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Of Passing By
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rethinking Morality
The Superman and the Will to Power
Death of God and Christianity
Eternal Recurrence
Summary
Analysis
1. Zarathustra laments that many who once danced and laughed are now creeping toward the Cross. There are few, he says, whose courage endures patiently; most are cowardly. Anyone like Zarathustra must accept that his seemingly lively companions will drift away—they cannot help it.
Here, Zarathustra criticizes those who eagerly accept his teaching and then quickly fall away from it, back into comfortable conventions.
Themes
2. Zarathustra tells his “apostates” that it is disgraceful for those with “conscience” to pray. This allows them to take life easier and appeal to others while pretending they are deep. Zarathustra laughs at people’s foolish words about God, even their doubts. The time for doubts has passed—the gods “laughed themselves to death” long ago. Zarathustra continues on his way to the town called the Pied Cow.
Zarathustra doesn’t say that it’s wrong for anyone to pray. He just means that “higher” (more intelligent and moral) men like himself ought to know better. When such people practice religion, they curry favor with the weaker majority. The strong should recognize that belief in gods should have been given up long before now.
Themes
