Seht da den Menschen! Aus dem Franzoesischen: Ecce homo (1819) - Page 16

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...placed on the earth: that conqueror’s sword Erobererschwert, those scepters, those crowns, the splendor which surrounds rulers, and the respectful devotion of their subjects. In these things, he could still find at least some misshapen traces of our original rights ursprüngliche Rechte, even if he no longer saw their powerful activity and efficiency anywhere.

If it is still possible for man to find traces of what he should have been within himself and in the fleeting images of his traditional and earthly forms, it is unfortunately even easier for him to feel how far he is now from this glorious destiny Bestimmung. While he may have some indicators of his original rights around him, he has even more numerous proofs that these rights are no longer in his power.

We do not wish to present here all the proofs already given of the fallen state Gesunkenheit of the human race; one must

Vocabulary: Conqueror's sword, scepter, crowns, rulers, subjects, original rights, destiny, fallen state, human race

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be shattered in one's innermost being to deny this fallen state Gesunkenheit. Unfortunately, this state is only too apparent. It is confirmed by a single sigh with which the human race incessantly fills the earth. It is also confirmed by the root idea Wurzelidee that the Creator of beings Urheber der Wesen always places all his products in their natural element. For why are we so far from ours? Why are we, who are so active by nature, submerged and fettered by passive things leidendlichen Dingen? In the philosophy of Saint-Martin, "passive things" refers to the material world and physical sensations that constrain the inherently active, spiritual soul. Humans have the right to seek the reasons for this sorrowful and only too real discord Misklang wherever they wish, but they must not seek it in a whim of cruelty by our Original Ground Urgrund The "Original Ground" refers to God as the foundational source of all existence.. His love, wisdom, and justice must forever be an eternal bulwark against our murmuring.

Since we are occupied here only with the consequences, and not with the cause of this fallen state of the human race, we intend only to address those...

Vocabulary: Fallen state, sigh, root idea, creator, element, passive, discord, original ground, love, wisdom, justice, bulwark