The extent to which morality is hardly dispensable. – The naked human being is generally a disgraceful sight – I am talking about us Europeans (and not even about female Europeans!). Supposing that by the mischievous trick of a sorcerer, the merriest dinner party suddenly saw itself exposed and undressed; I think not only the mirth would be lost but also the strongest appetite discouraged, – it seems we Europeans are utterly unable to dispense with that masquerade called clothing. But why should there not be equally good reasons for the disguise of ‘moral men’, for their veil of moral formulas and notions of decency, for the whole benevolent concealment of our actions behind the concepts of duty, virtue, public spirit, respectability, self-denial? I am not supposing that something like human malice and perfidy – in short, the bad wild beast in us – is thereby disguised; my thought is, quite on the contrary, that it is precisely as tame animals that are we a disgraceful sight and need the disguise of morality, – that the ‘inner man’ in Europe is not nearly evil enough to be able to ‘show himself’ that way (and be beautiful that way –). The European disguises himself with morality because he has become a sick, sickly, maimed animal which has good reasons for being ‘tame’; because he is almost a monstrosity, something half, weak, awkward…It is not the ferocity of the beast of prey that needs a moral disguise, but the herd animal with its deep mediocrity, fear, and boredom with itself. Morality dresses up the European – let’s admit it! – into something nobler, grander, goodlier, something ‘divine’ –