ON THE GIFT-GIVING VIRTUE

1

When Zarathustra had taken leave of the town to which his heart was attached and which was called “The Motley Cow,” many who called themselves his disciples followed him and escorted him. Thus they came to a crossroad: there Zarathustra told them that now he wanted to walk alone: for he liked to walk alone. But his disciples handed him in farewell a staff, with a golden handle on which a serpent twined round the sun. Zarathustra was delighted with the staff and leaned upon it; then he spoke thus to his disciples:

Tell me: how did gold come to have the highest value? Because it is uncommon and useless and shining and soft in luster; it always gives itself.

Only as an image of the highest virtue did gold come to have the highest value. Goldlike beams the eye of the giver. Golden luster makes peace between moon and sun.

The highest virtue is uncommon and useless, it is shining and soft in luster: a gift-giving virtue is the highest virtue.

Truly, I divine you well, my disciples, you strive like me for the gift-giving virtue. What could you have in common with cats and wolves?

You thirst to become sacrifices and gifts yourselves: and therefore you thirst to heap up all riches in your soul.

Your should strives insatiably for treasures and jewels, because your virtue is insatiable in wanting to give.

You compel all things to come to you and into you, that they may flow back again from your fountain as the gifts of your love.

Truly, such a gift-giving love must approach all values as a robber ; but I call this selfishness healthy and holy.-There is another selfishness, an all-too-poor and hungry kind that always wants to steal-the selfishness of the sick, the sick selfishness.

It looks with the eye of the thief upon all that is lustrous; with the greed of hunger it measures him who has plenty to eat; and it is always skulking around the tables of those who give.

Sickness speaks from such craving, and invisible degeneration; the thieving greed of this longing speaks of a sick body.

Tell me, my brothers: what do we consider bad and worst of all? Is it not degeneration?—And we always suspect degeneration where the gift-giving soul is lacking.

Our way goes upward from genus to super-genus. But the degenerate sense that says “Everything for me” is a horror to us.

Upward flies our sense: thus is it a parable of our body, a parable of elevation. Such parables of elevations are the names of the virtues.

Thus the body goes through history, becoming and fighting. And the spirit—what is it to the body? The herald, companion and echo of its battles and its victories.

All names of good and evil are parables;13 they do not speak out, they only hint. He who seeks knowledge of them is a fool.

Watch for every hour, my brothers, in which your spirit14 wants to speak in parables: there is the origin of your virtue.

Then your body is elevated and risen up; it enraptures the spirit with delight, so that it becomes creator and valuer and lover and benefactor of all things.

When your heart surges broad and full like a river, a blessing and a danger to those living near: there is the origin of your virtue.

When you are exalted above praise and blame, and your will wants to command all things as the will of a lover: there is the origin of your virtue.

When you despise the soft bed and what is pleasant and cannot bed yourself far enough from the soft: there is the origin of your virtue.

When you will with one will, and you call this cessation of all need necessity: there is the origin of your virtue.

Truly, she is a new good and evil! Truly, a new deep murmur and the voice of a new well!

She is power, this new virtue; she is a ruling thought, and around her a subtle soul: a golden sun, and around it the serpent of knowledge.

2

Here Zarathustra fell silent for a while and regarded his disciples lovingly. Then he continued to speak thus-and his voice had changed:

Stay true to the earth, my brothers, with the power of your virtue! Let your gift-giving love and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth! Thus I beg and beseech you.

Do not let them fly away from earthly things and beat with their wings against eternal walls! Ah, there has always been so much virtue that has flown away!

Lead, like me, the flown virtue back to the earth—yes, back to body and life: that it may give the earth its meaning, a human meaning!

A hundred times so far has spirit as well as virtue flown away and blundered. Ah, all this delusion and blundering still dwells in our bodies: it has there become body and will.

A hundred times so far has spirit as well as virtue attempted and erred. Yes, man was an experiment. Ah, much ignorance and error has become body in us!

Not only the reason of millennia—also their madness breaks out in us. It is dangerous to be an heir.

We are still fighting step by step with the giant Chance, and over the whole of humanity there has ruled so far only nonsense, the senseless.

Let your spirit and your virtue serve the sense of the earth, my brothers: let the value of everything be determined again by you! For that shall you be fighters! For that shall you be creators!

The body purifies itself with knowledge; experimenting with knowledge it elevates itself; to the discerning all instincts become holy; in the elevated the soul becomes gay.

Physician, heal yourself: thus you will heal your patient too. Let his best cure be to see with his own eyes the man who heals himself

There are a thousand paths that have never yet been trodden, a thousand healths and hidden islands of life. Man and man’s earth are still unexhausted and undiscovered.

Awake and listen, you lonely ones! From the future come winds with stealthy wing-beats; and good tidings are proclaimed to delicate ears.

You lonely ones of today, you that are drawing away, you shall one day be a people: out of you who have chosen yourselves, shall a chosen people arise-and out of them the Übermensch.

Truly, the earth shall yet become a place of healing! And even now a new fragrance surrounds it, bringing salvation-and a new hope!

3

When Zarathustra had spoken these words he paused like one who had not said his last word; he weighed the staff doubtfully in his hand for a long while. At last he spoke thus:-and his voice had changed.

Now I go alone, my disciples! You too now go away and alone! So I will it.

Truly, I advise you: go away from me and guard yourselves against Zarathustra! And better still: be ashamed of him! Perhaps he has deceived you.

The man of knowledge must not only love his enemies, he must also be able to hate his friends.

One repays a teacher badly if one remains always only a student. And why do you not want to pluck at my wreath?

You revere me; but what if your reverence tumbles one day? Beware that a statue does not slay you!

You say you believe in Zarathustra? But what matters Zarathustra? You are my believers: but what matter all believers!

You had not yet sought yourselves: then you found me. Thus do all believers; therefore all belief comes to so little.15

Now I bid you lose me and find yourselves; and only when you have all denied me will I return to you.

Truly, with other eyes, my brothers, shall I then seek my lost ones; with another love shall I then love you.

And once again you shall have become friends to me and children of one hope: then I will be with you the third time, that I may celebrate the great noon with you.

And this is the great noon, when man stands in the middle of his road between animal and Übermensch and celebrates his way to the evening as his highest hope: for it is the way to a new morning.

Then he who goes under will bless himself, for being one who goes over and beyond; and the sun of his knowledge will stand at noon for him.

“Dead are all gods: now we want the Übermensch to live.”—at the great noon let this be our last will!—

Thus spoke Zarathustra.