I, the last disciple
and initiate of the god Dionysus:
and can I, at last, start to give you, my friends,
a small taste of this philosophy, as far as I am permitted?

In undertones,
which would be best,
since it concerns many things that are
secret, new, foreign, strange, uncanny.

Even the fact that Dionysus is a philosopher
and that, consequently, even gods philosophize,
seems to me like something new and not without its dangers,
something that might arouse mistrust precisely among philosophers,
– among you, my friends, it has less opposition,
unless it comes too late and at the wrong time:
I have been told that you do not like believing in God and gods these days…

He once said: “I love humans under certain circumstances”
“I think humans are pleasant, brave, inventive animals
that have no equal on earth, they find their way around any labyrinth.
I am very fond of them:
I think about how I can help them advance
and make them stronger, more evil and more profound than they are.”

– “Stronger, more evil, and more profound?” I asked, startled.
– “Yes,” he said again,
“stronger, more evil, and more profound; and more beautiful”
– and at that, the tempter god smiled his halcyon smile,
as if he had just paid a charming compliment.

You can see: this divinity lacks more than just shame
–; but you can also see that there are good reasons
for supposing that the gods could learn a thing or two from us humans.

We humans are – more humane.

Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche, trans. by Judith Butler, aphorism 295

This is a sad passage, a reminiscence of the last follower of Dionysus, a god of the Greco-Roman pantheon of antiquity. The text reminded me that Beyond Good and Evil was my initial exposure to the writing, and thought of Nietzsche. Would anyone disagree that Nietzsche is a “dark” philosopher? He is controversial and foreboding, arguably the first philosopher of the 20th century.

Several days ago I made a new acquaintance while at Starbucks. I learned that my new friend was a disciple of Krishna consciousness, which is a variety of Hinduism. Again a reminder that gods philosophize, religion is by no means benign, some interesting stories and good times at church, or at a temple. Belief/discipleship means that one follows a path, a disciplined way of life. There is rigor, life constrained in detail by a point of view. Religion and philosophy are not practices without risk. Knowing is simply not possible from any external point of view.  You must hazard to push your chips-to-the-center of the table, to be “all in” if one is to know.

The new friend offered me a small book of information about Krishna consciousness.  Though I am certainly not in the market for another god to follow, I politely received her gift.

There is something that none of the gods could possibly teach us.

That lesson is how to be more human, more open, more generous to one another, more humane.

This lesson we must learn on our own, without help.