Editor's Note

In 1887, with the view of amplifying and completing certain new doctrines which he had merely sketched in Beyond Good and Evil (see especially aphorism 260), Nietzsche published The Genealogy of Morals. This work is perhaps the least aphoristic, in form, of all Nietzsche's productions. For analytical power, more especially in those parts where Nietzsche examines the ascetic ideal, The Genealogy of Morals is unequalled by any other of his works; and, in the light which it throws upon the attitude of the ecclesiast to the man of resentment and misfortune, it is one of the most valuable contributions to sacerdotal psychology.

In 1887, Nietzsche published The Genealogy of Morals to expand and complete certain new ideas. He had only outlined these ideas in Beyond Good and Evil (see especially aphorism 260). In form, this work perhaps relies less on short, self-contained statements than any of Nietzsche's other works. No other work of his matches The Genealogy of Morals in analytical power, especially its examination of the ascetic ideal. The book also sheds light on the priest's attitude toward people burdened by resentment and misfortune. This insight makes the book one of the most valuable contributions to the psychology of priests.