Zarathustra’s dream: Nietzsche’s lyrical ‘other’ midday

This article aims to suggest that side-by-side, and opposite, to Nietzsche’s usual titanism, lies another side of the philosopher, one that is more contemplative, even melancholic. The voice of this ‘other’ Nietzsche is admittedly not often heard, if at all, because it whispers instead of crying out. Yet the power of the whispering voice of the contemplative Nietzsche is by no means less impressive than the prophecies, the speeches, the curses usually uttered by the ‘usual’ one, whom we are more accustomed to. In fact, in this chapter Nietzsche does not speak: just as we, readers of the text, do, Nietzsche here hears whispers issued from the outside world (indeed, as it will turn out, from the world as a whole, and as it is). This is made possible by an apparent weakening of the philosopher’s consciousness, brought about by two conditions of great importance, which constitute the whereabouts of this almost mystical experience: the space of its occurring, namely the in-between dimension of dreams, and its time, noon. Therefore, the message conveyed by this whispering voice contains truths as ultimate as those usually found in Zarathustra’s speeches, albeit not proclaimed in a thundering tone at all; furthermore, this voice owes its power to the enchanting beauty of the lyrical form it assumes.