" said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening!
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening!
Nietzsche - v11 - Thus Spake Zarathustra
" answered the soothsayer from an
overflowing heart, and raised both his hands aloft—
"O Zarathustra, I have come that I may seduce
thee to thy last sin ! "—
And hardly had those words been uttered when
there sounded the cry once more, and longer and
more alarming than before—also much nearer.
"Hearest thou? Hearest thou, O Zarathustra? "
called out the soothsayer, " the cry concerneth thee,
it calleth thee: Come, come, come; it is time, it
is the highest time! "—
Zarathustra was silent thereupon, confused and
staggered; at last he asked, like one who hesitateth
in himself: "And who is it that there calleth me? "
## p. 294 (#428) ############################################
294
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
“But thou knowest it, certainly,” answered the
soothsayer warmly," why dost thou conceal thyself?
It is the higher man that crieth for thee! ”
“The higher man? ” cried Zarathustra, horror-
stricken : “what wanteth he? What wanteth he?
The higher man! What wanteth he here? ”—and
his skin covered with perspiration.
The soothsayer, however, did not heed Zara-
thustra's alarm, but listened and listened in the
downward direction. When, however, it had been
still there for a long while, he looked bebind, and
saw Zarathustra standing trembling.
"O Zarathustra,” he began, with sorrowful voice,
"thou dost not stand there like one whose happiness
maketh him giddy : thou wilt have to dance lest
thou tumble down!
But although thou shouldst dance before me, and
leap all thy side-leaps, no one may say unto me :
'Behold, here danceth the last joyous man! '.
In vain would any one come to this height who
sought him here : caves would he find, indeed, and
back-caves, hiding-places for hidden ones; but not
lucky mines, nor treasure-chambers, nor new gold-
veins of happiness.
Happiness-how indeed could one find happiness
among such buried-alive and solitary ones! Must I
yet seek the last happiness on the Happy Isles, and
far away among forgotten seas?
But all is alike, nothing is worth while, no seek-
ing is of service, there are no longer any Happy
Isles ! "- -
Thus sighed the soothsayer ; with his last sigh,
## p. 295 (#429) ############################################
LXII. —THE CRY OF DISTRESS. 295
Lowever, Zarathustra again became serene and
issured, like one who hath come out of a deep chasm
nto the light. "Nay! Nay! Three times Nay! "
exclaimed he with a strong voice, and stroked his
beard—" that do I know better! There are still
Happy Isles! Silence thereon, thou sighing sorrow-
sack!
Cease to splash thereon, thou rain-cloud of the
forenoon! Do I not already stand here wet with
thy misery, and drenched like a dog?
Now do I shake myself and run away from thee,
that I may again become dry: thereat mayest thou
not wonder! Do I seem to thee discourteous?
Here however is my court.
But as regards the higher man : well! I shall seek
him at once in those forests: from thence came his
cry. Perhaps he is there hard beset by an evil beast.
He is in my domain: therein shall he receive no
scath! And verily, there are many evil beasts
about me. "—
With those words Zarathustra turned around to
depart. Then said the soothsayer: "O Zara-
thustra, thou art a rogue!
I know it well: thou wouldst fain be rid of me!
Rather wouldst thou run into the forest and lay
snares for evil beasts!
But what good will it do thee? In the evening
wilt thou have me again: in thine own cave will I
sit, patient and heavy like a block—and wait for
thee! "
"So be it! " shouted back Zarathustra, as he went
away: "and what is mine in my cave belongeth
also unto thee, my guest |
## p. 296 (#430) ############################################
296
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
Shouldst thou however find honey therein, well !
just lick it up, thou growling bear, and sweeten thy
soul! For in the evening we want both to be in
good spirits;
-In good spirits and joyful, because this day
hath come to an end! And thou thyself shalt
dance to my lays, as my dancing-bear.
Thou dost not believe this? Thou shakest thy
head? Well! Cheer up, old bear! But I also,
am a soothsayer. ”
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIII. -TALK WITH THE KINGS.
Ere Zarathustra had been an hour on his way in
the mountains and forests, he saw all at once a
strange procession. Right on the path which he
was about to descend came two kings walking,
bedecked with crowns and purple girdles, and
variegated like flamingoes : they drove before them
a laden ass. “What do these kings want in my
domain ? ” said Zarathustra in astonishment to
his heart, and hid himself hastily behind a
thicket. When however the kings approached
to him, he said half-aloud, like one speaking
only to himself: “Strange! Strange! How doth
this harmonise? Two kings do I see—and only
one ass! "
Thereupon the two kings made a halt; they
smiled and looked towards the spot whence the
## p. 297 (#431) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 297
voice proceeded, and afterwards looked into each
other's faces. "Such things do we also think
among ourselves," said the king on the right, " but
we do not utter them. "
The king on the left, however, shrugged his
shoulders and answered: "That may perhaps be a
goat herd. Or an anchorite who hath lived too
long among rocks and trees. For no society at all
spoileth also good manners. "
"Good manners? " replied angrily and bitterly
the other king: "what then do we run out of the
way of? Is it not 'good manners'? Our 'good
society'?
Better, verily, to live among anchorites and goat-
herds, than with our gilded, false, over-rouged
populace—though it call itself' good society. '
—Though it call itself' nobility. ' But there all is
false and foul, above all the blood—thanks to old
evil diseases and worse curers.
The best and dearest to me at present is still a
sound peasant, coarse, artful, obstinate and en-
during: that is at present the noblest type.
The peasant is at present the best; and the
peasant type should be master! But it is the
kingdom of the populace—I no longer allow any-
thing to be imposed upon me. The populace,
however—that meaneth, hodgepodge.
Populace-hodgepodge: therein is everything
mixed with everything, saint and swindler, gentle-
man and Jew, and every beast out of Noah's ark.
Good manners! Everything is false and foul with
us. No one knoweth any longer how to reverence:
it is that precisely that we run away from. They
## p. 298 (#432) ############################################
298
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
are fulsome obtrusive dogs; they gild palm-
leaves.
This loathing choketh me, that we kings our-
selves have become false, draped and disguised with
the old faded pomp of our ancestors, show-pieces
for the stupidest, the craftiest, and whosoever at
present trafficketh for power.
We are not the first men—and have nevertheless
to stand for them: of this imposture have we at
last become weary and disgusted.
From the rabble have we gone out of the way,
from all those bawlers and scribe-blowflies, from
the trader-stench, the ambition-fidgeting, the bad
breath : fie, to live among the rabble ;
-Fie, to stand for the first men among the
rabble! Ah, loathing! Loathing! Loathing !
What doth it now matter about us kings ! "-
" Thine old sickness seizeth thee,” said here the
king on the left,“thy loathing seizeth thee, my poor
brother. Thou knowest, however, that some one
heareth us. ”
Immediately thereupon, Zarathustra, who had
opened ears and eyes to this talk, rose from his
hiding-place, advanced towards the kings, and
thus began :
“He who hearkeneth unto you, he who gladly
hearkeneth unto you, is called Zarathustra.
I am Zarathustra who once said: "What doth it
now matter about kings ! ' Forgive me; I rejoiced
when ye said to each other : 'What doth it matter
about us kings !
Here, however, is my domain and jurisdiction :
what may ye be seeking in my domain ? Perhaps,
## p. 299 (#433) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 299
however, ye have found on your way what / seek:
namely, the higher man. "
When the kings heard this, they beat upon their
breasts and said with one voice: "We are
recognised!
With the sword of thine utterance severest thou
the thickest darkness of our hearts. Thou hast
discovered our distress; for lo! we are on our way
to find the higher man—
—The man that is higher than we, although we
are kings. To him do we convey this ass. For
the highest man shall also be the highest lord on
earth.
There is no sorer misfortune in all human destiny,
than when the mighty of the earth are not also
the first men. Then everything becometh false
and distorted and monstrous.
And when they are even the last men, and more
beast than man, then riseth and riseth the populace
in honour, and at last saith even the populace-
virtue: 'Lo, I alone am virtue! '"—
What have I just heard? answered Zarathustra.
What wisdom in kings! I am enchanted, and
verily, I have already promptings to make a rhyme
thereon :—
—Even if it should happen to be a rhyme not
suited for every one's ears. I unlearned long ago
to have consideration for long ears. Well then!
Well now!
(Here, however, it happened that the ass also
found utterance: it said distinctly and with male-
volence, Ye-a. )
s
## p. 300 (#434) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said .
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
## p. 301 (#435) ############################################
LXIII. -TALK WITH THE KINGS.
301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords !
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. ”—-
-When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. “Well! ” said he, “thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them-is it not called to-day: Ability to wait ? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#436) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored:—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
f \
## p. 301 (#437) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well!
" said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#438) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
f \
## p. 301 (#439) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#440) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
1
## p. 301 (#441) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#442) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored:—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
1
## p. 301 (#443) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#444) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
1
## p. 301 (#445) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#446) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
\
## p. 301 (#447) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#448) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
overflowing heart, and raised both his hands aloft—
"O Zarathustra, I have come that I may seduce
thee to thy last sin ! "—
And hardly had those words been uttered when
there sounded the cry once more, and longer and
more alarming than before—also much nearer.
"Hearest thou? Hearest thou, O Zarathustra? "
called out the soothsayer, " the cry concerneth thee,
it calleth thee: Come, come, come; it is time, it
is the highest time! "—
Zarathustra was silent thereupon, confused and
staggered; at last he asked, like one who hesitateth
in himself: "And who is it that there calleth me? "
## p. 294 (#428) ############################################
294
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
“But thou knowest it, certainly,” answered the
soothsayer warmly," why dost thou conceal thyself?
It is the higher man that crieth for thee! ”
“The higher man? ” cried Zarathustra, horror-
stricken : “what wanteth he? What wanteth he?
The higher man! What wanteth he here? ”—and
his skin covered with perspiration.
The soothsayer, however, did not heed Zara-
thustra's alarm, but listened and listened in the
downward direction. When, however, it had been
still there for a long while, he looked bebind, and
saw Zarathustra standing trembling.
"O Zarathustra,” he began, with sorrowful voice,
"thou dost not stand there like one whose happiness
maketh him giddy : thou wilt have to dance lest
thou tumble down!
But although thou shouldst dance before me, and
leap all thy side-leaps, no one may say unto me :
'Behold, here danceth the last joyous man! '.
In vain would any one come to this height who
sought him here : caves would he find, indeed, and
back-caves, hiding-places for hidden ones; but not
lucky mines, nor treasure-chambers, nor new gold-
veins of happiness.
Happiness-how indeed could one find happiness
among such buried-alive and solitary ones! Must I
yet seek the last happiness on the Happy Isles, and
far away among forgotten seas?
But all is alike, nothing is worth while, no seek-
ing is of service, there are no longer any Happy
Isles ! "- -
Thus sighed the soothsayer ; with his last sigh,
## p. 295 (#429) ############################################
LXII. —THE CRY OF DISTRESS. 295
Lowever, Zarathustra again became serene and
issured, like one who hath come out of a deep chasm
nto the light. "Nay! Nay! Three times Nay! "
exclaimed he with a strong voice, and stroked his
beard—" that do I know better! There are still
Happy Isles! Silence thereon, thou sighing sorrow-
sack!
Cease to splash thereon, thou rain-cloud of the
forenoon! Do I not already stand here wet with
thy misery, and drenched like a dog?
Now do I shake myself and run away from thee,
that I may again become dry: thereat mayest thou
not wonder! Do I seem to thee discourteous?
Here however is my court.
But as regards the higher man : well! I shall seek
him at once in those forests: from thence came his
cry. Perhaps he is there hard beset by an evil beast.
He is in my domain: therein shall he receive no
scath! And verily, there are many evil beasts
about me. "—
With those words Zarathustra turned around to
depart. Then said the soothsayer: "O Zara-
thustra, thou art a rogue!
I know it well: thou wouldst fain be rid of me!
Rather wouldst thou run into the forest and lay
snares for evil beasts!
But what good will it do thee? In the evening
wilt thou have me again: in thine own cave will I
sit, patient and heavy like a block—and wait for
thee! "
"So be it! " shouted back Zarathustra, as he went
away: "and what is mine in my cave belongeth
also unto thee, my guest |
## p. 296 (#430) ############################################
296
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
Shouldst thou however find honey therein, well !
just lick it up, thou growling bear, and sweeten thy
soul! For in the evening we want both to be in
good spirits;
-In good spirits and joyful, because this day
hath come to an end! And thou thyself shalt
dance to my lays, as my dancing-bear.
Thou dost not believe this? Thou shakest thy
head? Well! Cheer up, old bear! But I also,
am a soothsayer. ”
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIII. -TALK WITH THE KINGS.
Ere Zarathustra had been an hour on his way in
the mountains and forests, he saw all at once a
strange procession. Right on the path which he
was about to descend came two kings walking,
bedecked with crowns and purple girdles, and
variegated like flamingoes : they drove before them
a laden ass. “What do these kings want in my
domain ? ” said Zarathustra in astonishment to
his heart, and hid himself hastily behind a
thicket. When however the kings approached
to him, he said half-aloud, like one speaking
only to himself: “Strange! Strange! How doth
this harmonise? Two kings do I see—and only
one ass! "
Thereupon the two kings made a halt; they
smiled and looked towards the spot whence the
## p. 297 (#431) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 297
voice proceeded, and afterwards looked into each
other's faces. "Such things do we also think
among ourselves," said the king on the right, " but
we do not utter them. "
The king on the left, however, shrugged his
shoulders and answered: "That may perhaps be a
goat herd. Or an anchorite who hath lived too
long among rocks and trees. For no society at all
spoileth also good manners. "
"Good manners? " replied angrily and bitterly
the other king: "what then do we run out of the
way of? Is it not 'good manners'? Our 'good
society'?
Better, verily, to live among anchorites and goat-
herds, than with our gilded, false, over-rouged
populace—though it call itself' good society. '
—Though it call itself' nobility. ' But there all is
false and foul, above all the blood—thanks to old
evil diseases and worse curers.
The best and dearest to me at present is still a
sound peasant, coarse, artful, obstinate and en-
during: that is at present the noblest type.
The peasant is at present the best; and the
peasant type should be master! But it is the
kingdom of the populace—I no longer allow any-
thing to be imposed upon me. The populace,
however—that meaneth, hodgepodge.
Populace-hodgepodge: therein is everything
mixed with everything, saint and swindler, gentle-
man and Jew, and every beast out of Noah's ark.
Good manners! Everything is false and foul with
us. No one knoweth any longer how to reverence:
it is that precisely that we run away from. They
## p. 298 (#432) ############################################
298
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
are fulsome obtrusive dogs; they gild palm-
leaves.
This loathing choketh me, that we kings our-
selves have become false, draped and disguised with
the old faded pomp of our ancestors, show-pieces
for the stupidest, the craftiest, and whosoever at
present trafficketh for power.
We are not the first men—and have nevertheless
to stand for them: of this imposture have we at
last become weary and disgusted.
From the rabble have we gone out of the way,
from all those bawlers and scribe-blowflies, from
the trader-stench, the ambition-fidgeting, the bad
breath : fie, to live among the rabble ;
-Fie, to stand for the first men among the
rabble! Ah, loathing! Loathing! Loathing !
What doth it now matter about us kings ! "-
" Thine old sickness seizeth thee,” said here the
king on the left,“thy loathing seizeth thee, my poor
brother. Thou knowest, however, that some one
heareth us. ”
Immediately thereupon, Zarathustra, who had
opened ears and eyes to this talk, rose from his
hiding-place, advanced towards the kings, and
thus began :
“He who hearkeneth unto you, he who gladly
hearkeneth unto you, is called Zarathustra.
I am Zarathustra who once said: "What doth it
now matter about kings ! ' Forgive me; I rejoiced
when ye said to each other : 'What doth it matter
about us kings !
Here, however, is my domain and jurisdiction :
what may ye be seeking in my domain ? Perhaps,
## p. 299 (#433) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 299
however, ye have found on your way what / seek:
namely, the higher man. "
When the kings heard this, they beat upon their
breasts and said with one voice: "We are
recognised!
With the sword of thine utterance severest thou
the thickest darkness of our hearts. Thou hast
discovered our distress; for lo! we are on our way
to find the higher man—
—The man that is higher than we, although we
are kings. To him do we convey this ass. For
the highest man shall also be the highest lord on
earth.
There is no sorer misfortune in all human destiny,
than when the mighty of the earth are not also
the first men. Then everything becometh false
and distorted and monstrous.
And when they are even the last men, and more
beast than man, then riseth and riseth the populace
in honour, and at last saith even the populace-
virtue: 'Lo, I alone am virtue! '"—
What have I just heard? answered Zarathustra.
What wisdom in kings! I am enchanted, and
verily, I have already promptings to make a rhyme
thereon :—
—Even if it should happen to be a rhyme not
suited for every one's ears. I unlearned long ago
to have consideration for long ears. Well then!
Well now!
(Here, however, it happened that the ass also
found utterance: it said distinctly and with male-
volence, Ye-a. )
s
## p. 300 (#434) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said .
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
## p. 301 (#435) ############################################
LXIII. -TALK WITH THE KINGS.
301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords !
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. ”—-
-When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. “Well! ” said he, “thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them-is it not called to-day: Ability to wait ? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#436) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored:—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
f \
## p. 301 (#437) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well!
" said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#438) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
f \
## p. 301 (#439) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#440) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
1
## p. 301 (#441) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#442) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored:—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
1
## p. 301 (#443) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#444) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
2.
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
1
## p. 301 (#445) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#446) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
Decline! Decline! Ne'er sank the world so low!
Rome now hath turned harlot and harlot-stew,
Rome's Caesar a beast, and God—hath turned Jew! "
With those rhymes of Zarathustra the kings were
delighted; the king on the right, however, said:
"O Zarathustra, how well it was that we set out
to see thee!
For thine enemies showed us thy likeness in
their mirror: there lookedst thou with the grimace
of a devil, and sneeringly: so that we were afraid
of thee.
But what good did it do! Always didst thou
prick us anew in heart and ear with thy sayings.
Then did we say at last: What doth it matter how
he look!
We must hear him; him who teacheth: 'Ye
shall love peace as a means to new wars, and the
short peace more than the long! '
No one ever spake such warlike words: 'What
is good? To be brave is good. It is the good
war that halloweth every cause. '
O Zarathustra, our fathers' blood stirred in our
veins at such words: it was like the voice of spring
to old wine-casks.
When the swords ran among one another like
red-spotted serpents, then did our fathers become
fond of life; the sun of every peace seemed to
r
\
## p. 301 (#447) ############################################
LXIII. —TALK WITH THE KINGS. 301
them languid and lukewarm, the long peace, how-
ever, made them ashamed.
How they sighed, our fathers, when they saw
on the wall brightly furbished, dried-up swords!
Like those they thirsted for war. For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire. "
—When the kings thus discoursed and talked
eagerly of the happiness of their fathers, there
came upon Zarathustra no little desire to mock at
their eagerness: for evidently they were very
peaceable kings whom he saw before him, kings
with old and refined features. But he restrained
himself. "Well! " said he, "thither leadeth the
way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra; and this
day is to have a long evening! At present, how-
ever, a cry of distress calleth me hastily away from
you.
It will honour my cave if kings want to sit and
wait in it: but, to be sure, you will have to wait
long!
Well! What of that! Where doth one at
present learn better to wait than at courts? And
the whole virtue of kings that hath remained unto
them—is it not called to-day: Ability to wait? "
Thus spake Zarathustra.
LXIV. —THE LEECH.
And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further
and lower down, through forests and past moory
bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one
## p. 301 (#448) ############################################
300 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
'Twas once—methinks year one of our blessed
Lord,—
Drunk without wine, the Sybil thus deplored :—
"How ill things go!
