When thou reachest thy goal, when thou alightest from thy horse—precisely on thy height, thou higher man, then wilt thou stumble!

11

Ye creating ones, ye higher men! One is only pregnant with one’s own child.

Do not let yourselves be imposed upon or put upon! Who then is your neighbour? Even if ye act ‘for your neighbour’—ye still do not create for him!

Unlearn, I pray you, this ‘for’, ye creating ones; your very virtue wisheth you to have naught to do with ‘for’ and ‘on account of’ and ‘because’. Against these false little words shall ye stop your ears.

‘For one’s neighbour’ is the virtue only of the petty people; there it is said ‘like and like’, and ‘hand washeth hand’—they have neither the right nor the power for your self-seeking!

In your self-seeking, ye creating ones, there is the foresight and foreseeing of the pregnant! What no one’s eye hath yet seen—namely, the fruit—this sheltereth and saveth and nourisheth your entire love.

Where your entire love is—namely, with your child—there is also your entire virtue! Your work, your will is your ‘neighbour’: let no false values impose upon you!

12

Ye creating ones, ye higher men! Whoever hath to give birth is sick; whoever hath given birth, however, is unclean.

Ask women: one giveth birth, not because it giveth pleasure. The pain maketh hens and poets cackle.

Ye creating ones, in you there is much uncleanness. That is because ye have had to be mothers.

A new child: oh, how much new filth hath also come into the world! Go apart! He who hath given birth shall wash his soul!

13

Be not virtuous beyond your powers! And seek nothing from yourselves opposed to probability!

Walk in the footsteps in which your fathers’ virtue hath already walked! How would ye rise high, if your fathers’ will should not rise with you?

He, however, who would be a firstling, let him take care lest he also become a lastling! And where the vices of your fathers are, there should ye not set up as saints!

He whose fathers were inclined for women, and for strong wine and flesh of wildboar swine—what would it be if he demanded chastity of himself?

A folly would it be! Much, verily, doth it seem to me for such a one, if he should be the husband of one or of two or of three women.

And if he founded monasteries, and inscribed over their portals: ‘The way to holiness’, I should still say: What good is it! it is a new folly!

He hath founded for himself a penance-house and refuge-house: much good may it do! But I do not believe in it.