"The Eternal Recurrence"
He following excerpts from Nietzsche's notes relating to eternal
recurrence are set down here merely as supplementary passages to "Thus
Spake Zarathustra," in which book this doctrine of the eternally
recurring irrationality of all things first made its appearance.
Nietzsche's notations on this subject were undoubtedly written in the
latter part of 1881, when the idea of Zarathustra first came to him.
They were not published, however, until years later, and now form a
section of Volume XVI of Nietzsche's complete works in English, along
with "The Twilight of the Idols," "The Antichrist" and some explanatory
notes on "Thus Spake Zarathustra." This is the only material in
Nietzsche's writings which I have not put in chronological order,
and my reason for placing these extracts here, and not between "The
Dawn of Day" and "The Joyful Wisdom," is due to the fact that after
conceiving this doctrine and making notes pertaining to it, Nietzsche
put the idea aside and wrote "The Joyful Wisdom" in which this doctrine
was not embodied. Not until "Thus Spake Zarathustra" appeared did he
make use of this principle of recurrence, and inasmuch as this was the
first published statement of it, I have placed that book first and have
followed it with these explanatory notes.
Another section of Nietzsche's works also deals with eternal
recurrence, namely: the last part of the second volume of "The Will to
Power." But here too we find but fragmentary jottings which contain
no material not found in the present quotations. It is true that
Nietzsche intended to elaborate these notes, but even had he done so I
doubt if this doctrine would have assumed a different aspect from the
one it at present possesses, or would have become more closely allied
with the main structure of his thought; for, even though it is not
fully elucidated in its present form, it at least is complete in its
conclusions.
In my introduction to the quotations from "Thus Spake Zarathustra"
in the preceding chapter will be found a statement relating to this
doctrine, in which I have endeavoured to point out just what influence
it had on Nietzsche's philosophy, and to offer an explanation for its
appearance in his thought.
A reading of the following notes is not at all necessary for an
understanding of the Nietzschean ethic, and I have placed these
passages here solely for the student to whom every phase of Nietzsche's
philosophy is of interest.