Page - 143 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 2:2

144 | www.limina-graz.eu Laurens ten Kate | Strange Freedom Zarathustra”. In the famous opening hymn, entitled “Of the Three Meta- morphoses,” Nietzsche introduces three shapes of the human “spirit” that would follow each other in developing metamorphoses [Verwandlungen] (Nietzsche 1969, 54–56). The first stage is that of the “camel.” The camel is the stage of morality in human existence. It longs for “the heaviest things,” for it is a “weight- bearing spirit.” (Nietzsche 1969, 54) It is devoted to the logic of achieve- ment through submission to tasks: it “wants to be laden well.” (54) It finds its strength in obeying the “I should” and “I must.” The world of the cam- el-spirit is a world one has to endure through hard work; the world, seen this way, imposes itself on us as our “other.” The world is what is given. Humans can only carry it, but in this act they “rejoice in their strength” (54): Werner Horvath, “Friedrich Nietzsche – The Three Metamorphoses” (2007) Originally created as poster for the international conference “Nietzsche y la Hermeneutica” at The University of Valencia, November 2007. Courtesy of the artist.