Jewish, and subsequently, to a greater degree, Christian, priests survived and attained power by siding with decadents, Nietzsche claimed. They turned against the natural world. Their resentment against those who were well–constituted led them to "... invent another world from which that life–affirmation would appear evil ... ."The Antichrist, § 24 In order to survive, the Jewish priests made use of the decadents and their large population. The Jews were not decadents, themselves. According to Nietzsche, they have "...the toughest national will to life which has ever existed on earth."The Antichrist, § 27 However, they pretended to be decadents so they could "... place themselves at the head of all decadence movements (— as the Christianity of Paul —) so as to make of them something stronger than any party that affirms life."