Echo #1: Apollinian vs. Dionysian

I want to start a series of posts of things that echo in my head. They may be from books, movies, things people have said, memories of events, or whatever else, so long as I think of them often.

The first is from section 1 of Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy.

In the work, Nietzsche discusses the importance of the gods Apollo and Dionysus in Greek mythology. He argues that they represent directly opposing aspects of humanity. Apollo was the god of light, music, prophecy, and the arts. More than that, he was a symbol of moderation and mental balance. In contrast, Dionysus represented natural forces, the cycle of life, and human instinctual passions.

Specifically, getting to the lines I remember so well from The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche writes of the singing and dancing crowds of the German Middle Ages:

"There are some who, from obtuseness or lack of experience, turn away from such phenomena as from 'folk-diseases,' with contempt or pity born of the consciousness of their own 'healthy-mindedness.' But of course such poor wretches have no idea how corpselike and ghostly their so-called 'heathly-mindedness' looks when the glowing life of the Dionysian revelers roars past them."

Apart from the issue of whether the "healthy-minded" and the revelers correspond precisely with the gods of Apollo and Dionysus, I do find these lines to sum up a conflict that, from my experience, lives within most of us.

Whenever I think of taking a break from studying, or drinking simply to get drunk, or losing control in the ways that people do so in our society, those lines from The Birth of Tragedy are present somewhere in the back of my mind.

Lastly, an important question that arises is: Why? Why is there such conflict in us regarding the issues of mental balance and intoxication? In intoxication, there seems to be a temporary "giving up" or "giving in" that takes place. Why is it that all of humanity must give up?