The Gay Science

The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft) is Friedrich Nietzsche's most personal work, first published in 1882 (Books I–IV) and expanded in 1887 with a new preface, a fifth book, and an appendix of songs. It consists of 383 aphorisms interspersed with poems and short essays, and it's where several of his most famous ideas first appear in print.