The Bicameral System of Culture 193This explanation was unsatisfactory, even to Nietzsche himself.
Pointing out a connection between social misery and low self-esteem
was really quite trivial. Consequendy, Nietzsche entertained the idea that
the waning of late Roman culture responded to the feeling of sin as to a
stimulant or a drug. The "glow of a divine mercy could shine in" (2,118;
HHl § 114) on a dispirited populace. Was it pleasure in peripeteia, the
drama of unexpected reversals, or was it an "excess of feeling" (2,118)
that they wanted to enjoy? The Roman Empire had expanded immea-
surably and comprised a huge expanse in which circumstances and peo-
ple grew more and more similar. The historical dramas had shifted to
the far reaches, and perhaps the inner drama of conversion offered a
more exciting and invaluable option. Was the extremism of early
Christianity a soludon to a monumental degree of boredom? When a
culture grows old, and the "circle of all natural feelings" has been run
through coundess times, it is crucial to find a "new order of stimuli for
life" (2,137; HHl § 141). Perhaps Christianity was the requisite stimu-
lus. It offered to the converted the psychological drama of sin and
redemption. And the others took pleasure when martyrs, ascetics, and
stylites took the stage, once they had become "impassive to the sight of
animal and human contests" (2,137).
Even with this explanation, we remain stuck in the historical geneal-
ogy of Christianity. Its role in human emotions all the way into the cur-
rent era is still mystifying. In order to make any headway in this matter,
Nietzsche immersed himself in the psychology of saints, martyrs, and
ascetics, whose religious sentiments were most palpable. These virtu-
osos of religion showed what immense power of self-elevation and
what ecstatic energy accompanied religious sentiment. The mood was
neither downtrodden nor oppressed, nor was there evidence of humil-
ity or modesty. These saints and ascetics were combatting something
within themselves that they considered base and sordid. However, they
were fighting on both sides: they were at once wretched and triumphant
over wretchedness, base and sublime, feeble and powerful.
An individual with a rich inner life moves through a house of mirrors.