05 - Thus Spake Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part one, Chapter five, Joys and Passions, My brother, When
thou hast a virtue, and it is thine own virtue,
thou hast it in common with no one to be
sure thou wouldst call it by name and caress it.
Thou wouldst pull its ears and amuse thyself with it.
And lo, then hast thou its name in common with

(00:23):
the people, and hast become one of the people and
the herd with thy virtue. Better for thee to say,
ineffable is it? And nameless that which is pain and
sweetness to my soul, and also the hunger of my bowels.
Let thy virtue be too high for the familiarity of names.

(00:44):
And if thou must speak of it, be not ashamed
to stammer about it. Thus speak and stammer. That is
my good that do I love? Thus doth it and
please me entirely. Thus only do I desire the good
as the law of a God. Do I desire it?
Not as a human law or a human need? Do

(01:05):
I desire it? It is not to be a guidepost
for me to super earths and paradises. An earthly virtue
is it which I love? Little prudence is therein and
the least everyday wisdom. But that bird built its nest
beside me, Therefore I love and cherish it. Now sittth

(01:26):
it beside me on its golden eggs. Thus shouldst thou
stammer and praise thy virtue. Once hadst thou passions, and
call'st them evil, But now hast thou only thy virtues.
They grew out of thy passions. Thou implantedest thy highest

(01:46):
aim into the heart of those passions. Then became they
thy virtues and joys. And though thou wert of the race,
of the hot tempered, or of the voluptuous, or of
the fanatical or the vindictive, all thy passions, in the
end became virtues, and all thy devils angels. Once hadst

(02:08):
thou wild dogs in thy cellar, but they changed at
last into birds and charming songstresses. Out of thy poisons.
Broodst thou balsam for thyself thy cow affliction milkedst thou.
Now drinkest thou the sweet milk of her utter. And
nothing evil groweth in thee any longer, unless it be

(02:31):
the evil that groweth out of the conflict of thy virtues.
My brother, if thou be fortunate, then wilt thou have
one virtue and no more? Thus goest thou easier over
the bridge. Illustrious is it to have many virtues, but
a hard lot and many A one hath gone into

(02:51):
the wilderness and killed himself because he was wary of
being the battle and battlefield of virtues, My brother, are
war and battle evil necessary? However is the evil necessary?
Are the envy and the distrust and the backbiting among
the virtues? Lo, how each of thy virtues is covetous

(03:15):
of the highest place. It wanteth thy whole spirit to
be its herald. It wanteth thy whole power. In wrath, hatred,
and love. Jealous is every virtue of the others. And
a dreadful thing is jealousy. Even virtues may succumb by jealousy.
He whom the flame of jealousy encompasseth turneth at last

(03:39):
like the scorpion, the poisoned sting against himself. Ah, my brother,
hast thou never seen a virtue backbite and stab itself?
Man is something that hath to be surpassed. And therefore
shalt thou love thy virtues, for thou wilt succumb by them.

(03:59):
Thus Zarathustra,