Friedrich Nietzsche
“One must still have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing star.”
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Prologue §5, 1883
Documented source
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Prologue §5
Translator
Thomas Common, 1909 (public domain)
“chaos in one” is Common’s; Kaufmann renders “within oneself”
Wording
Thomas Common translation, matching the design
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About this line
Nietzsche wrote Zarathustra in the middle of his own collapse — friendships gone, health failing — and out of it made a case for the chaos itself: it takes some in you to produce anything worth looking at.
Why we carry this line
Ever accused of being a “hit disturber?” Raise your hand. Mine’s up. You need some chaos in you to make anything that shines. We all need a reminder now and then.
