German Spirit#
Summary#
Nietzsche identifies the German spirit with a harder, more dangerous form of skepticism that emerged through Frederick the Great and Germany’s military-philological tradition. This skepticism despises yet grasps, undermines yet takes possession; it gives the spirit dangerous liberty while keeping strict guard over the heart. Through its critical and historical distrust, this masculine German spirit kept Europe under its dominion for a considerable time, awakening it from “dogmatic slumber.”