rebirth of mith nietzsche eternal return

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The Rebirth of Myth?: Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence and Its Romantic Antecedents

Author(s): Robert A. YelleSource: Numen, Vol. 47, Fasc. 2 (2000), pp. 175-202Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3270194 .

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THE REBIRTH OF MYTH?:NIETZSCHE'S ETERNALRECURRENCE AND ITS ROMANTIC ANTECEDENTS'ROBERT A. YELLE

SummaryThere s ncreasingvidencef he nfluencefvarious omantichinkersnNiet-zsche'searly hilosophy,speciallyn TheBirth fTragedy, ithts nnouncementorpredictionf a rebirthfmyth. he prophetichusSpokeZarathustra, hichNietzschentroducedith hewords tragedyegins," xpresses is ater hilosophy,particularlyis central octrinef the EternalRecurrence,n symbols, arables,andriddles,uggestingn attempttmythopoeia.owever,he ritical,ronic,ndparodyinglementsnNietzsche'sater hilosophyave ed to itscharacterizationas "antimyth."hisessaydemonstrateshatNietzsche'sdea andsymbolismf theEternalRecurrences a temporalycleofopposites epresentedyvarious ormsofthe ircle, specially heouroborusrserpent itingts owntail, nd associatedwith oroaster,eraclitus,ndDionysus, as nfluencedy he raditionfRomanticmythology.efore hepublicationf TheBirth f Tragedy, ietzsche ncounteredthewritingsfJohann akob achofen nd Friedrichreuzer,where hecycleofoppositess identifieds a specifically ythicdea,whichdevelopedater ntophilosophy,smetonymicallyepresentednthe elationshipetweenhemyth-makerZoroaster nd thephilosopher eraclitus.n The Birth f Tragedy,hecycleofoppositesecame orNietzsche symbolf he nityfmythndphilosophy,nd herebirthf theformer romhe elf-overcomingfthe atter. hissymbol ontinuedto serveNietzsche hroughoutis career s a model forhis owndevelopmentsa philosopher.he EternalRecurrenceppears o have beenhis ownattemptounitemythndphilosophy,hroughhetransformationf an originally omanticmythologicaldea ntots pposite,nd he doptionf symbolicnd mythic"tyleofexpression.

1Thispaperwasoriginally rittenor he1996Brauer eminar t theUniversityofChicagoDivinitychool. would iketothankhemembersf the eminar,ndparticularlytsfaculty, endy oniger, ristiano rottanelli,ndBruceLincoln, ortheir elpfulomments. rankReynolds atientlyead everal rafts; obert olubread n earlier ersion fpart fthis aper; ndMichaelBathgate, eather indman,Chris ehrich,ndJeffndMahuaLongperformedcriticalnterventionohelpmeisolate he hesis. amgratefulothemllfor heir aluable uggestions.? KoninklijkerillNV,Leiden 2000) NUMEN,Vol.47

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176 Robert . YelleInhis arliestublished ork, heBirthfTragedy"GT'2) (1872),Friedrich ietzsche nnounces r predicts rebirthf tragedyndmythn a manner hat ecallsFriedrichchlegel'shopefor "newmythology."part rom ietzsche's wn ater onfessionf the Ro-mantic"nature f GT3, an increasingmount f scholarship asdemonstratedisappropriationnddevelopmentnthatwork fbothmythologicalheoriesnd pecificymbolsoundnRomantichinkersincludingchlegel, riedrichreuzer,riedrichchelling,ndJohann2Thefollowingystemf bbreviationss usedto refer oNietzsche'sworks:EH: Ecce Homo;trans.WalterKaufmannnBasic WritingsfNietzscheNewYork:ModemLibrary,968)FW: Diefriihliche issenschaft;rans.Walter aufmann,heGayScience NewYork:Vintage,974)GM: ZurGenealogie erMoral;trans. ntheGenealogyfMorals nKaufmann,Basic WritingsGT: Die Geburt erTragddie; rans. he Birth fTragedyn Kaufmann,asicWritingsJGB: Jenseits onGutundBose; trans. eyondGoodand Evil nKaufmann,asicWritingsKGB: Friedrich ietzsche, riefwechsel:ritischeGesamtausgabe,d. Giorgio

Colli andMazzinoMontinariBerlin:Walter eGruyter,975ff.)KGW: Friedrich ietzsche,Werke: ritische esamtausgabe,d.Giorgio olliandMazzinoMontinariBerlin:Walter eGruyter,967ff.)KSA: Friedrich ietzsche,imtlicheWerke: ritischetudienausgabe,d.GiorgioColli andMazzinoMontinari,d.ed. Berlin:Walter eGruyter,988)MA: Menschliches, llzumenschliches;rans.MarionFaber,Human,All Too Hu-man Lincoln:UniversityfNebraska ress, 984)PHG: Die Philosophiem ragischeneitaltererGriechen;rans. arianne owan,Philosophyn theTragic ge of heGreeksChicago:Henry egnery,962)Za: Also sprachZarathustra;rans.WalterKaufmann,husSpokeZarathustra(NewYork: enguin,966)Unless otherwisendicated,eferencesre to sectionratherhanpage numbers,translationsrom ietzsche's ritingsrefrom he ditions iven bove, nd llothertranslationsremy wn.3Thisself-characterizationppearsnNietzsche's Attemptt a Self-Criticism,"added s a prefaceothe1886editionf GT (KSA1,p.21-22).



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 177Jakob achofen.4 s iswellknown, Texplicitlyepictsnother o-mantic, ietzsche's hen-friendichardWagner,s the gent ftherebirthfmyth.Nietzscheater epudiated agnernd divided isworknto hreeperiods: n earlyperiod asting ntil1876, n whichhe remainedunder he nfluence fWagner nd Schopenhauer; middleperiod(1876-1882)ofindependencendexperimentation;nda final,ateperiod1882-1889) n whichhe articulatedispositive hilosophy.5Sucha divisionmightndicate hatNietzsche implybandoned isearlyRomanticism.owever,hebook nauguratingis lateperiod,ThusSpokeZarathustra"Za"), is a propheticext hat xpresseshismaturehilosophy,articularlyis central octrineftheEternalRecurrence,nsymbols,arables,ndriddles. hestyle fNietzsche'sexpositionnZa has raised hequestion fwhether e was engagedinmythopoeia.rnst ehler's tatement,I wanted o show parallelbetween hemyth-creationfZarathustra ifonemay all tthat

4See, e.g.,Barbara onReibnitz, in Kommentaru Friedrich ietzsche,DieGeburt erTragddieus dem Geisteder Musik" Kap. 1-12) Stuttgart:.B. Met-zler, 992);MaxB iumer,Das modernehinomen esDionysischennd eine Ent-deckung' urch ietzsche,Nietzsche-Studien(1977): 123-53; rnst ehler,Niet-zsche und die Frtihromantischechule,"Nietzsche-Studien(1978): 59-87; idem,"Die Auffassunges Dionysischenurch ie Brtiderchlegelund Friedrich iet-zsche,"Nietzsche-Studien2 1983): 335-54;DavidThatcher,EagleandSerpentnZarathustra,"ietzsche-Studien(1977):240-60.5This standard ivisionwas accepted yCristiano rottanellin hisrecentndbalanced reatmentfthequestion,Nietzsche ndMyth," istoryfReligions 7(1997): 3-20.For anotherrticulationf thedivision,ee EricVoegelin,Nietzscheand Pascal,"Nietzsche-Studien5 (1996): 128-71 at 128. This divisionfollowsNietzsche's otefrom 884 entitled TheWaytoWisdom,"whichdescribes hethree eriodswithout,owever,dentifyinghemwith ny pecifichronologyKSA11,26[47]).Additionalupportor uch periodizations found n theback oftheoriginalditionfFW,which nnouncestself s the onclusion f series eginningwithMA, hegoalofwhich eries s"to rect new mage nd dealof he ree pirit."Thispage s not ncludednKGW;for translation,ee Kaufmann,asic Writings30.



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178 Robert . YelleandtheRomantic earch or newmythology,"rovokedhis tridentresponseromWalter aufmann:

Ifone akes he ermmyth"n strongense,hennZarathustrat scertainlynot questionfmyth.nZarathustrahe ritical,egative,nd n dditionhecaricaturingnd he arodyingtanderytronglyn he oreground.f ne aysthat nefindshemythicalnZarathustra,hen ne ould ay ust s well ndmore ruly:he entire ourthart f Zarathustras an antimyth,n which hemythtself,s far s tdealswithne,s madeaughable.6The idea thatNietzsche's se of ronyndparody re ncompati-ble withtrue)myth as ed othercholarsosuggestimilar escrip-tions fhis ater hilosophy,ncludingquasi-myth"Quasi-Mythos),7"counter-myth"Gegen-Mythos),8nd,with pecific eferenceo theEternal ecurrence,a kind fantimythicyth, parodyf hehopesthatNietzsche'sRomantic]redecessorsntertained."9Complicatinghis ebate verNietzsche's elation o his Romanticpredecessorsrethephilosopher'sffirmationsf theclose relationbetween a and theearlier, omantic T. Duringhisdiscussion fGT inEcce Homo "EH"), Nietzsche alled himself he firstragicphilosopher,"hen raced is ineage oHeraclitus:Thedoctrinef he'eternalecurrence,'hats,of he nconditionalnd nfinitelyepeated

circular ourse fthings thisdoctrinefZarathustra ightntheend have beentaught lready yHeraclitus"KSA 6, p. 312-13). tis temptingo read this s an anachronism,mere peaking ut ofturn. urely heEternal ecurrenceoesnot ppear eforephorism341of TheGayScience "FW") (1882), ong fter T? YetNietzschegavethe itle Incipit ragoedia" "tragedy egins") othevery extaphorismfFW,whichntroducesarathustraor hefirstimeKSA3,p. 571).Thisaphorismoncludes he riginaldition fFW, nd s6Discussion ollowing ehler,NietzschenddieFriihromantischechule" 1.71d.8EugenBiser, Nietzschels MythenzersttirerndMythenschipfer,"ietzsche-Studien 4 1985):96-109 t 105.9AllanMegill,Prophets fExtremity:ietzsche,Heidegger,oucault, errida(Berkeley: niversityfCaliforniaress, 985),19.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 179followedmmediatelynthe hronologicalrder fNietzsche's orksbyZa, thepreface fwhich epeats heaphorism'sontents.heseindicationsoseonceagain, nd more orcefully,he uestion aisedalready yNietzsche'style fexpositionnZa: whetherhatwork,andparticularlyhedoctrineftheEternal ecurrence, ight otbeanattemptofulfillhe romisef rebirthfmythmade nGT.As I willdemonstrate,heres precedentor he ymbolismftheEternalRecurrencen GT and in thewritingsf certain omanticmythologists,ncludingachofenndCreuzer, ho nfluencediet-zscheduring ispreparationfthatwork.n these ources s inZa,time rnatures conceiveds a cyclical rocess nitingpposites,ndsymbolized yvarious ormsfthe ircle.Thesesymbolsre denti-fiedwith arathustrainGreek, Zoroaster"), eraclitus,ndDiony-sus,prefiguringietzsche'sater itation fthese iguress precedentfor isdoctrinef he ternal ecurrence.dentifieds a mythologicaldoctrineyhisRomantic redecessors,hecycleofopposites, ar-ticularlyn theform f theouroborusr serpentitingts owntail,becameforNietzsche symbol f theunity fmythndphilosophyandof he ebirthfthe ormerutofthe atter.his uggestshat aandthe ternal ecurrenceepresented"rebirthfmyth"nat easttworelatedenses: s the esurfacingfcertain omanticmytholog-ical ideas nNietzsche'smature hilosophy,nd as his ownattemptatmythopoeia,istinguishedya style fexpositioneregardedsappropriateomyth.TheEternal ecurrencendtheOuroborusnThusSpokeZarathustra

Nietzsche,s we haveseen,minimallyescribed iscentral oc-trine,he fullformulaorwhich s "the EternalRecurrencef theSame" ewigeWiederkunft/WiederkehresGleichen),s "theuncon-ditionalnd nfinitelyepeatedircular ourse fthings."he circleis inseparableromheEternalRecurrence: arathustras both theteacherfthe ternalecurrence"KSA4, p. 275) andthe advocate



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180 Robert . Yelleofthe ircle"p. 271).10Nietzsche'smploymentfthe ircle urningback on itself s theprimaryymbol f theEternalRecurrencem-pliesnot tatic epetition,ut dynamicycleunitingpposites,s isexplicitnthis amous assagefrom a:

Upward defyinghe pirithat rew tdownwardowardhe byss,he piritfgravity, ydevil nd rchenemy.pward although esatonme,half warf,halfmole, ame,makingame,drippingead ntomy ar, eaden houghtsntomybrain."O Zarathustra,"ewhispered ockingly,yllable y syllable;youphiloso-pher's toneStein erWeisheit]!outhrewourselfphigh, ut verytone hatisthrownpmust all... You threwourselfpsohigh... Sentencedoyourselfandtoyour wn toning O Zarathustra,ar ndeed aveyou hrownhe tone,but twillfall ackonyourself."Then he warf ell ilent..."Behold his ateway,warf!" continued.Ithas twofaces.Twopathsmeethere;noone hasyet ollowedither o ts nd.This ong ane tretchesackforaneternity.ndthe ong aneout here,hat s anotherternity.hey ontradicteachother,hese aths; hey ffendachother ace oface; nd t s here tthisgatewayhat hey ometogether.he name fthegateways inscribedbove:'Moment.' utwhoever ould ollow neof hem,nandon,fartherndfarther- doyoubelieve, warf,hat hese aths ontradictachotherternally?""Allthat s straighties," hedwarfmurmuredontemptuously.All truthscrooked;ime tselfs a circle."p. 198-200)In thispassage,thecircleunites hetwoopposedpathsofpastandpresent.histemporalnion foppositess complementedyamore nigmaticnion,hat etweenhe piritfGravityndZarathus-tra.Theformerullsdownward, hile he attermovesupward. heformers "lead" (cf.p. 146),thebeginningfthe lchemicalwork,while he atters the"philosopher'stone," hecompletionf thatwork."Zarathustras strangelyntimate ith issupposed dversary.

10Inthe nterestfconservingpace,thenumerous eferencesoZa inPartOnewillhenceforthive nly he agenumbernKSA4.11As some authors avepreviouslyecognized, ietzsche mployedlchemicalsymbolsodepict isEternal ecurrence.hatcher49;Richard erkins,AnalogisticStrategiesn Zarathustra"n DavidGoicoechea, d.,TheGreatYear fZarathustra(1881-1981) Lanham,MD: Universityress fAmerica, 983),316-338; nd dem,



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 181The actionwithwhich arathustras simultaneouslyhreatenedndaccused crushing ith hedownwardlunge fthe tone mir-rors he eadenbehaviorfthedwarf n his back.Theexplanationsthat arathustrand hisadversaryre, n somesense, dentical. hephilosopher'stoneunited heopposites,ncluding oththebegin-ning nd the nd of the lchemicalwork. arathustrand hisadver-sary/doubleogetherorm he ircle fthe ternal ecurrence.TheEternal ecurrencesalsodepicteds the uroborus,r erpentbitingtsown tail. Richard erkins as identifiedn unmistakable"Nietzsche's pus alchymicum,"eminar23 (1987): 216-26.Perkins oints ut("Nietzsche's pus lchymicum"16) that Beginningn 1882,Nietzsche requentlyand fairlynsistentlyoses as an inner lchemist,rivatelyn euphoric otebookentries,onfidentiallynfranticettersoFranzOverbeck,ndpubliclynAlso prachZarathustra,franklyhrysopoeticork ulminatingn a golden ature on hroughtransmutation;"nd rgues"Analogistictrategies"27) that he lchemical rocess,symbolized y he uroborus,r erpent itingts ail,s "the asicconceptionfAlsosprach arathustra,hemeaningmoving ithinll the mages, ymbols, igures,ndmetaphorsonstitutinghe nalogisticemonstration."hile his s somethingf anoverstatement,lchemywascertainlyne ofthe ources orNietzsche's ymbolismof the EternalRecurrence. partfrom hepassagespointed utby Perkins ndthe "philosopher'stone" nd "lead" of thepassagediscussedhere, omeotherunmistakableeferencesoalchemyccur nZa: "Outofyour oisons,youbrewedyour alsam Balsam]" p. 43). The"balsam" r "balsam f ife" balsamum itae)wasanotherame or he lchemicalgent s panacea.Cf.p.289: "If ver drankulldrafts rom hat oamingpice- ndblend-mugnwhich llthingsrewell-blended;fmyhand ver ouredhe arthestothenearest,ndfireospirit,nd oytopain, ndthemostwicked othemost racious;f myselfm a grain fthat edeemingaltwhichmakes ll things lendwell ntheblend-mug for here s a salt hat nitesgoodwith vil;and even thegreatestvil s worthyfbeingusedas spicefor helastfoamingver:Oh,how hould not ust fterternitynd after henuptial ingofrings,hering frecurrence?"he "salt" referredo canonlybe the lchemicalsalt, notherommon ame or he gentwhich ffectedhe oniunctio.hetopic fNietzsche's se of lchemicalymbolism illnotbe treated ere,with he xceptionofhis use ofthe uroborus, symbolwhich s not onfinedoalchemynd whichappears irectlynNietzsche's arlier orksnd lso, s shown elow,n some fhisRomanticredecessors.



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182 Robert . Yellereferenceo theouroborus s theEternalRecurrencenNietzsche'snotes romhe ime fZa:

Do notbeafraid f the treamfthings:his tream urns ackon tself:t runsawayfrom tself ot nly wice. very it was" becomes gain n "it s."Thepastbites verythinguturen the ail. November882-February883,KSA10,4[85])12At least twoother otesrefer o a circularerpent amed eter-nity."'3nZa, thereferencesothe uroborusre ess explicit:Sur-rounded ytheflame f ealousy, ne will nthe nd, ike the cor-

pion, urn ne'spoisonous ting gainst neself' p. 43). Zarathustracarries caduceus, a staff ith goldenhandle nwhich serpentcoiled round he un" p. 97). Theshepherd ith black erpentnhisthroat,hom arathustrabserveshortlyfter isencounterithhis dversary,orms "dual"or"compound"uroborus.arathustra'scommandothe hepherd,Bite!Bite tsheadoff! ite!' .. allthatsgoodandwickednmecried utofmewith single ry" p. 201-02),completeshemage f he uroborus,hich nites he pposites.heserpentecalls he black"Spirit fGravityp. 49); andZarathustralater eveals hat ehimself as the hepherd:thatmonsterrawleddownmy hroatnd uffocated e.But bit ff tshead ndspewedtout" p.273).The mage fZarathustraith is dversarynhisbackis thus ssimilatedotheouroborus,s is the mageofZarathustra'stwoanimals: Andbehold!Aneaglesoared hroughhe ky n widecircles,ndon him here ung serpent,ot ikeprey ut ike friend:for hekept erself ound round isneck"p.27).Theserpentlingstothe agle, ts raditionaldversary,ust s the piritfGravitylingstoZarathustra.12"Analogistictrategies"27.13"Does the erpentalledeternityircle tselfsich ingeln]lready?"Sommer-

Herbst 882,KSA 10,2[9]); and"The sunofrecognitiontands nceagain tnoon:andcoiled geringelt]ies the erpentfeternityn ts ight it s your ime, oubrothersfafternoon!"Friihjahr-Herbst881,KSA9, 11[196]).Cited nPerkins,"Analogistictrategies"36n.35,andThatcher55.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 183Alsosuggestiverevarious hraseshat efine ouroboric"ehav-ior:"Spirits the ife hat tself uts nto ife" p. 134).TheSpirit fGravityccuses Zarathustraf suchbehavior,fbeing he tone hatfalls nhimself.arathustrasserts:I even trangledhe tranglerhatis called sin'" (p. 278).His ouroboric ehaviors what istinguishesZarathustra,heOvermanUbermensch),rom isopposite:Alas, hetime f hemost espicableman scoming, ethats no ongerbletodespisehimself.ehold, showyou he astman" p. 19).Such verbal ormulasepict, hroughherepetitionfa key erm,therepetitivendreflexiveehavior ftheouroborusr circle.Niet-zschealso employed umeroushrases,uch as "goingunder"un-tergehen)nd "Overman"(Obermensch), hich lludeto theshapeand movementfthecircle.His famous oncept f Selbstiiberwin-dung p. 146) is usually ranslatedself-overcoming."owever,heGerman erbwindens cognatewith nglish to wind" e.g.a clock);a synonymorwindensschliingeln,romchlange,serpent."elbst-iiberwindung"self-overwinding")s thereforeprecise escriptionfthe ehavior fthe uroboros.Romantic recursorsf he ternal ecurrence

Nietzsche's onception f theEternalRecurrences the cycleof time r nature nitingheopposites ndrepresentedyvariousformsfthe ircle,ncludinghe uroborus,asprecedentn certainRomanticmythologistsho nfluencedietzscheythe ime fGT.Creuzer

Friedrich reuzer, he founder f "so-called RomanticMythol-ogy,'14publishedn 1810-12 hefour olumes f hismost mpor-tantwork, ymbolikndMythologieeraltenV61ker,esonders erGriechen"SymbolismndMythologyfAncienteoples, speciallytheGreeks"). hebook, compendiumfmythologicaldeasfromif-ferentulturesndtimes, asextremelynfluentialndwent hroughseveral ditions. ietzsche orrowedhe hird olume romheUniver-

14VonReibnitz 2.



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184 Robert . Yellesity fBasel ibrarynceonJune 8, 1871,while tillworkingnGT,andagainonAugust , 1872.15 ecords fhispersonalibraryhowthat t some aterpointhe acquired hethirddition ftheSymbo-lik.16 reuzer asbeen dentifieds one ofNietzsche'sources or hecategoriesApollinianndDionysian"nd other ymbols."Despitehis nterestnCreuzer, ietzscheppears o havementionedim nlyonce nwriting,uringisearly asel lectures1870-71).18 perusalof Creuzer'swork, owever,uggestshat is nfluencenNietzschewas more han uperficial.

TheSymbolikncludes umerousepictionsf naturertime s acycle.Chronos r Father ime, thegodwho s withdrawnzuriick-gezogen] ntohimself,"19s representedy,amongother ymbols,the erpentn theformfa circle.20n a mythfZeus,"the ifeofnature evelops tselfn the three easonscyclically eturningcyk-15Martin ogel,AppolinischndDionysischRegensburg: ustav osse, 1966),97 confirmshefirst ate.CharlesAndler, ietzsche: a Vieet Sa Pensie (Paris:Gallimard,958),1: 404 n. 3 has June , 1871andAugust , 1872.However,hisis a misprint:iumer142cites notherdition fAndlerwhich as June 8,1871for hefirst ate.M. Oehler,Nietzsches ibliothek" ahresgabeerGesellschaft

derFreunde esNietzsche-Archivs4 (Weimar: 942),gives hemonths utnot hedaysfor heseoans; t lso istsmuch f he ontentsfNietzsche's ersonalibrary.None of these ources ndicates hich dition ietzsche orrowed. rof. r.MartinSteinmannf theUniversityfBaselLibraryasgraciouslynformed e thattwasthe econd dition, 819-23.Citationsothe ymbolikere re nstead o the hirdedition, hich s the ne Nietzscheater ossessedn his ibrary.16Andler : 404 n.3; Oehler 0.17Baiumer39;Behler,Nietzsche nddieFrtihromantischechule," 3; KarlfriedGrainder,iscussionfollowingeterHeller, Nietzsches ampfmitdem romanti-schen essimismus,"ietzsche-Studien(1978): 51; Thatcher,assim. ee Creuzer4: 116ff.18Vorlesungen870-71, GW11.3, .410.19Friedrich reuzer, ymbolikndMythologieer altenVdIlker,esonders erGriechen, . Verbesserteusgabe,4 Bd. (Leipzig undDarmstadt,arl WilhelmLeske,1837-42), : 58.Allreferencesre othis dition.20Id. 3: 59; cf.4: 79.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 185lischwiederkehrenden]."21here renumerous eferenceso the y-cle of reincarnationrmetempsychosisfthePythagoreansndOr-phics Kreislauf/RiickkehrerSeele),22 nd to the nalogousndiandoctrine,23hich reuzer ccasionallyonfuses ith heGreek. hephoenixs "thebird fthegreatyear r therebirthf thenew timein determinateycles."24he cycleoftime s connected ithHera-cles25 nd other ods,but speciallywithDionysus26ndDionysusZagreus.27nepassage nparticularesembleshe ternal ecurrence,especiallyn tsdepictionss a compounduroborus:Ciceromentioned Bacchus... who killedNysa.Nysa... is thereversalUm-schwung]t the ndof ime. hereforehis ionysuss the un,whichwallows[verschlingt],akesn,disposes f [abthut]he ircle ftime n tself,s Saturndevoursverzehrt]is ownchildren;nd the ame s alsotheLibyanDionysus,whokills heKampe the ycle ftime)...28 emphasis riginal)

In a footnoteo this assage,Creuzer onnectshis revolutionftimes nd thingsUmkreiserZeitenundDinge]",and especiallythe forementionedampe s the point freturnUmkehr]n thecourseof thesun,"with he movement f the chariots round heRoman ircus,nwhichhe urning-pointseremarkedy wopillars(Umlenkungssule).29Apartfrom heseprecedentsor the symbolismf theEternalRecurrence,reuzer'sdescriptionfMagianism loselyresemblesNietzsche's:

21Id. 1:25.22 d. 1: 138,3: 777.23Id. 1:434-36, 45.24Id.2: 165;cf. 163ff. ietzschemployedhe ymbol f he hoenixn Za I, "OntheWay ftheCreator"KSA4,p. 82).25Id.2: 657ff.; 30-31.26Id.2: 658;4: 125, 131,134ff.27Id.4: 96ff.28 d. 4: 23.29 d.4: 24n. 1.



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186 Robert . Yelle[T]heMagians onceived heproblemftheworld... throughhe ppositionflight nddarkness,fgoodand evil... Hence thefundamentaleachingf theMagians:All thingsubsistnthemixture fopposites.. In these heories fMagianismwetruly ave source f the amous octrinesf Heraclitus.. andof he ystemfEmpedocles...30Accordingo [higherMagianism],nmitys thefoundationf finitehings...Without he ntentionfthecreator,he antithesisollows hethesis, hat s,thedarknessollows he ight,ikethe hadow heperson.Heraclitusmade hesame hinghemain hesis f hissystem...Andfurthermore,e understoodheopposites reciselyo, s for xample ising, alling,ay, ight...Heproceeded,like he ersians,rom ontradictions the oundationf hings.heunitytself,calledworld, ubsists hroughifferentiation...n this urningKehre] f thecontraries,alanced hroughnity,he nsight tepsforward,hat eath tselfmust xist, s Heraclitushows rommanyides.31

Several f he eaturesfCreuzer'sMagianismoreshadowhe ter-nalRecurrence,speciallyhe ymbol f he hadow, hich esemblesthedark warf n Zarathustra'sack, ndthe seof patialmetaphorsto describe heopposites.More significants Creuzer's ssociationofMagianismwith he dea of a cycleunitingpposites,32ndwithHeraclitus.33he firstssociation, hich nables hesecond, s ac-tually n inversionftherigid thical ualism fZoroastrianism,nwhich, nlike nHeraclitus,herewas nopositive alorizationfcon-tradiction.s GiinterWohlfartoted, reuzer's ssociation fHera-clituswith oroasterparked igorous ebate.34WohlfartoncludedthatNietzsche, nowinghePre-Socratic'seachingobe infact p-posedtoMagiandualism, idedagainstCreuzer: Nietzsche'sHer-aclitus s an Anti-Zoroaster."35owever,s Wohlfartcknowledged,Nietzsche's arathustras also an "Anti-Zoroaster."ietzsche hose30Id. 1: 199.31Id. 2: 595-96.32Creuzerlso associatedheMagiangodZeruaneAkherene ith hronos nd heideaof "great ear" reternalycle ftime. d. 1:195;3: 169ff.33Cf. d. 1:293;2: 595-96.34GinterWohlfart,Also sprachHerakleitos:Heraklits ragment 52 undNietzsches eraklit-RezeptionFreiburg:arlAlber, 991),314-16.35 d. 316.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 187Zarathustras theexponentftheEternalRecurrencerecisely e-causeofthehistoricaligure'soctrinehat ood nd vil re ternallyseparate:Zarathustraas thefirstoconsiderhefightfgoodandeviltheverywheel n themachineryfthings...Zarathustrareatedthis alamitousrror, orality;onsequently,e must lsobe the irsttorecognizet" EH,"Why AmaDestiny,"SA6,p.367).36 ycon-trast, ietzsche'seformedarathustraeaches he ternal ecurrenceasthe nion fopposites:Ineveryword econtradicts,hismost es-sayingf ll spirits;n him lloppositesreblendednto newunity"(EH, "ThusSpokeZarathustra,"SA6, p. 343). This association fZarathustraothwith positive alorizationfcontradictionndwithHeraclituslosely esembles reuzer's ccount fMagianism, hichit eemsNietzschemayhave ppropriatedndmodified,fnot ctuallyaccepted.37

36Zarathustra'sast ins dentifyimonceagainwithhisnemesis,heSpirit fGravity,ho s elsewhereeld esponsibleor reating ood nd vil Za III, "OnOldandNewTablets," SA4,p.248).37Furthermore,nthe arly hilosophyn theTragicAge oftheGreeks, ietzschedidnot eject he ossible onnectionf ZoroasterndHeraclitus:"It hasbeenpointedut ssiduously,o be sure, owmuch heGreekswere ble tofind nd earn broadn theOrient,nd t s doubtlessrue hathey icked pmuchthere.t s a strangepectacle, owever,o see the lleged eachersromheOrientand heir reek isciples xhibitedideby ide:Zoroaster ext oHeraclitus, indusnext oEleatics... As tothe eneraldea,we should otmindt, f nly ts xponentsdidnotburden s with heir onclusionhat hilosophy as thusmerely mportedintoGreece atherhan aving rownnddevelopedheren a soilnaturalnd nativeto t... Nothing ouldbe sillier han o claim nautochthonousevelopmentor heGreeks. nthe ontrary,heynvariablybsorbedtherivingultures.. [W]hatheyinventedas the rchetypesfphilosophichought."PHG 1,KSA1,p. 806-07) firstemphasismine)Thus,Nietzsche ccepted hat he Greekphilosophers ayhaveappropriatednddeveloped rientaldeas; and,by implication,hatHeraclitusmayhave borrowedsomethingrom oroaster. s von Reibnitz otes 97, esp.n. 27),NietzschenGTalsoacceptedhe hesis,dvanced yCreuzermong thers,f nOrientalrigin ortheDionysusult.



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188 Robert . YelleBachofenJohannakob achofen,he awyer-cum-mythologistnd author fa groundbreakingreatisenprimitive atriarchy,as a Baselresidentand oldercolleague ndfriendfNietzsche.38n his first ears tBasel,Nietzschewasfrequentlyguest ttheBachofen esidence.39Nietzscheborrowed achofen'sVersuchiiberdie GrdbersymbolikderAlten1859) ("Investigationnto heMortuaryymbolismftheAncients")romheUniversityfBasel libraryn June 8,1871 the

very ayheborrowedreuzer's ymbolik),tthe ime fcomposingGT.4?Bachofens saidto have pprovedfGT inturn.41In hisGrdibersymbolik,achofenrguedhat hemortuaryymbol-ism ofthe ncient reeksndRomans xpressedhe deathat atureconsists fa continualtrugglef two ntagonisticrinciplesidenti-fied sgood nd vil,day ndnight,ife nddeath,tc.),which onsti-tutewo pposed olesunitedy cyclical rocess:On monumentsf ndubitable eaninghe ircle ppears s a sign f potheosis.Itderives his ymbolic sefrom hepeculiarityfthe ircularine,which,ikeall the ife ftellurianreation,eturns[zuriickkehrt]ver gainon tselfnd nthe rogressionrom he tartingoint.tthus ncloses,ike he gg,both oles,betweenwhich reationternally oves oandfro, ndwhich,ike white ndblack,mergento neanother... n thismanner,all, disc, nd circle btaindefinitessociationwith hephysical earersfnature's ower... All of theseassociationsf he ircle nd tsdifferentepresentationsave oncurrentlyruthand ustification.heoriginalssociation,owever,o whichhe emainingnesand,finally,hemeaningf hemysteriesonnect,s none ther han hat ternalreturnewige uriickkehren]f reationo tself hat omes oview nthe ircular

38SeeGeorge oas' prefaceoRalphManheim,rans., yth,eligion,ndMotherRight: electedWritingsfJ.J. achofen, ollingen eries84 (Princeton:rincetonUniversityress, 967),xxff.39Andler :419.40 d. 419n.2.41Bliumer53.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 189line, hat epose f nd ndbeginningneachother... n thismanner,he irclebecomes nexpressionf fate rofthehighestaw ofnature,ulingll life.42Like Creuzer efore im,Bachofenssociated his ycleofoppo-siteswithhe ourse f he hariotsttheRoman ircus:In thedeparturef movementhe eamreturnsver gainto tsstartingoint,like he ircularine, fwhich he ompletionoses tselfnthebeginning.neofthepowers rives traighthead,while heother urnsound nd eads backagain.Thecompletionfeach existences a returnRiickkehr]o tsbeginning,and neachdistancingrom he tartingoint here iesatthe ametime re-approachingWiederanndherung]o the ame. Twodirectionsre n ustsuchanunexplainable ay oinedto eachother,ike he wopowers hemselves,orthey orrespond.he result ftheir ombined owers the ycle, nwhich lltellurianife ternally oves.The image fthis ycle s therevolutionsf thechariots, hich ly round hemetaewith hehighestpeed, n order o return[zuriickkehren]o the tartingoint nd then o traversehe amespace againanew.43

Bachofen'sdeaof neternal eturnewige uriickkehr)othe amepoint hroughhecycleof opposites loselyresembles heEternalRecurrenceewigeWiederkunft/Wiederkehr).achofen ssociated iseternal eturn ith number f symbolsater ssociatedwith heEternal ecurrence,ncludinghe aduceus,44hephoenix,45nd theserpent, hich has a longlife,turns ack [zuriickkehrt]rom nold one nto youthndgainsnew andgreaterowers, ntil he sresolvedaufgelist]ntoherselfgainafter hecompletionfa setspan... [S]he is immortalnd turns ack on herself."46everalofBachofen's epictionsf thetwoopposedpowers loselyprefigurethe mageofZarathustra ith hedarkdwarfweighingn his back:

42Johann akob achofen, ohann akob achofens esammelteWerke,d. KarlMeuli,vol.4, VersuchUberieGrdbersymbolikerAltenBasel:BennoSchwabe&Co., 1954),151-53.43 d. 270.44 d. 168.45Thephoenixs connected ith the deaof a great osmicyear nd oftime verreturningzuriickkehrend]nfixed eriods oself-rejuvenation."d. 134.46Id. 175 n.3 (quoting hilo); f.175ff.



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190 Robert . Yellethe wopowers ullingnopposite irectionst the hariot ace;thedioscuri,mythicalwins fdark nd ight;47ionysusMelanaigis, howears blackgoatskinndappears ehind isvictim;48ndOcnus,thepenitentnHadeswhoweaves rope hat s continuallyevouredbyan ass.49Thesesymbolsreprecedentor he typical ompoundformfthe uroborusound n Za. ForBachofen s forNietzsche,llofthese ymbols reencompassed ithin ndexpressed ytheonemasterymbol f he ircle.Bachofen dentifiediseternaleturns "thefoundationf all an-cient eligion,"50ncludinghat fHeraclituss51nd, specially, iony-sus: "Thiseternal eturnstete iickkehr]f the underedotenciesotheoriginal nity,s it was in the gg,forms he nnermostontentof theDionysian eligionnd tsmysteries."52heDionysian eligioncontained,npurer orm,he ssence f llothereligions.53achofen,therefore,ppears obe a likely ource or omeof the pecificym-bols, erminology,ndconceptsfNietzsche's ternal ecurrence,swell s for he ssociationfthesewith ionysus.Schelling

Friedrichchelling'sWeltalter54"Ages ftheWorld"),notherm-portant ork fRomanticmythology,ontains he ollowingassage:[P]rimal atures a life ternallyevolvingn tself, kind fcircle... Of coursethedistinctionetweenower ndhigherscontinuallynnulledn this ontinualcircularmovement;heres neither truly igher or trulyower, ecausealternatelyhe ne shigherndthe therower; heresonly n ncessant heel,

47 d. 14ff.,3ff.,69.48Id. 59 (citing reuzer,ymbolik,. Ausgabe, : 152),355,435.49 d. 352-485.50Id. 27,30.51 d.28,269,431, 437,463.52Id. 39.53 d. 56.54Thisworkwasbegunn1811,but ublished nly fterchelling's eathn1854.SeeFredericke Wolfe olman, r.,rans.,riedrichchelling,heAgesof heWorld,reprintd. NewYork:AMS Press, 967), .



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 191a never esting,otating ovementn which heres no distinction.ven theconcept fbeginningnd end s againannulledn thisrotation...These arethepowers f that nner ife ncessantly iving irth o andconsumingtselfagain,whichmannotwithout eardivines s what s hidden n everything,althought s nowcovered pand hasoutwardlyssumed table roperties.ythat ontinualeturno thebeginningnd the ternalecommencingdasewigeWiederbeginnen],hat ifemakes tself ubstancenthereal senseoftheword(idquod ubstat),nto he lways biding;t s the onstantnnermainspringndclockwork,t s timewhich s eternallyeginning,ternally ecoming,lwaysdevouringtselfndalwaysgiving irth o tself gain.The ntithesisternallybegets tselfn order o be consumedgain and again bytheunity,nd theantithesiss eternallyonsumedytheunitynorder o revivetselfver new.This s thecenter,hehearthfthe ife which s continuallyerishingn itsown flames ndrejuvenatingtself rom he sh. This is theundyingire, ythe motheringfwhich, s Heraclitussserted,heuniverse as created,ndwhichwasshown o oneof he rophetsn a vision,s somethingeturningponitself,ver epeatingtself yretrogressionnd gaingoing orward.his s theobject f he ncientMagianwisdom,ndof hat ire octrinenaccordance ithwhich heJewishawgiverlso eft ispeople his aying:TheLord,yourGod,is a consumingire"... 5(emphasismine)

Althoughhere s no direct vidence hatNietzsche eadWeltal-ter,he did refer o Schellingn connection ithCreuzer nce dur-inghis Basel lectures.56chelling's ircleof "eternal ecommenc-ing" ewigesWiederbeginnen)trikinglyarallels heEternal ecur-rence ewige Wiederkunft/Wiederkehr).is symbolismf thecycleof"time... alwaysdevouringtself ndalwaysgiving irth o itselfagain... continuallyerishingn ts wnflamesndrejuvenatingtselffrom he sh" evokes he uroborusndphoenix57hat ymbolizeheEternal ecurrence.erhapsmost ignificantsSchelling'sssociationofthe ternalycle fopposites ith othHeraclitusndthe ancientMagianwisdom"i.e. Zoroaster),n association e encounteredlsoinBachofenndespecially reuzer.

55 d. 116-17. havesupplied he German rom chellingsWerke,d. ManfredSchroiter,eries, vol.4 (Miinchen: .H. Beck,1958),606.56Vorlesungen870-71, GW11.3, .410.57KSA4,p. 82.



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192 Robert . YelleTheRebirthfMyth?For everal fNietzsche's omanticredecessors,he ternalycleofoppositeswas a specifically ythicdea,thedistilledwisdom fancient eoples.They laced hehighestaluenot nly nthe ontentof hismythicoctrine,ut lsoon the ymbolicormf ts xpression,as Bachofenxplains:The alternationf ight nddark olorexpresseshe ontinuousassagefromdarknesso ight, rom eath o ife. tshows s tellurianreations the esult feternalecomingnd ternalassing way, s a never-endingovementetweentwoopposite oles.This deadeserves urfullest ttentionecause f ts nnertruth,utwe must lso admire he imple xpressionf the ymbol. hemereoppositionf light nd dark olorconcretizes profoundhought hich hegreatestf ncient hilosopherseemed nable oexpress ullyn words... Thesublime ignityndrichness f he ymbol eside reciselynthe act hat t notonly llows fbut ven ncouragesifferentevels f nterpretation,nd eadsusfrom he ruthsfphysicalife o hose f a higher piritualrder.58

Creuzer oncurredn he onvictionhatmyth as a formf houghtsuperiorophilosophy:What hen smorempressivehan hemage[Bild]?The truthf wholesomeeaching, hichwould elost n thewidepath fthe oncept,meetstsgoal mmediatelynthemage."59Or,"[W]hatwe call symbolicBildliches]... is]nothingther hanthestampof ourthought, necessity,romwhich ven themostabstractndprosaic niichternste]piritannotxtracttself...,60

58Bachofen 18ff. trans.Mannheim); f. Bachofen 1-63 (trans.Mannheim):"Myths the xegesis f the ymbol.tunfoldsn a series foutwardlyonnectedactionswhat he ymbolmbodiesna unity.tresembles discursivehilosophicaltreatisen o far sit plitshe dea nto number f onnectedmages nd heneavesit to the eader odraw heultimatenference... o expoundhemysteryoctrinenwordswouldbe a sacrilege gainst he upremeaw; itcan onlybe representednterms fmyth...Human anguages toofeeble oconveyllthe houghtsroused ythe lternationf ife nd deathnd he ublime opes f he nitiate. nly he ymboland he elatedmythanmeet his igher eed."59Creuzer : 483.Herehealsocited ausanias'observationhat hewisestGreeksspokenriddles.60 d. 4: 527.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 193At the same time, s this ast statementf Creuzer's uggests,philosophyppropriatedheoriginallymythicdea of thecycleofopposites61,nd evencontinued,n increasinglybstract orm,hesymbolicmannerf ts xpression.hisdevelopmentasrepresentedmetonymicallyntherelationshipfZoroasterhemyth-makerithHeraclitushe hilosopher:Heraclitushe phesian,norderorepresenthe rincipalfhisphilosophy,hedogma foppositions the oundationfallthings,fcosmicharmonyhroughdissonance,f ightnddarkness,eath nd ife.., chosepreciselyhebowandlyre or is hiaroscuroictureshelldunkeleilder].Hehadtakenhe ontentfhis eachingsromhe ight-theoriesf heOrient; romhere etookhis magesas well... ThesepropositionsfancientMagian teaching...these ymbols fthe ancientight-ndfire-templesf the NearEast,thesemythsndfestivalhymns.. the rofoundhilosopherromphesus mpressed ith is harp, eepspirit,nd xpandedhemnto systemfphilosophemesPhilosophemen]:otdialectical thiswasreservedor lato ater but atherriestly,uggestive,and nthe haracterftheDelphickingwho, s Heraclitus imselfaid, saysnothing, idesnothing,uthintsnstead."WhetherhisHeraclituswrote ne[ofthebooks attributedo]Zoroaster,s later estimonyouldhave t,ornot,remainsuite ndifferent.t s enough hat ephilosophizedoroastrically,hathetaughtike he ncient reateacherf ight erethoschtro,he tar fGold.62

Whileclaiming hat hilosophyeveloped ut ofmyth, reuzerat times,n keepingwithhis valuation f myth,haracterizedhisdevelopments a declinebroughtbout npart hroughheagencyofphilosophy,hich ontributedo thedistinctionfmyths "false"speech.63herewas subsequentlyntheAlexandrianeriod returnofmyth:The returnRiickkehr]nd reestablishmentf both]mysticismndsymbolisminmythology,nd the otal ndpermanentredominancefboth... Thethou-

61"Plato ndthePlatonists,or xample,xpressedhe ctivityfthe piritnd tsrelationo tselfhroughhe ircularmovement,omparedhe piritoa circle, ndsensualityoa straightine, poke f a revolvingUmlauf] f the pirit,aidthat hespiritmoves n circle... Id. 1:43,n. 1.On Plato'suseofothermyths,ee 4: 563-64.62Id. 2: 599-601.63Id. 4: 520ff.,63.



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194 Robert . Yellesandfoldtimulated,nriched,nd trivingumanpiritspointed ack n tself[aufsich elbst ingewiesen],ndobservationeturnskehrturiick] ithin.64Several trandsf thisRomantic iew ofmythologyeemtohavebeentaken p byNietzsche nGT, n which he ternalycle fop-posites ppears s themythicaloctrinearexcellencend,more ar-ticularly,symbol ftheunityfthe ppositesmythndphilosophy,andofthe ebirthf he ormerut fthe atter. ietzschenthatwork

placedthehighest ossiblevaluationnmyth65,hichhe identifiedwithmusic, oetry,ndtragedy,mong ther hings.Myth ook heformfsymbol,mage, ndmetaphor:66hus the apacity fmusictogivebirth omyth... ndparticularlyhe ragicmyth...which x-presses ionysian nowledgensymbolsor metaphors:"leichnis-sen]" GT 16,KSA1,p. 107).Such llusion-creatingormsfexpres-sionwere uperioro the truths"r"concepts"fthephilosopherrscientist.nly neyear ater,nthe ssay"OnTruth ndLyingn anExtra-Moralense," eargued:

What s truth? mobile rmy fmetaphors, etonyms,nthropomorphisms,in short, sum of humanrelationswhichwerepoetically nd rhetoricallyheightened,ransferred,ndadorned,nd afteronguse seemsolid, anonical,andbindingo a nation. ruths re llusions boutwhich thas beenforgottenthat hey re llusions, orn-out etaphors ithoutensorympact... KSA 1,p. 880-8167).64 d. 4: 666.65See GT23,KSA1,p. 145: [W]ithout ythveryultureosesthe aturalealthypower f ts reativity:nly horizon efinedymythsompletesndunifies wholecultural ovement.. Even he tate nows o more owerfulnwrittenaws hanhemythicaloundationhat uaranteestsconnection ith eligionnd tsgrowthrommythicalotions."66 n GT,Nietzschemploysll ofthese ermsSymbol, ild,Metapher)withoutany leardistinctionnmeaning.While detailed tudy fNietzsche's se of theseterms,ndanydistinctionsnmeaning mong hem,wouldbe necessaryor fullunderstandingfNietzsche's prachlehre,or urpurposeswemay ake ll ofthese

terms s roughlyquivalent.67Translatedn SanderGilman,CaroleBlair, nd David Parent, ds,FriedrichNietzsche n Rhetoric ndLanguage New York:OxfordUniversityress,1989),246-57 t 250.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 195GT is an explicit iposteoPlato'sdistinctionetween hilosophyandpoetryormyth),nd devaluationf the atter. ietzscheimulta-neouslybolished nd nvertedlato'shierarchy:venphilosophys aform fmyth,lbeit debased orm. ietzsche's aluation fmythsthus ncompassed ithin radicalmonismn which it s only s anaesthetichenomenonhat xistencendtheworld reeternallyusti-fied" GT 5,KSA1,p. 47). This dea,which s rightfullyegardedsone of Nietzsche'smost adical octrines,choes someof Creuzer'scontentionsoncerninghe uperioritynd nevitabilityf the mage(Bild)as a basisfor hought.ForNietzsche,hisunityfmythndphilosophy as notstatic,butdynamicndcyclical. he death fmythouldbe traced ack toSocrates ndEuripides;he ebirthfmyth ouldoccur hroughheagency fWagner,nd wouldrepresent,t the sametime, he elf-overcomingfphilosophy.hisrebirths symbolized ythe ircle nseveral assages,68 ostnotablynSection 5,the riginalndof thebook:

[S]cience, purred y tspowerfulllusion,peeds rresistiblyowardts imitswhere tsoptimism,oncealednthe ssence f ogic, uffershipwreck.or heperipheryf he ircle f cience as n nfiniteumberfpoints;ndwhile hereis notelling ow his ircle ould ver esurveyedompletely,oble ndgiftedmenneverthelesseach, 'er half heir ime nd nevitably,uch oundaryointsonthe eripheryrom hich negazes ntowhat efiesllumination. hen heysee to their orrorow ogic oilsup t these oundariesndfinallyites ts wntail- suddenlyhenew formf nsightreaks hrough,ragic nsight hich,merelyo beendured,eeds rt s a protectionndremedy...Herewe knock,deeplymoved, t thegatesof presentnd future: illthis turning""Umschlagen"]ead to ever-newonfigurationsfgenius nd

68"... theprofoundoetwants o tellus: though veryaw,every aturalrder,even hemoralworldmay erish hroughis ctions, is ctions lsoproduce highermagical ircle feffects hich ound newworld n the uins fthe ld one that asbeenoverthrown"GT 9,KSA1,p. 65); "... amid ll our ultureGermanmusic] sreally he nlygenuine,ure,ndpurifyingire-spiritrom hich ndtoward hich,as inthe eachingf he reat eraclitusfEphesus,llthings ove n double rbit"(GT 19,KSA1,p. 128).



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196 Robert . Yelleespeciallyf the ocrateswho racticesmusic?GT 15,KSA 1,p. 101-02) firstemphasismine)

Therebirthf ragedyhroughhe elf-overcomingfphilosophysdepicteds the uroborus,symbollso hintednthe hrasethe dgeofwisdom urnsgainsthewise" GT9,KSA1,p.67),andprefiguredin a notefrom ate 1870: "The highest ignof thewill: thebeliefin illusion nd theoreticalessimismites tself n thetail" KSA7,5[68]).Nietzsche's epictionf he elf-overcomingfphilosophysa" turning''Kehre'] .. at he ates fpresentndfuture"oreshadowsthefamous ncounterfZarathustraith he pirit fGravity,henthe aths fpast ndfuture eet ta gatewaynscribedMoment."The rebirth f tragedys associatedwithbothHeraclitus69ndDionysus,speciallyhemythfDionysus agreus'dismembermentand ater eunificationndrebirth,hichNietzsche alls the mysterydoctrine ftragedy"GT 10,KSA 1,p. 73). InZa, he alludes othismythnconnection ith heEternal ecurrence:What eturns,hatfinallyomeshome ome, smy wn elf ndwhat fmyselfas ongbeen n strangeands nd scatteredmong ll thingsndaccidents"(KSA4,p. 193);and:

Verily, y riends,walk mongmen s among he ragmentsnd imbs fmen.This swhatsterribleormy yes, hat findmannruins nd scattereds overa battlefieldra butcher-field...nd this s all my reatingndstriving,hatI create ndcarry ogetherntoOne what s fragmentnd riddle nddreadfulaccident.p. 178-79; f.p.248)Theseassociationsend ubstance oNietzsche'sater ffirmationsof the lose relation etween T andZa, tragedynd theEternal e-currence.o wethen onclude hatNietzsche evelopedhedoctrineoftheEternal ecurrenceongbefore tsexplicitrrivaln FW 341?Thischaracterizationouldbe as unjustifieds theopposite onclu-sionnow ppears: hatheresnoprecedentor he ternal ecurrenceinNietzsche'sarlierworks,hattsprang, thena-like,ully-formedfrom isbrainnan nstant,ithoutelationoexistingurrentsnhis

69See precedingote.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 197thought.fNietzsche's oots nRomanticismxtendedeeperhan adpreviouslyeenobserved,t s alsothe asethat hose oots ourishedthe urthesteaves ndbranchesfhisphilosophy.Whatare we to make of sucha resurfacingfRomanticdeasin Nietzsche'smature hilosophy,n his most mportantookZaand central octrine f theEternalRecurrence?t is temptingoconclude hat heEternalRecurrence, hichNietzschentroducedwiththewords tragedy egins," epresentedherebirth f mythpredictedn GT.However,uch simplisticonclusionscomplicatedand,potentially,ontradictedy thecritical,ronic, ndparodyingelementsn hismaturehilosophy,hich omehave hereforeabeled"antimythic."ristiano rottanelliasframedhe roblem ell:TheparadoxicalualityfNietzsche's seofmythicalames nd mages uringhis third eriod ies inthefact hat heGerman hilosophersedsuchnamesand symbols o indicate is stance hat eniedthepossibilityf reachingphilosophical r religious ruth,ttacked nd reversedcceptedvalues,andaffirmedife, heWill toPower,nd theEternal eturns guidelinesmplyingtherefusal f all ethical, eligious,nd philosophical ategories. his is theopposite ftheRomanticdeaofa profoundeligiousruthmbodied nnature,intuitedy heVolk nd xpressednsymbolndmyth.70

Grottanelliisely uggestshatwe avoidthe xtremesfsuggest-ing hat ietzsche'smaturehilosophyepresenteditherstraightfor-ward eturnomyth,r completeejectionfmyth. erelies nNiet-zsche'sdivision fhis ownphilosophynto hree eriodsdescribedabove), nwhich he arlyRomanticeriods separatedromhema-ture eriod ya middle eriodn which he hilosopherxpressed isgreatestcientismndskepticism.ucha division recludes simplecontinuityfNietzsche's omanticism.While ndorsinghisnterpretationnbroad utline,wouldhastentopoint ut thatNietzschemployedhe ternalycleofopposites,whichwasfor im riginallymythicdea, s a symbolor he hilo-sophical rojectfhis kepticalmiddle eriodnauguratedyHuman,All TooHuman "MA"). ntheprefaceothe1886edition, ietzsche

70Grottanelli8.



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198 Robert . Yelledescribedhat ook as a "greateparation,"nwhich e turnedn hisearlier hought:He tears partwhat ttractsim" Er zerreisst, asihn eizt) MAVorrede,KSA2,p. 17).Thisouroboricehaviors fur-therpecified:Loneliness urroundsumringt]im, urls oundum-ringelt]im, vermore hreatening,trangling,eart-constricting,hatfearfuloddess ndmater aeva cupidinum."hroughherepetitionofhomonymsnd an allusion othe uroborus,ietzsche lacedMAwithinhe ycleofopposites. hissuggestshat,fNietzschenMAseparated imselfromnddestroyedis earlier ttachmentomyth,hewas torejoin ndrecreate ythater,nZa.Such an interpretationay, fcourse, e dismissed s merehind-sight.However, ietzsche's ivision fhisphilosophynto hree e-riods s alsohindsight.nd therere ndicationshatNietzschemayhavehad a "returnomyth"nmind, sort f hidden genda, t thetime fwriting A. In thevery irstphorismf thatwork, e re-jected he bsolute istinctionetweenpposites,rguedhatwe needa "chemistryfmoral, eligious,estheticdeas andfeelings,"ndasked: Whatf his hemistry ightndwith he onclusionhat,venhere, hemost lorious olors re extractedrom ase,evendespised[verachteten]ubstances?"MA 1,KSA2,p. 23-24).Although iet-zscheappears o take scientificurn yterminghenew rt chem-istry,"isdescriptionoundsmuch loser othe lchemicalwork,nwhich pposites rereconciled,nd ead (or other ase substances)turnedntogleaming old.This s confirmedyseveral assages nhis notes nd etters, hich evealhisconcept falchemys the rtofproducing oldoutofpreciselyhemost despised"verachteten)substances,ven ut fexcrement.71Also in Part One ofMA,Nietzsche rgued hat t is necessaryto movebeyond merely egative ssessment f metaphysicsnd

71Letter oGeorgBrandes,May23, 1888,KGB 111.5, . 318-19; ettero FranzOverbeck,ecember 5, 1882,KGB II.1,p. 312 "If don'tdiscover he lchemist'sart, o makegoldeven out of this dung, hen am lost.");KGWVII.1,7[155],p. 301; andKGWVII.3, 16[43], . 297; all citednPerkins,Analogistictrategies",p.325-26; nd Nietzsche'spus lchymicum",.218-19.



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 199religiono a positive ppreciationftheir alue. He describedhisas a "retrograde ovement"[riickldiufigeewegung]MA20,KSA2,p.41):He must ecognize owmankind'sreatestdvancementamefrommetaphysi-cal deas] ndhow,f nedidnot ake his etrogradetep, newould obhimselfofmankind'sinestccomplishmentsodate... Thosewho remost nlightenedcangoonly s far s tofreehemselvesfmetaphysicsnd ookbackon twithsuperiority,hilehere, s in thehippodrome,t snecessaryo take turnt theendofthe rack.MA20,KSA2,p.41-42)

Themovementeintegratinghat s positivenmetaphysicsndreligion,fter irstompletelyejectinghem, ollows hepatternfthe ternal ecurrence.ietzschemayhave akenhe pecificymbolof the etrogradeovementf the hariot rom reuzer respeciallyBachofen, orwhom, s we haveseen, t certainlyepresentedheunion fopposites. ietzsche hus mployedhe ycle foppositesosymbolize otmerelyhe ontentfhisphilosophy,ut lsothe ormofhisowndevelopments a philosopher.Moreover,t is essential o keep nmind hat,nmany assagesin whichNietzscheppears o attackmyth,ncludingheone fromMA ustquoted, e s actuallyttackinghe faithnopposite alues"(JGB ,KSA5,p. 16)which e associated ariously ith hilosophy,metaphysics,ndreligion,specially hristianity,s wellas, insomecases,withmyth.Nietzsche's sage of theterm myth" oes notremain onsistent.What does remain onsistent,romGT onwardthroughoutis areer,s hisrejectionf hedeathathereould eanyabsolutepposites,ndhisuseof he ircle o ymbolizehis ejection.Thesefeatures,ven when eparated rom hecategoryf "myth,"continue o markNietzsche's hilosophys originatingnRomanticideasofmyth.Nietzsche'smature hilosophyertainlyontains ritical,ronic,andparodyinglementshatmightustly e describeds "antimythic."However,hese lements armonize ith, atherhan ontradict,heideaofthecycleofopposites. brief nalysis hows hat hemostnihilisticdea of the ate period, he"Revaluationf All Values"(Umwertungller Werte),onstitutes form f thiscycle.As we



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200 Robert . Yellehave seen,Nietzsche mployed erbalformulaswhichdepicttheEternal ecurrencehroughherepetitionf a key erm.n the ameway,theformula Revaluationf All Values," hrough playontheword value" Wert),ncodestherepetitionndreflexivityhatare dentifyingarkersf thecircle.Thephrase arries venrichernuances n theGerman ecauseoftheprefixum-",which ignifies"around,"about," r,more enerally,inversion."Ifthe ontent f Nietzsche's hilosophyemainedemarkablyon-sistent,tmaybe suggestedhat hemoredistinctiveeature f hismaturehilosophysthat, hereasnGThehadonly redictedhe e-birthfmyth,nd ooked oWagner or hefulfillmentf this redic-tion,nZa,wheretragedyegins," ietzsche alled nhisownpoeticagencynanattempto create newmyth.72e later riticized T onpreciselyhese rounds:Itshould ave ung, his new soul' - andnot poken!What had osaythen toobad that didnotdare ay tas a poet:perhapshad he bility"GT, Attemptta Self-Criticism,"KSA 1,p. 15).For the genuine oet"describednGT,"metaphorsnot rhetoricaligureut vicariousmage hat eactuallyeholds nplaceof a concept"GT 8,KSA 1,p. 60). TheconsequencefNiet-zsche's rgumenthat the ragicmyth... xpresses ionysian nowl-edge nsymbols"GT 16,KSA1,p. 107) sthat ietzsche imself,heprophetfDionysus,must mployymbolsoexpress he ragicdeapar excellence,he ternal ecurrence.nthisway, e triedoaccom-plishnhisown aterwork he econciliationfpoetryndphilosophy,andto becomehimself he Socrateswhopracticesmusic" GT 15,KSA1,p. 101-02; f.GT 17,KSA1,p. 111).In the ssayon GT inEH, Nietzsche efersohisearlyWagnernBayreuth1876):

[I]n all psychologicallyecisiveplaces... one need nothesitateo putdownmyname or theword Zarathustra"here he texthas theword Wagner."Theentire icturef thedithyrambicrtists a picturef thepre-existentoet721,f.Megill81: "Themotif f a 'returnomyth'... persists, ithNietzsche-Zarathustralaying heremythifyingolethat n theearlywritingss playedbyWagner."



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TheRebirthfMyth?: ietzsche'sternal ecurrence 201ofZarathustra,ketched ith bysmal rofunditynd withoutouchingvenfor moment heWagnerianeality...At thebeginningf section the tyleofZarathustras describedwith ncisive ertaintynd anticipated...KSA6,p. 314)The section nquestion laims hatWagnerthinksnvisible ndsensible rocessesVorgiingen],ot nconcepts, hich s tosay, hathe thinksmythically,s thepeople [Volk]havealwaysthought. tthefoundationf mythies, not a thought,s thechildren f anunaestheticverkiinstelten]ultureuppose, ut athermyth]tselfs

a thinkingDenken]..." KSA , p. 485)73 SubstitutingZarathustra"for Wagner," e learn hathe tyle fZarathustras none therhanthemythic.Both he ontentnd the orm fexpressionf Nietzsche's ternalRecurrenceorrowedromheRomanticmythologicaldea of the y-cle ofopposites. lthough ietzschexplicitlyejected is Romanticroots,his oes not eemto havekepthimfrom evelopinghis deainto he entral octrinefhis maturehilosophy.hetransmutationof Romanticmythologicaloctrine,lmost nspite f tself,uits heonward rogressionfthe ycle fopposites.t mattersittlewhetherwe label theEternalRecurrencemyth"r "antimyth." morefit-tingdescriptionfNietzsche's roject han ither f these erms sCreuzer's otion f a Heraclitus ho"philosophizesoroastrically,"using ymbolsfthe ontraries.74ithoutoncludinghat he ternalRecurrenceepresentedsimple ebirthfmyth, e cannowrecog-nizehow ndwhyNietzsche laimed hat, ith his,tragedyegins:"it s a symbolor ismaturehilosophys the potheosisfhisearlier,Romanticelf.73Cf.Nietzsche'sater ommentsn the tyle fZarathustranEH,KSA6,p. 340,344.74WhenNietzsche ame across he false)etymologyfZarathustras "StarofGold,"which ppearsnthe amepassagefrom reuzer s thephraseust given, utalso n otherources, eclaimed o discovern t"the ntireonceptionf hiswork."Thatcher48 n. 28.



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202 Robert . YelleTheDivinitychool ROBERTA. YELLETheUniversityfChicagoChicago,L 60637, SA

rebirth of mith nietzsche eternal return

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