New Philosopher – July 2019

NewPhilosopher

his roof. Nietzsche became increas-
ingly argumentative with the man he
had previously put on a pedestal. Ni-
etzsche’s increasingly vociferous chal-
lenges to Wagner’s authority were, no
doubt, also fanned by barely conscious
feelings of sexual rivalry.
In 1876, open warfare broke out
between the two men and they took
turns publishing increasingly acrimo-
nious articles about each other. They
never spoke again.
Two years later, Nietzsche pub-
lished Human, All Too Human, aban-
doning the essayistic style of his earlier
works in favour of a series of pithy aph-
orisms. The title has been seen by some
as an expression of the philosopher’s
disillusionment with Wagner, but it
could equally be seen as an indictment
of himself for not having the courage to
act on his feelings for Cosima.
Nietzsche was estranged from
Wagner and Cosima until 1883,
when Wagner died of a heart attack
while arguing with Cosima about his
romantic interest in a singer called
Carrie Pringle. Even after that, as we
shall hear, Nietzsche made no effort to
contact Cosima for many years. Dur-
ing this period, Nietzsche made two
impetuous proposals: one to Latvian
piano student Mathilde Trampedach
and another to 19-year-old Russian
intellectual Lou Salomé. But he was
rebuffed on both occasions, and be-
came increasingly despondent. After
the rejection by Salomé, he seriously

WINNER

WRITERS’ AWARD XXIII:

BEING HUMAN

Writers’ Award XXIII: being human

Friedrich Nietzsche, by F. Hartmann

considered suicide, but instead threw

himself with increased vigour into his

writing, emerging with the master-

piece Thus Spake Zarathustra, in which

he declared that ‘God is Dead’, and

that we all should aspire to become

Übermenschen, self-actualised beings

who have no need to depend on one

another. Once again, the philosopher’s

personal life was spilling into his phi-

losophy, shaping the mood – and un-

derlying themes – of his ideas.

Nietzsche was, most likely, still a

virgin when, at the age of forty-four,

he collapsed on the streets of Turin

into an insanity from which he would

never return.

Just hours before he descended into

this dark delirium, Nietzsche posted a

series of cryptic letters. One went to

his best friend Franz Overbeck. An-

other went to Umberto I, King of Italy.

In January 1889, Cosima Wagner re-

ceived two letters. Both were signed by

‘Dionysius’, but Cosima instantly rec-

ognised the handwriting as that of her

long-lost friend. The first letter read:

To Princess Ariadne, My Beloved,

It is a mere prejudice that I am a

human being. Yet I have often enough

dwelled among human beings and I know

the things human beings experience, from

the last to the highest. Among the Hindus

I was Buddha, in Greece Dionysius – Al-

exander and Caesar were incarnations

of me, as well as the poet of Shakespeare,

[and] Lord Bacon. Most recently I was

Voltaire and Napoleon, perhaps also Rich-

ard Wagner... However, I now, as Dio-

nysius victorious ...will prepare a great

festival of Earth.... The heavens rejoice to

see me here... Dionysius.

The second letter was only five

words long, but revealed the secret that

Nietzsche’s unravelling brain could no

longer hide:

Ariadne, I love you! Dionysius.

Cosima would have known from

her Greek mythology that Ariadne was

rescued by Dionysius from the caddish

and boorish Theseus, who had aban-

doned her on the island of Naxos.

Two weeks later, when Nietzsche

• in a severely demented state – was
  admitted to an asylum in Jena, he told
  the receiving staff: “My wife, Cosima
  Wagner, has brought me here.”