Europe Discovers Nietzsche 325in his last moment, down to madness, this life was an artistic production
... a lyric, tragic spectacle, and one of utmost fascination" (Mann 172).
Still, Mann warned against unbounded aestheticism: "we are no longer
such aesthetes that we need to be ashamed of subscribing to the good,
nor need to snub such trivial ideas and guides as truth, freedom, justice"
(Mann 176). That these political concepts were alleged to be aesthetically
trivial and that no art could be made with them did not have the slightest
effect even on this lecturer on democracy and antifascism.
Particulady in view of his experience with Nietzsche, Thomas Mann
knew that the logic of art differed from the logic of morality and poli-
tics, but he was equally aware of the importance of keeping art and pol-
itics separate. Politicizing art would be just as deleterious as
aestheticizing politics.
"Rebels in the name of beauty" (Mann 172) have frequendy over-
looked the reality that politics needs to defend the commonplace and the
spirit of compromise, and that politics should serve life in the most
practical way. Art, however, works with extremes. It is radical and, in the
case of Thomas Mann, fascinated by death. For the true artist, the desire
for intensity is stronger than the will for self-preservation, which is what
politics is intended to serve. If politics loses this orientation, it becomes
a public danger, which is why Mann warned about the "ill-omened prox-
imity" of "aestheticism and barbarism" (Mann 173).
Mann remained faithful to his Nietzsche experience throughout his
life, but in his later years he guarded against letting his aesthetic obses-
sions extend too far into other spheres of life. Mann heeded Max Weber,
who had declared all the way back in 1918 that democracy thrives on
debating and balancing spheres of values. Mann held to the view that the
Dionysian would need to sober up before treading on political ground.
Aesthetically Mann drank wine, but politically he preached water. This
attitude was altogether in keeping with the idea Nietzsche proposed in
his early writings that a bicameral system of culture enabled one cham-
ber to heat up with the passions of genius while pragmatic reason
cooled down the other.