The Joyous Science

About The Joyous Science

Grounded in his famous notion that “God is dead,” Nietzsche’s most personal book–and one of his best

A Penguin Classic

The Joyous Science–also known as The Gay Science and The Joyful Wisdom–is a liberating voyage of discovery as Nietzsche’s realization that “God is dead” and his critique of morality, the arts and modernity give way to an exhilarating doctrine of self-emancipation and the concept of eternal recurrence. Here is Nietzsche at his most personal and affirmative; in his words, this is a book of “exuberance, restlessness, contrariety and April showers.” With its unique voice and style, its playful combination of poetry and prose, and its invigorating quest for self-emancipation, The Joyous Science is a literary tour de force and quite possibly Nietzsche’s best book.

For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.