Why I Am So Clever

Lifted out of Ecce Homo, the book Nietzsche wrote about himself months before he collapsed, and the chapter titles tell you everything about the tone; Why I Am So Wise, Why I Am So Clever, Why I Write Such Good Books. The clever chapter is largely about diet, climate, where to live and what to read, which reads like a gag until you realise he means it absolutely literally. His position is that thinking is a physical activity, so the beer, the weather and the books you let into your head aren’t lifestyle choices, they are the philosophy. He also reckons reading too much is a way of avoiding having any thoughts of your own. Coming from a philologist, that’s a bit of a confession.

He’s mad, but I struggle to argue with the points he makes…