Nietzsche--thus Spake Zarathustra

munkeehaven

has anyone read thus spake zarathustra by friedrich nietzsche ??? i have been reading it on and off for the past 2 weeks but havent finished it yet what with my leaving cert and all [which thankfully is over]....any thoughts or comments on the book???




''I would fain bestow and distribute, until the wise have once more
become joyous in their folly, and the poor happy in their riches.
Therefore must I descend into the deep: as thou doest in the
evening, when thou goest behind the sea, and givest light also to
the nether-world, thou exuberant star!
Like thee must I go down, as men say, to whom I shall descend.
Bless me, then, thou tranquil eye, that canst behold even the
greatest happiness without envy!
Bless the cup that is about to overflow, that the water may flow
golden out of it, and carry everywhere the reflection of thy bliss!
Lo! This cup is again going to empty itself, and Zarathustra is
again going to be a man.

Thus began Zarathustra's down-going.''

simu

I've read some of it (we had to translate bits of it into Irish at uni - fun!) but tbh I found it quite annoying. It's very dramatic and overblown and vague which is ok if you're into that sort of thing but for philosophy, I prefer clearer prose. I picked up his "Beyond Good and Evil" recently but haven't had a chance to read it yet - it's more prosaic than "This Spake Z" though, it's about Nietzsche's views on Christian morality and although these ideas have become widely diffused by now, I think it'll be interesting to read the original version.

I probably will go back and try to finish Zarathustra some time though - it had a huge influence on later writers and artists. To give one example, the music in 2001 A Space Odyssey (the dramatic bam bam bam bad-dum bit) is actually the opening of a piece of music written by Strauss inspired by Zarathustra, which actually ties in well with the overall tone of the film - so, for that alone, I respect the book.

munkeehaven

ya thats true that its very vague and a bit flowery, but i suppose i like that kind of language ==im into writing poetry so i suppose i am drawn to the kind of artistry of his words. but you also have to remember that it was translated from german, so different things sound strange when translated literally. i would love to read the original in german, to see if there is a difference, hopefullly next year when i go to uni ill be able to pick it up somewhere, ive been doin german for 6 years so it would be a challenge.

DadaKopf

The trick is to see Nietzsche as on of the world's first punks.

Serious.

impr0v

I'm reading 'beyond good and evil' at the moment and that's what immediately struck me about it; the flowery and overly extravagant use of language. It obliges the reader to concentrate intently in order to extract the wood from the trees. I did consider the fact that perhaps I was finding it such hard work because of the german -> english transition, but I've come to doubt that. I think it's just the generally flamboyant language in use at that time by the intelligentsia being impishly manipulated by Nietzsche, who seems exceedingly proud of his wit. One is left in no doubt of his intelligence, but i think his sense of humour might have made him a difficult person to spend too much time with!

chortle.

munkeehaven

yeah thats true. i seem to be only reading german philosophers these days...like schopenhauer..he directly influenced nietzsche....his philosophy is so pessimistic that it is almost comical,but i identify with it a lot it..back to nietzsche..i wonder if the fact that he had syphillus influenced him?? i'd say it did because it does affect the brain and as we know he died insane..what a pity...


also:its only recently that i found out he coined the term ''live dangerously''.....