# On Passing-By explained — Thus Spoke Zarathustra > Chapter companion for Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. ## What happens Zarathustra, returning to his mountains, encounters a foaming fool at the gate of a great city. The fool, known as the ape of Zarathustra, reviles the city as a place of decay, compressed souls, and mendicant virtues, urging Zarathustra to spit on it and turn back. Zarathustra rebukes the fool, accusing him of being motivated by vengeance and vanity, and declares that he despises the fool's contempt. He then looks upon the city, expresses his own loathing, and prophesies its eventual destruction by a pillar of fire before the great noontide. He advises the fool that where one can no longer love, one should pass by, and he departs. ## Themes in this chapter ### Critique of Herd Morality The fool's diatribe against the city's 'appointable virtue' and 'public opinion' exemplifies the herd morality that Zarathustra opposes, though Zarathustra rejects the fool's vengeful contempt as itself a form of herd thinking. ### Pity and Contempt Zarathustra distinguishes his own contempt, born of love, from the fool's contempt born of vengeance and vanity, emphasizing that true contempt should not be rooted in pity or resentment. ### Solitude and Companionship Zarathustra's passing by the city and the fool underscores his preference for solitude and his rejection of the corrupting influence of the crowd and the city. ## Character check-ins ### Zarathustra Zarathustra encounters the foaming fool at the gate of the great city, rebukes him for his vengeful contempt, and passes by the city. ### The Voluntary Beggar The foaming fool is referred to as the 'ape of Zarathustra' and is identified as the same fool who earlier appeared as the voluntary beggar, now reviling the city. ### The Higher Men The fool's speech implicitly critiques the higher men and their virtues, which are described as 'appointable' and tied to the court and shopmen. ## Key lines > Where one can no longer love, there should one— pass by! When you can no longer feel love for a place or person, the proper response is to move on without lingering or seeking revenge. _Zarathustra's final advice to the fool encapsulates his philosophy of avoiding futile engagement with what is beyond redemption._ > Out of love alone shall my contempt and my warning bird take wing; but not out of the swamp! My contempt and warnings arise from love, not from the murky, resentful depths of the swamp (the city's corruption). _Zarathustra contrasts his own noble contempt with the fool's base, vengeful criticism._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se/chapters/part-iii-li-on-passing-by - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se/chapters