Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietszche
The first thing I thought to myself while reading this book, is “why the hell did I never read this before.”
I had heard about the things Nietszche was famous for, like the phrase “That which does not kill me only makes me stronger.”
Or we remember Paul Dano’s lovable tortured teen character in the film Little Miss Sunshine.
We know Nietszche is supposed to be tough, negative, the word “nihilism” comes up, nihilism being often described as the most hopeless amoral position.
This does not match my reading of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which I found to be inspiring, full of positive messages, and extremely uplifting.
The book parodies the bible, somewhat ironically, where the main character Zarathustra wanders the world like an atheist Jesus, preaching the gospel of the Superman.
The Superman, or “Übermesnch” as many of us have heard it called, is Zarathustra’s only transcendental promise. The Superman is compared to lightning, and Zarathrustra proclaims that the Superman is what is to come after man is surpassed. Yet it is so close because you know that with effort it could be you, since the Superman describes humanity at its best.
Zarathustra hails unconventional virtues like will, for Zarathustra exercising your will is comparable to the Kingdom of Heaven in the bible. The will in this book is the high road, a thing to be embraced in of itself. This framing of will makes it a state of being to be sought, to be willful, to be ambitious, to master that which is before you. Its really beautiful.
Zarathustra hails solitude, like a beloved lover. He condemns traditional morality, saying that it is something to be surpassed. Zarathustra condemns conformity, and throughout the book hammers in to the reader that life is something to be lived passionately.
One of the most beautiful lines in this book is when Zarathustra is pestered by one of his nay-sayers he says that “Where Zarathustra cannot find something to love, there he will pass by.”
To only go where you can find something to love is such a wonderful rule to live by, a true embrace of the fact that the only heavens any human will ever know are those which can be found in this life.
I strongly recommend this lovely book, and hope to hear from many of you about your opinions.
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I think I’ll add Nieszche to my “authors-to-read” list.
“Twilight of the Idols’ is a great introduction to Nietzsche’s philosophy, I haven’t yet attempted Zarathustra… the bible comparison was apt.
“that which does not kill me only makes me stronger.” Isn’t that the great Kanye West?
Actually the correct translation of Übermesnch is ‘Overman.’
I tried to read this book for a class once. It was awful, terribly written. It might as well have been in the original German for all I got out of it. Someone else’s summary of Nietzsche’s philosophy might be worth reading, but Nietzsche simply lacked (or chose not to exercise) the ability to put together a comprehensible sentence.
I agree, twilight of the idols is a much easier read and more clearly a summary of his ideas. Zarathustra was poetic, but nearly incomprehensible.
I love this book!
He real tells you how to deal with manipulating women!
“Goest thou to women! Do not forget thy whip!” Chapter 18
However, his book, the AntiChrist is even better!
“Elimination of the weak and defective, the first principle of our philosophy! And we should help them to do it!”
And, “What is more harmful than any vice? Sympathy for the weak and defective, Christianity!”
From Section 2
Its time for atheists to have the guts to say what they really think of the Christians!
Please correct your spelling. It’s “Nietzsche” and “Übermensch”.
And, by the way, “overman” would be a bad translation for “Übermensch”. “Superhuman” would be better.
What page did you find this quote on? ““Where Zarathustra cannot find something to love, there he will pass by.”
Frank Bellamy… no offence, but if Thus Spoke Zarathustra is incomprehensible, then it is certainly, without a shred of doubt, your own lack of knowledge as a reader that makes it so. Nietzsche a bad writer? He is considered one of the greatest in German, indeed, one of the best prose stylists in any language – ‘Ecce Homo’ is probably the summit of his art, but almost all of his works are among the most ridiculously well-written literature we have. Zarathustra is singular, he wrote nothing else like it, but the idea it is badly written is absurd: Nietzsche here wrote at a high level of inspiration, the verbal wizardry of Zarathustra, even translated, is condensed genius… virtuoso poetical imagery and significant, ground-breaking philosophy are actually entwined to a mind-boggling degree.’The Seven Seals’ at the end of Part Three is poetry of the highest order – the book actually abounds with passion and unforgettable turns of phrase – it is monumental, heart-breaking stuff. But Nietzsche did not intend it to be a popular work, easily digested by anyone… it takes study and a good awareness of intellectual context to get the most out of it, it is for willing students, not for the casual reader. Every section in this book is the suffering of an incredible mind, it is supremely intense and meaningful… it can be beautiful, and it often is – but this isn’t light entertainment. Nietzsche was intentionally vague and obsure, he made his works difficult to penetrate as a matter of principle. Zarathustra is the definitive example of that; you almost have to live with it, beside his philosophy itself, in order to fathom it and therefore truly appreciate it.
Relevant quote from the book, section: ‘Of Reading and Writing’ – ‘I no longer feel as you do… this dark cloud beneath me, this blackness and heaviness at which I laugh – precisely that is your thunder-cloud. You look up, when you desire to be exalted… and I look down, because I am exalted. Who among you can at the same time laugh and be exalted? He who climbs on the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary. Untroubled, scornful, outrageous: that is how wisdom wants us to be. She is a women, and never loves anyone but a warrior.’