Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo [Behold the Man]

David Gallagher (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1900

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

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…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

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 23 November 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article