Page:Thus Spake Zarathustra - Alexander Tille - 1896.djvu/49

 ZARATHUSTRA S INTRODUCTORY SPEECH 15

me a trick. Now he draggeth me unto hell : art thou going to hinder him ? "

" On my honour, friend," Zarathustra answered, "what thou speakest of doth not exist: there is no devil nor hell. Thy soul will be dead even sooner than thy body : henceforward fear nothing."

The man looked up suspiciously : " If thou speakest truth," he said, "losing my life I lose nothing. Then I am not much more than an animal which by means of blows and titbits hath been taught to dance."

" Not so," Zarathustra said ; " thou hast made danger thy calling, there is nothing contemptible in that. Now thou diest of thy calling : therefore shall I bury thee with mine own hands."

Zarathustra having said thus the dying one made no answer, but moved his hand as though he sought Zarathustra's to thank him.

7

Meanwhile the evening fell, and the market was hidden in darkness : the folk dispersed, for even curi- osity and terror grow tired. Zarathustra, however, sat beside the dead man on the ground absorbed in thought forgetting the time. But at last it was night, and a cold wind blew over the lonely one. Then Zarathustra rising said unto his heart :

" Verily, a fine fishing was Zarathustra's to-day ! It was not a man he caught, but a corpse.

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