The work consists of a short preface dated to 1885, 296 numbered sections, and an "epode" (or "aftersong") entitled "From High Mountains". Not counting the preface or epode, the main sections are organized into nine parts:
- Part One: On the Prejudices of Philosophers
- Part Two: The Free Spirit
- Part Three: The Religious Mood
- Part Four: Apophthegms and Interludes
- Part Five: The Natural History of Morals
- Part Six: We Scholars
- Part Seven: Our Virtues
- Part Eight: Peoples and Countries
- Part Nine: What is Noble?
