# XIX: The Bite of the Adder explained — Thus Spoke Zarathustra

> Chapter companion for Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche.

## What happens

Zarathustra is bitten by an adder while sleeping under a fig tree, but he refuses the serpent's poison and instead thanks it for waking him. He then tells his disciples a series of moral inversions, advocating for revenge, shared injustice, and a justice that includes love and guilt, while warning against harming anchorites.

## Themes in this chapter

### Critique of Herd Morality

Zarathustra subverts conventional moral teachings, advocating for revenge and shared injustice rather than forgiveness.

### Pity and Contempt

Zarathustra's response to the adder and his teachings on justice reflect a rejection of pity and a call for a nobler form of justice.

## Character check-ins

### Zarathustra

Bitten by an adder, he turns the event into a lesson on morality, revenge, and justice.

### The Adder

Bites Zarathustra but is rebuked and then licks his wound.

## Key lines

> When did ever a dragon die of a serpent's poison?

A great being cannot be destroyed by a small creature's venom.

_Zarathustra asserts his own strength and superiority over the adder._

> Shared injustice is half justice.

When an injustice is distributed among many, it becomes more bearable and almost just.

_Zarathustra redefines justice as a communal balancing of wrongs._

> A small revenge is humaner than no revenge at all.

Taking a minor revenge is more compassionate than complete forgiveness.

_Zarathustra challenges the moral ideal of turning the other cheek._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se/chapters/xix-the-bite-of-the-adder
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/thus_spoke_zarathustra_se/chapters