Explosions in Waiting, Nietzsche, La Volonté de puissance, Livre II, 61

by Corry Shores
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[The following is summary and not translation. Please check my interpretation against the original text, which is reproduced at the end.]

Friedrich Nietzsche

La Volonté de puissance

I

Livre II:

Morphologie et évolution de la Volonté de Puissance

61

It might at first seem that some people have caused momentous changes in the course of history and for that reason they themselves were full of incredible force. Consider for example the founder of a religion. His followers might cause revolution. He unleashes much force in other people. We regard him as the cause. And we think the effect is an incredible explosion of force. For that reason, we jump to conclude that he himself was a powerful man. But really, his fervor could easily have been weak. For, often in history forces collect and need only an accidental trip of the trigger in order to violently unleash.

61

« L’effet ». L’excitation produite par un homme, le stimulant qu’il donne, qui déclenche la force chez autrui (par exemple dans le cas d’un fondateur de religion), est trop souvent confondue avec un effet ; de grands déclenchements de forces on conclut à de grandes « causes ». C’est faux. Il se peut que l’excitation et l’homme soient médiocres ; mais la force était accumulée et toute prête à exploser. – Un simple coup d’oeil sur l’histoire universelle !

1881-82 (XII, 1^re partie, § 412).

(p.219c)

Nietzsche, Friedrich. La Volonté de puissance, I. Transl. G. Bianquis. Paris: Gallimard, 1938.