One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

Zarathustra, in Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883)

Genuine

Yes. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Prologue, section 5 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede), said by Zarathustra. These are the character’s words, not a statement in Nietzsche’s own voice.

Found word for word by program in the German original and in Thomas Common’s English translation (1909).

The wording people share comes from a later translation; Common’s words are underlined below.

Work
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also sprach Zarathustra), 1883
Where
Prologue, section 5 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede)
Found at
Paragraph 108 of the German text, 142 of the English
Translation
Thomas Common, 1909

Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check

On the page

¶141 en¶107 de

Alas! there cometh the time when man will no longer launch the arrow of his longing beyond man—and the string of his bow will have unlearned to whizz!

Wehe! Es kommt die Zeit, wo der Mensch nicht mehr den Pfeil seiner Sehnsucht über den Menschen hinaus wirft, und die Sehne seines Bogens verlernt hat, zu schwirren!

¶142 en¶108 de
English, Thomas Common, 1909

I tell you: one must still have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star.12 I tell you: ye have still chaos in you.

German, the original

Ich sage euch: man muss noch Chaos in sich haben, um einen tanzenden Stern gebären zu können. Ich sage euch: ihr habt noch Chaos in euch.

¶143 en¶109 de

Alas! There cometh the time when man will no longer give birth to any star. Alas! There cometh the time of the most despicable man, who can no longer despise himself.

Wehe! Es kommt die Zeit, wo der Mensch keinen Stern mehr gebären wird. Wehe! Es kommt die Weit des verächtlichsten Menschen, der sich selber nicht mehr verachten kann.

¶144 en¶110 de

Lo! I show you THE LAST MAN.

Seht! Ich zeige euch den letzten Menschen.

The scene

Zarathustra has come down from his mountain and speaks in the market-place to a crowd waiting for a rope-dancer. After the Overman and the bridge he turns to the Last Man: the time is coming when man will no longer launch the arrow of his longing beyond man. He tells them that one must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star, and that they still have chaos in them. The next sentences warn that the time is coming when man will no longer give birth to any star, the time of the most despicable man, who can no longer despise himself; then Zarathustra shows them the Last Man.

What it means

Creation needs disorder: only someone who has not yet settled into comfortable order can bring forth something new and light, a star that dances. The settled Last Man has no chaos left and can create nothing.

Often misread

Quoted as a consolation for anyone who feels a mess, often with the first half only. In the Prologue it is a warning: it comes just before the Last Man, who has lost all chaos and is happy for it. Zarathustra says it, in a poetic book, and it is the setup for a mockery, not a comfort.

Also shared as

  • ShortenedYou must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. A common shortened form on quote sites; other translations differ slightly. Not stored from a copyrighted translation.

Topics

Life, Soul, Change, Wisdom, Art

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Sources

Cite it

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Prologue, section 5 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede), translated by Thomas Common (1909). Spoken by Zarathustra. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/chaos-to-give-birth-to-a-dancing-star/ (31 October 2026).

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Checked by people

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