Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
249 explained
The narrator asserts that every nation has its own form of hypocrisy, which it labels as its virtue, and concludes that one cannot truly know the best within oneself.
What happens
The narrator asserts that every nation has its own form of hypocrisy, which it labels as its virtue, and concludes that one cannot truly know the best within oneself.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Modernity
Targets the hypocrisy embedded in modern national identities and their proclaimed virtues.
Psychology as the Fundamental Science
Examines the psychological mechanisms of self-deception and the limits of self-knowledge at a collective level.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Makes a sweeping, critical observation about national psychology and self-ignorance.
Key passages
“Every nation has its own “Tartuffery,” and calls that its virtue.”
Each country possesses its own brand of hypocritical behavior, which it proudly declares to be its moral excellence.
Uses Molière's character Tartuffe (a hypocrite) as a universal symbol for national self-deception.
“One does not know—cannot know, the best that is in one.”
A person is unaware of, and fundamentally incapable of recognizing, their own highest qualities.
Emphasizes the profound limits of self-knowledge, particularly regarding one's positive potential.