Among all the greatest philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche is always my favourite, especially through his masterpiece Thus Spoke Zarathustra - A book for everyone and no one. A strong spirit inside his notes, a spirit of living positively, passionately, and also dangerously.
Man is a rope, fastened between animal and Superman - a rope over an abyss.
What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal.
I tell you: one must have chaos in oneself, to give birth to a dancing star.
And should your friend do you a wrong, then say:" I forgive you what you did to me, but that you did it to yourself - how could I forgive that?"
There has never yet been a Superman. I have seen them both naked, the greatest and the smallest man. They are still all-too-similar to one another. Truly, I found even the greatest man --- all-too-human.
You should aspire to the virtue of the pillar: the higher it rises, the fairer and more graceful it grows, but inwardly harder and able to bear more weight.
The highest must arise to its height from the deepest.
Love is the danger for the most solitary man, love of any thing if only it is alive.
Zarathustra, however, was a friend to all who takes long journeys and do not want to live without danger.
[Eternal recurrence] This long lane behind us: it goes on for an eternity. And that long lane ahead of us --- that is another eternity. "Everything straight lies," murmured the dwarf disdainfully, "all truth is cooked, time itself is a circle." Must not all things that can run have already run along this lane? Must not all things that can happen have already happened, been done, run past? ... For all things that can run must also run once again forward along this long lane. And this slow spider that creeps along in the moonlight, and this moonlight itself, and I and you at this gateway whispering together, whispering of eternal things --- must we not all have been here before? --- and must we not return and run down that other lane out before us, down that long, terrible lane --- must we not return eternally?
[Before Sunrise]...we do not speak to one another, because we know too much: we are silent together, we smile our knowledge to one another.
I am Zarathustra the Godless: I cook every chance in my pot. And only when it is quite cooked do I welcome it as my food.
He who wants to understand all things among men has to touch all things.
And we --- we bear loyally what we are told:" Yes, life is hard to bear!" But only man is hard to bear! This is because he bears too many foreign things upon his shoulders. Like the camel, he kneels down and let himself be well laden.
I came to my truth by diverse paths and in diverse ways: it was not upon a single ladder that I climbed to the height where my eyes survey my distances.
Zara Club ('Zara' = Zarathustra) - started in spring 2019, exchanging ideas from reading Nietzsche's books and other related topics such as Greek myths, music and ancient paintings.
Some notes from the Club:
1) [On the power of language] Socrates' opinion: all the existence can be explained by language; if not, it means that your language skills still need to be improved. Then how powerful is language?
2) from Friedrich Nietzsche Zarathustra, Part 1, "Of Reading and Writing"
"Of all writings I love only that which is written with blood. Write with blood: and you will discover that blood is spirit."
"It is true: we love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving."