Philosophers and priests, who claim to be the wise,
Assert that human life is beastly, mindless, low,
And lacks the higher things they see. They demonize
The will and drive to live and thrive, to be and grow,
Unless it has their moral sanction from above.
But man and earth require nothing that's beyond,
No realm outside our world of nature, life, and love —
Of change, becoming, growth, and every human bond.
The strongest human spirit labors, thinks, and feels
With confidence and overflowing energy,
With beauty and with joy; it doesn't need ideals
Beyond its love of life, its natural certainty.
And yet perhaps we need a goal to help oppose
Ascetic fallacies. The life of man on earth,
Acceptance of the values we must presuppose
To follow an ascending arc of depth and worth,
A celebration of the senses and the mind,
A love for that which elevates the human soul,
For what completes the best potential of mankind —
These are the ways and means, the meaning and the goal.
The will to power is the feeling of command
That comes from your ability to thrive and act.
By forging virtue through your strength of mind and hand,
You justify your ways in every living fact.
(cf. Beyond Good and Evil, Third Essay, §§23-28; The Anti-Christ, §11)
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Peter Saint-Andre > Writings > Nietzsche > Songs of Zarathustra