Eternal Recurrence and The Cay Science 235Nonetheless, the doctrine of recurrence is not the explicit central idea
of the book. In the first three books, only aphorism § 109 is devoted to
recurrence. That aphorism, which followed direcdy from notes jotted
down during the summer of 1881, declares that "the whole musical
mechanism eternally repeats its tune" (3,468; GS § 109). It is not until the
famous final two aphorisms of book 4 that eternal recurrence is men-
tioned as such, and Zarathustra takes the stage for the first time under
the tide "Incipit tragoedia" (3,571; GS§ 342). Even though the idea of
recurrence is not placed squarely in the foreground, it is still
omnipresent behind the scenes.
The doctrine of eternal recurrence imagines the universe as a self-
contained entity directed by merciless necessity. It is necessity that turns
the cosmic event into the "musical mechanism" in which we play and yet
are only played with in the process. The Gay Sdence develops this idea right
from the first aphorism. Subsequent aphorisms can be read as a com-
mentary on this first one, which imparts a jaunty and even mocking tone
to the text as a whole. How could we not laugh at a cosmic event, which,
unbeknownst to us, is in actuality a marionette play? Although it is still
"the age of tragedy, the age of moralities and religions," it is really the
"comedy of existence" (3,370; CJ§ 1) that is being performed. Behind
the scenes, the "instinct to preserve the species" is at work, while in the
foreground we are busily setting goals and purposes; in our own eyes, all
of this activity makes us remarkable, lofty, heroic, and insightful. "In
order for necessary and constant things to function by themselves,
devoid of any purpose, they should appear to be purposeful from now
on and to make sense to us in rational terms as a final commandment—
the ethical teacher comes into play as the teacher of the purpose of exis-
tence" (3,371; GS% 1).
Thus, although the world of nature is dominated by an imaginary
teleology, the original "instinct to preserve the species" is still very much
intact, and continues becoming more refined, subde, roundabout, indi-
rect, and imaginative. Human life increases in sophistication and invents
ways and means to render itself interesting. It would be foolish to long