,thoughts ,out ,of ,season - ,part ,one 
by ,friedrich ,nietzsche                
,,the ,,complete ,,works                
,,of                                    
,,friedrich ,,nietzsche            ,the 
,first ,complete and ,authorised        
,english ,translation                   
,,edited ,,by                           
,,dr4 ,,oscar ,,levy                    
,,volume ,,one                          
,,thoughts ,,out ,,of ,,season          
,,part ,,one                            
,of the ,first ,impression of           
,one ,thousand ,copies                  
this is                                 
,no4 #a                                 
,,friedrich ,,nietzsche                 
,,thoughts                              
,,out ,,of ,,season                     
,,part ,i                               
,,david ,,strauss1 ,,the ,,confessor    
,,and ,,the ,,writer                    
,,richard ,,wagner ,,in ,,bayreuth      
,,translated ,,by                       
,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici                

,,contents4      ,,editorial ,,note     
,,nietzsche ,,in ,,england 7,,by ,,the  
,,editor7      ,,translator',s ,,preface
 ,,to ,,david ,,strauss ,,and ,,richard 
,,wagner ,,in    ,,reuth      ,,david   
,,strauss1 ,,the ,,confessor ,,and ,,the
 ,,writer      ,,richard ,,wagner ,,in  
,,bayreuth                              
,,editorial ,,note4                     
,,the ,editor begs to call attention to 
some of the difficulties he had  to     
encounter in preparing this edition of  
the complete works of  ,friedrich       
,nietzsche4 ,not being ,english himself1
 he had to rely upon  the help of       
collaborators1 who were somewhat slow in
 coming forward4  ,they were also few in
 number2 for1 in addition to an exact   
knowledge  of the ,german language1     
there was also required sympathy and a  
certain  enthusiasm for the startling   
ideas of the original1 as well as a     
considerable feeling for poetry1 and    
that highest form of it1  religious     
poetry4    ,such a combination--a       

biblical mind1 yet one open to new      
thoughts--was  not easily found4 ,and   
yet it was necessary to find translators
 with  such a mind1 and not be          
satisfied1 as the ,french are and must  
be1 with  a free though elegant version 
of ,nietzsche4 ,what is impossible and  
unnecessary in ,french--a faithful and  
powerful rendering of the  psalmistic   
grandeur of ,nietzsche --is possible and
 necessary in  ,english1 which is a     
rougher tongue of the ,teutonic stamp1  
and  moreover1 like ,german1 a tongue   
influenced and formed by an excellent   
version of the ,bible4 ,the ,english    
would never be satisfied1 as            
,bible-ignorant ,france is1 with a      
,nietzsche  l',eau de ,cologne--they    
would require the natural1 strong1 real 
,teacher1 and would prefer his          
outspoken words to the finely-chiselled 
sentences of the raconteur4 ,it  may    
indeed be safely predicted that once the
 ,english people have  recovered from   
the first shock of ,nietzsche's         

thoughts1 their biblical  training will 
enable them1 more than any other nation1
 to appreciate  the deep piety          
underlying ,nietzsche's ,cause4    ,as  
this ,cause is a somewhat holy one to   
the ,editor himself1 he is  ready to    
listen to any suggestions as to         
improvements of style or  sense coming  
from qualified sources4 ,the ,editor1   
during a recent visit  to ,mrs4         
,foerster-,nietzsche at ,weimar1        
acquired the rights of  translation by  
pointing out to her that in this way her
 brother's  works would not fall into   
the hands of an ordinary publisher and  
his  staff of translators3 he has not1  
therefore1 entered into any  engagement 
with publishers1 not even with the      
present one1 which could  hinder his    
task1 bind him down to any text found   
faulty1 or make him  consent to         
omissions or the falsification or       
sugaring of the  original text to       
further the sale of the books4 ,he is   
therefore in a  position to give every  

attention to a work which he considers  
as of no  less importance for the       
country of his residence than for the   
country  of his birth1 as well as for   
the rest of ,europe4    ,it is the      
consciousness of the importance of this 
work which makes the  ,editor anxious to
 point out several difficulties to the  
younger  student of ,nietzsche4 ,the    
first is1 of course1 not to begin       
reading  ,nietzsche at too early an age4
 ,while fully admitting that others may 
be more gifted than himself1 the ,editor
 begs to state that he began to  study  
,nietzsche at the age of twenty-six1 and
 would not have been able  to endure the
 weight of such teaching before that    
time4 ,secondly1 the  ,editor wishes to 
dissuade the student from beginning the 
study of  ,nietzsche by reading first of
 all his most complicated works4 ,not   
having been properly prepared for them1 
he will find the ,zarathustra  abstruse1
 the ,ecce ,homo conceited1 and the     
,antichrist violent4 ,he  should rather 

begin with the little pamphlet on       
,education1 the  ,thoughts out of       
,season1 ,beyond ,good and ,evil1 or the
 ,genealogy of  ,morals4 ,thirdly1 the  
,editor wishes to remind students of    
,nietzsche's  own advice to them1       
namely3 to read him slowly1 to think    
over what  they have read1 and not to   
accept too readily a teaching which they
  have only half understood4 ,by a too  
ready acceptance of ,nietzsche it  has  
come to pass that his enemies are1 as a 
rule1 a far superior body  of men to    
those who call themselves his eager and 
enthusiastic  followers4 ,surely it is  
not every one who is chosen to combat a 
religion or a morality of two thousand  
years' standing1 first within  and then 
without himself2 and whoever feels      
inclined to do so ought at  least to    
allow his attention to be drawn to the  
magnitude of his task4                  
,,nietzsche ,,in ,,england3             
,,an ,,introductory ,,essay ,,by ,,the  
,,editor4    ,,dear ,,englishmen1--,in  

one of my former writings ,i have made  
the remark  that the world would have   
seen neither the great ,jewish prophets 
nor  the great ,german thinkers1 if the 
people from among whom these eminent    
men sprang had not been on the whole    
such a misguided1 and1 in their         
misguidedness1 such a tough and stubborn
 race4 ,the arrow that is to  fly far   
must be discharged from a well distended
 bow3 if1 therefore1  anything is       
necessary for greatness1 it is a fierce 
and tenacious  opposition1 an opposition
 either of open contempt1 or of         
malicious  irony1 or of sly silence1 or 
of gross stupidity1 an opposition       
regardless of the wounds it inflicts and
 of the precious lives it  sacrifices1  
an opposition that nobody would dare to 
attack who was not  prepared1 like the  
,spartan of old1 to return either with  
his shield or  on it4    ,an opposition 
so devoid of pity is not as a rule found
 amongst you1  dear and fair-minded     
,englishmen1 which may account for the  

fact that  you have neither produced the
 greatest prophets nor the greatest     
thinkers in this world4 ,you would never
 have crucified ,christ1 as did  the    
,jews1 or driven ,nietzsche into        
madness1 as did the ,germans--you  would
 have made ,nietzsche1 on account of his
 literary faculties1  ,minister of      
,state in a ,whig ,ministry1 you would  
have invited ,jesus  ,christ to your    
country houses1 where he would have been
 worshipped by  all the ladies on       
account of his long hair and interesting
 looks1 and  tolerated by all men as an 
amusing1 if somewhat romantic1          
foreigner4 ,i  know that the current    
opinion is to the contrary1 and that    
your  country is constantly accused1    
even by yourselves1 of its insularity2  
but ,i1 for my part1 have found an      
almost feminine receptivity amongst  you
 in my endeavour to bring you into      
contact with some ideas of my  native   
country--a receptivity which1 however1  
has also this in common  with that of   

the female mind1 that evidently nothing 
sticks deeply1  but is quickly wiped out
 by what any other lecturer1 or writer1 
or  politician has to tell you4 ,i was  
prepared for indifference--,i was not   
prepared for receptivity and that benign
 lady's smile1 behind which  ladies1    
like all people who are only clever1    
usually hide their inward  contempt for 
the foolishness of mere men6 ,i was     
prepared for abuse1  and even a good    
fight--,i was not prepared for an       
extremely  faint-hearted criticism2 ,i  
did not expect that some of my opponents
  would be so utterly inexperienced in  
that most necessary work of  literary   
execution4 ,no1 no3 give me the ,germans
 or the ,jews for  executioners3 they   
can do the hanging properly1 while the  
,english  hangman is like the ,russian1 
to whom1 when the rope broke1 the       
half-hanged revolutionary said3 ,what a 
country1 where they cannot  hang a man  
properly6 ,what a country1 where they do
 not hang  philosophers properly--which 

would be the proper thing to do to      
them--but smile at them1 drink tea with 
them1 discuss with them1 and  ask them  
to contribute to their newspapers6      
,to get to the root of the matter3 in   
spite of many encouraging signs1        
remarks and criticisms1 adverse or      
benevolent1 ,i do not think ,i have     
been very successful in my crusade for  
that ,european thought which  began with
 ,goethe and has found so fine a        
development in ,nietzsche4  ,true1 ,i   
have made many a convert1 but amongst   
them are very  undesirable ones1 as1 for
 instance1 some enterprising publishers1
 who  used to be the toughest           
disbelievers in ,england1 but who have  
now come  to understand the value of the
 new gospel--but as neither this  gospel
 is exactly ,christian1 nor ,i1 the     
importer of it1 ,i am not  allowed to   
count my success by the conversion of   
publishers and  sinners1 but have to    
judge it by the more spiritual standard 
of the  quality of the converted4 ,in   

this respect1 ,i am sorry to say1 my    
success has been a very poor one4    ,as
 an eager missionary1 ,i have naturally 
asked myself the reason of my  failure4 
,why is there no male audience in       
,england willing to listen to  a manly  
and daring philosophy8 ,why are there no
 eyes to see1 no ears  to hear1 no      
hearts to feel1 no brains to understand8
 ,why is my  trumpet1 which after all ,i
 know how to blow pretty well1 unable to
  shatter the walls of ,english         
prejudice against a teacher whose school
  cannot possibly be avoided by any     
,european with a higher purpose in  his 
breast8444 ,there is plenty of time for 
thought nowadays for a man  who does not
 allow himself to be drawn into that    
aimless bustle of  pleasure business or 
politics1 which is called modern life   
because  outside that life there        
is--just as outside those noisy         
,oriental  cities-a desert1 a calmness1 
a true and almost majestic leisure1 a   
leisure unprecedented in any age1 a     

leisure in which one may arrive at      
several conclusions concerning ,english 
indifference towards the new  thought4  
,first of all1 of course1 there stands  
in the way the terrible abuse  which    
,nietzsche has poured upon the heads of 
the innocent ,britishers4  ,while       
,france and the ,latin countries1 while 
the ,orient and ,india1 are  within the 
range of his sympathies1 this most      
outspoken of all  philosophers1 this    
prophet and poet-philosopher1 cannot    
find words  enough to express his       
disgust at the illogical1 plebeian1     
shallow1  utilitarian ,englishman4 ,it  
must certainly be disagreeable to be    
treated like this1 especially when one  
has a fairly good opinion of  one's     
self2 but why do you take it so very1   
very seriously8 ,did  ,nietzsche1       
perchance1 spare the ,germans8 ,and     
aren't you accustomed to  criticism on  
the part of ,german philosophers8 ,is it
 not the ancient  and time-honoured     
privilege of the whole range of them    

from ,leibnitz  to ,hegel -- even of    
,german poets1 like ,goethe and ,heine  
-- to call you  bad names and to use    
unkind language towards you8 ,has there 
not always  been among the few thinking 
heads in ,germany a silent consent and  
an  open contempt for you and your ways2
 the sort of contempt you  yourselves   
have for the even more ,anglo-,saxon    
culture of the  ,americans8 ,i candidly 
confess that in my more ,german moments 
,i have  felt and still feel as the     
,german philosophers do2 but ,i have    
also my  ,european turns and moods1 and 
then ,i try to understand you and even  
excuse you1 and take your part against  
earnest and thinking ,germany4  ,then ,i
 feel like telling the ,german          
philosophers that if you1 poor  fellows1
 had practised everything they preached1
 they would have had  to renounce the   
pleasure of abusing you long ago1 for   
there would now  be no more ,englishmen 
left to abuse6 ,as it is1 you have      
suffered  enough on account of the wild 

,german ideals you luckily only partly  
believed in3 for what the ,german       
thinker wrote on patient paper in his   
study1 you always had to write the whole
 world over on tender human  skins1     
black and yellow skins1 enveloping      
ungrateful beings who  sometimes had no 
very high esteem for the depth and      
beauty of ,german  philosophy4 ,and you 
have never taken revenge upon the       
inspired masters  of the ,european      
thinking-shop1 you have never reabused  
them1 you have  never complained of     
their want of worldly wisdom3 you have  
invariably  suffered in silence and     
agony1 just as brave and staunch ,sancho
 ,panza  used to do4 ,for this is what  
you are1 dear ,englishmen1 and however  
well you brave1 practical1 materialistic
 ,john ,bulls and ,sancho ,panzas  may  
know this world1 however much better you
 may be able to perceive1  to count1 to 
judge1 and to weigh things than your    
ideal ,german ,knight3  there is an     
eternal law in this world that the      

,sancho ,panzas have to  follow the ,don
 ,quixotes2 for matter has to follow the
 spirit1 even the  poor spirit of a     
,german philosopher6 ,so it has been in 
the past1 so it  is at present1 and so  
it will be in the future2 and you had   
better  prepare yourselves in time for  
the eventuality4 ,for if ,nietzsche were
  nothing else but this customary type  
of ,german philosopher1 you would  again
 have to pay the bill largely2 and it   
would be very wise on your  part to     
study him3 ,sancho ,panza may escape a  
good many sad experiences  by knowing   
his master's weaknesses4 ,but as        
,nietzsche no longer belongs  to the    
,quixotic class1 as ,germany seems to   
emerge with him from her  youthful and  
cranky nebulosity1 you will not even    
have the pleasure of  being thrashed in 
the company of your ,master3 no1 you    
will be thrashed  all alone1 which is an
 abominable thing for any right-minded  
human  being4 ,solamen miseris socios   
habuisse malorum4#f99    ,footnote 99 3 

,it is a comfort to the afflicted to    
have companions in  their distress4     
,the second reason for the neglect of   
,nietzsche in this country is that  you 
do not need him yet4 ,and you do not    
need him yet because you have  always   
possessed the ,british virtue of not    
carrying things to  extremes1 which1    
according to the ,german version1 is an 
euphemism for  the ,british want of     
logic and critical capacity4 ,you have1 
for  instance1 never let your religion  
have any great influence upon your      
politics1 which is something quite      
abhorrent to the moral ,german1 and     
makes him so angry about you4 ,for the  
,german sees you acting as a  moral and 
law-abiding ,christian at home1 and as  
an unscrupulous and  ,machiavellian     
conqueror abroad2 and if he refrains    
from the reproach  of hypocrisy1 with   
which the more stupid continentals      
invariably  charge you1 he will         
certainly call you a ,british           
muddlehead4 ,well1 ,i  myself do not    

take things so seriously as that1 for ,i
 know that men of  action have seldom   
time to think4 ,it is probably for this 
reason also  that liberty of thought and
 speech has been granted to you1 the    
law-giver knowing very well all the time
 that you would be much too  busy to use
 and abuse such extraordinary freedom4  
,anyhow1 it might now  be time to abuse 
it just a little bit1 and to consider   
what an  extraordinary amalgamation is a
 ,christian ,power with imperialistic   
ideas4 ,true1 there has once before been
 another ,christian conquering  and     
colonising empire like yours1 that of   
,venice--but these ,venetians  were     
thinkers compared with you1 and smuggled
 their gospel into the  paw of their    
lion4444 ,why don't you follow their    
example1 in order not  to be            
unnecessarily embarrassed by it in your 
enterprises abroad8 ,in  this manner you
 could also reconcile the proper        
,germans1 who  invariably act up to     
their theories1 their ,christianity1    

their  democratic principles1 although1 
on the other hand1 in so doing you      
would1 ,i quite agree1 be most          
unfaithful to your own traditions1 which
  are of a more democratic character    
than those of any other ,european       
nation4    ,for ,democracy1 as every    
schoolboy knows1 was born in an ,english
  cradle3 individual liberty1           
parliamentary institutions1 the         
sovereign  rights of the people1 are    
ideas of ,british origin1 and have been 
propagated from this island over the    
whole of ,europe4 ,but as the  prophet  
and his words are very often not        
honoured in his own country1  those     
ideas have been embraced with much more 
fervour by other nations  than by that  
in which they originated4 ,the          
,continent of ,europe has  taken the    
desire for liberty and equality much    
more seriously than  their levelling but
 also level-headed inventors1 and the   
fervent  imagination of ,france has     
tried to put into practice all that was 

quite hidden to the more sober ,english 
eye4 ,every one nowadays knows  the good
 and the evil consequences of the       
,french ,revolution1 which  swept over  
the whole of ,europe1 throwing it into a
 state of unrest1  shattering thrones   
and empires1 and everywhere undermining 
authority  and traditional institutions4
 ,while this was going on in ,europe1   
the  originator of the merry game was   
quietly sitting upon his island  smiling
 broadly at the excitable foreigners    
across the ,channel1  fishing as much as
 he could out of the water he himself   
had so  cleverly disturbed1 and thus in 
every way reaping the benefit from the  
mighty fight for the apple of ,eros     
which he himself had thrown amongst     
them4 ,as ,i have endeavoured above to  
draw a parallel between the  ,germans   
and the ,jews1 ,i may now be allowed to 
follow this up with one  between the    
,jews and the ,english4 ,it is a        
striking parallel1 which  will specially
 appeal to those religious souls amongst

 you who  consider themselves the lost  
tribes of our race 7and who are perhaps 
even more lost than they think71--and it
 is this3 ,just as the ,jews  have      
brought ,christianity into the world1   
but never accepted it  themselves1 just 
as they1 in spite of their democratic   
offspring1 have  always remained the    
most conservative1 exclusive1           
aristocratic1 and  religious people1 so 
have the ,english never allowed         
themselves to be  intoxicated by the    
strong drink of the natural equality of 
men1 which  they once kindly offered to 
all ,europe to quaff2 but have1 on the  
contrary1 remained the most sober1 the  
most exclusive1 the most  feudal1 the   
most conservative people of our         
continent4    ,but because the ravages  
of ,democracy have been less felt here  
than  abroad1 because there is a good   
deal of the mediaeval building left     
standing over here1 because things have 
never been carried to that  excess which
 invariably brings a reaction with      

it--this reaction has  not set in in    
this country1 and no strong desire for  
the necessity of  it1 no craving for the
 counterbalancing influence of a        
,nietzsche1 has  arisen yet in the      
,british mind4 ,i cannot help pointing  
out the grave  consequences of this     
backwardness of ,england1 which has     
arisen from  the fact that you have     
never taken any ideas or theories1 not  
even  your own1 seriously4 ,democracy1  
dear ,englishmen1 is like a stream1     
which all the peoples of ,europe will   
have to cross3 they will come out  of it
 cleaner1 healthier1 and stronger1 but  
while the others are  already in the    
water1 plunging1 puffing1 paddling1     
losing their  ground1 trying to swim1   
and even half-drowned1 you are still    
standing  on the other side of it1      
roaring unmercifully about the poor     
swimmers1  screamers1 and fighters      
below1--but one day you will have to    
cross  this same river too1 and when you
 enter it the others will just be out   

of it1 and will laugh at the poor       
,english straggler in their turn6       
,the third and last reason for the icy  
silence which has greeted  ,nietzsche in
 this country is due to the fact that he
 has--as far as ,i  know--no literary   
ancestor over here whose teachings could
 have  prepared you for him4 ,germany   
has had her ,goethe to do this2 ,france 
her ,stendhal2 in ,russia we find that  
fearless curiosity for all  problems1   
which is the sign of a youthful1 perhaps
 too youthful  nation2 while in ,spain1 
on the other hand1 we have an old and   
experienced people1 with a long training
 away from ,christianity under  the     
dominion of the ,semitic ,arabs1 who    
undoubtedly left some of their  blood   
behind1--but ,i find great difficulty in
 pointing out any man  over here who    
could serve as a useful guide to the    
heights of the  ,nietzschean thought1   
except one1 who was not a ,britisher4 ,i
 am  alluding to a man whose politics   
you used to consider and whose  writings

 you even now consider as fantastic1 but
 who1 like another  fantast of his race1
 may possess the wonderful gift of      
resurrection1  and come again to life   
amongst you--to ,benjamin ,disraeli4    
,the ,disraelian ,novels are in my      
opinion the best and only preparation   
for those amongst you who wish gradually
 to become acquainted with the          
,nietzschean spirit4 ,there1 and nowhere
 else1 will you find the true  heroes of
 coming times1 men of moral courage1 men
 whose failures and  successes are alike
 admirable1 men whose noble passions    
have  altogether superseded the ordinary
 vulgarities and moralities of lower    
beings1 men endowed with an             
extraordinary imagination1 which1       
however1  is balanced by an equal power 
of reason1 men already anointed with a  
drop of that sacred and noble oil1      
without which the ,high                 
,priest-,philosopher of ,modern ,germany
 would not have crowned his ,royal      
,race of the ,future4    ,both ,disraeli

 and ,nietzsche you perceive starting   
from the same  pessimistic diagnosis of 
the wild anarchy1 the growing           
melancholy1 the  threatening ,nihilism  
of ,modern ,europe1 for both recognised 
the danger  of the age behind its loud  
and forced shipwreck gaiety1 behind its 
big-mouthed talk about progress and     
evolution1 behind that veil of          
business-bustle1 which hides its fear   
and utter despair--but for all  that    
black outlook they are not weaklings    
enough to mourn and let  things go1 nor 
do they belong to that cheap class of   
society doctors  who mistake the present
 wretchedness of ,humanity for          
sinfulness1 and  wish to make their     
patient less sinful and still more      
wretched4 ,both  ,nietzsche and         
,disraeli have clearly recognised that  
this patient of  theirs is suffering    
from weakness and not from sinfulness1  
for which  latter some kind of strength 
may still be required2 both are         
therefore  entirely opposed to a further

 dieting him down to complete moral     
emaciation1 but are1 on the contrary1   
prescribing a tonic1 a  roborating1 a   
natural regime for him --advice for     
which both doctors  have been reproached
 with ,immorality by their              
contemporaries as well  as by posterity4
 ,but the younger doctor has turned the 
tables upon  their accusers1 and has    
openly reproached his ,nazarene         
colleagues with  the ,immorality of     
endangering life itself1 he has clearly 
demonstrated  to the world that their   
trustful and believing patient was      
shrinking  beneath their very fingers1  
he has candidly foretold these          
,christian  quacks that one day they    
would be in the position of the quack   
skin-specialist at the fair1 who1 as a  
proof of his medical skill1  used to    
show to the peasants around him the skin
 of a completly cured  patient of his4  
,both ,nietzsche and ,disraeli know the 
way to health1  for they have had the   
disease of the age themselves1 but they 

have--the one partly1 the other         
entirely-- cured themselves of it1  they
 have resisted the spirit of their time1
 they have escaped the  fate of their   
contemporaries2 they therefore1 and they
 alone1 know  their danger4 ,this is the
 reason why they both speak so          
violently1 why  they both attack with   
such bitter fervour the utilitarian and 
materialistic attitude of ,english      
,science1 why they both so ironically   
brush aside the airy and fantastic      
ideals of ,german ,philosophy--this  is 
why they both loudly declare 7to use    
,disraeli's words7 that we are  the     
slaves of false knowledge2 that our     
memories are filled with ideas  that    
have no origin in truth2 that we believe
 what our fathers  credited1 who were   
convinced without a cause2 that we study
 human  nature in a charnel house1 and1 
like the nations of the ,east1 pay      
divine honours to the maniac and the    
fool4 ,but if these two great men       
cannot refrain from such outspoken      

vituperation--they also lead the  way3  
they both teach the divinity of ideas   
and the vileness of action  without     
principle2 they both exalt the value of 
personality and  character2 they both   
deprecate the influence of society and  
socialisation2 they both intensely      
praise and love life1 but they both     
pour contempt and irony upon the shallow
 optimist1 who thinks it  delightful1   
and the quietist1 who wishes it to be   
calm1 sweet1 and  peaceful4 ,they thus  
both preach a life of danger1 in        
opposition to  that of pleasure1 of     
comfort1 of happiness1 and they do not  
only  preach this noble life1 they also 
act it3 for both have with equal        
determination staked even their lives on
 the fulfilment of their  ideal4    ,it 
is astonishing--but only astonishing to 
your superficial student of  the ,jewish
 character--that in ,disraeli also we   
find an almost  ,nietzschean            
appreciation of that eternal foe of the 
,jewish race1 the  ,hellenist1 which    

makes ,disraeli1 just like ,nietzsche1  
confess that the  ,greek and the ,hebrew
 are both amongst the highest types of  
the human  kind4 ,it is not less        
astonishing--but likewise easily        
intelligible for  one who knows         
something of the great ,jews of the     
,middle ,ages--that in  ,disraeli we    
discover that furious enmity against the
 doctrine of the  natural equality of   
men which ,nietzsche combated all his   
life4 ,it was  certainly the great      
,maimonides himself1 that spiritual     
father of  ,spinoza1 who guided the pen 
of his ,sephardic descendant1 when he   
thus  wrote in his ,tancred3 ,it is to  
be noted1 although the ,omnipotent      
,creator might have formed1 had it      
pleased him1 in the humblest of his     
creations1 an efficient agent for his   
purpose that ,divine ,majesty has  never
 thought fit to communicate except with 
human beings of the very  highest order4
    ,but what about ,christianity1 to   
which ,disraeli was sincerely attached1 

and whose creation he always considered 
as one of the eternal glories  of his   
race8 ,did not the ,divine ,majesty     
think it fit then to  communicate with  
the most humble of its creatures1 with  
the fishermen  of ,galilee1 with the    
rabble of ,corinth1 with the slaves1 the
 women1  the criminals of the ,roman    
,empire8 ,as ,i wish to be honest about 
,disraeli1 ,i must point out here1 that 
his genius1 although the most  prominent
 in ,england during his lifetime1 and   
although violently  opposed to its      
current superstitions1 still partly     
belongs to his  age--and for this very  
pardonable reason1 that in his ,jewish  
pride he  overrated and even            
misunderstood ,christianity4 ,he all but
 overlooked  the narrow connection      
between ,christianity and ,democracy4   
,he did not  see that in fighting       
,liberalism and ,nonconformity all his  
life1 he was  really fighting           
,christianity1 the ,protestant ,form of 
which is at the  root of ,british       

,liberalism and ,individualism to this  
very day4 ,and  when later in his life  
,disraeli complained that the           
disturbance in the  mind of nations has 
been occasioned by the powerful assault 
on the  ,divinity of the ,semitic       
,literature by the ,germans1 he         
overlooked  likewise the connection of  
this ,german movement with the same     
,protestantism1 from the narrow and     
vulgar middle-class of which have       
sprung all those rationalising1         
unimaginative1 and merely clever        
professors1 who have so successfully    
undermined the ancient and  venerable   
lore4 ,and thirdly1 and worst of all1   
,disraeli never  suspected that the     
,french ,revolution1 which in the same  
breath he once  contemptuously denounced
 as the ,celtic ,rebellion against      
,semitic  laws1 was1 in spite of its    
professed attack against religion1      
really  a profoundly ,christian1 because
 a democratic and revolutionary         
movement4 ,what a pity he did not know  

all this6 ,what a shower of  splendid   
additional sarcasms he would have poured
 over those  flat-nosed ,franks1 had he 
known what ,i know now1 that it is the  
eternal way of the ,christian to be a   
rebel1 and that just as he has  once    
rebelled against us1 he has never ceased
 pestering and rebelling  against any   
one else either of his own or any other 
creed4    ,but it is so easy for me to  
be carried away by that favourite sport 
of  mine1 of which ,i am the first      
inventor among the ,jews--,christian    
baiting4 ,you must forgive this1        
however1 in a ,jew1 who1 while he has   
been baited for two thousand years by   
you1 likes to turn round now  that the  
opportunity has come1 and tries to      
indulge on his part also  in a little   
bit of that genial pastime4 ,i candidly 
confess it is  delightful1 and ,i now   
quite understand your ancestors hunting 
mine as  much as they could--had ,i been
 a ,christian1 ,i would1 probably1 have 
done the same2 perhaps have done it even

 better1 for no one would now  be left  
to write any such impudent truisms      
against me-- rest assured  of that6 ,but
 as ,i am a ,jew1 and have had too much 
experience of the  other side of the    
question1 ,i must try to control myself 
in the midst  of victory2 ,i must judge 
things calmly2 ,i must state fact       
honestly2 ,i  must not allow myself to  
be unjust towards you4 ,first of all1   
then1  this rebelling faculty of yours  
is a ,jewish inheritance1 an            
inheritance1 however1 of which you have 
made a more than generous1 a  truly     
,christian use1 because you did not keep
 it niggardly for  yourselves1 but have 
distributed it all over the earth1 from 
,nazareth  to ,nishni-,novgorod1 from   
,jerusalem to ,jamaica1 from ,palestine 
to  ,pimlico1 so that every one is a    
rebel and an anarchist nowadays4 ,but1  
secondly1 ,i must not forget that in    
every ,anarchist1 and therefore in      
every ,christian1 there is also1 or may 
be1 an aristocrat--a man who1  just like

 the anarchist1 but with a perfectly    
holy right1 wishes to  obey no laws but 
those of his own conscience2 a man who  
thinks too  highly of his own faith and 
persuasion1 to convert other people to  
it2  a man who1 therefore1 would never  
carry it to ,caffres and ,coolis2 a     
man1 in short1 with whom even the       
noblest and exclusive ,hebrew could     
shake hands4 ,in ,friedrich ,nietzsche  
this aristocratic element which  may be 
hidden in a ,christian has been brought 
to light1 in him the  ,christian's      
eternal claim for freedom of conscience1
 for his own  priesthood1 for           
justification by his own faith1 is no   
longer used for  purposes of destruction
 and rebellion1 but for those of command
 and  creation2 in him--and this is the 
key to the character of this            
extraordinary man1 who both on his      
father's and mother's side was the      
descendant of a long line of ,protestant
 ,parsons--the ,christian and           
,protestant spirit of anarchy became so 

strong that he rebelled even  against   
his own fellow-,anarchists1 and told    
them that ,anarchy was a  low and       
contemptible thing1 and that ,revolution
 was an occupation fit  only for        
superior slaves4 ,but with this event   
the circle of  ,christianity has become 
closed1 and the exclusive ,house of     
,israel is  now under the delightful    
obligation to make its peace with its   
once  lost and now reforming son4       
,the venerable ,owner of this old house 
is still standing on its  threshold3 his
 face is pale1 his expression careworn1 
his eyes  apparently scanning something 
far in the distance4 ,the wind--for     
there  is a terrible wind blowing just  
now--is playing havoc with his long     
white ,jew-beard1 but this white        
,jew-beard of his is growing black      
again at the end1 and even the sad eyes 
are still capable of quite  youthful    
flashes1 as may be noticed at this very 
moment4 ,for the eyes  of the old ,jew1 
apparently so dreamy and so far away1   

have suddenly  become fixed upon        
something in the distance yonder4 ,the  
old ,jew looks  and looks-- and then he 
rubs his eyes--and then he eagerly looks
  again4 ,and now he is sure of himself4
 ,his old and haggard face is  lighting 
up1 his stooped figure suddenly becomes 
more erect1 and a  tear of joy is seen  
running over his pale cheek into that   
long beard  of his4 ,for the old ,jew   
has recognised some one coming from     
afar--some  one whom he had missed1 but 
never mentioned1 for his ,law forbade   
him  to do this--some one1 however1 for 
whom he had secretly always  mourned1 as
 only the race of the psalmists and the 
prophets can  mourn--and he rushes      
toward him1 and he falls on his neck and
 he  kisses him1 and he says to his     
servants3 ,bring forth the best robe    
and put it on him1 and put a ring on his
 hand and shoes on his feet4  ,and bring
 hither the fatted calf1 and kill it and
 let us eat and be  merry6 ,,amen4      
,,oscar ,,levy4    ,,london1 ,january   

#aiji4                                  
,,translator',s ,,preface4    ,to the   
reader who knows ,nietzsche1 who has    
studied his ,zarathustra and  understood
 it1 and who1 in addition1 has digested 
the works entitled  ,beyond ,good and   
,evil1 ,the ,genealogy of ,morals1 ,the 
,twilight of the  ,idols1 and ,the      
,antichrist1-- to such a reader         
everything in this  volume will be      
perfectly clear and comprehensible4 ,in 
the attack on  ,strauss he will         
immediately detect the germ of the whole
 of  ,nietzsche's subsequent attitude   
towards too hasty contentment and the   
foolish beatitude of the easily pleased2
 in the paper on ,wagner he  will       
recognise ,nietzsche the indefatigable  
borer1 miner and  underminer1 seeking to
 define his ideals1 striving after      
self-knowledge above all1 and availing  
himself of any contemporary             
approximation to his ideal man1 in order
 to press it forward as the  incarnation
 of his thoughts4 ,wagner the reformer  

of mankind6 ,wagner  the dithyrambic    
dramatist6--,the reader who knows       
,nietzsche will not be  misled by these 
expressions4    ,to the uninitiated     
reader1 however1 some words of          
explanation are due1  not only in regard
 to the two papers before us1 but in    
regard to  ,nietzsche himself4 ,so much 
in our time is learnt from hearsay      
concerning prominent figures in science1
 art1 religion1 or philosophy1  that it 
is hardly possible for anybody to-day1  
however badly informed  he may be1 to   
begin the study of any great writer or  
scientist with a  perfectly open mind4  
,it were well1 therefore1 to begin the  
study of  ,nietzsche with some definite 
idea as to his unaltered purpose1 if he 
ever possessed such a thing2 as to his  
lifelong ideal1 if he ever kept  one so 
long2 and as to the one direction in    
which he always travelled1  despite     
apparent deviations and windings4 ,had  
he such a purpose1 such  an ideal1 such 
a direction8 ,we have no wish to open a 

controversy  here1 neither do we think  
that in replying to this question in the
  affirmative we shall give rise to one2
 for every careful student of           
,nietzsche1 we know1 will uphold us in  
our view4 ,nietzsche had one very       
definite and unaltered purpose1 ideal   
and direction1 and this was the         
elevation of the type man4 ,he tells us 
in ,the ,will to ,power3 ,all is  truth 
to me that tends to elevate man6 ,to    
this principle he was  already pledged  
as a student at ,leipzig2 we owe every  
line that he  ever wrote to his devotion
 to it1 and it is the key to all his    
complexities1 blasphemies1 prolixities1 
and terrible earnestness4 ,all  was good
 to ,nietzsche that tended to elevate   
man2 all was bad that  kept man         
stationary or sent him backwards4 ,hence
 he wrote ,david  ,strauss1 the         
,confessor and ,writer 7#ahgc74    ,the 
,franco-,german ,war had only just come 
to an end1 and the keynote of  this     
polemical pamphlet is1 ,beware of the   

intoxication of success4  ,when the     
whole of ,germany was delirious with joy
 over her victory1 at  a time when the  
unquestioned triumph of her arms tended 
rather to  reflect unearned glory upon  
every department of her social          
organisation1 it required both courage  
and discernment to raise the  warning   
voice and to apply the wet blanket4 ,but
 ,nietzsche did both1  and with spirit1 
because his worst fears were aroused4   
,smug content  7erbrmliches ,behagen7   
was threatening to thwart his one       
purpose--the  elevation of man2 smug    
content personified in the ,german      
scholar was  giving itself airs of      
omniscience1 omnipotence1 and ubiquity1 
and all  the while it was a mere cover  
for hidden rottenness and jejune        
pedantry4    ,nietzsche's attack on     
,hegelian optimism alone 7pp4 #df1      
#ec-ed71 in the  first paper1 fully     
reveals the fundamental idea underlying 
this essay2  and if the personal attack 
on ,strauss seems sometimes to throw the

  main theme into the background1 we    
must remember the author's own  attitude
 towards this aspect of the case4       
,nietzsche1 as a matter of  fact1 had   
neither the spite nor the meanness      
requisite for the purely  personal      
attack4 ,in his ,ecce ,homo1 he tells us
 most emphatically3 ,i  have no desire  
to attack particular persons--,i do but 
use a  personality as a magnifying      
glass2 ,i place it over the subject to  
which ,i wish to call attention1 merely 
that the appeal may be  stronger4 ,david
 ,strauss1 in a letter to a friend1 soon
 after the  publication of the first    
,thought out of ,season1 expresses his  
utter  astonishment that a total        
stranger should have made such a dead   
set at  him4 ,the same problem may      
possibly face the reader on every page  
of  this fssay3 if1 however1 we realise 
,nietzsche's purpose1 if we  understand 
his struggle to be one against          
,culture-,philistinism in  general1 as a
 stemming1 stultifying and therefore    

degenerate factor1  and regard ,david   
,strauss--as the author himself did1    
that is to say1  simply as a glass1     
focusing the whole light of our         
understanding upon  the main theme--    
then the ,strauss paper is seen to be   
one of such  enormous power1 and its aim
 appears to us so lofty1 that1 whatever 
our  views may be concerning the nature 
of the person assailed1 we are  forced  
to conclude that1 to ,nietzsche at      
least1 he was but the  incarnation and  
concrete example of the evil and danger 
then  threatening to overtake his       
country1 which it was the object of this
  essay to expose4    ,when we read that
 at the time of ,strauss's death        
7,february #gth1 #ahgd7  ,nietzsche was 
greatly tormented by the fear that the  
old scholar might  have been hastened to
 his end by the use that had been made  
of his  personality in the first        
,unzeitgemsse ,betrachtung2 when we     
remember  that in the midst of this     
torment he ejaculated1 ,i was indeed not

  made to hate and have enemies6--we are
 then in a better position to  judge of 
the motives which1 throughout his life1 
led him to engage  such formidable      
opponents and to undertake such         
relentless attacks4 ,it  was merely his 
ruling principle that1 all is true and  
good that tends  to elevate man2        
everything is bad and false that keeps  
man stationary  or sends him backwards4 
,those who may think that his attacks   
were often unwarrantable and  ill-judged
 will do well1 therefore1 to bear this  
in mind1 that  whatever his value or    
merits may have been as an iconoclast1  
at least  the aim he had was            
sufficiently lofty and honourable1 and  
that he  never shirked the duties which 
he rightly or wrongly imagined would    
help him to    ,wagner paper            
7#ahge-ahgf7 we are faced by a somewhat 
different problem4  ,most readers who   
will have heard of ,nietzsche's         
subsequent  denunciation of ,wagner's   
music will probably stand aghast before 

this  panegyric of him2 those who1 like 
,professor ,saintsbury1 will fail to    
discover the internal evidence in this  
essay which points so  infallibly to    
,nietzsche's real but still subconscious
 opinion of his  hero1 may even be      
content to regard his later attitude as 
the result  of a complete volte-face1   
and at any rate a flat contradiction of 
the  one revealed in this paper4 ,let   
us1 however1 examine the internal       
evidence we speak of1 and let us also   
discuss the purpose and spirit  of the  
essay4    ,we have said that ,nietzsche 
was a man with a very fixed and powerful
  ideal1 and we have heard what this    
ideal was4 ,can we picture him1         
then1--a young and enthusiastic scholar 
with a cultured love of music1  and     
particularly of ,wagner's music1 eagerly
 scanning all his circle1  the whole    
city and country in which he lived--yea1
 even the whole  continent on which he  
lived--for something or some one that   
would set  his doubts at rest concerning

 the feasibility of his ideal8 ,can we  
now  picture this young man coming face 
to face with probably one of the        
greatest geniuses of his age--with a man
 whose very presence must have  been    
electric1 whose every word or movement  
must have imparted some  power to his   
surroundings--with ,richard ,wagner8    
,if we can conceive of what the mere    
attention1 even1 of a man like  ,wagner 
must have meant to ,nietzsche in his    
twenties1 if we can form  any idea of   
the intoxicating effect produced upon   
him when this  attention developed into 
friendship1 we almost refuse to believe 
that  ,nietzsche could have been        
critical at all at first4 ,in ,wagner1  
as was  but natural1 he soon began to   
see the ideal1 or at least the means to 
the ideal1 which was his one obsession4 
,all his hope for the future of         
,germany and ,europe cleaved1 as it     
were1 to this highest manifestation  of 
their people's life1 and gradually he   
began to invest his already  great      

friend with all the extra greatness     
which he himself drew from  the depths  
of his own soul4    ,the friendship     
which grew between them was of that rare
 order in which  neither can tell who   
influences the other more4 ,wagner would
 often  declare that the beautiful music
 in the third act of ,siegfried was to  
be ascribed to ,nietzsche's influence   
over him2 he also adopted the  young    
man's terminology in art matters1 and   
the concepts implied by  the words      
,dionysian and ,apollonian were borrowed
 by him from his  friend's discourses4  
,how much ,nietzsche owed to ,wagner may
 perhaps  never be definitely known2 to 
those who are sufficiently interested to
  undertake the investigation of this   
matter1 we would recommend ,hans        
,belart's book1 ,nietzsche's ,ethik2 in 
it references will be found which  give 
some clue as to the probable sources    
from which the necessary  information   
may be derived4 ,in any case1 however1  
the reciprocal  effects of their        

conversations will never be exactly     
known2 and  although it would be        
ridiculous to assume that ,nietzsche was
  essentially the same when he left as  
when he met him1 what the real  nature  
of the change was it is now difficult to
 say4    ,for some years their          
friendship continued firm1 and grew ever
 more and  more intimate4 ,the ,birth   
,of ,tragedy was one of the first public
  declarations of it1 and after its     
publication many were led to  consider  
that ,wagner's art was a sort of        
resurrection of the ,dionysian  ,grecian
 art4 ,enemies of ,nietzsche began to   
whisper that he was merely  ,wagner's   
literary lackey2 many friends frowned   
upon the promising  young philologist1  
and questioned the exaggerated          
importance he was  beginning to ascribe 
to the art of music and to art in       
general1 in  their influence upon the   
world2 and all the while ,nietzsche's   
one  thought and one aim was to help the
 cause and further the prospects of  the

 man who he earnestly believed was      
destined to be the salvation of         
,european culture4    ,every great ideal
 coined in his own brain he imagined to 
be the ideal  of his hero2 all his      
sublimest hopes for society were        
presented  gratis1 in his writings1 to  
,wagner1 as though products of the      
latter's  own mind2 and just as the     
prophet of old never possessed the      
requisite  assurance to suppose that his
 noblest ideas were his own1 but        
attributed them to some higher and      
supernatural power1 whom he thereby     
learnt to worship for its fancied       
nobility of sentiment1 so ,nietzsche1   
still doubting his own powers1 created a
 fetich out of nis most  distinguished  
friend1 and was ultimately wounded and  
well-nigh wrecked  with disappointment  
when he found that the ,wagner of the   
,gotterdammerung and ,parsifal was not  
the ,wagner of his own mind4    ,while  
writing ,ecce ,homo1 he was so well     
aware of the extent to which  he had    

gone in idealising his friend1 that he  
even felt able to say3  ,wagner in      
,bayreuth is a vision of my own         
future4444 ,now that ,i can  look back  
upon this work1 ,i would not like to    
deny that1 at bottom1 it  speaks only of
 myself 7p4 #gd74 ,and on another page  
of the same book  we read3 444 ,what ,i 
heard1 as a young man1 in ,wagnerian    
music1 had  absolutely nothing to do    
with ,wagner3 when ,i described         
,dionysian  music1 ,i only described    
what ,i had heard1 and ,i thus          
translated and  transfigured all that ,i
 bore in my own soul into the spirit of 
the new  art4 ,the strongest proof of   
this is my essay1 ,wagner in ,bayreuth3 
in  all decidedly psychological passages
 of this book the reader may  simply    
read my name1 or the name               
',zarathustra1' wherever the text       
contains the name ',wagner' 7p4 #fh74   
,as we have already hinted1 there are   
evidences of his having  subconsciously 
discerned the ,,real ,wagner1 even in   

the heyday of their  friendship1 behind 
the ideal he had formed of him2 for his 
eyes were  too intelligent to be        
deceived1 even though his understanding 
refused  at first to heed the messages  
they sent it3 both the ,birth of        
,tragedy  and ,wagner in ,bayreuth are  
with us to prove this1 and not merely   
when  we read these works between the   
lines1 but when we take such passages   
as those found on pp4 #aae1 #adi1 #aej1 
#aea1 #aef1 #aeh1 #aei of this book     
quite literally4    ,nietzsche's        
infatuation we have explained2 the      
consequent idealisation  of the object  
of his infatuation he himself has       
confessed2 we have  also pointed certain
 passages which we believe show beyond a
 doubt  that almost everything to be    
found in ,the ,case of ,wagner and      
,nietzsche  contra ,wagner was already  
subconscious in our author1 long before 
he  had begun to feel even a coolness   
towards his hero3 let those who  think  
our interpretation of the said passages 

is either strained or  unjustified turn 
to the literature to which we have      
referred and judge  for themselves4 ,it 
seems to us that those distinguished    
critics who  complain of ,nietzsche's   
complete volte-face and his             
uncontrollable  recantations and        
revulsions of feeling have completely   
overlooked this  aspect of the question4
    ,it were well for us to bear in mind
 that we are not altogether free to     
dispose of ,nietzsche's attitude to     
,wagner1 at any given period in  their  
relationship1 with a single sentence of 
praise or of blame4  ,after all1 we are 
faced by a problem which no objectivity 
or  dispassionate detachment on our     
parts can solve4 ,nietzsche endowed     
both ,schopenhauer and ,wagner with     
qualities and aspirations so utterly    
foreign to them both1 that neither of   
them would have recognised  himself in  
the images he painted of them4 ,his love
 for them was  unusual2 perhaps it can  
only be fully understood emotionally by 

us3  like all men who are capable of    
very great love1 ,nietzsche lent the    
objects of his affection anything they  
might happen to lack in the way  of     
greatness1 and when at last his eyes    
were opened1 genuine pain1 not  malice1 
was the motive of even the most bitter  
of his diatribes4    ,finally1 we should
 just like to give one more passage from
 ,ecce ,homo  bearing upon the subject  
under discussion4 ,it is particularly   
interesting from an autobiographical    
standpoint1 and will perhaps  afford the
 best possible conclusion to this       
preface4    ,nietzsche is writing about 
,wagner's music1 and he says3 ,the world
  must indeed be empty for him who has  
never been unhealthy enough for  this   
'infernal voluptuousness'2 it is        
allowable and yet almost  forbidden to  
use a mystical expression in this       
behalf4 ,i suppose ,i  know better than 
any one the prodigies ,wagner was       
capable of1 the  fifty worlds of strange
 raptures to which no one save him could

 soar2  and as ,i stand to-day--strong  
enough to convert even the most         
suspicious and dangerous phenomenon to  
my own use and be the stronger  for     
it--,i declare ,wagner to be the great  
benefactor of my life4  ,something will 
always keep our names associated in the 
minds of men1  and that is1 that we are 
two who have suffered more              
excruciatingly--even at each other's    
hands--than most men are able to  suffer
 nowadays4 ,and just as ,wagner is      
merely a misunderstanding among         
,germans1 so am ,i and ever will be4    
,you lack two centuries of              
psychological and artistic discipline1  
my dear countrymen6444 ,but it  will be 
impossible for you ever to recover the  
time now lost 7p4 #dc74                 
,,anthony ,m4 ,,ludovici4               
,,david ,,strauss1                      
,,the ,,confessor ,,and ,,the ,,writer4 
,,david ,,strauss                       
,i4    ,public opinion in ,germany seems
 strictly to forbid any allusion to the 

evil and dangeious consequences of a    
war1 more particularly when the  war in 
question has been a victorious one4     
,those writers1 therefore1  command a   
more ready attention who1 regarding this
 public opinion as  final1 proceed to   
vie with each other in their jubilant   
praise of the  war1 and of the powerful 
influences it has brought to bear upon  
morality1 culture1 and art4 ,yet it must
 be confessed that a gieat  victory is a
 great danger4 ,human nature bears a    
triumph less easily  than a defeat2     
indeed1 it might even be urged that it  
is simpler to  gain a victory of this   
sort than to turn it to such account    
that it  may not ultimately proxe a     
seiious rout4    ,but of all evil       
results due to the last contest with    
,france1 the most  deplorable1 peihaps1 
is that widespread and even universal   
error of  public opinion and of all who 
think publicly1 that ,german culture was
  also victorious in the struggle1 and  
that it should now1 therefore1 be       

decked with garlands1 as a fit          
recognition of such extraordinary       
events and successes4 ,this error is in 
the highest degree pernicious3  not     
because it is an error1--for there are  
illusions which are both  salutary and  
blessed1--but because it threatens to   
convert our victory  into a signal      
defeat4 ,a defeat8 --,i should say      
rather1 into the  uprooting of the      
,german ,mind for the benefit of the    
,german ,empire4    ,even supposing that
 the fight had been between the two     
cultures1 the  standard for the value of
 the victor would still be a very       
relative  one1 and1 in any case1 would  
certainly not justify such exaggerated  
triumph or self-glorification4 ,for1 in 
the first place1 it would be  necessary 
to ascertain the worth of the conquered 
culture4 ,this might  be very little2 in
 which case1 even if the victory had    
involved the  most glorious display of  
arms1 it would still offer no warrant   
for  inordinate rapture4    ,even so1   

however1 there can be no question1 in   
our case1 of the  victory of ,german    
culture2 and for the simple reason1 that
 ,french  culture remains as heretofore1
 and that we depend upon it as          
heretofore4 ,it did not even help       
towards the success of our arms4        
,severe military discipline1 natural    
bravery and sustaining power1 the       
superior generalship1 unity and         
obedience in the rank and file--in      
short1 factors which have nothing to do 
with culture1 were  instrumental in     
making us conquer an opponent in whom   
the most  essential of these factors    
were absent4 ,the only wonder is1 that  
precisely what is now called culture in 
,germany did not prove an  obstacle to  
the military operations which seemed    
vitally necessary to  a great victory4  
,perhaps1 though1 this was only owing to
 the fact that  this thing which dubs   
itself culture saw its advantage1 for   
once1  in keeping in the background4    
,if however1 it be permitted to grow and

 to spread1 if it be spoilt by  the     
flattering and nonsensical assurance    
that it has been  victorious1--then1 as 
,i have said1 it will have the power to 
extirpate  ,german mind1 and1 when that 
is done1 who knows whether there will   
still be anything to be made out of the 
surviving ,german body6    ,provided it 
were possible to direct that calm and   
tenacious bravery  which the ,german    
opposed to the pathetic and spontaneous 
fury of the  ,frenchman1 against the    
inward enemy1 against the highly        
suspicious  and1 at all events1 unnative
 cultivation which1 owing to a dangerous
  misunderstanding1 is called culture in
 ,germany1 then all hope of a  really   
genuine ,german culture--the reverse of 
that  cultivation--would not be entirely
 lost4 ,for the ,germans have never     
known any lack of clear-sighted and     
heroic leaders1 though these1  often    
enough1 probably1 have lacked ,germans4 
,but whether it be  possible to turn    
,german bravery into a new direction    

seems to me to  become ever more and    
more doubtful2 for ,i realise how fully 
convinced  every one is that such a     
struggle and such bravery are no longer 
requisite2 on the contrary1 that most   
things are regulated as  satisactorily  
as they possibly can be--or1 at all     
events1 that  everything of moment has  
long ago been discovered and            
accomplished3 in  a word1 that the seed 
of culture is already sown everywhere1  
and is  now either shooting up its fresh
 green blades1 or1 here and there1  even
 bursting forth into luxuriant blossom4 
,in this sphere1 not only  happiness but
 ecstasy reigns supreme4 ,i am conscious
 of this ecstasy  and happiness1 in the 
ineffable1 truculent assurance of       
,german  journalists and manufacturers  
of novels1 tragedies1 poems1 and        
histories 7for it must be clear that    
these people belong to one  category71  
who seem to have conspired to improve   
the leisure and  ruminative hours--that 
is to say1 the intellectual lapses--of  

the  modern man1 by bewildering him with
 their printed paper4 ,since the  war1  
all is gladness1 dignity1 and           
self-consciousness in this merry        
throng4 ,after the startling successes  
of ,german culture1 it regards  itself1 
not only as approved and sanctioned1 but
 almost as sanctified4  ,it therefore   
speaks with gravity1 affects to         
apostrophise the ,german  ,people1 and  
issues complete works1 after the manner 
of the classics2  nor does it shrink    
from proclaiming in those journals which
 are open  to it some few of its        
adherents as new ,german classical      
writers and  model authors4 ,it might be
 supposed that the dangers of such an   
abuse  of success would be recognised by
 the more thoughtful and enlightened    
among cultivated ,germans2 or1 at least1
 that these would feel how  painful is  
the comedy that is being enacted around 
them3 for what in  truth could more     
readily inspire pity than the sight of a
 cripple  strutting like a cock before a

 mirror1 and exchanging complacent      
glances with his reflection6 ,but the   
scholar caste willingly allow  things to
 remain as they are1 and re too much    
concerned with their own  affairs to    
busy themselves with the care of the    
,german mind4 ,moreover1  the units of  
this caste are too thoroughly convinced 
that their own  scholarship is the      
ripest and most perfect fruit of the    
age--in fact1  of all ages--to see any  
necessity for a care of ,german culture 
in  general2 since1 in so far as they   
and the legion of their brethren are    
concerned1 preoccupations of this order 
have everywhere been1 so to  speak1     
surpassed4 ,the more conscientious      
observer1 more particularly  if he be a 
foreigner1 cannot help noticing withal  
that no great  disparity exists between 
that which the ,german scholar regards  
as his  culture and that other          
triumphant culture of the new ,german   
classics1  save in respect of the       
quantum of knowledge4 ,everywhere1 where

  knowledge and not ability1 where      
information and not art1 hold the  first
 rank1--everywhere1 therefore1 where    
life bears testimony to the  kind of    
culture extant1 there is now only one   
specific ,german  culture--and this is  
the culture that is supposed to have    
conquered  ,france8    ,the contention  
appears to be altogether too            
preposterous4 ,it was  solely to the    
more extensive knowledge of ,german     
officers1 to the  superior training of  
their soldiers1 and to their more       
scientific  military strategy1 that all 
impartial ,judges1 and even the ,french 
nation1 in the end1 ascribed the        
victory4 ,hence1 if it be intended to   
regard ,german erudition as a thing     
apart1 in what sense can ,german        
culture be said to have conquered8 ,in  
none whatsoever2 for the moral          
qualities of severe discipline1 of more 
placid obedience1 have nothing  in      
common with culture3 these were         
characteristic of the ,macedonian  army1

 for instance1 despite the fact that the
 ,greek soldiers were  infinitely more  
cultivated4 ,to speak of ,german        
scholarship and culture  as having      
conquered1 therefore1 can only be the   
outcome of a  misapprehension1 probably 
resulting from the circumstance that    
every  precise notion of culture has now
 vanished from ,germany4    ,culture is1
 before all things1 the unity of        
artistic style1 in every  expression of 
the life of a people4 ,abundant         
knowledge and learning1  however1 are   
not essential to it1 nor are they a sign
 of its  existence2 and1 at a pinch1    
they might coexist much more            
harmoniously  with the very opposite of 
culture--with barbarity3 that is to say1
  with a complete lack of style1 or with
 a riotous jumble of all styles4  ,but  
it is precisely amid this riotous jumble
 that the ,german of to-day  subsists2  
and the serious problem to be solved is3
 how1 with all his  learning1 he can    
possibly avoid noticing it2 how1 into   

the bargain1 he  can rejoice with all   
his heart in his present culture8 ,for  
everything conduces to open his eyes for
 him--every glance he casts at  his     
clothes1 his room1 his house2 every walk
 he takes through the  streets of his   
town2 every visit he pays to his        
art-dealers and to his  trader in the   
articles of fashion4 ,in his social     
intercourse he ought  to realise the    
origin of his manners and movements2 in 
the heart of  our art-institutions1 the 
pleasures of our concerts1 theatres1 and
  museums1 he ought to become apprised  
of the super- and juxta-position  of all
 imaginable styles4 ,the ,german heaps  
up around him the forms1  colours1      
products1 and curiosities of all ages   
and zones1 and thereby  succeeds in     
producing that garish newness1 as of a  
country fair1 which  his scholars then  
proceed to contemplate and to define as 
,modernism  per se2 and there he        
remains1 squatting peacefully1 in the   
midst of  this conflict of styles4 ,but 

with this kind of culture1 which is1 at 
bottom1 nothing more nor less than a    
phlegmatic insensibility to real        
culture1 men cannot vanquish an enemy1  
least of all an enemy like the  ,french1
 who1 whatever their worth may be1 do   
actually possess a  genuine and         
productive culture1 and whom1 up to the 
present1 we have  systematically copied1
 though in the majority of cases without
 skill4    ,even supposing we had really
 ceased copying them1 it would still not
  mean that we had overcome them1 but   
merely that we had lifted their  yoke   
from our necks4 ,not before we have     
succeeded in forcing an  original       
,german culture upon them can there be  
any question of the  triumph of ,german 
culture4 ,meanwhile1 let us not forget  
that in all  matters of form we are1 and
 must be1 just as dependent upon ,paris 
now  as we were before the war2 for up  
to the present there has been no  such  
thing as a original ,german culture4    
,we all ought to have become aware of   

this1 of our own accord4 ,besides1  one 
of the few who had he right to speak to 
,germans in terms of  reproach ,publicly
 drew attention to the fact4 ,we        
,germans are of  yesterday1 ,goethe once
 said to ,eckermann4 ,true1 for the last
 hundred  years we have diligently      
cultivated ourselves1 but a few         
centuries may  yet have to run their    
course before our fellow-countrymen     
become  permeated with sufficient       
intellectuality and higher culture to   
have  it said of them1 it is a long time
 since they were barbarians4            
,,ii4    ,if1 however1 our public and   
private life is so manifestly devoid of 
all signs of a productive and           
characteristic culture2 if1 moreover1   
our great artists1 with that earnest    
vehemence and honesty which is  peculiar
 to greatness admit1 and have admitted1 
this monstrous  fact--so very           
humiliating to a gifted nation2 how can 
it still be  possible for contentment to
 reign to such an astonishing extent    

among  ,german scholars8 ,and since the 
last war this complacent spirit has     
seemed ever more and morerready to break
 forth into exultant cries and          
demonstrations of triumph4 ,at all      
events1 the belief seems to be rife     
that we are in possession of a genuine  
culture1 and the enormous  incongruity  
of this triumphant satisfaction in the  
face of the  inferiority which should be
 patent to all1 seems only to be noticed
 by  the few and the select4 ,for all   
those who think with the public mind    
have blindfolded their eyes and closed  
their ears4 ,the incongruity is  not    
even acknowledged to exist4 ,how is this
 possible8 ,what power is  sufficiently 
influential to deny this existence8     
,what species of men  must have attained
 to supremacy in ,germany that feelings 
which are so  strong and simple should  
he denied or prevented from obtaining   
expression8 ,this power1 this species of
 men1 ,i will name--they are the        
,philistines of ,culture4    ,as every  

one knows1 the word ,philistine is      
borrowed from the  vernacular of        
student-life1 and1 in its widest and    
most popular sense1  it signifies the   
reverse of a son of the ,muses1 of an   
artist1 and of  the genuine man of      
culture4 ,the ,philistine of culture1   
however1 the  study of whose type and   
the hearing of whose confessions 7when  
he  makes them7 have now become tiresome
 duties1 distinguishes himself  from the
 general notion of the order ,philistine
 by means of a  superstition3 he fancies
 that he is himself a son of the ,muses 
and a  man of culture4 ,this            
incomprehensible error clearly shows    
that he does  not even know the         
difference between a ,philistine and his
 opposite4 ,we  must not be surprised1  
therefore1 if we find him1 for the most 
part1  solemnly protesting that he is no
 ,philistine4 ,owing to this lack of    
self-knowledge1 he is convinced that his
 culture is the consummate              
manifestation of real ,german culture2  

and1 since he everywhere meets  with    
scholars of his own type1 since all     
public institutions1 whether  schools1  
universities1 or academies1 are so      
organised as to be in  complete harmony 
with his education and needs1 wherever  
he goes he  bears with him the          
triumphant feeling that he is the worthy
 champion  of prevailing ,german        
culture1 and he frames his pretensions  
and claims  accordingly4    ,if1        
however1 real culture takes unity of    
style for granted 7and even  an inferior
 and degenerate culture cannot be       
imagined in which a  certain coalescence
 of the profusion of forms has not taken
 place71 it  is just possible that the  
confusion underlying the                
,culture-,philistine's error may arise  
from the fact that1 since he  comes into
 contact everywhere with creatures cast 
in the same mould as  himself1 he       
concludes that this uniformity among all
 scholars must  point to a certain      
uniformity in ,german education--hence  

to culture4  ,all round him1 he sees    
only needs and views similar to his own2
  wherever he goes1 he finds himself    
embraced by a ring of tacit  conventions
 concerning almost everything1 but more 
especially matters  of religion and art4
 ,this imposing sameness1 this tutti    
unisono which1  though it responds to no
 word of command1 is yet ever ready to  
burst  forth1 cozens him into the belief
 that here a culture must be            
established and flourishing4 ,but       
,philistinism1 despite its systematic   
organisation and power1 does not        
constitute a culture by virtue of its   
system alone2 it does not even          
constitute an inferior culture1 but     
invariably the reverse--namely1 firmly  
established barbarity4 ,for the         
uniformity of character which is so     
apparent in the ,german scholars of     
to-day is only the result of a conscious
 or unconscious exclusion and  negation 
of all the artistically productive forms
 and requirements of  a genuine style4  

,the mind of the cultured ,philistine   
must have become  sadly unhinged2 for   
precisely what culture repudiates he    
regards as  culture itself2 and1 since  
he proceeds logically1 he succeeds in   
creating a connected group of these     
repudiations--a system of  non-culture1 
to which one might at a pinch grant a   
certain unity of  style1 provided of    
course it were ,ot nonsense to attribute
 style to  barbarity4 ,if he have to    
choose between a stylish act and its    
opposite1 he will invariably adopt the  
latter1 and1 since this rule  holds good
 throughout1 every one of his acts bears
 the same negative  stamp4 ,now1 it is  
by means of this stamp that he is able  
to identify  the character of the       
,german culture1 which is his own       
patent2 and  all things that do not bear
 it are so many enemies and obstacles   
drawn  up against him4 ,in the presence 
of these arrayed forces the             
,culture-,philistine either does no more
 than ward off the blows1 or  else he   

denies1 holds his tongue1 stops his     
ears1 and refuses to face  facts4 ,he is
 a negative creature--even in his hatred
 and animosity4  ,nobody1 however1 is   
more disliked by him than the man who   
regards him  as a ,philistine1 and tells
 him what he is--namely1 the barrier in 
the  way of all powerful men and        
creators1 the labyrinth for all who     
doubt  and go astray1 the swamp for all 
the weak and the weary1 the fetters  of 
those who would run towards lofty goals1
 the poisonous mist that  chokes all    
germinating hopes1 the scorching sand to
 all those ,german  thinkers who seek   
for1 and thirst after1 a new life4 ,for 
the mind of  ,germany is seeking2 and ye
 hate it because it is seeking1 and     
because  it will not accept your word1  
when ye declare that ye have found what 
it is seeking4 ,how could it have been  
possible for a type like that of  the   
,culture-,philistine to develop8 and    
even granting its development1  how was 
it able to rise to the powerful         

,position of supreme judge  concerning  
all questions of ,german culture8 ,how  
could this have been  possible1 seeing  
that a whole procession of grand and    
heroic figures  has already filed past  
us1 whose every movement1 the expression
 of  whose every feature1 whose         
questioning voice and burning eye       
betrayed  the one fact1 that they were  
seekers1 and that they sought that which
  the ,culture-,philistine had long     
fancied he had found--to wit1 a  genuine
 original ,german culture8 ,is there a  
soil--thus they seemed to  ask--a soil  
that is pure enough1 unhandselled       
enough1 of sufficient  virgin sanctity1 
to allow the mind of ,germany to build  
its house upon  it8 ,questioning thus1  
they wandered through the wilderness1   
and the  woods of wretched ages and     
narrow conditions1 and as seekers they  
disappeared from our vision2 one of     
them1 at an advanced age1 was even  able
 to say1 in the name of all3 ,for half a
 century my life has been  hard and     

bitter enough2 ,i have allowed myself no
 rest1 but have ever  striven1 sought   
and done1 to the best and to the utmost 
of my  ability4    ,what does our       
,culture-,philistinism say of these     
seekers8 ,it regards  them simply as    
discoverers1 and seems to forget that   
they themselves  only claimed to be     
seekers4 ,we have our culture1 say her  
sons2 for  have we not our classics8    
,not only is the foundation there1 but  
the  building already stands upon it--we
 ourselves constitute that  building4   
,and1 so saying1 the ,philistine raises 
his hand to his brow4    ,but1 in order 
to be able thus to misjudge1 and thus to
 grant  left-handed veneration to our   
classics1 people must have ceased to    
know them4 ,this1 generally speaking1 is
 precisely what has happened4  ,for1    
otherwise1 one ought to know that there 
is only one way of  honouring them1 and 
that is to continue seeking with the    
same spirit  and with the same courage1 
and not to weary of the search4 ,but to 

foist the doubtful title of classics    
upon them1 and to edify  oneself from   
time to time by reading their works1    
means to yield to  those feeble and     
selfish emotions which all the paying   
public may  purchase at concert-halls   
and theatres4 ,even the raising of      
monuments  to their memory1 and the     
christening of feasts and societies with
  their names--all these things are but 
so many ringing cash payments by  means 
of which the ,culture-,philistine       
discharges his indebtedness to  them1 so
 that in all other respects he may be   
rid of them1 and1 above  all1 not bound 
to follow in their wake and prosecute   
his search  further4 ,for henceforth    
inquiry is to cease3 that is the        
,philistine  watchword4    ,this        
watchword once had some meaning4 ,in    
,germany1 during the first  decade of   
the nineteenth century1 for instance1   
when the heyday and  confusion of       
seeking1 experimenting1 destroying1     
promising1 surmising1  and hoping was   

sweeping in currents and cross-currents 
over the land1  the thinking            
middle-classes were right in their      
concern for their own  security4 ,it was
 then quite right of them to dismiss    
from their minds  with a shrug of their 
shoulders the omnium gatherum of        
fantastic and  language-maiming         
philosophies1 and of rabid              
special-pleading  historical studies1   
the carnival of all gods and myths1 and 
the  poetical affectations and fooleries
 which a drunken spirit may be          
responsible for4 ,in this respect they  
were quite right2 for the  ,philistine  
has not even the privilege of licence4  
,with the cunning  proper to base       
natures1 however1 he availed himself of 
the  opportunity1 in order to throw     
suspicion even upon the seeking spirit1 
and to invite people to join in the more
 comfortable pastime of  finding4 ,his  
eye opened to the joy of ,philistinism2 
he saved himself  from wild             
experimenting by clinging to the        

idyllic1 and opposed the  restless      
creative spirit that animates the       
artist1 by means of a  certain smug     
ease--the ease of self-conscious        
narrowness1  tranquillity1 and          
self-sufficiency4 ,his tapering finger  
pointed1  without any affectation of    
modesty1 to all the hidden and intimate 
incidents of his life1 to the many      
touching and ingenuous joys which       
sprang into existence in the wretched   
depths of his uncultivated  existence1  
and which modestly blossomed forth on   
the bog-land of  ,philistinism4         
,there were1 naturally1 a few gifted    
narrators who1 with a nice touch1  drew 
vivid pictures of the happiness1 the    
prosaic simplicity1 the  bucolic        
robustness1 and all the well-being which
 floods the quarters  of children1      
scholars1 and peasants4 ,with           
picture-books of this class  in their   
hands1 these smug ones now once and for 
all sought to escape  from the yoke of  
these dubious classics and the command  

which they  contained--to seek further  
and to find4 ,they only started the     
notion  of an epigone-age in order to   
secure peace for themselves1 and to be  
able to reject all the efforts of       
disturbing innovators summarily as  the 
work of epigones4 ,with the view of     
ensuring their own  tranquillity1 these 
smug ones even appropriated history1 and
 sought to  transform all sciences that 
threatened to disturb their wretched    
ease  into branches of history--more    
particularly philosophy and classical   
philology4 ,through historical          
consciousness1 they saved themselves    
from enthusiasm2 for1 in opposition to  
,goethe1 it was maintained that  history
 would no longer kindle enthusiasm4 ,no1
 in their desire to  acquire an         
historical grasp of everything1         
stultification became the  sole aim of  
these philosophical admirers of nil     
admirari4 ,while  professing to hate    
every form of fanaticism and            
intolerance1 what they  really hated1 at

 bottom1 was the dominating genius and  
the tyranny of  the real claims of      
culture4 ,they therefore concentrated   
and utilised  all their forces in those 
quarters where a fresh and vigorous     
movement  was to be expected1 and then  
paralysed1 stupefied1 and tore it to    
shreds4 ,in this way1 a philosophy which
 veiled the ,philistine  confessions of 
its founder beneath neat twists and     
flourishes of  language proceeded       
further to discover a formula for the   
canonisation  of the commonplace4 ,it   
expatiated upon the rationalism of all  
reality1  and thus ingratiated itself   
with the ,culture-,philistine1 who also 
loves neat twists and flourishes1 and   
who1 above all1 considers  himself real1
 and regards his reality as the standard
 of reason for  the world4 ,from this   
time forward he began to allow every    
one1 and  even himself1 to reflect1 to  
investigate1 to astheticise1 and1 more  
particularly1 to make poetry1 rnusic1   
and even pictures--not to  mention      

systems philosophy2 provided1 of course1
 that everything were  done according to
 the old pattern1 and that no assault   
were made upon  the reasonable and the  
real--that is to say1 upon the          
,philistine4  ,the latter really does   
not at all mind giving himself up1 from 
time to  time1 to the delightful and    
daring transgressions of art or of      
sceptical historical studies1 and he    
does not underestimate the charm  of    
such recreations and entertainments2 but
 he strictly separates the  earnestness 
of life 7under which term he understands
 his calling1 his  business1 and his    
wife and child7 from such trivialities1 
and among  the latter he includes all   
things which have any relation to       
culture4  ,therefore1 woe to the art    
that takes itself seriously1 that has a 
notion of what it may exact1 and that   
dares to endanger his income1  his      
business1 and his habits6 ,upon such an 
art he turns his back1 as  though it    
were something dissolute2 and1 affecting

 the attitude of a4  guardian of        
chastity1 he cautions every unprotected 
virtue on no  account to look4    ,being
 such an adept at cautioning people1 he 
is always grateful to any  artist who   
heeds him and listens to caution4 ,he   
then assures his  protege that things   
are to be made more easy for him2 that1 
as a  kindred spirit1 he will no longer 
be expected to make sublime             
masterpieces1 but that his work must be 
one of two kinds--either the  imitation 
of reality to the point of simian       
mimicry1 in idylls or  gentle and       
humorous satires1 or the free copying of
 the best-known and  most famous        
classical works1 albeit with shamefast  
concessions to the  taste of the age4   
,for1 although he may only be able to   
appreciate  slavish copying or accurate 
portraiture of the present1 still he    
knows  that the latter will but glorify 
him1 and increase the well-being of     
reality2 while the former1 far from     
doing him any harm1 rather helps  to    

establish his reputation as a classical 
judge of taste1 and is not  otherwise   
troublesome2 for he has1 once and for   
all1 come to terms  with the classics4  
,finally1 he discovers the general and  
effective  formula ,health for his      
habits1 methods of observation1         
judgments1  and the objects of his      
patronage2 while he dismisses the       
importunate  disturber of the peace with
 the epithets hysterical and morbid4 ,it
  is thus that ,david ,strauss--a       
genuine example of the satisfait in     
regard to our scholastic institutions1  
and a typical ,philistine--it is  thus  
that he speaks of the philosophy of     
,schopenhauer as being  thoroughly      
intellectual1 yet often unhealthy and   
unprofitable4 ,it is  indeed a          
deplorable fact that intellect should   
show such a decided  preference for the 
unhealthy and the unprofitable2 and even
 the  ,philistine1 if he be true to     
himself1 will admit that1 in regard to  
the philosophies which men of his stamp 

produce1 he is conscious of a  frequent 
lack of intellectuality1 although of    
course they are always  thoroughly      
healthy and profitable4    ,now and     
again1 the ,philistines1 provided they  
are by themselves1  indulge in a bottle 
of wine1 and then they grow reminiscent1
 and speak  of the great deeds of the   
war1 honestly and ingenuously4 ,on such 
occasions it often happens that a great 
deal comes to light which  would        
otherwise have been most stead-fastly   
concealed1 and one of them  may even be 
heard to blurt out the most precious    
secrets of the whole  brotherhood4      
,indeed1 a lapse of this sort occurred  
but a short while  ago1 to a well-known 
aesthete of the ,hegelian school of     
reasoning4 ,it  must1 however1 be       
admitted that the provocation thereto   
was of an  unusual character4 ,a company
 of ,philistines were feasting together1
 in  celebration of the memory of a     
genuine anti-,philistine--one who1      
moreover1 had been1 in the strictest    

sense of the words1 wrecked by          
,philistinism4 ,this man was ,holderlin1
 and the afore-mentioned aesthete  was  
therefore justified1 under the          
circumstances1 in speaking of the       
tragic souls who had foundered on       
reality--reality being understood1      
here1 to mean ,philistine reason4 ,but  
the reality is now different1  and it   
might well be asked whether ,holderlin  
would be able to find his  way at all in
 the present great age4 ,i doubt1 says  
,dr4 ,vischer1  whether his delicate    
soul could have borne all the roughness 
which is  inseparable from war1 and     
whether it had survived the amount of   
perversity which1 since the war1 we now 
see flourishing in every  quarter4      
,perhaps he would have succumbed to     
despair4 ,his was one of  the unarmed   
souls2 he was the ,werther of ,greece1 a
 hopeless lover2 his  life was full of  
softness and yearning1 but there was    
strength and  substance in his will1 and
 in his style1 greatness1 riches and    

life2  here and there it is even        
reminiscent of ,a,eschylus4 ,his spirit1
  however1 lacked hardness4 ,he lacked  
the weapon humour2 he could not  grant  
that one may be a ,philistine and still 
be no barbarian4 ,not the  sugary       
condolence of the post-prandial speaker1
 but this last sentence  concerns us4   
,yes1 it is admitted that one is a      
,philistine2 but1 a  barbarian8--,no1   
not at any price6 ,unfortunately1 poor  
,holderlin could  not make such flne    
distinctions4 ,if one reads the reverse 
of  civilisation1 or perhaps            
sea-pirating1 or cannibalism1 into the  
word  barbarian1 then the distinction is
 justifiable enough4 ,but what the      
aesthete obviously wishes to prove to us
 is1 that we may be  ,philistines and at
 the same time men of culture4 ,therein 
lies the  humour which poor ,holderlin  
lacked and the need of which ultimately 
wrecked him4#g99    ,footnote 99 3      
,nietzsche's allusion to ,holderlin here
 is full of tragic  significance2 for1  

like ,holderlin1 he too was ultimately  
wrecked and  driven insane by the       
,philistinism of his age4               
--,translator's note4    ,on this       
occasion a second admission was made by 
the speaker3 ,it is  not always strength
 of will1 but weakness1 which makes us  
superior to  those tragic souls which   
are so passionately responsive to the   
attractions of beauty1 or words to this 
effect4 ,and this was said in  the name 
of the assembled ,we2 that is to say1   
the superiors1 the  superiors through   
weakness4 ,let us content ourselves with
 these  admissions4 ,we are now in      
possession of information concerning two
  matters from one of the initiated3    
first1 that these ,we stand beyond  the 
passion for beauty2 secondly1 that their
 position was reached by  means of      
weakness4 ,in less confidential moments1
 however1 it was just  this weakness    
which masqueraded in the guise of a much
 more beautiful  name3 it was the famous
 healthiness of the                     

,culture-,philistine4 ,in  view of this 
very recent restatement of the case1    
however1 it would be  as well not to    
speak of them any longer as the healthy 
ones1 but as  the weakly1 or1 still     
better1 as the feeble4 ,oh1 if only     
these  feeble ones were not in power6   
,how is it that they concern themselves 
at all about what we call them6 ,they   
are the rulers1 and he is a poor  ruler 
who cannot endure to be called by a     
nickname4 ,yes1 if one only  have power1
 one soon learns to poke fun--even at   
oneself4 ,it cannot  matter so very     
much1 therefore1 even if one do give    
oneself away2 for  what could not the   
purple mantle of triumph conceal8 ,the  
strength of  the ,culture-,philistine   
steps into the broad light of day when  
he  acknowledges his weakness2 and the  
more he acknowledges it-- the more      
cynically he acknowledges it--the more  
completely he betrays his  consciousness
 of his own importance and superiority4 
,we are living in  a period of cynical  

,philistine confessions4 ,just as       
,friedrich ,vischer  gave us his in a   
word1 so has ,david ,strauss handed us  
his in a book2  and both that word and  
that book are cynical4                  
,,iii4    ,concerning                   
,culture-,philistinism1 ,david ,strauss 
makes a double  confession1 by word and 
by deed2 that is to say1 by the word of 
the  confessor1 and the act of the      
writer4 ,his book entitled ,the ,old    
,faith  and the ,new is1 first in regard
 to its contents1 and secondly in       
regard to its being a book and a        
literary production1 an uninterrupted   
confession2 while1 in the very fact that
 he allows himself to write  confessions
 at all about his faith1 there already  
lies a confession4  ,presumably1 every  
one seems to have the right to compile  
an  autobiography after his fortieth    
year2 for the humblest amongst us may   
have experienced things1 and may have   
seen them at such close  quarters1 that 
the recording of them may prove of use  

and value to the  thinker4 ,but to write
 a confession of one's faith cannot but 
be  regarded as a thousand times more   
pretentious1 since it takes for  granted
 that the writer attaches worth1 not    
only to the experiences  and            
investigations of his life1 but also to 
his beliefs4 ,now1 what the  nice       
thinker will require to know1 above all 
else1 is the kind of  faith which       
happens to be compatible with natures of
 the ,straussian  order1 and what it is 
they have half dreamily conjured up 7p4 
#aj7  concerning matters of which those 
alone have the right to speak who  are  
acquainted with them at first hand4     
,whoever would have desired to  possess 
the confessions1 say1 of a ,ranke or a  
,mommsen8 ,and these men  were scholars 
and historians of a very different stamp
 from ,david  ,strauss4 ,if1 however1   
they had ever ventured to interest us in
 their  faith instead of in their       
scientific investigations1 we should    
have  felt that they were overstepping  

their limits in a most irritating       
fashion4 ,yet ,strauss does this when he
 discusses his faith4 ,nobody  wants to 
know anything about it1 save1 perhaps1 a
 few bigoted  opponents of the          
,straussian doctrines1 who1 suspecting1 
as they do1 a  substratum of satanic    
principles beneath these doctrines1 hope
 that he  may compromise his learned    
utterances by revealing the nature of   
those  principles4 ,these clumsy        
creatures may1 perhaps1 have found what 
they  sought in the last book2 but we1  
who had no occasion to suspect a        
satanic substratum1 discovered nothing  
of the sort1 and would have  felt rather
 pleased than not had we been able to   
discern even a dash  of the diabolical  
in any part of the volume4 ,but surely  
no evil spirit  could speak as ,strauss 
speaks of his new faith4 ,in fact1      
spirit in  general seems to be          
altogether foreign to the book-- more   
particularly  the spirit of genius4     
,only those whom ,strauss designates as 

his ,we1  speak as he does1 and then1   
when they expatiate upon their faith to 
us1 they bore us even more than when    
they relate their dreams2 be they       
scholars1 artists1 military men1 civil  
employes1 merchants1 or landed          
proprietors2 come they in their         
thousands1 and not the worst people in  
the land either6 ,if they do not wish to
 remain the peaceful ones in  town or   
county1 but threaten to wax noisy1 then 
let not the din of  their unisono       
deceive us concerning the poverty and   
vulgarity of the  melody they sing4 ,how
 can it dispose us more favourably      
towards a  profession of faith to hear  
that it is approved by a crowd1 when it 
is  of such an order that if any        
individual of that crowd attempted to   
make it known to us1 we should not only 
fail to hear him out1 but  should       
interrupt him with a yawn8 ,if thou     
sharest such a belief1 we  should say   
unto him1 in ,heaven's name1 keep it to 
thyself6 ,maybe1 in  the past1 some few 

harmless types looked for the thinker in
 ,david  ,strauss2 now they have        
discovered the believer in him1 and are 
disappointed4 ,had he kept silent1 he   
would have remained1 for these1  at     
least1 the philosopher2 whereas1 now1 no
 one regards him as such4  ,he no longer
 craved the honours of the thinker1     
however2 all he wanted  to be was a new 
believer1 and he is proud of his new    
belief4 ,in making  a written           
declaration of it1 he fancied he was    
writing the catechism  of modern        
thought1 and building the broad highway 
of the world's  future4 ,indeed1 our    
,philistines have ceased to be          
faint-hearted and  bashful1 and have    
acquired almost cynical assurance4      
,there was a time1  long1 long ago1 when
 the ,philistine was only tolerated as  
something  that did not speak1 and about
 which no one spoke2 then a period      
ensued  during which his roughness was  
smoothed1 during which he was found     
amusing1 and people talked about him4   

,under this treatment he  gradually     
became a prig1 rejoiced with all his    
heart over his rough  places and his    
wrongheaded and candid singularities1   
and began to  talk1 on his own account1 
after the style of ,riehl's music for   
the  home4    ,but what do ,i see8 ,is  
it a shadow8 ,is it reality8 ,how long  
and broad  my poodle grows6    ,for now 
he is already rolling like a            
hippopotamus along the broad  highway of
 the world's future1 and his growling   
and barking have  become transformed    
into the proud incantations of a        
religious founder4  ,and is it your own 
sweet wish1 ,great ,master1 to found the
 religion of  the future8 ,the times    
seem to us not yet ripe 7p4 #g74 ,it    
does not  occur to us to wish to destroy
 a church4 ,but why not1 ,great ,master8
  ,one but needs the ability4 ,besides1 
to speak quite openly in the  latter1   
you yourself are convinced that you     
,possess this ability4 ,look  at the    
last page of your book4 ,there you      

actually state1 forsooth1  that your new
 way alone is the future highway of the 
world1 which now  only requires partial 
completion1 and especially general use1 
in order  also to become easy and       
pleasant4    ,make no further denials1  
then4 ,the religious founder is         
unmasked1 the  convenient and agreeable 
highway leading to the ,straussian      
,paradise is  built4 ,it is only the    
coach in which you wish to convey us    
that does  not altogether satisfy you1  
unpretentious man that you are6 ,you    
tell  us in your concluding remarks3    
,nor will ,i pretend that the coach to  
which my esteemed readers have been     
obliged to trust themselves with  me    
fulfils every requirement1444 all       
through one is much jolted 7p4  #dch74  
,ah6 you are casting about for a        
compliment1 you gallant old  religious  
founder6 ,but let us be straightforward 
with you4 ,if your  reader so regulates 
the perusal of the #cfh pages of your   
religious  catechism as to read only one

 page a day--that is to say1 if he take 
it in the smallest possible doses-then1 
perhaps1 we should be able to  believe  
that he might suffer some evil effect   
from the book--if only  as the outcome  
of his vexation when the results he     
expected fail to  make themselves felt4 
,gulped down more heartily1 however1 and
 as much  as possible being taken at    
each draught1 according to the          
prescription  to be recommended in the  
case of all modern books1 the drink can 
work  no mischief2 and1 after taking it1
 the reader will not necessarily be     
either out of sorts or out of temper1   
but rather merry and  well-disposed1 as 
though nothing had happened2 as though  
no religion  had been assailed1 no      
world's highway been built1 and no      
profession of  faith been made4 ,and ,i 
do indeed call this a result6 ,the      
doctor1 the  drug1 and the              
disease--everything forgotten6 ,and the 
joyous laughter6  ,the continual        
provocation to hilarity6 ,you are to be 

envied1 ,sir2 for  you have founded the 
most attractive of all religions --one  
whose  followers do honour to its       
founder by laughing at him4             
,,iv4    ,the ,philistine as founder of 
the religion of the future--that is the 
new belief in its most emphatic form of 
expression4 ,the ,philistine  becomes a 
dreamer--that is the unheard-of         
occurrence which  distinguishes the     
,german nation of to-day4 ,but for the  
present1 in any  case1 let us maintain  
an attitude of caution towards this     
fantastic  exaltation4 ,for does not    
,david ,strauss himself advise us to    
exercise  such caution1 in the following
 profound passage1 the general tone of  
which leads us to think of the ,founder 
of ,christianity rather than of  our    
particular author8 7p4 #ib73 ,we know   
there have been noble                   
enthusiasts--enthusiasts of genius2 the 
influence of an enthusiast can  rouse1  
exalt1 and produce prolonged historic   
effects2 but we do not  wish to choose  

him as the guide of our life4 ,he will  
be sure to  mislead us1 if we do not    
subject his influence to the control of 
reason4 ,but we know something more3 we 
know that there are  enthusiasts who are
 not intellectual1 who do not rouse or  
exalt1 and  who1 nevertheless1 not only 
expect to be the guides of our lives1   
but1  as such1 to exercise a very       
lasting historical influence into the   
bargain1 and to rule the future2--all   
the more reason why we should  place    
their influence under the control of    
reason4 ,lichtenberg even  said3 ,there 
are enthusiasts quite devoid of ability1
 and these are  really dangerous people4
 ,in the first place1 as regards the    
above-mentioned control of reason1 we   
should like to have candid  answers to  
the three following questions3 ,first1  
how does the new  believer picture his  
heaven8 ,secondly1 how far does the     
courage lent  him by the new faith      
extend8 ,and1 thirdly1 how does he write
 his  books8 ,strauss the ,confessor    

must answer the first and second        
questions2 ,strauss the ,writer must    
answer the third4    ,the heaven of the 
new believer must1 perforce1 be a heaven
 upon earth2  for the ,christian        
prospect of an immortal life in heaven1 
together  with the other consolations1  
must irretrievably vanish for him who   
has but one foot on the ,straussian     
platform4 ,the way in which a  religion 
represents its heaven is significant1   
and if it be true that  ,christianity   
knows no other heavenly occupations than
 singing and  making music1 the prospect
 of the ,philistine1  la ,strauss1 is   
truly  not a very comforting one4 ,in   
the book of confessions1 however1 there 
is a page which treats of ,paradise 7p4 
#cdb74 ,happiest of ,philistines1       
unroll this parchment scroll before     
anything else1 and the whole of  heaven 
will seem to clamber down to thee6 ,we  
would but indicate how  we act1 how we  
have acted these many years4 ,besides   
our  profession--for we are members of  

the most various professions1 and by  no
 means exclusively consist of scholars  
or artists1 but of military  men and    
civil employes1 of merchants and landed 
proprietors2444 and  again1 as ,i have  
said already1 there are not a few of us1
 but many  thousands1 and not the worst 
people in the country2--besides our     
profession1 then1 ,i say1 we are eagerly
 accessible to all the higher  interests
 of humanity2 we have taken a vivid     
interest1 during late  years1 and each  
after his manner has participated in the
 great  national war1 and the           
reconstruction of the ,german ,state2   
and we have  been profoundly exalted by 
the turn events have taken1 as          
unexpected  as glorious1 for our much   
tried nation4 ,to the end of forming    
just  conclusions in these things1 we   
study history1 which has now been made  
easy1 even to the unlearned1 by a series
 of attractively and popularly  written 
works2 at the same time1 we endeavour to
 enlarge our knowledge  of the natural  

sciences1 where also there is no lack of
 sources of  information2 and lastly1 in
 the writings of our great poets1 in the
  performances of our great musicians1  
we find a stimulus for the  intellect   
and heart1 for wit and imagination1     
which leaves nothing to  be desired4    
,thus we live1 and hold on our way in   
joy4    ,here is our man6 cries the     
,philistine exultingly1 who reads this3 
for this is exactly how we live2 it is  
indeed our daily life4#h99  ,and how    
perfectly he understands the euphemism6 
,when1 for example1 he  refers to the   
historical studies by means of which we 
help ourselves  in forming just         
conclusions regarding the political     
situation1 what  can he be thinking of1 
if it be not our newspaper-reading8     
,when he  speaks of the active part we  
take in the reconstruction of the       
,german  ,state1 he surely has only our 
daily visits to the beer-garden in his  
mind2 and is not a walk in the          
,zoological ,gardens implied by 'the    

sources of information through which we 
endeavour to enlarge our  knowledge of  
the natural sciences'8 ,finally1 the    
theatres and  concert-halls are referred
 to as places from which we take home 'a
  stimulus for wit and imagination which
 leaves nothing to be  desired4'--,with 
what dignity and wit he describes even  
the most  suspicious of our doings6     
,here indeed is our man2 for his heaven 
is  our heaven6    ,footnote 99 3 ,this 
alludes to a ,german student-song4      
,thus cries the ,philistine2 and if we  
are not quite so satisfied as he1  it is
 merely owing to the fact that we wanted
 to know more4 ,scaliger  used to say3  
,what does it matter to us whether      
,montaigne drank red or  white wine8    
,but1 in this more important case1 how  
greatly ought we to  value definite     
particulars of this sort6 ,if we could  
but learn how  many pipes the           
,philistine smokes daily1 according to  
the prescriptions  of the new faith1 and
 whether it is the ,spener or the       

,national ,gazette  that appeals to him 
over his coffee6 ,but our curiosity is  
not  satisfied4 ,with regard to one     
point only do we receive more exhaustive
  information1 and fortunately this     
point relates to the heaven in          
heaven--the private little art-rooms    
which will be consecrated to the  use of
 great poets and musicians1 and to which
 the ,philistine will go  to edify      
himself2 in which1 moreover1 according  
to his own showing1 he  will even get   
all his stains removed and wiped away   
7p4 #dcc72 so  that we are led to regard
 these private little art-rooms as a    
kind of  bath-rooms4 ,but this is only  
effected for some fleeting moments2 it  
happens and counts only in the realms of
 phantasy2 as soon as we  return to rude
 reality1 and the cramping confines of  
actual life1 we  are again on all sides 
assailed by the old cares1--thus our    
,master  sighs4 ,let us1 however1 avail 
ourselves of the fleeting moments during
  which we remain in those little rooms2

 there is just sufficient time  to get a
 glimpse of the apotheosis of the       
,philistine-- that is to say1  the      
,philistine whose stains have been      
removed and wiped away1 and who  is now 
an absolutely pure sample of his type4  
,in truth1 the  opportunity we have here
 may prove instructive3 let no one who  
happens  to have fallen a victim to the 
confession-book lay it aside before     
having read the two appendices1 ,of our 
,great ,poets and ,of our ,great        
,musicians4 ,here the rainbow of the new
 brotherhood is set1 and he who  can    
find no pleasure in it for such an one  
there is no help1 as  ,strauss says on  
another occasion2 and1 as he might well 
say here1 he  is not yet ripe for our   
point of view4 ,for are we not in the   
heaven  of heavens8 ,the enthusiastic   
explorer undertakes to lead us about1   
and  begs us to excuse him if1 in the   
excess of his joy at all the beauties   
to be seen1 he should by any chance be  
tempted to talk too much4 ,if ,i        

should1 perhaps1 become more garrulous  
than may seem warranted in this  place1 
let the reader be indulgent to me2 for  
out of the abundance of  the heart the  
mouth speaketh4 ,let him only be assured
 that what he is  now about to read does
 not consist of older materials1 which  
,i take  the opportunity of inserting   
here1 but that these remarks have been  
written for their present place and     
purpose 7pp4 #cde-df74 ,this  confession
 surprises us somewhat for the moment4  
,what can it matter to  us whether or   
not the little chapters were freshly    
written8 ,as if it  were a matter of    
writing6 ,between ourselves1 ,i should  
have been glad  if they had been written
 a quarter of a century earlier2 then1  
at  least1 ,i should have understood why
 the thoughts seem to be so  bleached1  
and why they are so redolent of         
resuscitated antiquities4  ,but that a  
thing should have been written in #ahgb 
and already smell of  decay in #ahgb    
strikes me as suspicious4 ,let us       

imagine some one's  falling asleep while
 reading these chapters--what would he  
most  probably dream about8 ,a friend   
answered this question for me1 because  
he happened to have had the experience  
himself4 ,he dreamt of a  wax-work show4
 ,the classical writers stood there1    
elegantly  represented in wax and beads4
 ,their arms and eyes moved1 and a screw
  inside them creaked an accompaniment  
to their movements4 ,he saw  something  
gruesome among them--a misshapen figure1
 decked with tapes  and jaundiced paper1
 out of whose mouth a ticket hung1 on   
which  ,lessing was written4 ,my friend 
went close up to it and learned the     
worst3 it was the ,homeric ,chimera2 in 
front it was ,strauss1 behind it  was   
,gervinus1 and in the middle ,chimera4  
,the tout-ensemble was  ,lessing4 ,this 
discovery caused him to shriek with     
terror3 he waked1  and read no more4 ,in
 sooth1 ,great ,master1 why have you    
written such  fusty little chapters8    
,we do1 indeed1 learn something new from

 them2 for instance1 that  ,gervinus    
made it known to the world how and why  
,goethe was no dramatic  genius2 that1  
in the second part of ,faust1 he had    
only produced a  world of phantoms and  
of symbols2 that ,wallenstein is a      
,macbeth as  well as a ,hamlet2 that the
 ,straussian reader extracts the short  
stories out of the ,wanderjahre much as 
naughty children pick the  raisins and  
almonds out of a tough plum-cake2 that  
no complete effect  can be produced on  
the stage without the forcible element1 
and that  ,schiller emerged from ,kant  
as from a cold-water cure4 ,all this is 
certainly new and striking2 but1 even   
so1 it does not strike us with  wonder1 
and so sure as it is new1 it will never 
grow old1 for it never  was young2 it   
was senile at birth4 ,what extraordinary
 ideas seem to  occur to these ,blessed 
,ones1 after the ,new ,style1 in their  
aesthetic  heaven6 ,and why can they not
 manage to forget a few of them1 more   
particularly when they are of that      

unaesthetic1 earthly1 and ephemeral     
order to which the scholarly thoughts of
 ,gervinus belong1 and when  they so    
obviously bear the stamp of puerility8  
,but it almost seems as  though the     
modest greatness of a ,strauss and the  
vain insignificance  of a ,gervinus were
 only too well able to harmonise3 then  
long live all  those ,blessed ,ones6 may
 we1 the rejected1 also live long1 if   
this  unchallenged judge of art         
continues any longer to teach his       
borrowed  enthusiasm1 and the gallop of 
that hired steed of which the honest    
,grillparzer speaks with such delightful
 clearness1 until the whole of  heaven  
rings beneath the hoof of that          
galumphing enthusiasm4 ,then1 at  least1
 things will be livelier and noisier    
than they are at the  present moment1 in
 which the carpet-slippered rapture of  
our heavenly  leader and the lukewarm   
eloquence of his lips only succeed in   
the end  in making us sick and tired4 ,i
 should like to know how a ,hallelujah  

sung by ,strauss would sound3 ,i believe
 one would have to listen very          
carefully1 lest it should seem no more  
than a courteous apology or a  lisped   
compliment4 ,apropos of this1 ,i might  
adduce an instructive and  somewhat     
forbidding example4 ,strauss strongly   
resented the action of  one of his      
opponents who happened to refer to his  
reverence for  ,lessing4 ,the           
unfortunate man had                     
misunderstood2--true1 ,strauss did      
declare that one must be of a very      
obtuse mind not to recognise that  the  
simple words of paragraph #hf come from 
the writer's heart4 ,now1 ,i  do not    
question this warmth in the very least2 
on the contrary1 the  fact that ,strauss
 fosters these feelings towards ,lessing
 has always  excited my suspicion2 ,i   
find the same warmth for ,lessing raised
 almost  to heat in ,gervinus--yea1 on  
the whole1 no great ,german writer is so
  popular among little ,german writers  
as ,lessing is2 but for all that1  they 

deserve no thanks for their             
predilection2 for what is it1 in  sooth1
 that they praise in ,lessing8 ,at one  
moment it is his  catholicity-- the fact
 that he was critic and poet1           
archaeologist and  philosopher1         
dramatist and theologian4 ,anon1 it is  
the unity in him  of the writer and the 
man1 of the head and the heart4 ,the    
last  quality1 as a rule1 is just as    
characteristic of the great writer as   
of the little one2 as a rule1 a narrow  
head agrees only too fatally  with a    
narrow heart4 ,and as to the            
catholicity2 this is no  distinction1   
more especially when1 as in ,lessing's  
case1 it was a dire  necessity4 ,what   
astonishes one in regard to             
,lessing-enthusiasts is  rather that    
they have no conception of the devouring
 necessity which  drove him on through  
life and to this catholicity2 no feeling
 for the  fact that such a man is too   
prone to consume himself rapidly1 like a
  flame2 nor any indignation at the     

thought that the vulgar narrowness  and 
pusillanimity of his whole environment1 
especially of his learned               
contemporaries1 so saddened1 tormented1 
and stifled the tender and  ardent      
creature that he was1 that the very     
universality for which he  is praised   
should give rise to feelings of the     
deepest compassion4  ,have pity on the  
exceptional man6 ,goethe cries to us2   
for it was  his lot to live in such a   
wretched age that his life was one long 
polemical effort4 ,how can ye1 my worthy
 ,philistines1 think of ,lessing        
without shame8 ,he who was ruined       
precisely on account of your  stupidity1
 while struggling with your ludicrous   
fetiches and idols1  with the defects of
 your theatres1 scholars1 and           
theologists1 without  once daring to    
attempt that eternal flight for which he
 had been born4  ,and what are your     
feelings when ye think of ,winckelman1  
who1 in order  to turn his eyes from    
your grotesque puerilities1 went begging

 to the  ,jesuits for help1 and whose   
ignominious conversion dishonours not   
him1  but you8 ,dare ye mention         
,schiller's name without blushing8 ,look
 at his  portrait4 ,see the flashing    
eyes that glance contemptuously over    
your  heads1 the deadly red cheek--do   
these things mean nothing to you8 ,in   
him ye had such a magnificent and divine
 toy that ye shattered it4  ,suppose1   
for a moment1 it had been possible to   
deprive this harassed  and hunted life  
of ,goethe's friendship1 ye would then  
have been  reponsible for its still     
earlier end4 ,ye have had no finger in  
any one  of the life-works of your great
 geniuses1 and yet ye would make a      
dogma to the effect that no one is to be
 helped in the future4 ,but for  every  
one of them1 ye were the resistance of  
the obtuse world1 which  ,goethe calls  
by its name in his epilogue to the      
,bell2 for all of them  ye were the     
grumbling imbeciles1 or the envious     
bigots1 or the  malicious egoists3 in   

spite of you each of them created his   
works1  against you each directed his   
attacks1 and thanks to you each         
prematurely sank1 while his work was    
still unfinished1 broken and  bewildered
 by the stress of the battle4 ,and now  
ye presume that ye are  going to be     
permitted1 tamquam re bene gesta1 to    
praise such men6 and  with words which  
leave no one in any doubt as to whom ye 
have in your  minds when ye utter your  
encomiums1 which therefore spring forth 
with  such hearty warmth that one must  
be blind not to see to whom ye are      
really bowing4 ,even ,goethe in his day 
had to cry3 ,upon my honour1 we  are in 
need of a ,lessing1 and woe unto all    
vain masters and to the  whole aesthetic
 kingdom of heaven1 when the young      
tiger1 whose  restless strength will be 
visible in his every distended muscle   
and  his every glance1 shall sally forth
 to seek his prey6                      
,v4    ,how clever it was of my friend  
to read no further1 once he had been    

enlightened 7thanks to that chimerical  
vision7 concerning the  ,straussian     
,lessing and ,strauss himself4 ,we1     
however1 read on further1  and even     
craved admission of the ,doorkeeper of  
the ,new ,faith to the  sanctum of      
music4 ,the ,master threw the door open 
for us1 accompanied  us1 and began      
quoting certain names1 until1 at last1  
overcome with  mistrust1 we stood still 
and looked at him4 ,was it possible that
 we  were the victims of the same       
hallucination as that to which our      
friend  had been subjected in his dream8
 ,the musicians to whom ,strauss        
referred seemed to us to be wrongly     
designated as long as he spoke  about   
them1 and we began to think that the    
talk must certainly be  about somebody  
else1 even admitting that it did not    
relate to  incongruous phantoms4 ,when1 
for instance1 he mentioned ,haydn with  
that  same warmth which made us so      
suspicious when he praised ,lessing1 and
  when he posed as the epopt and priest 

of a mysterious ,haydn cult2  when1 in a
 discussion upon quartette-music1 if you
 please1 he even  likened ,haydn to a   
good unpretending soup and ,beethoven to
  sweetmeats 7p4 #dcb72 then1 to our    
minds1 one thing1 and one thing  alone1 
became certain--namely1 that his        
,sweetmeat-,beethoven is not our        
,beethoven1 and his ,soup-,haydn is not 
our ,haydn4 ,the ,master was  moreover  
of the opinion that our orchestra is too
 good to perform  ,haydn1 and that only 
the most unpretentious amateurs can do  
justice to  that music--a further proof 
that he was referring to some other     
artist  and some other work1 possibly to
 ,riehl's music for the home4    ,but   
whoever can this ,sweetmeat-,beethoven  
of ,strauss's be8 ,he is said  to have  
composed nine symphonies1 of which the  
,pastoral is the least  remarkable2 we  
are told that each time in composing the
 third1 he  seemed impelled to exceed   
his bounds1 and depart on an adventurous
  quest1 from which we might infer that 

we are here concerned with a  sort of   
double monster1 half horse and half     
cavalier4 ,with regard to a  certain    
,eroica1 this ,centaur is very hard     
pressed1 because he did not  succeed in 
making it clear whether it is a question
 of a conflict on  the open field or in 
the deep heart of man4 ,in the ,pastoral
 there is  said to be a furiously raging
 storm1 for which it is almost too      
insignificant to interrupt a dance of   
country-folk1 and which1 owing  to its  
arbitrary connection with a trivial     
motive1 as ,strauss so  adroitly and    
correctly puts it1 renders this symphony
 the least  remarkable4 ,a more drastic 
expression appears to have occurred to  
the  ,master2 but he prefers to speak   
here1 as he says1 with becoming         
modesty4 ,but no1 for once our ,master  
is wrong2 in this case he is  really a  
little too modest4 ,who1 indeed1 will   
enlighten us concerning  this           
,sweetmeat-,beethoven1 if not ,strauss  
himself--the only person who  seems to  

know anything about him8 ,but1          
immediately below1 a strong  judgment is
 uttered with becoming non-modesty1 and 
precisely in regard  to the ,ninth      
,symphony4 ,it is said1 for instance1   
that this symphony  is naturally the    
favourite of a prevalent taste1 which in
 art1 and  music especially1 mistakes   
the grotesque for the genial1 and the   
formless for the sublime 7p4 #dbh74 ,it 
is true that a critic as severe  as     
,gervinus was gave this work a hearty   
welcome1 because it happened  to confirm
 one of his doctrines2 but ,strauss is  
far from going to  these problematic    
productions in search of the merits of  
his  ,beethoven4 ,it is a pity1 cries   
our ,master1 with a convulsive sigh1    
that one is compelled1 by such          
reservations1 to mar one's enjoyment  of
 ,beethoven1 as well as the admiration  
gladly accorded to him4 ,for  our       
,master is a favourite of the ,graces1  
and these have informed him  that they  
only accompanied ,beethoven part of the 

way1 and that he then  lost sight of    
them4 ,this is a defect1 he cries1 but  
can you believe  that it may also appear
 as an advantage8 ,he who is painfully  
and  breathlessly rolling the musical   
idea along will seem to be moving the   
weightier one1 and thus appear to be the
 stronger 7pp4 #dbc-bd74 ,this  is a    
confession1 and not necessarily one     
concerning ,beethoven alone1  but       
concerning the classical prose-writer   
himself4 ,he1 the  celebrated author1 is
 not abandoned by the ,graces4 ,from the
 play of  airy jests--that is to say1   
,straussian jests-- to the heights of   
solemn earnestness--that is to say1     
,straussian earnestness--they  remain   
stolidly at his elbow4 ,he1 the         
classical prose-writer1 slides  his     
burden along playfully and with a light 
heart1 whereas ,beethoven  rolls his    
painfully and breathlessly4 ,he seems   
merely to dandle his  load2 this is     
indeed an advantage4 ,but would anybody 
believe that it  might equally be a sign

 of something wanting8 ,in any case1    
only those  could believe this who      
mistake the grotesque for the genial1   
and the  formless for the sublime--is   
not that so1 you dandling favourite of  
the ,graces8 ,we envy no one the        
edifying moments he may have1 either in 
the stillness of his little private room
 or in a new heaven specially  fitted   
out for him2 but of all possible        
pleasures of this order1 that  of       
,strauss's is surely one of the most    
wonderful1 for he is even  edified by a 
little holocaust4 ,he calmly throws the 
sublimest works of  the ,german nation  
into the flames1 in order to cense his  
idols with  their smoke4 ,suppose1 for a
 moment1 that by some accident1 the     
,eroica1  the ,pastoral1 and the ,ninth 
,symphony had fallen into the hands of  
our  priest of the ,graces1 and that it 
had been in his power to suppress  such 
problematic productions1 in order to    
keep the image of the ,master  pure1 who
 doubts but what he would have burned   

them8 ,and it is  precisely in this way 
that the ,strausses of our time demean  
themselves3 they only wish to know so   
much of an artist as is  compatible with
 the service of their rooms2 they know  
only the  extremes-- censing or burning4
 ,to all this they are heartily welcome2
  the one surprising feature of the     
whole case is that public opinion1  in  
matters artistic1 should be so feeble1  
vacillating1 and corruptible  as        
contentedly to allow these exhibitions  
of indigent ,philistinism to  go by     
without raising an objection2 yea1 that 
it does not even possess  sufficient    
sense of humour to feel tickled at the  
sight of an  unaesthetic little master's
 sitting in judgment upon ,beethoven4   
,as to  ,mozart1 what ,aristotle says of
 ,plato ought really to be applied here3
  ,insignificant people ought not to be 
permitted even to praise him4  ,in this 
respect1 however1 all shame has         
vanished--from the public as  well as   
from the ,master's mind3 he is allowed1 

not merely to cross  himself before the 
greatest and purest creations of ,german
 genius1 as  though he had perceived    
something godless and immoral in them1  
but  people actually rejoice over his   
candid confessions and admission of     
sins--more particularly as he makes no  
mention of his own1 but only of  those  
which great men are said to have        
committed4 ,oh1 if only our  ,master be 
in the right6 his readers sometimes     
think1 when attacked by  a paroxysm of  
doubt2 he himself1 however1 stands      
there1 smiling and  convinced1          
perorating1 condemning1 blessing1       
raising his hat to  himself1 and is at  
any minute capable of saying what the   
,duchesse  ,delaforte said to ,madame de
 ,stal1 to wit3 ,my dear1 ,i must       
confess  that ,i find no one but myself 
invariably right4                       
,,vi4    ,a corpse is a pleasant thought
 for a worm1 and a worm is a dreadful   
thought for every living creature4      
,worms fancy their kingdom of heaven  in

 a fat body2 professors of philosophy   
seek theirs in rummaging among          
,schopenhauer's entrails1 and as long as
 rodents exist1 there will  exist a     
heaven for rodents4 ,in this1 we have   
the answer to our first  question3 ,how 
does the believer in the new faith      
picture his heaven8  ,the ,straussian   
,philistine harbours in the works of our
 great poets and  musicians like a      
parasitic worm whose life is            
destruction1 whose  admiration is       
devouring1 and whose worship is         
digesting4    ,now1 however1 our second 
question must be answered3 ,how far does
 the  courage lent to its adherents by  
this new faith extend8 ,even this       
question would already have been        
answered1 if courage and                
pretentiousness had been one2 for then  
,strauss would not be lacking  even in  
the just and veritable courage of a     
,mameluke4 ,at all events1  the becoming
 modesty of which ,strauss speaks in the
 above-mentioned  passage1 where he is  

referring to ,beethoven1 can only be a  
stylistic  and not a moral manner of    
speech4 ,strauss has his full share of  
the  temerity to which every successful 
hero assumes the right3 all flowers     
grow only for him--the conqueror2 and he
 praises the sun because it  shines in  
at his window just at the right time4   
,he does not even spare  the venerable  
old universe in his eulogies--as though 
it were only now  and henceforward      
sufficiently sanctified by praise to    
revolve around  the central monad ,david
 ,strauss4 ,the universe1 he is happy to
 inform  us1 is1 it is true1 a machine  
with jagged iron wheels1 stamping and   
hammering ponderously1 but3 ,we do not  
only find the revolution of  pitiless   
wheels in our world-machine1 but also   
the shedding of  soothing oil 7p4 #dce74
 ,the universe1 provided it submit to   
,strauss's  encomiums1 is not likely to 
overflow with gratitude towards this    
master of weird metaphors1 who was      
unable to discover better similes  in   

its praise4 ,but what is the oil called 
which trickles down upon the  hammers   
and stampers8 ,and how would it console 
a workman who chanced  to get one of his
 limbs caught in the mechanism to know  
that this oil  was trickling over him8  
,passing over this simile as bad1 let us
 turn  our attention to another of      
,strauss's artifices1 whereby he tries  
to  ascertain how he feels disposed     
towards the universe2 this question of  
,marguerite's1 ,he loves me--loves me   
not--loves me8 hanging on his  lips the 
while4 ,now1 although ,strauss is not   
telling flower-petals or  the buttons on
 his waistcoat1 still what he does is   
not less harmless1  despite the fact    
that it needs perhaps a little more     
courage4 ,strauss  wishes to make       
certain whether his feeling for the ,all
 is either  paralysed or withered1 and  
he pricks himself2 for he knows that one
  can prick a limb that is either       
paralysed or withered without causing   
any pain4 ,as a matter of fact1 he does 

not really prick himself1 but  selects  
another more violent method1 which he   
describes thus3 ,we open  ,schopenhauer1
 who takes every occasion of slapping   
our idea in the  face 7p4 #afg74 ,now1  
as an idea--even that of ,strauss's     
concerning the  universe--has no face1  
if there be any face in the question at 
all it  must be that of the idealist1   
and the procedure may be subdivided into
  the following separate                
actions3--,strauss1 in any case1 throws 
,schopenhauer open1 whereupon the latter
 slaps ,strauss in the face4  ,strauss  
then reacts religiously2 that is to say1
 he again begins to  belabour           
,schopenhauer1 to abuse him1 to speak of
 absurdities1  blasphemies1             
dissipations1 and even to allege that   
,schopenhauer could  not have been in   
his right senses4 ,result of the        
dispute3 ,we demand  the same piety for 
our ,cosmos that the devout of old      
demanded for his  ,god2 or1 briefly1 ,he
 loves me4 ,our favourite of the ,graces

 makes  his life a hard one1 but he is  
as brave as a ,mameluke1 and fears      
neither the ,devil nor ,schopenhauer4   
,how much soothing oil must he  use if  
such incidents are of frequent          
occurrence6    ,on the other hand1 we   
readily understand ,strauss's gratitude 
to this  tickling1 pricking1 and        
slapping ,schopenhauer2 hence we are not
 so  very much surprised when we find   
him expressing himself in the  following
 kind way about him3 ,we need only turn 
over the leaves of  ,arthur             
,schopenhauer's works 7although we shall
 on many other accounts  do well not    
only to glance over but to study them71 
etc4 7p4 #aff74  ,now1 to whom does this
 captain of ,philistines address these  
words8 ,to  him who has clearly never   
even studied ,schopenhauer1 the latter  
might  well have retorted1 ,this is an  
author who does not even deserve to be  
scanned1 much less to be studied4       
,obviously1 he gulped ,schopenhauer     
down the wrong way1 and this hoarse     

coughing is merely his attempt  to clear
 his throat4 ,but1 in order to fill the 
measure of his  ingenuous encomiums1    
,strauss even arrogates to himself the  
right of  commending old ,kant3 he      
speaks of the latter's ,general ,history
 of the  ,heavens of the ,year #agee as 
of a work which has always appeared to  
me  not less important than his later   
,critique of ,pure ,reason4 ,if in the  
latter we admire the depth of insight1  
the breadth of observation  strikes us  
in the former4 ,if in the latter we can 
trace the old man's  anxiety to secure  
even a limited possession of            
knowledge--so it be but  on a firm      
basis--in the former we encounter the   
mature man1 full of  the daring of the  
discoverer and conqueror in the realm of
 thought4  ,this judgment of ,strauss's 
concerning ,kant did not strike me as   
being  more modest than the one         
concerning ,schopenhauer4 ,in the one   
case1 we  have the little captain1 who  
is above all anxious to express even the

  most insignificant opinion with       
certainty1 and in the other we have  the
 famous prose-writer1 who1 with all the 
courage of ignorance1  exudes his       
eulogistic secretions over ,kant4 ,it is
 almost incredible  that ,strauss       
availed himself of nothing in ,kant's   
,critique of ,pure  ,reason while       
compiling his ,testament of modern      
ideas1 and that he knew  only how to    
appeal to the coarsest realistic taste  
must also be  numbered among the more   
striking characteristics of this new    
gospel1  the which professes to be but  
the result of the laborious and         
continuous study of history and science1
 and therefore tacitly  repudiates all  
connection with philosophy4 ,for the    
,philistine captain  and his ,we1       
,kantian philosophy does not exist4 ,he 
does not dream of  the fundamental      
antinomy of idealism and of the highly  
relative sense  of all science and      
reason4 ,and it is precisely reason that
 ought to  tell him how little it is    

possible to know of things in           
themselves4 ,it  is true1 however1 that 
people of a certain age cannot possibly 
understand ,kant1 especially when1 in   
their youth1 they understood or  fancied
 they understood that gigantic mind1    
,hegel1 as ,strauss did2  and had       
moreover concerned themselves with      
,schleiermacher1 who1  according to     
,strauss1 was gifted with perhaps too   
much acumen4 ,it  will sound odd to our 
author when ,i tell him that1 even now1 
he stands  absolutely dependent upon    
,hegel and ,schleiermacher1 and that his
  teaching of the ,cosmos1 his way of   
regarding things sub specie  biennii1   
his salaams to the state of affairs now 
existing in ,germany1  and1 above all1  
his shameless ,philistine optimism1 can 
only be  explained by an appeal to      
certain impressions of youth1 early     
habits1  and disorders2 for he who has  
once sickened on ,hegel and             
,schleiermacher never completely        
recovers4    ,there is one passage in   

the confession-book where the incurable 
optimism referred to above bursts forth 
with the full joyousness of  holiday    
spirits 7pp4 #aff-fg74 ,if the universe 
is a thing which had  better not have   
existed1 says ,strauss1 then surely the 
speculation  of the philosopher1 as     
forming part of this universe1 is a     
speculation  which had better not have  
speculated4 ,the pessimist philosopher  
fails  to perceive that he1 above all1  
declares his own thought1 which         
declares the world to be bad1 as bad    
also2 but if the thought which  declares
 the world to be bad is a bad thought1  
then it follows  naturally that the     
world is good4 ,as a rule1 optimism may 
take things  too easily4 ,schopenhauer's
 references to the colossal part which  
sorrow and evil play in the world are   
quite in their right place as a         
counterpoise2 but every true philosophy 
is necessarily optimistic1 as  otherwise
 she hews down the branch on which she  
herself is sitting4  ,if this refutation

 of ,schopenhauer is not the same as    
that to which  ,strauss refers somewhere
 else as the refutation loudly and      
jubilantly  acclaimed in higher spheres1
 then ,i quite fail to understand the   
dramatic phraseology used by him        
elsewhere to strike an opponent4 ,here  
optimism has for once intentionally     
simplified her task4 ,but the           
master-stroke lay in thus pretending    
that the refutation of  ,schopenhauer   
was not such a very difficult task after
 all1 and in  playfully wielding the    
burden in such a manner that the three  
,graces  attendant on the dandling      
optimist might constantly be delighted  
by  his methods4 ,the whole purpose of  
the deed was to demonstrate this one    
truth1 that it is quite unnecessary to  
take a pessimist seriously2 the  most   
vapid sophisms become justified1        
provided they show that1 in  regard to a
 philosophy as unhealthy and            
unprofitable as  ,schopenhauer's1 not   
proofs but quips and sallies alone are  

suitable4  ,while perusing such         
passages1 the reader will grasp the full
 meaning  of ,schopenhauer's solemn     
utterance to the effect that1 where     
optimism  is not merely the idle prattle
 of those beneath whose flat brows words
  and only words are stored1 it seemed  
to him not merely an absurd but a       
vicious attitude of mind1 and one full  
of scornful irony towards the           
indescribable sufferings of humanity4   
,when a philosopher like ,strauss  is   
able to frame it into a system1 it      
becomes more than a vicious  attitude of
 mind--it is then an imbecile gospel of 
comfort for the ,i  or for the ,we1 and 
can only provoke indignation4    ,who   
could read the following psychological  
avowal1 for instance1  without          
indignation1 seeing that it is obviously
 but an offshoot from  this vicious     
gospel of comfort8--,beethoven remarked 
that he could  never have composed a    
text like ,figaro or ,don ,juan4 ,life  
had not been  so profuse of its snubs to

 him that he could treat it so gaily1 or
  deal so lightly with the foibles of   
men 7p4 #dcj74 ,in order1 however1  to  
adduce the most striking instance of    
this dissolute vulgarity of  sentiment1 
let it suffice1 here1 to observe that   
,strauss knows no  other means of       
accounting for the terribly serious     
negative instinct  and the movement of  
ascetic sanctification which            
characterised the  first century of the 
,christian era1 than by supposing the   
existence of  a previous period of      
surfeit in the matter of all kinds of   
sexual  indulgence1 which of itself     
brought about a state of revulsion and  
disgust4    ,the ,persians call it      
bidamag buden1 ,the ,germans say        
',katzenjammer4'#i99    ,footnote 99 3  
,remorse for the previous night's       
excesses4--,translator's  note4         
,strauss quotes this himself1 and is not
 ashamed4 ,as for us1 we turn  aside for
 a moment1 that we may overcome our     
loathing4                               

,,vii4    ,as a matter of fact1 our     
,philistine captain is brave1 even      
audacious1  in words2 particularly when 
he hopes by such bravery to delight his 
noble colleagues--the ,we1 as he calls  
them4 ,so the asceticism and            
self-denial of the ancient anchorite and
 saint was merely a form of             
,katzenjammer8 ,jesus may be described  
as an enthusiast who nowadays  would    
scarcely have escaped the madhouse1 and 
the story of the  ,resurrection may be  
termed a world-wide deception4 ,for once
 we will  allow these views to pass     
without raising any objection1 seeing   
that  they may help us to gauge the     
amount of courage which our classical   
,philistine ,strauss is capable of4 ,let
 us first hear his confession3  ,it is  
certainly an unpleasant and a thankless 
task to tell the world  those truths    
which it is least desirous of hearing4  
,it prefers1 in  fact1 to manage its    
affairs on a profuse scale1 receiving   
and spending  after the magnificent     

fashion of the great1 as long as there  
is  anything left2 should any person1   
however1 add up the various items of    
its liabilities1 and anxiously call its 
attention to the sum-total1 he  is      
certain to be regarded as an importunate
 meddler4 ,and yet this has  always been
 the bent of my moral and intellectual  
nature4 ,a moral and  intellectual      
nature of this sort might possibly be   
regarded as  courageous2 but what still 
remains to be proved is1 whether this   
courage is natural and inborn1 or       
whether it is not rather acquired  and  
artificial4 ,perhaps ,strauss only      
accustomed himself by degrees to  the   
rle of an importunate meddler1 until he 
gradually acquired the  courage of his  
calling4 ,innate cowardice1 which is the
 ,philistine's  birthright1 would not be
 incompatible with this mode of         
development1  and it is precisely this  
cowardice which is perceptible in the   
want of  logic of those sentences of    
,strauss's which it needed courage to   

pronounce4 ,they sound like thunder1 but
 they do not clear the air4 ,no         
aggressive action is performed3         
aggressive words alone are used1 and    
these he selects from among the most    
insulting he can find4 ,he  moreover    
exhausts all his accumulated strength   
and energy in coarse  and noisy         
expression1 and when once his utterances
 have died away he  is more of a coward 
even than he who has always held his    
tongue4 ,the  very shadow of his        
deeds--his morality--shows us that he is
 a  word-hero1 and that he avoids       
everything which might induce him to    
transfer his energies from mere         
verbosity to really serious things4     
,with admirable frankness1 he announces 
that he is no longer a  ,christian1 but 
disclaims all idea of wishing to disturb
 the  contentment of any one3 he seems  
to recognise a contradiction in the     
notion of abolishing one society by     
instituting another--whereas there  is  
nothing contradictory in it at all4     

,with a certain rude  self-satisfaction1
 he swathes himself in the hirsute      
garment of our  ,simian genealogists1   
and extols ,darwin as one of mankind's  
greatest  benefactors2 but our          
perplexity is great when we find him    
constructing  his ethics quite          
independently of the question1 ,what is 
our  conception of the universe8 ,in    
this department he had an opportunity   
of exhibiting native pluck2 for he ought
 to have turned his back on  his ,we1   
and have established a moral code for   
life out of bellum  omnium contra omnes 
and the privileges of the strong4 ,but  
it is to be  feared that such a code    
could only have emanated from a bold    
spirit  like that of ,hobbes'1 and must 
have taken its root in a love of truth  
quite different from that which was only
 able to vent itself in  explosive      
outbursts against parsons1 miracles1 and
 the world-wide  humbug of the          
,resurrection4 ,for1 whereas the        
,philistine remained on  ,strauss's side

 in regard to these explosive outbursts1
 he would have  been against him had he 
been confronted with a genuine and      
seriously  constructed ethical system1  
based upon ,darwin's teaching4    ,says 
,strauss3 ,i should say that all moral  
action arises from the  individual's    
acting in consonance with the idea of   
kind 7p4 #bgd74 ,put  quite clearly and 
comprehensively1 this means3 ,live as a 
man1 and not  as an ape or a seal4      
,unfortunately1 this imperative is both 
useless  and feeble2 for in the class   
,man what a multitude of different types
  are included--to mention only the     
,patagonian and the ,master1 ,strauss2  
and no one would ever dare to say with  
any right1 ,live like a  ,patagonian1   
and ,live like the ,master ,strauss6    
,should any one1  however1 make it his  
rule to live like a genius--that is to  
say1 like  the ideal type of the genus  
,man--and should he perchance at the    
same  time be either a ,patagonian or   
,strauss himself1 what should we then   

not have to suffer from the             
importunities of genius-mad eccentrics  
7concerning whose mushroom growth in    
,germany even ,lichtenberg had  already 
spoken71 who with savage cries would    
compel us to listen to  the confession  
of their most recent belief6 ,strauss   
has not yet  learned that no idea can   
ever make man better or more moral1 and 
that the preaching of a morality is as  
easy as the establishment of it  is     
difficult4 ,his business ought rather to
 have been1 to take the  phenomena of   
human goodness1 such--for instance--as  
pity1 love1 and  self-abnegation1 which 
are already to hand1 and seriously to   
explain  them and show their relation to
 his ,darwinian first principle4 ,but   
no2  he preferred to soar into the      
imperative1 and thus escape the task of 
explaining4 ,but even in his flight he  
was irresponsible enough to soar  beyond
 the very first principles of which we  
speak4    ,ever remember1 says ,strauss1
 that thou art human1 not merely a      

natural production2 ever remember that  
all others are human also1 and1  with   
all individual differences1 the same as 
thou1 having the same  needs and claims 
as thyself3 this is the sum and the     
substance of  morality 7p4 #bgg74 ,but  
where does this imperative hail from8   
,how can  it be intuitive in man1 seeing
 that1 according to ,darwin1 man is     
indeed a creature of nature1 and that   
his ascent to his present stage  of     
development has been conditioned by     
quite different laws--by the  very fact 
that be was continually forgetting that 
others were  constituted like him and   
shared the same rights with him2 by the 
very  fact that he regarded himself as  
the stronger1 and thus brought about    
the gradual suppression of weaker types4
 ,though ,strauss is bound to  admit    
that no two creatures have ever been    
quite alike1 and that the  ascent of man
 from the lowest species of animals to  
the exalted height  of the              
,culture--,philistine depended upon the 

law of individual  distinctness1 he     
still sees no difficulty in declaring   
exactly the  reverse in his law3 ,behave
 thyself as though there were no such   
things as individual distinctions4      
,where is the ,strauss-,darwin  morality
 here8 ,whither1 above all1 has the     
courage gone8    ,in the very next      
paragraph we find further evidence      
tending to show us  the point at which  
this courage veers round to its         
opposite2 for  ,strauss continues3 ,ever
 remember that thou1 and all that thou  
beholdest within and around thee1 all   
that befalls thee and others1 is  no    
disjointed fragment1 no wild chaos of   
atoms or casualties1 but  that1         
following eternal law1 it springs from  
the one primal source of  all life1 all 
reason1 and all good3 this is the       
essence of religion  7pp4 #bgg-gh74 ,out
 of that one primal source1 however1 all
 ruin and  irrationality1 all evil flows
 as well1 and its name1 according to    
,strauss1 is ,cosmos4    ,now1 how can  

this ,cosmos1 with all the              
contradictions and the                  
self-annihilating characteristics which 
,strauss gives it1 be worthy of         
religious veneration and be addressed by
 the name ,god1 as ,strauss  addresses  
it8--,our ,god does not1 indeed1 take us
 into ,his arms from  the outside 7here 
one expects1 as an antithesis1 a        
somewhat miraculous  process of being   
taken into ,his arms from the inside71  
but ,he  unseals the well-springs of    
consolation within our own bosoms4 ,he  
shows us that although ,chance would be 
an unreasonable ruler1 yet  necessity1  
or the enchainment of causes in the     
world1 is ,reason  itself4 7,a          
misapprehension of which only the ,we   
can fail to  perceive the folly2 because
 they were brought up in the ,hegelian  
worship of ,reality as the              
,reasonable--that is to say1 in the     
canonisation of success47 ,he teaches us
 to perceive that to demand an          
exception in the accomplishment of a    

single natural law would be to  demand  
the destruction of the universe 7pp4    
#dce-cf74 ,on the contrary1  ,great     
,master3 an honest natural scientist    
believes in the  unconditional rule of  
natural laws in the world1 without1     
however1  taking up any position in     
regard to the ethical or intellectual   
value  of these laws4 ,wherever         
neutrality is abandoned in this respect1
 it is  owing to an anthropomorphic     
attitude of mind which allows reason to 
exceed its proper bounds4 ,but it is    
just at the point where the  natural    
scientist resigns that ,strauss1 to put 
it in his own words1  reacts            
religiously1 and leaves the scientific  
and scholarly  standpoint in order to   
proceed along less honest lines of his  
own4  ,without any further warrant1 he  
assumes that all that has happened      
possesses the highest intellectual      
value2 that it was therefore  absolutely
 reasonably and intentionally so        
arranged1 and that it even  contained a 

revelation of eternal goodness4 ,he     
therefore has to appeal  to a complete  
cosmodicy1 and finds himself at a       
disadvantage in regard  to him who is   
contented with a theodicy1 and who1 for 
instance1  regards the whole of man's   
existence as a punishment for sin or a  
process of purification4 ,at this stage1
 and in this embarrassing  position1    
,strauss even suggests a metaphysical   
hypothesis--the driest  and most palsied
 ever conceived--and1 in reality1 but an
 unconscious  parody of one of          
,lessing's sayings4 ,we read on page    
#bee3 ,and that  other saying of        
,lessing's-- ',if ,god1 holding truth in
 ,his right hand1  and in ,his left only
 the ever-living desire for it1 although
 on  condition of perpetual error1 left 
him the choice of the two1 he  would1   
considering that truth belongs to ,god  
alone1 humbly seize ,his  left hand1 and
 beg its contents for ,himself'-- this  
saying of  ,lessing's has always been   
accounted one of the most magnificent   

which  he has left us4 ,it has been     
found to contain the general expression 
of  his restless love of inquiry and    
activity4 ,the saying has always made  a
 special impression upon me2 because1   
behind its subjective meaning1  ,i still
 seemed to hear the faint ring of an    
objective one of infinite  import4 ,for 
does it not contain the best possible   
answer to the rude  speech of           
,schopenhauer1 respecting the           
ill-advised ,god who had nothing  better
 to do than to transform ,himself into  
this miserable world8 if1  for example1 
the ,creator ,himself had shared        
,lessing's conviction of  the           
superiority of struggle to tranquil     
possession8 ,what6--a ,god who  would   
choose perpetual error1 together with a 
striving after truth1  and who would1   
perhaps1 fall humbly at ,strauss's feet 
and cry to  him1,take thou all ,truth1  
it is thine68 ,if ever a ,god and a man 
were  ill-advised1 they are this        
,straussian ,god1 whose hobby is to err 

and  to fail1 and this ,straussian man1 
who must atone for this erring and      
failing4 ,here1 indeed1 one hears a     
faint ring of infinite import2  here    
flows ,strauss's cosmic soothing oil2   
here one has a notion of the  rationale 
of all becoming and all natural laws4   
,really8 ,is not our  universe rather   
the work of an inferior being1 as       
,lichtenberg  suggests8--of an inferior 
being who did not quite understand his  
business2 therefore an experiment1 an   
attempt1 upon which work is  still      
proceeding8 ,strauss himself1 then1     
would be compelled to admit  that our   
universe is by no means the theatre of  
reason1 but of error1  and that no      
conformity to law can contain anything  
consoling1 since  all laws have been    
promulgated by an erratic ,god who even 
finds  pleasure in blundering4 ,it      
really is a most amusing spectacle to   
watch  ,strauss as a metaphysical       
architect1 building castles in the air4 
,but  for whose benefit is this         

entertainment given8 ,for the smug and  
noble  ,we1 that they may not lose      
conceit with themselves3 they may       
possibly have taken sudden fright1 in   
the midst of the inflexible and         
pitiless wheel-works of the             
world-machine1 and are tremulously      
imploring their leader to come to their 
aid4 ,that is why ,strauss pours  forth 
the soothing oil1 that is why he leads  
forth on a leash a ,god  whose passion  
it is to err2 it is for the same reason1
 too1 that he  assumes for once the     
utterly unsuitable rle of a metaphysical
  architect4 ,he does all this1 because 
the noble souls already referred  to are
 frightened1 and because he is too4 ,and
 it is here that we reach  the limit of 
his courage1 even in the presence of his
 ,we4 ,he does  not dare to be honest1  
and to tell them1 for instance3 ,i have 
liberated you from a helping and pitiful
 ,god3 the ,cosmos is no more  than an  
inflexible machine2 beware of its       
wheels1 that they do not  crush you4 ,he

 dare not do this4 ,consequently1 he    
must enlist the help  of a witch1 and he
 turns to metaphysics4 ,to the          
,philistine1 however1  even ,strauss's  
metaphysics is preferable to            
,christianity's1 and the  notion of an  
erratic ,god more congenial than that of
 one who works  miracles4 ,for the      
,philistine himself errs1 but has never 
yet performed  a miracle4 ,hence his    
hatred of the genius2 for the latter is 
justly  famous for the working of       
miracles4 ,it is therefore highly       
instructive  to ascertain why ,strauss1 
in one passage alone1 suddenly takes up 
the  cudgels for genius and the         
aristocracy of intellect in general4    
,whatever does he do it for8 ,he does it
 out of fear--fear of the social        
democrat4 ,he refers to ,bismarck and   
,moltke1 whose greatness is the  less   
open to controversy as it manifests     
itself in the domain of  tangible       
external facts4 ,no help for it1        
therefore2 even the most  stiff-necked  

and obdurate of these fellows must      
condescend to look up  a little1 if only
 to get a sight1 be it no farther than  
the knees1 of  those august figures     
7p4#cbg74 ,do you1 ,master              
,metaphysician1 perhaps  intend to      
instruct the social democrats in the art
 of getting kicks8  ,the willingness to 
bestow them may be met with everywhere1 
and you are  perfectly justified in     
promising to those who happen to be     
kicked a  sight of those sublime beings 
as far as the knee4 ,also in the domain 
of art and science1 ,strauss continues1 
there will never be a dearth  of kings  
whose architectural undertakings will   
find employment for a  multitude of     
carters4 ,granted2 but what if the      
carters should begin  building8 ,it does
 happen at times1 ,great ,master1 as you
 know1 and then  the kings must grin and
 bear it4    ,as a matter of fact1 this 
union of impudence and weakness1 of     
daring  words and cowardly concessions1 
this cautious deliberation as to which  

sentences will or will not impress the  
,philistine or smooth him down  the     
right way1 this lack of character and   
power masquerading as  character and    
power1 this meagre wisdom in the guise  
of  omniscience1--these are the features
 in this book which ,i detest4 ,if ,i   
could conceive of young men having      
patience to read it and to value  it1 ,i
 should sorrowfully renounce all hope   
for their future4 ,and is  this         
confession of wretched1 hopeless1 and   
really despicable  ,philistinism        
supposed to be the expression of the    
thousands  constituting the ,we of whom 
,strauss speaks1 and who are to be the  
fathers of the coming generation8 ,unto 
him who would fain help this  coming    
generation to acquire what the present  
one does not yet  possess1 namely1 a    
genuine ,german culture1 the prospect is
 a horrible  one4 ,to such a man1 the   
ground seems strewn with ashes1 and all 
stars  are obscured2 while every        
withered tree and field laid waste seems

 to  cry to him3 ,barren6 ,forsaken6    
,springtime is no longer possible here6 
,he must feel as young ,goethe felt when
 he first peered into the  melancholy   
atheistic twilight of the ,systme de la 
,nature2 to him this  book seemed so    
grey1 so ,cimmerian and deadly1 that he 
could only  endure its presence with    
difficulty1 and shuddered at it as one  
shudders at a spectre4                  
,,viii4    ,we ought now to be          
sufficiently informed concerning the    
heaven and the  courage of our new      
believer to be able to turn to the last 
question3  ,how does he write his books8
 and of what order are his religious    
documents8    ,he who can answer this   
question uprightly and without prejudice
 will  be confronted by yet another     
serious problem1 and that is3 ,how this 
,straussian pocket-oracle of the ,german
 ,philistine was able to pass  through  
six editions8 ,and he will grow more    
than ever suspicious when  he hears that
 it was actually welcomed as a          

pocket-oracle1 not only in  scholastic  
circles1 but even in ,german            
universities as well4 ,students  are    
said to have greeted it as a canon for  
strong intellects1 and1  from all       
accounts1 the professors raised no      
objections to this view2  while here and
 there people have declared it to be a  
religions book  for scholars4 ,strauss  
himself gave out that he did not intend 
his  profession of faith to be merely a 
reference-book for learned and  cultured
 people2 but here let us abide by the   
fact that it was first  and foremost a  
work appealing to his colleagues1 and   
was ostensibly a  mirror in which they  
were to see their own way of living     
faithfully  reflected4 ,for therein lay 
the feat4 ,the ,master feigned to have  
presented us with a new ideal conception
 of the universe1 and now  adulation is 
being paid him out of every mouth2      
because each is in a  position to       
suppose that he too regards the universe
 and life in the  same way4 ,thus       

,strauss has seen fulfilled in each of  
his readers what  he only demanded of   
the future4 ,in this way1 the           
extraordinary success  of his book is   
partly explained3 ,thus we live and hold
 on our way in  joy1 the scholar cries  
in his book1 and delights to see others 
rejoicing over the announcement4 ,if the
 reader happen to think  differently    
from the ,master in regard to ,darwin or
 to capital  punishment1 it is of very  
little consequence2 for he is too       
conscious  throughout of breathing an   
atmosphere that is familiar to him1 and 
of  hearing but the echoes of his own   
voice and wants4 ,however painfully     
this unanimity may strike the true      
friend of ,german culture1 it is his    
duty to be unrelenting in his           
explanation of it as a phenomenon1 and  
not to shrink from making this          
explanation public4    ,we all know the 
peculiar methods adopted in our own time
 of  cultivating the sciences3 we all   
know them1 because they form a part  of 

our lives4 ,and1 for this very reason1  
scarcely anybody seems to ask  himself  
what the result of such a cultivation of
 the sciences will  mean to culture in  
general1 even supposing that everywhere 
the highest  abilities and the most     
earnest will be available for the       
promotion of  culture4 ,in the heart of 
the average scientific type 7quite      
irrespective of the examples thereof    
with which we meet to-day7 there  lies a
 pure paradox3 he behaves like the      
veriest idler of independent  means1 to 
whom life is not a dreadful and serious 
business1 but a  sound piece of         
property1 settled upon him for all      
eternity2 and it  seems to him          
justifiable to spend his whole life in  
answering  questions which1 after all is
 said and done1 can only be of interest 
to that person who believes in eternal  
life as an absolute certainty4  ,the    
heir of but a few hours1 he sees himself
 encompassed by yawning  abysses1       
terrible to behold2 and every step he   

takes should recall the  questions1     
,wherefore8 ,whither8 and ,whence8 to   
his mind4 ,but his soul  rather warms to
 his work1 and1 be this the counting of 
a floweret's  petals or the breaking of 
stones by the roadside1 he spends his   
whole  fund of interest1 pleasure1      
strength1 and aspirations upon it4 ,this
  paradox--the scientific man--has      
lately dashed ahead at such a frantic   
speed in ,germany1 that one would almost
 think the scientific world  were a     
factory1 in which every minute wasted   
meant a fine4 ,to-day the  man of       
science works as arduously as the fourth
 or slave caste3 his  study has ceased  
to be an occupation1 it is a necessity2 
he looks  neither to the right nor to   
the left1 but rushes through all        
things--even through the serious matters
 which life bears in its  train--with   
that semi-listlessness and repulsive    
need of rest so  characteristic of the  
exhausted labourer4 ,this is also his   
attitude  towards culture4 ,he behaves  

as if life to him were not only otium   
but  sine dignitate3 even in his sleep  
he does not throw off the yoke1 but     
like an emancipated slave still dreams  
of his misery1 his forced haste  and his
 floggings4 ,our scholars can scarcely  
be distinguished--and1  even then1 not  
to their advantage--from agricultural   
labourers1 who in  order to increase a  
small patrimony1 assiduously strive1 day
 and  night1 to cultivate their fields1 
drive their ploughs1 and urge on  their 
oxen4 ,now1 ,pascal suggests that men   
only endeavour to work hard  at their   
business and sciences with the view of  
escaping those  questions of greatest   
import which every moment of loneliness 
or  leisure presses upon them--the      
questions relating to the wherefore1    
the whence1 and the whither of life4    
,curiously enough1 our scholars  never  
think of the most vital question of     
all--the wherefore of their  work1 their
 haste1 and their painful ecstasies4    
,surely their object is  not the earning

 of bread or the acquiring of posts of  
honour8 ,no1  certainly not4 ,but ye    
take as much pains as the famishing and 
breadless2 and1 with that eagerness and 
lack of discernment which  characterises
 the starving1 ye even snatch the dishes
 from the  sideboard of science4 ,if1   
however1 as scientific men1 ye proceed  
with  science as the labourers with the 
tasks which the exigencies of life      
impose upon them1 what will become of a 
culture which must await the  hour of   
its birth and its salvation in the very 
midst of all this  agitated and         
breathless running to and fro--this     
sprawling  scientifically8    ,for it no
 one has time--and yet for what shall   
science have time if  not for culture8  
,answer us here1 then1 at least3 whence1
 whither1  wherefore all science1 if it 
do not lead to culture8 ,belike to      
barbarity8 ,and in this direction we    
already see the scholar caste  ominously
 advanced1 if we are to believe that    
such superficial books  as this one of  

,strauss's meet the demand of their     
present degree of  culture4 ,for        
precisely in him do we find that        
repulsive need of rest  and that        
incidental semi-listless attention to1  
and coming to terms  with1 philosophy1  
culture1 and every serious thing on     
earth4 ,it will  be remembered that1 at 
the meetings held by scholars1 as soon  
as each  individual has had his say in  
his own particular department of        
knowledge1 signs of fatigue1 of a desire
 for distraction at any price1  of      
waning memory1 and of incoherent        
experiences of life1 begin to be        
noticeable4 ,while listening to ,strauss
 discussing any worldly  question1 be it
 marriage1 the war1 or capital          
punishment1 we are  startled by his     
complete lack of anything like          
first-hand experience1  or of any       
original thought on human nature4 ,all  
his judgments are so  redolent of books1
 yea even of newspapers4 ,literary      
reminiscences do  duty for genuine ideas

 and views1 and the assumption of a     
moderate and  grandfatherly tone take   
the place of wisdom and mature thought4 
,how  perfectly in keeping all this is  
with the fulsome spirit animating the   
holders of the highest places in ,german
 science in large cities6 ,how          
thoroughly this spirit must appeal to   
that other6 for it is precisely  in     
those quarters that culture is in the   
saddest plight2 it is  precisely there  
that its fresh growth is made           
impossible--so  boisterous are the      
preparations made by science1 so        
sheepishly are  favourite subjects of   
knowledge allowed to oust questions of  
much  greater import4 ,what kind of     
lantern would be needed here1 in order  
to  find men capable of a complete      
surrender to genius1 and of an intimate 
knowledge of its depths--men possessed  
of sufficient courage and  strength to  
exorcise the demons that have forsaken  
our age8 ,viewed  from the outside1 such
 quarters certainly do appear to possess

 the  whole pomp of culture2 with their 
imposing apparatus they resemble  great 
arsenals fitted with huge guns and other
 machinery of war2 we  see preparations 
in progress and the most strenuous      
activity1 as  though the heavens        
themselves were to be stormed1 and truth
 were to be  drawn out of the deepest of
 all wells2 and yet1 in war1 the largest
  machines are the most unwieldy4       
,genuine culture therefore leaves such  
places as these religiously alone1 for  
its best instincts warn it that  in     
their midst it has nothing to hope for1 
and very much to fear4 ,for  the only   
kind of culture with which the inflamed 
eye and obtuse brain  of the scholar    
working-classes concern themselves is of
 that  ,philistine order of which       
,strauss has announced the gospel4 ,if  
we  consider for a moment the           
fundamental causes underlying the       
sympathy  which binds the learned       
working-classes to                      
,culture-,philistinism1 we  shall       

discover the road leading to ,strauss   
the ,writer1 who has been  acknowledged 
classical1 and tihence to our last and  
principal theme4    ,to begin with1 that
 culture has contentment written in its 
every  feature1 and will allow of no    
important changes being introduced into 
the present state of ,german education4 
,it is above all convinced of  the      
originality of all ,german educational  
institutions1 more  particularly the    
public schools and universities2 it does
 not cease  recommending these to       
foreigners1 and never doubts that if the
 ,germans  have become the most         
cultivated and discriminating people on 
earth1 it  is owing to such             
institutions4 ,culture-,philistinism    
believes in  itself1 consequently it    
also believes in the methods and means  
at its  disposal4 ,secondly1 however1 it
 leaves the highest judgment concerning 
all questions of taste and culture to   
the scholar1 and even regards  itself as
 the ever-increasing compendium of      

scholarly opinions  regarding art1      
literature1 and philosophy4 ,its first  
care is to urge  the scholar to express 
his opinions2 these it proceeds to mix1 
dilute1  and systematise1 and then it   
administers them to the ,german people  
in  the form of a bottle of medicine4   
,what conies to life outside this       
circle is either not heard or attended  
at all1 or if heard1 is heeded          
half-heartedly2 until1 at last1 a voice 
7it does not matter whose1  provided it 
belong to some one who is strictly      
typical of the scholar  tribe7 is heard 
to issue from the temple in which       
traditional  infallibility of taste is  
said to reside2 and from that time      
forward  public opinion has one         
conviction more1 which it echoes and    
re-echoes  hundreds and hundreds of     
times4 ,as a matter of fact1 though1 the
  aesthetic infallibility of any        
utterance emanating from the temple is  
the more doubtful1 seeing that the lack 
of taste1 thought1 and  artistic feeling

 in any scholar can be taken for        
granted1 unless it  has previously been 
proved that1 in his particular case1 the
 reverse  is true4 ,and only a few can  
prove this4 ,for how many who have had a
  share in the breathless and unending  
scurry of modern science have  preserved
 that quiet and courageous gaze of the  
struggling man of  culture--if they ever
 possessed it--that gaze which condemns 
even the  scurry we speak of as a       
barbarous state of affairs8 ,that is why
 these  few are forced to live in an    
almost perpetual contradiction4 ,what   
could they do against the uniform belief
 of the thousands who have  enlisted    
public opinion in their cause1 and who  
mutually defend each  other in this     
belief8 ,what purpose can it serve when 
one individual  openly declares war     
against ,strauss1 seeing that a crowd   
have decided  in his favour1 and that   
the masses led by this crowd have       
learned to  ask six consecutive times   
for the ,master's ,philistine           

sleeping-mixture8    ,if1 without       
further ado1 we here assumed that the   
,straussian  confession-book had        
triumphed over public opinion and had   
been  acclaimed and welcomed as         
conqueror1 its author might call our    
attention to the fact that the          
multitudinous criticisms of his work in 
the various public organs are not of an 
altogether unanimous or even  favourable
 character1 and that he therefore felt  
it incumbent upon him  to defend himself
 against some of the more malicious1    
impudent1 and  provoking of these       
newspaper pugilists by means of a       
postscript4 ,how  can there be a public 
opinion concerning my book1 he cries to 
us1 if  every journalist is to regard me
 as an outlaw1 and to mishandle me as   
much as he likes8 ,this contradiction is
 easily explained1 as soon as  one      
considers the two aspects of the        
,straussian book--the theological  and  
the literary1 and it is only the latter 
that has anything to do  with ,german   

culture4 ,thanks to its theological     
colouring1 it stands  beyond the pale of
 our ,german culture1 and provokes the  
animosity of  the various theological   
groups--yea1 even of every individual   
,german1  in so far as he is a          
theological sectarian from birth1 and   
only  invents his own peculiar private  
belief in order to be able to dissent   
from every other form of belief4 ,but   
when the question arises of  talking    
about ,strauss ,,the ,,writer1 pray     
listen to what the theological          
sectarians have to say about him4 ,as   
soon as his literary side comes  under  
notice1 all theological objections      
immediately subside1 and the  dictum    
comes plain and clear1 as if from the   
lips of one congregation3  ,in spite of 
it all1 he is still a classical writer6 
,everybody--even the most bigoted1      
orthodox ,churchman--pays the writer    
the most gratifying compliments1 while  
there is always a word or two  thrown in
 as a tribute to his almost             

,lessingesque language1 his  delicacy of
 touch1 or the beauty and accuracy of   
his aesthetic views4  ,as a book1       
therefore1 the ,straussian performance  
appears to meet all  the demands of an  
ideal example of its kind4 ,the         
theological  opponents1 despite the fact
 that their voices were the loudest of  
all1  nevertheless constitute but an    
infinitesimal portion of the great      
public2 and even with regard to them1   
,strauss still maintains that he  is    
right when he says3 ,compared with my   
thousands of readers1 a few  dozen      
public cavillers form but an            
insignificant minority1 and they  can   
hardly prove that they are their        
faithful interpreters4 ,it was          
obviously in the nature of things that  
opposition should be clamorous  and     
assent tacit4 ,thus1 apart from the     
angry bitterness which  ,strauss's      
profession of faith may have provoked   
here and there1 even  the most fanatical
 of his opponents1 to whom his voice    

seems to rise  out of an abyss1 like the
 voice of a beast1 are agreed as to his 
merits as a writer2 and that is why the 
treatment which ,strauss has  received  
at the hands of the literary lackeys of 
the theological  groups proves nothing  
against our contention that             
,culture-,philistinism  celebrated its  
triumph in this book4 ,it must be       
admitted that the  average educated     
,philistine is a degree less honest than
 ,strauss1 or  is at least more reserved
 in his public utterances4 ,but this    
fact only  tends to increase his        
admiration for honesty in another4 ,at  
home1 or  in the company of his equals1 
he may applaud with wild enthusiasm1 but
  takes care not to put on paper how    
entirely ,strauss's words are in        
harmony with his own innermost feelings4
 ,for1 as we have already  maintained1  
our ,culture-,philistine is somewhat of 
a coward1 even in  his strongest        
sympathies2 hence ,strauss1 who can     
boast of a trifle  more courage than he1

 becomes his leader1 notwithstanding the
 fact  that even ,straussian pluck has  
its very definite limits4 ,if he        
overstepped these limits1 as            
,schopenhauer does in almost every      
sentence1 he would then forfeit his     
position at the head of the             
,philistines1 and everybody would flee  
from him as precipitately as  they are  
now following in his wake4 ,he who would
 regard this artful if  not sagacious   
moderation and this mediocre valour as  
an ,aristotelian  virtue1 would         
certainly be wrong2 for the valour in   
question is not  the golden mean between
 two faults1 but between a virtue and a 
fault--and in this mean1 between virtue 
and fault1 all ,philistine  qualities   
are to be found4                        
,,ix4    ,in spite of it all1 he is     
still a classical writer4 ,well1 let us 
see6 ,perhaps we may now be allowed to  
discuss ,strauss the stylist and  master
 of language2 but in the first place let
 us inquire whether1 as  a literary man1

 he is equal to the task of building his
 house1 and  whether he really          
understands the architecture of a book4 
,from this  inquiry we shall be able to 
conclude whether he is a respectable1   
thoughtful1 and experienced author2 and 
even should we be forced to  answer ,no 
to these questions1 he may still1 as a  
last shift1 take  refuge in his fame as 
a classical prose-writer4 ,this         
last-mentioned  talent alone1 it is     
true1 would not suffice to class him    
with the  classical authors1 but at most
 with the classical improvisers and     
virtuosos of style1 who1 however1 in    
regard to power of expression and  the  
whole planning and framing of the work1 
reveal the awkward hand  and the        
embarrassed eye of the bungler4 ,we     
therefore put the question1  whether    
,strauss really possesses the artistic  
strength necessary for  the purpose of  
presenting us with a thing that is a    
whole1 totum  ponere8    ,as a rule1 it 
ought to be possible to tell from the   

first rough sketch  of a work whether   
the author conceived the thing as a     
whole1 and  whether1 in view of this    
original conception1 he has discovered  
the  correct way of proceeding with his 
task and of fixing its proportions4     
,should this most important ,part of the
 problem be solved1 and should  the     
framework of the building have been     
given its most favourable  proportions1 
even then there remains enough to be    
done3 how many  smaller faults have to  
be corrected1 how many gaps require     
filling in6  ,here and there a temporary
 partition or floor was found to answer 
the  requirements2 everywhere dust and  
fragments litter the ground1 and no     
matter where we look1 we see the signs  
of work done and work still to  be done4
 ,the house1 as a whole1 is still       
uninhabitable and gloomy1 its  walls are
 bare1 and the wind blows in through the
 open windows4 ,now1  whether this      
remaining1 necessary1 and very irksome  
work has been  satisfactorily           

accomplished by ,strauss does not       
concern us at present2  our question is1
 whether the building itself has been   
conceived as a  whole1 and whether its  
proportions are good8 ,the reverse of   
this1 of  course1 would be a compilation
 of fragments--a method generally       
adopted by scholars4 ,they rely upon it 
that these fragments are  related among 
themselves1 and thus confound the       
logical and the  artistic relation      
between them4 ,now1 the relation between
 the four  questions which provide the  
chapter-headings of ,strauss's book     
cannot  be called a logical one4 ,are we
 still ,christians8 ,have we still a    
religion8 ,what is our conception of the
 universe8 ,what is our rule of  life8  
,and it is by no means contended that   
the relation is illogical  simply       
because the third question has nothing  
to do with the second1  nor the fourth  
with the third1 nor all three with the  
first4 ,the  natural scientist who puts 
the third question1 for instance1 shows 

his  unsullied love of truth by the     
simple fact that he tacitly passes over 
the second4 ,and with regard to the     
subject of the fourth                   
chapter--marriage1 republicanism1 and   
capital punishment--,strauss  himself   
seems to have been aware that they could
 only have been  muddled and obscured by
 being associated with the ,darwinian   
theory  expounded in the third chapter2 
for he carefully avoids all reference   
to this theory when discussing them4    
,but the question1 ,are we still        
,christians8 destroys the freedom of the
 philosophical standpoint at  one       
stroke1 by lending it an unpleasant     
theological colouring4  ,moreover1 in   
this matter1 he quite forgot that the   
majority of men  to-day are not         
,christians at all1 but ,buddhists4 ,why
 should one1  without further ceremony1 
immediately think of ,christianity at   
the  sound of the words old faith8 ,is  
this a sign that ,strauss has never     
ceased to be a ,christian theologian1   

and that he has therefore never  learned
 to be a philosopher8 ,for we find still
 greater cause for  surprise in the fact
 that he quite fails to distinguish     
between belief  and knowledge1 and      
continually mentions his new belief and 
the still  newer science in one breath4 
,or is new belief merely an ironical    
concession to ordinary parlance8 ,this  
almost seems to be the case2 for  here  
and there he actually allows new belief 
and newer science to  be interchangeable
 terms1 as for instance on page ,,ii1   
where he asks on  which side1 whether on
 that of the ancient orthodoxy or of    
modern  science1 exist more of the      
obscurities and insufficiencies         
unavoidable in human speculation4       
,moreover1 according to the scheme laid 
down in the ,introduction1 his  desire  
is to disclose those proofs upon which  
the modern view of life  is based2 but  
he derives all these proofs from        
science1 and in this  respect assumes   
far more the attitude of a scientist    

than of a  believer4    ,at bottom1     
therefore1 the religion is not a new    
belief1 but1 being of  a piece with     
modern science1 it has nothing to do    
with religion at  all4 ,if ,strauss1    
however1 persists in his claims to be   
religious1 the  grounds for these claims
 must be beyond the pale of recent      
science4  ,only the smallest portion of 
the ,straussian book--that is to say1   
but  a few isolated pages--refer to what
 ,strauss in all justice might call  a  
belief1 namely1 that feeling for the    
,all for which he demands the  piety    
that the old believer demanded for his  
,god4 ,on the pages in  question1       
however1 he cannot claim to be          
altogether scientific2 but if  only he  
could lay claim to being a little       
stronger1 more natural1 more  outspoken1
 more pious1 we should be content4      
,indeed1 what perhaps  strikes us most  
forcibly about him is the multitude of  
artificial  procedures of which he      
avails himself before he ultimately gets

 the  feeling that he still possesses a 
belief and a religion2 he reaches it  by
 means of stings and blows1 as we have  
already seen4 ,how indigently  and      
feebly this emergency-belief presents   
itself to us6 ,we shiver at  the sight  
of it4    ,although ,strauss1 in the    
plan laid down in his ,introduction1    
promises  to compare the two faiths1 the
 old and the new1 and to show that the  
latter will answer the same purpose as  
the former1 even he begins to  feel1 in 
the end1 that he has promised too much4 
,for the question  whether the new      
belief answers the same purpose as the  
old1 or is  better or worse1 is disposed
 of incidentally1 so to speak1 and with 
uncomfortable haste1 in two or three    
pages 7p4 #dcf et seq4-71 and is        
actually bolstered up by the following  
subterfuge3 ,he who cannot help  himself
 in this matter is beyond help1 is not  
yet ripe for our  standpoint 7p4 #dcf74 
,how differently1 and with what         
intensity of  conviction1 did the       

ancient ,stoic believe in the ,all and  
the  rationality of the ,all6 ,and1     
viewed in this light1 how does          
,strauss's  claim to originality appear8
 ,but1 as we have already observed1 it  
would be a matter of indifference to us 
whether it were new1 old1  original1 or 
imitated1 so that it were only more     
powerful1 more  healthy1 and more       
natural4 ,even ,strauss himself leaves  
this  double-distilled emergency-belief 
to take care of itself as often as  he  
can do so1 in order to protect himself  
and us from danger1 and to  present his 
recently acquired biological knowledge  
to his ,we with a  clear conscience4    
,the more embarrassed he may happen to  
be when he  speaks of faith1 the rounder
 and fuller his mouth becomes when he   
quotes the greatest benefactor to modern
 men-,darwin4 ,then he not only  exacts 
belief for the new ,messiah1 but also   
for himself--the new  apostle4 ,for     
instance1 while discussing one of the   
most intricate  questions in natural    

history1 he declares with true ancient  
pride3 ,i  shall be told that ,i am here
 speaking of things about which ,i      
understand nothing4 ,very well2 but     
others will come who will  understand   
them1 and who will also have understood 
me 7p4 #bda74    ,according to this1 it 
would almost seem as though the famous  
,we were  not only in duty bound to     
believe in the ,all1 but also in the    
naturalist ,strauss2 in this case we can
 only hope that in order to  acquire the
 feeling for this last belief1 other    
processes are  requisite than the       
painful and cruel ones demanded by the  
first  belief4 ,or is it perhaps        
sufficient in this case that the subject
 of  belief himself be tormented and    
stabbed with the view of bringing the   
believers to that religious reaction    
which is the distinguishing  sign of the
 new faith4 ,what merit should we then  
discover in the  piety of those whom    
,strauss calls ,we8    ,otherwise1 it is
 almost to be feared that modern men    

will pass on in  pursuit of their       
business without troubling themselves   
overmuch  concerning the new furniture  
of faith offered them by the apostle3   
just as they have done heretofore1      
without the doctrine of the  rationality
 of the ,all4 ,the whole of modern      
biological and historical  research has 
nothing to do with the ,straussian      
belief in the ,all1 and  the fact that  
the modern ,philistine does not require 
the belief is  proved by the description
 of his life given by ,strauss in the   
chapter1,what is our ,rule of ,life8 ,he
 is therefore quite right in  doubting  
whether the coach to which his esteemed 
readers have been  obliged to trust     
themselves with him1 fulfils every      
requirement4 ,it  certainly does not2   
for the modern man makes more rapid     
progress when  he does not take his     
place in the ,straussian coach1 or      
rather1 he got  ahead much more quickly 
long before the ,straussian coach ever  
existed4  ,now1 if it be true that the  

famous minority which is not to be      
overlooked1 and of which1 and in whose  
name1 ,strauss speaks1  attaches great  
importance to consistency1 it must be   
just as  dissatisfied with ,strauss the 
,coachbuilder as we are with ,strauss   
the  ,logician4    ,let us1 however1    
drop the question of the logician4      
,perhaps1 from the  artistic point of   
view1 the book really is an example of  
a4  well-conceived plan1 and does1 after
 all1 answer to the requirements  of the
 laws of beauty1 despite the fact that  
it fails to meet with the  demands of a 
well-conducted argument4 ,and now1      
having shown that he is  neither a      
scientist nor a strictly correct and    
systematic scholar1 for  the first time 
we approach the question3 ,is ,strauss a
 capable writer8  ,perhaps the task he  
set himself was not so much to scare    
people away  from the old faith as to   
captivate them by a picturesque and     
graceful  description of what life would
 be with the new4 ,if he regarded       

scholars and educated men as his most   
probable audience1 experience  ought    
certainly to have told him that whereas 
one can shoot such men  down with the   
heavy guns of scientific proof1 but     
cannot make them  surrender1 they may be
 got to capitulate all the more quickly 
before  lightly equipped measures of    
seduction4 ,lightly equipped1 and       
intentionally so1 thus ,strauss himself 
speaks of his own book4 ,nor  do his    
public eulogisers refrain from using the
 same expression in  reference to the   
work1 as the following passage1 quoted  
from one of  the least remarkable among 
them1 and in which the same expression  
is  merely paraphrased1 will go to      
prove3--    ,the discourse flows on with
 delightful harmony3 wherever it directs
  its criticism against old ideas it    
wields the art of demonstration1  almost
 playfully2 and it is with some spirit  
that it prepares the new  ideas it      
brings so enticingly1 and presents them 
to the simple as well  as to the        

fastidious taste4 ,the arrangement of   
such diverse and  conflicting material  
is well thought out for every portion of
 it  required to be touched upon1       
without being made too prominent2 at    
times the transitions leading from one  
subject to another are  artistically    
managed1 and one hardly knows what to   
admire most--the  skill with which      
unpleasant questions are shelved1 or the
 discretion  with which they are hushed 
up4    ,the spirit of such eulogies1 as 
the above clearly shows1 is not quite   
so subtle in regard to judging of what  
an author is able to do as in  regard to
 what he wishes4 ,what ,strauss wishes1 
however1 is best  revealed by his own   
emphatic and not quite harmless         
commendation of  ,voltaire's charms1 in 
whose service he might have learned     
precisely  those lightly equipped arts  
of which his admirer speaks--granting1  
of course1 that virtue may be acquired  
and a pedagogue can ever be a  dancer4  
,who could help having a suspicion or   

two1 when reading the following         
passage1 for instance1 in which ,strauss
 says of ,voltaire1 ,as a  philosopher  
he is certainly not original1 but in the
 main a mere  exponent of ,english      
investigations3 in this respect1        
however1 he shows  himself to be        
completely master of his subject1 which 
he presents with  incomparable skill1 in
 all possible lights and from all       
possible  sides1 and is able withal to  
meet the demands of thoroughness1       
without1 however1 being over-severe in  
his method8 ,now1 all the  negative     
traits mentioned in this passage might  
be applied to ,strauss4  ,no one would  
contend1 ,i suppose1 that ,strauss is   
original1 or that he  is over-severe in 
his method2 but the question is whether 
we can  regard him as master of his     
subject1 and grant him incomparable     
skill8 ,the confession to the effect    
that the treatise was  intentionally    
lightly equipped leads us to think that 
it at least  aimed at incomparable      

skill4    ,it was not the dream of our  
architect to build a temple1 nor yet a  
house1 but a sort of summer-pavilion1   
surrounded by everything that  the art  
of gardening can provide4 ,yea1 it even 
seems as if that  mysterious feeling for
 the ,all were only calculated to       
produce an  aesthetic effect1 to be1 so 
to speak1 a view of an irrational       
element1  such as the sea1 looked at    
from the most charming and rational of  
terraces4 ,the walk through the first   
chapters-- that is to say1  through the 
theological catacombs with all their    
gloominess and their  involved and      
baroque embellishments--was also no more
 than an  aesthetic expedient in order  
to throw into greater relief the purity1
  clearness1 and common sense of the    
chapter ,what is our ,conception of  the
 ,universe8 ,for1 immediately after that
 walk in the gloaming and  that peep    
into the wilderness of ,irrationalism1  
we step into a hall  with a skylight to 
it4 ,soberly and limpidly it welcomes   

us3 its mural  decorations consist of   
astronomical charts and mathematical    
figures2  it is filled with scientific  
apparatus1 and its cupboards contain    
skeletons1 stuffed apes1 and anatomical 
specimens4 ,but now1 really  rejoicing  
for the first time1 we direct our steps 
into the innermost  chamber of bliss    
belonging to our pavilion-dwellers2     
there we find  them with their wives1   
children1 and newspapers1 occupied in   
the  commonplace discussion of politics2
 we listen for a moment to their        
conversation on marriage1 universal     
suffrage1 capital punishment1 and       
workmen's strikes1 and we can scarcely  
believe it to be possible that  the     
rosary of public opinions can be told   
off so quickly4 ,at length an  attempt  
is made to convince us of the classical 
taste of the inmates4  ,a moment's halt 
in the library1 and the music-room      
suffices to show us  what we had        
expected all along1 namely1 that the    
best books lay on the  shelves1 and that

 the most famous musical compositions   
were in the  music-cabinets4 ,some one  
actually played something to us1 and    
even if  it were ,haydn's music1 ,haydn 
could not be blamed because it sounded  
like ,riehl's music for the home4       
,meanwhile the host had found occasion  
to announce to us his complete agreement
 with ,lessing and ,goethe1  although   
with the latter only up to the second   
part of ,faust4 ,at last  our           
pavilion-owner began to praise himself1 
and assured us that he who  could not be
 happy under his roof was beyond help   
and could not be  ripe for his          
standpoint1 whereupon he offered us his 
coach1 but with  the polite reservation 
that he could not assert that it would  
fulfil  every requirement1 and that1    
owing to the stones on his road having  
been newly laid down1 we were not to    
mind if we were very much jolted4  ,our 
,epicurean garden-god then took leave of
 us with the incomparable  skill which  
he praised in ,voltaire4    ,who could  

now persist in doubting the existence of
 this incomparable  skill8 ,the complete
 master of his subject is revealed2 the 
lightly  equipped artist-gardener is    
exposed1 and still we hear the voice of 
the classical author saying1 ,as a      
writer ,i shall for once cease to be  a 
,philistine3 ,i will not be one2 ,i     
refuse to be one6 ,but a  ,voltaire--the
 ,german ,voltaire--or at least the     
,french ,lessing4    ,with this we have 
betrayed a secret4 ,our ,master does not
 always know  which he prefers to       
be--,voltaire or ,lessing2 but on no    
account will he  be a ,philistine4 ,at a
 pinch he would not object to being both
 ,lessing  and ,voltaire--that the word 
might be fulfilled that is written1 ,he 
had no character1 but when he wished to 
appear as if he had1 he  assumed one4   
,x4    ,if we have understood ,strauss  
the ,confessor correctly1 he must be a  
genuine ,philistine1 with a narrow1     
parched soul and scholarly and          
common-place needs2 albeit no one would 

be more indignant at the title  than    
,david ,strauss the ,writer4 ,he would  
be quite happy to be regarded  as       
mischievous1 bold1 malicious1 daring2   
but his ideal of bliss would  consist in
 finding himself compared with either   
,lessing or  ,voltaire--because these   
men were undoubtedly anything but       
,philistines4  ,in striving after this  
state of bliss1 he often seems to waver 
between  two alternatives--either to    
mimic the brave and dialectical         
petulance  of ,lessing1 or to affect the
 manner of the faun-like and            
free-spirited  man of antiquity that    
,voltaire was4 ,when taking up his pen  
to write1  he seems to be continually   
posing for his portrait2 and whereas at 
times his features are drawn to look    
like ,lessing's1 anon they are  made to 
assume the ,voltairean mould4 ,while    
reading his praise of  ,voltaire's      
manner1 we almost seem to see him       
abjuring the consciences  of his        
contemporaries for not having learned   

long ago what the modern  ,voltaire had 
to offer them4 ,even his excellences are
 wonderfully  uniform1 he says3 simple  
naturalness1 transparent clearness1     
vivacious mobility1 seductive charm4    
,warmth and emphasis are also not       
wanting where they are needed1 and      
,voltaire's innermost nature always     
revolted against stiltedness and        
affectation2 while1 on the other  hand1 
if at times wantonness or passion       
descend to an unpleasantly low  level1  
the fault does not rest so much with the
 stylist as with the  man4 ,according to
 this1 ,strauss seems only too well     
aware of the  importance of simplicity  
in style2 it is ever the sign of genius1
  which alone has the privilege to      
express itself naturally and            
guilelessly4 ,when1 therefore1 an author
 selects a simple mode of  expression1  
this is no sign whatever of vulgar      
ambition2 for although  many are aware  
of what such an author would fain be    
taken for1 they  are yet kind enough to 

take him precisely for that4 ,the genial
 writer1  however1 not only reveals his 
true nature in the plain and            
unmistakable form of his utterance1 but 
his super-abundant strength  actually   
dallies with the material he treats1    
even when it is  dangerous and          
difficult4 ,nobody treads stiffly along 
unknown paths1  especially when these   
are broken throughout their course by   
thousands  of crevices and furrows2 but 
the genius speeds nimbly over them1 and1
  leaping with grace and daring1 scorns 
the wistful and timorous step of        
caution4    ,even ,strauss knows that   
the problems he prances over are        
dreadfully  serious1 and have ever been 
regarded as such by the philosophers who
  have grappled with them2 yet he calls 
his book lightly equipped6 ,but  of this
 dreadfulness and of the usual dark     
nature of our meditations  when         
considering such questions as the worth 
of existence and the  duties of man1 we 
entirely cease to be conscious when the 

genial  ,master plays his antics before 
us1 lightly equipped1 and  intentionally
 so4 ,yes1 even more lightly equipped   
than his ,rousseau1  of whom he tells us
 it was said that he stripped himself   
below and  adorned himself on top1      
whereas ,goethe did precisely the       
reverse4  ,perfectly guileless geniuses 
do not1 it appears1 adorn themselves at 
all2 possibly the words lightly equipped
 may simply be a euphemism  for naked4  
,the few who happen to have seen the    
,goddess of ,truth  declare that she is 
naked1 and perhaps1 in the minds of     
those who have  never seen her1 but who 
implicitly believe those few1 nakedness 
or  light equipment is actually a proof1
 or at least a feature1 of truthi  ,even
 this vulgar superstition turns to the  
advantage of the author's  ambition4    
,some one sees something naked1 and he  
exclaims3 ,what if  this were the truth6
 ,whereupon he grows more solemn than is
 his wont4  ,by this means1 however1 the
 author scores a tremendous advantage2  

for  he compels his reader to approach  
him with greater solemnity than  another
 and perhaps more heavily equipped      
writer4 ,this is  unquestionably the    
best way to become a classical author2  
hence  ,strauss himself is able to tell 
us3 ,i even enjoy the unsought honour   
of being1 in the opinion of many1 a     
classical writer of prose4 ,he has      
therefore achieved his aim4 ,strauss the
 ,genius goes gadding about the  streets
 in the garb of lightly equipped        
goddesses as a classic1 while  ,strauss 
the ,philistine1 to use an original     
expression of this  genius's1 must1 at  
all costs1 be declared to be on the     
decline1 or  irrevocably dismissed4     
,but1 alas6 in spite of all declarations
 of decline and dismissal1 the          
,philistine still returns1 and all too  
frequently4 ,those features1  contorted 
to resemble ,lessing and ,voltaire1 must
 relax from time to  time to resume     
their old and original shape4 ,the mask 
of genius falls  from them too often1   

and the ,master's expression is never   
more sour  and his movements never      
stiffer than when he has just attempted 
to  take the leap1 or to glance with the
 fiery eye1 of a genius4 ,precisely     
owing to the fact that he is too lightly
 equipped for our zone1 he  runs the    
risk of catching cold more often and    
more severely than  another4 ,it may    
seem a terrible hardship to him that    
every one should  notice this2 but if he
 wishes to be cured1 the following      
diagnosis of  his case ought to be      
publicly presented to him3-- ,once upon 
a time  there lived a ,strauss1 a brave1
 severe1 and stoutly equipped scholar1  
with whom we sympathised as wholly as   
with all those in ,germany who  seek to 
serve truth with earnestness and energy1
 and to rule within  the limits of their
 powers4 ,he1 however1 who is now       
publicly famous as  ,david ,strauss1 is 
another person4 ,the theologians may be 
to blame for  this metamorphosis2 but1  
at any rate1 his present toying with the

 mask  of genius inspires us with as    
much hatred and scorn as his former     
earnestness commanded respect and       
sympathy4 ,when1 for instance1 he  tells
 us1 it would also argue ingratitude    
towards my genius if ,i were  not to    
rejoice that to the faculty of an       
incisive1 analytical  criticism was     
added the innocent pleasure in artistic 
production1 it  may astonish him to hear
 that1 in spite of this self-praise1    
there are  still men who maintain       
exactly the reverse1 and who say1 not   
only that  he has never possessed the   
gift of artistic production1 but that   
the  innocent pleasure he mentions is of
 all things the least innocent1  seeing 
that it succeeded in gradually          
undermining and ultimately  destroying a
 nature as strongly and deeply scholarly
 and critical as  ,strauss's--in fact1  
the real ,straussian ,genius4 ,in a     
moment of  unlimited frankness1 ,strauss
 himself indeed adds3 ,merck was always 
in  my thoughts1 calling out1 ',don't   

produce such child's play again2  others
 can do that too6' ,that was the voice  
of the real ,straussian  genius1 which  
also asked him what the worth of his    
newest1 innocent1  and lightly equipped 
modern ,philistine's testament was4     
,others can do  that too6 ,and many     
could do it better4 ,and even they who  
could have  done it best1 i4e4 those    
thinkers who are more widely endowed    
than  ,strauss1 could still only have   
made nonsense of it4    ,i take it that 
you are now beginning to understand the 
value ,i set on  ,strauss the ,writer4  
,you are beginning to realise that ,i   
regard him as  a mummer who would parade
 as an artless genius and classical     
writer4  ,when ,lichtenberg said1 ,a    
simple manner of writing is to be       
recommended1 if only in view of the fact
 that no honest man trims and  twists   
his expressions1 he was very far from   
wishing to imply that a  simple style is
 a proof of literary integrity4 ,i1 for 
my part1 only  wish that ,strauss the   

,writer had been more upright1 for then 
he would  have written more becomingly  
and have been less famous4 ,or1 if he   
would be a mummer at all costs1 how much
 more would he not have  pleased me if  
he had been a better mummer--one more   
able to ape the  guileless genius and   
classical author6 ,for it yet remains to
 be said  that ,strauss was not only an 
inferior actor but a very worthless     
stylist as well4                        
,,xi4    ,of course1 the blame attaching
 to ,strauss for being a bad writer is  
greatly mitigated by the fact that it is
 extremely difficult in  ,germany to    
become even a passable or moderately    
good writer1 and that  it is more the   
exception than not1 to be a really good 
one4 ,in this  respect the natural soil 
is wanting1 as are also artistic values 
and  the proper method of treating and  
cultivating oratory4 ,this latter       
accomplishment1 as the various branches 
of it1 i4e4 drawing-room1               
ecclesiastical and ,parliamentary       

parlance1 show1 has not yet reached  the
 level of a national style2 indeed1 it  
has not yet shown even a  tendency to   
attain to a style at all1 and all forms 
of language in  ,germany do not yet seem
 to have passed a certain experimental  
stage4  ,in view of these facts1 the    
writer of to-day1 to some extent1 lacks 
an  authoritative standard1 and he is in
 some measure excused if1 in the  matter
 of language1 he attempts to go ahead of
 his own accord4 ,as to  the probable   
result which the present dilapidated    
condition of the  ,german language will 
bring about1 ,schopenhauer1 perhaps1 has
 spoken  most forcibly4 ,if the existing
 state of affairs continues1 he says1   
in the year #aijj ,german classics will 
cease to be understood1 for the  simple 
reason that no other language will be   
known1 save the trumpery  jargon of the 
noble present1 the chief characteristic 
of which is  impotence4 ,and1 in truth1 
if one turn to the latest periodicals1  
one  will find ,german philologists and 

grammarians already giving  expression  
to the view that our classics can no    
longer serve us as  examples of style1  
owing to the fact that they constantly  
use words1  modes of speech1 and        
syntactic arrangements which are fast   
dropping  out of currency4 ,hence the   
need of collecting specimens of the     
finest  prose that has been produced by 
our best modern writers1 and of         
offering them as examples to be         
followed1 after the style of ,sander's  
pocket dictionary of bad language4 ,in  
this book1 that repulsive  monster of   
style ,gutzkow appears as a classic1    
and1 according to its  injunctions1 we  
seem to be called upon to accustom      
ourselves to quite  a new and wondrous  
crowd of classical authors1 among which 
the first1  or one of the first1 is     
,david ,strauss3 he whom we cannot      
describe more  aptly than we have       
already--that is to say1 as a worthless 
stylist4  ,now1 the notion which the    
,culture-,philistine has of a classic   

and  standard author speaks eloquently  
for his pseudo-culture--he who only     
shows his strength by opposing a really 
artistic and severe style1 and  who1    
thanks to the persistence of his        
opposition1 finally arrives at a        
certain uniformity of expression1 which 
again almost appears to  possess unity  
of genuine style4 ,in view1 therefore1  
of the right which  is granted to every 
one to experiment with the language1 how
 is it  possible at all for individual  
authors to discover a generally         
agreeable tone8 ,what is so generally   
interesting in them8 ,in the first      
place1 a negative quality--the total    
lack of offensiveness3 but every  really
 productive thing is offensive4 ,the    
greater part of a ,german's  daily      
reading matter is undoubtedly sought    
either in the pages of  newspapers1     
periodicals1 or reviews4 ,the language  
of these journals  gradually stamps     
itself on his brain1 by means of its    
steady drip1  drip1 drip of similar     

phrases and similar words4 ,and1 since  
he  generally devotes to reading those  
hours of the day during which his       
exhausted brain is in any case not      
inclined to offer resistance1 his  ear  
for his native tongue so slowly but     
surely accustoms itself to  this        
everyday ,german that it ultimately     
cannot endure its absence  without pain4
 ,but the manufacturers of these        
newspapers are1 by virtue  of their     
trade1 most thoroughly inured to the    
effluvia of this  journalistic jargon2  
they have literally lost all taste1 and 
their  palate is rather gratified than  
not by the most corrupt and arbitrary   
innovations4 ,hence the tutti unisono   
with which1 despite the general         
lethargy and sickliness1 every fresh    
solecism is greeted2 it is with  such   
impudent corruptions of the language    
that her hirelings are  avenged against 
her for the incredible boredom she      
imposes ever more  and more upon them4  
,i remember having read an appeal to the

 ,german  nation1 by ,berthold          
,auerbach1 in which every sentence was  
un-,german1  distorted and false1 and   
which1 as a whole1 resembled a soulless 
mosaic of words cemented together with  
international syntax4 ,as to the        
disgracefully slipshod ,german with     
which ,edward ,devrient solemnised  the 
death of ,mendelssohn1 ,i do not even   
wish to do more than refer to  it4 ,a   
grammatical error--and this is the most 
extraordinary feature of  the case--does
 not therefore seem an offence in any   
sense to our  ,philistine1 but a most   
delightful restorative in the barren    
wilderness  of everyday ,german4 ,he    
still1 however1 considers all really    
productive  things to be offensive4 ,the
 wholly bombastic1 distorted1 and       
threadbare syntax of the modern standard
 author--yea1 even his  ludicrous       
neologisms--are not only tolerated1 but 
placed to his credit  as the spicy      
element in his works4 ,but woe to the   
stylist with  character1 who seeks as   

earnestly and perseveringly to avoid the
 trite  phrases of everyday parlance1 as
 the yester-night monster blooms of     
modern ink-flingers1 as ,schopenhauer   
says6 ,when platitudes1  hackneyed1     
feeble1 and vulgar phrases are the rule1
 and the bad and  the corrupt become    
refreshing exceptions1 then all that is 
strong1  distinguished1 and beautiful   
perforce acquires an evil odour4 ,from  
which it follows that1 in ,germany1 the 
well-known experience which  befell the 
normally built traveller in the land of 
hunchbacks is  constantly being         
repeated4 ,it will be remembered that he
 was so  shamefully insulted there1     
owing to his quaint figure and lack of  
dorsal convexity1 that a priest at last 
had to harangue the people on  his      
behalf as follows3 ,my brethren1 rather 
pity this poor stranger1  and present   
thank-offerings unto the gods1 that ye  
are blessed with  such attractive       
gibbosities4    ,if any one attempted to
 compose a positive grammar out of the  

international ,german style of to-day1  
and wished to trace the  unwritten and  
unspoken laws followed by every one1 he 
would get the  most extraordinary       
notions of style and rhetoric4 ,he would
 meet with  laws which are probably     
nothing more than reminiscences of      
bygone  schooldays1 vestiges of         
impositions for ,latin prose1 and       
results  perhaps of choice readings from
 ,french novelists1 over whose          
incredible crudeness every decently     
educated ,frenchman would have the      
right to laugh4 ,but no conscientious   
native of ,germany seems to have  given 
a thought to these extraordinary notions
 under the yoke of which  almost every  
,german lives and writes4    ,as an     
example of what ,i say1 we may find an  
injunction to the effect  that a        
metaphor or a simile must be introduced 
from time to time1 and  that it must be 
new2 but1 since to the mind of the      
shallow-pated  writer newness and       
modernity are identical1 he proceeds    

forthwith to  rack his brain for        
metaphors in the technical vocabularies 
of the  railway1 the telegraph1 the     
steamship1 and the ,stock ,exchange1 and
 is  proudly convinced that such        
metaphors must be new because they are  
modern4 ,in ,strauss's confession-book  
we find liberal tribute paid to  modern 
metaphor4 ,he treats us to a simile1    
covering a page and a half1  drawn from 
modern road-improvement work2 a few     
pages farther back he  likens the world 
to a machine1 with its wheels1 stampers1
 hammers1 and  soothing oil 7p4 #dcb72  
,a repast that begins with champagne 7p4
  #chd72 ,kant is a cold-water cure 7p4 
#cji72 ,the ,swiss constitution is  to  
that of ,england as a watermill is to a 
steam-engine1 as a  waltz-tune or a song
 to a fugue or symphony 7p4 #cja72 ,in  
every  appeal1 the sequence of procedure
 must be observed4 ,now the mean        
tribunal between the individual and     
humanity is the nation 7p4 #afe72  ,if  
we would know whether there be still any

 life in an organism which  appears dead
 to us1 we are wont to test it by a     
powerful1 even painful  stimulus1 as for
 example a stab 7p4 #afa72 ,the         
religious domain in  the human soul     
resembles the domain of the ,red ,indian
 in ,america 7p4  #afj72 ,virtuosos in  
piety1 in convents7p4 #ajg72 ,and place 
the  sum-total of the foregoing in round
 numbers under the account 7p4  #bje72  
,darwin's theory resembles a railway    
track that is just marked  out444 where 
the flags are fluttering joyfully in the
 breeze4 ,in this  really highly modern 
way1 ,strauss has met the ,philistine   
injunction to  the effect that a new    
simile must be introduced from time to  
time4    ,another rhetorical rule is    
also very widespread1 namely1 that      
didactic  passages should be composed in
 long periods1 and should be drawn out  
into lengthy abstractions1 while all    
persuasive passages should  consist of  
short sentences followed by striking    
contrasts4 ,on page #aed  in ,strauss's 

book we find a standard example of the  
didactic and  scholarly style--a passage
 blown out after the genuine            
,schleiermacher  manner1 and made to    
stumble along at a true tortoise pace3  
,the reason  why1 in the earlier stages 
of religion1 there appear many instead  
of  this single ,whereon1 a plurality of
 gods instead of the one1 is  explained 
in this deduction of religion1 from the 
fact that the  various forces of nature1
 or relations of life1 which inspire man
 with  the sentiment of unqualified     
dependence1 still act upon him in the   
commencement with the full force of     
their distinctive characteristics2  that
 he has not as yet become conscious how1
 in regard to his  unmitigated          
dependence upon them1 there is no       
distinction between  them1 and that     
therefore the ,whereon of this          
dependence1 or the ,being  to which it  
conducts in the last instance1 can only 
be one4    ,on pages #g and #h we find  
an example of the other kind of style1  

that  of the short sentences containing 
that affected liveliness which so       
excited certain readers that they cannot
 mention ,strauss any more  without     
coupling his name with ,lessing's4 ,i am
 well aware that what ,i  propose to    
delineate in the following pages is     
known to multitudes as  well as to      
myself1 to some even much better4 ,a few
 have already spoken  out on the        
subject4 ,am ,i therefore to keep       
silence8 ,i think not4 ,for  do we not  
all supply each other's deficiencies8   
,if another is better  informed as      
regards some things1 ,i may perhaps be  
so as regards  others2 while yet others 
are known and viewed by me in a         
different  light4 ,out with it1 then6   
let my colours be displayed that it may 
be  seen whether they are genuine or    
not4'    ,it is true that ,strauss's    
style generally maintains a happy medium
  between this sort of merry quick-march
 and the other funereal and  indolent   
pace2 but between two vices one does not

 invariably find a  virtue2 more often  
rather only weakness1 helpless          
paralysis1 and  impotence4 ,as a matter 
of fact1 ,i was very disappointed when  
,i glanced  through ,strauss's book in  
search of fine and witty passages2 for1 
not  having found anything praiseworthy 
in the ,confessor1 ,i had actually  set 
out with the express purpose of meeting 
here and there with at  least some      
opportunities of praising ,strauss the  
,writer4 ,i sought and  sought1 but my  
purpose remained unfulfilled4           
,meanwhile1 however1  another duty      
seemed to press itself strongly on my   
mind--that of  enumerating the          
solecisms1 the strained metaphors1 the  
obscure  abbreviations1 the instances of
 bad taste1 and the distortions which ,i
  encountered2 and these were of such a 
nature that ,i dare do no more  than    
select a few examples of them from among
 a collection which is  too bulky to be 
given in full4 ,by means of these       
examples ,i may  succeed in showing what

 it is that inspires1 in the hearts of  
modern  ,germans1 such faith in this    
great and seductive stylist ,strauss3 ,i
  refer to his eccentricities of        
expression1 which1 in the barren waste  
and dryness of his whole book1 jump out 
at one1 not perhaps as  pleasant but as 
painfully stimulating1 surprises4 ,when 
perusing such  passages1 we are at least
 assured1 to use a ,straussian metaphor1
 that  we are not quite dead1 but still 
respond to the test of a stab4 ,for  the
 rest of the book is entirely lacking in
 offensiveness --that  quality which    
alone1 as we have seen1 is productive1  
and which our  classical author has     
himself reckoned among the positive     
virtues4 ,when  the educated masses meet
 with exaggerated dulness and dryness1  
when  they are in the presence of really
 vapid commonplaces1 they now seem  to  
believe that such things are the signs  
of health2 and in this  respect the     
words of the author of the dialogus de  
oratoribus are very  much to the point3 

illam ipsam quam jactant sanitatem non  
firmitate  sed jejunio consequuntur4    
,that is why they so unanimously hate   
every  firmitas1 because it bears       
testimony to a kind of health quite     
different from theirs2 hence their one  
wish to throw suspicion upon  all       
austerity and terseness1 upon all fiery 
and energetic movement1  and upon every 
full and delicate play of muscles4 ,they
 have conspired  to twist nature and the
 names of things completely round1 and  
for the  future to speak of health only 
there where we see weakness1 and to     
speak of illness and excitability where 
for our part we see genuine  vigour4    
,from which it follows that ,david      
,strauss is to them a  classical author4
    ,if only this dulness were of a     
severely logical order6 but simplicity  
and austerity in thought are precisely  
what these weaklings have lost1  and in 
their hands even our language has become
 illogically tangled4  ,as a proof of   
this1 let any one try to translate      

,strauss's style into  ,latin3 in the   
case of ,kant1 be it remembered1 this is
 possible1 while  with ,schopenhauer it 
even becomes an agreeable exercise4 ,the
 reason  why this test fails with       
,strauss's ,german is not owing to the  
fact  that it is more ,teutonic than    
theirs1 but because his is distorted and
  illogical1 whereas theirs is lofty and
 simple4 ,moreover1 he who knows  how   
the ancients exerted themselves in order
 to learn to write and  speak correctly1
 and how the moderns omit to do so1 must
 feel1 as  ,schopenhauer says1 a        
positive relief when he can turn from a 
,german  book like the one under our    
notice1 to dive into those other works1 
those ancient works which seem to him   
still to be written in a new  language4 
,for in these books1 says ,schopenhauer1
 ,i find a regular  and fixed language  
which1 throughout1 faithfully follows   
the laws of  grammar and orthography1 so
 that ,i can give up my thoughts        
completely  to their matter2 whereas in 

,german ,i am constantly being disturbed
 by  the author's impudence and his     
continual attempts to establish his own 
orthographical freaks and absurd ideas--
 the swaggering foolery of  which       
disgusts me4 ,it is really a painful    
sight to see a fine old  language1      
possessed of classical literature1 being
 botched by asses  and ignoramuses6     
,thus ,schopenhauer's holy anger cries  
out to us1 and you cannot say  that you 
have not been warned4 ,he who turns a   
deaf ear to such  warnings1 and who     
absolutely refuses to relinquish his    
faith in  ,strauss the classical author1
 can only be given this last word of    
advice--to imitate his hero4 ,in any    
case1 try it at your own risk2 but  you 
will repent it1 not only in your style  
but in your head1 that it  may be       
fulfilled which was spoken by the       
,indian prophet1 saying1 ,he  who       
gnaweth a cow's horn gnaweth in vain and
 shorteneth his life2 for  he grindeth  
away his teeth1 yet his belly is empty4 

,,xii4    ,by way of concluding1 we     
shall proceed to give our classical     
prose-writer the promised examples of   
his style which we have  collected4     
,schopenhauer would probably have       
classed the whole lot as  new documents 
serving to swell the trumpery jargon of 
the present  day2 for ,david ,strauss   
may be comforted to hear 7if what       
follows can  be regarded as a comfort at
 all7 that everybody now writes as he   
does2  some1 of course1 worse1 and that 
among the blind the one-eyed is king4   
,indeed1 we allow him too much when we  
grant him one eye2 but we do  this      
willingly1 because ,strauss does not    
write so badly as the most  infamous of 
all corrupters of ,german--the          
,hegelians and their crippled           
offspring4 ,strauss at least wishes to  
extricate himself from the mire1  and he
 is already partly out of it2 still1 he 
is very far from being  on dry land1 and
 he still shows signs of having         
stammered ,hegel's  prose in youth4 ,in 

those days1 possibly1 something was     
sprained in  him1 some muscle must have 
been overstrained4 ,his ear1 perhaps1   
like  that of a boy brought up amid the 
beating of drums1 grew dull1 and  became
 incapable of detecting those           
artistically subtle and yet mighty  laws
 of sound1 under the guidance of which  
every writer is content to  remain who  
has been strictly trained in the study  
of good models4 ,but  in this way1 as a 
stylist1 he has lost his most valuable  
possessions1  and stands condemned to   
remain reclining1 his life long1 on the 
dangerous and barren shifting sand of   
newspaper style--that is1 if he  do not 
wish to fall back into the ,hegelian    
mire4 ,nevertheless1 he has  succeeded  
in making himself famous for a couple of
 hours in our time1  and perhaps in     
another couple of hours people will     
remember that he  was once famous2 then1
 however1 night will come1 and with her 
oblivion2 and already at this moment1   
while we are entering his sins  against 

style in the black book1 the sable      
mantle of twilight is  falling upon his 
fame4 ,for he who has sinned against the
 ,german  language has desecrated the   
mystery of all our ,germanity4          
,throughout  all the confusion and the  
changes of races and of customs1 the    
,german  language alone1 as though      
possessed of some supernatural charm1   
has  saved herself2 and with her own    
salvation she has wrought that of the   
spirit of ,germany4 ,she alone holds the
 warrant for this spirit in  future     
ages1 provided she be not destroyed at  
the sacrilegious hands  of the modern   
world4 ,but ,di meliora6 ,avaunt1 ye    
pachyderms1 avaunt6  ,this is the       
,german language1 by means of which men 
express themselves1  and in which great 
poets have sung and great thinkers have 
written4  ,hands off6 #aj99    ,footnote
 99 3 ,translator's note4--,nietzsche   
here proceeds to quote  those passages  
he has culled from ,the ,old and the    
,new ,faith with which  he undertakes to

 substantiate all he has said relative  
to ,strauss's  style2 as1 however1 these
 passages1 with his comments upon them1 
lose  most of their point when rendered 
into ,english1 it was thought best to   
omit them altogether4    ,to put it in  
plain words1 what we have seen have been
 feet of clay1  and what appeared to be 
of the colour of healthy flesh was only 
applied paint4 ,of course1              
,culture-,philistinism in ,germany will 
be very  angry when it hears its one    
living ,god referred to as a series of  
painted idols4 ,he1 however1 who dares  
to overthrow its idols will not  shrink1
 despite all indignation1 from telling  
it to its face that it  has forgotten   
how to distinguish between the quick and
 the dead1 the  genuine and the         
counterfeit1 the original and the       
imitation1 between a  ,god and a host of
 idols2 that it has completely lost the 
healthy and  manly instinct for what is 
real and right4 ,it alone deserves to be
  destroyed2 and already the            

manifestations of its power are sinking2
  already are its purple honours falling
 from it2 but when the purple  falls1   
its royal wearer soon follows4    ,here 
,i come to the end of my confession of  
faith4 ,this is the  confession of an   
individual2 and what can such an one do 
against a  whole world1 even supposing  
his voice were heard everywhere6 ,in    
order  for the last time to use a       
precious ,straussism1 his judgment only 
possesses that amount of subjective     
truth which is compatible with a        
complete lack of objective              
demonstration--is not that so1 my dear  
friends8 ,meanwhile1 be of good cheer4  
,for the time being let the  matter rest
 at this amount which is compatible with
 a complete lack6  ,for the time being6 
,that is to say1 for as long as that is 
held to be  out of season which in      
reality is always in season1 and is now 
more  than ever pressing2 ,i refer      
to444speaking the truth4#aa99           
,footnote 99 3 ,translator's note4--,all

 quotations from ,the ,old ,faith  and  
the ,new which appear in the above      
translation have either been  taken     
bodily out of ,mathilde ,blind's        
translation 7,asher and ,co41  #ahgc71  
or are adaptations from that            
translation4                            
,,richard ,,wagner ,,in ,,bayreuth4     
,i4    ,,for an event to be great1 two  
things must be united--the lofty        
sentiment of those who accomplish it1   
and the lofty sentiment of those  who   
witness it4 ,no event is great in       
itself1 even though it be the           
disappearance of whole constellations1  
the destruction of several  nations1 the
 establishment of vast empires1 or the  
prosecution of wars  at the cost of     
enormous forces3 over things of this    
sort the breath of  history blows as if 
they were flocks of wool4 ,but it often 
happens1  too1 that a man of might      
strikes a blow which falls without      
effect  upon a stubborn stone2 a short1 
sharp report is heard1 and all is  over4

 ,history is able to record little or   
nothing of such abortive  efforts4      
,hence the anxiety which every one must 
feel who1 observing  the approach of an 
event1 wonders whether those about to   
witness it  will be worthy of it4 ,this 
reciprocity between an act and its      
reception is always taken into account  
when anything great or small is  to be  
accomplished2 and he who would give     
anything away must see to it  that he   
find recipients who will do justice to  
the meaning of his  gift4 ,this is why  
even the work of a great man is not     
necessarily  great when it is short1    
abortive1 or fruitless2 for at the      
moment when  he performed it he must    
have failed to perceive that it was     
really  necessary2 he must have been    
careless in his aim1 and he cannot have 
chosen and fixed upon the time with     
sufficient caution4 ,chance thus  became
 his master2 for there is a very        
intimate relation between  greatness and
 the instinct which discerns the proper 

moment at which  to act4    ,we         
therefore leave it to those who doubt   
,wagner's power of discerning  the      
proper time for action1 to be concerned 
and anxious as to whether  what is now  
taking place in ,bayreuth is really     
opportune and  necessary4 ,to us who are
 more confident1 it is clear that he    
believes  as strongly in the greatness  
of his feat as in the greatness of      
feeling in those who are to witness it4 
,be their number great or  small1       
therefore1 all those who inspire this   
faith in ,wagner should  feel extremely 
honoured2 for that it was not inspired  
by everybody1 or  by the whole age1 or  
even by the whole ,german people1 as    
they are now  constituted1 he himself   
told us in his dedicatory address of the
 #bbnd  of ,may #ahgb1 and not one      
amongst us could1 with any show of      
conviction1 assure him of the contrary4 
,i had only you to turn to1  he said1   
when ,i sought those who ,i thought     
would be in sympathy with  my plans1--  

you who are the most personal friends of
 my own particular  art1 my work and    
activity3 only you could ,i invite to   
help me in my  work1 that it might be   
presented pure and whole to those who   
manifest  a genuine interest in my art1 
despite the fact that it has hitherto   
made its appeal to them only in a       
disfigured and adulterated form4    ,it 
is certain that in ,bayreuth even the   
spectator is a spectacle worth  seeing4 
,if the spirit of some observant sage   
were to return1 after the  absence of a 
century1 and were to compare the most   
remarkable  movements in the present    
world of culture1 he would find much to 
interest him there4 ,like one swimming  
in a lake1 who encounters a  current of 
warm water issuing from a hot spring1 in
 ,bayreuth he would  certainly feel as  
though he had suddenly plunged into a   
more temperate  element1 and would tell 
himself that this must rise out of a    
distant  and deeper source3 the         
surrounding mass of water1 which at all 

events  is more common in origin1 does  
not account for it4 ,in this way1 all   
those who assist at the ,bayreuth       
festival will seem like men out of      
season2 their raison-d'etre and the     
forces which would seem to account  for 
them are elsewhere1 and their home is   
not in the present age4 ,i  realise ever
 more clearly that the scholar1 in so   
far as he is  entirely the man of his   
own day1 can only be accessible to all  
that  ,wagner does and thinks by means  
of parody1--and since everything is     
parodied nowadays1 he will even get the 
event of ,bayreuth reproduced  for him1 
through the very un-magic lanterns of   
our facetious  art-critics4 ,and one    
ought to be thankful if they stop at    
parody2 for  by means of it a spirit of 
aloofness and animosity finds a vent    
which  might otherwise hit upon a less  
desirable mode of expression4 ,now1 the 
observant sage already mentioned could  
not remain blind to this  unusual       
sharpness and tension of contrasts4     

,they who hold by gradual  development  
as a kind of moral law must be somewhat 
shocked at the  sight of one who1 in the
 course of a single lifetime1 succeeds  
in  producing something absolutely new4 
,being dawdlers themselves1 and         
insisting upon slowness as a principle1 
they are very naturally vexed  by one   
who strides rapidly ahead1 and they     
wonder how on earth he does  it4 ,no    
omens1 no periods of transition1 and no 
concessions preceded  the enterprise at 
,bayreuth2 no one except ,wagner knew   
either the goal  or the long road that  
was to lead to it4 ,in the realm of art 
it  signifies1 so to speak1 the first   
circumnavigation of the world1 and  by  
this voyage not only was there          
discovered an apparently new art1  but  
,art itself4 ,in view of this1 all      
modern arts1 as arts of luxury  which   
have degenerated through having been    
insulated1 have become  almost          
worthless4 ,and the same applies to the 
nebulous and  inconsistent reminiscences

 of a genuine art1 which we as modern   
,europeans derive from the ,greeks2 let 
them rest in peace1 unless they  are now
 able to shine of their own accord in   
the light of a new  interpretation4 ,the
 last hour has come for a good many     
things2 this  new art is a clairvoyante 
that sees ruin approaching--not for art 
alone4 ,her warning voice must strike   
the whole of our prevailing             
civilisation with terror the instant the
 laughter which its parodies  have      
provoked subsides4 ,let it laugh and    
enjoy itself for yet a while  longer6   
,and as for us1 the disciples of this   
revived art1 we shall have time  and    
inclination for thoughtfulness1 deep    
thoughtfulness4 ,all the talk  and noise
 about art which has been made by       
civilisation hitherto must  seem like   
shameless obtrusiveness2 everything     
makes silence a duty  with us--the      
quinquennial silence of the             
,pythagoreans4 ,which of us has  not    
soiled his hands and heart in the       

disgusting idolatry of modern  culture8 
,which of us can exist without the      
waters of purification8 ,who  does not  
hear the voice which cries1 ,be silent  
and cleansed8 ,be  silent and cleansed6 
,only the merit of being included among 
those who  give ear to this voice will  
grant even us the lofty look necessary  
to  view the event at ,bayreuth2 and    
only upon this look depends the great   
future of the event4    ,when on that   
dismal and cloudy day in ,may #ahgb1    
after the foundation  stone had been    
laid on the height of ,bayreuth1 amid   
torrents of rain1  and while ,wagner was
 driving back to the town with a small  
party of  us1 he was exceptionally      
silent1 and there was that indescribable
 look  in his eyes as of one who has    
turned his gaze deeply inwards4 ,the day
  happened to be the first of his       
sixtieth year1 and his whole past now   
appeared as but a long preparation for  
this great moment4 ,it is almost  a     
recognised fact that in times of        

exceptional danger1 or at all  decisive 
and culminating points in their lives1  
men see the remotest  and most recent   
events of their career with singular    
vividness1 and in  one rapid inward     
glance obtain a sort of panorama of a   
whole span of  years in which every     
event is faithfully depicted4 ,what1 for
 instance1  must ,alexander the ,great  
have seen in that instant when he caused
 ,asia  and ,europe to be drunk out of  
the same goblet8 ,but what went through 
,wagner's mind on that day--how he      
became what he is1 and what he will     
be--we only can imagine who are nearest 
to him1 and can follow him1 up  to a    
certain point1 in his self-examination2 
but through his eyes  alone is it       
possible for us to understand his grand 
work1 and by the  help of this          
understanding vouch for its             
fruitfulness4                           
,,ii4    ,it were strange if what a man 
did best and most liked to do could not 
be traced in the general outline of his 

life1 and in the case of those  who are 
remarkably endowed there is all the more
 reason for supposing  that their life  
will present not only the counterpart of
 their  character1 as in the case of    
every one else1 but that it will present
  above all the counterpart of their    
intellect and their most individual     
tastes4 ,the life of the epic poet will 
have a dash of the ,epos in  it--as from
 all accounts was the case with ,goethe1
 whom the ,germans  very wrongly        
regarded only as a lyrist--and the life 
of the dramatist  will probably be      
dramatic4    ,the dramatic element in   
,wagner's development cannot be ignored1
 from  the time when his ruling passion 
became self-conscious and took          
possession of his whole being4 ,from    
that time forward there is an end  to   
all groping1 straying1 and sprouting of 
offshoots1 and over his  most tortuous  
deviations and excursions1 over the     
often eccentric  disposition of his     
plans1 a single law and will are seen to

 rule1 in  which we have the explanation
 of his actions1 however strange this   
explanation may sometimes appear4 ,there
 was1 however1 an ante-dramatic  period 
in ,wagner's life--his childhood and    
youth-- which it is  impossible to      
approach without discovering innumerable
 problems4 ,at  this period there seems 
to be no promise yet of himself1 and    
what one  might now1 in a retrospect1   
regard as a pledge for his future       
greatness1 amounts to no more than a    
juxtaposition of traits which  inspire  
more dismay than hope2 a restless and   
excitable spirit1  nervously eager to   
undertake a hundred things at the same  
time1  passionately fond of almost      
morbidly exalted states of mind1 and    
ready  at any moment to veer completely 
round from calm and profound  meditation
 to a state of violence and uproar4 ,in 
his case there were  no hereditary or   
family influences at work to constrain  
him to the  sedulous study of one       
particular art4 ,painting1 versifying1  

acting1  and music were just as much    
within his reach as the learning and the
  career of a scholar2 and the          
superficial inquirer into this stage of 
his life might even conclude that he was
 born to be a dilettante4 ,the  small   
world within the bounds of which he grew
 up was not of the kind  we should      
choose to be the home of an artist4 ,he 
ran the constant risk  of becoming      
infected by that dangerously dissipated 
attitude of mind  in which a person will
 taste of everything1 as also by that   
condition  of slackness resulting from  
the fragmentary knowledge of all things1
  which is so characteristic of         
,university towns4 ,his feelings were   
easily roused and but indifferently     
satisfied2 wherever the boy turned  he  
found himself surrounded by a wonderful 
and would-be learned  activity1 to which
 the garish theatres presented a        
ridiculous  contrast1 and the entrancing
 strains of music a perplexing one4     
,now1  to the observer who sees things  

relatively1 it must seem strange that   
the modern man who happens to be gifted 
with exceptional talent should  as a    
child and a youth so seldom be blessed  
with the quality of  ingenuousness and  
of simple individuality1 that he is so  
little able  to have these qualities at 
all4 ,as a matter of fact1 men of rare  
talent1 like ,goethe and ,wagner1 much  
more often attain to  ingenuousness in  
manhood than during the more tender     
years of  childhood and youth4 ,and this
 is especially so with the artist1 who1 
being born with a more than usual       
capacity for imitating1 succumbs to  the
 morbid multiformity of modern life as  
to a virulent disease of  infancy4 ,as a
 child he will more closely resemble an 
old man4 ,the  wonderfully accurate and 
original picture of youth which ,wagner 
gives  us in the ,siegfried of the      
,nibelungen ,ring could only have been  
conceived by a man1 and by one who had  
discovered his youthfulness but  late in
 life4 ,wagner's maturity1 like his     

adolesence1 was also late in  making its
 appearance1 and he is thus1 in this    
respect alone1 the very  reverse of the 
precocious type4    ,the appearance of  
his moral and intellectual strength was 
the prelude  to the drama of his soul4  
,and how different it then became6 ,his 
nature  seems to have been simplified at
 one terrible stroke1 and divided       
against itself into two instincts or    
spheres4 ,from its innermost  depths    
there gushes forth a passionate will    
which1 like a rapid  mountain torrent1  
endeavours to make its way through all  
paths1  ravines1 and crevices1 in search
 of light and power4 ,only a force      
completely free and pure was strong     
enough to guide this will to all  that  
is good and beneficial4 ,had it been    
combined with a narrow  intelligence1 a 
will with such a tyrannical and         
boundless desire might  have become     
fatal2 in any case1 an exit into the    
open had to be found  for it as quickly 
as possible1 whereby it could rush into 

pure air and  sunshine4 ,lofty          
aspirations1 which continually meet with
 failure1  ultimately turn to evil4 ,the
 inadequacy of means for obtaining      
success  may1 in certain circumstances1 
be the result of an inexorable fate1    
and not necessarily of a lack of        
strength2 but he who under such         
circumstances cannot abandon his        
aspirations1 despite the inadequacy  of 
his means1 will only become embittered1 
and consequently irritable  and         
intolerant4 ,he may possibly seek the   
cause of his failure in other  people2  
he may even1 in a fit of passion1 hold  
the whole world guilty2  or he may turn 
defiantly down secret byways and        
secluded lanes1 or  resort to violence4 
,in this way1 noble natures1 on their   
road to the  most high1 may turn savage4
 ,even among those who seek but their   
own  personal moral purity1 among monks 
and anchorites1 men are to be found     
who1 undermined and devoured by failure1
 have become barbarous and  hopelessly  

morbid4 ,there was a spirit full of love
 and calm belief1  full of goodness and 
infinite tenderness1 hostile to all     
violence and  self-deterioration1 and   
abhorring the sight of a soul in        
bondage4 ,and  it was this spirit which 
manifested itself to ,wagner4 ,it       
hovered over  him as a consoling angel1 
it covered him with its wings1 and      
showed  him the true path4 ,at this     
stage we bring the other side of        
,wagner's  nature into view3 but how    
shall we describe this other side8      
,the characters an artist creates are   
not himself1 but the succession  of     
these characters1 to which it is clear  
he is greatly attached1 must  at all    
events reveal something of his nature4  
,now try and recall  ,rienzi1 the       
,flying ,dutchman and ,senta1           
,tannhauser and ,elizabeth1  ,lohengrin 
and ,elsa1 ,tristan and ,marke1 ,hans   
,sachs1 ,woden and  ,brunhilda1--all    
these characters are correlated by a    
secret current of  ennobling and        

broadening morality which flows through 
them and becomes  ever purer and clearer
 as it progresses4 ,and at this point we
 enter  with respectful reserve into the
 presence of the most hidden            
development in ,wagner's own soul4 ,in  
what other artist do we meet with  the  
like of this1 in the same proportion8   
,schiller's characters1 from  the       
,robbers to ,wallenstein and ,tell1 do  
indeed pursue an ennobling  course1 and 
likewise reveal something of their      
author's development2  but in ,wagner   
the standard is higher and the distance 
covered is much  greater4 ,in the       
,nibelungen ,ring1 for instance1 where  
,brunhilda is  awakened by ,siegfried1  
,i perceive the most moral music ,i have
 ever  heard4 ,here ,wagner attains to  
such a high level of sacred feeling that
  our mind unconsciously wanders to the 
glistening ice-and snow-peaks of  the   
,alps1 to find a likeness there2-- so   
pure1 isolated1 inaccessible1  chaste1  
and bathed in love-beams does ,nature   

here display herself1  that clouds and  
tempests--yea1 and even the sublime     
itself--seem to  lie beneath her4 ,now1 
looking down from this height upon      
,tannhauser  and the ,flying ,dutchman1 
we begin to perceive how the man in     
,wagner  was evolved3 how restlessly and
 darkly he began2 how tempestuously he  
strove to gratify his desires1 to       
acquire power and to taste those        
rapturous delights from which he often  
fled in disgust2 how he wished  to throw
 off a yoke1 to forget1 to be negative1 
and to renounce  everything4 ,the whole 
torrent plunged1 now into this valley1  
now into  that1 and flooded the most    
secluded chinks and crannies4 ,in the   
night  of these semi-subterranean       
convulsions a star appeared and glowed  
high  above him with melancholy         
vehemence2 as soon as he recognised it1 
he  named it ,fidelity--unselfish       
fidelity4 ,why did this star seem to him
  the brightest and purest of all8 ,what
 secret meaning had the word  fidelity  

to his whole being8 ,for he has graven  
its image and  problems upon all his    
thoughts and compositions4 ,his works   
contain  almost a complete series of the
 rarest and most beautiful examples of  
fidelity3 that of brother to sister1 of 
friend to friend1 of servant  to master2
 of ,elizabeth to ,tannhauser1 of ,senta
 to the ,dutchman1 of  ,elsa to         
,lohengrin1 of ,isolde1 ,kurvenal1 and  
,marke to ,tristan1 of  ,brunhilda to   
the most secret vows of ,woden--and many
 others4 ,it is  ,wagner's most personal
 and most individual experience1 which  
he  reveres like a religious mystery1   
and which he calls ,fidelity2 he  never 
wearies of breathing it into hundreds of
 different characters1  and of endowing 
it with the sublimest that in him lies1 
so overflowing  is his gratitude4 ,it   
is1 in short1 the recognition of the    
fact that  the two sides of his nature  
remained faithful to each other1 that   
out  of free and unselfish love1 the    
creative1 ingenuous1 and brilliant  side

 kept loyally abreast of the dark1 the  
intractable1 and the  tyrannical side4  
,,iii4    ,the relation of the two      
constituent forces to each other1 and   
the  yielding of the one to the other1  
was the great requisite by which  alone 
he could remain wholly and truly        
himself4 ,at the same time1 this  was   
the only thing he could not control1 and
 over which he could only  keep a watch1
 while the temptations to infidelity and
 its threatening  dangers beset him more
 and more4 ,the uncertainty derived     
therefrom is  an overflowing source of  
suffering for those in process of       
development4 ,each of his instincts made
 constant efforts to attain to          
unmeasured heights1 and each of the     
capacities he possessed for  enjoying   
life seemed to long to tear itself away 
from its companions  in order to seek   
satisfaction alone2 the greater their   
exuberance the  more terrific was the   
tumult1 and the more bitter the         
competition  between them4 ,in addition1

 accident and life fired the desire for 
power and splendour in him2 but he was  
more often tormented by the  cruel      
necessity of having to live at all1     
while all around him lay  obstacles and 
snares4 ,how is it possible for any one 
to remain  faithful here1 to be         
completely steadfast8 ,this doubt often 
depressed  him1 and he expresses it1 as 
an artist expressed his doubt1 in       
artistic forms4 ,elizabeth1 for         
instance1 can only suffer1 pray1 and    
die2 she saves the fickle and           
intemperate man by her loyalty1 though  
not for this life4 ,in the path of every
 true artist1 whose lot is cast  in     
these modern days1 despair and danger   
are strewn4 ,he has many means  whereby 
he can attain to honour and might2 peace
 and plenty  persistently offer         
themselves to him1 but only in that form
 recognised  by the modern man1 which to
 the straightforward artist is no better
  than choke-damp4 ,in this temptation1 
and in the act of resisting it1  lie the

 dangers that threaten him--dangers     
arising from his disgust at  the means  
modernity offers him of acquiring       
pleasure and esteem1 and  from the      
indignation provoked by the selfish ease
 of modern society4  ,imagine ,wagner's 
filling an official position1 as for    
instance that of  bandmaster at public  
and court theatres1 both of which       
positions he  has held3 think how he1 a 
serious artist1 must have struggled in  
order  to enforce seriousness in those  
very places which1 to meet the demands  
of modern conventions1 are designed with
 almost systematic frivolity  to appeal 
only to the frivolous4 ,think how he    
must have partially  succeeded1 though  
only to fail on the whole4 ,how         
constantly disgust  must have been at   
his heels despite his repeated attempts 
to flee it1  how he failed to find the  
haven to which he might have repaired1  
and  how he had ever to return to the   
,bohemians and outlaws of our society1  
as one of them4 ,if he himself broke    

loose from any post or position1  he    
rarely found a better one in its stead1 
while more than once  distress was all  
that his unrest brought him4 ,thus      
,wagner changed his  associates1 his    
dwelling-place and country1 and when we 
come to  comprehend the nature of the   
circles into which he gravitated1 we can
  hardly realise how he was able to     
tolerate them for any length of  time4  
,the greater half of his past seems to  
be shrouded in heavy mist2  for a long  
time he appears to have had no general  
hopes1 but only  hopes for the morrow1  
and thus1 although he reposed no faith  
in the  future1 he was not driven to    
despair4 ,he must have felt like a      
nocturnal traveller1 broken with        
fatigue1 exasperated from want of       
sleep1 and tramping wearily along       
beneath a heavy burden1 who1 far  from  
fearing the sudden approach of death1   
rather longs for it as  something       
exquisitely charming4 ,his burden1 the  
road and the  night--all would          

disappear6 ,the thought was a temptation
 to him4 ,again  and again1 buoyed up by
 his temporary hopes1 he plunged anew   
into the  turmoil of life1 and left all 
apparatus behind him4 ,but his method of
  doing this1 his lack of moderation in 
the doing1 betrayed what a  feeble hold 
his hopes had upon him2 how they were   
only stimulants to  which he had        
recourse in an extremity4 ,the conflict 
between his  aspirations and his partial
 or total inability to realise them1    
tormented him like a thorn in the flesh4
 ,infuriated by constant  privations1   
his imagination lapsed into the         
dissipated1 whenever the  state of want 
was momentarily relieved4 ,life grew    
ever more and more  complicated for him2
 but the means and artifices that he    
discovered in  his art as a dramatist   
became evermore resourceful and daring4 
,albeit1  these were little more than   
palpable dramatic makeshifts and        
expedients1 which deceived1 and were    
invented1 only for the moment4 ,in  a   

flash such means occurred to his mind   
and were used up4 ,examined  closely and
 without prepossession1 ,wagner's life1 
to recall one of  ,schopenhauer's       
expressions1 might be said to consist   
largely of  comedy1 not to mention      
burlesque4 ,and what the artist's       
feelings must  have been1 conscious as  
he was1 during whole periods of his     
life1 of  this undignified element in   
it1--he who more than any one else1     
perhaps1 breathed freely only in sublime
 and more than sublime  spheres1-- the  
thinker alone can form any idea4    ,in 
the midst of this mode of life1 a       
detailed description of which is        
necessary in order to inspire the amount
 of pity1 awe1 and admiration  which are
 its due1 he developed a talent for     
acquiring knowledge1  which even in a   
,german--a son of the nation learned    
above all  others--was really           
extraordinary4 ,and with this talent yet
 another  danger threatened ,wagner--a  
danger more formidable than that        

involved  in a life which was apparently
 without either a stay or a rule1 borne 
hither and thither by disturbing        
illusions4 ,from a novice trying his    
strength1 ,wagner became a thorough     
master of music and of the theatre1  as 
also a prolific inventor in the         
preliminary technical conditions  for   
the execution of art4 ,no one will any  
longer deny him the glory of  having    
given us the supreme model for lofty    
artistic execution on a  large scale4   
,but he became more than this1 and in   
order so to develop1  he1 no less than  
any one else in like circumstances1 had 
to reach the  highest degree of culture 
by virtue of his studies4 ,and          
wonderfully he  achieved this end6 ,it  
is delightful to follow his progress4   
,from all  sides material seemed to come
 unto him and into him1 and the larger  
and heavier the resulting structure     
became1 the more rigid was the  arch of 
the ruling and ordering thought         
supporting it4 ,and yet access  to the  

sciences and arts has seldom been made  
more difficult for any  man than for    
,wagner2 so much so that he had almost  
to break his own  road through to them4 
,the reviver of the simple drama1 the   
discoverer  of the position due to art  
in true human society1 the poetic       
interpreter of bygone views of life1 the
 philosopher1 the historian1  the       
aesthete and the critic1 the master of  
languages1 the mythologist  and the myth
 poet1 who was the first to include all 
these wonderful  and beautiful products 
of primitive times in a single ,ring1   
upon which  he engraved the runic       
characters of his thoughts-- what a     
wealth of  knowledge must ,wagner have  
accumulated and commanded1 in order to  
have  become all that6 ,and yet this    
mass of material was just as powerless  
to impede the action of his will as a   
matter of detail--however               
attractive--was to draw his purpose from
 its path4 ,for the exceptional         
character of such conduct to be         

appreciated fully1 it should be         
compared with that of ,goethe1-- he who1
 as a student and as a sage1  resembled 
nothing so much as a huge river-basin1  
which does not pour  all its water into 
the sea1 but spends as much of it on its
 way there1  and at its various twists  
and turns1 as it ultimately disgorges at
 its  mouth4 ,true1 a nature like       
,goethe's not only has1 but also        
engenders1  more pleasure than any      
other2 there is more mildness and noble 
profligacy in it2 whereas the tenor and 
tempo of ,wagner's power at  times      
provoke both fear and flight4 ,but let  
him fear who will1 we  shall only be the
 more courageous1 in that we shall be   
permitted to  come face to face with a  
hero who1 in regard to modern culture1  
has  never learned the meaning of fear4 
,but neither has he learned to look for 
repose in history and  philosophy1 nor  
to derive those subtle influences from  
their study  which tend to paralyse     
action or to soften a man unduly4       

,neither the  creative nor the militant 
artist in him was ever diverted from his
  purpose by learning and culture4 ,the 
moment his constructive powers  direct  
him1 history becomes yielding clay in   
his hands4 ,his attitude  towards it    
then differs from that of every scholar1
 and more nearly  resembles the relation
 of the ancient ,greek to his myths2    
that is to  say1 his subject is         
something he may fashion1 and about     
which he may  write verses4 ,he will    
naturally do this with love and a       
certain  becoming reverence1 but with   
the sovereign right of the creator      
notwithstanding4 ,and precisely because 
history is more supple and more         
variable than a dream to him1 he can    
invest the most individual case  with   
the characteristics of a whole age1 and 
thus attain to a  vividness of narrative
 of which historians are quite          
incapable4 ,in  what work of art1 of any
 kind1 has the body and soul of the     
,middle  ,ages ever been so thoroughly  

depicted as in ,lohengrin8 ,and will not
  the ,meistersingers continue to       
acquaint men1 even in the remotest ages 
to come1 with the nature of ,germany's  
soul8 ,will they not do more than       
acquaint men of it8 ,will they not      
represent its very ripest fruit--the    
fruit of that spirit which ever wishes  
to reform and not to overthrow1  and    
which1 despite the broad couch of       
comfort on which it lies1 has  not      
forgotten how to endure the noblest     
discomfort when a worthy and  novel deed
 has to be accomplished8    ,and it is  
just to this kind of discomfort that    
,wagner always felt  himself drawn by   
his study of history and philosophy3 in 
them he not  only found arms and coats  
of mail1 but what he felt in their      
presence  above all was the inspiring   
breath which is wafted from the graves  
of  all great fighters1 sufferers1 and  
thinkers4 ,nothing distinguishes a  man 
more from the general pattern of the age
 than the use he makes of  history and  

philosophy4 ,according to present views1
 the former seems  to have been allotted
 the duty of giving modern man          
breathing-time1 in  the midst of his    
panting and strenuous scurry towards his
 goal1 so  that he may1 for a space1    
imagine he has slipped his leash4 ,what 
,montaigne was as an individual amid the
 turmoil of the  ,reformation--that is  
to say1 a creature inwardly coming to   
peace with  himself1 serenely secluded  
in himself and taking breath1 as his    
best  reader1 ,shakespeare1 understood  
him1 --this is what history is to the   
modern spirit today4 ,the fact that the 
,germans1 for a whole century1  have    
devoted themselves more particularly to 
the study of history1  only tends to    
prove that they are the stemming1       
retarding1 and  becalming force in the  
activity of modern society--a           
circumstance  which some1 of course1    
will place to their credit4 ,on the     
whole1  however1 it is a dangerous      
symptom when the mind of a nation turns 

with preference to the study of the     
past4 ,it is a sign of flagging         
strength1 of decline and degeneration2  
it denotes that its people are          
perilously near to falling victims to   
the first fever that may happen  to be  
rife --the political fever among others4
 ,now1 in the history of  modern        
thought1 our scholars are an example of 
this condition of  weakness as opposed  
to all reformative and revolutionary    
activity4 ,the  mission they have chosen
 is not of the noblest2 they have rather
 been  content to secure smug happiness 
for their kind1 and little more4  ,every
 independent and manly step leaves them 
halting in the  background1 although it 
by no means outstrips history4 ,for the 
latter  is possessed of vastly different
 powers1 which only natures like        
,wagner have any notion of2 but it      
requires to be written in a much  more  
earnest and severe spirit1 by much more 
vigorous students1 and  with much less  
optimism than has been the case         

hitherto4 ,in fact1 it  requires to be  
treated quite differently from the way  
,german scholars  have treated it until 
now4 ,in all their works there is a     
continual  desire to embellish1 to      
submit and to be content1 while the     
course of  events invariably seems to   
have their approbation4 ,it is rather   
the  exception for one of them to imply 
that he is satisfied only because       
things might have turned out worse2 for 
most of them believe1 almost  as a      
matter of course1 that everything has   
been for the best simply  because it has
 only happened once4 ,were history not  
always a disguised  ,christian theodicy1
 were it written with more justice and  
fervent  feeling1 it would be the very  
last thing on earth to be made to serve 
the purpose it now serves1 namely1 that 
of an opiate against  everything        
subversive and novel4 ,and philosophy is
 in the same plight3  all that the      
majority demand of it is1 that it may   
teach them to  understand approximate   

facts--very approximate facts--in order 
that  they may then become adapted to   
them4 ,and even its noblest exponents   
press its soporific and comforting      
powers so strongly to the fore1  that   
all lovers of sleep and of loafing must 
think that their aim and  the aim of    
philosophy are one4 ,for my part1 the   
most important  question philosophy has 
to decide seems to be1 how far things   
have  acquired an unalterable stamp and 
form1 and1 once this question has  been 
answered1 ,i think it the duty of       
philosophy unhesitatingly and           
courageously to proceed with the task of
 improving that part of the  world which
 has been recognised as still           
susceptible to change4 ,but  genuine    
philosophers do1 as a matter of fact1   
teach this doctrine  themselves1        
inasmuch as they work at endeavouring to
 alter the very  changeable views of    
men1 and do not keep their opinions to  
themselves4  ,genuine disciples of      
genuine philosophies also teach this    

doctrine2  for1 like ,wagner1 they      
understand the art of deriving a more   
decisive  and inflexible will from their
 master's teaching1 rather than an      
opiate or a sleeping draught4 ,wagner is
 most philosophical where he is  most   
powerfully active and heroic4 ,it was as
 a philosopher that he  went1 not only  
through the fire of various             
philosophical systems  without fear1 but
 also through the vapours of science and
 scholarship1  while remaining ever true
 to his highest self4 ,and it was this  
highest  self which exacted from his    
versatile spirit works as complete as   
his  were1 which bade him suffer and    
learn1 that he might accomplish such    
works4                                  
,,iv4    ,the history of the development
 of culture since the time of the       
,greeks  is short enough1 when we take  
into consideration the actual ground it 
covers1 and ignore the periods during   
which man stood still1 went  backwards1 
hesitated or strayed4 ,the ,hellenising 

of the world--and to  make this         
possible1 the ,orientalising of         
,hellenism--that double  mission of     
,alexander the ,great1 still remains the
 most important  event3 the old question
 whether a foreign civilisation may be  
transplanted is still the problem that  
the peoples of modern times are  vainly 
endeavouring to solve4 ,the rhythmic    
play of those two factors  against each 
other is the force that has determined  
the course of  history heretofore4 ,thus
 ,christianity appears1 for instance1 as
 a  product of ,oriental antiquity1     
which was thought out and pursued to    
its ultimate conclusions by men1 with   
almost intemperate thoroughness4  ,as   
its influence began to decay1 the power 
of ,hellenic culture was  revived1 and  
we are now experiencing phenomena so    
strange that they  would hang in the air
 as unsolved problems1 if it were not   
possible1  by spanning an enormous gulf 
of time1 to show their relation to      
analogous phenomena in ,hellenistic     

culture4 ,thus1 between ,kant and the   
,eleatics1 ,schopenhauer and            
,empedocles1 ,a,eschylus and ,wagner1   
there is  so much relationship1 so many 
things in common1 that one is vividly   
impressed with the very relative nature 
of all notions of time4 ,it  would even 
seem as if a whole diversity of things  
were really all of a  piece1 and that   
time is only a cloud which makes it hard
 for our eyes  to perceive the oneness  
of them4 ,in the history of the exact   
sciences  we are perhaps most impressed 
by the close bond uniting us with the   
days of ,alexander and ancient ,greece4 
,the pendulum of history seems  merely  
to have swung back to that point from   
which it started when it  plunged forth 
into unknown and mysterious distance4   
,the picture  represented by our own    
times is by no means a new one3 to the  
student  of history it must always seem 
as though he were merely in the         
presence of an old familiar face1 the   
features of which he recognises4  ,in   

our time the spirit of ,greek culture is
 scattered broadcast4 ,while  forces of 
all kinds are pressing one upon the     
other1 and the fruits of  modern art and
 science are offering themselves as a   
means of exchange1  the pale outline of 
,hellenism is beginning to dawn faintly 
in the  distance4 ,the earth which1 up  
to the present1 has been more than      
adequately ,orientalised1 begins to     
yearn once more for ,hellenism4 ,he  who
 wishes to help her in this respect will
 certainly need to be  gifted for speedy
 action and to have wings on his heels1 
in order to  synthetise the             
multitudinous and still undiscovered    
facts of science  and the many          
conflicting divisions of talent so as to
 reconnoitre and  rule the whole        
enormous field4 ,it is now necessary    
that a generation  of anti-,alexanders  
should arise1 endowed with the supreme  
strength  necessary for gathering up1   
binding together1 and joining the       
individual threads of the fabric1 so as 

to prevent their being  scattered to the
 four winds4 ,the object is not to cut  
the ,gordian knot  of ,greek culture    
after the manner adopted by ,alexander1 
and then to  leave its frayed ends      
fluttering in all directions2 it is     
rather to  bind it after it has been    
loosed4 ,that is our task to-day4 ,in   
the  person of ,wagner ,i recognise one 
of these anti-,alexanders3 he rivets    
and locks together all that is isolated1
 weak1 or in any way  defective2 if ,i  
may be allowed to use a medical         
expression1 he has an  astringent power4
 ,and in this respect he is one of the  
greatest  civilising forces of his age4 
,he dominates art1 religion1 and        
folklore1 yet he is the reverse of a    
polyhistor or of a mere  collecting and 
classifying spirit2 for he constructs   
with the  collected material1 and       
breathes life into it1 and is a         
,simplifier of  the ,universe4 ,we must 
not be led away from this idea by       
comparing the  general mission which his

 genius imposed upon him with the much  
narrower and more immediate one which we
 are at present in the habit  of        
associating with the name of ,wagner4   
,he is expected to effect a  reform in  
the theatre world2 but even supposing he
 should succeed in  doing this1 what    
would then have been done towards the   
accomplishment  of that higher1 more    
distant mission8    ,but even with this 
lesser theatrical reform1 modern man    
would also be  altered and reformed2 for
 everything is so intimately related in 
this  world1 that he who removes even so
 small a thing as a rivet from the      
framework shatters and destroys the     
whole edifice4 ,and what we here        
assert1 with perhaps seeming            
exaggeration1 of ,wagner's activity     
would  hold equally good of any other   
genuine reform4 ,it is quite impossible 
to reinstate the art of drama in its    
purest and highest form without         
effecting changes everywhere in the     
customs of the people1 in the  ,state1  

in education1 and in social intercourse4
 ,when love and justice  have become    
powerful in one department of life1     
namely in art1 they  must1 in accordance
 with the law of their inner being1     
spread their  influence around them1 and
 can no more return to the stiff        
stillness  of their former pupal        
condition4 ,in order even to realise how
 far the  attitude of the arts towards  
life is a sign of their decline1 and how
  far our theatres are a disgrace to    
those who build and visit them1         
everything must be learnt over again1   
and that which is usual and  commonplace
 should be regarded as something unusual
 and complicated4  ,an extraordinary    
lack of clear judgment1 a               
badly-concealed lust of  pleasure1 of   
entertainment at any cost1 learned      
scruples1 assumed airs  of importance1  
and trifling with the seriousness of art
 on the part of  those who represent it2
 brutality of appetite and              
money-grubbing on  the part of          

promoters2 the empty-mindedness and     
thoughtlessness of  society1 which only 
thinks of the people in so far as these 
serve or  thwart its purpose1 and which 
attends theatres and concerts without   
giving a thought to its duties1--all    
these things constitute the  stifling   
and deleterious atmosphere of our modern
 art conditions3  when1 however1 people 
like our men of culture have grown      
accustomed to  it1 they imagine that it 
is a condition of their healthy         
existence1  and would immediately feel  
unwell if1 for any reason1 they were    
compelled to dispense with it for a     
while4 ,in point of fact1 there is  but 
one speedy way of convincing oneself of 
the vulgarity1 weirdness1  and confusion
 of our theatrical institutions1 and    
that is to compare  them with those     
which once flourished in ancient        
,greece4 ,if we knew  nothing about the 
,greeks1 it would perhaps be impossible 
to assail our  present conditions at    
all1 and objections made on the large   

scale  conceived for the first time by  
,wagner would have been regarded as the 
dreams of people who could only be at   
home in outlandish places4 ,for  men as 
we now find them1 people would have     
retorted1 art of this  modern kind      
answers the purpose and is fitting-- and
 men have never  been different4 ,but   
they have been very different1 and even 
now there  are men who are far from     
satisfied with the existing state of    
affairs--the fact of ,bayreuth alone    
demonstrates this point4 ,here you  will
 find prepared and initiated spectators1
 and the emotion of men  conscious of   
being at the very zenith of their       
happiness1 who  concentrate their whole 
being on that happiness in order to     
strengthen  themselves for a higher and 
more far-reaching purpose4 ,here you    
will  find the most noble               
self-abnegation on the part of the      
artist1 and the  finest of all          
spectacles --that of a triumphant       
creator of works which  are in          

themselves an overflowing treasury of   
artistic triumphs4 ,does  it not seem   
almost like a fairy tale1 to be able to 
come face to face  with such a          
personality8 ,must not they who take any
 part whatsoever1  active or passive1 in
 the proceedings at ,bayreuth1 already  
feel  altered and rejuvenated1 and ready
 to introduce reforms and to effect     
renovations in other spheres of life8   
,has not a haven been found for  all    
wanderers on high and desert seas1 and  
has not peace settled over  the face of 
the waters8 ,must not he who leaves     
these spheres of ruling  profundity and 
loneliness for the very differently     
ordered world with  its plains and lower
 levels1 cry continually like ,isolde3  
,oh1 how  could ,i bear it8 ,how can ,i 
still bear it8 ,and should he be unable 
to  endure his joy and his sorrow1 or to
 keep them egotistically to  himself1 he
 will avail himself from that time      
forward of every  opportunity of making 
them known to all4 ,where are they who  

are  suffering under the yoke of modern 
institutions8 he will inquire4  ,where  
are my natural allies1 with whom ,i may 
struggle against the  ever waxing and   
ever more oppressive pretensions of     
modern erudition8  ,for at present1 at  
least1 we have but one enemy--at        
present6--and it  is that band of       
aesthetes1 to whom the word ,bayreuth   
means the  completest rout--they have   
taken no share in the arrangements1 they
  were rather indignant at the whole    
movement1 or else availed  themselves   
effectively of the deaf-ear policy1     
which has now become  the trusty weapon 
of all very superior opposition4 ,but   
this proves  that their animosity and   
knavery were ineffectual in destroying  
,wagner's spirit or in hindering the    
accomplishment of his plans2 it  proves 
even more1 for it betrays their weakness
 and the fact that all  those who are at
 present in possession of power will not
 be able to  withstand many more        
attacks4 ,the time is at hand for those 

who would  conquer and triumph2 the     
vastest empires lie at their mercy1 a   
note of  interrogation hangs to the name
 of all present possessors of power1 so 
far as possession may be said to exist  
in this respect4 ,thus  educational     
institutions are said to be decaying1   
and everywhere  individuals are to be   
found who have secretly deserted them4  
,if only  it were possible to invite    
those to open rebellion and public      
utterances1 who even now are thoroughly 
dissatisfied with the state of  affairs 
in this quarter6 ,if only it were       
possible to deprive them of  their faint
 heart and lukewarmness6 ,i am convinced
 that the whole  spirit of modern       
culture would receive its deadliest blow
 if the tacit  support which these      
natures give it could in any way be     
cancelled4  ,among scholars1 only those 
would remain loyal to the old order of  
things who had been infected with the   
political mania or who were  literary   
hacks in any form whatever4 ,the        

repulsive organisation which  derives   
its strength from the violence and      
injustice upon which it  relies--that is
 to say1 from the ,state and            
,society--and which sees its  advantage 
in making the latter ever more evil and 
unscrupulous1--this  structure which    
without such support would be something 
feeble and  effete1 only needs to be    
despised in order to perish4 ,he who is 
struggling to spread justice and love   
among mankind must regard this          
organisation as the least significant of
 the obstacles in his way2 for  he will 
only encounter his real opponents once  
he has successfully  stormed and        
conquered modern culture1 which is      
nothing more than their  outworks4      
,for us1 ,bayreuth is the consecration  
of the dawn of the combat4 ,no  greater 
injustice could be done to us than to   
suppose that we are  concerned with art 
alone1 as though it were merely a means 
of healing  or stupefying us1 which we  
make use of in order to rid our         

consciousness of all the misery that    
still remains in our midst4 ,in  the    
image of this tragic art work at        
,bayreuth1 we see1 rather1 the  struggle
 of individuals against everything which
 seems to oppose them  with invincible  
necessity1 with power1 law1 tradition1  
conduct1 and  the whole order of things 
established4 ,individuals cannot choose 
a  better life than that of holding     
themselves ready to sacrifice           
themselves and to die in their fight for
 love and justice4 ,the gaze  which the 
mysterious eye of tragedy vouchsafes us 
neither lulls nor  paralyses4           
,nevertheless1 it demands silence of us 
as long as it keeps  us in view2 for art
 does not serve the purposes of war1 but
 is merely  with us to improve our hours
 of respite1 before and during the      
course  of the contest1--to improve     
those few moments when1 looking back1   
yet  dreaming of the future1 we seem to 
understand the symbolical1 and are      
carried away into a refreshing reverie  

when fatigue overtakes us4 ,day  and    
battle dawn together1 the sacred shadows
 vanish1 and ,art is once  more far away
 from us2 but the comfort she dispenses 
is with men from  the earliest hour of  
day1 and never leaves them4 ,wherever he
 turns1  the individual realises only   
too clearly his own shortcomings1 his   
insufficiency and his incompetence2 what
 courage would he have left  were he not
 previously rendered impersonal by this 
consecration6 ,the  greatest of all     
torments harassing him1 the conflicting 
beliefs and  opinions among men1 the    
unreliability of these beliefs and      
opinions1  and the unequal character of 
men's abilities--all these things make  
him hanker after art4 ,we cannot be     
happy so long as everything about  us   
suffers and causes suffering2 we cannot 
be moral so long as the  course of human
 events is determined by violence1      
treachery1 and  injustice2 we cannot    
even be wise1 so long as the whole of   
mankind  does not compete for wisdom1   

and does not lead the individual to the 
most sober and reasonable form of life  
and knowledge4 ,how1 then1 would  it be 
possible to endure this feeling of      
threefold insufficiency if  one were not
 able to recognise something sublime and
 valuable in one's  struggles1          
strivings1 and defeats1 if one did not  
learn from tragedy  how to delight in   
the rhythm of the great passions1 and in
 their  victim8 ,art is certainly no    
teacher or educator of practical        
conduct3  the artist is never in this   
sense an instructor or adviser2 the     
things  after which a tragic hero       
strives are not necessarily worth       
striving  after4 ,as in a dream so in   
art1 the valuation of things only holds 
good while we are under its spell4 ,what
 we1 for the time being1 regard  as so  
worthy of effort1 and what makes us     
sympathise with the tragic  hero when he
 prefers death to renouncing the object 
of his desire1  this can seldom retain  
the same value and energy when          

transferred to  everyday life3 that is  
why art is the business of the man who  
is  recreating himself4 ,the strife it  
reveals to us is a simplification of    
life's struggle2 its problems are       
abbreviations of the infinitely         
complicated phenomena of man's actions  
and volitions4 ,but from this  very     
fact--that it is the reflection1 so to  
speak1 of a simpler world1  a more rapid
 solution of the riddle of life--art    
derives its greatness  and              
indispensability4 ,no one who suffers   
from life can do without this           
reflection1 just as no one can exist    
without sleep4 ,the more difficult  the 
science of natural laws becomes1 the    
more fervently we yearn for  the image  
of this simplification1 if only for an  
instant2 and the  greater becomes the   
tension between each man's general      
knowledge of  things and his moral and  
spiritual faculties4 ,art is with us to 
prevent the bow from snapping4    ,the  
individual must be consecrated to       

something impersonal--that is  the aim  
of tragedy3 he must forget the terrible 
anxiety which death  and time tend to   
create in him2 for at any moment of his 
life1 at any  fraction of time in the   
whole of his span of years1 something   
sacred  may cross his path which will   
amply compensate him for all his        
struggles and privations4 ,this means   
having a sense for the tragic4  ,and if 
all mankind must perish some day--and   
who could question this6  --it has been 
given its highest aim for the future1   
namely1 to  increase and to live in such
 unity that it may confront its final   
extermination as a whole1 with one      
spirit-with a common sense of the       
tragic3 in this one aim all the         
ennobling influences of man lie  locked2
 its complete repudiation by humanity   
would be the saddest blow  which the    
soul of the philanthropist could        
receive4 ,that is how ,i feel  in the   
matter6 ,there is but one hope and      
guarantee for the future of  man1 and   

that is that his sense for the tragic   
may not die out4 ,if he  ever completely
 lost it1 an agonised cry1 the like of  
which has never  been heard1 would have 
to be raised all over the world2 for    
there is  no more blessed joy than that 
which consists in knowing what we       
know--how tragic thought was born again 
on earth4 ,for this joy is  thoroughly  
impersonal and general3 it is the wild  
rejoicing of  humanity1 anent the hidden
 relationship and progress of all that  
is  human4                              
,v4    ,wagner concentrated upon life1  
past and present1 the light of an       
intelligence strong enough to embrace   
the most distant regions in its  rays4  
,that is why he is a simplifier of the  
universe2 for the  simplification of the
 universe is only possible to him whose 
eye has  been able to master the        
immensity and wildness of an apparent   
chaos1  and to relate and unite those   
things which before had lain hopelessly 
asunder4 ,wagner did this by discovering

 a connection between two  objects which
 seemed to exist apart from each other  
as though in  separate spheres--that    
between music and life1 and similarly   
between  music and the drama4 ,not that 
he invented or was the first to create  
this relationship1 for they must always 
have existed and have been  noticeable  
to all2 but1 as is usually the case with
 a great problem1  it is like a precious
 stone which thousands stumble over     
before one  finally picks it up4 ,wagner
 asked himself the meaning of the fact  
that  an art such as music should have  
become so very important a feature of   
the lives of modern men4 ,it is not     
necessary to think meanly of life  in   
order to suspect a riddle behind this   
question4 ,on the contrary1  when all   
the great forces of existence are duly  
considered1 and  struggling life is     
regarded as striving mightily after     
conscious  freedom and independence of  
thought1 only then does music seem to be
 a  riddle in this world4 ,should one   

not answer3 ,music could not have been  
born in our time8 ,what then does its   
presence amongst us signify8 ,an        
accident8 ,a single great artist might  
certainly be an accident1 but  the      
appearance of a whole group of them1    
such as the history of modern  music has
 to show1 a group only once before      
equalled on earth1 that is  to say in   
the time of the ,greeks1--a circumstance
 of this sort leads  one to think that  
perhaps necessity rather than accident  
is at the  root of the whole phenomenon4
 ,the meaning of this necessity is the  
riddle which ,wagner answers4    ,he was
 the first to recognise an evil which is
 as widespread as  civilisation itself  
among men2 language is everywhere       
diseased1 and  the burden of this       
terrible disease weighs heavily upon the
 whole of  man's development4 ,inasmuch 
as language has retreated ever more and 
more from its true province--the        
expression of strong feelings1 which  it
 was once able to convey in all their   

simplicity--and has always had  to      
strain after the practically impossible 
achievement of  communicating the       
reverse of feeling1 that is to say      
thought1 its  strength has become so    
exhausted by this excessive extension of
 its  duties during the comparatively   
short period of modern civilisation1    
that it is no longer able to perform    
even that function which alone          
justifies its existence1 to wit1 the    
assisting of those who suffer1 in       
communicating with each other concerning
 the sorrows of existence4 ,man  can no 
longer make his misery known unto others
 by means of language2  hence he cannot 
really express himself any longer4 ,and 
under these  conditions1 which are only 
vaguely felt at present1 language has   
gradually become a force in itself which
 with spectral arms coerces  and drives 
humanity where it least wants to go4 ,as
 soon as they would  fain understand one
 another and unite for a common cause1  
the  craziness of general concepts1 and 

even of the ring of modern words1  lays 
hold of them4 ,the result of this       
inability to communicate with  one      
another is that every product of their  
co-operative action bears  the stamp of 
discord1 not only because it fails to   
meet their real  needs1 but because of  
the very emptiness of those all-powerful
 words  and notions already mentioned4  
,to the misery already at hand1 man thus
  adds the curse of convention--that is 
to say1 the agreement between  words and
 actions without an agreement between   
the feelings4 ,just as1  during the     
decline of every art1 a point is reached
 when the morbid  accumulation of its   
means and forms attains to such         
tyrannical  proportions that it         
oppresses the tender souls of artists   
and converts  these into slaves1 so now1
 in the period of the decline of        
language1  men have become the slaves of
 words4 ,under this yoke no one is able 
to  show himself as he is1 or to express
 himself artlessly1 while only few  are 

able to preserve their individuality in 
their fight against a  culture which    
thinks to manifest its success1 not by  
the fact that it  approaches definite   
sensations and desires with the view of 
educating  them1 but by the fact that it
 involves the individual in the snare of
  definite notions1 and teaches him to  
think correctly3 as if there  were any  
value in making a correctly thinking and
 reasoning being out  of man1 before one
 has succeeded in making him a creature 
that feels  correctly4 ,if now the      
strains of our ,german masters' music   
burst upon  a mass of mankind sick to   
this extent1 what is really the meaning 
of  these strains8 ,only correct        
feeling1 the enemy of all convention1 of
  all artificial estrangement and       
misunderstandings between man and man3  
this music signifies a return to nature1
 and at the same time a  purification   
and remodelling of it2 for the need of  
such a return took  shape in the souls  
of the most loving of men1 and1 through 

their art1  nature transformed into love
 makes its voice heard4    ,let us      
regard this as one of ,wagner's answers 
to the question1 ,what  does music mean 
in our time8 for he has a second4 ,the  
relation between  music and life is not 
merely that existing between one kind of
  language and another2 it is1 besides1 
the relation between the perfect  world 
of sound and that of sight4 ,regarded   
merely as a spectacle1 and  compared    
with other and earlier manifestations of
 human life1 the  existence of modern   
man is characterised by indescribable   
indigence  and exhaustion1 despite the  
unspeakable garishness at which only the
  superficial observer rejoices4 ,if one
 examines a little more closely  the    
impression which this vehement and      
kaleidoscopic play of colours  makes    
upon one1 does not the whole seem to    
blaze with the shimmer and  sparkle of  
innumerable little stones borrowed from 
former  civilisations8 ,is not          
everything one sees merely a complex of 

inharmonious bombast1 aped              
gesticulations1 arrogant                
superficiality8--a  ragged suit of      
motley for the naked and the shivering8 
,a seeming dance  of joy enjoined upon a
 sufferer8 ,airs of overbearing pride   
assumed by  one who is sick to the      
backbone8 ,and the whole moving with    
such  rapidity and confusion that it is 
disguised and masked-- sordid           
impotence1 devouring dissension1        
assiduous ennui1 dishonest distress6    
,the appearance of present-day humanity 
is all appearance1 and nothing  else3 in
 what he now represents man himself has 
become obscured and  concealed2 and the 
vestiges of the creative faculty in art1
 which  still cling to such countries as
 ,france and ,italy1 are all            
concentrated upon this one task of      
concealing4 ,wherever form is still  in 
demand in society1 conversation1        
literary style1 or the relations        
between governments1 men have           
unconsciously grown to believe that it  

is adequately met by a kind of agreeable
 dissimulation1 quite the  reverse of   
genuine form conceived as a necessary   
relation between the  proportions of a  
figure1 having no concern whatever with 
the notions  agreeable or disagreeable1 
simply because it is necessary and not  
optional4 ,but even where form is not   
openly exacted by civilised  people1    
there is no greater evidence of this    
requisite relation of  proportions2 a   
striving after the agreeable            
dissimulation1 already  referred to1 is 
on the contrary noticeable1 though it is
 never so  successful even if it be more
 eager than in the first instance4 ,how 
far this dissimulation is agreeable at  
times1 and why it must please  everybody
 to see how modern men at least         
endeavour to dissemble1 every  one is in
 a position to judge1 according to1 the 
extent to which he  himself may happen  
to be modern4 ,only galley slaves know  
each other1  says ,tasso1 and if we     
mistake others1 it is only out of       

courtesy1 and  with the hope that they1 
in their turn1 should mistake us4       
,now1 in this world of forms and        
intentional misunderstandings1 what     
purpose is served by the appearance of  
souls overflowing with music8  ,they    
pursue the course of grand and          
unrestrained rhythm with noble          
candour--with a passion more than       
personal2 they glow with the mighty  and
 peaceful fire of music1 which wells up 
to the light of day from  their         
unexhausted depths--and all this to what
 purpose8    ,by means of these souls   
music gives expression to the longing   
that it  feels for the company of its   
natural ally1 gymnastics--that is to    
say1  its necessary form in the order of
 visible phenomena4 ,in its search  and 
craving for this ally1 it becomes the   
arbiter of the whole visible  world and 
the world of mere lying appearance of   
the present day4 ,this  is ,wagner's    
second answer to the question1 ,what is 
the meaning of  music in our times8     

,help me1 he cries to all who have ears 
to hear1  help me to discover that      
culture of which my music1 as the       
rediscovered language of correct        
feeling1 seems to foretell the          
existence4 ,bear in mind that the soul  
of music now wishes to acquire a  body1 
that1 by means of you all1 it would find
 its way to visibleness  in movements1  
deeds1 institutions1 and customs6 ,there
 are some men  who understand this      
summons1 and their number will increase2
 they have  also understood1 for the    
first time1 what it means to found the  
,state  upon music4 ,it is something    
that the ancient ,hellenes not only     
understood but actually insisted upon2  
and these enlightened creatures  would  
just as soon have sentenced the modern  
,state to death as modern  men now      
condemn the ,church4 ,the road to such a
 new though not  unprecedented goal     
would lead to this3 that we should be   
compelled to  acknowledge where the     
worst faults of our educational system  

lie1 and  why it has failed hitherto to 
elevate us out of barbarity3 in reality1
  it lacks the stirring and creative    
soul of music2 its requirements and     
arrangements are moreover the product of
 a period in which the music1  to which 
,we seem to attach so much importance1  
had not yet been born4  ,our education  
is the most antiquated factor of our    
present conditions1  and it is so more  
precisely in regard to the one new      
educational force  by which it makes men
 of to-day in advance of those of bygone
  centuries1 or by which it would make  
them in advance of their remote         
ancestors1 provided only they did not   
persist so rashly in hurrying  forward  
in meek response to the scourge of the  
moment4 ,through not  having allowed the
 soul of music to lodge within them1    
they have no  notion of gymnastics in   
the ,greek and ,wagnerian sense2 and    
that is why  their creative artists are 
condemned to despair1 as long as they   
wish  to dispense with music as a guide 

in a new world of visible phenomena4    
,talent may develop as much as may be   
desired3 it either comes too late  or   
too soon1 and at all events out of      
season2 for it is in the main           
superfluous and abortive1 just as even  
the most perfect and the  highest       
products of earlier times which serve   
modern artists as models  are           
superfluous and abortive1 and add not a 
stone to the edifice  already begun4 ,if
 their innermost consciousness can      
perceive no new  forms1 but only the old
 ones belonging to the past1 they may   
certainly  achieve something for        
history1 but not for life2 for they are 
already  dead before having expired4    
,he1 however1 who feels genuine and     
fruitful life in him1 which at present  
can only be described by the  one term  
,music1 could he allow himself to be    
deceived for one moment  into nursing   
solid hopes by this something which     
exhausts all its  energy in producing   
figures1 forms1 and styles8 ,he stands  

above all  such vanities1 and as little 
expects to meet with artistic wonders   
outside his ideal world of sound as with
 great writers bred on our  effete and  
discoloured language4 ,rather than lend 
an ear to illusive  consolations1 he    
prefers to turn his unsatisfied gaze    
stoically upon  our modern world1 and if
 his heart be not warm enough to feel   
pity1  let it at least feel bitterness  
and hate6 ,it were better for him to    
show anger and scorn than to take cover 
in spurious contentment or  steadily to 
drug himself1 as our friends of art are 
wont to do4 ,but  if he can do more than
 condemn and despise1 if he is capable  
of  loving1 sympathising1 and assisting 
in the general work of  construction1 he
 must still condemn1 notwithstanding1 in
 order to  prepare the road for his     
willing soul4 ,in order that music may  
one day  exhort many men to greater     
piety and make them privy to her highest
  aims1 an end must first be made to the
 whole of the pleasure-seeking          

relations which men now enjoy with such 
a sacred art4 ,behind all our  artistic 
pastimes-- theatres1 museums1 concerts1 
and the like--that  aforementioned      
friend of art is to be found1 and he it 
is who must  be suppressed3 the favour  
he now finds at the hands of the ,state 
must  be changed into oppression2 public
 opinion1 which lays such particular    
stress upon the training of this love of
 art1 must be routed by better          
judgment4 ,meanwhile we must reckon the 
declared enemy of art as our  best and  
most useful ally2 for the object of his 
animosity is  precisely art as          
understood by the friend of art1--he    
knows of no  other kind6 ,let him be    
allowed to call our friend of art to    
account  for the nonsensical waste of   
money occasioned by the building of his 
theatres and public monuments1 the      
engagement of his celebrated  singers   
and actors1 and the support of his      
utterly useless schools of  art and     
picture-galleries--to say nothing of all

 the energy1 time1 and  money which     
every family squanders in pretended     
artistic interests4  ,neither hunger nor
 satiety is to be noticed here1 but a   
dead-and-alive  game is played--with the
 semblance of each1 a game invented by  
the  idle desire to produce an effect   
and to deceive others4 ,or1 worse       
still1 art is taken more or less        
seriously1 and then it is itself        
expected to provoke a kind of hunger and
 craving1 and to fulfil its  mission in 
this artificially induced excitement4   
,it is as if people  were afraid of     
sinking beneath the weight of their     
loathing and  dulness1 and invoked every
 conceivable evil spirit to scare them  
and  drive them about like wild cattle4 
,men hanker after pain1 anger1 hate1    
the flush of passion1 sudden flight1 and
 breathless suspense1 and they  appeal  
to the artist as the conjurer of this   
demoniacal host4 ,in the  spiritual     
economy of our cultured classes art has 
become a spurious or  ignominious and   

undignified need--a nonentity or a      
something evil4 ,the  superior and more 
uncommon artist must be in the throes of
 a  bewildering nightmare in order to be
 blind to all this1 and like a  ghost1  
diffidently and in a quavering voice1 he
 goes on repeating  beautiful words     
which he declares descend to him from   
higher spheres1  but whose sound he can 
hear only very indistinctly4 ,the artist
 who  happens to be moulded according to
 the modern pattern1 however1  regards  
the dreamy gropings and hesitating      
speech of his nobler  colleague with    
contempt1 and leads forth the whole     
brawling mob of  assembled passions on a
 leash in order to let them loose upon  
modern  men as he may think fit4 ,for   
these modern creatures wish rather to be
  hunted down1 wounded1 and torn to     
shreds1 than to live alone with         
themselves in solitary calm4 ,alone with
 oneself6--this thought  terrifies the  
modern soul2 it is his one anxiety1 his 
one ghastly  fear4    ,when ,i watch the

 throngs that move and linger about the 
streets of a  very populous town1 and   
notice no other expression in their     
faces than  one of hunted stupor1 ,i can
 never help commenting to myself upon   
the  misery of their condition4 ,for    
them all1 art exists only that they may 
be still more wretched1 torpid1         
insensible1 or even more flurried and   
covetous4 ,for incorrect feeling governs
 and drills them unremittingly1  and    
does not even give them time to become  
aware of their misery4  ,should they    
wish to speak1 convention whispers their
 cue to them1 and  this makes them      
forget what they originally intended to 
say2 should  they desire to understand  
one another1 their comprehension is     
maimed  as though by a spell3 they      
declare that to be their joy which in   
reality is but their doom1 and they     
proceed to collaborate in wilfully      
bringing about their own damnation4     
,thus they have become transformed  into
 perfectly and absolutely different     

creatures1 and reduced to the  state of 
abject slaves of incorrect feeling4     
,,vi4    ,i shall only give two         
instances showing how utterly the       
sentiment of  our time has been         
perverted1 and how completely           
unconscious the  present age is of this 
perversion4 ,formerly financiers were   
looked  down upon with honest scorn1    
even though they were recognised as     
needful2 for it was generally admitted  
that every society must have  its       
viscera4 ,now1 however1 they are the    
ruling power in the soul of  modern     
humanity1 for they constitute the most  
covetous portion  thereof4 ,in former   
times people were warned especially     
against taking  the day or the moment   
too seriously3 the nil admirari was     
recommended  and the care of things     
eternal4 ,now there is but one kind of  
seriousness left in the modern mind1 and
 it is limited to the news  brought by  
the newspaper and the telegraph4        
,improve each shining hour1  turn it to 

some account and judge it as quickly as 
possible6--one  would think modern men  
had but one virtue left--presence of    
mind4  ,unfortunately1 it much more     
closely resembles the omnipresence of   
disgusting and insatiable cupidity1 and 
spying inquisitiveness become           
universal4 ,for the question is whether 
mind is present at all  to-day2--but we 
shall leave this problem for future     
judges to solve2  they1 at least1 are   
bound to pass modern men through a      
sieve4 ,but that  this age is vulgar1   
even we can see now1 and it is so       
because it  reveres precisely what      
nobler ages contemned4 ,if1 therefore1  
it loots  all the treasures of bygone   
wit and wisdom1 and struts about in this
  richest of rich garments1 it only     
proves its sinister consciousness of    
its own vulgarity in so doing2 for it   
does not don this garb for  warmth1 but 
merely in order to mystify its          
surroundings4 ,the desire to  dissemble 
and to conceal himself seems stronger   

than the need of  protection from the   
cold in modern man4 ,thus scholars and  
philosophers  of the age do not have    
recourse to ,indian and ,greek wisdom in
 order to  become wise and peaceful3 the
 only purpose of their work seems to be 
to earn them a fictitious reputation for
 learning in their own time4  ,the      
naturalists endeavour to classify the   
animal outbreaks of  violence1 ruse and 
revenge1 in the present relations       
between nations  and individual men1 as 
immutable laws of nature4 ,historians   
are  anxiously engaged in proving that  
every age has its own particular  right 
and special conditions1-- with the view 
of preparing the  groundwork of an      
apology for the day that is to come1    
when our  generation will be called to  
judgment4 ,the science of government1 of
  race1 of commerce1 and of             
jurisprudence1 all have that            
preparatorily  apologetic character now2
 yea1 it even seems as though the small 
amount of intellect which still remains 

active to-day1 and is not used  up by   
the great mechanism of gain and power1  
has as its sole task the  defending--and
 excusing of the present    ,against    
what accusers8 one asks1 surprised4     
,against its own bad conscience4    ,and
 at this point we plainly discern the   
task assigned to modern  art--that of   
stupefying or intoxicating1 of lulling  
to sleep or  bewildering4 ,by hook or by
 crook to make conscience unconscious6  
,to  assist the modern soul over the    
sensation of guilt1 not to lead it  back
 to innocence6 ,and this for the space  
of moments only6 ,to defend  men against
 themselves1 that their inmost heart may
 be silenced1 that  they may turn a deaf
 ear to its voice6 ,the souls of those  
few who  really feel the utter ignominy 
of this mission and its terrible        
humiliation of art1 must be filled to   
the brim with sorrow and pity1  but also
 with a new and overpowering yearning4  
,he who would fain  emancipate art1 and 
reinstall its sanctity1 now desecrated1 

must first  have freed himself from all 
contact with modern souls2 only as an   
innocent being himself can he hope to   
discover the innocence of art1  for he  
must be ready to perform the stupendous 
tasks of  self-purification and         
self-consecration4 ,if he succeeded1 if 
he were  ever able to address men from  
out his enfranchised soul and by means  
of his emancipated art1 he would then   
find himself exposed to the  greatest of
 dangers and involved in the most       
appalling of struggles4  ,man would     
prefer to tear him and his art to       
pieces1 rather than  acknowledge that he
 must die of shame in presence of them4 
,it is just  possible that the          
emancipation of art is the only ray of  
hope  illuminating the future1 an event 
intended only for a few isolated  souls1
 while the many remain satisfied to gaze
 into the flickering and  smoking flame 
of their art and can endure to do so4   
,for they do not  want to be            
enlightened1 but dazzled4 ,they rather  

hate light --more  particularly when it 
is thrown on themselves4    ,that is why
 they evade the new messenger of light2 
but he follows  them--the love which    
gave him birth compels him to follow    
them and to  reduce them to submission4 
,ye must go through my mysteries1 he    
cries  to them2 ye need to be purified  
and shaken by them4 ,dare to submit to  
this for your own salvation1 and abandon
 the gloomily lighted corner  of life   
and nature which alone seems familiar to
 you4 ,i lead you into  a kingdom which 
is also real1 and when ,i lead you out  
of my cell into  your daylight1 ye will 
be able to judge which life is more     
real1  which1 in fact1 is day and which 
night4 ,nature is much richer1 more     
powerful1 more blessed and more terrible
 below the surface2 ye cannot  divine   
this from the way in which ye live4 ,o  
that ye yourselves could  learn to      
become natural again1 and then suffer   
yourselves to be  transformed through   
nature1 and into her1 by the charm of my

 ardour  and love6    ,it is the voice  
of ,wagner's art which thus appeals to  
men4 ,and that  we1 the children of a   
wretched age1 should be the first to    
hear it1  shows how deserving of pity   
this age must be3 it shows1 moreover1   
that  real music is of a piece with fate
 and primitive law2 for it is quite     
impossible to attribute its presence    
amongst us precisely at the  present    
time to empty and meaningless chance4   
,had ,wagner been an  accident1 he would
 certainly have been crushed by the     
superior  strength of the other elements
 in the midst of which he was placed1   
out in the coming of ,wagner there seems
 to have been a necessity which  both   
justifies it and makes it glorious4     
,observed from its earliest  beginnings1
 the development of his art constitutes 
a most magnificent  spectacle1 and--even
 though it was attended with great      
suffering--reason1 law1 and intention   
mark its course throughout4  ,under the 
charm of such a spectacle the observer  

will be led to take  pleasure even in   
this painful development itself1 and    
will regard it  as fortunate4 ,he will  
see how everything necessarily          
contributes to  the welfare and benefit 
of talent and a nature foreordained1    
however  severe the trials may be       
through which it may have to pass4 ,he  
will  realise how every danger gives it 
more heart1 and every triumph more      
prudence2 how it partakes of poison and 
sorrow and thrives upon them4  ,the     
mockery and perversity of the           
surrounding world only goad and spur  it
 on the more4 ,should it happen to go   
astray1 it but returns from its         
wanderings and exile loaded with the    
most precious spoil2 should it  chance  
to slumber1 it does but recoup its      
strength4 ,it tempers the  body itself  
and makes it tougher2 it does not       
consume life1 however  long it lives2 it
 rules over man like a pinioned passion1
 and allows  him to fly just in the nick
 of time1 when his foot has grown weary 

in  the sand or has been lacerated by   
the stones on his way4 ,it can do       
nought else but impart2 every one must  
share in its work1 and it is no  stinted
 giver4 ,when it is repulsed it is but  
more prodigal in its  gifts2 ill used by
 those it favours1 it does but reward   
them with the  richest treasures it     
possesses1--and1 according to the oldest
 and most  recent experience1 its       
favoured ones have never been quite     
worthy of  its gifts4 ,that is why the  
nature foreordained1 through which music
  expresses itself to this world of     
appearance1 is one of the most          
mysterious things under the sun--an     
abyss in which strength and  goodness   
lie united1 a bridge between self and   
non-self4 ,who would  undertake to name 
the object of its existence with any    
certainty8--even supposing the sort of  
purpose which it would be  likely to    
have could be divined at all4 ,but a    
most blessed foreboding  leads one to   
ask whether it is possible for the      

grandest things to  exist for the       
purpose of the meanest1 the greatest    
talent for the  benefit of the smallest1
 the loftiest virtue and holiness for   
the sake  of the defective and faulty8  
,should real music make itself heard1   
because mankind of all creatures least  
deserves to hear it1 though it  perhaps 
need it most8 ,if one ponder over the   
transcendental and  wonderful character 
of this possibility1 and turn from these
  considerations to look back on life1 a
 light will then be seen to  ascend1    
however dark and misty it may have      
seemed a moment before4                 
,,vii4    ,it is quite impossible       
otherwise3 the observer who is          
confronted with  a nature such as       
,wagner's must1 willy-nilly1 turn his   
eyes from time  to time upon himself1   
upon his insignificance and frailty1 and
 ask  himself1 ,what concern is this of 
thine8 ,why1 pray1 art thou there at    
all8 ,maybe he will find no answer to   
these questions1 in which case he  will 

remain estranged and confounded1 face to
 face with his own  personality4 ,let it
 then suffice him that he has           
experienced this  feeling2 let the fact 
that he has felt strange and embarrassed
 in the  presence of his own soul be the
 answer to his question ,for it is      
precisely by virtue of this feeling that
 he shows the most powerful             
manifestation of life in ,wagner--the   
very kernel of his strength--that       
demoniacal magnetism and gift of        
imparting oneself to others1 which is   
peculiar to his nature1 and by which it 
not only conveys itself to  other       
beings1 but also absorbs other beings   
into itself2 thus  attaining to its     
greatness by giving and by taking4 ,as  
the observer is  apparently subject to  
,wagner's exuberant and prodigally      
generous  nature1 he partakes of its    
strength1 and thereby becomes formidable
  through him and to him4 ,and every one
 who critically examines himself  knows 
that a certain mysterious antagonism is 

necessary to the process  of mutual     
study4 ,should his art lead us to       
experience all that falls  to the lot of
 a soul engaged upon a journey1 i4e4    
feeling sympathy  with others and       
sharing their fate1 and seeing the world
 through  hundreds of different eyes1 we
 are then able1 from such a distance1   
and under such strange influences1 to   
contemplate him1 once we have  lived his
 life4 ,we then feel with the utmost    
certainty that in ,wagner  the whole    
visible world desires to be             
spiritualised1 absorbed1 and  lost in   
the world of sounds4 ,in ,wagner1 too1  
the world of sounds seeks  to manifest  
itself as a phenomenon for the sight2 it
 seeks1 as it  were1 to incarnate       
itself4 ,his art always leads him into  
two distinct  directions1 from the world
 of the play of sound to the mysterious 
and  yet related world of visible       
things1 and vice versa4 ,he is          
continually  forced--and the observer   
with him--to re-translate the visible   

into  spiritual and primeval life1 and  
likewise to perceive the most hidden    
interstices of the soul as something    
concrete and to lend it a visible  body4
 ,this constitutes the nature of the    
dithyrambic dramatist1 if the  meaning  
given to the term includes also the     
actor1 the poet1 and the  musician2 a   
conception necessarily borrowed from    
schylus and the  contemporary ,greek    
artists--the only perfect examples of   
the  dithyrambic dramatist before       
,wagner4 ,if attempts have been made to 
trace the most wonderful developments to
 inner obstacles or  deficiencies1 if1  
for instance1 in ,goethe's case1 poetry 
was merely  the refuge of a foiled      
talent for painting2 if one may speak of
  ,schiller's dramas as of vulgar       
eloquence directed into uncommon        
channels2 if ,wagner himself tries to   
account for the development of  music   
among the ,germans by showing that1     
inasmuch as they are devoid  of the     
entrancing stimulus of a natural gift   

for singing1 they were  compelled to    
take up instrumental music with the same
 profound  seriousness as that with     
which their reformers took up           
,christianity1--if1 on the same         
principle1 it were sought to associate  
,wagner's development with an inner     
barrier of the same kind1 it would  then
 be necessary to recognise in him a     
primitive dramatic talent1  which had to
 renounce all possibility of satisfying 
its needs by the  quickest and most     
methods1 and which found its salvation  
and its means  of expression in drawing 
all arts to it for one great dramatic   
display4 ,but then one would also have  
to assume that the most powerful        
musician1 owing to his despair at having
 to appeal to people who were  either   
only semi-musical or not musical at all1
 violently opened a  road for himself to
 the other arts1 in order to acquire    
that capacity  for diversely            
communicating himself to others1 by     
which he compelled  them to understand  

him1 by which he compelled the masses to
 understand  him4 ,however the          
development of the born dramatist may be
 pictured1 in  his ultimate expression  
he is a being free from all inner       
barriers and  voids3 the real1          
emancipated artist cannot help himself1 
he must think  in the spirit of all the 
arts at once1 as the mediator and       
intercessor  between apparently         
separated spheres1 the one who          
reinstalls the unity  and wholeness of  
the artistic faculty1 which cannot be   
divined or  reasoned out1 but can only  
be revealed by deeds themselves4 ,but he
 in  whose presence this deed is        
performed will be overcome by its       
gruesome  and seductive charm3 in a     
flash he will be confronted with a power
  which cancels both resistance and     
reason1 and makes every detail of  life 
appear irrational and incomprehensible4 
,carried away from  himself1 he seems to
 be suspended in a mysterious fiery     
element2 he  ceases to understand       

himself1 the standard of everything has 
fallen  from his hands2 everything      
stereotyped and fixed begins to totter2 
every object seems to acquire a strange 
colour and to tell us its tale  by means
 of new symbols2--one would need to be a
 ,plato in order to  discover1 amid this
 confusion of delight and fear1 how he  
accomplishes  the feat1 and to say to   
the dramatist3 ,should a man come into  
our  midst who possessed sufficient     
knowledge to simulate or imitate        
anything1 we would honour him as        
something wonderful and holy2 we  would 
even anoint him and adorn his brow with 
a sacred diadem2 but we  would urge him 
to leave our circle for another1        
notwithstanding4 ,it  may be that a     
member of the ,platonic community would 
have been able to  chasten himself to   
such conduct3 we1 however1 who live in a
 very  different community1 long for1   
and earnestly desire1 the charmer to    
come to us1 although we may fear him    
already1--and we only desire his        

presence in order that our society and  
the mischievous reason and  might of    
which it is the incarnation may be      
confuted4 ,a state of human             
civilisation1 of human society1         
morality1 order1 and general            
organisation which would be able to     
dispense with the services of an        
imitative artist or mimic1 is not       
perhaps so utterly inconceivable2  but  
this ,perhaps is probably the most      
daring that has ever been  posited1 and 
is equivalent to the gravest expression 
of doubt4 ,the  only man who ought to be
 at liberty to speak of such a          
possibility is  he who could beget1 and 
have the presentiment of1 the highest   
phase of  all that is to come1 and who  
then1 like ,faust1 would either be      
obliged  to turn blind1 or be permitted 
to become so4 ,for we have no right to  
this blindness2 whereas ,plato1 after he
 had cast that one glance into  the     
ideal ,hellenic1 had the right to be    
blind to all ,hellenism4 ,for  this     

reason1 we others are in much greater   
need of art2 because it was  in the     
presence of the realistic that our eyes 
began to see1 and we  require the       
complete dramatist in order that he may 
relieve us1 if  only for an hour or so1 
of the insufferable tension arising from
 our  knowledge of the chasm which lies 
between our capabilities and the  duties
 we have to perform4 ,with him we ascend
 to the highest pinnacle  of feeling1   
and only then do we fancy we have       
returned to nature's  unbounded freedom1
 to the actual realm of liberty4 ,from  
this point of  vantage we can see       
ourselves and our fellows emerge as     
something  sublime from an immense      
mirage1 and we see the deep meaning in  
our  struggles1 in our victories and    
defeats2 we begin to find pleasure in   
the rhythm of passion and in its victim 
in the hero's every footfall  we        
distinguish the hollow echo of death1   
and in its proximity we  realise the    
greatest charm of life3 thus transformed

 into tragic men1  we return again to   
life with comfort in our souls4 ,we are 
conscious of  a new feeling of security1
 as if we had found a road leading out  
of  the greatest dangers1 excesses1 and 
ecstasies1 back to the limited and  the 
familiar3 there where our relations with
 our fellows seem to  partake of a      
superior benevolence1 and are at all    
events more noble  than they were4 ,for 
here1 everything seemingly serious and  
needful1  which appears to lead to a    
definite goal1 resembles only detached  
fragments when compared with the path we
 ourselves have trodden1 even  in our   
dreams1-- detached fragments of that    
complete and grand  experience whereof  
we cannot even think without a thrill4  
,yes1 we  shall even fall into danger   
and be tempted to take life too easily1 
simply because in art we were in such   
deadly earnest concerning it1 as        
,wagner says somewhere anent certain    
incidents in his own life4 ,for if  we  
who are but the spectators and not the  

creators of this display of  dithyrambic
 dramatic art1 can almost imagine a     
dream to be more real  than the actual  
experiences of our wakeful hours1 how   
much more keenly  must the creator      
realise this contrast6 ,there he stands 
amid all the  clamorous appeals and     
importunities of the day1 and of the    
necessities  of life2 in the midst of   
,society and ,state--and as what does he
 stand  there8 ,maybe he is the only    
wakeful one1 the only being really and  
truly conscious1 among a host of        
confused and tormented sleepers1  among 
a multitude of deluded and suffering    
people4 ,he may even feel  like a victim
 of chronic insomnia1 and fancy himself 
obliged to bring  his clear1 sleepless1 
and conscious life into touch with      
somnambulists  and ghostly              
well-intentioned creatures4 ,thus       
everything that others  regard as       
commonplace strikes him as weird1 and he
 is tempted to meet  the whole          
phenomenon with haughty mockery4 ,but   

how peculiarly this  feeling is crossed1
 when another force happens to join his 
quivering  pride1 the craving of the    
heights for the depths1 the affectionate
  yearning for earth1 for happiness and 
for fellowship--then1 when he  thinks of
 all he misses as a hermit-creator1 he  
feels as though he  ought to descend to 
the earth like a god1 and bear all that 
is weak1  human1 and lost1 in fiery arms
 up to heaven1 so as to obtain love  and
 no longer worship only1 and to be able 
to lose himself completely  in his love4
 ,but it is just this contradiction     
which is the miraculous  fact in the    
soul of the dithyrambic dramatist1 and  
if his nature can  be understood at all1
 surely it must be here4 ,for his       
creative moments  in art occur when the 
antagonism between his feelings is at   
its height  and when his proud          
astonishment and wonder at the world    
combine with  the ardent desire to      
approach that same world as a lover4    
,the glances  he then bends towards the 

earth are always rays of sunlight which 
draw up water1 form mist1 and gather    
storm-clouds4 ,clear-sighted and        
prudent1 loving and unselfish at the    
same time1 his glance is  projected     
downwards2 and all things that are      
illumined by this double  ray of light1 
nature conjures to discharge their      
strength1 to reveal  their most hidden  
secret1 and this through bashfulness4   
,it is more  than a mere figure of      
speech to say that he surprised ,nature 
with that  glance1 that he caught her   
naked2 that is why she would conceal her
  shame by seeming precisely the        
reverse4 ,what has hitherto been        
invisible1 the inner life1 seeks its    
salvation in the region of the  visible2
 what has hitherto been only visible1   
repairs to the dark  ocean of sound3    
thus ,nature1 in trying to conceal      
herself1 unveils the  character of her  
contradictions4 ,in a dance1 wild1      
rhythmic and  gliding1 and with ecstatic
 movements1 the born dramatist makes    

known  something of what is going on    
within him1 of what is taking place in  
nature3 the dithyrambic quality of his  
movements speaks just as  eloquently of 
quivering comprehension and of powerful 
penetration as  of the approach of love 
and self-renunciation4 ,intoxicated     
speech  follows the course of this      
rhythm2 melody resounds coupled with    
speech1 and in its turn melody projects 
its sparks into the realm of  images and
 ideas4 ,a dream-apparition1 like and   
unlike the image of  ,nature and her    
wooer1 hovers forward2 it condenses into
 more human  shapes2 it spreads out in  
response to its heroically triumphant   
will1  and to a most delicious collapse 
and cessation of will3--thus tragedy  is
 born2 thus life is presented with its  
grandest knowledge-- that of  tragic    
thought2 thus1 at last1 the greatest    
charmer and benefactor  among           
mortals--the dithyrambic dramatist--is  
evolved4                                
,,viii4    ,wagner's actual life--that  

is to say1 the gradual evolution of the 
dithyrambic dramatist in him-- was at   
the same time an uninterrupted  struggle
 with himself1 a struggle which never   
ceased until his  evolution was         
complete4 ,his fight with the opposing  
world was grim and  ghastly1 only       
because it was this same world--this    
alluring  enemy--which he heard speaking
 out of his own heart1 and because he   
nourished a violent demon in his        
breast--the demon of resistance4 ,when  
the ruling idea of his life gained      
ascendancy over his mind--the idea  that
 drama is1 of all arts1 the one that can
 exercise the greatest  amount of       
influence over the world--it aroused the
 most active  emotions in his whole     
being4 ,it gave him no very clear or    
luminous  decision1 at first1 as to what
 was to be done and desired in the      
future2 for the idea then appeared      
merely as a form of  temptation--that is
 to say1 as the expression of his       
gloomy1 selfish1  and insatiable will1  

eager for power and glory4              
,influence--the  greatest amount of     
influence--how8 over whom8--these were  
henceforward  the questions and problems
 which did not cease to engage his head 
and  his heart4 ,he wished to conquer   
and triumph as no other artist had  ever
 done before1 and1 if possible1 to reach
 that height of tyrannical  omnipotence 
at one stroke for which all his         
instincts secretly craved4  ,with a     
jealous and cautious eye1 he took stock 
of everything  successful1 and examined 
with special care all that upon which   
this  influence might be brought to     
bear4 ,with the magic sight of the      
dramatist1 which scans souls as easily  
as the most familiar book1 he           
scrutinised the nature of the spectator 
and the listener1 and although  he was  
often perturbed by the discoveries he   
made1 he very quickly  found means      
wherewith he could enthral them4 ,these 
means were ever  within his reach3      
everything that moved him deeply he     

desired and  could also produce2 at     
every stage in his career he understood 
just as  much of his predecessors as he 
himself was able to create1 and he      
never doubted that he would be able to  
do what they had done4 ,in this  respect
 his nature is perhaps more presumptuous
 even than ,goethe's1  despite the fact 
that the latter said of himself3 ,i     
always thought ,i  had mastered         
everything2 and even had ,i been crowned
 king1 ,i should  have regarded the     
honour as thoroughly deserved4 ,wagner's
 ability4  his taste and his            
aspirations--all of which have ever been
 as closely  related as key to          
lock--grew and attained to freedom      
together2 but  there was a time when it 
was not so4 ,what did he care about the 
feeble  but noble and egotistically     
lonely feeling which that friend of art 
fosters1 who1 blessed with a literary   
and aesthetic education1 takes  his     
stand far from the common mob6 ,but     
those violent spiritual  tempests which 

are created by the crowd when under the 
influence of  certain climactic passages
 of dramatic song1 that sudden          
bewildering  ecstasy of the emotions1   
thoroughly honest and selfless--they    
were but  echoes of his own experiences 
and sensations1 and filled him with     
glowing hope for the greatest possible  
power and effect4 ,thus he  recognised  
grand opera as the means whereby he     
might express his  ruling thoughts2     
towards it his passions impelled him2   
his eyes turned  in the direction of its
 home4 ,the larger portion of his life1 
his most  daring wanderings1 and his    
plans1 studies1 sojourns1 and           
acquaintances  are only to be explained 
by an appeal to these passions and the  
opposition of the outside world1 which  
the poor1 restless1  passionately       
ingenuous ,german artist had to face4   
,another artist than  he knew better how
 to become master of this calling1 and  
now that it  has gradually become known 
by means of what ingenious artifices of 

all  kinds ,meyerbeer succeeded in      
preparing and achieving every one of his
  great successes1 and how scrupulously 
the sequence of effects was  taken into 
account in the opera itself1 people will
 begin to  understand how bitterly      
,wagner was mortified when his eyes were
 opened  to the tricks of the metier    
which were indispensable to a great     
public  success4 ,i doubt whether there 
has ever been another great artist in   
history who began his career with such  
extraordinary illusions and who  so     
unsuspectingly and sincerely fell in    
with the most revolting form  of        
artistic trickery4 ,and yet the way in  
which he proceeded partook of  greatness
 and was therefore extraordinarily      
fruitful4 ,for when he  perceived his   
error1 despair made him understand the  
meaning of modern  success1 of the      
modern public1 and the whole            
prevaricating spirit of  modern art4    
,and while becoming the critic of       
effect1 indications of  his own         

purification began to quiver through    
him4 ,it seems as if from  that time    
forward the spirit of music spoke to him
 with an  unprecedented spiritual charm4
 ,as though he had just risen from a    
long  illness and had for the first time
 gone into the open1 he scarcely        
trusted his hand and his eye1 and seemed
 to grope along his way4 ,thus  it was  
an almost delightful surprise to him to 
find that he was still  a musician and  
an artist1 and perhaps then only for the
 first time4    ,every subsequent stage 
in ,wagner's development may be         
distinguished  thus1 that the two       
fundamental powers of his nature drew   
ever more  closely together3 the        
aversion of the one to the other        
lessened1 the  higher self no longer    
condescended to serve its more violent  
and baser  brother2 it loved him and    
felt compelled to serve him4 ,the       
tenderest  and purest thing is          
ultimately--that is to say1 at the      
highest stage  of its evolution-- always

 associated with the mightiest2 the     
storming  instincts pursue their course 
as before1 but along different roads1 in
  the direction of the higher self2 and 
this in its turn descends to  earth and 
finds its likeness in everything        
earthly4 ,if it were  possible1 on this 
principle1 to speak of the final aims   
and  unravelments of that evolution1 and
 to remain intelligible1 it might  also 
be possible to discover the graphic     
terms with which to describe  the long  
interval preceding that last            
development2 but ,i doubt whether  the  
first achievement is possible at all1   
and do not therefore attempt  the       
second4 ,the limits of the interval     
separating the preceding and  the       
subsequent ages will be described       
historically in two sentences3  ,wagner 
was the revolutionist of society2       
,wagner recognised the only  artistic   
element that ever existed hitherto--the 
poetry of the people4  ,the ruling idea 
which in a new form and mightier than it

 had ever  been1 obsessed ,wagner1 after
 he had overcome his share of despair   
and  repentance1 led him to both        
conclusions4 ,influence1 the greatest   
possible amount of influence to be      
exercised by means of the stage6  --but 
over whom8 ,he shuddered when he thought
 of those whom he had1  until then1     
sought to influence4 ,his experience led
 him to realise the  utterly ignoble    
position which art and the artist adorn2
 how a callous  and hard-hearted        
community that calls itself the good1   
but which is  really the evil1 reckons  
art and the artist among its slavish    
retinue1  and keeps them both in order  
to minister to its need of deception4   
,modern art is a luxury2 he saw this1   
and understood that it must stand  or   
fall with the luxurious society of which
 it forms but a part4 ,this  society had
 but one idea1 to use its power as      
hard-heartedly and as  craftily as      
possible in order to render the         
impotent--the people--ever  more and    

more serviceable1 base and unpopular1   
and to rear the modern  workman out of  
them4 ,it also robbed them of the       
greatest and purest  things which their 
deepest needs led them to create1 and   
through which  they meekly expressed the
 genuine and unique art within their    
soul3  their myths1 songs1 dances1 and  
their discoveries in the department of  
language1 in order to distil therefrom a
 voluptuous antidote against  the       
fatigue and boredom of its existence--  
modern art4 ,how this  society came into
 being1 how it learned to draw new      
strength for  itself from the seemingly 
antagonistic spheres of power1 and how1 
for  instance1 decaying ,christianity   
allowed itself to be used1 under the    
cover of half measures and subterfuges1 
as a shield against the masses  and as a
 support of this society and its        
possessions1 and finally how  science   
and men of learning pliantly consented  
to become its  drudges--all this ,wagner
 traced through the ages1 only to be    

convulsed  with loathing at the end of  
his researches4 ,through his compassion 
for  the people1 he became a            
revolutionist4 ,from that time forward  
he loved  them and longed for them1 as  
he longed for his art2 for1 alas6 in    
them  alone1 in this fast disappearing1 
scarcely recognisable body1             
artificially held aloof1 he now saw the 
only spectators and listeners  worthy   
and fit for the power of his            
masterpieces1 as he pictured them4      
,thus his thoughts concentrated         
themselves upon the question1 ,how do   
the people come into being8 ,how are    
they resuscitated8    ,he always found  
but one answer3 if a large number of    
people were  afflicted with the sorrow  
that afflicted him1 that number would   
constitute the people1 he said to       
himself4 ,and where the same sorrow     
leads to the same impulses and desires1 
similar satisfaction would  necessarily 
be sought1 and the same pleasure found  
in this  satisfaction4 ,if he inquired  

into what it was that most consoled him 
and revived his spirits in his sorrow1  
what it was that succeeded best  in     
counteracting his affliction1 it was    
with joyful certainty that he           
discovered this force only in music and 
myth1 the latter of which he  had       
already recognised as the people's      
creation and their language of          
distress4 ,it seemed to him that the    
origin of music must be similar1  though
 perhaps more mysterious4 ,in both of   
these elements he steeped  and healed   
his soul2 they constituted his most     
urgent need3--in this  way he was able  
to ascertain how like his sorrow was to 
that of the  people1 when they came into
 being1 and how they must arise anew if 
many ,wagners are going to appear4 ,what
 part did myth and music play in  modern
 society1 wherever they had not been    
actually sacrificed to it8  ,they shared
 very much the same fate1 a fact which  
only tends to prove  their close        
relationship3 myth had been sadly       

debased and usurped by  idle tales and  
stories2 completely divested of its     
earnest and sacred  virility1 it was    
transformed into the plaything and      
pleasing bauble of  children and women  
of the afflicted people4 ,music had kept
 itself  alive among the poor1 the      
simple1 and the isolated2 the ,german   
musician had not succeeded in adapting  
himself to the luxurious  traffic of the
 arts2 he himself had become a fairy    
tale full ,of  monsters and mysteries1  
full of the most touching omens and     
auguries--a helpless questioner1        
something bewitched and in need of      
rescue4 ,here the artist distinctly     
heard the command that concerned  him   
alone--to recast myth and make it       
virile1 to break the spell lying  over  
music and to make music speak3 he felt  
his strength for drama  liberated at one
 stroke1 and the foundation of his sway 
established  over the hitherto          
undiscovered province lying between myth
 and music4  ,his new masterpiece1 which

 included all the most powerful1        
effective1  and entrancing forces that  
he knew1 he now laid before men with    
this  great and painfully cutting       
question3 ,where are ye all who suffer  
and  think as ,i do8 ,where is that     
number of souls that ,i wish to see     
become  a people1 that ye may share the 
same joys and comforts with me8 ,in     
your joy ye will reveal your misery to  
me4 ,these were his questions  in       
,tannhauser and ,lohengrin1 in these    
operas he looked about him for  his     
equals --the anchorite yearned for the  
number4    ,but what were his feelings  
withal8 ,nobody answered him4 ,nobody   
had  understood his question4 ,not that 
everybody remained silent3 on the       
contrary1 answers were given to         
thousands of questions which he had     
never put2 people gossipped about the   
new masterpieces as though they  had    
only been composed for the express      
purpose of supplying subjects  for      
conversation4 ,the whole mania of       

aesthetic scribbling and small  talk    
overtook the ,germans like a pestilence1
 and ith that lack of  modesty which    
characterises both ,german scholars and 
,german  journalists1 people began      
measuring1 and generally meddling with1 
these masterpieces1 as well as with the 
person of the artist4 ,wagner  tried to 
help the comprehension of his question  
by writing about it2  but this only led 
to fresh confusion and more uproar1     
--for a musician  who writes and thinks 
was1 at that time1 a thing unknown4 ,the
 cry  arose3 ,he is a theorist who      
wishes to remould art with his          
far-fetched notions--stone him6 ,wagner 
was stunned3 his question was  not      
understood1 his need not felt2 his      
masterpieces seemed a message  addressed
 only to the deaf and blind2 his        
people-- an hallucination4  ,he         
staggered and vacillated4 ,the          
feasibility of a complete upheaval of   
all things then suggested itself to him1
 and he no longer shrank from  the      

thought3 possibly1 beyond this          
revolution and dissolution1 there  might
 be a chance of a new hope2 on the other
 hand1 there might not4  ,but1 in any   
case1 would not complete annihilation be
 better than the  wretched existing     
state of affairs8 ,not very long        
afterwards1 he was a  political exile in
 dire distress4    ,and then only1 with 
this terrible change in his environment 
and in his  soul1 there begins that     
period of the great man's life over     
which as a  golden reflection there is  
stretched the splendour of highest      
mastery4  ,now at last the genius of    
dithyrambic drama doffs its last        
disguise4  ,he is isolated2 the age     
seems empty to him2 he ceases to hope2  
and his  all-embracing glance descend   
once more into the deep1 and finds the  
bottom1 there he sees suffering in the  
nature of things1 and  henceforward1    
having become more impersonal1 he       
accepts his portion of  sorrow more     
calmly4 ,the desire for great power     

which was but the  inheritance of       
earlier conditions is now directed      
wholly into the  channel of creative    
art2 through his art he now speaks only 
to  himself1 and no longer to a public  
or to a people1 and strives to lend     
this intimate conversation all the      
distinction and other qualities in      
keeping with such a mighty dialogue4    
,during the preceding period  things had
 been different with his art2 then he   
had concerned himself1  too1 albeit with
 refinement and subtlety1 with immediate
 effects3 that  artistic production was 
also meant as a question1 and it ought  
to have  called forth an immediate      
reply4 ,and how often did ,wagner not   
try to  make his meaning clearer to     
those he questioned6 ,in view of their  
inexperience in having questions put to 
them1 he tried to meet them  half way   
and to conform with older artistic      
notions and means of  expression4 ,when 
he feared that arguments couched in his 
own terms  would only meet with failure1

 he had tried to persuade and to put his
  question in a language half strange to
 himself though familiar to his         
listeners4 ,now there was nothing to    
induce him to continue this  indulgence3
 all he desired now was to come to terms
 with himself1 to  think of the nature  
of the world in dramatic actions1 and to
  philosophise in music2 what desires he
 still possessed turned in the          
direction of the latest philosophical   
views4 ,he who is worthy of  knowing    
what took place in him at that time or  
what questions were  thrashed out in the
 darkest holy of holies in his soul--and
 not many  are worthy of knowing all    
this--must hear1 observe1 and experience
  ,tristan and ,isolde1 the real opus   
metaphysicum of all art1 a work upon    
which rests the broken look of a dying  
man with his insatiable and  sweet      
craving for the secrets of night and    
death1 far away from life  which throws 
a horribly spectral morning light1      
sharply1 upon all that  is evil1        

delusive1 and sundering3 moreover1 a    
drama austere in the  severity of its   
form1 overpowering in its simple        
grandeur1 and in  harmony with the      
secret of which it treats--lying dead in
 the midst of  life1 being one in two4  
,and yet there is something still more  
wonderful than this work1 and that is   
the artist himself1 the man who1        
shortly after he had accomplished it1   
was able to create a picture of  life so
 full of clashing colours as the        
,meistersingers of ,nurnberg1  and who  
in both of these compositions seems     
merely to have refreshed  and equipped  
himself for the task of completing at   
his ease that  gigantic edifice in four 
parts which he had long ago planned and 
begun--the ultimate result of all his   
meditations and poetical flights  for   
over twenty years1 his ,bayreuth        
masterpiece1 the ,ring of the           
,nibelung6 ,he who marvels at the rapid 
succession of the two operas1  ,tristan 
and the ,meistersingers1 has failed to  

understand one important  side of the   
life and nature of all great ,germans3  
he does not know the  peculiar soil out 
of which that essentially ,german       
gaiety1 which  characterised ,luther1   
,beethoven1 and ,wagner1 can grow1 the  
gaiety  which other nations quite fail  
to understand and which even seems to   
be missing in the ,germans of           
to-day--that clear golden and thoroughly
  fermented mixture of simplicity1      
deeply discriminating love1             
observation1 and roguishness which      
,wagner has dispensed1 as the most      
precious of drinks1 to all those who    
have suffered deeply through  life1 but 
who nevertheless return to it with the  
smile of  convalescents4 ,and1 as he    
also turned upon the world the eyes of  
one  reconciled1 he was more filled with
 rage and disgust than with sorrow1  and
 more prone to renounce the love of     
power than to shrink in awe  from it4   
,as he thus silently furthered his      
greatest work and gradually  laid score 

upon score1 something happened which    
caused him to stop and  listen3 friends 
were coming1 a kind of subterranean     
movement of many  souls approached with 
a message for him--it was still far from
 being  the people that constituted this
 movement and which wished to bear him  
news1 but it may have been the nucleus  
and first living source of a  really    
human community which would reach       
perfection in some age still  remote4   
,for the present they only brought him  
the warrant that his  great work could  
be entrusted to the care and charge of  
faithful men1  men who would watch and  
be worthy to watch over this most       
magnificent  of all legacies to         
posterity4 ,in the love of friends his  
outlook began  to glow with brighter    
colours2 his noblest care--the care that
 his  work should be accomplished and   
should find a refuge before the  evening
 of his life--was not his only          
preoccupation4 something  occurred which
 he could only understand as a symbol3  

it was as much as  a new comfort and a  
new token of happiness to him4 ,a great 
,german war  caused him to open his     
eyes1 and he observed that those very   
,germans  whom he considered so         
thoroughly degenerate and so inferior to
 the  high standard of real ,teutonism1 
of which he had formed an ideal both    
from self-knowledge and the             
conscientious study of other great      
,germans  in history2 he observed that  
those very ,germans were1 in the midst  
of  terrible circumstances1 exhibiting  
two virtues of the highest              
order--simple bravery and prudence2 and 
with his heart bounding with  delight he
 conceived the hope that he might not be
 the last ,german1  and that some day a 
greater power would perhaps stand by his
 works  than that devoted yet meagre one
 consisting of his little band of       
friends--a power able to guard it during
 that long period preceding  its future 
glory1 as the masterpiece of this       
future4 ,perhaps it was  not possible to

 steel this belief permanently against  
doubt1 more  particularly when it sought
 to rise to hopes of immediate results3 
suffice it that he derived a tremendous 
spur from his environment1  which       
constantly reminded him of a lofty duty 
ever to be fulfilled4    ,his work would
 not have been complete had he handed it
 to the world  only in the form of      
silent manuscript4 ,he must make known  
to the world  what it could not guess in
 regard to his productions1 what was his
  alone to reveal--the new style for the
 execution and presentation of  his     
works1 so that he might set that example
 which nobody else could  set1 and thus 
establish a tradition of style1 not on  
paper1 not by  means of signs1 but      
through impressions made upon the very  
souls of  men4 ,this duty had become all
 the more pressing with him1 seeing that
  precisely in regard to the style of   
their execution his other works  had    
meanwhile succumbed to the most         
insufferable and absurd of fates3  they 

were famous and admired1 yet no one     
manifested the slightest sign  of       
indignation when they were mishandled4  
,for1 strange to say1 whereas  he       
renounced ever more and more the hope of
 success among his  contemporaries1     
owing to his all too thorough knowledge 
of them1 and  disclaimed all desire for 
power1 both success and power came to   
him1 or at least everybody told him so4 
,it was in vain that he made  repeated  
attempts to expose1 with the utmost     
clearness1 how worthless  and           
humiliating such successes were to him3 
people were so unused to  seeing an     
artist able to differentiate at all     
between the effects of  his works that  
even his most solemn protests were never
 entirely  trusted4 ,once he had        
perceived the relationship existing     
between our  system of theatres and     
their success1 and the men of his time1 
his  soul ceased to be attracted by the 
stage at all4 ,he had no further        
concern with aesthetic ecstasies and the

 exultation of excited crowds1  and he  
must even have felt angry to see his art
 being gulped down  indiscriminately by 
the yawning abyss of boredom and the    
insatiable  love of distraction4 ,how   
flat and pointless every effect proved  
under  these circumstances-- more       
especially as it was much more a case of
  having to minister to one quite       
insatiable than of cloying the hunger   
of a starving man-- ,wagner began to    
perceive from the following  repeated   
experience3 everybody1 even the         
performers and promoters1  regarded his 
art as nothing more nor less than any   
other kind of  stage-music1 and quite in
 keeping with the repulsive style of    
traditional opera2 thanks to the efforts
 of cultivated conductors1 his  works   
were even cut and hacked about1 until1  
after they had been  bereft of all their
 spirit1 they were held to be nearer the
  professional singer's plane4 ,but when
 people tried to follow ,wagner's       
instructions to the letter1 they        

proceeded so clumsily and timidly  that 
they were not incapable of representing 
the midnight riot in the  second act of 
the ,meistersingers by a group of       
ballet-dancers4 ,they  seemed to do all 
this1 however1 in perfectly good        
faith--without the  smallest evil       
intention4 ,wagner's devoted efforts to 
show1 by means of  his own example1 the 
correct and complete way of performing  
his works1  and his attempts at training
 individual singers in the new style1   
were  foiled time after time1 owing only
 to the thoughtlessness and iron        
tradition that ruled all around him4    
,moreover1 he was always induced  to    
concern himself with that class of      
theatricals which he most  thoroughly   
loathed4 ,had not even ,goethe1 m his   
time1 once grown tired  of attending the
 rehearsals of his ,iphigenia8 ,i suffer
 unspeakably1  he explained1 when ,i    
have to tumble about ,wlth these        
spectres1 which  never seem to act as   
they should4 ,meanwhile ,wagner's       

success in the  kind of drama which he  
most disliked steadily increased2 so    
much so1  indeed1 that the largest      
theatres began to subsist almost        
entirely  upon the receipts which       
,wagner's art1 in the guise of operas1  
brought  into them4 ,this growing       
passion on the part of the theatre-going
  public bewildered even some of        
,wagner's friends2 but this man who had 
endured so much1 had still to endure the
 bitterest pain of all--he had  to see  
his friends intoxicated with his        
successes and triumphs  everywhere where
 his highest ideal was openly belied and
 shattered4 ,it  seemed almost as though
 a people otherwise earnest and         
reflecting had  decided to maintain an  
attitude of systematic levity only      
towards its  most serious artist1 and to
 make him the privileged recipient of   
all  the vulgarity1 thoughtlessness1    
clumsiness1 and malice of which the     
,german nature is capable4 ,when1       
therefore1 during the ,german ,war1 a   

current of greater magnanimity and      
freedom seemed to run through every     
one1 ,wagner remembered the duty to     
which he had pledged himself1  namely1  
to rescue his greatest work from those  
successes and affronts  which were so   
largely due to misunderstandings1 and to
 present it in  his most personal rhythm
 as an example for all times4 ,thus he  
conceived the idea of ,bayreuth4 ,in the
 wake of that current of better  feeling
 already referred to1 he expected to    
notice an enhanced sense  of duty even  
among those with whom he wished to      
entrust his most  precious possession4  
,out of this two-fold duty1 that event  
took shape  which1 like a glow of       
strange sunlight1 will illumine the few 
years  that lie behind and before us1   
and was designed to bless that distant  
and problematic future which to our time
 and to the men of our time  can be     
little more than a riddle or a horror1  
but which to the fevv  who are allowed  
to assist in its realisation is a       

foretaste of coming  joy1 a foretaste of
 love in a higher sphere1 through which 
they know  themselves to be blessed1    
blessing and fruitful1 far beyond their 
span  of years2 and which to ,wagner    
himself is but a cloud of distress1     
care1 meditation1 and grief1 a fresh    
passionate outbreak of  antagonistic    
elements1 but all bathed in the         
starlight of selfless  fidelity1 and    
changed by this light into indescribable
 joy4    ,it scarcely need be said that 
it is the breath of tragedy that fills  
the lungs of the world4 ,and every one  
whose innermost soul has a  presentiment
 of this1 every one unto whom the yoke  
of tragic deception  concerning the aim 
of life1 the distortion and shattering  
of  intentions1 renunciation and        
purification through love1 are not      
unknown things1 must be conscious of a  
vague reminiscence of ,wagner's  own    
heroic life1 in the masterpieces with   
which the great man now  presents us4   
,we shall feel as though ,siegfried from

 some place far  away were relating his 
deeds to us3 the most blissful of       
touching  recollections are always      
draped in the deep mourning of waning   
summer1  when all nature lies still in  
the sable twilight4                     
,,ix4    ,all those to whom the thought 
of ,wagner's development as a man may   
have caused pain will find it both      
restful and healing to reflect upon     
what he was as an artist1 and to observe
 how his ability and daring  attained to
 such a high degree of independence4 ,if
 art mean only the  faculty of          
communicating to others what one has    
oneself experienced1  and if every work 
of art confutes itself which does not   
succeed in  making itself understood1   
then ,wagner's greatness as an artist   
would  certainly lie in the almost      
demoniacal power of his nature to       
communicate with others1 to express     
itself in all languages at once1  and to
 make known its most intimate and       
personal experience with the  greatest  

amount of distinctness possible4 ,his   
appearance in the  history of art       
resembles nothing so much as a volcanic 
eruption of the  united artistic        
faculties of ,nature herself1 after     
mankind had grown  to regard the        
practice of a special art as a necessary
 rule4 ,it is  therefore a somewhat moot
 point whether he ought to be classified
 as a  poet1 a painter1 or a musician1  
even using each these words in its      
widest sense1 or whether a new word     
ought not to be invented in order  to   
describe him4    ,wagner's poetic       
ability is shown by his thinking in     
visible and actual  facts1 and not in   
ideas2 that is to say1 he thinks        
mythically1 as the  people have always  
done4 ,no particular thought lies at the
 bottom of a  myth1 as the children of  
an artificial ulture would have us      
believe2  but it is in itself a thought3
 it conveys an idea of the world1 but   
through the medium of a chain of events1
 actions1 and pains4 ,the ,ring  of the 

,nihelung is a huge system of thought   
without the usual  abstractness of the  
latter4 ,it were perhaps possible for a 
philosopher  to present us with its     
exact equivalent in pure thought1 and to
 purge  it of all pictures drawn from   
life1 and of all living actions1 in     
which case we should be in possession of
 the same thing portrayed in  two       
completely different forms--the one for 
the people1 and the other  for the very 
reverse of the people2 that is to say1  
men of theory4 ,but  ,wagner makes no   
appeal to this last class1 for the man  
of theory can  know as little of poetry 
or myth as the deaf man can know of     
music2  both of them being conscious    
only of movements which seem meaningless
  to them4 ,it is impossible to         
appreciate either one of these          
completely  different forms from the    
standpoint of the other3 as long as the 
poet's spell is upon one1 one thinks    
with him just as though one were  merely
 a feeling1 seeing1 and hearing         

creature2 the conclusions thus  reached 
are merely the result of the association
 of the phenomena one  sees1 and are    
therefore not logical but actual        
causalities4    ,if1 therefore1 the     
heroes and gods of mythical dramas1 as  
understood  by ,wagner1 were to express 
themselves plainly in words1 there would
 be  a danger 7inasmuch as the language 
of words might tend to awaken the       
theoretical side in us7 of our finding  
ourselves transported from the  world of
 myth to the world of ideas1 and the    
result would be not only  that we should
 fail to understand with greater ease1  
but that we  should probably not        
understand at all4 ,wagner thus forced  
language  back to a more primeval stage 
in its development a stage at which it  
was almost free of the abstract element1
 and was still poetry1  imagery1 and    
feeling2 the fearlessness with which    
,wagner undertook  this formidable      
mission shows how imperatively he was   
led by the  spirit of poetry1 as one who

 must follow whithersoever his phantom  
leader may direct him4 ,every word in   
these dramas ought to allow of  being   
sung1 and gods and heroes should make   
them their own--that was  the task which
 ,wagner set his literary faculty4 ,any 
other person in  like circumstances     
would have given up all hope2 for our   
language  seems almost too old and      
decrepit to allow of one's exacting what
  ,wagner exacted from it2 and yet1 when
 he smote the rock1 he brought  forth an
 abundant flow4 ,precisely owing to the 
fact that he loved his  language and    
exacted a great deal from it1 ,wagner   
suffered more than  any other ,german   
through its decay and enfeeblement1 from
 its manifold  losses and mutilations of
 form1 from its unwieldy particles and  
clumsy  construction1 and from its      
unmusical auxiliary verbs4 ,all these   
are  things which have entered the      
language through sin and depravity4 ,on 
the other hand1 he was exceedingly proud
 to record the number of  primitive and 

vigorous factors still extant in the    
current speech2 and  in the tonic       
strength of its roots he recognised     
quite a wonderful  affinity and relation
 to real music1 a quality which         
distinguished it  from the highly volved
 and artificially rhetorical ,latin     
languages4  ,wagner's poetry is eloquent
 of his affection for the ,german       
language1  and there is a heartiness and
 candour in his treatment of it which   
are  scarcely to be met with in any     
other ,german writer1 save perhaps      
,goethe4 ,forcibleness of diction1      
daring brevity1 power and variety in    
rhythm1 a remarkable wealth of strong   
and striking words1 simplicity  in      
construction1 an almost unique inventive
 faculty in regard to  fluctuations of  
feeling and presentiment1 and           
therewithal a perfectly  pure and       
overflowing stream of                   
colloquialisms--these are the qualities 
that have to be enumerated1 and even    
then the greatest and most  wonderful of

 all is omitted4 ,whoever reads two such
 poems as ,tristan  and the             
,meistersingers consecutively will be   
just as astonished and  doubtful in     
regard to the language as to the music2 
for he will wonder  how it could have   
been possible for a creative spirit to  
dominate so  perfectly two worlds as    
different in form1 colour1 and          
arrangement1 as  in soul4 ,this is the  
most wonderful achievement of ,wagner's 
talent2  for the ability to give every  
work its own linguistic stamp and to    
find a fresh body and a new sound for   
every thought is a task which  only the 
great master can successfully           
accomplish4 ,where this rarest  of all  
powers manifests itself1 adverse        
criticism can be but petty and          
fruitless which confines itself to      
attacks upon certain excesses and       
eccentricities in the treatment1 or upon
 the more frequent obscurities  of      
expression and ambiguity of thought4    
,moreover1 what seemed to  electrify and

 scandalise those who were most bitter  
in their criticism  was not so much the 
language as the spirit of the ,wagnerian
  operas--that is to say1 his whole     
manner of feeling and suffering4 ,it    
were well to wait until these very      
critics have acquired another  spirit   
themselves2 they will then also speak a 
different tongue1 and1  by that time1 it
 seems to me things will go better with 
the ,german  language than they do at   
present4    ,in the first place1        
however1 no one who studies ,wagner the 
poet and  word-painter should forget    
that none of his dramas were meant to be
  read1 and that it would therefore be  
unjust to judge them from the  same     
standpoint as the spoken drama4 ,the    
latter plays upon the  feelings by means
 of words and ideas1 and in this respect
 it is under  the dominion of the laws  
of rhetoric4 ,but in real life passion  
is  seldom eloquent3 in spoken drama it 
perforce must be1 in order to be  able  
to express itself at all4 ,when1        

however1 the language of a people  is   
already in a state of decay and         
deterioration1 the word-dramatist  is   
tempted to impart an undue proportion of
 new colour and form both  to his medium
 and to his thoughts2 he would elevate  
the language in  order to make it a     
vehicle capable of conveying lofty      
feelings1 and by  so doing he runs the  
risk of becoming abstruse4 ,by means of 
sublime  phrases and conceits he        
likewise tries to invest passion with   
some  nobility1 and thereby runs yet    
another risk1 that of appearing false   
and artificial4 ,for in real life       
passions do not speak in sentences1  and
 the poetical element often draws       
suspicion upon their genuineness  when  
it departs too palpably from reality4   
,now ,wagner1 who was the  first to     
detect the essential feeling in spoken  
drama1 presents every  dramatic action  
threefold3 in a word1 in a gesture1 and 
in a sound4  ,for1 as a matter of fact1 
music succeeds in conveying the deepest 

emotions of the dramatic performers     
direct to the spectators1 and  while    
these see the evidence of the actors'   
states of soul in their  bearing and    
movements1 a third though more feeble   
confirmation of  these states1          
translated into conscious will1 quickly 
follows in the  form of the spoken word4
 ,all these effects fulfil their purpose
  simultaneously1 without disturbing one
 another in the least1 and urge  the    
spectator to a completely new           
understanding and sympathy1 just as  if 
his senses had suddenly grown more      
spiritual and his spirit more  sensual1 
and as if everything which seeks an     
outlet in him1 and which  makes him     
thirst for knowledge1 were free and     
joyful in exultant  perception4 ,because
 every essential factor in a ,wagnerian 
drama is  conveyed to the spectator with
 the utmost clearness1 illumined and    
permeated throughout by music as by an  
internal flame1 their author  can       
dispense with the expedients usually    

employed by the writer of the  spoken   
play in order to lend light and warmth  
to the action4 ,the whole  of the       
dramatist's stock in trade could be more
 simple1 and the  architect's sense of  
rhythm could once more dare to manifest 
itself in  the general proportions of   
the edifice2 for there was no more need 
of  the deliberate confusion and        
involved variety of tyles1 whereby the  
ordinary playwright strove in the       
interests of his work to produce  that  
feeling of wonder and thrilling suspense
 which he ultimately  enhanced to one of
 delighted amazement4 ,the impression of
 ideal  distance and height was no more 
to be induced by means of tricks and    
artifices4 ,language withdrew itself    
from the length and breadth of  rhetoric
 into the strong confines of the speech 
of the feelings1 and  although the actor
 spoke much less about all he did and   
felt in the  performance1 his innermost 
sentiments1 which the ordinary          
playwright  had hitherto ignored for    

fear of being undramatic1 was now able  
to  drive the spectators to passionate  
sympathy1 while the accompanying        
language of gestures could be restricted
 to the most delicate  modulations4     
,now1 when passions are rendered in     
song1 they require  rather more time    
than when conveyed by speech2 music     
prolongs1 so to  speak1 the duration of 
the feeling1 from which it follows1 as a
 rule1  that the actor who is also a    
singer must overcome the extremely      
unplastic animation from which spoken   
drama suffers4 ,he feels himself        
incited all the more to a certain       
nobility of bearing1 because music      
envelopes his feelings in a purer       
atmosphere1 and thus brings them  closer
 to beauty4    ,the extraordinary tasks 
which ,wagner set his actors and singers
 will  provoke rivalry between them for 
ages to come1 in the personification  of
 each of his heroes with the greatest   
possible amount of clearness1           
perfection1 and fidelity1 according to  

that perfect incorporation  already     
typified by the music of drama4         
,following this leader1 the eye  of the 
plastic artist will ultimately behold   
the marvels of another  visible world1  
which1 previous to him1 was seen for the
 first time  only by the creator of such
 works as the ,ring of the ,nibelung    
--that  creator of highest rank1 who1   
like ,a,eschylus1 points the way to a   
coming art4 ,must not jealousy awaken   
the greatest talent1 if the  plastic    
artist ever compares the effect of his  
productions with that  of ,wagnerian    
music1 in which there is so much pure   
and sunny happiness  that he who hears  
it feels as though all previous music   
had been but  an alien1 faltering1 and  
constrained language2 as though in the  
past  it had been but a thing to sport  
with in the presence of those who  were 
not deserving of serious treatment1 or a
 thing with which to  train and instruct
 those who were not even deserving of   
play8 ,in the  case of this earlier kind

 of music1 the joy we always experience 
while  listening to ,wagner's           
compositions is ours only for a short   
space of  time1 and it would then seem  
as though it were overtaken by certain  
rare moments of forgetfulness1 during   
which it appears to be communing  with  
its inner self and directing its eyes   
upwards1 like ,raphael's  ,cecilia1 away
 from the listeners and from all those  
who demand  distraction1 happiness1 or  
instruction from it4    ,in general it  
may be said of ,wagner the ,musician1   
that he endowed  everything in nature   
which hitherto had had no wish to speak 
with the  power of speech3 he refuses to
 admit that anything must be dumb1 and1 
resorting to the dawn1 the forest1 the  
mist1 the cliffs1 the hills1  the thrill
 of night and the moonlight1 he observes
 a desire common to  them all--they too 
wish to sing their own melody4 ,if the  
philosopher  says it is will that       
struggles for existence in animate and  
inanimate  nature1 the musician adds3   

,and this will wherever it manifests    
itself1  yearns for a melodious         
existence4    ,before ,wagner's time1   
music for the most part moved in narrow 
limits3  it concerned itself with the   
permanent states of man1 or with what   
the  ,greeks call ethos4 ,and only with 
,beethoven did it begin to find the     
language of pathos1 of passionate will1 
and of the dramatic  occurrences in the 
souls of men4 ,formerly1 what people    
desired was to  interpret a mood1 a     
stolid1 merry1 reverential1 or          
penitential state  of mind1 by means of 
music2 the object was1 by means of a    
certain  striking uniformity of         
treatment and the prolonged duration of 
this  uniformity1 to compel the listener
 to grasp the meaning of the music  and 
to impose its mood upon him4 ,to all    
such interpretations of mood  or        
atmosphere1 distinct and particular     
forms of treatment were  necessary3     
others were established by convention4  
,the question of  length was left to the

 discretion of the musician1 whose aim  
was not  only to put the listener into a
 certain mood1 but also to avoid        
rendering that mood monotonous by unduly
 protracting it4 ,a further  stage was  
reached when the interpretations of     
contrasted moods were  made to follow   
one upon the other1 and the charm of    
light and shade  was discovered2 and yet
 another step was made when the same    
piece of  music was allowed to contain a
 contrast of the ethos--for instance1   
the contest between a male and a female 
theme4 ,all these1 however1 are  crude  
and primitive stages in the development 
of music4 ,the fear of  passion         
suggested the first rule1 and the fear  
of monotony the second2  all depth of   
feeling and any excess thereof were     
regarded as  unethical4 ,once1 however1 
the art of the ethos had repeatedly been
  made to ring all the changes on the   
moods and situations which  convention  
had decreed as suitable1 despite the    
most astounding  resourcefulness on the 

part of its masters1 its powers were    
exhausted4  ,beethoven was the first to 
make music speak a new language--till   
then  forbidden--the language of        
passion2 but as his art was based upon  
the  laws and conventions of the        
,,ethos1 and had to attempt to justify  
itself in regard to them1 his artistic  
development was beset with  peculiar    
difficulties and obscurities4 ,an inner 
dramatic factor--and  every passion     
pursues a dramatic course--struggled to 
obtain a new  form1 but the traditional 
scheme of mood music stood in its way1  
and  protested--almost after the manner 
in which morality opposes  innovations  
and immorality4 ,it almost seemed1      
therefore1 as if  ,beethoven had set    
himself the contradictory task of       
expressing pathos  in the terms of the  
ethos4 ,this view does not1 however1    
apply to  ,beethoven's latest and       
greatest works2 for he really did       
succeed in  discovering a novel method  
of expressing the grand and vaulting    

arch  of passion4 ,he merely selected   
certain portions of its curve2 imparted 
these with the utmost clearness to his  
listeners1 and then left it to  them to 
divine its whole span4 ,viewed          
superficially1 the new form  seemed     
rather like an aggregation of several   
musical compositions1 of  which every   
one appeared to represent a sustained   
situation1 but was  in reality but a    
momentary stage in the dramatic course  
of a passion4  ,the listener might think
 that he was hearing the old mood music 
over  again1 except that he failed to   
grasp the relation of the various  parts
 to one another1 and these no longer    
conformed with the canon of  the law4   
,even among minor musicians1 there      
flourished a certain  contempt for the  
rule which enjoined harmony in the      
general  construction of a composition  
and the sequence of the parts in their  
works still remained arbitrary4 ,then1  
owing to a misunderstanding1 the        
discovery of the majestic treatment of  

passion led back to the use of  the     
single movement with an optional        
setting1 and the tension between  the   
parts thus ceased completely4 ,that is  
why the symphony1 as  ,beethoven        
understood it1 is such a wonderfully    
obscure production1  more especially    
when1 here and there1 it makes faltering
 attempts at  rendering ,beethoven's    
pathos4 ,the means ill befit the        
intention1 and  the intention is1 on the
 whole1 not sufficiently clear to the   
listener1 because it was never really   
clear1 even in the mind of the          
composer4 ,but the very injunction that 
something definite must be  imparted1   
and that this must be done as distinctly
 as possible1  becomes ever more and    
more essential1 the higher1 more        
difficult1 and  more exacting the class 
of work happens to be4    ,that is why  
all ,wagner's efforts were concentrated 
upon the one object  of discovering     
those means which best served the       
purpose of  distinctness1 and to this   

end it was above all necessary for him  
to  emancipate himself from all the     
prejudices and claims of the old  mood  
music1 and to give his compositions--the
 musical  interpretations of feelings   
and passion--a perfectly unequivocal    
mode  of expression4 ,if we now turn to 
what he has achieved1 we see that his   
services to music are practically equal 
in rank to those which that             
sculptor-inventor rendered to sculpture 
who introduced sculpture in  the round4 
,all previous music seems stiff and     
uncertain when compared  with ,wagner's1
 just as though it were ashamed and did 
not wish to be  inspected from all      
sides4 ,with the most consummate skill  
and  precision1 ,wagner avails himself  
of every degree and colour in the  realm
 of feeling2 without the slightest      
hesitation or fear of its  escaping him1
 he seizes upon the most delicate1      
rarest1 and mildest  emotion1 and holds 
it fast1 as though it had hardened at   
his touch1  despite the fact that it may

 seem like the frailest butterfly to    
every  one else4 ,his music is never    
vague or dreamy2 everything that is     
allowed to speak through it1 whether it 
be of man or of nature1 has a  strictly 
individual passion2 storm and fire      
acquire the ruling power  of a personal 
will in his hands4 ,over all the        
clamouring characters  and the clash of 
their passions1 over the whole torrent  
of contrasts1  an almighty and symphonic
 understanding hovers with perfect      
serenity1  and continually produces     
concord out of war4 ,taken as a whole1  
,wagner's music is a reflex of the world
 as it was understood by the  great     
,ephesian poet--that is to say1 a       
harmony resulting from strife1  as the  
union of justice and enmity4 ,i admire  
the ability which could  describe the   
grand line of universal passion out of a
 confusion of  passions which all seem  
to be striking out in different         
directions3  the fact that this was a   
possible achievement ,i find            

demonstrated in  every individual act of
 a ,wagnerian drama1 which describes the
  individual history of various         
characters side by side with a general  
history of the whole company4 ,even at  
the very beginning we know we  are      
watching a host of cross currents       
dominated by one great violent  stream2 
and though at first this stream moves   
unsteadily over hidden  reefs1 and the  
torrent seems to be torn asunder as if  
it were  travelling towards different   
points1 gradually we perceive the       
central  and general movement growing   
stronger and more rapid1 the convulsive 
fury of the contending waters is        
converted into one broad1 steady1 and   
terrible flow in the direction of an    
unknown goal2 and suddenly1 at  the end1
 the whole flood in all its breadth     
plunges into the depths1  rejoicing     
demoniacally over the abyss and all its 
uproar4 ,wagner is  never more himself  
than when he is overwhelmed with        
difficulties and  can exercise power on 

a large scale with all the joy of a     
lawgiver4 ,to  bring restless and       
contending masses into simple rhythmic  
movement1  and to exercise one will over
 a bewildering host of claims and       
desires--these are the tasks for which  
he feels he was born1 and in  the       
performance of which he finds freedom4  
,and he never loses his  breath withal1 
nor does he ever reach his goal panting4
 ,he strove just  as persistently to    
impose the severest laws upon himself as
 to lighten  the burden of others in    
this respect4 ,life and art weigh       
heavily upon  him when he cannot play   
wit their most difficult questions4 ,if 
one  considers the relation between the 
melody of song and that of speech1  one 
will perceive how he sought to adopt as 
his natural model the  pitch1 strength1 
and tempo of the passionate man's voice 
in order to  transform it into art2 and 
if one further considers the task of    
introducing this singing passion into   
the general symphonic order of  music1  

one gets some idea of the stupendous    
difficulties he had to  overcome4 ,in   
this behalf1 his inventiveness in small 
things as in  great1 his omniscience and
 industry are such1 that at the sight of
 one  of ,wagner's scores one is almost 
led to believe that no real work or     
effort had ever existed before his time4
 ,it seems almost as if he too  could   
have said1 in regard to the hardships of
 art1 that the real  virtue of the      
dramatist lies in self-renunciation4    
,but he would  probably have added1     
,there is but one kind of hardship--    
that of the  artist who is not yet free3
 virtue and goodness are trivial        
accomplishments4    ,viewing him        
generally as an artist1 and calling to  
mind a more famous  type1 we see that   
,wagner is not at all unlike            
,demosthenes3 in him also  we have the  
terrible earnestness of purpose and that
 strong prehensile  mind which always   
obtains a complete grasp of a thing2 in 
him1 too1 we  have the hand's quick     

clutch and the grip as of iron4 ,like   
,demosthenes1 he conceals his art or    
compels one to forget it by the         
peremptory way he calls attention to the
 subject he treats2 and yet1  like his  
great predecessor1 he is the last and   
greatest of a whole  line of            
artist-minds1 and therefore has more to 
conceal than his  forerunners3 his art  
acts like nature1 like nature recovered 
and  restored4 ,unlike all previous     
musicians1 there is nothing bombastic   
about him2 for the former did not mind  
playing at times with their  art1 and   
making an exhibition of their           
virtuosity4 ,one associates  ,wagner's  
art neither with interest nor with      
diversion1 nor with ,wagner  himself and
 art in general4 ,all one is conscious  
of is of the great  necessity of it all4
 ,no one will ever be able to appreciate
 what  severity evenness of will1 and   
self-control the artist required during 
his development1 in order1 at his       
zenith1 to be able to do the  necessary 

thing joyfully and freely4 ,let it      
suffice if we can  appreciate how1 in   
some respects1 his music1 with a certain
 cruelty  towards itself1 determines to 
subserve the course of the drama1 which 
is as unrelenting as fate1 whereas in   
reality his art was ever  thirsting for 
a free ramble in the open and over the  
wilderness4                             
,x4    ,an artist who has this empire   
over himself subjugates all other       
artists1 even though he may not         
particularly desire to do so4 ,for him  
alone there lies no danger or           
stemming-force in those he has          
subjugated--his friends and his         
adherents2 whereas the weaker natures   
who learn to rely on their friends pay  
for this reliance by forfeiting  their  
independence4 ,it is very wonderful to  
observe how carefully1  throughout his  
life1 ,wagner avoided anything in the   
nature of heading  a party1             
notwithstanding the fact that at the    
close of every phase in  his career a   

circle of adherents formed1 presumably  
with the view of  holding him fast to   
his latest development ,he always       
succeeded1  however1 in wringing himself
 free from them1 and never allowed      
himself  to be bound2 for not only was  
the ground he covered too vast for one  
alone to keep abreast of him with any   
ease1 but his way was so  exceptionally 
steep that the most devoted would have  
lost his breath4  ,at almost every stage
 in ,wagner's progress his friends would
 have  liked to preach to him1 and his  
enemies would fain have done so         
too--but for other reasons4 ,had the    
purity of his artist's nature been  one 
degree less decided than it was1 he     
would have attained much  earlier than  
he actually did to the leading position 
in the artistic  and musical world of   
his time4 ,true1 he has reached this    
now1 but in a  much higher sense1 seeing
 that every performance to be witnessed 
in  any department of art makes its     
obeisance1 so to speak1 before the      

judgment-stool of his genius and of his 
artistic temperament4 ,he has  overcome 
the most refractory of his              
contemporaries2 there is not one  gifted
 musician among them but in his         
innermost heart would willingly  listen 
to him1 and find ,wagner's compositions 
more worth listening to  than his own   
and all other musical productions taken 
together4 ,many  who wish1 by hook or by
 crook1 to make their mark1 even wrestle
 with  ,wagner's secret charm1 and      
unconsciously throw in their lot with   
the  older masters1 preferring to       
ascribe their independence to ,schubert 
or ,handel rather than to ,wagner4 ,but 
in vain6 ,thanks to their very  efforts 
in contending against the dictates of   
their own consciences1  they become ever
 meaner and smaller artists2 they ruin  
their own  natures by forcing themselves
 to tolerate undesirable allies and     
friends ,and in spite of all these      
sacrifices1 they still find perhaps  in 
their dreams1 that their ear turns      

attentively to ,wagner4 ,these          
adversaries are to be pitied3 they      
imagine they lose a great deal when     
they lose themselves1 but here they are 
mistaken4    ,albeit it is obviously all
 one to ,wagner whether musicians       
compose in  his style1 or whether they  
compose at all1 he even does his utmost 
to  dissipate the belief that a school  
of composers should now necessarily     
follow in his wake2 though1 in so far as
 he exercises a direct  influence upon  
musicians1 he does indeed try to        
instruct them  concerning the art of    
grand execution4 ,in his opinion1 the   
evolution  of art seems to have reached 
that stage when the honest endeavour to 
become an able and masterly exponent or 
interpreter is ever so much  more worth 
talking about than the longing to be a  
creator at all  costs4 ,for1 at the     
present stage of art1 universal creating
 has this  fatal result1 that inasmuch  
as it encourages a much larger output1  
it  tends to exhaust the means and      

artifices of genius by everyday use1    
and thus to reduce the real grandeur of 
its effect4 ,even that which is  good in
 art is superfluous and detrimental when
 it proceeds from the  imitation of what
 is best4 ,wagnerian ends and means are 
of one piece3  to perceive this1 all    
that is required is honesty in art      
matters1 and  it would be dishonest to  
adopt his means in order to apply them  
to  other and less significant ends4    
,if1 therefore1 ,wagner declines to live
 on amid a multitude of creative        
musicians1 he is only the more desirous 
of imposing upon all men of  talent the 
new duty of joining him in seeking the  
law of style for  dramatic performances4
 ,he deeply feels the need of           
establishing a  traditional style for   
his art1 by means of which his work may 
continue  to live from one age to       
another in a pure form1 until it reaches
 that  future which its creator ordained
 for it4    ,wagner is impelled by an   
undaunted longing to make known         

everything  relating to that foundation 
of a style1 mentioned above1 and1       
accordingly1 everything relating to the 
continuance of his art4 ,to  make his   
work--as ,schopenhauer would say-- a    
sacred depository and the  real fruit of
 his life1 as well as the inheritance of
 mankind1 and to  store it for the      
benefit of a posterity better able to   
appreciate  it1--these were the supreme 
objects of his life1 and for these he   
bore  that crown of thorns which1 one   
day1 will shoot forth leaves of bay4    
,like the insect which1 in its last     
form1 concentrates all its energies     
upon the one object of finding a safe   
depository for its eggs and of  ensuring
 the future welfare of its posthumous   
brood1--then only to die  content1 so   
,wagner strove with equal determination 
to find a place of  security for his    
works4    ,this subject1 which took     
precedence of all others with him1      
constantly  incited him to new          
discoveries2 and these he sought ever   

more and more  at the spring of his     
demoniacal gift of communicability1 the 
more  distinctly he saw himself in      
conflict with an age that was both      
perverse and unwilling to lend him its  
ear4 ,gradually however1 even  this same
 age began to mark his indefatigable    
efforts1 to respond to  his subtle      
advances1 and to turn its ear to him4   
,whenever a small or a  great           
opportunity arose1 however far away1    
which suggested to ,wagner a  means     
wherewith to explain his thoughts1 he   
availed himself of it3 he  thought his  
thoughts anew into every fresh set of   
circumstances1 and  would make them     
speak out of the most paltry bodily     
form4 ,whenever a  soul only half       
capable of comprehending him opened     
itself to him1 he  never failed to      
implant his seed in it4 ,he saw hope in 
things which  caused the average        
dispassionate observer merely to shrug  
his  shoulders2 and he erred again and  
again1 only so as to be able to  carry  

his point against that same observer4   
,just as the sage1 in  reality1 mixes   
with living men only for the purpose of 
increasing his  store of knowledge1 so  
the artist would almost seem to be      
unable to  associate with his           
contemporaries at all1 unless they be   
such as can  help him towards making his
 work eternal4 ,he cannot be loved      
otherwise  than with the love of this   
eternity1 and thus he is conscious only 
of  one kind of hatred directed at him1 
the hatred which would demolish  the    
bridges bearing his art into the future4
 ,the pupils ,wagner  educated for his  
own purpose1 the individual musicians   
and actors whom  he advised and whose   
ear he corrected and improved1 the small
 and  large orchestras he led1 the towns
 which witnessed him earnestly          
fulfilling the duties of ws calling1 the
 princes and ladies who half  boastfully
 and half lovingly participated in the  
framing of his plans1  the various      
,european countries to which he         

temporarily belonged as the  judge and  
evil conscience of their                
arts1--everything gradually became  the 
echo of his thought and of his          
indefatigable efforts to attain to      
fruitfulness in the future4 ,although   
this echo often sounded so  discordant  
as to confuse him1 still the tremendous 
power of his voice  repeatedly crying   
out into the world must in the end call 
forth  reverberations1 and it will soon 
be impossible to be deaf to him or to   
misunderstand him4 ,it is this reflected
 sound which even now causes  the       
art-institutions of modern men to shake3
 every time the breath of  his spirit   
blew into these coverts1 all that was   
overripe or withered  fell to the       
ground2 but the general increase of     
scepticism in all  directions speaks    
more eloquently than all this trembling4
 ,nobody any  longer dares to predict   
where ,wagner's influence may not       
unexpectedly  break out4 ,he is quite   
unable to divorce the salvation of art  

from any  other salvation or damnation3 
wherever modern life conceals a danger1 
he1 with the discriminating eye of      
mistrust1 perceives a danger            
threatening art4 ,in his imagination he 
pulls the edifice of modern             
civilisation to pieces1 and allows      
nothing rotten1 no unsound  timber-work 
to escape3 if in the process he should  
happen to encounter  weather-tight walls
 or anything like solid foundations1 he 
immediately  casts about for means      
wherewith he can convert them into      
bulwarks and  shelters for his art4 ,he 
lives like a fugitive1 whose will is not
 to  preserve his own life1 but to keep 
a secret-- like an unhappy woman  who   
does not wish to save her own soul1 but 
that of the child lying in  her lap3 in 
short1 he lives like ,sieglinde1 for the
 sake of love4    ,for life must indeed 
be full of pain and shame to one who can
 find  neither rest nor shelter in this 
world1 and who must nevertheless  appeal
 to it1 exact things from it1 contemn   

it1 and still be unable to  dispense    
with the thing contemned1 --this really 
constitutes the  wretchedness of the    
artist of the future1 who1 unlike the   
philosopher1  cannot prosecute his work 
alone in the seclusion of a study1 but  
who  requires human souls as messengers 
to this future1 public institutions  as 
a guarantee of it1 and1 as it were1     
bridges between now and  hereafter4 ,his
 art may not1 like the philosopher's1 be
 put aboard the  boat of written        
documents3 art needs capable men1 not   
letters and  notes1 to transmit it4     
,over whole periods in ,wagner's life   
rings a  murmur of distress--his        
distress at not being able to meet with 
these  capable interpreters before whom 
he longed to execute examples of his    
work1 instead of being confined to      
written symbols2 before whom he  yearned
 to practise his art1 instead of showing
 a pallid reflection of  it to those who
 read books1 and who1 generally         
speaking1 therefore are  not artists4   

,in ,wagner the man of letters we see   
the struggle of a brave fighter1  whose 
right hand has1 as it were1 been lopped 
off1 and who has  continued the contest 
with his left4 ,in his writings he is   
always the  sufferer1 because a         
temporary and insuperable destiny       
deprives him of  his own and the correct
 way of conveying his thoughts--that is 
to say1  in the form of apocalyptic and 
triumphant examples4 ,his writings      
contain nothing canonical or severe3 the
 canons are to be found in his  works as
 a whole4 ,their literary side          
represents his attempts to  understand  
the instinct which urged him to create  
his works and to get  a glimpse of      
himself through them4 ,if he succeeded  
in transforming his  instincts into     
terms of knowledge1 it was always with  
the hope that  the reverse process might
 take place in the souls of his         
readers--it  was with this intention    
that he wrote4 ,should it ultimately be 
proved  that1 in so doing1 ,wagner      

attempted the impossible1 he would still
  only share the lot of all those who   
have meditated deeply on art2 and  even 
so he would be ahead of most of them in 
this1 namely1 that the  strongest       
instinct for all arts harboured in him4 
,i know of no written  aesthetics that  
give more light than those of ,wagner2  
all that can  possibly be learnt        
concerning the origin of a work of art  
is to be  found in them4 ,he is one of  
the very great1 who appeared amongst us 
a  witness1 and who is continually      
improving his testimony and making it   
ever clearer and freer2 even when he    
stumbles as a scientist1 sparks  rise   
from the ground4 ,such tracts as        
,beethoven1 ,concerning the ,art  of    
,conducting1 ,concerning ,actors and    
,singers1 ,state and ,religion1  silence
 all contradiction1 and1 like sacred    
reliquaries1 impose upon  all who       
approach them a calm1 earnest1 and      
reverential regard4 ,others1  more      
particularly the earlier ones1 including

 ,opera and ,drama1  excite and agitate 
one2 their rhythm is so uneven that1 as 
prose they  are bewildering4 ,their     
dialectics is constantly interrupted1   
and their  course is more retarded than 
accelerated by outbursts of feeling2 a  
certain reluctance on the part of the   
writer seems to hang over them  like a  
pall1 just as though the artist were    
somewhat ashamed of  speculative        
discussions4 ,what the reader who is    
only imperfectly  initiated will        
probably find most oppressive is the    
general tone of  authoritative dignity  
which is peculiar to ,wagner1 and which 
is very  difficult to describe3 it      
always strikes me as though ,wagner were
  continually addressing enemies2 for   
the style of all these tracts more      
resembles that of the spoken than of the
 written language1 hence they  will seem
 much more intelligible if heard read   
aloud1 in the presence  of his enemies1 
with whom he cannot be on familiar      
terms1 and towards  whom he must        

therefore show some reserve and         
aloofness1 ,the entrancing  passion of  
his feelings1 however1 constantly       
pierces this intentional  disguise1 and 
then the stilted and heavy periods1     
swollen with  accessary words1 vanish1  
and his pen dashes off sentences1 and   
even  whole pages1 which belong to the  
best in ,german prose4 ,but even        
admitting that while he wrote such      
passages he was addressing friends1  and
 that the shadow of his enemies had been
 removed for a while1 all  the friends  
and enemies that ,wagner1 as a man of   
letters1 has1 possess  one factor in    
common1 which differentiates them       
fundamentally from the  people for whom 
he worked as an artist4 ,owing to the   
refining and  fruitless nature of their 
education1 they are quite devoid of the 
essential traits of the national        
character1 and he who would appeal to   
them must speak in a way which is not of
 the people--that is to say1  after the 
manner of our best prose-writers and    

,wagner himself2 though  that he did    
violence to himself in writing thus is  
evident4 ,but the  strength of that     
almost maternal instinct of prudence in 
him1 which is  ready to make any        
sacrifice1 rather tends to reinstall him
 among the  scholars and men of         
learning1 to whom as a creator he always
 longed to  bid farewell4 ,he submits to
 the language of culture and all the    
laws  governing its use1 though he was  
the first to recognise its profound     
insufficiency as a means of             
communication4    ,for if there is      
anything that distinguishes his art from
 every other  art of modern times1 it is
 that it no longer speaks the language  
of  any particular caste1 and refuses to
 admit the distinctions literate  and   
illiterate4 ,it thus stands as a        
contrast to every culture of the        
,renaissance1 which to this day still   
bathes us modern men in its light  and  
shade4 ,inasmuch as ,wagner's art bears 
us1 from time to time1  beyond itself1  

we are enabled to get a general view of 
its uniform  character3 we see ,goethe  
and ,leopardi as the last great         
stragglers of  the ,italian             
philologist-poets1 ,faust as the        
incarnation of a most  unpopular        
problem1 in the form of a man of theory 
thirsting for life2  even ,goethe's song
 is an imitation of the song of the     
people rather  than a standard set      
before them to which they are expected  
to attain1  and the poet knew very well 
how truly he spoke when he seriously    
assured his adherents3 ,my compositions 
cannot become popular2 he who  hopes and
 strives to make them so is mistaken4   
,that an art could arise which would be 
so clear and warm as to flood  the base 
and the poor in spirit with its light1  
as well as to melt the  haughtiness of  
the learned--such a phenomenon had to be
 experienced  though it could not be    
guessed4 ,but even in the mind of him   
who  experiences it to-day it must upset
 all preconceived notions  concerning   

education and culture2 to such an one   
the veil will seem to  have been rent in
 twain that conceals a future in which  
no highest  good or highest joys exist  
that are not the common property of all4
  ,the odium attaching to the word      
common will then be abolished4    ,if   
presentiment venture thus into the      
remote future1 the discerning  eye of   
all will recognise the dreadful social  
insanity of our present  age1 and will  
no longer blind itself to the dangers   
besetting an art  which seems to have   
roots only in the remote and distant    
future1 and  which allows its burgeoning
 branches to spread before our gaze when
 it  has not yet revealed the ground    
from which it draws its sap4 ,how can   
we protect this homeless art through the
 ages until that remote future  is      
reached8 ,how can we so dam the flood of
 a revolution seemingly  inevitable     
everywhere1 that the blessed prospect   
and guarantee of a  better future--of a 
freer human life--shall not also be     

washed away  with all that is destined  
to perish and deserves to perish8    ,he
 who asks himself this question shares  
,wagner's care3 he will feel  himself   
impelled with ,wagner to seek those     
established powers that  have the       
goodwill to protect the noblest passions
 of man during the  period of           
earthquakes and upheavals4 ,in this     
sense alone ,wagner  questions the      
learned through his writings1 whether   
they intend  storing his legacy to      
them--the precious ,ring of his         
art--among their  other treasures4 ,and 
even the wonderful confidence which he  
reposes in  the ,german mind and the    
aims of ,german politics seems to me to 
arise  from the fact that he grants the 
people of the ,reformation that         
strength1 mildness1 and bravery which is
 necessary in order to divert  the      
torrent of revolution into the tranquil 
river-bed of a calmly  flowing stream of
 humanity3 and ,i could almost believe  
that this and  only this is what he     

meant to express by means of the symbol 
of his  ,imperial march4    ,as a rule1 
though1 the generous impulses of the    
creative artist and  the extent of his  
philanthropy are too great for his gaze 
to be  confined within the limits of a  
single nation4 ,his thoughts1 like      
those of every good and great ,german1  
are more than ,german1 and the  language
 of his art does not appeal to          
particular races but to mankind  in     
general4    ,but to the men of the      
future4    ,this is the belief that is  
proper to him2 this is his torment and  
his  distinction4 ,no artist1 of what   
past soever1 has yet received such a    
remarkable portion of genius2 no one1   
save him1 has ever been obliged  to mix 
this bitterest of ingredients with the  
drink of nectar to which  enthusiasm    
helped him4 ,it is not as one might     
expect1 the  misunderstood and          
mishandled artist1 the fugitive of his  
age1 who  adopted this faith in         
self-defence3 success or failure at the 

hands of  his contemporaries was unable 
either to create or to destroy it       
,whether it glorified or reviled him1 he
 did not belong to this  generation3    
that was the conclusion to which his    
instincts led him4  ,and the possibility
 of any generation's ever belonging to  
him is  something which he who          
disbelieves in ,wagner can never be made
 to  admit4 ,but even this unbeliever   
may at least ask1 what kind of          
generation it will be in which ,wagner  
will recognise his people1 and  in which
 he will see the type of all those who  
suffer a common  distress1 and who wish 
to escape from it by means of an art    
common to  them all4 ,schiller was      
certainly more hopeful and sanguine2 he 
did not  ask what a future must be like 
if the instinct of the artist that      
predicts it prove true2 his command to  
every artist was rather--    ,soar aloft
 in daring flight ,out of sight of thine
 own years6 ,in thy  mirror1 gleaming   
bright1 ,glimpse of distant dawn        

appears4                                
,,xi4    ,may blessed reason preserve us
 from ever thinking that mankind will at
  any time discover a final and ideal   
order of things1 and that  happiness    
will then and ever after beam down upon 
us uniformly1 like  the rays of the sun 
in the tropics4 ,wagner has nothing to  
do with such  a hope2 he is no ,utopian4
 ,if he was unable to dispense with the 
belief  in a future1 it only meant that 
he observed certain properties in       
modern men which he did not hold to be  
essential to their nature1 and  which   
did not seem to him to form any         
necessary part of their  constitution2  
in fact1 which were changeable and      
transient2 and that  precisely owing to 
these properties art would find no home 
among them1  and he himself had to be   
the precursor and prophet of another    
epoch4  ,no golden age1 no cloudless sky
 will fall to the portion of those      
future generations1 which his instinct  
led him to expect1 and whose            

approximate characteristics may be      
gleaned from the cryptic characters  of 
his art1 in so far as it is possible to 
draw conclusions concerning  the nature 
of any pain from the kind of relief it  
seeks4 ,nor will  superhuman goodness   
and justice stretch like an everlasting 
rainbow  over this future land4 ,belike 
this coming generation will1 on the     
whole1 seem more evil than the present  
one--for in good as in evil it  will be 
more straightforward4 ,it is even       
possible1 if its soul were  ever able to
 speak out in full and unembarrassed    
tones1 that it might  convulse and      
terrify us1 as though the voice of some 
hitherto  concealed and evil spirit had 
suddenly cried out in our midst4 ,or how
  do the following propositions strike  
our ears8--,that passion is better  than
 stocism or hypocrisy2 that             
straightforwardness1 even in evil1 is   
better than losing oneself in trying to 
observe traditional morality2  that the 
free man is just as able to be good as  

evil1 but that the  unemancipated man is
 a disgrace to nature1 and has no share 
in  heavenly or earthly bliss2 finally1 
that all who wish to be free must       
become so through themselves1 and that  
freedom falls to nobody's lot  as a gift
 from ,heaven4 ,however harsh and       
strange these propositions  may sound1  
they are nevertheless reverberations    
from that future  world1 which is verily
 in need of art1 and which expects      
genuine  pleasure from its presence2    
they are the language of                
nature--reinstated even in mankind2 they
 stand for what ,i have already  termed 
correct feeling as opposed to the       
incorrect feeling that reigns  to-day4  
,but real relief or salvation exists    
only for nature not for that which  is  
contrary to nature or which arises out  
of incorrect feeling4 ,when  all that is
 unnatural becomes self-conscious1 it   
desires but one  thing--nonentity2 the  
natural thing1 on the other hand1 yearns
 to be  transfigured through love3 the  

former would fain not be1 the latter    
would fain be otherwise4 ,let him who   
has understood this recall1 in  the     
stillness of his soul1 the simple themes
 of ,wagner's art1 in order  to be able 
to ask himself whether it were nature or
 nature's opposite  which sought by     
means of them to achieve the aims just  
described4    ,the desperate vagabond   
finds deliverance from his distress in  
the  compassionate love of a woman who  
would rather die than be unfaithful  to 
him3 the theme of the ,flying ,dutchman4
 ,the sweet-heart1 renouncing  all      
personal happiness1 owing to a divine   
transformation of ,love into  ,charity1 
becomes a saint1 and saves the soul of  
her loved one3 the  theme of            
,tannhauser4 ,the sublimest and highest 
thing descends a  suppliant among men1  
and will not be questioned whence it    
came2 when1  however1 the fatal question
 is put1 it sorrowfully returns to its  
higher life3 the theme of ,lohengrin4   
,the loving soul of a wife1 and  the    

people besides1 joyfully welcome the new
 benevolent genius1  although the       
retainers of tradition and custom reject
 and revile him3  the theme of the      
,meistersingers4 ,of two lovers1 that do
 not know they  are loved1 who believe  
rather that they are deeply wounded and 
contemned1 each demands of the other    
that he or she should drink a cup  of   
deadly poison1 to all intents and       
purposes as an expiation of the  insult2
 in reality1 however1 as the result of  
an impulse which neither  of them       
understands3 through death they wish to 
escape all possibility  of separation or
 deceit4 ,the supposed approach of death
 loosens their  fettered souls and      
allows them a short moment of thrilling 
happiness1  just as though they had     
actually escaped from the present1 from 
illusions and from life3 the theme of   
,tristan and ,isolde4    ,in the ,ring  
of the ,nibelung the tragic hero is a   
god whose heart  yearns for power1 and  
who1 since he travels along all roads in

 search  of it1 finally binds himself to
 too many undertakings1 loses his       
freedom1 and is ultimately cursed by the
 curse inseparable from power4  ,he     
becomes aware of his loss of freedom    
owing to the fact that he no  longer has
 the means to take possession of the    
golden ,ring--that  symbol of all       
earthly power1 and also of the greatest 
dangers to  himself as long as it lies  
in the hands of his enemies4 ,the fear  
of  the end and the twilight of all gods
 overcomes him1 as also the  despair at 
being able only to await the end without
 opposing it4 ,he is  in need of the    
free and fearless man who1 without his  
advice or  assistance--even in a        
struggle against gods--can accomplish   
single-handed what is denied to the     
powers of a god4 ,he fails to see  him1 
and just as a new hope finds shape      
within him1 he must obey the  conditions
 to which he is bound3 with his own hand
 he must murder the  thing he most      
loves1 and purest pity must be punished 

by his sorrow4  ,then he begins to      
loathe power1 which bears evil and      
bondage in its  lap2 his will is broken1
 and he himself begins to hanker for the
 end  that threatens him from afar off4 
,at this juncture something happens     
which had long been the subject of his  
most ardent desire3 the free  and       
fearless man appears1 he rises in       
opposition to everything  accepted and  
established1 his parents atone for      
having been united by  a tie which was  
antagonistic to the order of nature and 
usage2 they  perish1 but ,siegfried     
survives4 ,and at the sight of his      
magnificent  development and bloom1 the 
loathing leaves otan's soul1 and he     
follows  the hero's history with the eye
 of fatherly love and anxiety4 ,how he  
forges his sword1 kills the dragon1 gets
 possession of the ring1  escapes the   
craftiest ruse1 awakens ,brunhilda2 how 
the curse abiding  in the ring gradually
 overtakes him2 how1 faithful in        
faithfulness1 he  wounds the thing he   

most loves1 out of love2 becomes        
enveloped in the  shadow and cloud of   
guilt1 and1 rising out of it more       
brilliantly than  the sun1 ultimately   
goes down1 firing the whole heavens with
 his  burning glow and purging the world
 of the curse1--all this is seen by  the
 god whose sovereign spear was broken in
 the contest with the  freest man1 and  
who lost his power through him1         
rejoicing greatly over  his own defeat3 
full of sympathy for the triumph and    
pain of his  victor1 his eye burning    
with aching joy looks back upon the last
  events2 he has become free through    
love1 free from himself4    ,and now ask
 yourselves1 ye generation of to-day1   
,was all this composed  for you8 ,have  
ye the courage to point up to the stars 
of the whole of  this heavenly dome of  
beauty and goodness and to say1 ,this is
 our  life1 that ,wagner has transferred
 to a place beneath the stars8    ,where
 are the men among you who are able to  
interpret the divine image  of ,wotan in

 the light of their own lives1 and who  
can become ever  greater while1 like    
him1 ye retreat8 ,who among you would   
renounce  power1 knowing and having     
learned that power is evil8 ,where are  
they  who like ,brunhilda abandon their 
knowledge to love1 and finally rob      
their lives of the highest wisdom1      
afflicted love1 deepest sorrow1  opened 
my eyes8 and where are the free and     
fearless1 developing and  blossoming in 
innocent egoism8 and where are the      
,siegfrieds1 among  you8    ,he who     
questions thus and does so in vain1 will
 find himself compelled  to look around 
him for signs of the future2 and should 
his eye1 on  reaching an unknown        
distance1 espy just that people which   
his own  generation can read out of the 
signs contained in ,wagnerian art1 he   
will then also understand what ,wagner  
will mean to this  people--something    
that he cannot be to all of us1 namely1 
not the  prophet of the future1 as      
perhaps he would fain appear to us1 but 

the  interpreter and clarifier of the   
past4