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Of the Sublime Men
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 describes flying into the future too far and being horrified by what he sees: only time. He hurried back to the present, to the “land of culture.” Here, he had to laugh, because the men of the present appeared to be painted with blotches, admiring themselves in mirrors. The signs of the present are painted over with new signs, making them unintelligible. Zarathustra feels that can’t stand such men, whether naked or disguised—even the unfamiliar future is more appealing.
This chapter is related to Nietzsche’s 1873 polemical pamphlet “Thoughts out of Season,” in which he critiques the sterility of his former scholarly colleagues. Here, he suggests that the men of the present day aren’t even sure of who they are—they’re recognizable neither to him nor themselves. The day’s “culture” seems to have no clear identity or goal.
Themes
The men of the present claim that they are “complete realists,” lacking any beliefs or superstitions. But covered with the signs of all beliefs, how can they believe anything? Zarathustra says these men are unworthy of belief; they are unfruitful. In contrast, the creator never lacks “prophetic dreams” and believes in belief.
Zarathustra’s claim about “believing in belief” is obscure, but he seems to mean that creators believe in prophecies of the future and therefore bear fruit—whether that be children of their own or more abstract contributions to achieving the Superman ideal. So-called “realists,” on the other hand, are still immersed in the beliefs they claim to reject and cannot create anything worthwhile.
Themes
Zarathustra has no home; he finds no homeland, and the men of the present are a mockery to him. Instead, he loves the undiscovered land that his children will one day inhabit; he seeks this land instead.
The end of this chapter introduces Nietzsche’s view of altruism, already hinted at in the chapter “On Love of One’s Neighbour.” For Nietzsche, love for others means seeking a future for one’s children that’s not burdened by the errors of the past and present.
Themes
