All states and orderings within society - classes, marriage, education, law - all these derive their force and endurane solely from the faith the fettered spirits have in them: that is to say in the absence of reasons, or at least in the warding off of the demand for reasons. The fettered spirits are unwilling to admit this: they recognize in its intellectual notions, noticed nothing of this pudendum, demanded faith and nothing but faith and passionately repulsed the desire for reasons; it pointed to the sucess enjoyed by faith: you will soon see the advantage to be derived from faith, it intimated, it shall make you blessed. The state in fact does the same thing, and every father raises his son in the same fashion: only regard this as true, he says, and you will see how much good it will do you. What this means, however, is that the personal utility of an opinion is supposed to demonstrate its truth, the advantageouness of a theory is supposed to guarantee its intellectual soundness ans well-foundedness. It is as though a defendant said to the court: my counsel is telling the whole truth, for just see what follows from what he says: I shall be acquitted. - Because the fetered spirits harbour their principles on account of their utility, they suppose that the views of the free spirit are like wise held for utilitarian ends and that the regards as true only that which profits him. Since, however, this seems to be the opposite of that which is profitable to their country or class, they assume that the principles of the free spirit are dangerous to them; they say, or sense: he must not be right, for he is harmfull to us.
Friedrich Nietzsche
1844 - 1900
