“So said Zarathustra” - one of the most influential and unusual works of Friedrich Nietzsche. It is impossible to retell or summarize, but it itself is filled with paradoxes. The name "Zarathustra" was taken by a philosopher from eastern legends. So, Nietzsche wanted to emphasize the peculiarity of the philosophizing of his hero from traditional European norms and values.
The main character of the book
Before considering quotes from Zarathustra, a little attention should be paid to the plot of the book and its main character. When Zarathustra reached 30 years old, he decided to leave his homeland and go to the mountains. There, he enjoyed life alone for ten years. But at a certain moment he was fed up with wisdom, and decided to go down to the people. On the way, the hero meets the old man. He persuades him to stay in the forest, but Zarathustra decides to go to the people, because he loves them.
About the need to restrain your heart
Communication of Zarathustra with people is a series of pictures drawn by the philosopher from everyday life and told by the protagonist of parables. For example, here is one of the quotes of Zarathustra, which he teaches the people:
One must restrain one's heart; one has only to dissolve it, and how quickly everyone loses his head. (F. Nietzsche)
If you do not restrain internal impulses, it is easy to succumb to fleeting feelings, emotions. In many ways, the ability to volitional regulation distinguishes a person from an animal. The philosopher through the mouth of Zarathustra warns of the need for self-control. After all, one has only to give free rein to the feelings, how they will seize power over the mind - then such consequences are possible that you can only regret.
About the late youth of the soul
Quotes from Zarathustra shed light on many features of human life. For example, through the mouth of his hero, a philosopher speaks of people who become spiritually young by adulthood like this:
There are, of course, sour apples, the fate of which is to wait until the last day of autumn; and at the same time they become ripe, yellow and shriveled. In some, the heart is aging at first, in others - the mind. Others are old in their youth; but he who is late is young, he is long. (F. Nietzsche)
Using a metaphor, Nietzsche writes about those people who know how to enjoy life from a young age, as well as those who comprehend this art to a later age. The philosopher compares the latter with late-ripening apples, which, however, become ripe and tasty by their time. The person who gains the joy of life at a conscious age is able to maintain it longer. This is the quote of Zarathustra.
About freedom
The following words refer to such an aspect as human freedom:
Free from what? What matters to this Zarathustra! But your clear eye should tell me: free for what? (F. Nietzsche)
There are many addictions that many people would like to get rid of. These are not only traditional disorders: alcoholism, drug addiction or smoking. Often people depend on their previous lifestyle, on other people (for example, financially). Nietzsche, through the mouth of Zarathustra, does not ask the reader what he could depend on. His question is different: what exactly does he need freedom for? What would he like to devote to it?
On the attitude of people to the idol
The following quote from the book “So said Zarathustra” shows what is the attitude of the crowd to their idol:
And that among people you will always be wild and alien - wild and alien, even when they love you: for first of all they want to spare them! (F. Nietzsche)
No matter how people love their idol, as a person, he will always remain a stranger to him. This is due to the egoism of everyone who is part of this crowd. After all, the main thing that a member of the crowd wants deep down is safety. And therefore, people's preferences always change depending on the situation. That is why Zarathustra warns his listeners that a person always remains an alien crowd.
About the favor
And this quote from Nietzsche’s Zarathustra sheds light on what favors and good deeds actually are:
Great favors give rise not to the grateful, but to the vengeful ... (F. Nietzsche)
Some people believe that having done a great favor to another person, they thereby do a good deed. But depending on the context of the situation, the reaction of the “gifted” can be completely different. After all, when a person feels obligated, this does not add to his joy at all. And therefore, he unconsciously begins to look for ways to revenge for the fact that he has to bear this burden on his shoulders. Especially in those cases when he has nothing to thank in return for his benefactor.
Nietzsche, “So said Zarathustra”: a quote about the desire to have children
Nietzsche, through the mouth of his hero, exposed people and their motives in various spheres of life. The following words of Zarathustra are interesting:
“I want heirs,” says everything that suffers, “I want children, I don't want myself.” - Joy does not want either heirs or children, - joy wants itself, wants eternity, wants to return, wants everything to be eternal. (F. Nietzsche)
On the one hand, people can have children because of the desire to give a new life, and there are no negative elements in their motivation. But it often happens that a man - especially a woman - seeks to fill the inner void, the inability to enjoy life. It is precisely this approach that is condemned in these words of Zarathustra.