Other editions of book Thus Spake Zarathustra

Thus Spake Zarathustra is an important philosophical text by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In it he begins his exploration of morality, questioning the assumption of Christianity or Judaism as a basis for morality. He wrote about the "death of God" and the "Übermensch" (superhuman) who would have supreme morality. Ironically, Nietzsche mimics the style of the Bible, fictionalizing Zarathustra as his protagonist.

“God is Dead”. “The Superman”. The “will to power”. We’ve all heard the phrases, which are often used to represent concepts quite different from those first articulated by Nietzsche in Thus Spake Zarathustra. The most influential and famous of his books, the comic philosophic novel chronicles the imagined travels and speeches of Zarathustra, also known as Zoroaster, founder of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism, which is thought to be a precursor of Christianity. Nietzsche’s hero, however, is the opposite of the historical prophet. Here, the mission is to turn traditional morality upside down, to inform humanity that God is no more, that the meaning of life is to be found in the all powerful human life force represented by the Ubermensch, or Superman. The idea of “eternal recurrence”, which holds that events recur in an infinite cycle and is found in Indian philosophy and ancient Egypt, is a central theme of the work and stands in opposition to the linear concept of time in Christianity. In addition to its radical thinking, the book is also noteworthy for its unusual format and experimental style, which is full of wordplay, incorporates poetry and rhetoric, and, at times, mimics the styles of the New Testament and Platonic dialogs. Nietzsche said that "among my writings my Zarathustra stands to my mind by itself". Written in four distinct parts between 1883 and 1885, the first three parts were published individually and combined into a single volume in 1887. The fourth part was held back until incorporated in a new edition in 1892.

WHEN Zarathustra was thirty years old, he left his home and the lake of his home, and went into the mountains. There he enjoyed his spirit and his solitude, and for ten years did not weary of it. But finally he had a change of heart - and rising one morning with the dawn, he went before the sun, and spoke thus to it:"Oh great star! What would your happiness be if you did not have us to shine for?"For ten years you have climbed here to my cave: you would have become weary of shining and of the journey, had it not been for me, my eagle, and my serpent."But we waited for you every morning, took from you your overflow, and blessed you for it."Behold! I am weary of my wisdom, like the bee that has gathered too much honey; I need hands outstretched to take it from me. I wish to spread it and bestow it, until the wise have once more become joyous in their folly, and the poor happy in their riches."For that I must descend into the depths, as you do in the evening when you go below the sea and bring light also to the underworld, you superabundant star!"Like you, I must descend - as the men, to whom I shall go, call it."So bless me then, you tranquil eye that can behold even the greatest happiness without envy!

Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra, sometimes translated Thus Spake Zarathustra), subtitled A Book for All and None (Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), is a written work by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence of the same", the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Overman, which were first introduced in The Gay Science. Described by Nietzsche himself as "the deepest ever written", the book is a dense and esoteric treatise on philosophy and morality, featuring as protagonist a fictionalized Zarathustra. A central irony of the text is that the style of the Bible is used by Nietzsche to present ideas of his which fundamentally oppose Judaeo-Christian morality and tradition.

Excerpt from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None In German literature, leaving out of account the old gospel-harmonies, which are not works of original fiction in the proper sense, the germs of much that is in Zarathustra may be traced distinctly enough. For example, Riickert's Wisdom of the Brahman has many suggestions Of Nietzsche's book, the third part Of which has been strongly influenced by it. The whole orien talising and didactic poetry of the nineteenth century in Germany is inspired by Goethe's western-eastern Divau, and although Nietzsche's work does not show that influence to the same extent as A. W. Schlegel, Riickert, Platen, Bodenstedt and Count Schack, yet it 15 historically in more than one respect connected with that literary school. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts written and published between 1883 and 1885. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence of the same," the parable on the "death of God," and the "prophecy" of the Übermensch, which were first introduced in The Gay Science. Nietzsche himself considered Zarathustra to be his magnum opus.

Composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the most famous and influential work of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The work is a philosophical novel in which the character of Zarathustra, a religious prophet-like figure, delivers a series of lessons and sermons in a Biblical style that articulate the central ideas of Nietzsche's mature thought. Key to the philosophy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a rejection of traditional systems of religious morality, the idea of the will to power, and a vision of a new, higher mode of being, the ubermensch" or "Superman," one of Nietzsche's most famous and controversial figures. As innovative stylistically as it is philosophically, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is both a literary masterpiece and an enduring classic of moral thought. This version of Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the translation by Thomas Common.

Composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the most famous and influential work of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The work is a philosophical novel in which the character of Zarathustra, a religious prophet-like figure, delivers a series of lessons and sermons in a Biblical style that articulate the central ideas of Nietzsche's mature thought. Key to the philosophy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a rejection of traditional systems of religious morality, the idea of the will to power, and a vision of a new, higher mode of being, the "übermensch" or "Superman," one of Nietzsche's most famous and controversial figures. As innovative stylistically as it is philosophically, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is both a literary masterpiece and an enduring classic of moral thought.This version of Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the translation by Thomas Common.