classes ::: text, summary,
children :::
branches :::

bookmarks: Instances - Definitions - Quotes - Chapters - Wordnet - Webgen


object:coursehero Thus Spoke Zarathustra Summary
class:text
class:summary
subject:Philosophy
Chapter 1 - On the Three Metamorphoses:Zarathustra says there are three metamorphoses of the spirit leading to the "overman." The spirit first becomes a camel, then a lion, and then a child. The camel endures. When the camel becomes a lion "who would conquer his freedom and be master in his own desert," it faces the "great dragon" that has "Thou shalt" on every scale. When the lion becomes a child it expresses a "new beginning." The child has a "sacred 'Yes'" and represents "innocence and forgetting." Having outlined his goal, Zarathustra arrives at a town called The Motley Cow.
Chapter 2 - On the Teachers of Virtue:Zarathustra listens to a sage who speaks at length about virtues and sleep. When the sage is finished, Zarathustra laughs and says, "Now I understand clearly what was once sought above all when teachers of virtue were sought." He says "opiate virtues" were the goal for "they knew no better meaning of life."
Chapter 3 - On the Afterworldly:Zarathustra speaks about "the creator" who made the world to a group gathers to hear him. He says, "This god whom I created was man-made and madness, like all gods!" Zarathustra speaks then of the "afterworldly" and claims "suffering and incapacity" are what created "all afterworlds." He explains he wants to teach men to "no longer to bury one's head in the sand of heavenly things, but to bear it freely." Zarathustra further argues that "many sick people have always been among the poetizers and God-cravers." These people always "look backward toward dark ages." Men ought to listen "to the voice of the healthy body" that speaks of the "meaning of the earth."
Chapter 4 - On the Despisers of the Body:Zarathustra addresses the men who speak of the body and soul as separate. He says, "Soul is only a word for something about the body" and explains they are "no bridge to the overman" so he "shall not go [their] way."
Chapter 5 - On Enjoying and Suffering the Passions:Zarathustra argues that virtues "gr[o]w out of ... passions." He further suggests it is easier to have a solitary virtue because "each virtue is jealous of the others" and such jealousy destroys virtue. He concludes his speech by saying, "Man is something that must be overcome."
Chapter 6 - On the Pale Criminal:Zarathustra speaks of a criminal, a man who killed during a robbery. This act was, according to Zarathustra, the result of a madness wherein "[the criminal's] soul wanted blood, not robbery." Zarathustra notes that the "poor body" has "suffered and coveted." He adds that the sick are those who "want to hurt with that which hurts them ... they suffered and want to inflict suffering." Zarathustra says people's "ears do not want to accept this."
Chapter 7 - On Reading and Writing:Zarathustra says he only loves "what a man has written with his blood." He goes on to suggest wisdom wants people to be "brave, unconcerned, mocking, violent" because "she is a woman and always loves only a warrior." He adds that people "love life" and there is "always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." Zarathustra claims he would only believe in "a god who could dance."
Chapter 8 - On the Tree on the Mountainside:Zarathustra notices a "youth" who has avoided him and speaks to him. The youth admits, "I no longer trust myself since I aspire to the height." Zarathustra considers the tree beside the youth and notes it is "lonely" because it "grew high above man and beast." The youth weeps for his aspirations and his envy of Zarathustra. Zarathustra tells the youth, "To me you are still a prisoner who is plotting your freedom." He points out the youth is "still noble" and the noble want to "create something new" but the good "want the old" to be "preserved." Zarathustra tells the youth these men once thought of being heroes but are not and he should not "throw away the hero in [his] soul!"
Chapter 9 - On the Preachers of Death:Zarathustra draws a line between death and "eternal life" in this section. He speaks of various "preachers of death" and gives examples of these. These include those who say life is only suffering and those who are hardly born "when they begin to die and ... long for doctrines of weariness and renunciation."
Chapter 10 - On War and Warriors:Zarathustra says he thoroughly loves his "brothers in war." He notes that if they cannot be "saints of knowledge," they can be "its warriors." He goes on to say, "War and courage have accomplished more great things than love of the neighbor." Zarathustra adds that their "love of life shall be [their] highest hope."
Chapter 11 - On the New Idol:Zarathustra says there are still "peoples and herds" elsewhere, but "not where we live, my brothers: here there are states." He adds, "State is the name of the coldest of all cold monsters" and claims the state has created "its own language of customs and rights."
Chapter 12 - On the Flies of the Marketplace:Zarathustra speaks of the marketplace where the "noise of the great actors and the buzzing of the poisonous flies begins." He speaks of actors, showmen, and the innumerable "small miserable creatures." He goes on to explain these "small creatures" grow mute "when [a person] stepped among them" and their strength "went from them like smoke from a dying fire."
Chapter 13 - On Chastity:Zarathustra says it is "better to fall into the hands of a murderer than into the dreams of a woman in heat." He also recommends against chastity for those for whom it is difficult "lest it become their road to hell-the mud and the heat of their souls." A virtue to one person may be a path to hell for another.
Chapter 14 - On the Friend:Zarathustra claims if "one wants to have a friend one must ... want to wage war for him ... to wage war one must be capable of being an enemy." This section goes into varying thoughts on the nature of a friend. He notes a person cannot be a friend if he or she is a slave.
Chapter 15 - On the Thousand and One Goals:Zarathustra addresses good and evil, and how what is good in one nation may be evil in another. This chapter also contains a reference to the "will to power." Nietzsche writes that "a tablet of the good hangs over every people." This is a tablet of "their overcomings" and it is "the voice of their will to power." He continues by saying there have been "a thousand goals" for just as many people. There is "one goal" that imissing, and "if humanity still lacks a goal-is humanity itself -still not lacking too?"
Chapter 16 - On Love of the Neighbor:Zarathustra speaks about love for one's neighbor. He says, "One man goes to his neighbor because he seeks himself; another because he would lose himself." Zarathustra suggests he would rather teach "the friend and his overflowing heart." This is in anticipation of the overman.
Chapter 17 - On the Way of the Creator:Zarathustra speaks on the creator, the one who needs to have a "new strength and a new right." One who seeks "easily gets lost" in loneliness and challenges. He notes, "If you would be a star, you must not shine less" because of it. Ultimately a creator must "go into [their] loneliness with [their] love and with [their] creation" and in time will "justice limp after [them]."
Chapter 18 - On Little Old and Young Women:Zarathustra says he has a "treasure" he conceals under his coat. It is a "little truth." He says he met a "little old woman" who commented that he had not spoken about women and asks him to do so. He says, "Everything about woman has one solution-that is pregnancy. Man is for woman a means: the end is always the child." In asking what a man wants, Zarathustra says men are like children and want two things: "danger and play." Therefore, men seek women who are "the most dangerous plaything." He suggests men ought to fear women when they love and when they hate. He goes on to say a woman finds the world "perfect" when she "obeys out of entire love." She is but a shallow surface whereas "men's disposition" is "deep; his river roars in subterranean caves." The old woman pronounces these things all as true, but before they part ways, she advises him, "You are going to women? Do not forget the whip!"
Chapter 19 - On the Adder's Bite:Zarathustra tells of falling asleep and being bitten by an adder. The adder expected Zarathustra to die of its poison, but Zarathustra asked, "When has a dragon ever died of a poison of a snake?" He offered the snake its poison back, and it licked his wound. When telling this story, Zarathustra's disciples ask what it means and he says, "If you have an enemy, do not requite him evil with good ... Rather prove that he did you some good." He goes on to share the idea that a "wrong shared is half right." He closes by saying to do no wrong to a hermit.
Chapter 20 - On Child and Marriage:Zarathustra speaks of the urge to have a child and of marriage. He addresses in detail the limits of most marriages: "For the most part, two beasts find each other." He notes an exception, however, when marriage creates a "longing for the overman." This, he says, he would call "holy."
Chapter 21 - On Free Death:Zarathustra discusses death-the slow death and the "too late" and the "too early" deaths. He urges people to "die at the right time." He speaks of people who make ropes, saying they "drag out their threads and always walk backwards." He addresses the death of Jesus Christ and says he "died too early; he himself would have recanted his teaching, had he reached my age." Zarathustra says that in dying, a person's "spirit and virtue should still glow like a sunset around the earth: else [their] dying has turned out badly."
Chapter 22 - On the Gift-Giving Virtue:This chapter is divided into three sections. In the first section, Zarathustra leaves The Motley Cow accompanied by disciples. He tells them he wants to walk alone. They give him a staff with a gold handle with a "serpent coiled around the sun." Zarathustra says a "gift-giving virtue is the highest virtue." He speaks too of selfishness, degeneration, and virtue. In the second section, Zarathustra says to his disciples they are to "remain faithful to the earth." He tells them they "shall be fighters" and "creators." Ultimately, Zarathustra tells his disciples they shall be -the chosen and out othem shall come the overman.:In the third section, Zarathustra tells his disciples to go alone. He points out, "One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil." Here, he cautions them against revering him and says, "Lose me and find yourselves."
Part II - Chapter 23 - The Child with the Mirror:Part 2 begins with Zarathustra's returning "to the mountains and to the solitude of his cave." Time passes and he wakes from a dream in which a child shows him a mirror. He realizes his "teaching is in danger" and his enemies have "grown powerful and distorted [his] teaching." His "eagle and his serpent" look at him as he leaps up. He explains that he shall "go down" to both his friends and enemies.
Chapter 24 - Upon the Blessed Isles:Zarathustra discusses God. He says, "Once one said God when one looked upon distant seas, but now, I have taught you to say, overman." He compares God to creators. Ultimately, he says, "Willing liberates: that is the true teaching of will and liberty-thus Zarathustra teaches it."
Chapter 25 - On the Pitying:A man comments that Zarathustra walks among men as if they were animals, but Zarathustra corrects this and says, "He who has knowledge walks among men as among animals." In this chapter, Zarathustra also relays that he has heard the devil say, "God is dead; God died of his pity for man." He goes on to explain all great love "is even above all its pity for it still wants to create the -beloved."
Chapter 26 - On Priests:Zarathustra speaks to his disciples about priests. He says, "Though they are my enemies, pass them silently ... many of them have suffered too much: therefore, they want to make others suffer." Zarathustra goes into some detail about the reasons priests are abhorrent to him. Their "spirit was drowned in their pity," and they are "sheep." At the close of this chapter, he notes, "Never -yet has there been an overman."
Chapter 27 - On the Virtuous:Zarathustra turns the attention of his disciples to the main problem of people who consider themselves virtuous. He tells his listeners he is sorry to disappoint them but states there is no payback for being virtuous and doesn't even believe "virtue is its own reward." Zarathustra also outlines several external motivations to virtue, such as fear of "the scourge," laziness, and desire-specifically a desire for justice that can grow so large "till the world is drowned in their injustice."
Chapter 28 - On the Rabble:Zarathustra's presents his opinion on the nature of the rabble (low-class people) that spreads poison and how the flame of the spirit is "vexed when their moist hearts come near the fire." He states that although some turn away in disgust, the real question is, "Does life require even the rabble?" Zarathustra goes on to explain how his nausea arising from contact with the rabble is the source of his ability to find "a life of which the rabble does not drink." He concludes his speech with the invitation to a state of being (home), which the rabble would find "an ice cave to their bodies and their spirits."
Chapter 29 - On the Tarantulas:Zarathustra shows his disciples a tarantula burrow, and addresses the spider identified by its markings, saying, "Revenge sits in your soul ... you preachers of equality." He goes on to state this secret poison will be brought to light so "that man be delivered from revenge." This determination pits Zarathustra against these "preachers of equality" in their effort to bring all men into an equal status under the justice of the law. Zarathustra declares the opposite is true, that "men are not equal." Rather, different men are at different stages of development at any given moment of time, expressed in the statement. Although the tarantula's bite would make the soul "whirl with revenge," Zarathustra declares he will "never dance the tarantella."
Chapter 30 - On the Famous Wise Men:Zarathustra's next target is famous wise men who serve as beasts to the powerful. Men who rule others in an effort "to get along smoothly with the people harnessed in front of their horses a little ass, a famous wise man." He urges such wise men to instead "throw off the lion's skin ... the mane of those who search, seek, and conquer." By becoming servants of the people, Zarathustra declares wise men who are famous become the property of "the dumb-eyed people ... who do not know what spirit is." He concludes his speech with the observation that famous wise men tend to become too attached to their own comforts, making "wisdom into a poorhouse and a hospital for bad poets."
Chapter 31 - The Night Song:This lyrical interlude contrasts darkness and light to show the nature of one is not possible without the presence of its opposite. This comparison carries over into the relationship between the virtuous who pity the beggar and the beggar who needs their pity.
Chapter 32 - The Dancing Song:Zarathustra and his disciples go walking one evening through a forest and come upon a group of girls dancing. He reassures them he is not there to interrupt them: "No killjoy has come to you with evil eyes, no enemy of girls." Zarathustra sings a song for them to express the joy of the dance free of hidden attachments to conventional wisdom. When the song and dance are done and the girls leave, Zarathustra asks forgiveness for his sadness that the evening has come.
Chapter 33 - The Tomb Song:Zarathustra reflects upon "the tombs of [his] youth." He tells his disciples the story of how he "crossed the sea" to visit the silent isle of tombs and pay homage to all he had loved: "Verily, you have died too soon for me, you fugitives." He then rails against his enemies, whom he accuses of having "murdered the visions and dearest wonders of [his] youth." Zarathustra struggles against the ghosts of these feelings but reaches a redeeming conclusion, "Only where there are tombs are there resurrections."
Chapter 34 - On Self-Overcoming:The discourse of this chapter concerns the desire of the wise to set the parameters of good and evil. Zarathustra warns his listeners against the danger in this path stemming from an underlying desire "that betrays ... an ancient will to power." He makes three observations: Whatever lives, obeys," "He who cannot obey himself is commanded" and "Commanding is harder than obeying." The goal, then, is to internalize both the commander and the one who obeys within the self instead of responding to external forces. He urges his listeners to break free of this "egg and eggshell - because only by breaking this confinement is the spirit enabled to creat:new.
Chapter 35 - On Those Who Are Sublime:Zarathustra relates how he finds the sublime man as a hunter swollen and ugly with truths. He describes the problem of the sublime man as being trapped by his identity of being sublime. The solution to this is for the sublime man to "jump over his shadow-and verily, into his sun." He accuses the sublime man of being stuck in a static position of self-admiration, something he will not be able to overcome until "power becomes gracious and descends into the visible."
Chapter 36 - On the Land of Education:Zarathustra describes the "land of education" inhabited by "men of today." Having landed in this place, Zarathustra finds himself moved to laughter as he states, "Never had my eyes beheld anything so dappled and motley." He sees the faces of these men painted "with the characters of the past written" so that they can be "concealed ... perfectly from all interpreters of characters." Such men declare themselves above belief and superstitions such that they only believe in the truth, but Zarathustra tells them although they stick out their chests, "they are hollow."
Chapter 37 - On Immaculate Perception:Zarathustra here makes play of the moon as if it were a feminine instead of a masculine entity: "He is not much of a man either, this shy nocturnal enthusiast ... like a cat the moon comes along, dishonestly." This leads him to denounce "sentimental hypocrites" as lechers who desire the earthly but feel a covert shame in their desire, as if such love were despicable. Instead, Zarathustra calls such men cowards for being unwilling to sacrifice themselves enough to covertly own their desire. He denounces them and berates them with the words, "The will to love, that is to be willing also to die. Thus I speak to you cowards!"
Chapter 38 - On Scholars:Zarathustra tells his listeners he has "moved from the house of the scholars and ... even banged the door behind [him]." Instead, he lies where children play, preferring "freedom and the air over the fresh earth." His estimation of scholars is that they "want to be mere spectators" who remain in awe of what others have thought before them. There follows a long list of what scholars are like. They are skillful and clever, "good clockworks" and mill grinds to "grind it [knowledge] small and reduce it to white dust." Such men mistrust each other and look for every opportunity to discredit a fellow.
Chapter 39 - On Poets:A disciple asks Zarathustra why he has claimed poets lie, and he answers, "It is ... too much for me to remember my own opinions." Zarathustra says he is a poet also, and that as one, he lies because he knows too little. He does not, however, go bragging about secret things he thinks nature may have whispered in his ear, marking him as prideful of being unique among men as a poet. Zarathustra says he is tired of poets because "they all muddy their waters to make them appear deep" and crave spectators.
Chapter 40 - On Great Events:Zarathustra appears to a group of seamen as they hunt rabbits on an island. As he passes them in the sky they fear he is on his way to disappear into hell. Although his disciples dismiss this idea as laughable, they worry about Zarathustra's disappearance until he returns five days later to recount his conversation with the fire hound. Zarathustra reports how he found the fire hound making a great noise over "great events" but no longer believes in such events that require so much fanfare: "Not around the inventors of new noise, but around the inventors of new values does the world revolve; it revolves inaudibly." Zarathustra further berated the hound who liked "to talk with smoke and bellowing-to make himself believe ... he is talking out of the belly of reality." At this, the beast grew ashamed and "crawled down into his cave."
Chapter 41 - The Soothsayer:Zarathustra describes the dismal words of a soothsayer, which made him so "sad and weary" that for three days he wandered about unable to speak or eat. After a good sleep, Zarathustra relates to his disciples the dream he had of being a lonely night watchman of silent tombs until a wind cracks the gates and releases "a thousandfold laughter." One of his disciples tells him all the parts of his dream-the wind, the gates, and the laughter are all himself.
Chapter 42 - On Redemption:One day, a crowd of cripples and beggars surround Zarathustra and tell him he has the power to heal them of their ills and suffering. He replies, "When one takes away the hump from the hunchback, one takes away his spirit." Such healing, Zarathustra says, brings only curses and not thanks. Worse than these, he tells them, is what he calls "inverse cripples" or people who are "nothing but a big eye or a big mouth or a big belly." Zarathustra turns sorrowfully to his disciples and tells them, "I walk among men as among the fragments and limbs of men." Rather than be bits and pieces of meaning to others, Zarathustra states he must be whole to himself and urges those who follow him to be whole to themselves as well.
Chapter 43 - On Human Prudence:Zarathustra discusses how living among men produces in him a duplicitous will such that he "must be without caution." This is a test for him to see whether or not he is able to understand that what passes for evil among men is an illusion, "The grossest wickedness ... only twelve shoes wide and three months long." He states he has been willing to play along with a fear of the devil for a while, but not remain there.
Chapter 44 - The Stillest Hour:Zarathustra says, "There spoke to me my stillest hour: that is the name of my awesome mistress." He describes to his disciples the way in which this mistress forced him to say what is in his heart, but he fears doing so because "humility has the toughest hide." This is another test he must overcome, which is to realize his relationships with people do not matter more than he matters himself. The end result is that Zarathustra must leave his followers and return to solitude.
Part III - Chapter 45: The Wanderer:Determined to set sail, Zarathustra leaves his cave at midnight and walks over the mountains to the coast where he hopes to find a ship willing to take him away from the island. As he walks, he compares the difficulties of his physical crossing to his spiritual one as he tells himself, "you must know how to climb on your own head ... upward, up until even your stars are under you." Absorbed in the dark night, the mountains and the sea, Zarathustra chides himself for feeling sorry for the sea itself, both laughing and crying in his loneliness.
Chapter 46 - On the Vision and the Riddle:Zarathustra has boarded a ship, causing a good deal of curiosity among the seamen. Although they ask him questions, he remains silent for some time until he is able to listen to the talk of those "who travel far and do not like to live without danger." After a few days, Zarathustra begins speaking to the seamen of the riddle of their lives, which they risk at every moment based on partial information about the many dangers of the sea. He describes to them his own fight in a vision with "the spirit of gravity ... half dwarf, half mole" who fills his brain with leaden thoughts. He tells the seamen the only way to battle this fear is through courage. Zarathustra then experiences a vision of a shepherd with a snake in his mouth choking him to death. Zarathustra tries to pull the snake out, but unable to do so, he tells the shepherd to bite the head of the snake off. When he does and spits out the head of the snake, the shepherd becomes "no longer human-one changed, radiant, laughing!"
Chapter 47 - On Involuntary Bliss:Zarathustra has spent four days at sea, has overcome his gloom, and rejoices in his solitude. He reassures himself he left his home at the right time, saying, "The wanderer's shadow and the longest boredom and the stillest hour-they all urged me." The explanation Zarathustra has for his hesitation is that he had "not been strong enough for the final overbearing, prankish bearing of the lion" and is now grateful to "drift on uncertain seas." He waits for his unhappiness to return to him, but finds this state elusive.
Chapter 48 - Before Sunrise:Zarathustra continues his internal self-dialogue, greeting the dark heavens above before sunrise. He denounces the clouds obscuring the clarity of the sky as comparable to his own clouded vision in his spirit, saying, "We loa the these mediators and mixers, the drifting clouds that are half-and-half and have learned neither to bless nor to curse from the heart." Zarathustra praises chance as "the heaven Prankishness" by which he has delivered all things "from their bondage under Purpose."
Chapter 49 - On Virtue That Makes Small:Zarathustra's sea voyage comes to an end and he returns to his island but does not immediately return to his cave. Instead, he wanders around looking at things so he can determine if during his absence men have grown smaller or greater. He comes across a row of houses that look like toys to him. Zarathustra reflects on the idea these small men despise him because he does not "envy their virtues," a factor separating him from others "like the rooster in a strange yard." He observes their small virtue is connected to the small happiness of small men, which amounts to mere comfort. He sees they manage to go forward in their own way by "hobbling." These self-imposed restrictions designed to please everyone are what Zarathustra refers to as "mediocrity." He concludes his musings with the warning that the fire is coming to these people.
Chapter 50 - Upon the Mount of Olives:Zarathustra describes winter as an unwanted guest, even though he would rather endure "a little chattering of teeth" than pray to "the potbellied fire idol." The sharp clarity brought on by winter helps Zarathustra keep his own counsel in silence, which he is quick to point out is not the same type of concealment practiced by those who "veiled their faces and muddied their waters that nobody might see through them, deep down." He praises his oasis from the cold too, as he runs "crisscross on [his] mount of olives with warm feet."
Chapter 51 - On Passing By:Zarathustra continues walking "among many peoples and through numerous towns" before returning to his cave. However, at the gate of a city, a fool leaps in front of him to bar his way. It turns out people call this fool "Zarathustra's ape" because he imitates and parodies Zarathustra's words, borrowing "from the treasure of his [Zarathustra's] wisdom." The fool warns Zarathustra away from this city, saying, "Don't you smell the slaughterhouses and ovens of the spirit even now?" It is here, the fool tells Zarathustra, the spirits of men are rendered down, "boiled alive and cooked till they are small." Zarathustra's response is to revile the fool, but he admits the city also nauseates him.Chapter 52: On ApostatesZarathustra pauses in the town The Motley Cow, which is a two-day walk from his cave. He muses how quickly "young hearts have all become old ... weary, ordinary, and comfortable," and wonders how this happened. He knows most youth will fail because they waited for his words in vain and gave up. In any case, only a few will persevere. He thinks others like him will find their first companions to be "corpses and jesters ... second companions, however, will call themselves his believers." But these companions are dangerous and not to be trusted because such youths change over time to become "half-in-half spoil all that is whole." These are what he calls apostates. They make of their master a deity instead of growing into their own deifications. -:
Chapter 53 - The Return Home:Zarathustra is very happy to be home again surrounded by silence and solitude. He is relieved from the burdens of moving about among men, where "everyone talks and no one listens." He reflects that being among men tests him on his "consideration and pity ... [his] greatest dangers."
Chapter 54 - On the Three Evils:Three evils occur to Zarathustra to lay traps for him. These are "sex, the lust to rule, [and] selfishness." He proceeds to examine each one by balancing them as questions on a scale with their answers. The outcome of sex, in Zarathustra's mind, depends a great deal on the nature of the person, for it trips up despisers of the body. For the rabble, sex simply burns them. But, free hearts and the lion-willed find sex a "higher happiness" that may (or perhaps may not) include marriage. The lust to rule appeals to a person's vanity as a "malicious gadfly," because a desire to lord over others eventually ends up turning back on that person. And regarding selfishness, there is a distinction between the impetus of a petty person who "picks up even the smallest advantages" and "the dancer whose parable and epitome is the self-enjoying soul." In all three desires, then, what is for some a poison is for others very sweet indeed.
Chapter 55 - On the Spirit of Gravity:Zarathustra starts out by poking fun at himself as if he were a bird of prey that likes to eat lamb and says he could sing of this even though no one is there to hear it. The flight of birds and their defiance of gravity leads Zarathustra to consider how this is possible to a person who "would become light and a bird." This person "must love himself: thus I teach." He goes on to present gravity as an opponent to self-love. Instead, man needs to continue the struggle against this gravity that pulls him downward.
Chapter 56 - On Old and New Tablets:This chapter is composed of a series of 30 very short musings by Zarathustra to himself as he sits "surrounded by broken old tablets and new tablets half covered with writing." He waits for a sign by which he may once again go among men. He recollects some of the things he has already said about laughing, the great and the small in man, and the meaning of the word "overman" because "man is something that must be overcome." He glances over concepts about wanting something for nothing and being able to "cross over" because of a willingness to "go under." In order to do this, however, one must give up the illusion of good and evil by throwing out all the old tablets. Zarathustra indulges here and there in wordplay, such as, "Your wedlock: see to t that it not be a bad lock." He urges man to stand up in the noon light of the sun so the greatest challenges -and mightiest victories of overcoming will find him.
Chapter 57 - The Convalescent:One morning, Zarathustra jumps up from his sleep and begins to yell, "Hail to me! ... My abyss speaks." He then falls down and lies as if dead for seven days. When he awakes, he is happy to once again enjoy the beauty of the earth. He remembers the nausea he felt in having seen the greatest in man is also the smallest, but his animals urge him that since he is convalescent, he should not speak but rather take his ease and enjoy the present moment of pleasure in the world of being alive.
Chapter 58 - On the Great Longing:Zarathustra addresses his soul and reminds himself of all the effort it has taken to give it strength and dignity or "the right to say No like the storm, and to say Yes as the clear sky says Yes." By enumerating everything he did to give his own soul its freedom, he ends by asking his soul, "Sing to me, sing, O my soul! And let me be thankful."
Chapter 59 - The Other Dancing Song:Zarathustra addresses life itself after which he describes himself dancing in lyrical and poetic terms. He addresses life in terms of a flirtatious and beguiling woman as his partner, "And now you are fleeing from me again, you sweet wildcat and ingrate!" He then whispers something into her ear - The chapter ends wit12 emphatic counts followed by a phrase.
Chapter 60 - The Seven Seals (Or: The Yes and Amen Song):Zarathustra continues his lyrical expressions, having moved beyond life as a dancing partner to the breaking of each seal in turn. For example, he breaks the duality of beginning and end embodied in the words of a soothsayer with the "ring of recurrence" and the shattered confinements of space and time. Each of the Seven Seals ends with the phrase, "For I love you, O eternity!"
Part IV -- Chapter 61: The Honey Sacrifice:Zarathustra's animals observe his general contentment and ask him about his happiness. He tells them he has no concern for happiness because he's too wrapped up in his work. They suggest it would be good for him to go up the mountain. He agrees and tells them to have honey there so he can make a honey sacrifice. But once he reaches the summit, Zarathustra sends away his animals and views the height of the mountain as comparable to the depth of "the human sea: that is where [he] now cast[s] [his] golden fishing rod and say[s]: Open up, you human abyss!"
Chapter 62 - The Cry of Distress:Zarathustra thinks he is alone with his own shadow the next day but is startled by the presence of the soothsayer. "Th[is] proclaimer of the great weariness" had once been Zarathustra's guest but now appears even more foreboding than he had before. The soothsayer tells Zarathustra his bark (small boat) will not be stranded much longer because the waves of the sea are reaching up the mountain. They listen together and hear a woeful cry of distress in the distance. Zarathustra recognizes it as his "final sin" and asks the soothsayer what it is. The soothsayer replies he has come to Zarathustra to test him with pity for "the higher man." They then part ways. Zarathustra goes in search of the higher man and the soothsayer leaves to wait for him in his cave.
Chapter 63 - Conversation with the Kings:Zarathustra searches no longer than an hour before he comes across two richly adorned kings-one on the right and one on the left-leading an ass loaded with baggage. Zarathustra listens for a while to their conversation and realizes the two kings have been struggling with some of the same obstacles to overcoming the self as he has been. Zarathustra greets them and asks them what they are doing there. They reply, "We are on our way to find the higher man-the man who is higher than we, though we are kings." Zarathustra tells them to wait for him in his cave while he continues to search for the source of the cry of distress.
Chapter 64 - The Leech:A man is lying on the ground across Zarathustra's path. The man had been sitting low to the ground with his arm in the water of a swamp. When he draws his arm out, it is covered with leeches and blood. Zarathustra is horrified and tells the man to go up to the cave where his wounds can be tended, but the man tells him he has been doing this deliberately, saying, "Praised be the great leech of the conscience, Zarathustra!" He tells Zarathustra he is "the conscientious in spirit ... there may well be none stricter, narrower, and harder than I." Pleased with the man's attitude, Zarathustra sends him to his cave and continues his search.
Chapter 65 - The Magician:Zarathustra comes upon a man who "kept looking around with piteous gestures, like one abandoned and forsaken by all the world." He listens to the man's lament, which is like a long poem to "Thou unknown god," an entity that causes the man every kind of torture and suffering. Zarathustra sees through the ruse and beats the man with his staff, saying, "Stop it, you actor ... you wicked magician ... In whom was I to believe when you were moaning this way?" The magician confesses he was playing the part of "the ascetic of the spirit" and tells Zarathustra he is pleased with his ability to make Zarathustra believe for even a short while. At this, Zarathustra takes a closer look at what just happened and finds a small truth in the magician's statement, "I did all this only as a game." Zarathustra sends the magician to his cave before he continues "on his way, laughing."
Chapter 66 - Retired:A tall, dark-robed man is sitting by the path, and the look of him so displeases Zarathustra that he would like to avoid him. But the man spots Zarathustra and asks him for help because he has lost his way. He says he is a retired pope in search of a festival at Zarathustra's cave. Zarathustra tells the man, "It is I, the godless Zarathustra, who speaks: who is more godless than I, that I may enjoy his instruction?" The old pope describes how he served his god faithfully, but "was a concealed god, addicted to secrecy." As his servant, the old pope came to view how this god fathered a son through adultery and realized the two roles of being a loving god and a judging god are incompatible ones. Zarathustra figures he'd like to hear more about all this. He assures the old pope god is completely dead and tells him to go up to his cave and wait there for Zarathustra's return.
Chapter 67 - The Ugliest Man:The search for the cry of distress continues to draw Zarathustra along his path until he "enter[s] a realm of death." Everything there is loathsome and devoid of life, and Zarathustra walks through it until he stands still and sees something sitting that almost looks like a human being. Revolted, Zarathustra turns away but the being manages to speak, asking Zarathustra to guess his riddle, "What is the revenge against the witness?" Zarathustra recognizes the being as the ugliest man who murdered god and "took revenge on this witness." The ugliest man agrees Zarathustra has solved the riddle by recognizing himself as the witness. Zarathustra turns away, but the ugliest man begs him to stay. Zarathustra tells the ugliest man to go to his cave and wait for him there before continuing his search.
Chapter 68 - The Voluntary Beggar:The land through which Zarathustra travels becomes green and warm and refreshes his spirit following the unpleasant land he has just left. Amazed, he finds himself attracted by a herd of cows who surround a speaker and seem to be listening to him. Pushing aside the cows, Zarathustra finds a man sitting on the ground apparently preaching to the cows, saying things like, "Except we turn back and become as cows, we shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." When he sees Zarathustra, the man recognizes him and greets him joyfully, saying he himself is "the voluntary beggar." Zarathustra asks the beggar why he should seek happiness among the cows instead of among the rich, but this beggar will have none of that, because as he says, "I was nauseated by our richest men ... this gilded, false mob whose fathers have been pickpockets." Zarathustra tells the voluntary beggar to go to his cave and wait for him there.
Chapter 69 - The Shadow:Once the voluntary beggar leaves, Zarathustra thinks he is alone but a voice behind him calls on him to wait and says he is Zarathustra's shadow. Annoyed by all this unwanted company, Zarathustra tries to run away from his shadow, but soon discovers there are three runners instead of two. The involuntary beggar has joined the chase. After running for a while, Zarathustra finds it is futile and he stops to question his shadow. His shadow explains how close he is to Zarathustra himself, saying, "Wherever you sat, I sat too ... with you I broke whatever my heart revered." The shadow ends his speech saying he is in search of his home. Zarathustra recognizes the nature of this shadow as a wanderer. Feeling pity for his shadow, Zarathustra sends him to his cave for a "rest and home this evening" before going on alone.
Chapter 70 - At Noon:Fatigued by all his running, Zarathustra feels the need to rest at noon and lies down by a tree to sleep. He chides himself with sleeping at noon when the sun is at its highest point but finds he hadn't slept much according to the sun's position.
Chapter 71 - The Welcome:Zarathustra is very near his cave in the afternoon when he again hears the cry of distress he has been trying to track down all day and is surprised to hear it coming from inside the cave. This time, it does not seem to come from a single source, but from many. When he enters the cave, he finds all the people he had met that day sitting around his serpent and eagle. Amazed, Zarathustra realizes the higher man is actually an amalgam of these odd characters and tells them they are welcome to whatever he has. This cheers them up, and the king at the right speaks for the company in saying they are encouraged by his presence. Even so, Zarathustra tells them they are not strong enough for him, and says, "You are mere bridges: may men higher than you stride over you. You signify steps." Zarathustra describes to them his children for whom he waits, who are "built perpendicular in body and soul."
Chapter 72 - The Last Supper:The soothsayer comes forward and reminds Zarathustra he promised them a supper, at which mention the animals leave to find food to feed the many guests. In addition to food, the demand is for wine rather than water. As it happens, the king at the left informs the crowd they have brought with them plenty of wine. There is no bread, but meat, grains, nuts, and fruit are plentiful so each may take whatever he pleases.
Chapter 73 - On the Higher Man:The dinnertime conversation revolves around the topic of the higher man who, in shunning the crowds who want everyone to exist on the same level, no longer has any use for god. But having done this already, these higher men dining with him (whom Zarathustra hails as his "brothers") are not what Zarathustra is interested in finding. They have come only part of the way and Zarathustra encourages them to look beyond the mob and its petty moralities. "Overcome these masters of today, O my brothers-these small people, they are the overman's greatest danger," he tells them. Zarathustra adds to this the idea that as creators, they should not create "for" or "because" of anyone or anything else but themselves. And while solitude is good for some, it isn't for everyone because "in solitude, whatever one has brought into it grows-also the inner beast." Zarathustra also reminds them to dance with laughter and a light heart, saying, "Lift up your hearts, you good dancers, high, higher!"
Chapter 74 - The Song of Melancholy:The cave now seems stuffy and stale to Zarathustra, so he slips outside for a breath of fresh air. However, the old magician seizes on Zarathustra's absence to perform a parody of their host's speeches, singing and playing to a harp for entertainment.
Chapter 75 - On Science:Everyone is caught up in the old magician's performance except the conscientious man, who says to him, "Beware when such as you start making speeches and fuss about truth!" The problem is that in listening to the illusion, the higher man loses his freedom, according to the conscientious man. He goes on to state that what he wants from Zarathustra is security, or freedom of fear, which is what he calls "science." At this point, Zarathustra enters and counters with a different motivation for the creation of science by saying, "He [man] envied the wildest, most courageous animals and robbed all their virtues." Zarathustra slips out of the cave once again.
Chapter 76 - Among Daughters of the Wilderness:The wanderer/shadow begs Zarathustra to stay with them because "there is much hidden misery here that desires to speak." In an apparent effort to cheer everyone up, the wanderer/shadow reminisces about days gone by when he "loved such Oriental girls" and composed a song with them. He seizes the harp from the magician's hands and "began to sing with a kind of roar" about a charming dancer whose legs go missing.
Chapter 77 - The Awakening:The song of the wanderer/shadow is met with a good deal of enthusiasm from the company. Zarathustra is pleased with their merriment, perceiving that even his own spirit of gravity is fleeing with the last light of day. A healing sets over his guests even though Zarathustra is not their physician. But a moment later, he realizes the cave has become silent. Curious, he peeks back inside to see what's going on and finds all the men have surrounded the ass in order to worship the animal.
Chapter 78 - The Ass Festival:Zarathustra jumps into the middle of the circle of worshippers and pulls them to their feet saying, "Everyone would judge that with your new faith you were the worst blasphemers or the most foolish of all little old women." The old pope counters with the idea it is "better to adore God in this form than in no form at all!" The excuse given by the wanderer/shadow is that the ugliest man started it. And the conscientious in spirit claims, "I may not believe in God; but it is certain that God seems relatively most credible to me in this form." Zarathustra agrees that in this worship these men have become as children, but tells them, "But now leave this nursery, my own cave, where all childishness is at home today!" And when they again celebrate this festival "invented only by convalescents," Zarathustra asks them to remember him.
Chapter 79 - The Drunken Song:The ugliest man is not willing to let go of the festivities even though the hour now approaches midnight. The higher men recognize how they have been healed by having been Zarathustra's guests and want to thank him. Even the ass and the habitually morose soothsayer were said to have danced around Zarathustra. At this, Zarathustra's spirit leaves and his body is held by the higher men. When he is able to speak again, Zarathustra tells them the hour has come for them to "wander into the night." There follows a long speech by Zarathustra praising the beauties of the night.
Chapter 80 - The Sign:The following morning, Zarathustra rises alone and greets the rising sun. He leaves his sleeping guests behind inside the cave and takes a walk along the mountain with his eagle and his serpent. He is surrounded by birds so thick he must push them away and is surprised to find his hand land on "a thick warm mane; and at the same time he hear[s] a roar in front of him-a soft, long lion roar." Zarathustra knows the sign he has been waiting for is near. He realizes his final sin is his pity for the higher man, which he has given up. "My children are near, Zarathustra has ripened," he says.

see also :::

questions, comments, suggestions/feedback, take-down requests, contribute, etc
contact me @ integralyogin@gmail.com or
join the integral discord server (chatrooms)
if the page you visited was empty, it may be noted and I will try to fill it out. cheers



now begins generated list of local instances, definitions, quotes, instances in chapters, wordnet info if available and instances among weblinks


OBJECT INSTANCES [0] - TOPICS - AUTHORS - BOOKS - CHAPTERS - CLASSES - SEE ALSO - SIMILAR TITLES

TOPICS
SEE ALSO


AUTH

BOOKS

IN CHAPTERS TITLE

IN CHAPTERS CLASSNAME

IN CHAPTERS TEXT

PRIMARY CLASS

summary
text
SIMILAR TITLES
coursehero Thus Spoke Zarathustra Summary

DEFINITIONS


TERMS STARTING WITH


TERMS ANYWHERE



QUOTES [0 / 0 - 0 / 0]


KEYS (10k)


NEW FULL DB (2.4M)


*** WISDOM TROVE ***

*** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***


IN CHAPTERS [0/0]









WORDNET














IN WEBGEN [10000/0]




convenience portal:
recent: Section Maps - index table - favorites
Savitri -- Savitri extended toc
Savitri Section Map -- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
authors -- Crowley - Peterson - Borges - Wilber - Teresa - Aurobindo - Ramakrishna - Maharshi - Mother
places -- Garden - Inf. Art Gallery - Inf. Building - Inf. Library - Labyrinth - Library - School - Temple - Tower - Tower of MEM
powers -- Aspiration - Beauty - Concentration - Effort - Faith - Force - Grace - inspiration - Presence - Purity - Sincerity - surrender
difficulties -- cowardice - depres. - distract. - distress - dryness - evil - fear - forget - habits - impulse - incapacity - irritation - lost - mistakes - obscur. - problem - resist - sadness - self-deception - shame - sin - suffering
practices -- Lucid Dreaming - meditation - project - programming - Prayer - read Savitri - study
subjects -- CS - Cybernetics - Game Dev - Integral Theory - Integral Yoga - Kabbalah - Language - Philosophy - Poetry - Zen
6.01 books -- KC - ABA - Null - Savitri - SA O TAOC - SICP - The Gospel of SRK - TIC - The Library of Babel - TLD - TSOY - TTYODAS - TSZ - WOTM II
8 unsorted / add here -- Always - Everyday - Verbs


change css options:
change font "color":
change "background-color":
change "font-family":
change "padding":
change "table font size":
last updated: 2022-05-08 00:50:51
111032 site hits