Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Chapter
The Pitiful explained
Zarathustra warns his friends against pity, arguing that it causes more suffering than any other folly.
What happens
Zarathustra warns his friends against pity, arguing that it causes more suffering than any other folly. He critiques the merciful, advocates for distance in compassion, and declares that great love seeks to create what is loved rather than merely pity. He recounts the devil's saying that God died of pity for man, and urges self-overcoming and hardness in creators.
Themes in this chapter
Pity and Contempt
Central theme: Zarathustra condemns pity as a source of suffering and shame, advocating for hardness and distance in compassion.
Death of God and Revaluation of Values
The devil's statement that God died of pity for man reinterprets the death of God as a consequence of excessive pity.
Characters to notice
- Zarathustra
Delivers a discourse on the dangers of pity, recounting the devil's words and urging his friends to rise above pity.
- The Devil
Quoted by Zarathustra as saying 'Even God hath his hell: it is his love for man' and 'God is dead: of his pity for man hath God died.'
Key passages
“God is dead: of his pity for man hath God died.”
God's compassion for humanity was so overwhelming that it caused his own demise.
Zarathustra reports the devil's saying to illustrate the destructive power of pity.
“All great love is above all its pity: for it seeketh—to create what is loved!”
True love transcends pity because its aim is to actively bring forth and shape the beloved.
Zarathustra contrasts creative love with passive pity.
“If I must be pitiful, I dislike to be called so; and if I be so, it is preferably at a distance.”
When I do feel pity, I prefer to act on it without acknowledgment and from afar.
Zarathustra advocates for a reserved, almost ashamed approach to pity.