THE ASS-FESTIVAL 461
Thou seemest unto me to be changed ; thine eye gloweth; the mantle of what is sublime lieth round thine ugliness. What didst thou?
Is it really true, what these say, that thou awaken- edst Him again ? And wherefore ? Was He not slain and put aside with good reason ?
Thou thyself seemest unto me to be awakened. What didst thou ? What didst thon turn round ? Why wert thou converted ? Say, thou unutterable one ! "
"O Zarathustra," answered the ugliest man, "thou aft a villain !
Whether He is still alive, or liveth again, or is thoroughly dead, which of us two knoweth that best ? I ask thee.
But one thing I know. From thyself I once learned it, O Zarathustra. He who wanteth to kill most thor- oughly, laugheth.
'Not through wrath, but through laughter one slayeth,' thus saidest thou once. O Zarathustra, thou hidden one, thou destroyer without wrath, thou danger- ous saint, thou art a villain ! "
��Then it came to pass that Zarathustra, astonished at such mere villains' answers, leaped back unto the door of his cave and, turning towards all his guests, cried with a strong voice :
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