The Dawn (book)

The Dawn
Author(s)	Friedrich Nietzsche
Original title	Morgenröthe
Country	Germany
Language	German
Genre(s)	Philosophy, psychology
Publication date	1881
Preceded by	Human, All Too Human (1878)
Followed by	The Gay Science (1882)

The Dawn (Morgenröte. Gedanken über die moralischen Vorurteile) is a book written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in 1881 (also translated as "The Dawn of Day" and Daybreak: Reflections on Moral Prejudices).

Nietzsche de-emphasizes the role of hedonism as a motivator and accentuates the role of a "feeling of power". His relativism, both moral and cultural, and his critique of Christianity also reaches greater maturity. In Daybreak Nietzsche devoted a lengthy passage to his criticism of Christian biblical exegesis, including its arbitrary interpretation of objects and images in the Old Testament as prefigurements of Christ's crucifixion. The clear, calm and intimate style of this aphoristic book seems to invite a particular experience, rather than showing concern with persuading his readers to accept any point of view. He would develop many of the ideas advanced here more fully in later books. Early English translator J.M. Kennedy says of The Dawn, "This book was written for psychologists."