80 Nietzsche
now seen, only the horror and absurdity of existence are evident to him"
(1,57; £T§ 7).
What is going on here? Where is the horror manifest? Is the "truth"
of the Dionysian the horror, or is it everyday reality that assumes a hor-
rifying appearance because one has experienced the bliss of Dionysian
transgression? Nietzsche means horror emanating from both directions.
From the vantage point of everyday consciousness, the Dionysian is
horrifying. By the same token, the Dionysian perspective regards every-
day reality as horrifying. Conscious life moves between both oudooks,
and this movement is tantamount to being torn in two. One is simulta-
neously transported by the Dionysian, with which life must retain con-
tact to avoid becoming desolate, and dependent on the protective
devices of civilization to avoid being sacrificed to the disintegrating
power of the Dionysian.
It is hardly surprising that Nietzsche found the symbol for this pre-
carious situation in the fate of Odysseus, who had himself bound to a
mast in order to hear the song of the sirens without having to follow it
to his own destruction. Odysseus embodies Dionysian wisdom. He
hears the voice of temptation, but accepts the fetters of culture in a
quest for self-preservation.
Nietzsche developed a typology of cultures from the perspective of
how various cultures have succeeded in organizing life in the face of
temptation. He formulated his question as follows: What system of blind-
ers does each culture rely on to shut out the threatening power of the
Dionysian and to channel essential Dionysian energies? Nietzsche posed
this question fully aware that he was touching on the innermost secrets
of each culture. He traced the surreptitious ways of the will to live and
discovered how culturally inventive this will to live could be. To keep its
creatures "clinging to life" (1,115; BT§ 18), it wraps them in illusions. It
ensures that some choose the "veil of beauty in art" and that others seek
metaphysical solace in religion and philosophy in order to be reassured
"that under the whirl of phenomena eternal life keeps flowing inde-
structibly." Still others are captivated by a "Socratic love of knowledge"