"Among the types of human activity which have always played a role in history, the soldier is least subject to ressentiment. Nietzsche is right in pointing out that the priest is most exposed to this danger, though the conclusions about religious morality which he draws from this insight are inadmissible. It is true that the very requirements of his profession, quite apart from his individual or national temperament, expose the priest more than any other human type to the creeping poison of ressentiment. In principle he is not supported by secular power; indeed he affirms the fundamental weakness of such power. Yet, as the representative of a concrete institution, he is to be sharply distinguished from the homo religiosus—he is placed in the middle of party struggle. More than any other man, he is condemned to control his emotions (revenge, wrath, hatred) at least outwardly, for he must always represent the image and principle of “peacefulness.” The typical “priestly policy” of gaining victories through suffering rather than combat, or through the counterforces which the sight of the priest's suffering produces in men who believe that he unites them with God, is inspired by ressentiment. There is no trace of ressentiment in genuine martyrdom; only the false martyrdom of priestly policy is guided by it. This danger is completely avoided only when priest and homo religiosus coincide."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Scheler
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"The process of aging can only be fruitful and satisfactory if the important transitions are accompanied by free resig…"
"If the awareness of our limitations begins to limit or to dim our value consciousness as well—as happens, for instanc…"
"The medieval peasant prior to the 13th century does not compare himself to the feudal lord, nor does the artisan comp…"
"The “old maid” with her repressed cravings for tenderness, sex, and propagation, is rarely quite free of ressentiment…"
"Ressentiment must therefore be strongest in a society like ours, where approximately equal rights (political and othe…"
"It is peculiar to “ressentiment criticism” that it does not seriously desire that its demands be fulfilled. It does n…"
"Existential envy which is directed against the other person’s very nature, is the strongest source of ressentiment. I…"
"The “noble” person has a completely naïve and non-reflective awareness of his own value and of his fullness of being,…"
"The ultimate goal of the arriviste’s aspirations is not to acquire a thing of value, but to be more highly esteemed t…"
"Even after his conversion, the true 'apostate' is not primarily committed to the positive contents of his new belief …"