'Alas for this mad, melancholy beast: man! What wild phantasies are visited upon this beast, what perversity, paroxysms of hysteria, madness, and bestiality of ideas' On the Genealogy of Morals explores issues at the very core of human nature in three powerful essays. Here Nietzsche dissects the basic concepts of 'good', 'bad' and 'evil', going on to examine humankind's transformation from barbarous creatures into civilized beings who can feel remorse, regret, pity and compassion but, in the process, destroy instinct and freedom. Nietzsche asks why the virtues of poverty, humility and chastity have become so central to religion, even when they deny vitality and life itself. Daring to expose uncomfortable truths, this brilliant and provocative polemic provides startling insights into our complex psychology. Translated by Michael A. Scarpitti with an introduction and notes by Robert C. Holub