Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Chapter
XXXV: The Sublime Ones explained
Zarathustra critiques the 'sublime one'—a solemn, heroic penitent of the spirit who has conquered monsters and solved enigmas but lacks beauty, laughter, and grace.
What happens
Zarathustra critiques the 'sublime one'—a solemn, heroic penitent of the spirit who has conquered monsters and solved enigmas but lacks beauty, laughter, and grace. He argues that true sublimity must transform into beauty, that the hero must unlearn his will and let his power become gracious. Only when the sublime one turns away from himself and overcomes his own deeds can he become an exalted, beautiful being, and ultimately give rise to the superhero.
Themes in this chapter
The Body and the Earth
Zarathustra insists that the sublime one's happiness should 'smell of the earth' and that he should laud all that is earthly, rejecting contempt for the earth.
The Übermensch and Self-Overcoming
The chapter outlines the progression from hero to exalted one to superhero, emphasizing self-overcoming as the path to beauty and grace.
Characters to notice
- Zarathustra
Speaker and observer; reflects on the sublime one's flaws and envisions a path to beauty and the superhero.
- The Superman
Referenced as the 'superhero' that approaches the soul when the hero has abandoned it.
Key passages
“Calm is the bottom of my sea: who would guess that it hideth droll monsters! Unmoved is my depth: but it sparkleth with swimming enigmas and laughters.”
My inner depths are serene yet full of playful mysteries and laughter.
Zarathustra contrasts his own joyful depth with the solemnity of the sublime one.
“Not yet had he learned laughing and beauty.”
He has not yet mastered the art of laughter or the appreciation of beauty.
Central critique of the sublime one's deficiency.
“When power becometh gracious and descendeth into the visible—I call such condescension, beauty.”
Beauty is when power becomes gentle and shows itself in the world.
Zarathustra's definition of beauty as the grace of power.