Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

by Friedrich Nietzsche

Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

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3322 ratings, 4.01 average rating, 246 reviews (more data...)

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published

March 23rd 2007 (first published 1885) by BiblioBazaar

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Paperback, 394 pages

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Zarathustra

isbn

1434603415 (isbn13: 9781434603418)

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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 solitud...more

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All ratings | 5 stars (1216) | 4 stars (1053) | 3 stars (705) | 2 stars (190) | 1 star (59) | avg 4.01

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Shawn

Shawn rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

05/19/08

Read in January, 1995

Horror movies never frightened me in the same way certain works of literature and film did. Reading through Zarathustra as a teenager was a singularly powerful experience; the work defies categorization or genre, time or place. I was warned that Nietzsche was dangerous for young readers (like Machiavelli) because he went insane. This I HAD to read. It was my first encounter with existential thought, a stinging critique of the very nature of values and belief. The events in the book are more like...more

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Katie

Katie rated it:

(review of isbn 1406947199)

04/17/08

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone who feels they should read Nietszche but are turned off by his other books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

While this book will sadly always be bogged down in Nietzsche's unresolved and immature childhood angst, his poetic brilliance is...well, brilliant.

The real stride of Zarathustra lies more at the beginning, with the prophet's existence rather petering out toward the end, rather than the usual ascent into spiritual ecstasy with which similar stories finish. Still, I suppose if I read the text as an insight into the mind of Nietzsche himself - rather than an educational, theological journey -...more

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Vincent

Vincent rated it:

(review of isbn 3520075180)

01/23/08

Read in October, 2002

Though I doubt that I could read the German version as easily as I once could, I still much prefer it to the translations. If you must read a translation, make it the Walter Kaufmann version, which is, in any case, easiest to find beyond being the best that I have seen. Side note: Kaufmann's translation of Goethe's Faust is also one of the best you will find for that work.

As for the work itself, what can I possibly say that has not already been written in praise of this epic? The criticism o...more

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Christopherseelie

Christopherseelie rated it:

(review of isbn 0140441182)

12/30/07

Read in December, 2007

Easily the best book of wisdom literature I've come across. This one I shall take slowly, with many sections reread...for pleasure.
Walter Kaufman warns the reader ahead of time that this is the work of a profoundly lonely man. I think it adds to the joy of reading, because one must separate for themselves the wisdom and the neurosis. The devise of an "untrustworthy narrator" reaches a new level of subtlety. And for it all, the book actually has some laugh lines!
Nietzsche thought th...more

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Todd

Todd rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

01/18/08

bookshelves: western-philosophy

Read in March, 2007

recommends it for: Jill

I reread this book periodically. Nietzche's work is often completely misunderstood and misrepresented. He is one of the most reviled thinkers in the western philosophical pantheon. Some of this comes from Nietzche himself who went bonkers toward the end of his short life (it was a brain tumor actually and not syphllis as many believe) and some of it comes from the Nazi perverts who did not apprhend his concept of the uberman and used his ideas to justify some of their more perverted ideas.

Za...more

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Matthew

Matthew rated it:

(review of isbn 0679601759)

09/19/08

bookshelves: heard

I'm sure it's very banal of me to point out how the bulk of this work is a contradiction of Neitzsche's main premise, but what he mostly seems to me to be saying is, 'Think for yourself, be original, be a maverick, and thou shalt do so in precisely thus & such a way. That way you can sacrifice yourself and your own aspirations to the possibility that somebody else in the future might become the Superman.' That criticism notwithstanding, there are a lot of ideas in the book worth mul...more

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montana

montana rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

06/05/07

Read in May, 2003

recommends it for: none and all

I learned about eternal recurrence, that big wheel of life that repeats itself again and again and again. I recently edited this concept to suggest that life is a giant fuzzy hoop that is constantly vibrating. It was within minutes of meeting Elise’s friend Samer that I came to this realization; he, rather, saw life as a ski slope with a tiny pendulum at the tip. True or false: Nietzsche infected himself with syphilis to attain supreme enlightenment and collapsed on a street corner hugging ...more

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Great Cthulhu

Great Cthulhu rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

01/09/08

This is sort of like Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet" for Goths and kids that tend to gloom. That is, it sounds nice but there is much less actually there than meets the eye. On the other hand, for a German Nietzsche writes clear, short sentences which can be pretty enjoyable to read if one can get past the fact that all in all he's a pretty ridiculous little man who could have solved a lot of his problems with a good wank. Yes, soemtimes life really is that simple.

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2 comments

Jessica

Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

08/04/07

Has a copy to sell/swap

recommends it for: the free and the mad ones.

“Do you call yourself free? I want to hear your ruling idea, and not that you have escaped from a yoke. . . . Free from what? Zarathustra does not care about that! But your eye should clearly tell me: free for what?”

this is a frightful, powerful book that i turn to in my times of littleness and doubt, when i have become "something that should be overcome."

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Lawrence

Lawrence rated it:

(review of isbn 0679601759)

11/24/08

This is the first book of Nietzsche's that I had come across. In my early days of getting into Kubrick I had discovered that the central orchestra theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey was titled "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." There is a link between Nietzsche's book and the film. Nothing literal, but fundamental ideas influenced Arthur Clark's book 2001, which gave way to the film. Nietzsche's influence moves far beyond this single example, and this book's "Superman," or "Overm...more

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Yousef

Yousef rated it:

(review of isbn 193چ882ن)

06/28/07

زماني كتاب مقدسم شده بود

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Clint

Clint rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

08/22/07

It's like Jesus, but cooler.

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Mr.

Mr. rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

10/07/08

Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains one of the most powerful and cryptic tomes in the history western thought. Is this a work of philosophy or poetry? Due to the immense power of Nietzsche's writing, it remains highly readable, even for those who are not usually comfortable reading philosophy. In the prologue, Nietzsche describes Zarathustra's isolation in the mountains and his intention to descend so that he can teach mankind. Zarathustra proclaims that God is dead and the overman, the s...more Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains one of the most powerful and cryptic tomes in the history western thought. Is this a work of philosophy or poetry? Due to the immense power of Nietzsche's writing, it remains highly readable, even for those who are not usually comfortable reading philosophy. In the prologue, Nietzsche describes Zarathustra's isolation in the mountains and his intention to descend so that he can teach mankind. Zarathustra proclaims that God is dead and the overman, the sort of man who has overcome his own nature. Zarathustra proclaims: "The time has come for man to set himself a goal. The time has come for man to plant the seed of his highest hope" (17). Nietzsche is passing his philosophical project onto Zarathustra as an author might pass his personal impressions onto a fictional character. Zarathustra is a new symbol of wisdom in the modern era; he teaches that man is now burdened with the task of creating a meaning for himself. In Zarathustra's speeches, he speaks of the "three metamorphoses of the spirit" (25), which include how the spirit becomes a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion a child. For Nietzsche, even the lion of freedom is not sufficient; the child who can create represents the possibility of an overman. Zarathustra says: "The child is innocence and forgetting, a new beginning, a game, a self-propelled wheel, a first movement, a sacred `Yes.' For the game of creation, my brothers, a sacred `Yes' is needed: the spirit now wills his own will, and he who had been lost to the world now conquers his own world" (27). Zarathustra teaches man that God is the result of an act of creation, that man is capable of willing new gods and goals. He says: "this god whom I created was man-made and madness, like all Gods!" (33). Zarathustra might be called the God of the Body as he claims that it was originally the sick and decaying who hated the body and nature and subsequently created heaven. Zarathustra provides and alternative: "Listen rather, my brothers, to the voice of the healthy body: that is a more honest and purer voice. More honestly and purely speaks the healthy body that is perfect and perpendicular: and it speaks of the meaning of the earth" (33). Zarathustra warns man of the power of `Good and Evil,' of preachers of virtues and the soul. However, for all of man's creative efforts in conjuring systems of value, man still is left without a clear goal. Zarathustra concludes the first book by insisting that he will only return when his listeners have denied him, for he desires to cultivate an independence of thought.
In the second book, Zarathustra returns and begins to speak about creation and pitying. In the second section (Upon the Blessed Isles), he argues that "God is a conjecture; but I desire that your conjectures should not reach beyond your creative will. Could you create a god? Then do not speak to me of any gods. But you could well create the overman [...:] of the overman you could recreate yourselves: and let this be your best creation" (86). For Zarathustra, creation is the solution to redeem man from his suffering. Additionally, man's will to power is a potentially liberating capacity. In the fifth section, Zarathustra critically examines different conceptions of traditional virtue. He says: "you are too pure for the filth of the words: revenge, punishment, reward, retribution" (94). After much vivisection and refutation, Zarathustra moves into a discussion of the possible meaning of existence for man in the section On the Tarantulas. Here, he makes a proposal: "For that man be delivered from revenge, that is for me the bridge to the highest hope, and a rainbow after long storms" (99). Zarathustra warns man to mistrust all who have a powerful inclination to seek revenge and enact punishment.In book three, Zarathustra continues his prophetic teachings to mankind, though he insists that he is "Godless" (170). He reflects about the absence of having a true audience; one gets the impression that Zarathustra is echoing Nietzsche's loneliness as a largely unrecognized philosopher and writer. He continues with a transvaluation of all values wherein Zarathustra declares the `three best cursed things,' which are: "sex, the lust to rule, [and:] selfishness" (188). He condemns Christianity's disapproval of these things, arguing that sex represents a happiness of the body, the lust to rule is a variant of the will to power, and selfishness is a mode of self enjoyment. Zarathustra is concerned that the dominant institutions of our time have conditioned human beings to hate and fear themselves. Additionally, he teaches man about man's ultimate purpose, which he describes in the third section of `The Old and New Tablets,' where he writes: "There it was too that I picked up the word `overman' by the way, and that man is something that must be overcome-that man is a bridge and no end" (198). For Zarathustra, a going under is a crossing over, a transition. In this way, mankind is taught to confront his own mortality.
In `The Convalescent,' Zarathustra rests for seven days after a collapse in his cave. He is upset with the animals for watching him in pain, for pain and cruelty (whether it is directed inward or outward) is the greatest flaw of man. It is here that Zarathustra gives his most profound teaching: "Alas, man recurs eternally! The small man recurs eternally!' Zarathustra has established his reason for being: to teach the eternal recurrence of the same. All events and beings of the universe have existed an infinite number of times and will continue to repeat eternally. Zarathustra claims: "I myself belong to the causes of the eternal recurrence. I come again, with this sun, with this earth, with this eagle, with this serpent-not to a new life or a better life or a similar life: I come back eternally to this same, selfsame life, in what is greatest as in what is smallest, to teach again the eternal recurrence of all the things" (221). It is because of the eternal recurrence of the same that mankind should affirm life and will subsequently overcome nihilism. Zarathustra expresses a desire that mankind embrace himself as such, and to be willing to act as a bridge for something greater. He declares: "You are mere bridges: may men higher than you stride over you. You signify steps: therefore do not be angry with him who climbs over you to his height" (283). According to Zarathustra, it is only since God has died that mankind can be resurrected. In `On the Higher Man,' Zarathustra announces the life of the overman, an indication of a higher being able to climb over man. Zarathustra announces: "O my brothers, what I can love in man is that he is an overture and a going under [...:] Overcome these masters of today, O my brothers-these small people, they are the overman's greatest danger" (287). Human beings must, in accordance with their nature, be willing to go down in order to go across. They are the bridge to something higher. The thought of eternal return contains many facets and implications. One the one hand, the notion of eternity without the trajectory of a goal and without a definitive close could be viewed as the essence of nihilism or pessimism. However, this is not a complete thought of eternal recurrence. Yet if the thinker understands the relation between nihilism and the eternal recurrence of the same, he can fully affirm life.
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Saman

Saman rated it:

(review of isbn 9643290158)

09/16/08

bookshelves: classic

زرتشت با ما زنان نيز سخن بسيار گفته است. اما از زنان با ما هيچ نگفته است
و من او را پاسخ گفتم: از زنان تنها با مردان سخن بايد گفت
او گفت: با من از زنان بگوي. من چندان پير هستم كه همان دم فراموش كنم
و من درخواست پيرزنك را بجاي آوردم و با او چنين گفتم: همه چيز زن معماست و همه چيزش را ي�...more

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Nigel

Nigel rated it:

(review of isbn 0192805835)

04/14/08

bookshelves: philosophy

Read in February, 2008

Nietzsche once claimed that there were six people on the planet that would truly understand "Zarathustra", and that its importance would not be realized for a hundred years. I'm not sure if the first claim is true, but I suspect he was dead-on with the second.

Zarathustra is possibly Nietzsche's most difficult work to really understand; the allusions to the Bible, German literature, his earlier works, his riffing on the common idioms of his time, all conspire to make it difficult f...more

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Jeff

Jeff rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

07/25/07

Read in January, 1980

recommends it for: All and None

This work from a terribly lonely and immensely spiritual genius changed my weltanschaung (world-view loosely translated from German). It made me choose German as my language of choice at the Defense Language Institute while I was in the Army. Why? Because I had to read this book in its native language - without horrific translations like "Superman" for uber man. The Walter Kaufman translation from Penguin is a MUST. Kaufman was himself a brilliant writer and a sublime translator. He ge...more

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RAMAK

RAMAK rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

11/25/08

well its not such a thing that Nietzsche himself once claimed: there will be only six people on the planet that would truly understand "Zarathustra", but its realy one of the most powerful books which i ever red. i also can rate it as the most comprihensible western philosophical & wisdom pieces which i 've came across....
n let me tell u that its one of those rare books which worth to be reread...
so a must read...

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Susan

Susan rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

09/19/08

Read in September, 2008

Oooh, lookie. In my quest to become a pseudo-intellectual jackass, I'm reading a real-live classic of Western literature. Unfortunately, this book is not making me any smarter. Boooo.

You may or may not appreciate the fact that I have to look up the spelling of "Nietzsche"...Every. Goddamn. Time. I write it. The more consonants in your name, the better; that's ol' Friedrich's philosophy. That and existentialism.

All this aside, I'm enjoying the book quite a bit, but it's defin...more

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-uht!

-uht! rated it:

(review of isbn 1406792047)

06/18/07

bookshelves: philosophy

Read in April, 1999

Well, this is where Nietzsche killed God. I believe that Nietzsche was the first philosopher to truly build an ethical system without appealing to the supernatural, which is a remarkable accomplishment. Additionally, the abandonment of absolutist ethics in favor of something relativistic and situational was also a landmark accomplishment. I am amazed by this book. I loved the metaphorical style and I think it's one of the most readable philosophy books I own.

As a side note, I loved Nietzsche...more

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Arezo....

Arezo.... rated it:

(review of isbn 0140047484)

09/11/08

نيچه زرتشت را نيست انگار بزرگ مي خواند ودر اين كتاب از زبان زرتنشت تمام حكمت و دانش خود را ابلاغ مي كند ب زنان كمي كم لطف است به شاعران كم لطف است اما در كل كتابي ست براي همه كس و هيچ كس
يكي از بهترين صفحات كتاب اين است
كساني را دوست دارم كه دل به فضيلت هاي بسيار نمي بندند چرا كه ...more

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