CHAPTER 12The Finale
in Turin
The last year · Thinking about his life; thinking for his life- The smile of the augurs · Adversity and cheerfulness ·
The silence of the ocean · The finale in Turin
In THE FINAL year preceding his breakdown, Nietzsche contin-
ued his work on The Will to Power. He gathered ideas on this topic inces-
sandy, constructing rubrics and subdivisions with a growing sense of
impatience. He was hastening toward his goal of completing his "revalu-
ation of values," and drawing the requisite moral conclusions. Nietzsche
sensed that his time was running out; his moment of ultimate reckoning
had arrived. As a young man, he had empathized with the great philoso-
phers of antiquity and elucidated their will to rule. For him, a great
philosopher was more than a member of a community of discourse; his
words bespoke authority. The stage of history revolves when a great
philosopher enters onto it. A great philosopher reduces the Gordian
knot to shreds, as Alexander had in the political arena. In this final year,
Nietzsche blended with his ideals of historical grandeur. Ultimately, he
vanished in them, or perhaps we should say that he plunged into them
and thought of himself as one of those great philosophers. He emerged
from the depths of time and rose up to a summit from which he could
survey everything and prepare to mark a new epoch. The mountain had
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