To spur his people into giving the best of themselves, Zarathoustra set out to horrify them by describing what would become of “the man who would give birth to no more stars”. A man devoid of dreams or passion, jaded by life, apathetic, that would not want to take a single risk, desiring comfort and security at any price, even that of his liberty; for this last man, taking the risk of falling ill would be a sin, so he would live prudently. In his poem of 1833, Nietzsche described his vision of this most contemptible of all men, humanity in its last throes. But the crowd, instead of growing aghast, let ring joyful shouts and implored “Ô Zarathoustra, make us in his image !”.
Pour inciter son peuple à donner le meilleur de lui-même, Zarathoustra entreprit de l’horrifier en lui décrivant ce que risquait de devenir « l’homme qui ne mettrait plus d’étoiles au monde ». Un homme sans rêves ni passion, lassé par la vie, apathique, qui ne voudrait plus prendre aucun risque, chercherait son confort et sa sécurité à n’importe quel prix, même à celui de sa liberté ; pour ce dernier homme, risquer de tomber malade passerait pour un péché, il vivrait prudemment. Nietzsche, dans ce poème de 1883, décrivait le plus méprisable des hommes selon lui, le dernier stade de l’humanité. Mais la foule, au lieu d’être effrayée, poussa des cris de joie et implora « Ô Zarathoustra, rends-nous semblable à ce dernier homme ! »
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