For Work / Against Work
Debates on the centrality of work

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

by Nietzsche, Friedrich (2006)

Abstract

Nietzsche regarded 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' as his most important work, and his story of the wandering Zarathustra has had enormous influence on subsequent culture. Nietzsche uses a mixture of homilies, parables, epigrams and dreams to introduce some of his most striking doctrines, including the Overman, nihilism, and the eternal return of the same. This edition offers a new translation by Adrian Del Caro which restores the original versification of Nietzsche's text and captures its poetic brilliance. Robert Pippin's introduction discusses many of the most important interpretative issues raised by the work, including who is Zarathustra and what kind of 'hero' is he and what is the philosophical significance of the work's literary form? The volume will appeal to all readers interested in one of the most original and inventive works of modern philosophy.

Key Passage

And so I am in the middle of my work, going to my children and returning from them; for the sake of his children Zarathustra must complete himself. For at bottom one loves only one’s own child and work; and where there is great love for oneself it is the hallmark of pregnancy – this is what I found. My children are still greening in their first spring, standing close to one another and shaken by a common wind, the trees of my garden and best plot of soil.  (p.128)

Keywords

Nietzsche, Overman, Eternal Recurrence, Family

Themes

Nietzsche Citations

Links to Reference

Translator

Del Caro, A.

Citation

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