Previous
Of the Despisers of the Body
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rethinking Morality
The Superman and the Will to Power
Death of God and Christianity
Eternal Recurrence
Summary
Analysis
Zarathustra believes that if someone has a virtue, they have that virtue in common with nobody else. If they try to name their virtue, they begin to have that virtue in common with other people and thus become part of the herd. It’s better to regard virtue as too lofty to be named—too lofty even to be named as a law of God or humanity.
This discourse addresses the nature of virtue as Zarathustra sees it. Basically, if people name and classify their virtues, they melt into the mass of humanity—for that reason, it’s better to avoid naming one’s virtues.
Themes
People used to regard passions as evil, but virtues grew out of passions. It’s better to have one virtue and go more easily over the bridge than to be a battleground of many virtues, alone in the desert. Every virtue envies the other virtues and wants to be the strongest, trying to kill the others. Because humankind’s present form is something that must be overcome, a person must love their virtues; even though they will someday die by them.
Traditional morality has drawn a distinction between untamed passions and cultivated virtues—but since virtues arise from passions, the latter shouldn’t be seen as bad. Furthermore, focusing on one virtue is a better path to the Superman than being pulled between many different ones. Anyway, all virtues must be overcome as humankind progresses to Superman.
Themes
