Nietzsche and Inconsistency and of course, me.

There has been no more self-conflicting philosopher than Nietzsche. He held conflicting views. He changed his mind. He spoke about fortitude and defiance and wrote poetry about loneliness. He made disparaging remarks about women but made haphazard marriage proposals which were all turned down. However, there was one thing about which he was consistent: throughout his life of despair of not seeing his greatness recognized, he was steadfast in his conviction that he was a real thinker. And he was right. He has been influential, and now scholars and laymen alike are attracted to him. He is no longer ignored.

Nietzsche was not a trained philosopher. He studied philology in college. His interests were Greek, Latin, and French. He was well versed in Greek thought. Above all, he was an artist. He had temperament of an artist. He wrote poetry and composed music. His best known and loved book, Thus Spake Zarathustra, is a long rambling poem of sorts. He came up with striking and memorable aphorisms. When you came across those aphorisms, they stopped you in your track. And you were struck by the incisiveness of the thoughts and their elegant and unusual expressions. And you said to yourself maybe Nietzsche was your long lost twin brother, even though you definitely were not as gifted as he was, not by a long shot. Still, you recognized the kindred spirit.

Nietzsche died of tertitiary consequences of syphilis, caught from visiting whorehouses in his university days. You have proudly told everybody, including strangers, that you have had a very rich love life and you have not had sex with a single prostitute in your life because you always have women as dear friends, even though you didn't actively seek them out. After one dismal failure at a relationship when you were 23, you discovered the secret of making friends with women. Strange as it sounds, although you have had a rich sex and love life, deep in your heart there is only one love and only one gratifying, satisfying, meaningful sexual experience. You still love women but you are more wary of them now, especially those who pursue you and use threats of suicide as a ploy. You have learned your lesson. The life you save must be your own.