After few decades, more exactly, quarter of a century, Nietzsche's book found his way into my hands. This time in a bit modernized, eInk edition, in English. Good, as I would not like a smell of rotten fish when reading it.
In difference to the previous version, which travelled with me for max. 80km from Zagreb, this one accompanied me from Taiwan to Europe during the last year, and appropriately I finished it in the air, somewhere above India. Really appropriate!
What new brought to me this re-reading of Nietzsche's anti-philosopher, pompous poet and dancer on the wire?
In the first place, I was not impressed at all by his independence on the opinions of others. In my previous readings I admired it a lot, and today it seems obvious to me. Obviously I absorbed well his teaching during my early days, so it became my second nature.
Similar was my (lack of) reaction at morder of the gods, idols and authorities-30 years ago he taught me all needed lectures in this, so it seemed all "obvious" today.
Poetic form, chosen by Nietzsche, is not foreign to me, and I still consider it appropriate for Zarathustra, but it was sometimes tedious in its litanies. In English it was even less impressive than I remember from Croatian translation. In original he is even more popmpous, when he wants to be so, as German can be ueber-pompous, oh yes! A seam for the lowest sewer pipe can be pronounced in German so that it will sound as the most important part of a spaceship! Jawohl!
So, this time Zarathustra did not teach me much, except showing me that i read it on time in last about 20 readings, and that it left an imposing trace in my weltanschaung. Probably this was the last it had to teach me, before disappearing in Black Forest?
Even a century after it's writing, "Zarathustra" has a word for us. In fact, I think it is even more needed today than at his birth. At that time there were many voices agains conformism, and they were louder and louder, we even fought wars for it. Nietzsche only added to a mighty river one independent stream. As a real philosopher, not philosophier, in the sense of R.M. Pirsig's definition from "Lila", he gave his vision of both the problem and the solution.
Today we definitely do not live the epoch of a super-human. I think that since 1968. when the 2nd rennaisance so utterly failed, we only de-evolutionized... I was born after that, so maybe this would explain why a prophet laughing of a divine seriousness was, and still is, so attractive to me?
