superior in beauty to the women. But what work and exertion (physical exercises/diets) in the service of beauty had the male sex there imposed on itself for centuries! For one should make no mistake about the method in this case: a breeding of feelings and thoughts alone is almost nothing (this is the great misunderstanding underlying German education, which is wholly illusory), one must first work the body. Strict perseverance in significant and exquisite gestures together with the obligation to live only with people who do not " let themselves go " --that is quite enough for one to become significant, important and select, and in two or three generations all this becomes inward. It is decisive for the lot of a people and of humanity that culture should begin in the right place--not in the " soul " (as was the fateful superstition of the priests and half-priests): the right place is the body, the gesture, the diet, physiology; the rest follows from that. Therefore the Greeks remain the first cultural event in history: they knew, they did, what was needed; and Christianity, which despised the body, has been the greatest misfortune of humanity so far. " -Friedrich Nietzsche This is in part 47 of 'Twilight of the Idols' by Friedrich Nietzsche. " In Sparta, Greece people ate at the common table where the diet was strict. Those who gained weight over their ideal-prime weight were separated from society " - Indro Montanelli (History of The Greeks) Cruz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2001 Report Share Posted February 26, 2001 The separation of " teoresis " and " praxis " is all Western, especially after Socrates; this reflect the separation of " psiche' " and " soma " in which the first began to be dominant. At the other extreme, Nietzsche called the " ratio " of the mind " the small ratio " ruled by the " great ratio " of the body. That was probably easier to be experienced by the " tragic man " of the pre- Socratic (pre-rationalistic) time. Also for most of the Oriental philosophies there is no conflict between body and mind. The body reflect the mind and vice-versa; theory and practice go together. Carlo Buzzichelli Siena, Italy / Brooklyn, NY > See what history sid. > The beauty of a race or a family, their grace and graciousness in all > gestures, is won by work: like genius, it is the end result of the > accumulated work of generations. One must have made great sacrifices to good > taste, one must have done much and omitted much, for its > sake-- 17th century France is admirable in both respects--and good > taste must have furnished a principle for selecting company, place, dress, > sexual satisfaction; one must have preferred beauty to advantage, habit, > opinion, and lazyness. Supreme rule: before oneself too, one must not " let > oneself go. " The good things are immeasurably costly; and the law always > holds that those who have them are different from those who acquire them. > All that is good is inherited: whatever is not inherited is imperfect, is a > mere beginning. > > In Athens, in the time of Cicero (who expresses his surprise about this), the > men and boys were far superior in beauty to the women. But what work and > exertion (physical exercises/diets) in the service of beauty had the male > sex there imposed on itself for centuries! > > For one should make no mistake > about the method in this case: a breeding of feelings and thoughts alone is > almost nothing (this is the great misunderstanding underlying German > education, which is wholly illusory), one must first work the body. Strict > perseverance in significant and exquisite gestures together with the > obligation to live only with people who do not " let themselves go " -- that is > quite enough for one to become significant, important and select, and in two > or three generations all this becomes inward. > > It is decisive for the lot of a people and of humanity that culture should begin > in the right place--not in the " soul " (as was the fateful superstition of the priests and > half-priests): the right place is the body, the gesture, the diet, > physiology; the rest follows from that. > > Therefore the Greeks remain the first cultural event in history: they knew, they did, > what was needed; and Christianity, which despised the body, has been the > greatest misfortune of humanity so far. " -Friedrich Nietzsche > > This is in part 47 of 'Twilight of the Idols' by Friedrich Nietzsche. > > " In Sparta, Greece people ate at the common table where the diet was strict. > Those who gained weight over their ideal-prime weight were separated from > society " - Indro Montanelli (History of The Greeks) Cruz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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