ise, and with a degree of
skill approaching the _non plus ultra_ of histrionic genius they have
managed to put themselves at the head of all _decadent_ movements (--for
example, the Christianity of Paul--), and so make of them something
stronger than any party frankly saying _Yes_ to life. To the sort of
men who reach out for power under Judaism and Christianity,--that is to
say, to the _priestly_ class--_decadence_ is no more than a means to an
end. Men of this sort have a vital interest in making mankind sick, and
in confusing the values of "good" and "bad," "true" and "false" in a
manner that is not only dangerous to life, but also slanders it.

25.

The history of Israel is invaluable as a typical history of an attempt
to _denaturize_ all natural values: I point to five facts which bear
this out. Originally, and above all in the time of the monarchy, Israel
maintained the _right_ attitude of things, which is to say, the natural
attitude. Its Jahveh was an expression of its consciousness of power,
its joy in itself, its hopes for itself: to him the Jews looked for
victory and salvation and through him they expected nature to give them
whatever was necessary to their existence--above all, rain. Jahveh is
the god of Israel, and _consequently_ the god of justice: this is the
logic of every race that has power in its hands and a good conscience in
the use of it. In the religious ceremonial of the Jews both aspects of
this self-approval stand revealed. The nation is grateful for the high
destiny that has enabled it to obtain dominion; it is grateful for the
benign procession of the seasons, and for the good fortune attending its
herds and its crops.--This view of things remained an ideal for a long
while, even after it had been robbed of validity by tragic blows:
anarchy within and the Assyrian without. But the people still retained,
as a projection of their highest yearnings, that vision of a king who
was at once a gallant warrior and an upright judge--a vision best
visualized in the typical prophet (_i. e._, critic and satirist of the
moment), Isaiah.--But every hope remained unfulfilled. The old god no
longer _could_ do what he used to do. He ought to have been abandoned.
But what actually happened? Simply this: the conception of him was
_changed_--the conception of him was _denaturized_; this was the price
that had to be paid for keeping him.--Jahveh, the god of "justice"--he
is in accord with Israel _no more_, he