Summary
Zarathustra delivers a scathing critique of people who treat virtue like a transaction—doing good only to get something back. He argues that true virtue doesn't expect payment, rewards, or even recognition. It flows naturally from who you are, like a mother's love for her child. The chapter exposes different types of fake virtue: people who use goodness as a weapon against others, those who perform virtue for applause, the lazy who call their inaction righteousness, and the bitter who use moral superiority to feel better about themselves. Zarathustra compares these virtue-performers to broken clocks, swamp-dwellers, and attention-seekers. His message cuts deep because it challenges a fundamental assumption most people hold: that being good should earn you something. Instead, he suggests that authentic virtue is like light from a star—it shines not because it expects anything back, but because shining is its nature. This isn't about becoming selfish or abandoning ethics. It's about finding a deeper, more honest relationship with goodness that doesn't depend on keeping score. When you stop doing good things to earn points with God, society, or your own conscience, you might discover what authentic goodness actually feels like. The chapter ends with Zarathustra acknowledging that he's taken away people's comfortable formulas for virtue, like waves washing away children's sand castles. But he promises new insights will come, just as the ocean brings new shells to replace what it took away.
Coming Up in Chapter 28
Zarathustra turns his attention to how the masses corrupt everything they touch, even the purest sources of wisdom and joy. He'll explore why some wells of knowledge become poisoned when everyone drinks from them.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
With thunder and heavenly fireworks must one speak to indolent and somnolent senses. But beauty’s voice speaketh gently: it appealeth only to the most awakened souls. Gently vibrated and laughed unto me to-day my buckler; it was beauty’s holy laughing and thrilling. At you, ye virtuous ones, laughed my beauty to-day. And thus came its voice unto me: “They want—to be paid besides!” Ye want to be paid besides, ye virtuous ones! Ye want reward for virtue, and heaven for earth, and eternity for your to-day? And now ye upbraid me for teaching that there is no reward-giver, nor paymaster? And verily, I do not even teach that virtue is its own reward. Ah! this is my sorrow: into the basis of things have reward and punishment been insinuated—and now even into the basis of your souls, ye virtuous ones! But like the snout of the boar shall my word grub up the basis of your souls; a ploughshare will I be called by you. All the secrets of your heart shall be brought to light; and when ye lie in the sun, grubbed up and broken, then will also your falsehood be separated from your truth. For this is your truth: ye are TOO PURE for the filth of the words: vengeance, punishment, recompense, retribution. Ye love your virtue as a mother loveth her child; but when did one hear of a mother wanting to be paid for her love? It is your dearest Self, your virtue. The ring’s thirst is in you: to reach itself again struggleth every ring, and turneth itself. And like the star that goeth out, so is every work of your virtue: ever is its light on its way and travelling—and when will it cease to be on its way? Thus is the light of your virtue still on its way, even when its work is done. Be it forgotten and dead, still its ray of light liveth and travelleth. That your virtue is your Self, and not an outward thing, a skin, or a cloak: that is the truth from the basis of your souls, ye virtuous ones!— But sure enough there are those to whom virtue meaneth writhing under the lash: and ye have hearkened too much unto their crying! And others are there who call virtue the slothfulness of their vices; and when once their hatred and jealousy relax the limbs, their “justice” becometh lively and rubbeth its sleepy eyes. And others are there who are drawn downwards: their devils draw them. But the more they sink, the more ardently gloweth their eye, and the longing for their God. Ah! their crying also hath reached your ears, ye virtuous ones: “What I am NOT, that, that is God to me, and virtue!” And others are there who go along heavily and creakingly, like carts taking stones downhill: they talk much of dignity and virtue—their drag they call virtue! And others are there who are like eight-day clocks when wound up; they...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Transactional Goodness
People corrupt authentic goodness by turning it into a transaction that expects payment in gratitude, recognition, or rewards.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to spot when people use kindness as currency, expecting specific returns on their good deeds.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone mentions their past favors during a disagreement—that's their virtue ledger talking, not genuine care.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Transactional virtue
The practice of doing good deeds only to receive something in return - rewards, recognition, or spiritual credit. It treats morality like a business deal where you expect payment for being good.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people post their charity work on social media for likes, or when someone helps others but keeps track of favors owed.
Virtue signaling
Publicly displaying moral behavior or beliefs primarily to gain social approval rather than from genuine conviction. It's performing goodness for an audience instead of living it authentically.
Modern Usage:
Think of people who loudly announce their good deeds or moral positions on social media to look virtuous to their followers.
Moral superiority complex
Using one's perceived virtue as a weapon to judge and feel better than others. It's when being 'good' becomes a way to elevate yourself above people you consider less moral.
Modern Usage:
This shows up when someone uses their volunteer work or lifestyle choices to shame others or prove they're a better person.
Authentic virtue
Goodness that flows naturally from who you are, without expecting rewards or recognition. Like a mother's love for her child, it exists because it's your nature, not because you want something back.
Modern Usage:
This is the person who helps others without posting about it, or treats people kindly even when no one is watching.
Reward-seeking morality
The belief that good behavior should automatically earn you good things - whether from God, karma, or society. It's the 'good things happen to good people' mentality that keeps score.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people get bitter about their struggles, asking 'Why do bad things happen to me when I'm a good person?'
Self-righteous laziness
Calling your inaction or passivity a virtue to avoid taking responsibility. It's when people dress up their failure to engage with life as moral purity or spiritual superiority.
Modern Usage:
This appears when someone avoids difficult conversations or actions by claiming they're 'above' conflict or 'too pure' for messy situations.
Characters in This Chapter
Zarathustra
Philosophical teacher and critic
He delivers harsh truths about fake virtue, challenging people who treat goodness like a business transaction. His role is to strip away comfortable illusions about morality and force people to examine their real motivations.
Modern Equivalent:
The brutally honest friend who calls out your BS
The virtuous ones
Target of criticism
These are people who perform virtue for rewards - whether social approval, divine favor, or personal satisfaction. They represent everyone who keeps moral scorecards and expects payment for being good.
Modern Equivalent:
Social media activists who post for likes rather than change
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Ye want to be paid besides, ye virtuous ones! Ye want reward for virtue, and heaven for earth, and eternity for your to-day?"
Context: He's confronting people who expect rewards for their good behavior
This quote exposes the transactional nature of most people's morality. Zarathustra is calling out the expectation that being good should automatically earn you good things in return.
In Today's Words:
You want a cookie for being decent? You think being good means you deserve the best life has to offer?
"Ye love your virtue as a mother loveth her child; but when did one hear of a mother wanting to be paid for her love?"
Context: He's explaining what authentic virtue looks like using maternal love as an example
This powerful comparison shows that real virtue, like a mother's love, doesn't keep score or expect payment. It flows naturally from who you are, not from what you hope to get.
In Today's Words:
You should be good the way a mom loves her kid - because it's just who you are, not because you want something back.
"Into the basis of things have reward and punishment been insinuated—and now even into the basis of your souls"
Context: He's explaining how deeply the reward-punishment mentality has infected people's thinking
This reveals that the problem goes deeper than behavior - it's about how people fundamentally think about right and wrong. The transactional mindset has corrupted their very souls.
In Today's Words:
You've been trained to think everything works like a cosmic vending machine - put in good deeds, get out good results.
Thematic Threads
Authenticity
In This Chapter
Zarathustra distinguishes between authentic virtue that flows naturally and performed virtue that seeks reward
Development
Building on earlier themes of becoming who you truly are versus conforming to external expectations
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself being extra nice to someone because you want something from them later
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
The chapter exposes how society teaches us to expect rewards for good behavior, creating virtue-performers
Development
Continues the critique of social conditioning that began with earlier discussions of the herd mentality
In Your Life:
You might feel angry when being a 'good person' doesn't protect you from life's hardships
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
True growth means moving beyond scorekeeping and performing to authentic action without expectation
Development
Deepens the ongoing theme of self-creation and moving beyond conventional morality
In Your Life:
You might realize you've been keeping mental tallies of your kindness and feeling resentful about it
Identity
In This Chapter
The chapter challenges identity built on moral superiority and virtue-signaling rather than authentic character
Development
Continues exploring how people construct false identities based on external validation
In Your Life:
You might discover your self-image depends too heavily on being seen as 'the good one' in your family or workplace
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Relationships become corrupted when virtue becomes a tool for manipulation and control
Development
Explores how authentic connection requires dropping the scorekeeping that poisons relationships
In Your Life:
You might recognize patterns where you or others use past favors as leverage in conflicts
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Zarathustra mean when he says some people treat virtue like a business transaction?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does keeping score of good deeds make virtue 'fake' according to this chapter?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people using their past good deeds as weapons in arguments or relationships?
application • medium - 4
How would you handle someone who constantly reminds you of everything they've done for you?
application • deep - 5
What's the difference between doing good because it's right versus doing good because you expect something back?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Audit Your Virtue Ledger
Think of three recent times you helped someone or did something good. For each situation, honestly examine your motivation: Were you keeping score? Did you expect gratitude, recognition, or payback? Write down what you were secretly hoping to get in return, even if it feels uncomfortable to admit.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between actions that felt natural versus those that felt like investments
- •Pay attention to situations where you felt unappreciated or taken advantage of
- •Consider how your expectations might have affected your relationships
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone threw their past kindness at you during an argument. How did it make you feel, and what does that reveal about the difference between authentic and transactional goodness?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 28: Rising Above the Crowd
What lies ahead teaches us toxic environments can drain your energy and vision, and shows us seeking solitude isn't antisocial—it's necessary for growth. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.