It is not the unendurable nature of one’s own suffering, but the unendurable sight of the suffering of others — in essence, the witnessing of evil in this world, which, according to this doctrine, would also return eternally. The most dreadful thought is, in fact, that someone might be so wretchedly unfortunate that the mere knowledge of having to live their life endlessly within that same misfortune would completely break them.

Think of all the hungry and the poor, the sick and the afflicted..… The catalogue of human suffering is endless and seems never to be exhausted. How could one tell all of them that their torment will return eternally — simply because they were unlucky enough to be born thus into this world? For that reason, for many, insight into this doctrine must remain forbidden.

From the standpoint of the human species, the true reason for disbelief in the Eternal Recurrence lies in its inherent un-bearableness — in the pure horror that arises from witnessing the suffering of others.

This is the question we ourselves have pursued the longest, the one that has touched us most deeply and pressed upon us most darkly in our most dreadful nights. Perhaps, at last, we have found an answer to it — and perhaps not. If we have, it is an answer that may take centuries to be understood and, finally, accepted. What in our life that returns must be held as the greatest value are not our judgments about ourselves, the world, or others — for these are the greatest illusions — but those moments of happiness, fulfillment, and inner serenity that arise within us, and that, as such, return eternally.

Who are we? What is this world? That we cannot know. We can know only what we do, what we desire and what we do not wish to do — and how we feel in doing so. In other words: we can know only how we function. To seek any meaning behind or beyond this is meaningless — for none exists. Yet if we focus our thought on those fragments of our inner being in which we have felt happy, fulfilled, and serene, we may perhaps be able to endure the thought of Eternal Recurrence.

Nietzsche wrote that our ability to endure the thought of Eternal Recurrence depends on whether we have ever experienced at least one such fragment — one such moment — that we would wish to relive again. The person who has experienced even a single such moment is ready to bear the thought of Eternal Recurrence.

If you believe that this book — despite the Forewarnings — is meant for you, and that the insight it contains uplifts you more than it drags you down, you may proceed >>> here.

In the online version of the book, only a few aphorisms are currently available, and the content will grow through their gradual publication in posts and their inscription into the book itself. Once completed, the book will be available both as a free digital edition and as a carefully edited printed version, offered at the cost of its preparation and binding — without any profit for its creator.