He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.
Friedrich Nietzsche Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 'Of the Spirit of Gravity' (1883) Translated by R. J. Hollingdale
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When and why it was written
- When
- Published in 1883.
- Why
- The chapter is about weight, and about the people who want the elevation without the ascent.
What it means
A list in strict order, each item a prerequisite for the next, ending in a flat refusal: one cannot fly into flying.
Nietzsche's target is a shortcut he saw everywhere, in art and in self-styled free spirits: adopting the appearance of the final stage without any of the ones underneath it.
Read the source
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883
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