In this passage, Zarathustra reflects on the diversity of moral values across different cultures and societies. The narrative centers on his observations from traveling through many lands and among numerous peoples, where he discovers that each culture possesses its own conception of good and evil, deeply tied to their unique aspirations and struggles.

Throughout the chapter, Zarathustra recounts specific examples from his encounters. He notes that what one people consider honorable, another may regard with scorn and shame. For instance, the Greeks valued coming first and surpassing others. Similarly, the people from whom his name originates — the Persians and the prophet Zoroaster — held truthfulness and skill with bow and arrow in high esteem. Another nation revered honoring father and mother and obeying them to the depths of the soul, which granted them power and longevity. Yet another people practiced loyalty to the extent of sacrificing honor and blood for dangerous causes, which led them to vast hopes and significant aspirations.

Zarathustra emphasizes that these moral values are creations of humanity, not divine mandates. He asserts that humans first placed values into things to preserve themselves, thus giving meaning—a human meaning—to the world around them. This act of valuation is a form of creation, making humans “the valuers.” The shifting of values corresponds to the shifting of creators, and historically, whole peoples were the creators of values before individuals emerged as creators themselves.

The concept of the will to power is portrayed as the driving force behind a culture’s establishment of values. Zarathustra contrasts the older, communal pleasures of the herd with the emergent emphasis on the individual, indicating a transformative shift in human consciousness. He observes that despite the multitude of goals and values—”a thousand and one goals”—humanity lacks a singular purpose or ultimate aim.