But they fear the people and abandon their master. Then Zarathustra speaks alone. The crowd as it hears him is terrified, loses its temper and its wits.
"A man kills himself: another goes mad. A divine pride of the poet animates him: everything must be brought to light. And at the moment that he announces the Eternal Return and the Superman together, he yields to pity.
"Everyone disowns him. 'We must,' they say, 'stifle this doctrine and kill Zarathustra.'
"'There is now no soul on the earth who loves me,' he murmurs; 'how shall I be able to love life?'
"He dies of sadness on discovering the suffering which is his work.
"'Through love I have caused the greatest sorrow; now I yield to the sorrow which I have caused.'
"All go, and Zarathustra, left alone, touches his serpent with his hand: 'Who counsels wisdom to me?'—The serpent bites him. The eagle tears the serpent to bits, the lion throws itself upon the eagle. As soon as Zarathustra sees the combat of the animals, he dies.
"Fifth Act: The Lauds.
"The league of the faithful who sacrifice themselves upon the tomb of Zarathustra. They had fled: now, seeing him dead, they become the inheritors of his soul and rise to his height.