The Great Noontide Arrives — Thus Spoke Zarathustra

In the morning after the long night, Zarathustra wakes strong and bright. He says the sun should not shine for sleepers who miss the dawn. The higher men are still in the cave, dreaming on his songs, but they are not his true companions. He is done waiting for them to wake up on their own and begin the work he has called them toward.

His eagle calls from above and honors the new light. Then doves flutter around Zarathustra and a lion comes to his feet, resting there without fear. This is the sign: the laughing lion with doves that he once said must come before his work could truly begin. Nature itself seems to answer the prayer of his midnight song and mark this hour as sacred.

When the higher men see the lion, they scream and flee back into the cave. Zarathustra stands alone and understands at last. Pity for them was his last temptation and his hardest test. His task is not to save these men but to go to his work. He walks out into the morning and cries, arise, thou great noontide. The book ends with him leaving alone, ready at last for his true calling.