19 
by a law; the same fact can not present itself other than as itself. 
One understands, the man understands why all philosophers 
have poured out their life’s blood without giving to morals a 
satisfactory foundation: poor dupes of an image, who really be 
lieve the ideas made on the pattern of a house, with a cellar, a 
roof and a little weathercock on top. (He who speaks here is 
dupe of their dupery since he develops it, prisoner of the absurd 
metaphor which invades his mental field). 
Secondly, proud of the hole cut in his morality, the man 
dresses himself up in it as though it were a skirt and discourses 
of what he would like to have done to himself: “I imagine why 
I have chosen myself as the interlocutor, preferable to any 
novice; it is because I wished to ask no question that could be 
easily answered. I should say, therefore, that I am a man, and 
like always to be considered one, and above everything else I 
discard the idea of any reciprocity as insane, I will never call 
anything a man except myself. Therefore, nothing binds me to 
a rule of action in connection with ...... I invent my suc 
cessive gestures, without effort or remorse. 
Thirdly, fourthly, hundredthly, having shaken up his ideas 
without moving his head, like the god of the catachism who 
makes but one gesture in order to say that he has no need to make 
a gesture, the man discovers the thousand axioms obtained by 
mixing his little thought, while shuffling the cards, without 
bothering to know if the queen and the jack of the same colour 
brought together constitute an incest (category 43 of customs to 
be avoided) and the ace of spades with the seven of hearts a 
more savoury adventure: 
a) man acts only through goodness; 
b) goodness begins with the day and never ends; 
c) man does to others neither good nor evil but he does 
well to believe that he does evil; 
d) man believes that he does evil to give himself heart; 
e) man has complete liberty of mind; 
f) man is a great benefactor of humanity (philanthrop- 
isi); 
g) man recognizes himself in man and punishes his fel 
low creature through a spirit of justice with the faults 
which he discovers in himself;