For a sword
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire.
thirsteth to drink blood, and sparkleth with
desire.
Nietzsche - v11 - Thus Spake Zarathustra
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!
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
## p. 301 (#449) ############################################
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. 302 (#450) ############################################
302 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
who meditateth upon hard matters, he trod thereby
unawares upon a man. And lo, there spurted into
his face all at once a cry of pain, and two curses
and twenty bad invectives, so that in his fright he
raised his stick and also struck the trodden one.
Immediately afterwards, however, he regained his
composure, and his heart laughed at the folly he
had just committed.
"Pardon me," said he to the trodden one, who
had got up enraged, and had seated himself,
"pardon me, and hear first of all a parable.
As a wanderer who dreameth of remote things
on a lonesome highway, runneth unawares against
a sleeping dog, a dog which lieth in the sun:
—As both of them then start up and snap at
each other, like deadly enemies, those two beings
mortally frightened—so did it happen unto us.
And yet! And yet—how little was lacking for
them to caress each other, that dog and that lone-
some one! Are they not both—lonesome ones! "
—" Whoever thou art," said the trodden one,
still enraged, " thou treadest also too nigh me with
thy parable, and not only with thy foot!
Lo! am I then a dog ? "—And thereupon the
sitting one got up, and pulled his naked arm out
of the swamp. For at first he had lain outstretched
on the ground, hidden and indiscernible, like those
who lie in wait for swamp-game.
"But whatever art thou about! " called out
Zarathustra in alarm, for he saw a deal of blood
streaming over the naked arm,—" what hath hurt
thee? Hath an evil beast bit thee, thou unfortunate
one? "
## p. 303 (#451) ############################################
LXIV. —THE LEECH. 303
The bleeding one laughed, still angry. "What
matter is it to thee! " said he, and was about to go
on. "Here am I at home and in my province.
Let him question me whoever will: to a dolt, how-
ever, I shall hardly answer. "
"Thou art mistaken," said Zarathustra sym-
pathetically, and held him fast; "thou art mistaken.
Here thou art not at home, but in my domain, and
therein shall no one receive any hurt.
Call me however what thou wilt—I am who I
must be. I call myself Zarathustra.
Well! Up thither is the way to Zarathustra's
cave: it is not far,—wilt thou not attend to thy
wounds at my home?
It hath gone badly with thee, thou unfortunate
one, in this life: first a beast bit thee, and then—a
man trod upon thee! "
When however the trodden one had heard the
name of Zarathustra he was transformed. "What
happeneth unto me! " he exclaimed, "who pre-
occupieth me so much in this life as this one man,
namely Zarathustra, and that one animal that liveth
on blood, the leech?
For the sake of the leech did I lie here by this
swamp, like a fisher, and already had mine out-
stretched arm been bitten ten times, when there
biteth a still finer leech at my blood, Zarathustra
himself!
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!
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
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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
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302 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, IV.
who meditateth upon hard matters, he trod thereby
unawares upon a man. And lo, there spurted into
his face all at once a cry of pain, and two curses
and twenty bad invectives, so that in his fright he
raised his stick and also struck the trodden one.
Immediately afterwards, however, he regained his
composure, and his heart laughed at the folly he
had just committed.
"Pardon me," said he to the trodden one, who
had got up enraged, and had seated himself,
"pardon me, and hear first of all a parable.
As a wanderer who dreameth of remote things
on a lonesome highway, runneth unawares against
a sleeping dog, a dog which lieth in the sun:
—As both of them then start up and snap at
each other, like deadly enemies, those two beings
mortally frightened—so did it happen unto us.
And yet! And yet—how little was lacking for
them to caress each other, that dog and that lone-
some one! Are they not both—lonesome ones! "
—" Whoever thou art," said the trodden one,
still enraged, " thou treadest also too nigh me with
thy parable, and not only with thy foot!
Lo! am I then a dog ? "—And thereupon the
sitting one got up, and pulled his naked arm out
of the swamp. For at first he had lain outstretched
on the ground, hidden and indiscernible, like those
who lie in wait for swamp-game.
"But whatever art thou about! " called out
Zarathustra in alarm, for he saw a deal of blood
streaming over the naked arm,—" what hath hurt
thee? Hath an evil beast bit thee, thou unfortunate
one? "
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LXIV. —THE LEECH. 303
The bleeding one laughed, still angry. "What
matter is it to thee! " said he, and was about to go
on. "Here am I at home and in my province.
Let him question me whoever will: to a dolt, how-
ever, I shall hardly answer. "
"Thou art mistaken," said Zarathustra sym-
pathetically, and held him fast; "thou art mistaken.
Here thou art not at home, but in my domain, and
therein shall no one receive any hurt.
Call me however what thou wilt—I am who I
must be. I call myself Zarathustra.
Well! Up thither is the way to Zarathustra's
cave: it is not far,—wilt thou not attend to thy
wounds at my home?
It hath gone badly with thee, thou unfortunate
one, in this life: first a beast bit thee, and then—a
man trod upon thee! "
When however the trodden one had heard the
name of Zarathustra he was transformed. "What
happeneth unto me! " he exclaimed, "who pre-
occupieth me so much in this life as this one man,
namely Zarathustra, and that one animal that liveth
on blood, the leech?
For the sake of the leech did I lie here by this
swamp, like a fisher, and already had mine out-
stretched arm been bitten ten times, when there
biteth a still finer leech at my blood, Zarathustra
himself!
