“Everything in man is a riddle, and everything in man has only one solution: it is called responsibility.
Woman is for man a toy, a dangerous and pure toy.
Man must be educated for war, and woman—for the rest of the warrior; all the rest is madness.” Nietzsche
Response
It was said about an elder that he was once asked about the word of the philosopher who claimed that man is riddle and war. And the elder, striking the ground with his staff, said:
“My son, the man of today is no longer a riddle, but a lie; no longer a war, but a surrender; no longer a mystery, but an emptiness. For he has lost his image, he has lost his shame, and he has lost the fear of God.”
And he added:
“The contemporary man no longer seeks resolution, but excuses; no longer seeks light, but justification; no longer seeks repentance, but comfort without change. Therefore he wanders like a blind man who imagines himself an eagle.”
The Inner War Abandoned by Today’s Man
“‘The philosopher says that man must be trained for war,’” the brother said.
The elder replied:
“It is true — but today’s man no longer wants war with himself, but peace with his passions. He no longer wants to cut his will, but to crown it. He no longer wants humility, but admiration. He no longer wants cleansing, but praise for his filth.”
“My son, he who does not fight himself becomes a toy in the hands of demons — and demons do not play gently.”
About the ‘Dangerous Toy’
A brother said:
“Abba, the philosopher calls the other a dangerous toy.”
The elder said:
“Dangerous is your heart, not your neighbor. For the man who has not been purified sees in the other an occasion for pleasure, not for salvation; sees usefulness, not the image of God; sees flesh, not soul; sees what he can take, not what he can give.”
“My son, when you see in another a toy, know that you have died spiritually, even if you still breathe.”
About Rest and Restlessness
“‘The philosopher says that one is for war and another for rest,’” the brother said.
The elder replied:
“No one can give rest to another unless he has put himself to death. For it is not the body that gives rest, but the broken heart; not the role, but humility; not the position, but sacrifice.”
“Today’s man wants to be rested, but does not want to be a giver of rest. He wants to be loved, but does not want to love. He wants to be heard, but does not want to be silent. He wants to be understood, but does not want to repent. Therefore all are weary, and none are at rest.”
The Contemporary Man
“My son, today’s world has multiplied the light of screens, but lost the light of the heart; multiplied information, but lost wisdom; multiplied psychology, but lost repentance; multiplied freedoms, but lost freedom from oneself.”
“Therefore man no longer knows what a man is, nor what a woman is, nor what love is, nor what war is — for all these are understood only in the light of God, not in the light of passions.”
“My son, if you want to unravel the riddle of man, begin by untying yourself from yourself. If you want to understand love, begin by dying to your own will. And if you want to be rest for another, begin by cleansing your heart.”
“For only the man who has conquered himself becomes light. And he who has not conquered himself remains darkness, no matter how much he speaks of light.”
Pustia Inimii 