26 Nietzsche
suppose his ability to experience himself not only as an indivisible "indi-
viduum" but also as a "dividuum" (2,76; HHI § 57) that can be split apart.
There is a time-honored tradition of referring to the "individual" in
terms that suggest an indivisible human nucleus. From an early age,
however, Nietzsche set about experimenting with the nuclear fission of
the individual. Self-portraiture generally implies a preoccupation with
the difference between "ego" and "self." Not everyone sees the world in
this way: curiosity and an abundance of thought are necessary compo-
nents, as are self-love and self-loathing. Alienation, euphoria, and
despair have to have fostered or provoked the self-splitting of the indi-
visible, the "dividualization" of the individual. Friedrich Nietzsche, in
any case, considered himself divided to the point that he could sustain
an extremely subde relationship with himself, one that, as he later
reported, served him well in his self-portrayals. "We, however, wish to
be the poets of our lives" (3,538; GS § 299). His development would
demonstrate that the "poet" of his life would lay claim to his work. The
characteristic traits of his being were to become his work. He wished to
credit himself for what he was and what he had made of himself.
Nietzsche formulated his imperative for self-configuration as follows:
tcYou should become the master of yourself and also the master of your
own virtues. Previously, they were your masters, but they must be noth-
ing more than your tools, just some tools among others. You should
achieve power over your pros and cons and learn how to put them forth
and hang them back in accordance with your higher aim. You should
learn to recognize the perspectivism inherent in every appraisal" (2,20;
HH I Preface § 6). He did not accept the "innocence of becoming," nor
would amor fati, the love of one's own fate, suffice to make a person the
author of his life history. An intervening, planning, constructive outlook
was required, even an oudook of "excess and surplus." Nietzsche fash-
ioned himself into an athlete of alertness and presence of mind. All of
his impulses, endeavors, and actions were pulled into the glaring spot-
light His thinking became tense self-observation. He was determined to