02 - Thus Spake Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part one, Chapter two, the academic chairs of virtue. People
commended unto Zarathustra, a wise man, as one who could
discourse well about sleep and virtue. Greatly was he honored
and rewarded for it, and all the youths sat before
his chair. To him went Zarathustra, and sat among the

(00:23):
youths before his chair, And thus spake the wise man
respect and modesty in presence of sleep, that is the
first thing, and go out of the way of all
who sleep badly and keep awake at night. Modest is
even the thief in the presence of sleep, he always
stealeth softly through the night. Immodest however, is the night

(00:47):
watchman immodestly he carrieth his horn. No smart is it
to sleep. It is necessary for that purpose to keep
awake all day. Ten times a day must thou overcome
thyself that causeth wholesome weariness and his poppy to the soul.
Ten times must thou reconcile again with thyself for overcoming

(01:10):
his bitterness and badly sleep. The unreconciled ten truths must
thou find during the day, Otherwise wilt thou seek truth
during the night, and thy soul will have been hungry
ten times. Must thou laugh during the day and be cheerful?
Otherwise thy stomach, the father of affliction, will disturb thee

(01:32):
in the night. Few people know it, But one must
have all the virtues in order to sleep well. Shall
I bear false witness? Shall I commit adultery? Shall I
covet my neighbor's maid servant? All that would ill accord
with good sleep? Even if one have all the virtues,
there is still one thing needful, to send the virtues

(01:54):
themselves to sleep at the right time, that they may
not quarrel with one another. The good females, and about
thee thou unhappy one peace with God and thy neighbor.
So desireth good sleep, and peace also with thy neighbour's devil,
otherwise it will haunt thee in the night. Honor to

(02:16):
the government and obedience, and also to the crooked government.
So desireth good sleep? How can I help it? If
power liketh to walk on crooked legs, he who leadeth
his sheep to the greenest pasture shall always be for
me the best shepherd. So doth it accord with good sleep?

(02:37):
Many honors I want not nor great treasures. They excite
the spleen. But it is bad sleeping without a good
name and a little treasure. A small company is more
welcome to me than a bad one. But they must
come and go at the right time. So doth it
accord with good sleep? Well? Also, do the poor and

(02:59):
spirit please me? They promote sleep. Blessed are they, especially
if one always give in to them. Thus passeth the
day unto the virtuous. When night cometh, then I take
good care not to summon sleep. It disliketh to be
summoned sleep the Lord of the virtues. But I think

(03:22):
of what I have done and thought during the day.
Thus ruminating, patient as a cow, I ask myself, what
were thy ten overcomings? And what were the ten reconciliations,
and the ten truths? And the ten laughters with which
my heart enjoyed itself. Thus pondering and cradled by forty thoughts,

(03:45):
it overtaketh me all at once, Sleep, the unsummoned, the
Lord of the virtues. Sleep tappeth on mine eye, and
it turneth heavy. Sleep toucheth my mouth, and it remaineth
open verily on soft souls. Doth it come to me
the dearest of thieves, and stealeth from me my thoughts. Stupid?

(04:09):
Do I then stand like this academic chair? But not
much longer do I then stand? I already lie. When
Zarathustra heard the wise man thus speak, he laughed in
his heart, for thereby had light dawned upon him, and
thus spakey to his heart. A fool seemeth this wise

(04:31):
man with his forty thoughts. But I believe he knoweth
well how to sleep happy, even as he who liveth
near this wise man. Such sleep is contagious, even through
a thick wall. It is contagious. A magic resiteth even
in his academic chair. And not in vain did the

(04:52):
youth sit before the preacher of virtue. His wisdom is
to keep awake in order to sleep well and verily.
If life had no sense, and I had to choose nonsense,
this would be the desirablest nonsense for me. Also now
know I well what people sought formerly above all else,

(05:14):
when they sought teachers of virtue good sleep. They sought
for themselves and poppyheaded virtues to promote it to all
those belotted stages of the academic chairs. Wisdom was sleep
without dreams. They knew no higher significance of life even
at present. To be sure, there are some like this,

(05:34):
preacher of virtue, and not always so honorable. But their
time is past, and not much longer do they stand
there they already lie. Blessed are those drowsy ones, for
they shall soon nod to sleep. Thus spake Zarathustra, and

(05:56):
of Part one, Chapter two,