Daybreak and Grand inspiration 219day experiences and the sphere of philosophy. The image of morning
awakening is perhaps too cheerful, since it fails to take into account that
a rupture in consciousness and a temporary deprivation of the world
can be distressing. According to Nietzsche, however, we are compen-
sated for this distress when we discover a highly diverse inner ontology,
a richly diverse realm of what is stimulating and real. The objects of
memory, fear, longing, hope, and thought represent just as many "reali-
ties," which inundate the neat divisions of subject and object. Nietzsche
reveled in the images of great currents, oceanic expanses, and depar-
tures to new shores. Envisioning himself as the second Columbus, he
stood poised at the shores of Genoa, brimming with the desire to put
out to sea. "We aeronauts of the spirit!" was his heading for the final
aphorism of Daybreak (3,331 \D § 575).
In the winter of 1880-81 in Genoa, Nietzsche finished his work on
Daybreak and spent the first few months of 1881 revising the galleys. He
then suggested to his old friend Gersdorff, with whom he had had a
strained relationship after he voiced objections to Gersdorff's marriage
plans, that they spend a year or two in Tunis. Nietzsche was attracted to
the sun, the bright desert, and the dry climate as well as the promise of
a new beginning. The phenomenologist in him longed to see his old
Europe in a new light from the vantage point of distance. "I want to live
among Muslims for a good long time, especially where their faith is most
devout: in this way I expect to hone my appraisement and my eye for all
that is European" (.Β 6,68; March 13,1881).
Gersdorff was hesitant about embarking on this journey, and
Nietzsche decided against Tunisia when war broke out there. Then his
thoughts turned to Mexican mesas. Why remain in Europe, he reasoned,
if his works would ensure his lasting reputation anyway? Nietzsche
knew that his time would come. Despite recurrent bouts of illness,
Nietzsche's spirits were buoyed by his latest book, slated for publication
in the early summer of 1881. He remarked to his publisher Ernst
Schmeitzner when submitting the manuscript: "This book is what is
known as a 'decisive step'—more a destiny than a book" (B 6,66; Feb.