58 Nietzschepuppets. He dutifully assisted with the Wagners' Christmas ritual of gild-
ing apples and nuts, and just as dutifully perused the galleys of Richard
Wagner's autobiography. On the morning of the first day of Christmas
in 1870, a litde orchestra assembled in the stairwell to perform Wagner's
new composition, the Siegfried Idyll\ in honor of Cosima's birthday.
Nietzsche improvised on the piano, while Cosima listened politely and
Richard Wagner left the room, barely able to contain his laughter.
Wagner made a quick assessment of Nietzsche's abilities and noted
some good qualities that he supposed would come in handy for his own
purposes. He wrote: "You could take over quite a lot for me, perhaps
one entire half of my calling!" Wagner went on to maintain that he was
grappling with philosophy but had little to show for his efforts.
Philology, by contrast, was as important to Wagner as music to
Nietzsche. The two could complement each other perfecdy. Nietzsche
should remain a philologist and "conduct" him, and the philologist in
turn could be guided and inspired by the musician. Wagner wrote on
February 12,1870: "Now you must demonstrate the purpose of philol-
ogy and help me to usher in the ^Renaissance' in which Plato embraces
Homer, and Homer, filled with Plato's ideas, really does become the
greatest possible Homer" (Ν/ITI ,58).
Wagner encouraged the young professor to undertake a bold endeav-
or in classical philology. Nietzsche, who was captivated by the idea of
contributing to the "great Renaissance" of which Wagner had provided
vague hints, began to write his book on tragedy, surmising that while it
would most likely not move him ahead in his profession, it would afford
him a better understanding of himself This book would make for an
extravagant digression within the field of philology and adopt the style
of the "adventurer and circumnavigator of the inner world called
"human' " (2,21; ////Preface § 7). Still grounded in philology, but over-
powered by the will to dance, Nietzsche wrote his first masterpiece: The
Birth of Tragedy.