Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Nietzsche wrote in Ecce Homo that the central idea of Zarathustra occurred to him by a "pyramidal block of stone" on the shores of Lake Silvaplana.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the ideas of which first came to Nietzsche while walking on two roads surrounding Rapallo, was conceived while writing The Gay Science.[lower-roman 2] More specifically, the concept of the eternal recurrence, which is the central idea of Zarathustra by Nietzsche's admission, first occurred to Nietzsche in Switzerland: he was inspired by the sight of a gigantic, towering, pyramidal rock—a "pyramidal block of stone"—while walking through the woods along the shores of Lake Silvaplana, in the Upper Engadine, a high alpine region whose valley floor is at 6,000 feet (1,800 m). As evidence of this, he made a small note that read "6,000 feet beyond man and time."[2]

Nietzsche planned to write the book in three parts over several years. Although Part Three was originally planned to be the end of the book, ending with a strong climax, Nietzsche subsequently decided to write an additional three parts; ultimately, however, he composed only the fourth part, which is viewed to constitute an intermezzo. Nietzsche commented in Ecce Homo that for the completion of each part, "[t]en days sufficed; in no case, neither for the first nor for the third and last, did I require more."[3]

The first three parts were first published separately, and were subsequently published in a single volume in 1887. The fourth part remained private after Nietzsche wrote it in 1885; a scant forty copies were all that were printed, apart from seven others that were distributed to Nietzsche's close friends. In March 1892, the four parts were finally reprinted as a single volume. Since then, the version most commonly produced has included all four parts.

The original text contains a great deal of word-play. For instance, words beginning with über ('over, above') and unter ('down, below') are often paired to emphasise the contrast, which is not always possible to bring out in translation, except by coinages. An example is untergang (lit. 'down-going'), which is used in German to mean 'setting' (as in, of the sun), but also 'sinking', 'demise', 'downfall', or 'doom'. Nietzsche pairs this word with its opposite übergang ('over-going'), used to mean 'transition'. Another example is übermensch ('overman' or 'superman'), discussed later in this article.

The book chronicles the fictitious travels and speeches of Zarathustra. Zarathustra's namesake was the founder of Zoroastrianism, usually known in English as Zoroaster (Avestan: 𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬚𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀‎, Zaraθuštra). Nietzsche is clearly portraying a "new" or "different" Zarathustra, one who turns traditional morality on its head. He goes on to characterize "what the name of Zarathustra means in my mouth, the mouth of the first immoralist:"[3]

For what constitutes the tremendous historical uniqueness of that Persian is just the opposite of this. Zarathustra was the first to consider the fight of good and evil the very wheel in the machinery of things: the transposition of morality into the metaphysical realm, as a force, cause, and end in itself, is his work.… Zarathustra created this most calamitous error, morality; consequently, he must also be the first to recognize it.… His doctrine, and his alone, posits truthfulness as the highest virtue; this means the opposite of the cowardice of the "idealist” who flees from reality.… Am I understood?—The self-overcoming of morality, out of truthfulness; the self-overcoming of the moralist, into his opposite—into me—that is what the name of Zarathustra means in my mouth.

— Ecce Homo, "Why I Am a Destiny" §3, translated by Walter Kaufmann

Zarathustra has a simple characterisation and plot,[4] narrated sporadically throughout the text. It possesses a unique experimental style, one that is, for instance, evident in newly invented "dithyrambs" narrated or sung by Zarathustra. Likewise, the separate Dionysian-Dithyrambs was written in autumn 1888, and printed with the full volume in 1892, as the corollaries of Zarathustra's "abundance."

Some speculate that Nietzsche intended to write about final acts of creation and destruction brought on by Zarathustra. However, the book lacks a finale to match such description; its actual ending focuses more on Zarathustra recognizing that his legacy is beginning to perpetuate, and consequently choosing to leave the higher men to their own devices in carrying his legacy forth.

Zarathustra also contains the famous dictum "God is dead," which had appeared earlier in The Gay Science.[5]

The book embodies a number of innovative poetical and rhetorical methods of expression. It serves as a parallel and supplement to the various philosophical ideas present in Nietzsche's body of work. He has, however, said that "among my writings my Zarathustra stands to my mind by itself."[6] Emphasizing its centrality and its status as his magnum opus, Nietzsche has stated that:

With [Thus Spoke Zarathustra] I have given mankind the greatest present that has ever been made to it so far. This book, with a voice bridging centuries, is not only the highest book there is, the book that is truly characterized by the air of the heights—the whole fact of man lies beneath it at a tremendous distance—it is also the deepest, born out of the innermost wealth of truth, an inexhaustible well to which no pail descends without coming up again filled with gold and goodness.

— Ecce Homo, "Preface" §4, translated by W. Kaufmann

Since many of the book's ideas are also present in his other works, Zarathustra is seen to have served as a precursor to his later philosophical thought. With the book, Nietzsche embraced a distinct aesthetic assiduity. He later reformulated many of his ideas in Beyond Good and Evil and various other writings that he composed thereafter. He continued to emphasize his philosophical concerns; generally, his intention was to show an alternative to repressive moral codes and to avert "nihilism" in all of its varied forms. Other aspects of Thus Spoke Zarathustra relate to Nietzsche's proposed "Transvaluation of All Values". This incomplete project began with The Antichrist.

While Nietzsche injects myriad ideas into the book, a few recurring themes stand out.

Noteworthy for its format, the book comprises a philosophical work of fiction whose style often lightheartedly imitates that of the New Testament and of the Platonic dialogues, at times resembling pre-Socratic works in tone and in its use of natural phenomena as rhetorical and explanatory devices. It also features frequent references to the Western literary and philosophical traditions, implicitly offering an interpretation of these traditions and of their problems.

Nietzsche achieves all of this through the character of Zarathustra (referring to the traditional prophet of Zoroastrianism), who makes speeches on philosophic topics as he moves along a loose plotline marking his development and the reception of his ideas. This characteristic (following the genre of the Bildungsroman) can be seen as an inline commentary on Zarathustra's (and Nietzsche's) philosophy.

The book has been recognized for its unconventional style, which does not distinguish between philosophy and literature. Moreover, it offers formulations of eternal recurrence, and Nietzsche for the first time speaks of the Übermensch: themes that would dominate his books from this point onwards.[8]

The style of the book, along with its ambiguity and paradoxical nature, has helped its eventual enthusiastic reception by the reading public, but has frustrated academic attempts at analysis (as Nietzsche may have intended). Thus Spoke Zarathustra remained unpopular as a topic for scholars (especially those in the Anglo-American analytic tradition) until the latter half of the 20th century brought widespread interest in Nietzsche and his unconventional style.[8]

The critic Harold Bloom criticized Thus Spoke Zarathustra in The Western Canon (1994), calling the book "a gorgeous disaster" and "unreadable."[9] Other commentators have suggested that Nietzsche's style is intentionally ironic for much of the book. This irony relates to an internal conflict of Nietzsche's: he hated religious leaders but perceived himself as at least somewhat akin to one.[10]

Carl Orff composed a three-movement setting of part of Nietzsche's text as a teenager, but this work remains unpublished.

1895–1896: "Zarathustra's Roundelay" is set as part of Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony, originally under the title What Man Tells Me, or alternatively What the Night Tells Me (Of Man).

1896: The book inspired Richard Strauss to compose the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, which he designated "freely based on Friedrich Nietzsche."[16]

1904–05: Frederick Delius based his major choral-orchestral work A Mass of Life (1904–5) on texts from Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The work ends with a setting of "Zarathustra's Roundelay" which Delius had composed earlier, in 1898, as a separate work.

1944: The short score of the third symphony by Arnold Bax originally began with a quotation from Thus Spoke Zarathustra: "My wisdom became pregnant on lonely mountains; upon barren stones she brought forth her young."

1959–60: Another setting of the roundelay is one of the songs of Lukas Foss's Time Cycle for soprano and orchestra.

1973: Italian progressive rock band Museo Rosenbach released the album Zarathustra, with lyrics referring to the book.

1993: A film of parts I–III of the Kaufmann translation of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" was made by Ronald Gerard Smith, distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2012–19.[17]

2002–06: Also Sprach Zarathustra is referenced in the Xenosaga video-game series, the plot of which covers similar topics that Nietzsche covers in his writings. The book is most explicitly used by the series in its third episode, Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (2006).

2013: The title of graphic novel Silent was Zarathustra by Nicolas Wild is a reference to Nietzsche's work.[18]

2018-19: The English translation of part 2 chapter 7, "Tarantulas", has been narrated by Jordan Peterson[19] and musically toned by artist Akira the Don.[20]

2019: In August 2019, The Metal band Polemicist released their album Zarathustrian Impressions, a work of Heavy Metal impressionism based on the core concepts of the book.[21]

• Faith in the Earth
• Zoroaster and the Mount Savalan

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Thus Spake Zarathustra

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

• Also sprach Zarathustra at Nietzsche Source
• Project Gutenberg's etext of Also sprach Zarathustra (the German original)
• Project Gutenberg's etext of Thus Spake Zarathustra, translated by Thomas Common
• Thus Spake Zarathustra public domain audiobook at LibriVox