Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo [Behold the Man]

David Gallagher (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Written in 1888 but only published posthumously 1908, the treatise’s title

Ecce Homo

(

Behold theMan

) is based on the phrase Pontius Pilate used in the book of John to describe Jesus (19: 5). Its often overlooked subtitle “Wie man wird, was man ist” (“How one becomes what one is”) is an allusion to the ancient Greek wisdom cited in Pindar’s Second Ode: “Become such as you are”.

Ecce Homo

is an opaque text, consisting of 16 chapters or sections, most of which are the titles to self-descriptions of the author’s works, but others which have playful and whimsical titles, such as “Warum ich so weise bin” (why I am so wise), “Warum ich so klug bin” (why I am so clever) and “Warum ich so gute Bücher schreibe” (why I write such good books). The book represents…

1201 words

Citation: Gallagher, David. "Ecce Homo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 July 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5449, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5449 Ecce Homo 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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