The hidden meaning of sacrifice is the annihilation of the finite because it is finite. In order to demostrate that this is its only justification, one must choose to sacrifice whatever is most noble and most beautiful: but particulary man, the flower of the earth. Human sacrifices are the most natural sacrifices. But man is more than the flower of the earth; he is reasonable, and reason is free and in itself nothing but an eternal self-destination into the infinite. Hence man can only sacrifice himself, and he does so in an omnipresent sanctity the mob knows nothing of. All artist are Decians*, and to became an artist means nothing but consecrating oneself to the gods of the underworld. In the enthusiasm of annihilation, the meaning of the divine creation is revealed for the first time. Only in the midst of death does the lightning bolt of eternal life explode.
*Los Decii, una notable familia romana en la que el abuelo, el padre y el hijo, libremente entregaron sus vidas por la grandiosa gloria de Roma.
