“We have discovered happiness,” say the last men, and blink.
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).
- Work
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also sprach Zarathustra), 1883
- Where
- Prologue, section 5 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede)
- Found at
- Paragraph 122 of the German text, 156 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
They are clever and know all that hath happened: so there is no end to their raillery. People still fall out, but are soon reconciled—otherwise it spoileth their stomachs.
Man ist klug und weiss Alles, was geschehn ist: so hat man kein Ende zu spotten. Man zankt sich noch, aber man versöhnt sich bald—sonst verdirbt es den Magen.
They have their little pleasures for the day, and their little pleasures for the night, but they have a regard for health.
Man hat sein Lüstchen für den Tag und sein Lüstchen für die Nacht: aber man ehrt die Gesundheit.
“We have discovered happiness,”—say the last men, and blink thereby.—
„Wir haben das Glück erfunden“—sagen die letzten Menschen und blinzeln—
And here ended the first discourse of Zarathustra1, which is also called “The Prologue”: for at this point the shouting and mirth of the multitude interrupted him. […]
Und hier endete die erste Rede Zarathustra’s, welche man auch „die Vorrede“ heisst: denn an dieser Stelle unterbrach ihn das Geschrei und die Lust der Menge. […]
“They understand me not: I am not the mouth for these ears.
Sie verstehen mich nicht: ich bin nicht der Mund für diese Ohren.
The scene
After the Superman, Zarathustra shows the crowd the opposite: the last man, who no longer asks what love, creation, longing or a star is, wants neither to rule nor to obey, and keeps a regard for health. This line closes the list of the last men’s habits; the crowd answers by shouting for the last men to be made of them.
What it means
People who have given up every aim beyond comfort think they have found happiness, and say so complacently.
Often misread
Quoted as Nietzsche’s own sneer at happiness as such. It is Zarathustra’s picture of a contemptible end-state of humanity, set against the Superman. The German erfunden means ‘invented’, which Common renders ‘discovered’.
Topics
Related quotes
- I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed.
- One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.
- Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. Mark Twain
- If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. Mark Twain
- Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. Oscar Wilde
Sources
- en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra; checked 28 October 2026)
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/we-have-discovered-happiness/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
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