“The Germanic morality cannot be arranged in a hierarchy of good qualities. There is not the slightest approach among the Teutons to a system in which one virtue is vaulted above another like a series of heavens. Such an order of precedence presupposes centralisation; all men must be united under the same condemnation before they can be classified. Neither has the Germanic mind any conception of a common moral Gehenna. Strictly speaking, evil, nidinghood, has no reality at all, but must be interpreted as a negative, a total lack of human qualities. Nidinghood is the shadow every "honour" casts according to its nature. Therefore the boundary line between admiration and contempt stands sharply, without transition stages, without any neutral grey. And therefore the boundary lies differently for different people. What makes a man a niding, a criminal and a wretch, depends on what made him a man of honour.”
Quote by Vilhelm Grønbech
Work
The Culture of the Teutons: Volumes 1 and 2
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
Source: We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis
Source: Bornshire
Source: War and Peace
“Some say, choose the lesser of two evils, but why choose evil at all. Leave evil for the Devil.”
Source: Weighty 'n' Worthy African Proverbs - Volume 1
Source: Filth
“Do all these things, but do not pretend there is a must. That is how evil is rationalized.”
Source: And the Ocean Was Our Sky