52 THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA, I
"Ay, towards the evil!" cried the youth. "How was it possible for thee to discover my soul ? "
Zarathustra said smiling : " Some souls will never be discovered, unless they be invented first."
" Ay, towards the evil ! " repeated the youth.
"Thou saidst the truth, Zarathustra. I do not trust myself any longer since I am striving upwards, neither doth anybody else trust me say, how is that ?
I alter too quickly : my to-day refuteth my yester- day. I frequently overleap steps when I ascend no step pardoneth me for that.
When I reach the summit I always find myself alone. Nobody speaketh unto me, the frost of sol- itude maketh me tremble. What do I seek on high?
My contempt and longing grow together; the higher I ascend the more I despise him who as- cendeth. What seeketh he on high ?
How ashamed I am of mine ascending and stum- bling ! How I mock at my vehement panting and puffing ! How I hate him who flieth ! How tired I am on high ! "
Here the youth was silent. And Zarathustra con- templating the tree by which they stood .spake thus :
" This tree standeth lonely by the mountains ; it grew high beyond man and animal.
And if it were to speak it would have nobody to understand it : so high hath it grown.
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