We Philologists · Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
170
To overcome Greek antiquity through our own deeds: this would be the right task. But before we can do this we must first _know_ it!--There is a thoroughness which is merely an excuse for inaction. Let it be recollected how much Goethe knew of antiquity: certainly not so much as a philologist, and yet sufficient to contend with it in such a way as to bring about fruitful results. One _should_ not even know more about a thing than one could create. Moreover, the only time when we can actually _recognise_ something is when we endeavour to _make_ it. Let people but attempt to live after the manner of antiquity, and they will at once come hundreds of miles nearer to antiquity than they can do with all their erudition.--Our philologists never show that they strive to emulate antiquity in any way, and thus _their_ antiquity remains without any effect on the schools. The study of the spirit of emulation (Renaissance, Goethe), and the study of despair. The non-popular element in the new culture of the Renaissance: a frightful fact!
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.