The Bicameral System of Culture 197in art had failed the "test" of his "intellectual character" (2,145).
Metaphysics in art is the devious legacy of religion. Art that is misinter-
preted when approached through metaphysics lays a "gauze of impure
thinking" (2,144; HH I § 151) over life. Precise thinking and precise
knowledge are nowhere to be found in art. Artistic impulses are more
likely to stand in the way of the hard and harsh project of knowledge
and impede the "maturation of mankind" (2,142; HH I § 147). Seen in a
positive light, art is leisurely regression, a temporary respite from effi-
ciency and the principle of reality. Art enables us to be children again;
"the old feeling comes alive again, at least for a brief time, and the heart
beats to an otherwise forgotten rhythm" (2,142). But caution is indicated.
If regression goes too far, mankind faces the threat of "infantilization"
(2,143; HHl § 147). If we too often take advantage of the temporary
"alleviation of life," we are hampering our ability "to work at a genuine
improvement of our circumstances" (2,143; HH I § 148).
This is Nietzsche's most direct condemnation of the "tragic perspec-
tive," which he had otherwise valued so highly, and his most explicit
endorsement of utility and practical efficiency. Nietzsche paints a
vicious picture of the sociology of contemporary artistic exigencies.
Who demands art and what is being demanded of it? There are the edu-
cated people, who no longer consider incense a pleasant smell but are
not quite prepared to give up the "consolations of religion" (2,447; HH
Π AOS § 169) altogether. They appreciate art because they perceive in it
a faded echo of religion. Then there are the indecisive people, who
would really like to live a different life but lack the strength to turn their
lives around and look to art to fulfill them; there are the conceited peo-
ple, who shy away from "self-sacrificing labor" and enjoy art as a locus
of leisure; there are the clever idle ladies from upper-class families, who
need art because they have no defined duties; and there are doctors, mer-
chants, and civil officials, who conscientiously do their work but steal a
glance upward with a "worm in their hearts" (2,447; HH Π AOS § 169).
What does art mean to these people? According to Nietzsche, "It is
intended to ward off discomfort, boredom, the half-clear conscience for