Thus Spoke Zarathustra: The Sorcerer Summary & Analysis

As Zarathustra continues on his way, he comes upon an old man, a sorcerer, who is flinging himself around in a frenzied manner. When Zarathustra tries to help him, the old man seems oblivious. Finally, shaking, he begins to wail in verse, addressing a cruel “unknown God” who oppresses him and at last retreats from him.

Zarathustra, impatient, whacks the sorcerer with a stick and orders him to stop his complaints, accusing him of being false. The sorcerer complains that Zarathustra strikes hard with his “truth.” He says that his wailings were a portrayal of the spiritually repentant, a person who turns their spirit against themselves, tormented by his conscience. He was trying to deceive Zarathustra with mock distress. Zarathustra tells the sorcerer that there is nothing genuine about him, and the sorcerer admits that he is not a great man and can no longer pretend to be. But he is being honest now: he is seeking Zarathustra. Zarathustra allows the sorcerer to enter his cave.