Friedrich Nietzsche abandoned this plan, which yet gives glimpses of great beauty. Did he dislike displaying the humiliation of his hero? Probably, and we shall note his search for a triumphant dénouement. But it is chiefly to be noted that he has dashed against a fundamental difficulty, the nature of which he perhaps does not plainly conceive: the two symbols on which he bases his poem, the Eternal Return and the Superman, in conjunction create a misunderstanding which renders the completion of the work impossible. The Eternal Return is a bitter truth which suppresses all hope. The Superman is a hope, an illusion. From one to the other there is no passage, the contradiction is complete. If Zarathustra teaches the Eternal Return, he will fail to excite in men's souls an impassioned belief in superhumanity. And if he teaches the Superman, how can he propagate the moral terrorism of the Eternal Return? Nevertheless, Friedrich Nietzsche assigns him these two tasks; the breathless disorder of his thoughts drives him to this absurdity. Does he clearly perceive the problem? We do not know. These real difficulties against which he breaks are never avowed. But if he perceives them ill, at least he feels the inconvenience and seeks by instinct some way of escape. He writes a second sketch which is certainly skilful: the same scene, the same fever-stricken city, the same supplication to Zarathustra, who comes among a decimated people. But he comes as a benefactor and is careful about announcing the terrible doctrine. First, he gives his laws and has them accepted. Then, and only then, will he announce the Eternal Return. What are these laws which he has given? Friedrich Nietzsche indicates them. Here is one of the very rare pages, in which we discern the order which he has dreamed. "_(a)_ The day divided afresh: physical exercises for all the ages of life. Competition as a principle. . . . . . . "_(b)_ The new nobility and its education. Unity. Obtained by selection. For the foundation of each family, a festival. "_(c)_ The _experiments._ (With the _wicked, punishments._) Charity in a new form, based on a concern for the generations to come. The wicked respectable so far as they are destroyers, for destruction is necessary. And also as a source of strength. "To let oneself be taught by the wicked, not to deny them competition. To utilise the degenerate.--Punishment justifiable when the criminal is utilised for experimental purposes (for a new aliment). Punishment is thus made holy. "_(d)_ To save woman by keeping her woman. "_(e)_ The _slaves_ (a hive). The humble and their virtues. To teach the enduring of repose. Multiplication of machines. Transformation of the machines into beauty. "'For you faith and servitude!' "The times of _solitude._ Division of the times and days. Food. Simplicity. A feature of union between the poor and the rich.