There is a legend that Nietzsche finally collapsed into madness while embracing the neck of a horse in a desperate attempt to keep it from being beaten by its owner. The legend is a legend. We do not know if it is true. But it speaks to a counterreception of Nietzsche that is certainly closer to the vision I have taught again in these pages. The superhuman is the man (both men, actually—though the cruel man does not know it yet), but it is also the horse. It is cross-species compassion. It is life itself. It is the only God. And so am I. And so are you.
