Chapter 29 The Second Dance Song

One evening Zarathustra and his disciples walked through the forest; in search of a spring they came to a green meadow surrounded by trees.There, some girls danced.They recognized Zarathustra, and stopped dancing; but Zarathustra approached them kindly, and said to them: "My dear maidens, don't stop your dancing! The man who comes here is by no means an ill-fated loser, nor a maiden's enemy. I am God's Advocate before the devil: and that devil is the spirit of graveness.Light girl!How can I be the enemy of holy dances and virgin ankles? Yes, I am a forest of dark trees and night: But he who is not afraid of the dark will find rose-filled paths under my cypresses.

He can also find the little god that the virgins love most, resting by the spring in silence with his eyes closed. Truly, the sloth fell asleep during the day!Did he ever want to catch lots of butterflies? Beautiful girl, don't be angry with me if I scold this little god a little!He may cry;—but even if he weeps, he can laugh anytime! With tears in his eyes he should ask you for a dance; and I will accompany it with a song: This is a dance song, singing a satire to my biggest and strongest devil, the serious spirit known as the master of the world. "— This is what Zarathustra sang when Cupid danced with the maidens:

"O life! Lately I have looked into your eyes. It seemed to me that I had fallen into unfathomable depths. But your golden hook drew me up; you laughed at me for saying you were unfathomable. ' Says all fishes. ’ You said; ‘Things that they cannot measure themselves are considered unfathomable. But I am changeable wild, I am quite a woman, and not a virtuous woman: Though you men call me deep, faithful, eternal, mysterious. You men often give us your virtues;—oh, you virtuous ones! ' It was unbelievable that it laughed like that; but when it slandered itself, I never believed it and its laughter.

One day I was speaking secretly with my wild wisdom, and it said to me angrily: 'You want life, you desire life, you love life, so you praise it! ' To it I almost gave a merciless answer, and told the truth to the provocateur; and that is the most merciless answer when we tell the truth to our own wisdom. Everything is so opposed to the three of us.In my heart, I only love life. —Really, I love it when I hate it! But if I like wisdom, or too much of it: because it reminds me so much of life! Wisdom also has eyes of life and a smile, and even a golden hook of life: is it my fault that they are so much alike?

One day, life asked me: 'Who is wisdom?' - I quickly answered: 'Ugh!yes!wisdom! People pursue it fanatically, but cannot be satisfied. People can only see it through the net, and can only grasp it with their fingers through the mesh. is it beautifulHow can I know!But the most experienced fish cannot help but swallow its bait. It is changeable and persistent; I have seen it bit its lip and comb its hair back. It may be vicious and false, it may be quite a woman: but it is most seductive when it slanders itself. ' After I finished speaking, Life closed his eyes and smiled slyly. 'Who are you talking about? ' it asked. 'Maybe it's me?

Even though you are good——but can you actually say such things in front of me!Now speak of your own wisdom! ' O dear life!Then you opened your eyes again, and I seemed to fall into the unfathomable depths again. "— Thus sang Zarathustra.But when the dancing was over and the girls left, he mourned. "The sun is long gone," he said at last; "the meadows are wet, and there's a cold air coming from the forest. Beside me an unknowable stared at me thoughtfully.how!Is Zarathustra alive? Why do we live?What good?Why live?What direction?where?How to live? Isn't it crazy to keep living? ——

Alas, my friends, this is the dusk questioning me, forgive my sorrow! The evening has come: forgive me, the evening has come! " Thus spake Zarathustra.