查拉图斯特拉如是说 英文版 Thus Spake Zarathustra
尼采 Friedrich Nietzsche
XIX. The Bite of the Adder.
One day had Zarathustra fallen asleep under a fig-tree, owing to the heat,with his arms over his face. And there came an adder and bit him in theneck, so that Zarathustra screamed with pain. When he had taken his armfrom his face he looked at the serpent; and then did it recognise the eyesof Zarathustra, wriggled awkwardly, and tried to get away. "Not at all,"said Zarathustra, "as yet hast thou not received my thanks! Thou hastawakened me in time; my journey is yet long." "Thy journey is short," saidthe adder sadly; "my poison is fatal." Zarathustra smiled. "When did evera dragon die of a serpent's poison?"--said he. "But take thy poison back!Thou art not rich enough to present it to me." Then fell the adder againon his neck, and licked his wound.
When Zarathustra once told this to his disciples they asked him: "Andwhat, O Zarathustra, is the moral of thy story?" And Zarathustra answeredthem thus:
The destroyer of morality, the good and just call me: my story is immoral.
When, however, ye have an enemy, then return him not good for evil: forthat would abash him. But prove that he hath done something good to you.
And rather be angry than abash any one! And when ye are cursed, itpleaseth me not that ye should then desire to bless. Rather curse a littlealso!
And should a great injustice befall you, then do quickly five small onesbesides. Hideous to behold is he on whom injustice presseth alone.
Did ye ever know this? Shared injustice is half justice. And he who canbear it, shall take the injustice upon himself!
A small revenge is humaner than no revenge at all. And if the punishmentbe not also a right and an honour to the transgressor, I do not like yourpunishing.
Nobler is it to own oneself in the wrong than to establish one's right,especially if one be in the right. Only, one must be rich enough to do so.
I do not like your cold justice; out of the eye of your judges there alwaysglanceth the executioner and his cold steel.
Tell me: where find we justice, which is love with seeing eyes?
Devise me, then, the love which not only beareth all punishment, but alsoall guilt!
Devise me, then, the justice which acquitteth every one except the judge!
And would ye hear this likewise? To him who seeketh to be just from theheart, even the lie becometh philanthropy.
But how could I be just from the heart! How can I give every one his own!Let this be enough for me: I give unto every one mine own.
Finally, my brethren, guard against doing wrong to any anchorite. Howcould an anchorite forget! How could he requite!
Like a deep well is an anchorite. Easy is it to throw in a stone: if itshould sink to the bottom, however, tell me, who will bring it out again?
Guard against injuring the anchorite! If ye have done so, however, wellthen, kill him also!--
if the punishmentbe not .
Thus spake Zarathustra.