ABSTRACT
Zarathustra is a sort of Geist. That is a very ambiguous word; you can use the French word esprit, but the English word "spirit" does not cover it; you might say he was a genius though I am afraid that is not ambiguous enough-English in that respect is much too definite. But if you understand what Geist or esprit mean, you get about the size of Zara-
thustra.1 Zarathustra is a more or less autonomous existence that Nietzsche clearly felt as a double, so we must assume that Zarathustra has in a way his own psychology; yet on account of that most unfortunate identification of Nietzsche with Zarathustra throughout the whole book, there is a continuous mixing of the two factors. From the standpoint of common sense or rationalism, one would naturally say, "But what is the figure of Zarathustra after all? Only a sort of metaphoric impersonation.,, But that point of view is not psychological; one would just miss the peculiarity of Zarathustra's character, and one would not be able to explain that manifestation. So we have to give him a certain amount of autonomy, and thus far we can call him a Geist or esprit, as if he were an extension of Nietzsche's own existence. Of course this is a logical process; one calls such a procedure an hypostasis-giving substance, extending existence, to something. This is not a metaphysical assertion, as you will understand, but merely a psychological assertion. There are indubitably psychological factors that have an autonomous existence. You feel such an existence as soon as something gets you, particularly if it gets your goat; then it gets you-you don't take it, it gets you-expressing thereby the fact that there is an autonomous factor within yourself, in that particular moment at least.
