The purpose of this article is to clarify how the Janus face of Schopenhauer´s philosophy guided the relation between Nietzsche and the author of The World as Will and Representation. This aspect has been neglected by the Nietzsche research, perhaps judging this relation as a topic exhausted in pairings such as “adherence and rupture”, “enchantment and estrangement”, “pessimism and life affirmation”. That said, at a first preliminary moment we will analyze the dual face of Schopenhauer`s philosophy, with his gaze simultaneously towards past and future. At a second preliminary moment, we will approach Schopenhauer´s daring attitude of converting philosopher´s failed ambitions (thinking, of course, on the thing-in-itself) on the unconscious principle of the will. From them on, we are going to tackle Nietzsche´s grasp of Schopenhauer as a philosopher who, vulnerable to his second nature, a German nature, avoid featuring the very tragic philosophy that he reaches to touch, in the favor of a metaphysical treatment of his audacious discovery – the unconscious in human species.The purpose of this article is to clarify how the Janus face of Schopenhauer´s philosophy guided the relation between Nietzsche and the author of The World as Will and Representation. This aspect has been neglected by the Nietzsche research, perhaps judging this relation as a topic exhausted in pairings such as “adherence and rupture”, “enchantment and estrangement”, “pessimism and life affirmation”. That said, at a first preliminary moment we will analyze the dual face of Schopenhauer`s philosophy, with his gaze simultaneously towards past and future. At a second preliminary moment, we will approach Schopenhauer´s daring attitude of converting philosopher´s failed ambitions (thinking, of course, on the thing-in-itself) on the unconscious principle of the will. From them on, we are going to tackle Nietzsche´s grasp of Schopenhauer as a philosopher who, vulnerable to his second nature, a German nature, avoid featuring the very tragic philosophy that he reaches to touch, in the favor of a metaphysical treatment of his audacious discovery – the unconscious in human species.The purpose of this article is to clarify how the Janus face of Schopenhauer´s philosophy guided the relation between Nietzsche and the author of The World as Will and Representation. This aspect has been neglected by the Nietzsche research, perhaps judging this relation as a topic exhausted in pairings such as “adherence and rupture”, “enchantment and estrangement”, “pessimism and life affirmation”. That said, at a first preliminary moment we will analyze the dual face of Schopenhauer`s philosophy, with his gaze simultaneously towards past and future. At a second preliminary moment, we will approach Schopenhauer´s daring attitude of converting philosopher´s failed ambitions (thinking, of course, on the thing-in-itself) on the unconscious principle of the will. From them on, we are going to tackle Nietzsche´s grasp of Schopenhauer as a philosopher who, vulnerable to his second nature, a German nature, avoid featuring the very tragic philosophy that he reaches to touch, in the favor of a metaphysical treatment of his audacious discovery – the unconscious in human species.The purpose of this article is to clarify how the Janus face of Schopenhauer´s philosophy guided the relation between Nietzsche and the author of The World as Will and Representation. This aspect has been neglected by the Nietzsche research, perhaps judging this relation as a topic exhausted in pairings such as “adherence and rupture”, “enchantment and estrangement”, “pessimism and life affirmation”. That said, at a first preliminary moment we will analyze the dual face of Schopenhauer`s philosophy, with his gaze simultaneously towards past and future. At a second preliminary moment, we will approach Schopenhauer´s daring attitude of converting philosopher´s failed ambitions (thinking, of course, on the thing-in-itself) on the unconscious principle of the will. From them on, we are going to tackle Nietzsche´s grasp of Schopenhauer as a philosopher who, vulnerable to his second nature, a German nature, avoid featuring the very tragic philosophy that he reaches to touch, in the favor of a metaphysical treatment of his audacious discovery – the unconscious in human species.The purpose of this article is to clarify how the Janus face of Schopenhauer´s philosophy guided the relation between Nietzsche and the author of The World as Will and Representation. This aspect has been neglected by the Nietzsche research, perhaps judging this relation as a topic exhausted in pairings such as “adherence and rupture”, “enchantment and estrangement”, “pessimism and life affirmation”. That said, at a first preliminary moment we will analyze the dual face of Schopenhauer`s philosophy, with his gaze simultaneously towards past and future. At a second preliminary moment, we will approach Schopenhauer´s daring attitude of converting philosopher´s failed ambitions (thinking, of course, on the thing-in-itself) on the unconscious principle of the will. From them on, we are going to tackle Nietzsche´s grasp of Schopenhauer as a philosopher who, vulnerable to his second nature, a German nature, avoid featuring the very tragic philosophy that he reaches to touch, in the favor of a metaphysical treatment of his audacious discovery – the unconscious in human species.O objetivo deste artigo é fazer ver de que modo o caráter de Janus – do mito de Janus – da filosofia de Schopenhauer pautou a relação que com ela entabulou a filosofia de Nietzsche –, aspecto este um tanto relegado pela pesquisa Nietzsche, talvez justamente por se tomar a relação entre ambos como exaurida em binômios do tipo “adesão e ruptura”, “encantamento e distanciamento crítico", “pessimismo e afirmação da vida”. Assim sendo, num primeiro momento preliminar procederemos a analisar a face dual da filosofia de Schopenhauer, cujo olhar se volta simultaneamente ao passado e ao futuro. Num segundo momento preliminar visitaremos a ousadia de Schopenhauer ao converter as ambições malogradas da filosofia (na figura da “coisa em si”) no princípio inconsciente da vontade. A partir daí passaremos à compreensão de Schopenhauer por Nietzsche ao modo de um filósofo que, vitimado por sua segunda natureza, alemã, esquiva-se de protagonizar a filosofia trágica, que chegou a tangenciar, em função do esquadrinhamento metafísico de sua arrojada descoberta – o inconsciente na espécie humana.