Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Chapter
III explained
Zarathustra declares his sole concern is the Superman, not the maintenance of man.
What happens
Zarathustra declares his sole concern is the Superman, not the maintenance of man. He criticizes the petty virtues of the present age—submission, humility, policy—and calls on the higher men to surpass these masters of today, embracing despair over submission.
Themes in this chapter
The Übermensch and Self-Overcoming
Zarathustra's central concern is the surpassing of man, not his mere preservation.
Critique of Herd Morality
Denounces the petty virtues of submission, humility, and policy that have made the 'petty people' masters of today.
Characters to notice
- Zarathustra
Speaks as the first and only one to ask how man is to be surpassed, not maintained.
- The Superman
The first and only thing at Zarathustra's heart; the goal beyond man.
- The Higher Men
Addressed directly; praised for their despising and despair, which makes them worthy of love and hope.
Key passages
“The most careful ask today: 'How is man to be maintained?' Zarathustra however asketh, as the first and only one: 'How is man to be surpassed ?'”
While others focus on mere survival, Zarathustra alone asks how humanity can be overcome and transcended.
Sets up the central opposition between preservation and surpassing.
“In that ye have despised, ye higher men, that maketh me hope. For the great despisers are the great reverers.”
Your contempt for petty values is what gives me hope, because those who despise deeply are also capable of deep reverence.
Zarathustra revalues contempt as a sign of potential greatness.