Thus spoke Zarathustra. Twilight of the idols. The Antichrist. Ecce Homo. Fun Science

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche wrote his main works at the end of the XIX century, but all the following century the ideas and thoughts expressed in them continued to inspire and strengthen the spirit of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe.
Who was this extraordinary man? A philosopher? However, he did not leave behind a coherent philosophical system that would consistently address global issues of cognition or the fundamental foundations of the structure of the world. Nietzsche's writings rather resemble bright literary opuses, richly flavored with aphoristic statements. By education he was a philologist, but he entered history as an original thinker, who argued about a variety of categories - about religion and the church, about the burning of the spirit, about the will, about faith in himself and human self-improvement. From childhood, Nietzsche was generously gifted with abilities. He was born in 1844 in the family of a Lutheran German pastor, early began to show musical ability, already at the age of ten began to compose, and in his youth wrote piano pieces. Nietzsche graduated from the famous gymnasium "Pforta", from the walls of which came many famous scientists. In twenty-four years Nietzsche, while still a student, became a professor at the University of Basel. At the same time, even from student times from the general mass of it was distinguished by a certain detachment. He did not fit into the reckless student life. He was attracted to the high. He was interested in philosophical and ethical problems. It is no coincidence that his favorite composer was Wagner, with whom Nietzsche later became friends. However, brilliant success in his studies accompanied by constant headaches, insomnia, stomach problems. By the age of thirty-five, his health deteriorated so badly that he was forced to leave the university. By the way, the aphoristic nature of his texts - a consequence of weakness of the body. Nietzsche simply could not look long at white sheets of paper - the head began to split. The suffering of the body aggravated the state of mind. Early Nietzsche's father died in a psychiatric clinic. His son, who became famous, was treated with opiates and Veronal, and ended his life at the age of fifty-six years in the same way. However, the worse he became, the higher and bolder his spirit soared. Nietzsche wrote about the lies of Christianity, claiming that the resurrection of Christ was merely a hallucination. He overthrew the stereotypes ingrained in people's minds, saying that a man in this life should rely only on his own strength, outliving his fears, ailments and delusions. "Superhuman" in Nietzsche is not a student with an axe, who decided that he is allowed everything, and not a Wehrmacht soldier with a machine gun at his side, and overcame suffering and internal limitations creative personality, which, like the sun, widely pours around him the energy of creativity and creation. Reasoning about high categories, Nietzsche quite independently came to the ideas described in Zen Buddhism more than two millennia ago. This is the secret of Nietzsche's popularity. The collection of one of the most original German thinkers - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - includes his landmark work, a unique fusion of philosophy, poetry and prose "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". It was first published in 1883 and since then has continued to attract the attention of readers with the ideas expressed in it about the possibility of the existence of "superman". The other works in the collection, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Esse Homo, and The Merry Science, are no less interesting. Several poems by the writer are presented at the end. The edition is illustrated with drawings by contemporary artist Olga Rusakova.