AMD2

This weekend, since the marching band did not travel to Purdue for the football game , several of us went in small groups. I went with several other clarinets. While in the car for the 5 hour drive there, I brought along one of my all time favorite books: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen (Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None), by Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche was born in 1844 near Leipzig in the German Kingdom of Prussia. He is probably the most well known German philosopher for his notable work in existentialism. However, many people who are unfamiliar with his work do not realize that he is also one of the greatest writers of both prose and poetry Germany has ever produced. His writing is somewhat dry- it isn't a book I would recommend, simply because it can be not understand any of what he means.

I much prefer the book he published previous to Zarathustra, Die fröliche Wissenschaft (The Gay/Joyous Science). While Zarathustra is written in a manner that is similar to a novel (in fact, many compare its layout to that of the Bible- a mock Gospel, in a way). Die fröliche Wissenschaft, on the other hand, it written entirely in "sections" that are aphorisms- short, pithy statements that are easy to remember. Each section has a heading number, a topic sentence or question, and a response. For example, one of my favorite aphorisms is "Section 270: What Saith Thy Conscience? "Thou shalt become what Thou art." While many of these aphorisms can be several paragraphs long, many are also one sentence long. I much preferred the format of Die fröliche Wissenschaft and I feel like I was able to learn more in reading it compared to Zarathustra. I would indeed recommend it.