A prophet comes down from his mountain after ten years of solitude, eager to share what he has learned. Thus Spake Zarathustra is Friedrich Nietzsche's most poetic and most puzzling book, written in the form of sermons, songs and parables. Its hero speaks of the death of God, of the Superman, of the will to power and of the eternal return, in a language that borrows deliberately from the Bible and turns it on its head. It has inspired composers, artists and philosophers, and has often been misread. This recording uses the English translation by Thomas Common and is shared among ten LibriVox volunteers, who read its eighty-one sections in about twelve and three-quarter hours.
Introduction
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher who trained as a classical scholar before turning to the criticism of religion, morality and culture. He wrote in a distinctive style, often using aphorisms, and his influence on twentieth-century thought, from existentialism to literature, has been immense. Thus Spake Zarathustra was written in the 1880s and published in parts, and he himself regarded it as his most important work.
The book is neither a treatise nor a novel. It follows the figure of Zarathustra, a character named after the ancient Persian prophet, as he preaches to the people, retreats to solitude and speaks in poems and riddles. Many of Nietzsche's best-known ideas appear here in imaginative form. Because of its poetic character the book has been interpreted in many contrasting ways, and it was later distorted by political movements that Nietzsche would very likely have despised. Readers should be ready for symbolism and shifts of mood.
This recording is based on the English translation by Thomas Common, first published in 1909. It has eighty-one sections, including the prologue, and lasts about twelve and three-quarter hours. It is read by a team of LibriVox volunteers, among them Chris Masterson, Seth Woodworth and Connor Riley. Hearing the book spoken helps bring out its rhythm and its resemblance to scripture, and it is a rewarding, if challenging, way to approach one of the most famous works of modern philosophy.
Public domain
Friedrich Nietzsche died in 1900: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
