Richard Wagner's Letters to August Roeckel

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RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

All rights resirved

Richard Wagner's Letters TO

AUGUST ROECKEL Translated by

ELEANOR

C.

SELLAR

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN

BRISTOL J.

W. Arrowsmith, ii Quay Street LONDON

Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton,

fc&

Kent & Company Limited

WAGNER. BY

HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN.

PREFACE. TT

is

curious to observe

how much

deeper

the French go in their interest for Richard

Wagner than

the English.

to Bayreuth, that Richter's

is true,

concerts

and

The English and they to

the

flock

flock to

wretched

parodies of Wagner's operas with which the metropolis

among

is

occasionally gratified; but even

enthusiasts, hardly one in a thousand

knows anything about Wagner, the

man,, nor of

the stubborn battle waged by him during

fifty

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS. years against a demoralised and demoralising stage,

and against the perversion of music

—or

of what he calls " the Christian Art "—into a

mere accomplishment, a mere trade and handicraft.

Hardly anyone

England

in

(outside a

small cluster of enthusiasts) takes the trouble to study seriously

form of

Wagner's doctrine of a new

Drama which

resembles the Opera only

on the principle of "

les

extremes se touchent."

We simply like his music, or we don't like trouble our heads no further

France, on

Wagner

is

the

it,

and

on the matter.

In

contrary,

the

literature

on

almost as voluminous and at least

as valuable as

that

principal Journals

in

Germany.

All

the

—the Revue des

and Reviews

deux Mondes, the Revue de Paris, the Revue Bleue,

the Revue

Blanche,

interesting articles

etc.

—have

frequent

and

on Wagner, signed by men

of the highest literary standing, such as Catulle

Mendes,

MallarmS,

Gaston

Wyzewa, not one of whom

Paris, is

Schure,

a professional

PREFACE.

7

musician, or would ever dream of severing the

composer

Wagner from

in

the poet and the

In short, the French have long

philosopher.

since discovered that of which

ignorant

;

viz.,

Wagner

that

we is

still

remain

not only a

remarkable musician, but a creative genius of the very

first

his interests

order

;

and so

a

man

lucid

so many-sided in

and energetic

in his

thought, that, quite apart from his music, he deserves to be studied as one of the most

remarkable minds of this century.

Now,

it

is

the tide, and Ellis'

I fear

even Mr. William Ashton

admirable translation of Wagner's prose

writings

is

interest in is

no good trying to swim against

not likely to do

much good

Wagner has been

so likely to arouse

these show us the

it

aroused.

Nothing

as Wagner's letters, for

man; he seems

of them bodily before our eyes. is

until our

to step out

And

this

man

so upright, simple, sincere, and lovable, such

a manly man, that we

at once feel under the

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

8

spell is

and long

to

know more about him. There

nothing of the

letters

;

style

epistolaire in

Wagner's

they are always written rapidly, and

rarely is there a

word struck out or

altered.

Spontaneousness was one of the great charms of Wagner's personal intercourse

same with

A

his letters.

:

is

it

the

few of these, read

with the vivid remembrance of his music in our ears, suffice to

make one

feel

intimate with him.

His extraordinary sensitiveness comes out almost every

No

letter.

outside are necessary

;

impressions

in

from

whatever subject his

thought rests on, his mind at once adopts a peculiar complexion, his voice modulates into

the key most fitted to this emotion.

and the same

letter

he

is

In one

boisterously gay as

a schoolboy, and suddenly, as the picture of a suffering friend

suggests

itself,

deepest chords of melancholy

;

he strikes the or, again,

some

word casually dropped lays bare the underlying philosophical current,

and he launches

forth

PREFACE.

into subtle dialectical argument, such as would

do honour to a Petrus Abaelardus.

where Wagner

is

at

However,

home, and where we

that his words are master words

—that

the absorbing aim and object of his subject of almost

are

many

all

his letters.

when

is,

he talks of the Drama and Music, and

feel

this,

life, is

as

the

His interests

—

politics, philosophy, religion, litera-

—but they

ture

all

centre and culminate in Art

(understood in the comprehensive sense of the

German word " Kunst"). Art

is

for

him, as

it

was

for Schiller, the

source and crown of civilisation

handmaiden of

religion.

civilisation, that the

Drama

is

Art

;

And what

Drama

is for

the

is

Art

is

for

The

Art.

not only the climax of the inventive

powers of man, but

it

is

the fountain-head

from which the several individual arts originate,

and towards which they again converge

;

it

is

the heart that propels the life-giving blood

through the entire body, and which gathers

it

;

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

IO

back from each separate member in order to

new

infuse

life

into the whole.

There

is

no

reason, and in fact no possibility, of separating

Wagner's music from enough,

there

his

music

is

"

Go

deep

everywhere,"

says

Drama.

Carlyle, in speaking of Dante's Divina Corn-

The poet Wagner goes

media.

what eyes cannot

see,

nor words

deep,

utter, finds

shape and language in music such as This

is

his.

not the music of mere sensual melody

and rhythm that serves as an opiate

and

and

care, or as a

idle hour.

It is

after toil

pastime to charm away an

a music akin to that in which

popular instinct had so often given expression to feelings which the mere words of

and songs were able it

is

to

its

ballads

convey but imperfectly

the music which the genius of Mozart

unconsciously lights upon, thus transforming frivolous

and preposterous libretti into immortal

creations;

it

is

the music of those deepest

depths in which Beethoven lived and moved

PREFACE.

and had

his

Wagner's music

being.

melodramatic,

is

it

the stage action

II

not

not intended to illustrate

with him the music

;

is

is the

drama,

and both the action which we see and the thoughts that words give expression to are

merely a

reflex,

an "allegory" of the

dramatic action, of the action

in the

that Carlyle alludes to, where Music

and only language of man and It

was necessary

this point, for

much

to lay in

of

all

some

Wagner's

real

"depths" the one

is

creation.

stress

upon

letters

would

be quite incomprehensible to anyone accustomed

him

to think of

as a

mere musician,

ordinary superficial sense of the word.

a person would be perplexed to find

always engrossed

Art,

the

poem and

Wagner, who

dramatic action. in

in

in the

Such

Wagner in

the

dislikes theory

and who writes such books as the

Artwork of

the

Future and Opera and

Drama

merely because this was the only means of

making way

for

his

new conception

of the

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

12

Drama,

rarely,

ever, in

if

his

letters

starts

He

theoretical discussions concerning music. is

naturally very

says

is

most

of his works, and what he

full

instructive, both for our

knowledge

of his works individually and for a thorough

mastery of his conception of Art and the

However,

in general.

instructive to those

it

who

will

Drama

only be found

start unprejudiced,

and

with the sincere desire, not of finding fault with

Wagner, but of understanding him and entering into his

way

of feeling as regards the organic

relationship between

Music and the Drama.

Three collections of

One

been published.

hundred

letters

letters to

consists

friends, Uhlig, Fischer,

the

An English title

J.

Dresden

and Heine t the third ;

Wagner and

Liszt,

London.

+ The correspondence with

by

letters to his

under by the late Dr. was published by H. Grevel & Co.,

Correspondence of

Street,

some two

translation of the Wagner-Liszt letters,

Hueffer (of The Times),

King

of

Liszt;* a second, of one

hundred and seventy-five

*

by Wagner have

S. Shedlock,

Uhlig, in an English translation

was published

also

by H. Grevel & Co.

;

PREFACE.

13

collection of letters, those addressed to Roeckel

and here introduced to the English reader, comparatively very small

—twelve

is

letters only

but owing to a peculiar combination of

cumstances, these twelve letters are so

cir-

full

of

varied interest, that perhaps no other publication exists which first

so qualified to serve as a

is

introduction to Wagner.

Liszt was, both intellectually and as a musician,

immensely superior to Wagner's other spondents.

But

this very superiority,

the fact that Liszt was

engaged

in propagating

for

Wagner

poems others.

added

to

constantly actively

Wagner's works, and and princes

in pleading his cause before kings

and before the

corre-

public, rendered

it

unnecessary

to enter into details concerning his

in writing

What

to

Liszt as he

does with

forms the subject-matter of this

correspondence

is,

on the one hand, debate

and counsel concerning the endless which beset his

life

;

difficulties

on the other hand, the

RICHARD WAGNERS LETTERS.

.14

outbreaks of passionate love and gratitude on the part of the poor exile,

who

feels that

but

for this great

man's unswerving devotion he

must be

for ever.

lost

The correspondence

thus a mine of biographical facts,

with Liszt

is

and

same time one of the most pathetic

at the

documents we possess

concerning Wagner.

But, as Liszt says in one of his letters single

:

"

One

chord brings our two hearts nearer to

each other than any amount

Intimacy

is

seen quite as

much

of in

verbiage."

what people

hold their tongues about as in what they say to each other.

Wagner's

letters to

different nature.

refined

man,

intellect.

Uhlig are of a totally

Uhlig was a clever and a

gifted with a singularly receptive

Liszt never entered into the detail

of Wagner's thought, Uhlig did little

;

Liszt cared

or nothing for Wagner's social aspirations

after a regenerated

regenerated Art

:

humanity, crowned by a

he was content to

know

that

PREFACE.

Wagner was a " him and admire contrary,

from

first

man

to serve

Uhlig,

on the

to enter into the

his

music

poems, no more can you sever his

his

first

his works.

and

more than you can separate

from his social convictions.

artistic

the

divine genius,"

Wagner's doctrine, and to understand

spirit of

that no

was the

15

He was

also to acknowledge this publicly, and to

may be

defend in the Press what

" Wagnerian doctrine."

Political

called the

and

social

questions, also questions concerning the essence

and of dramatic

of music

and

freely dwelt

upon

art, are

in

thus naturally

these letters, con-

stituting their great interest.

Now, what causes the peculiarity of Wagner's letters to

Roeckel

is

precisely the fact that this

correspondent does not submit his judgment to

Wagner's as that of a superior mind, but that he

discusses

every

intellectual equality. itself in

point

on

a

footing

of

Uhlig's cleverness showed

nothing more than in the sagacity with

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

16

which he gauged the immense superiority of

Wagner's mind over

his

certainly gifted

enough to

did

it

not

feel

intimacy with

in

own. feel

Roeckel was

the same, but he

Wagner dated

further back than

when

that of Liszt and Uhlig, to a period

young poet and musician was hesitating

His

the same degree.

on many questions,

himself

the still

wavering

still

between the promptings of the inner voice,

which impelled him to

revolt,

hope that Society, and with might be renovated by

and the enticing it

theatrical art,

less radical

measures.

Roeckel had been the friend and confidant of this early period of

after

day, during five or six years, he

discussed

all

Wagner, and

much

mental fermentation.

if

we

these it

is

Day had

burning questions with

perhaps not advancing too

attribute to

RoeckePs high moral

courage and unflinching devotion to truth some share in that final evolution which led to break openly

Wagner

and without hope of return

;

PREFACE.

17

with a theatre and a social organisation which

he at heart despised. of

Wagner

the truly great

was natural that the the

critical

This

friend

it

was which made

man

he was.

who had

It

witnessed

phase of this evolution, and perhaps

been instrumental in the triumph of the heroic principle over the worldly one, should feel

more

independence in the presence of this master-

mind than those who encountered

Wagner looked

for contradiction

it

later.

and discussion

when he spoke with Roeckel, nor was he appointed.

dis-

Moreover, in the hard school of

adversity, during the dreary years of imprison-

ment; Roeckel's mind seems to have acquired a considerable ness.

inflexibility,

Wagner pushed on

not to say stubbornboldly

;

once he had

admitted the premises, he followed them out to their ultimate conclusions.

follow him.

No

Roeckel refused to

doubt Uhlig did not always

understand what the Master meant, and we

may be

sure he occasionally differed from

him

8

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

1

but he did not discuss, his veneration for genius

would not have allowed him to do

He

so.

simply pointed out what he could not grasp. Roeckel, on the contrary, although bound to

Wagner by

the

most intimate

of the

ties

— a friendship that death alone severed, — seems to have opposed him at every friendship

but

point.

His

we can

guess at their contents from Wagner's

answers,

letters unfortunately are lost,

and we have every reason to

feel

grateful to Roeckel for the honest consistency

with

which

he

philosophy, and criticises

politics, attacks his

his

poems.

For

opposition that

is

it

we owe

mentary on the Ring the

Drama

Wagner about

contradicts

des

to

this

the

pugnacious-

beautiful

com-

Nibehmgen and

in general in letter

No.

4,

on.

the lucid

dissertation on Schopenhauer's philosophy in letter 6, the inquiry

concerning the influence

of philosophy on Art in letter

and scope of politics

7,

in letter 8,

that on the

and so on.

aim In

PREFACE.

short, the special character

19

and the peculiar

interest of these letters to Roeckel are due to

On

two causes.

the one hand, to Wagner's

great affection for this particular friend, and

consequent wish to be

fully

understood by him

;

and, on the other hand, to Roeckel's inability to see things in the

same

ligh^ as his illustrious

correspondent, and to his plainspoken acknow-

ledgment of this

Here

it

may

fact.

be well to insert a few lines

concerning August Roeckel. like

to

Wagner

know who

friends," to

thing of

whom

If,

as the Latin

"a man may be judged by

know Roeckel

Wagner

August

reader will

this friend was, to

clung so steadfastly.

proverb says,

The

will

his

teach us some-

also.

Roeckel's

father,

Joseph

August

Roeckel, was a native of the Palatinate.

At

that time, towards the close of the last century, this

province

was

politically

united

with

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

20

Bavaria, and

Roeckel,

it

so chanced that

who had begun

life in

Joseph A.

the diplomatic

service, was appointed Secretary to the

Charg6

him

d' Affaires at

Bavarian

Salzburg, which brought

neighbourhood of Vienna, at that

into the

Here Baron

time the metropolis of music.

Braun, so well known in the history of music as Beethoven's friend and as director of several

Viennese theatres, happened to hear the young

and was so much struck by

attache' sing,

beautiful voice

and musical

gifts,

his

that he at once

proposed that Roeckel should take an engage-

ment

at Vienna,

of a tenor. at that tion,

where they were sorely

Diplomacy was a precarious career

moment

—1805, —and,

after

some

hesita-

Roeckel accepted Baron Braun's

and exchanged diplomacy

He

first

also

musical

offer,

for the stage.

Vienna he saw a good deal of Beethoven of his

need

in

:

In

one

parts was as Florestan in " Fidelio."

came

men

into contact with all the other

of the day,

more

especially with

PREFACE.

Hummel, who married

21

Joseph A.

his sister.

Roeckel later became director of the theatre at

Aix

la Chapelle,

and, after having acquired the

necessary experience in this branch, he

made

proof of both pluck and talent, venturing as the very

first

impresario to carry the

German

opera to Paris and to London.

The

reader will gather from

all

this

how

full

of interest must have been the youth of our

August Roeckel. travelled with

whilst

still

his

a boy.

Born

at

Graz

in

father through

He

1814, he

Germany

then spent two years in

Paris,

where he witnessed the revolution of July,

1830,

and afterwards

London.

lived for several years in

Constantly in the atmosphere of

music and surrounded by musicians, his great aptitude for this art developed early, and already at

seventeen years of age he was such

a

consummate chorus-master that the Theatre Italien

engaged him in this capacity, in the

hopes of bringing their chorus up to the

level

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

22

German

attained at Joseph A. Roeckel's

This less

last

was conducted

than Hummel.

But

for

opera.

some time by none

life

England seems

in

not to have suited August Roeckel's fancy, and

Edward Roeckel and

whilst his brothers,

L.

J.

Roeckel, settled in England, August returned to

Germany, and joined

whom

Weimar, under tion.

After

having

" Musikdirector

Hummel

at

he studied composi-

been

at

"

his uncle

for

several years

Bamberg, he was

ap-

pointed to the same post at Weimar, where,

having married the niece of the celebrated

composer, happiest 1843.

Albert

years

of

Lortzing, his

life

In this small town,

he

from still

spent

the

1838 alive

to

with

the traditions of the great epoch only just closed, Roeckel's talent

and energy were

appreciated, and by none

more than by Goethe's

fully

daughter-in-law and her sons, Wolfgang and

Walther, the sincerity of whose friendship for

Roeckel and his family was put to the proof in

PREFACE.

23

the bitter years that were to come. a

momentous date

Roeckel's

in

1843 was

He

life.

exchanged the quiet seclusion of Weimar Dresden, where the already beginning to tion,

was

political effervescence stir

for

up the whole popula-

and here he met Richard Wagner, with

whom

he soon became very intimate.

Both

these facts, or rather these two facts combined,

had a

fatal influence

for they

on the

rest of his career,

ended by throwing him out of the

profession for which he

had been bred and

which he had early shown such great

by casting him headlong politics.

A

and

into the turmoil of

sorry exchange in any case, and

more especially for a man of such

who was

gifts,

for

far too honest, too

self-sacrificing

rigid principles,

high-minded and

to be likely to serve his

interests whilst serving those of the

own

community.

August Roeckel has more than once been called

Wagner's " bad genius," a most absurd

accusation

;

it

would be much truer to say that

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

24

Wagner's friendship, productive as deep and

life-long happiness,

was of

it

was nevertheless

As " Musikdirector " to

Roeckel's evil star.

the Dresden Royal Opera House, to which

Wagner had been appointed " on the

ist of

Kapellmeister

"

February, the same year (1843),

Roeckel became Wagner's colleague fessional duties

their pro-

:

made them meet every

day,

and

they soon became intimate. Wagner's " Rienzi,"

performed October,

for

the

1842,

on

and

his " Flying

(2nd

January,

first

this very

Dutchman "

1843),

celebrated throughout

on the

time

20th

Dresden stage, following rapidly

had made

Germany.

his

name

When Roeckel

arrived at Dresden in the spring of 1843, Wagner

was

just finishing the

poem

of " Tannhauser,"

the score of which he at once began.

In the

spring of 1845 " Tannhauser " was finished,

but before October,

its first

1845)

performance (on the 19th

" Lohengrin "

was

already

begun and the " Meistersinger " sketched

;

and

PREFACE.

scarcely

25

had Wagner jotted down the

of the " Lohengrin " score, in the 1847,

when he launched researches

historical

a

summer

spoken

musical

drama,

of

drama,

"Frederic Barbarossa," and forged his logical

note

into elaborate

forth

for

last

"The Ring

tetra-

of

the

"Nibelung," out of the confused mass of mythological

Edda" and same summer

Sagas and legends of the "

the " Nibelungenlied." (1848) in

which Wagner wrote the complete

summum

sketch of this opus

drew the

In the

of his

life,

he also

outlines of his " Jesus of Nazareth,"

which has been described by a Catholic priest as " perhaps the most successful attempt ever

made

to place the divine person of our Saviour

on the stage." witness to

This was what Roeckel was

during the years

1843-1849, in

which he was Wagner's almost

daily

com-

panion. Before the evidence of such stupendous creative power, his belief in his

own

own

talent, or rather his

talent, vanished.

Roeckel

26

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

had written songs and compositions pianoforte,

and

his

appointment at Dresden he

owed to an opera, " Farinelli," which (as

am

I

told)

insignificant

to the

and

thought well futile

was

all this

Wagner

But how

of.

immortal works which

compared

he now saw

springing into existence day by day

Roeckel been

for the

less gifted intellectually,

Had

!

he would

not have recognised Wagner's genius, and had

he been

less

high-minded, he would have

envy, instead of admiration

own

talent as musician

and

original, intercourse

;

felt

or, again, if his

had been more robust with

Wagner would

have stimulated his creative faculties the case with Lizst, for example).

As

(as

was

it

was,

the proximity of genius seems to have blotted out Art.

a

all

Roeckel's ambition in the domain of

Thus Wagner's

life-interest,

friendship robbed

him of

and almost drove him to con-

secrate his energy to another direction.

He

did not give up his place at the Dresden Opera

PREFACE.

27

House, but he became an active

politician, a

pamphleteer, the editor of a revolutionary paper,

and a

favourite orator at public meetings.

His

enemies called him a demagogue, but that was

He was

a base calumny.

a tribune in the

proudest sense of the word, and no Englishman

who knows what

the political state of

Germany

was

at that period will refuse, his admiration to

the

man who,

unlike so

many

revolutionists, risked his liberty

other

and

German

his life for

the cause of the people against their tyrants,

and paid

for

it

by thirteen long years spent

in

a dungeon.

The in

revolution which broke out in Dresden

May, 1849, was

entirely the

King of Saxony and vacillation

his Ministry.

and continual

the people mad, and,

the

Bar— rose

when Dresden

Government

of

with

By

their

shuffling they drove

whole intelligence of the country sities,

doing of the

it,

rose, the

—the Univer-

and the then

Germany, the Frankfort

legal

Parlia-

28

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

ment,

the Saxon people

openly sided with

The Saxon

against their rebellious Ministers.

who were

people, their

perfectly

loyal

subjects of

hereditary Monarch, and only claimed

the rights

they possessed

by law and the

accession of their country to the Constitution

voted at Frankfort, whereby a united

Germany

was

won

day.

be established, would have

to

But Count

counsellor, called

Beust,

King's

the

on the Prussians

the chief

for aid,

who

were, of course, too happy to profit by the

occasion to gain a firm footing in Saxony.

The

Parliament at Frankfort stigmatised this armed intervention as " a scandalous breach of the

But

Constitution."

the

in

meantime

the

Prussian troops had already reached Dresden,

and had after

crushed

liberty

and

the

law

people's in

the

Powers usually do such things. enacted

by the

soldiers

one's blood run cold.

and

aspirations

way The

military

horrors

officers

make

Roeckel, one of the

PREFACE.

29

few leaders of the movement who retained his coolness and courage up to the

demned to death,

last,

a sentence that was

He

into life-long imprisonment.

was con-

commuted

never would

consent to do as the others, and petition the King's indulgence

;

having committed no crime,

he needed no forgiveness, nor would he ever consent to sign a paper pledging his word

never again

to engage in politics.

contrary, he used to that, as soon as

he was

free,

Not

Saxon Government grow of

it

he would again deserved.

Roeckel was one of the very

to be let out of prison.

itself to

Soon

after,

the

his prison authorities

tell

attack the Government as so

On

last

And

men

until 1862 did the

sufficiently

ashamed

put an end to this persecution. the

Prussian

army once more

appeared before Dresden and threw up earth-

works (some of which may

still

be seen)

all

round the town, but the Royal Government

had not as much pluck

in

1886 as had the

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

30

wretched inhabitants

in

1849

;

it

cretion the better part of valour,

thought

dis-

and submitted

without striking a blow to Prussia's conditions.

As

for

Count Beust, he had proved such a

prodigious diplomatist that he ripe for Austrian service

cunning

his

Before letters

allies

was considered

nor did he disappoint

;

of heretofore.

returning

to

Wagner and

contained in this volume,

it

to

the

may be

well

to finish this brief sketch of August Roeckel's life.

It will

not detain us long, for nothing very

remarkable occurred after his release prison.

Politics

from

absorbed his whole interests,

and journalism was the only means open to

him of serving

his political

same time that of earning so

we

find

him

aims and at the

his livelihood.

as newspaper editor,

And

first

at

Coburg, then at Frankfort, later on (under

Wagner's protection), which he soon had to finally settled in

in

1866,

leave,

at

Munich,

however.

He

Vienna as editor of the Kleine

PREFACE.

The

Presse.

suffices to

mere

geographical

sequence

show that Roeckel remained up to

the end an irreconcilable

He had

31

enemy

of Prussia.

longed, and he had fought, and he had

suffered, for a great, united,

and independent

Germany, and now that the dream of

his

life

was accomplished, he shut himself out volunfrom his "Fatherland."

tarily

him

at the close of his

same

life

Thus we

not only sharing the

fate as the great antagonist of

own

unity and his

see

Germany's

personal persecutor, Count

Beust, but actually on the best terms with him

—the

common

once enemies united by their

hatred of Prussia, and Roeckel, the undaunted actually

Liberal,

serving to the best of his

abilities

a reactionary and anti-German Govern-

ment.

It is

fate,

and

doubtless contributed to shorten his days.

In

1 87 1

a singularly melancholy

he had a

followed.

He

first

attack of paralysis

;

others

never recovered to any extent,

and had soon to give up

his journalistic

work

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

32

and

house of his youngest son,

retire to the

Richard Roeckel,

at Pesth.

There he

died,

on

the 15th June, 1876, two months before the first

performance of his great friend's "Ring

des Nibelungen " at Bayreuth. of Roeckel's that remains of Sachsen's Erhebung

The him

his

is

book

und das Zuchthaus zu Wald-

heim (the revolt of Saxony and

Wagner

Waldheim).

only work

alludes

twelfth letter of this collection.

my to

prison at it

It is

in

the

a most

and although the author,

thrilling narrative,

with his great modesty, keeps himself in the shade, one seems to

become

him during those long years

No

one can read

it

quite intimate with

of imprisonment.

without respecting him and

Roeckel was the sort of

loving him.

man

for

Englishmen to understand and appreciate.

And now

whom

it

let

will

us go back to that other man,

always be

infinitely

more

difficult

PREFACE.

33

understand because, as one of the most

to

perfect types of absolute genius, or, as Carlyle

would have put intellect

moved

in

Hero as

of the

it,

poet, his

obedience to laws different

from those which govern ordinary men. have pointed out the absurdity of the

I

opinion which stamps Roeckel as Wagner's evil genius

Wagner

and thinks that

it

was

his fault that

got mixed up in the revolt of 1849.

Years before he and Roeckel

had declared, "

My

first

path leads

met,

Wagner

me

to

open

revolution against what the present day calls Art."

And

as, in

Wagner's mind, the Art of a

nation or of an epoch

is

not a casual excrescence,

but the logical outcome of the whole Society, a corrupt Art

is

tive of a corrupt Society,

Art

is

of

unquestionably indica-

and to

revolt against

to revolt against the Society from

this Art springs.

life

In this sense, which,

which it

will

be allowed, admits of no equivocation, Wagner

may

be said to have been a revolutionist ever 3

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

34

since 1840,

and

his very latest writings leave

no doubt that he continued to be a revolutionist

down

to the day of his death.

But the events

of 1849, which marred and broke poor Roeckel'slife,

have

in

Wagner's

life

no importance

beyond that which the increased experience of

men and

things signifies for such a mind.

As-

a generous man, he could not hesitate on which side to place

actual conflict

his sympathies,

came

and when the

—the fighting in the

streets,

the flocking in of the peasantry into the town, to

ward

enemy and

off the foreign

lives for their rights,

see that

his

sufficiently

to stake their

—we are not astonished to

sympathy with the people

marked

to

awaken suspicion on the

part of the authorities, and to force safety in flight.

influence of

is

No

him

doubt Wagner

the wave of

to seek felt

the

enthusiasm which

No doubt victim of many

swept across Germany in 1848-49.

he was at that moment the illusions,

and

set

his

hope on men and on

PREFACE.

popular movements

him

superficial

neither

but

all

up to

its feet its

this remains for

He is like a rock

and external.

the waves break at their spray

;

35

;

and sometimes cast

very head, but the rock

moves nor crumbles. In

reality,

Wagner

never at any time had any sort of sympathy

with

politics

properly so called.

Politics

and

diplomacy, to Wagner's mind, go only skin

They can do no more than

deep.

settle details,

no more than hurry on events or retard them a little

;

and whilst seeming to

lead, they in reality

obey, driven on by deeper currents they have neither power to stay nor to alter. to

this

question, the eighth

In regard

letter

of this

collection will be found particularly interesting. It

was those deeper

currents which alone

absorbed Wagner's attention.

and

loyal Saxon, but

He was

a good

he never utters a word

against Prussia; later on we find him the confidan t

of the King of Bavaria at a most

critical

period of history, but he does not gravitate

3*

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

36

southward, as did Roeckel, for his judgment not blinded by political prejudice

he was a

;

staunch and enthusiastic German, yet no

had a keener eye

for the

is

man

shortcomings of his

countrymen, and whilst Germany after 1870 knelt adoring at the feet of the

and

iron,

mere

Wagner

politician

aspirations

pointed out

was

of the

in

man how

of blood little

this

touch with the higher

nation,

and how he had

reaped, but could not sow. I

have thought

it

necessary to insist at some

length on this point, because the difference

between Wagner and Roeckel of degree

;

it

not merely one

not merely that the one

is

genius and the other a difference

is

which

man

affects the

bound them together

of talent, but

whole man.

in friendship

By this

I

it is

a a

What

was evidently

sympathy of character, and not affinity.

is

intellectual

do not mean to convey that

Roeckel was intellectually inferior to

men

like

Liszt and Uhlig, but that the natural bent of

PREFACE.

his

mind

led

him

to diverge from

many, perhaps on most,

was

far too

37

points,

Wagner on and that he

independent a character to be over-

He and Wagner were

awed, even by genius.

both

high-minded, outspoken, and unselfish

men.

Otherwise they were as dissimilar as

and

possible,

I

imagine that this dissimilarity

constituted an additional zest to the friendship

which bound them to each idealists

;

but the one

is

man who

a

Both

other.

are

enlists his

enthusiasm in the cause of the wrongs and sufferings of

those

who surround

him,

who

longs to rescue the oppressed and to reform

what

is

corrupt by practical means, by changing

the form of government, by influencing public opinion,

and so on;

in short,

he

is

essentially

a politician, and the practical politician ends by eclipsing the poet

harboured.

The

and the other,

artist his inner soul

on the contrary,

creative genius, intensely wrapped up,

not in Art only, but in

all

it is

is

a

true,

the questions that

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

38

concern the welfare of his country and of

humanity at of doffing,

even

and the

artist

When

is

quite incapable

is

moment, the

single in

poet,

order

he does get mixed up in

and again

later in

yet never a party man, for

at soars high

the passing

to

a matter-of-fact,

as he did in 1849,

he

a

for

present events in

way.

who

large, but

discuss political politics,

Munich,

what he aims

above the conflicting currents of

moment.

" The political events of

the day never had any interest for me," writes

Wagner

in 1864.

What

does interest him are

the great currents that sweep humanity on

through centuries, to weal or to woe.

In his

Art and Revolution, written (1849) whilst his contemporaries were discussing the Frankfort Parliament, the growing influence of Prussia,

and so

forth,

Wagner

the present state Pericles

and

of

of

traces back the origin of society to the

age of

of the

Greek

the decline

tragedy, and the Future he foretells

is

one

PREFACE.

39

"the poet alone can conceive his extraordinary

Thanks to

of."

powers of imagination, genius

sees not only the one short passing

with

its

actors and

moment,

the petty influences

all

which they obey, but grasps the Past out of

which

this Present grew, thus discerning in

history Fate and Providence, and dives down into

the depths of the unconscious but none the

less

propelling soul of nations, distinguishing with

the keen eye of the poet a future to other

veiled

still

No wonder Roeckel and Wagner

men.

often disagreed. I

do not think a detailed commentary to

these letters

necessary,

is

still

less

In order to

examination of their contents. understand sufficient to

them and

know who

them, and who the

to

the

a critical

enjoy them,

it

man was who

man was

to

is

wrote

whom

they

were addressed.

They

varied

Those who know nothing

interest.

about Wagner

will

will

be found

full

of

get but a one-sided, yet

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

4°

true and vivid, impression of his remarkable

who have

those

personality;

a

superficial

how

acquaintance with him will realise they

knew up

to

little

now; the few who would

enrich their mental lives by a comprehensive

knowledge

of

this

great

mind

and

noble

character will read these letters over and over again,

and always

their attention

find

new matter

and captivate

to claim

their thought.

LETTER My dear

I.

Friend,

have quite recently heard as a fact that

I

you and your companions allowed to receive

letters,

in

misfortune are

not only from your

nearest relatives, but also from your friends,

provided that those letters merely touch on personal

or

interests,

any rate on such

at

matters as have no reference to

politics.

Now,

my desire was, in the first place, to express my deep and anxious solicitude as to your as

fate,

and

how

things

second place to inform you

in the

had

once to write to you.

was anxious

to

regards health. sure to 41

know It

me,

befallen

But,

first

exactly

I

resolved

at

and foremost,

how you were

I

as

was, therefore, a great plea-

me to hear from your

private doctor that

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

42

there

was no truth

in the

rumour of your having,

through impatience and insubordination,

for-

occupy your

feited the favour of being allowed to

time in literary work, and, further, that you were bearing up well under the circumstances, and that your vigour

that

it is

was undiminished.

I

myself informed as to your last

met,

in the

it

we

have kept

Soon

after

chanced that your wife and

same town

impossible for

I

fate.

;f but

me

to call

I

owing to a peculiar

combination of circumstances,

I

like.

have anxiously striven to have news of

you, and, as far as was possible,

were

should

I

will readily believe that ever since

parted

we

admit

only since hearing this account of you*

that I feel able to write to you as

You

I

upon

it

her.

was quite

Soon

after

heard that your brother Edward had offered * See

Wagner's

letter to Uhlig,

dated

May

ioth, 1851.

t In Weimar. What prevented Wagner's calling on Frau Eoeckel was the news of the "Steckbrief " (police notice), and his having to escape over the frontier to Switzerland as •quickly as possible.

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

43

her a home, and that he was taking care of her in a truly fraternal way.

I

wrote to him not

long ago, and received no answer; but as

my

addressed Bath,

is

it

quite possible that I

;

his right address.

write to

your

a haphazard fashion to

letter in

him consequently

me

I

hope you

I

will

letter,

and

in

shortly

how

—hoping

in the

me and my

interest

I

for the best

meantime

affairs,

is

to

met,

I

%

This

tell

my

you

life

are

After our separation, or rather at

went

first

is in allusion to

to 9th of

May,

when we

to Paris, but there I

everything was at once repugnant to

from 3rd

feel

things have fared with me.

the close of the disastrous events J last

I

can do, knowing your

external circumstances of

easily told.

be able to

look forward with keen sympathy

that the best thing that

The

never reached

very fully concerning yourself and

wife.

your

it

should be very glad to have

and with eager impatience

—to

I

me

;

felt

and

the political troubles in Dresden

1849.

RICHARD WAGNEM'S LETTERS

44

though

I

with the repelled

was only remotely brought into contact artistic

me

world,

its

whole conditions so

that, after a very short stay, I left

and went to Switzerland, and

Zurich

at

amongst the Swiss a

speedily found

circle

devoted, loyal, and sympathetic friends.

you have

trust that

down by hearing

be cast After

sufficient fortitude

had

I

lived

made on me by

down

this in

fate of

individual

and

life

fulness

not to

your captivity.

recent events, by the contrari-

many

of

my

and more especially friends,

I felt

by deliverance from the

not necessary for release

my

quickened and restored to warmth fetters

constraints of an impossible position.

my

I

the painful impressions

ness of present circumstances,

by the

of

This

me.

beautiful Alpine land at once revived

I

me

to

tell

you that

I

and It is

look on

from the post of conductor of the

Dresden opera as a providential piece of good fortune.

and

With my whole

artist, in

nature, both as

absolute opposition to

man

my work

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

and

my

was

in

position, the only

hope of deliverance

a complete severance of

From the moment

my

of that severance I

had an important part to play

was the only

45

artist

who

;

as such

bonds.

felt

that

I

I realised

that

I

had grasped the

On this subject i.e. on Art and its relation to life— I spoke out my views movement

of the times.

Of course I do not know

publicly as an author. if you

were allowed to see my writings.

The first

publication was a short pamphlet, entitled Art

and Revolution, in which

I

denied to everything

that passes muster as Art in the present day

the true quality of Art.

In a small book that

appeared shortly after, The Art-work of the Future, I

demonstrated the impotence of modern Art,

resulting from

its

disintegration into different

branches, which constitute the sole artistic of the present day.

And

to this I opposed the

Art of the future, the only Art that

touch with

life

and penetrated with

and represented

it

life

in such a

way

is

truly in

vital force,

that

it

stood

RICHARD WAGNERS LETTERS

46

out in sharp contrast to the merely academic,

merely

or

fashionable,

Art

the

of

present

day.

When

I

occasion,

had completed

early in

this

1850, to

work,

had

I

return to

Paris.

During the interval Liszt had been working

my

He and my other friends were convinced that my one hope of a career lay in making my mark in the Paris hard

in

interests.

Opera House. I

In spite of a sense of despair,

forced myself to yield the point to them.

I

sketched out a scenario, and started once more for Paris.

My

The

effort nearly cost

me my

life.

detestation of the artistic world of Paris,

and the constraint that

I

had

to put

on myself,

had such a powerful influence on me and affected

me

so strongly that

plete nervous prostration,

tion I only recovered will

—a sort of act of

strained

it

brought on com-

and from that prostra-

by a tremendous desperation

effort

—which

of

con-

me to turn my back on all my friends and

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

47

At that

to seek refuge amongst, utter strangers.

very time

—

I

was

Bordeaux

in

—

I

learnt through

a French newspaper that you and Bakunin*

had been condemned to death. letter,

hoping that

it

wrote you a

I

would reach you

to bid you both a last farewell.

in

Soon

time

after I

discovered that the rumour had been a false one,

and the

letter

which

to be forwarded to

I

had sent

my

Dresden

you was, naturally enough

under the circumstances, detained. to fly from

to

My intention

friends was frustrated

by the great

sympathy and affection evinced for me by a certain family. This household, composed almost entirely

of

women, lived some considerable time

den,

and

is

known to you, if

through your brother. say to them.t

But,

I

first

I

am

in Dres-

not mistaken,

owe more than and foremost,

I

can

let

me

* Bakunin was the famous Russian revolutionist who with •Huebner and Tzschirner had commanded the insurrectionists After the repression of the revolution he had at Dresden.

been taken prisoner f

at

Chemnitz.

This refers evidently to Frau Julie Ritterand her family.

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

48

mention Liszt

;

his love for

me and

his untiring

my interests are almost Whatever in my nature remains

devotion to

hensible

mere

his

to

incredible.

incompre-

he

reasoning,

logical

succeeds in entering into by an ardent intuitive

sympathy, the force of which

astounding.

is

has had

my

" Lohengrin " performed at

Weimar, and

in a

manner that made

He

success

—so

much

so, that

they

it

a real

now speak

of

giving the opera at Dresden, but to this proposal I

have made the most decided objections, and

for

many

There

reasons.

is

me

something to

ludicrous in the idea, which I hear maintained

by many people, that

it

would be possible to

bring about a reconciliation between self

and the old condition of

my

dear friend,

especially

Lately

my

—

if

I

how

little

my present

things.

one

is

You

see,

understood,

one has the soul of an

artist.

have once more given expression to

convictions as a

in the first place,

man and

and

at

as an artist-poet,

some

length,

on the

— -;

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

subject

of

my own

49

dramatic Art, in a book

Drama, and upon

entitled Opera and

individual relations to Art ina

my own

"Communication

my Friends," which will appear as the preface to an edition of my three poems, The Flying to

Dutchman,

Tannhauser,

and Lohengrin.

The

first-mentioned work will shortly be brought out

by Heber

How

I

;

the second by Breitkopf and Hartel.

wish that

might be allowed to send

I

HarteFs firm are engraving

you these books.

the pianoforte score of " Lohengrin," and

—they

as you will be astonished to hear

mean

to

From

this

has taken

the

print

you

me

full

will

see

of the opera.

score

that public opinion

into high favour

but in the said "Communication" it

very clear that

those

who

making such a

—how,

to put

it

I

as " artist " I

have made

care for no sympathy from

distinguish between the

the " artist," and of

I

also

"man"

have pointed out the

distinction.

How

frankly, absolutely

4

and folly

unworthy contempt

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

SO

ible

—our

last

" Art " of the present day

become apparent now that

aside

sense of

all

it

has at

is,

has cast

shame and openly acknow-

one concern

to be a paying

ledges that

its

business.

You may imagine how unhappy

a

man

of

my

stamp

feels

is

under such circum-

stances.

With open

myself to

illusions, in order to find

eyes, I

have to abandon

my justifica-

tion for a creative activity, conscious all the

time that

me

my

activity merely serves to deceive

as to the general rottenness of things.

To

continue theorising would be repugnant

and Liszt has stimulated me to a new

to me,

work of Young

Art.

I

have done the poetic version of

Siegfried,

which

I

confess has been a

source of great happiness to me. child

of

My

hero, a

Nature, has grown up in the forest

under the care of a dwarf (Mime, the Nibelung)

Who has brought him up

may become

in the

hope that he

the slayer of the dragon

guardian of the treasure.

— the

This treasure of the

1;

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

5

Nibelungs constitutes a very important element in the

with

Every sort of crime

poem.

Siegfried

it.

youth in the

fairy tale

world that he

he quite

is

fails

may

a being

who

learn

to do,

is

connected

much

like the

goes out into the

what

fear

which

is,

owing to his healthy

natural instincts and his inability to see things

otherwise

than

slays the

dragon, and

who

the dwarf,

was .

as

for

kills

whom

in

—

when

he

blood

—to

lies

in

a

intelligible to

accidentally

the

murder him.

is

led

by the voice

the

dragon's

rock where Brunhilde Siegfried penetrates

sleep.

the flames, kisses Brunhilde, and the in

Sieg-

him from the moment tasted

fire-girt

deep

foster-father

the longing to escape from

loneliness has awakened,

of a bird

his

the sake of the treasure

secretly plotting to

fried,

He

they actually are.

woman

her awakens to the raptures of love.

cannot enlarge farther on the subject possibly I

may

I

now

be allowed to send you the poem :

4

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

•52

itself.

Only one word more

discussions together

on

this subject

attain to

—

so long as the

already touched

not possible for us to

woman

Believe me,

?

I

too

am

be,

But

unawakened.

is

harp upon this string to you,

I

poor friend I

is

ardent

we can be and should

that

all

why do

It

we have

in our

:

my

sad that

can do nothing beyond harping and singing.

my

I shall finish

one moment to see that

shall I it

reality is the

is

Siegfried, but not for

be deceived about

this comfort I

be vexed with me, for

which we can

all

us

be and

natural,

to

lor

fail

It often

that our invisible bonds have a

by which others are bound.

strive

or

a beautiful illusion and that

more constraining power than the

know, and

it,

one thing that matters.

me

seems to

Young

can

it

is

actual fetters

And offer

yet, this I

you

—do not

the one hope by

encourage one another,

therein

comfort, confidence.

to lies,

keep

—

let

healthy and

everything'

— hope,

TO,

AUGUST ROECKEL.

And now, my poor you are allowed to yourself, shall

dear friend,

that

my

letters

may

beg you,

if

of

in detail as possible;

I

always answer you,

granted, to the best of

I

me news

write, to send

and as much

53

if

my

permission to do so

is

powers, in the hope

cheer you and give you

courage to endure with patience and fortitude. Farewell

;

and when you are

feeling sad, think

with affection of

Your

faithful friend,

Richard Wagner.

—

LETTER

II.

Zurich, 12th September,

Your

letter,

more than

my

and unhoped

for

;

me

dear friend, has rejoiced

can say.

I

1852*

and

It

was both unexpected

it

gives

me

such strong

evidence of your cheerful and patient courage, that no better news could have

and

more

certainly nothing

own

spirits

come

fitted to raise

and encourage me.

My

my

my

health

not of the best, and though physically sufficiently robust,

to me,

I

nervous system

is

appear is

in a

very depressed state, gradually growing worse the result of my self-abandonment to that feverish

and excessive * This letter

sensitiveness, in virtue of

was

sent to Liszt to forward

Liszt of

54

same

date).

which

(see letter

to

I

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

am

The

the artistic being that I am.

55

nerves of

my brain especially have been so worked upon by this constant dwelling in a world of imagination,

with no reality to balance

it,

that

now

am

I

only able to work at long intervals and with frequent breaks, otherwise I should certainly fall

into a state of constant

suffering.

I

was

reached

letter

and protracted

in that condition

me

;

its

when your

contents, taken in con-

nection with your situation, formed a striking contrast to

mind.

had

It

situation

and

to

confirmed the feeling

my I

state of

have often

before, that a state of semi-liberty is

humiliating

bondage to

my

;

and

but

oppressive

I fear it

than

artist ; the lash of

my

complete

would not be quite easy

make clear to you what I mean.

writings testify to

more

My published

want of freedom as an

compulsion alone forced

me

to become an author, and nothing was further

from it

my thoughts than to write

" Books."

Had

been otherwise, the chances are you would

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

56

much

not have had cause to complain so

But the time

style.

with

me

killed

;

for literary

to have gone

on with

On the other hand,

me.

on a great

poem

—God

and which

—

and how stage.

have embarked

The whole poem

I shall

dramas

then set

knows when, where

mean some day

I

past

would have

consisting of three

with a separate prologue, which to music,

it,

is

my

undertaking, namely, the

artistic

completion of a

I

work

of

to have put on the

will

be called The

Ring of the Nibelung ; the prologue, "The Theft ;

of the Rhine-gold " thejirstpart of the drama will

be

"The Walkure;"

the second part,

and the third

Siegfried;"

part,

"Young

"Siegfried's

Death." The three dramas are completed

have

still

to put the prologue into verse.

end of this year, the printed

poem

I

;

but I

By the

hope to be able to submit

to

my

out of the whole subject

friends. (in

The working-

my present

state of

health) will, of course, need a great deal of

time;

as to

the performance, that must be

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

With regard

relegated to a nebulous "future."

to the scheme, you will receive

full

information,

"Communication

in the very detailed

Friends," in which

57

I treat

of

my own

to

my

artistic

development.

This "Communication" forms

the preface to

my

three "opera

poems"

The

Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, and Lohengrin.

The book appeared year,

and

to you: it;,

I

at the beginning of this

gave orders for a copy to be sent

probably you were forbidden to see

but should this not be the case,

know, and right.

I shall see th^t

the matter

let

me

is

put

Instead of the pianoforte score of

"Lo-

hengrin," which you expected from Hartel,

am

sending the

full

I

score of the opera which

Hartel has just brought out, to your dear wife; she will ascertain I

am

if

she

sure you will find the

satisfying of the two.

some I

may

I

forward full

am

it

to you.

score the

more

also sending

you

shorter papers, on questions of art, which

have written at

different times as the occasion

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

58

The most

demanded.

was a book of

recent

instructions for the performance of

hauser."

moment

my "Tann-

For you must know that at the present

number of German

considerable

a

theatres are preparing to bring

Berlin Court theatre for its performance,

out

it

;

even the

making arrangements

is

and

I anticipate that ere

long this opera will have been given in

longer give

comes too

it

me

late

;

pleasure

—

and besides,

I

know

and public

more emotional parts

but they will never realise the

greatly doubt whether

fame

will

a future

dramas;

in

my

this

it.

I

also

unexpected and

pave the way

formance at for,

that the

Possibly, performers

energy of passion that underlies

growing

it

meant that

be performed as

appreciate the softer,

of the work;

in every respect

I

will never

should be.

may

our

Unfortunately, this prospect can no

theatres.

work

all

day of

my

for a per-

Nibelung

opinion, the possibility of

such a performance depends on conditions quite

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

alien to the prevailing ideas

on

The most

me

thing to

painful

apparent success

—

59

life

—

in

and

art.

spite

owe

to recognise that I

is

of

the greater part of this success to a misunder-

standing of the true meaning of this subject I If

have no further

my work

;

on

illusions.

you are once more allowed to occupy your

time with

me know whether I may from time to time. I am sure

literature, let

send you books

you would find Feuerbach's writings most stimulating.

I

should also like to introduce you to

a poet who has greatest of

Hafiz, of

all

lately struck

poets

—

I

mean

me

the Persian poet,

whose writings we now possess an

admirable

German

Truly, his

poems have struck

soul.

and

as being the

We,

translation

by

Daumer.

terror into

my

with our pompous European culture

intellectuality,

must stand abashed

in the

presence of this product of Oriental genius,

stamped with such unerring mastery, such serenity.

I feel sure

lofty

that you would share

my

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

60

To my

astonishment. recent

mind, the only merit of

European development

to be sought

is

in a kind of universal disintegration

the

in

work

of this

Oriental

whereas

;

recognise a

I

precocious striving after individualism.

mean

I

shortly to write to your dear wife a

long letter

;

how

wish that

I

I

could say any-

My own affairs

thing to comfort and cheer her.

are shaping themselves pleasantly enough, I

am

thankful to be relieved from pressing

anxiety as to the life

:

but

I

am

more immediate

very lonely ;

I

conscious that what in

me

is

necessities of

miss sympathetic

surroundings, and more than ever

I

am painfully

exceptional and

peculiar acts like a curse, separating

my

kind,

and cutting me

enjoyment

of

understand

why

and longing

life.

for

I

off

A

from the ordinary

prisoner

so constantly

death

;

me from

would

am

and yet

comes.

But enough on

not

downcast I

so strongly, and understand so clearly it

and

feel

it

whence

this subject.

You

1

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

will

laugh at me, and indeed

your right to do

and that

is,

to write to

so.

that you

me

often

;

cannot dispute

One

thing

may

receive permission

if

I

long

me

a great pleasure.

and may you go on bearing up

your misfortune as bravely as hitherto. is

for,

you can hold out that

hope, you will indeed give Farewell,

I

6

in

This

the earnest wish of your Affectionate friend,

Richard Wagner.

LETTER

III.

Dear Friend,

A

short time ago I at length received long-

From your

expected news of you.

gathered that some books which for

you had not yet reached you

;

I

letter

despatched

so I applied to

your excellent wife, but owing to her being it

I

ill

was some weeks before she could reply to me,

and ever since then

I

have been deeply engaged

From

in absorbing work.

has been some delay in

you must pardon

me

:

all

my

these causes there

answer, for which

hence, too, this feeble

my present letter. my new poem, "The Nibelung's Ring"

preface to I

(of

sent

which only a few copies are printed

private circulation

among my

and acquaintances), 62

in

for

intimate friends

February of

this year to

:

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS. Weimar, it

in order that

wife

maintains :

it

it

;

the copy was

that

Waldheim should the

your wife might forward

You do not mention

to you.

63

but your sent

to

not yet have reached you,

must be due to causes which

omission

would make the despatch of a second copy Therefore

quite useless.

trouble you

might make

I

think

it

better to

once more in the matter

let

you

In the event of

definite enquiries.

the book having been lost,

:

me know at once,

as in that case a second shall be forthwith sent

Waldheim.

to

In the meantime, and

I

till

hear from you that you have read the book, further discussion of I

had

it is

useless.

also destined for

of last year

my

you

at the beginning

" Three Opera Poems, together

with a Communication to

my Friends " (Leipzig

Breitkopf und Hartel), but from your letter

I

gather that the book never reached you;

I

therefore send

may convey

it

it

to your wife, in order that she

to you.

I

have put up with

it

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

€4

two other works that you expressed a wish

to

have, Hafiz (in two volumes) and Feuerbach's Lectures on the Nature of Religion. It

seems to me, and

rejoice to think

mood and frame

that you are in the

when

I

of

it,

mind

these books will be a real refreshment to

you.

I trust that

you are

well,

and that you

have succeeded in preserving that disposition of

mind which allows one inspiring

of

influences

to be solaced

the

by the even

Beautiful,

though doomed to the forced resignation of a captive.

But

no worse

off at

in this respect

the present

As things

rest of us.

you

are,

perhaps,

moment than

the

are just now, the really

Beautiful can only exist for us in a theoretical vision

;

that

it

actually exist,

by beings feeling it

could

exist, that it will

and be apprehended and enjoyed

absolutely like unto

—that ;

ourselves in

thought alone can comfort

must comfort you.

consolation

some day

and

in

Truly, this

is

us, as

our only

sympathy with a future

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

generation,

we

65

already experience a quickened

sense of well-being and gain.

Therefore

do

I

not hesitate about sending you Hafiz, Feuerbach's book

risumt of field of

philosophy.

It is

such

works,

Christianity,

a certain extent a

that he has hitherto done in the

all

celebrated

to

is

not one of his really as

The

Essence

of

or Thoughts upon Death and Im-

mortality, but

it

a short-cut to a complete

is

knowledge of

his

of the

results

latest

and

mental development,

of his speculations.

I

should be glad to think of you as strengthened

and encouraged by contact with

his

clear,

vigorous mind. I also

enclose a

programme

performances which

of

organised

I

concert selection

I

recently

But you

Zurich; they will interest you.

wonder why

some musical at

will

brought myself to consent to a

performance of such a

from

easily explained.

my

operas.

In the 5

first

fragmentary

The matter place

I

is

had an

66

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

intense

longing

something

hear

to

of

out

"Lohengrin," more especially the orchestral

Jn order

prelude.

to get together a sufficiently

performance,

large orchestra for the

necessary to arrange

mation of musicians)

a regular

for

added other

therefore I

less

Philistine

its

;

70>

and

project

Any one

excellent bourgeois

community cannot

astounded by this fact

about

made my

I

known, was secured by guarantees.

and

for-

than 9,000 francs,

which sum, however, when

who knows Zurich and

was-

concert,

The

selections.

this orchestra (consisting of

cost not

it

I

fail

to

be

confess that this

proof of exceptional trust and unwonted affection

touched perfect

the 1

;

me very deeply. The performances were I

had brought the best musicians

way from Germany, and

of great

and increasing

Switzerland. I

am

For

ready for

I

the result was one

artistic significance for

do not doubt that

—means

it

all

will

—when

be provided

here for an adequate performance, according to

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

my own

ideas, of

about

this

my dramatic works. To bring be necessary that

will

it

67

I

should

devote myself for some years exclusively to the education of a

When

that

achieved

is

operas, above

company such

all

my

I

shall

as

I require.

have

all

my

Nibelungen drama, per-

formed during a whole year in a theatre specially erected for the purpose, built of light materials,

adapted to the true needs of dramatic

but

representation.

my

not

I shall

then have attained,

ideal, at least all that

aspire to.

In the meantime

strength and health

will take

The

of

my

man can

must save

my

—

in order

my Nibelung

drama.

feeble

at least three or four years.

performance

Germany

on

different

stages

in

" Tannhauser," and shortly of

" Lohengrin," have no interest whatever for

my me

me

I

—often very

to accomplish the music of

This

mortal

if

;

I

know

that for the

most part they leave

my intention and meaning unexpressed, and that they in no essential

way

5*

rise

above the

level

;

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

68

Although

of ordinary operatic performances.

from time to time

and

am

especially

produced thanks

I

make

surprising discoveries,

the

conductors

enthusiastic

yet, take

;

it all

efforts

in

all,

and

of

young

in

view of

I

cannot

the general deplorable state of things, feel

and unmoved;

other than cold

confess that the spread of

valuable to

Thanks

my

improvement

my

position has

and

especially

do

is

I

only

advantages.

in these matters,

become much more I

and

works

me in regard to material

to the

effects

by these operas,

in smaller theatres

to

by the

astonished,

tolerable,

enjoy the privilege of having

no longer to work absolutely with a view to

money.

No

matter what

decline to be paid for

do even

if I

it

I

undertake here, I

(which indeed

should

were entirely destitute of means

Art-producing for the sake of mere

it

existing in so

is

money

is

me

from Art,

the cause of the

confusion

the one thing that would alienate

as indeed

I

many minds on

the truer nature

TO AUGUST ROECKEL. of Art and that

my

Thus

works).

might say

I

pleasant enough were

is

life

what

different to

I

As

am.

it is,

only

I

not only do I

the degradation of the general condition

feel

more keenly than others do

of things

regards

my own

personal

few years that

last

late

all its

69

—that

this

I

have never rightly

I

subject

will

I

only in the

life, it is

have realised

not

—alas

too

!

But on

lived.

you

trouble

but as

;

;

such

complaints were not meant for your ears. this

much

I

must say to you

coming more and more

my

:

like

But

art is be-

the song of

a

captive nightingale haunted by illusions and longings, if I

and

it

would suddenly lose

were allowed to grasp at the

Yes, where turn to Art,

life

ends, Art begins.

we know not how

or

all

meaning

realities of life.

In youth

we

why and only ;

when we have gone through with Art and come out on the other side,

we

we have missed

itself-

myself with fresh

Life

learn to our cost that-

illusions, all

If I could deceive

would be well ;

if

; !

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

7°

it

were in

might

I

me

to be proud

and

vain,

not be at this moment.

ever on the increase

;

I

am

how happy

My

fame

is

looked upon as an

unheard-of phenomenon, impossible to classify

pamphlets and magazine are written about

articles

innumerable

me; misapprehension and

admiration reciprocally work each other up.

How

unspeakably indifferent

Nothing would

me

to

it all

return for a

am so discouraged by misapprehension of my writings, and

moment to constant

induce

remain to

I

quill-driving, I

disheartened by realising that the inner meaning of

my whole

my

being and of

closed book.

One

comfort me.

Not only am

views remains a

thing alone could avail to I

admired,

I

am

—where criticism ceases, love steps

also beloved in,

and many hearts have been brought

to me.

But

this

very sympathy remains a

thing apart, aloof from life

indirectly,

bend

it

closer

me

and that

;

life

it

only touches

my

having taken the

has, I can only contemplate this wealth

.

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

71

of love as from a great distance.

If I could

become a thorough

me

;

but there

egoist

no help

is

would be better

it

for

and, like you,

it,

by resignation that

feel it is only

for

I

I

can be true

to myself.

Dear

friend,

I

have been speaking to you

about myself, and there are kinds that

all

cannot unload

I

still

should like to

my

many tell

things of

you, but

I

I

do

wish that you could obtain leave to write to

me

more

often;

all

freight at once.

frequent communication

is

needed

to keep up a flow, which otherwise gets stopped

up by a

certain restraint.

you about

me

yourself, for

cannot write to

I

you alone can enlighten

and give me the key to your present

existence

;

I

do not even venture to

tell

you

What

opinion of yourself and of your position. I

think of you and feel towards you

keep to myself, otherwise suspicion of wishing to

that

I

I

my

I

must

should incur the

make you

can say to you about yourself

vain. is,

All

that I

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

72

should seem to myself very absurd

attempt to give you advice suggest any

way

in

if I

were to

if

you can

but

;

which the advice or counsel

of a true friend could be of use to you, you

would confer a happiness on me.

me know

of anything let

I

!

packet of books will reach you in spirit while

;

If

you think

my

hope that I

you read them.

am

with you

Let

me know

whether you have received the "Ring of the Nibelung," and,

if

allowed to have

it.

not, It

whether you is

will

be

the climax of

my

present artistic achievement.

soon as possible. present.

If

early date,

whether you letter

of

me know

let

will

letter,

that

up.

and

farewell for the

I shall I

have

at present

Farewell.

through your

at

an

wife

be allowed to receive another

great dislike to sitting

a

this as

you are not able to write

from me.

much

And now,

Answer

then take up the thread

left

untold, as I have a

down more than once to

my

brain

is

quite dried

Keep up your courage and your

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

—we

patience

none

of us

can pull through

without the one and the other.

Your

Richard Wagner. Zurich,

June

8th,

1853.

73

LETTER

IV.

Zurich, 25th January, 1854.

How

I

came

your

leave

to

swered for almost four months

is

easily explained to myself; but

will

make

it

to

friend.

Anyhow, the

it

chief

blame

is

importance and interest of your

answer

much do

it

All last

Liszt paid

dearest

due to the

letter.

To

me

a

my will

summer visit in

I

as of

my

was very

July ;

power to unsettled.

later, I

went to

Moritz in the Grisons (6,000 feet above the

St.

sea)

;

in the

end of August to

such parts of *

be more

any way adequately was not so

in

a question of

so.

a matter

my

clear to you,

difficult

unan-

letter

Owing

to

it

—

at least to

as are open to me,*

Wagner's

exile

from

provinces were interdicted to him.

74

Italy

—Turin,

Saxony, the Austrian

RICHARD WAGNER'S lETTERS. Genoa, Spezzia

from there

:

Nice and to remain there

my

a strange land

whelmed me

I

intended to go to

some time

for

that suddenly, and partly in con-

While

I

me, and asking

I

could across Lago Maggiore

St.

Gothard, and came straight home.

was

recruiting here your letter reached

same time

at the

me

month

meet him

to

of October

newspapers to

heard from Liszt

there,

During

I

spent the

which caused the

infer that Liszt

to answer your

my

I

in Paris.

intention of bringing out stage.

indisposition,

a state of melancholia, and set out

with what speed

and the

but in

;

sense of solitude so over-

sequence of a purely physical I fell into

75

and

I

had the

my operas on the Paris

all this

confusion I was unable

letter,

and meant to do so on But once

return to Zurich.

there,

I

was

overcome with such an intense longing to get to I

work

at the music of

was not

your

in a proper

critical

my

" Rheingold " that

frame of mind to reply to

remarks on

my

poem.

No

!

really

—

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

76

I

So

could not.

threw myself passionately

I

an interval of

after

six years

determined not to write

till

—into

I

had

composition of "Rheingold." done, and

now

to answer

you sooner ;

accomplished,

I

I

understand

am

music, and finished the

Well, that

my own

is

reluctance

now, the work being

for

in a quite different position

to reply to your criticism, or rather not to reply to

it

—that

doubtless were best,

right in criticising

but

;

ceiving and carrying out the

and may. you about

But

it,

as best I can

but I should like to talk

in the first place,

conferred on yourself :

me

tell

me by the

and

over a

it

in regard to

you

strike

me I

my

you what a boon you

accounts you sent

and of your well-being.

your position than your

work

Therefore, I shall not quarrel with

actual letter, let

it

right in con-

with you.

little

to

you are

am

too,

I,

for

I

me of

come back

as being almost happier in

am

in

letter bears witness to

mine.

Every

line

of

your perfect sound-

—

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

Now

ness and sanity.

The

fact that

77

admire you for

I

an improvement life,

I

for

which

am

I

I

indeed thankful

can imagine circumstances

might

have to forego every

that which

One

renounce.

But what

is

thing

freedom

I

was

is

sincere

!

—that

harmony with

his

Outward constraint

—freedom

Does one mean by

?

Freedom is,

pang

on to

called

paramount

is

as our politicians seem to hold Certainly not

your

though

;

alleviation to existence, without suffering a

on account of

a

has been

in the actual conditions of I

must confess

under which

me

you are allowed to write

letter of five sheets proves that there

this.

is

!

it

—lawlessness

?

He who

sincerity.

true to himself, in perfect

own is

nature

—he

is

powerless unless

ceeds in destroying that sincerity in

its

it

free.

suc-

victim,

and inducing him to dissemble, and thus attempt to

make himself and

something alone

is

different to

others believe that he

what he

true servitude.

really

is.

is

That

But one need never

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

78

submit to that. bondage,

man

Let a

be actually in

he preserves this sincerity of soul,

if

he keeps his essential freedom intact, at least

who has

a higher measure than another

in

ceased to

where

feel

that

constraint

the world

in

submitted wholly to

—simply

its

—active

every-

because he has

power, and for

its

sake

has consented to play the hypocrite. I is

believe that this sincerity (Wahrhaftigkeit)

in fact

no other than what philosophers and

theologians

(Wahrheit). is

mean when they Truth

is

of

talk

an idea, and by

its

truth

nature

nothing else than sincerity in concrete form.

The simple meaning else

than

of this sincerity

is

nothing

reality (Wirklichkeit), or, better still,

the Real, the Actual (das wirklich Seiende) that only

is

real

which

is

senses (sensuous), whereas able to the senses

is

and imaginary.

If,

;

and

appreciable to the

what

is

non-appreci-

unreal and merely abstract therefore,

I

am

right in

considering sincerity as the most complete mani-

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

79

«

and expression of

festation

nothing else than the feeling, at least that is

And

philosophy.

from

what

yet this idea

latter,

as this

it

is

has become in as far

removed

conceive of

it,

and consequently from

time no word has given

is

abstract idea of this

reality as sincerity, as I

akin to this

Truth

reality,

rise to so

much

is

all

error

word Truth, which gradually has become

the source of every sort of fallacy,

till

finally

—as must always be the case with mere abstract ideas—has become nothing but a term the idea

(word),

and out of terms one can always build

up a system lay hold

;

on

but

a very different matter to

it is

reality.

We have no certain expe-

rience of reality except through feeling, feeling,

an

be

affair

it

remembered,

is

once and

and

for all

of the senses.

It is clear that in

idea to be conveyed as the term

is

using the word is

senses,

the

not mere animal senses,

contemptuously applied by philo-

sophers and theologians, but the human senses

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

So

capable of reaching to the stars and of measuring their courses.

Having established

this, I

think

at one in our views concerning the

so far as

it is

we

shall be

"World"

(in

the domain for the exercise of this

feeling of sincerity) if

we

allow ourselves to be

guided exclusively by the one genuine source of experience, namely, attention source.

to

sensation,

impressions

Man, acting

and only pay from

derived

this

conformity with his

in

organisation, has recourse to endless expedients in order to grasp the Universe as a whole

expedients in

:

these

endless complexity are

all their

simply a group of concepts

;

and

in our pride at

having thus attained to a concept of the world in its entirety,

we

lose sight of our true position,

forgetting that after all

we have grasped nothing

but the concept, and that consequently

we

are

simply taking pleasure in the instrument of our

own making, further

while

all

the

time

we remain

removed than ever from the

reality

of

1

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

But the man who can

the world.

8

no lasting

find

delight in the phantasms of this illusion at last

becomes conscious that against

its

his

own mind

rebels

He recognises the unreality

tyranny.

of this barren illusion, and feels impelled to

turn to

and to approach

reality

feeling.

Then

by means of

it

the question arises

:

how

is

this

to be done, seeing that reality conceived of as a

whole can only be intellect,

made

and cannot be brought

with feeling

?

It

to

intelligible

the

into relation

can only be done by recognising

that the essence of reality consists of infinite multiplicity (Vielheit) plicity, incessantly

.

This inexhaustible multi-

renewed and renewing, can

only be apprehended by

feeling, as the

one ever-

present though ever -varying element. variability is the essence of the real

or that which

is

real.

the unreal,

imagined, alone being invariable

and immutable. can be

;

This

To

Nothing but what be real

—to

live

is

variable

—what

is

it

but to be born, to grow, to bloom, to wither

RICHARD WAGNERS LETTERS

82

and

to

die

Without death as a necessary-

?

concomitant, there

is

no

possibility of

life

:

that

alone has no end which has no beginning ; but

nothing real can be without beginning, only abstract ideas.

Therefore to be at one with truth oneself

and

to give

is

up as a sentient human being wholly

entirely

to

reality

— to

encounter birth,

growth, bloom, blight and decay frankly, with joy and with sorrow, and to live to the life

made up

live

and so

truth."

to die.

To make

we must

and

of happiness

This

is

full this

suffering

— so to

" to be at one with

such a consummation possible

entirely renounce the pursuit of the

Universal.

The Universal is made manifest to us

only in separate phenomena, for of such alone

can we

in

the true sense of the

cognizance.

Now we

phenomenon

if

we can

time completely absorb it.

can only

Where must we

at it,

word take

fully

grasp

a.

one and the same

and be absorbed by

look for the most complete

TO AUGUST ROECKEL. example

of this

Nature.

We

must look to

process

?

Ask

and to love

love,

All that I cannot love remains outside

only.

myself, in

marvellous

83

and

remain outside of

I

it

—a condition

which a philosopher perhaps, but not a sincere

man, may imagine that he grasps phenomena.

Love

in its

most perfect

between the sexes that

human

;

it is

reality is only possible

only as

man and woman

beings can truly love.

Every other

manifestation of love can be traced back to that

one absorbingly

real feeling, of

which

all

other

affections are but

an emanation, a connection,

or an imitation.

It

is

an error to look upon

this as only

one of the forms in which love

revealed, as

if

with

it,

is

there were other forms co-equal

or even superior to

it.

He who

after

the manner of metaphysicians prefers unreality to reality, and derives the concrete from the abstract

—and,

the fact,— he

in short, puts the

may be

word before

right in esteeming the idea

of love as higher than the expression of love, 6 *

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

84

and may in feeling

affirm that actual love is

made

manifest

nothing but the outward and visible

sign of a pre-existent, non-sensuous, abstract love

;

and he

will

do well to despise that love

and sensuous function it

were

In any case

in general.

such a

safe to bet that

loved or been loved as

human

man had

never

beings can love,

or he would have understood that in despising this feeling,

what he condemned was

expression, the

The

love.

highest satis-

and expression of the individual

only possible through love.

being

when being

is

both man and woman, and

these

two are united that the

exists,

and thus

man and woman humanity.

human

Now

it

is

is

only

and that

to be found in his complete absorption, is

sensual

outcome of man's animal nature,

and not true human faction

its

a it

real

human is

only

human

only by love that

attain to the full

measure of

But when nowadays we

talk of a

being, such heartless blockheads are

that quite involuntarily

we

we

only think of man.

,

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

It is

only in the union of

85

man and woman, by

love (sensuous and super-sensuous), that the

human cannot

being exists

and as the human being

;

the conception of anything higher

rise to

—his own being,—so the

than his own existence transcendent act of his

this

life is

consummation

of his humanity through love.

renew

it,

the whole of

life

He

can only

being after

all

but a

constant renewal of the multiplicity of vital

phenomena

;

and

it is

which alone

this renewal

explains the true nature of love, approximating it

to the ebb

and flow of the

tide

—constantly

changing, and ceasing only to begin afresh. is

therefore a grievous error to look

power

in love,

renews

itself,

by virtue of which as a weakness

hand, to glorify as the abstract,

imaginary

knows what, which of real love.

;

it

It

upon that constantly

and, on the other

real, lasting love that

feeling,

centred

on God

after all is but the spectre

The mere

possibility of its indefi-

nite continuance proves the

unreal nature of

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

86

this abstract sentiment.

sense of the word,

ness

Eternal, in the true

that which annuls finite-

is

But

better, the idea of finiteness).

(or,

between the

real

and

finiteness there is

no con-

—namely,

nection to be established, for the real that which vation,

is

and

characterised by change, reno-

multiplicity

what we imagine infinity of the

Finiteness

is

—

the negation of

is

metaphysician

is

eternal unreality.

a mental image, which sure enough

has power to strike terror into our souls

can only do this reality.

If,

limitation.

to

for

is,

it

our hold on

lost

reality of love, that terror

To sum

the

the notion of

annihilates

love

up, only that which it

is

real

is

through love that

we

most perfect manifestation of

reality; therefore fact

but

;

on the contrary, we are possessed

can be eternal, and attain

we have

if

by a sense of the vanishes,

The

to ourselves as finite.

Love only

egoism ceases

" I " passes into the "

at the

Thou."

is

eternal.

The

moment when But

it is

the

impos-

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

sible *'

87

keep a firm hold on the "

to

Thou "

one

if

"

Universal.

is

mean "I" my own only then real to

"

and

bewildered by notions of the

and the " Universe

I "

I

self;

" merely

and the Universe

me when

it

is

passes into the

" Thou," and this can only happen through the

medium

of the loved one.

This process can be

renewed through the medium of friend

;

but in order to love child or friend with

a perfect

what

love, a

is

it

feeling,

child, or of

first

known

to lose himself in an all-absorbing

and

love to a

man must have

he can only learn through his

this

woman.

child and friend

At the is

best, this feeling for

only a makeshift, a fact of

which those are most conscious who have most fully

realised

the ecstasy of mutual love as

between man and woman.

All other affections

are merely a proof of the multiplicity of our

human

nature,

which brings to

light strange

anomalies, sometimes of an absurd, but equally often of a tragic, kind.

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

88

But enough

!

venture to intrude on your

I

solitude with this confession of faith, for I feel

yourself

but

I

your saddening

by agreeing with me.

Not only you,

—indeed,

is

each one of us

moment under

present ditions

no

fear of

sure that there

—

live

circumstances and con-

;

for

true, the only real life

imagination as an

each of us the only

can only

exist

unattained ideal.

reached the age of thirty-six before divined the true meaning of ;

the

which we can only look upon as stop-

gaps and makeshifts

pulse

at

up

till

my

in the I

had

I

had

creative im-

then Art had seemed to

me

to be

the end,

life

the means.

come

me

too late, and the result of following

this

A

new bent could not be

other than tragic.

wider outlook into the actual world forces

home is

to

But the discovery had

the conviction that for the

impossible.

my

It

has come to

moment Love

this, that

friends, in addressing himself to

could affirm with truth

:

one of

Germans,

" You do not

know

;

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

what Love means. of loving

The

How should men be capable

who have no

thing

initiative of

impossible."

is

89

put up with a makeshift,

Character

Therefore it

seems to

if

?

we must

me

it

best frankly to accept things as they are,

were

and to

abide by this acknowledgment of the truth,

even

if

avowal bring us no other good

this

than the proud consciousness of having gained a knowledge by means of which

we may be

enabled to guide the wills and aspirations of

mankind

into the

true that in

way

doing this

humanity as a whole by

of redemption.

;

we

but

It is

are working for

we

are driven to

it

realising the fact that the individual cannot

be happy by himself, but only when

happy can he obtain you perceive, only for

me

perfect satisfaction.

this is quite

it is

all

but

is still

I

As

your point of view

not a final standpoint

;

—merely

a temporary platform, a means to an end.

end

are

This

ignored by the majority of mankind

have indicated above what

I

understand

it

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

go

lo

be,

namely, the perfect consummation of love

most complete perception of

as the fullest,

but not an abstract, ideal, non-

reality, of truth;

sensuous love (such as alone

is

possible in the

present state of things), but the love of the

"I"

and the " Thou." look on

It follows that I

efforts of the

science, as in

divine

thing.

step,

I

all

itself

;

our actual

all

is I,

a very simple, but a very therefore,

respect

all

I

rejoice

heartily

but personally

I

at

these

onward

new

each

cannot take part in

striving (which, strangely enough, is

this

ignorant of

its

to which

all

before

and on

recognise a necessity in every

and

advance

race,

the prodigious

ways and means towards an end,

which

•efforts;

human

all

it

me

gain), seeing that the simple

end

tends stands out so prominently

that

I

cannot turn

my

eyes

away

from the object to the means. Only the pressure of a great movement could bring about such an act of self-denial on

my

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

part; and sole

I

should hail that with joy as the

means of redemption

And now, you must

for

away from dreams and

For

aspirations.

believe that I

am

Reality, in the

determinate

me

it

ill

if I

I,

only

to tear myself

egoistic illusions,

devote myself to what alone its

me.

not take

smile at the advice you give

and

gi

and to

real to life itself,

is

on the contrary,

devoting myself to absolute

most

way by

effective, deliberate,

carrying out

and

my own views,

even those that entail the most suffering, and

by dedicating every one of end. if,

for

my

faculties to this

Surely you yourself must agree with

example,

deny to Robespierre the

I

which hitherto he has had

tragic significance for you,

or only admit

This

qualifications.

sympathetic

to

me

me

constituted as he

is

it

type

with considerable is

because there

is

peculiarly in

un-

individuals

no trace to be

discovered of that which constitutes the true end

and aim of humanity

since our degeneracy from

;

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

92

The

Nature.

tragic element in Robespierre's

character really consists in the spectacle he offers of utter helplessness,

his

own

sort of use of this

he

incapacity to

stands

make any

power that he has attained.

only in the confession of this helplessness

that he

own

at the goal of

highest aspirations to power,

confronted by his

It is

when,

becomes

downfall

is

tragic,

and

in the fact that his

brought about by his inability

to achieve anything towards the happiness of

mankind.

I

am

thus of opinion that his case

the precise converse of what you conceive be.

He had no

to

high end in view for the sake

of which he condescended to unworthy

on the contrary,

it

is

it

was

means

to disguise this absence

of any such end, and to conceal his

own want

of resource, that he had recourse to the ghastly

paraphernalia of the guillotine, for

proved that the "Terror" was purely

as

a

it

has been

carried

means of government, and

out in

maintenance of authority, without any sort of

TO AUGUST ROECKEL. genuine passion

grounds

political

and

;

it

who

was conducted on purely

—that

at last

is

to say, in an ambitious

In the end, this miserable

selfish spirit.

being,

93

had no other resource than to

advertise his inept "vertu," put the

means

place of the end,, as happens with

purely political heroes,

who

all

in

these

duly come to grief

from their own incapacity with such uniformity that

it is

hoped the whole

to be

class is shortly

On

destined to disappear from history. other hand, I maintain that

my own

according to

my

the

" Lohengrin,"

conception,* symbolises

the most profoundly tragic situation of our age,

namely, the longing which besets us to descend

from the highest heights of mortal contemplation and to plunge into the depths of affection

—that

—the

desire

powerless to

On *

all this

That

desire to be

immersed

which modern

human

in feeling

reality is as yet

satisfy. I

have enlarged

is to say,

sufficiently in

not "Lohengrin " pruned

distorted for the use of

down and

Opera Houses.

my

RICHARQ WAGNER'S LETTERS

94

preface.

would only remain

It

what, situated as

am,

I

I feel

indicate

to

impelled to do in

furtherance of the aim of bringing both myself

and mankind nearer to that which as the goal of

which

I,

I

recognise

—a goal from

human endeavour

am

as an individual,

cut

off,

because

the rest of mankind as yet deliberately cut

themselves off from recourse to

my

aid,

so

I

much

Here

am

I

can

I

my

and the work that

I

were to have

now no more art

must come

conceived under

no other than

this influence is

poem;

—unless

means which

bring myself to use. to

it

my

inclined to think that

the obscurity of

my

Nibelung it

version of the

poem, as the point of view which you ently adopted in

was not

persist-

opposition to mine, which

was the cause of your

failing

many important

it.

parts in

to

understand

Such mistakes are

of course only possible in the case of a reader

who

substitutes his

own

ideas for those of the

poet, while the simple-minded reader, perhaps

—

—

:

—

—

:

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

95

unconsciously to himself, takes in the matter

more

easily, just as it

For myself the poem

is.

can only be interpreted in the following way

Presentment of I

reality in the sense in

have interpreted

which

Instead of the

above.

it

:

words

"A

Thy

is

dawning

gods

for the

wilt thou not deliver

Then be

I

day

fateful

And

;

up the ring ?

assur'd thy race ere long shall end

noble race

now make Erda

—in shameful overthrow." say merely

••

All that

is

—ends

A fateful day dawns for the gods I counsel

We

must learn

you beware of the

sense of the word.

source of

generated

How

all

it

The

love

die in the fullest

fear of the

lovelessness,

when

came

and to

to die,

ring."

and

so far lost sight of by the

human

came

to wane.

things living

all

it

the

that this feeling which imparts

the highest blessedness to

last

is

this fear is only

begins

itself

end

to

this

:

all

that

was

race that at

mankind

did,

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

96

ordered, and established fear of the

end

all

My poem

?

reveals Nature

was conceived only sets this forth.

in her undisguised truth,

in It

with

those inconsistencies which, in their endless

embrace even directly conflicting

multiplicity,

But

elements.

it is

not the repulse of Alberich

—the repulse was table owing to their nature — that was the cause by the Rhine-daughters

of

all

the mischief.

inevi-

Alberich and his ring would

have been powerless to harm the gods had they not themselves been susceptible to

Wherein then sought

?

the root of the matter to be

Examine the

Wotan and in

is

scene

first

Fricka, which leads

the second act of

"The

necessity of prolonging

—a

tie

resulting

illusion of love, the

between

up to the scene

Walkiire."

The

beyond the point of

change the subjection to the

them

evil.

from

tie

an

that binds

involuntary

duty of maintaining at

costs the relation into

all

which they have entered,

and so placing themselves

in hopeless opposi-

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

97

tion to the universal law of change and renewal,

which governs the world of phenomena

—these

are the conditions which bring the pair of them to a state of torment

The development

and mutual

of the whole

lovelessness.

poem

sets forth

the necessity of recognising and yielding to the change, the many-sidedness, the multiplicity, the eternal renewing of reality and

Wotan own

of

life.

rises to the tragic height of willing his

This

destruction.

have to learn from the history of mankind will what necessity imposes, it

The

about.

we

the lesson that

is

:

and ourselves to bring

creative product of this supreme,

self-destroying will, its victorious achievement,

a

fearless

to love .

:

to

human

who

being, one

Siegfried.

That

is

is

never ceases

the whole matter.

As a matter of detail, the mischief-making power, the poison that

is fatal

to love, appears under

the guise' of the gold stolen from Nature and

misapplied—the Nibelungs'

ring,

redeemed from the curse that 7

never to be

clings to

it

until

•

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

98

it

has been restored to Nature and the gold

But

sunk again in the depths of the Rhine. is

Wotan

only quite at the end that

this,

when he himself has reached

him

in the

realises

the goal of

what Loge had

his tragic career;

it

foretold to

beginning with a touching insistence,

consumed by ambition had ignored.

the god

Later in Fafner's deed he merely recognised the

power of the curse works

is

only

when

the ring

that only by restoration of

realises

what was and he

it

destroying spell on Siegfried himself

its

that he

;

can

stolen

deliberately

the evil be annulled,

makes

his

own

part of the conditions on which

destruction

must depend

the annulling of the original mischief.

Experience fried alone

is

(man by himself)

human

being

along

with Briinhilde

:

redeemer.

To

are possible

;

he

Moreover, Sieg-

everything.

is

is

not the complete

merely the half; that he

is

is

only

becomes the

the isolated being not

there

it

all

things

need of more than

one,.

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

and it

woman,

is

herself,

redeemer

:

for

and willing to sacrifice

suffering

who becomes

90

at last the real, conscious

what is love

itself but

the "eternal

feminine " (das ewig Weibliche).

So much

for the

may

the poem, which

more

its

I

my

broad and general

particular

lines of

be taken as summing up

and

special features.

cannot believe that you have misapprehended

meaning and intention

that you have attached

only

:

seems to me

it

more importance

to the

connecting links and parts of the great chain

than they, as such, deserve

been bound to do

;

do not agree with your

statement

on the contrary,

ness

;

for

it

my

criticisms with regard

want of lucidity and

instinct has kept

you had

As a whole

ideas.

to a certain :

if

order to read into

this, in

poem your own preconceived I

and as

me from

distinctness of

I believe that

a true

a too great definite-

has been borne in on me, that an

absolute disclosing of the intention disturbs true insight.

What you want

in

—as indeed

drama

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

100

works of Art

in all

—

by statement of the the presentment of

to achieve your end, not

is

artist's intentions,

life

as the resultant, not of It is just

arbitrary forces, but of eternal laws.

my

this that distinguishes

but by

poetical material from

the poetical material which alone absorbs

all

poets'

minds

at the present day.

For example, by

you do, that the

insisting, as

intention of Wotan's appearance on the scene

"Young

in

defined,

Siegfried" should be

you are prejudicing

in a

more

clearly

marked manner

the fateful element in the development of the

drama, which to

me

is

farewell to Briinhilde,

departed

spirit

;

Wotan

is

let

alone,

them go

After his

in all truth a

true to his high

must now leave things

power over them,

so important.

resolve,

he

and renouncing all as they will.

For this reason, he is now only the "Wanderer."

Look well at him, for us.

in every point he resembles

He represents the

actual

sum

of the Intelli-

gence of the Present, whereas Siegfried

is

the

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

man

greatly desired

But we who long

Future.

him

fashion

means

and longed

is,

for

by us of the

him cannot

for

he must fashion himself and by

;

Taken

in this

way,

you must acknowledge, highly

inter-

of our annihilation.

Wotan

101

whereas he would seem to us most

esting;

unworthy

if

he appeared as a subtle

which indeed he would be

if

intriguer,

he gave counsel

apparently against Siegfried, though in reality favourable to

Siegfried

and consequently to

That were a deception worthy of our

himself.

my

political heroes, but not of

on

his

own

jovial god, bent

Look

annihilation.

at

him

in his

In

juxtaposition to Siegfried in the third Act.

presence of his impending destruction, the god

has at

last

become

so completely

contrary to his high resolve

human

—there

is

that

once more

a stirring of his ancient pride, brought about by his jealousy for Brunhilde

as

it

has

now become.

—

his vulnerable point,

He

will,

so to speak,

not allow himself to be merely thrust aside

;

he

:

RICHARD WAGNERS LETTERS

102

chooses rather to

before the conquering

fall

But

might of Siegfried.

this part is so little

premeditated and intentional, that in a sudden burst of passion the longing for victory over-

powers him, a victory moreover which he admits

made him more

could only have

Holding the views faintest

and

Of course

I

I

miserable.

do, I could only give the

subtlest indication of

do not mean

my

my

hero to

design.

make the

impression of a wholly unconscious creature

on the contrary, represent

my

have sought in Siegfried to

I

ideal of the perfect

human

whose highest consciousness manifests the

acknowledgment

must

find

expression

that

all

itself in

consciousness

present

in

being,

life

and

action.

The enormous

significance that I attach to

this consciousness

which can scarcely ever find

adequate expression in mere words, will be quite clear to

you

in the scene

and the Rhine-daughters.

between Siegfried

Here we see that

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

wisdom has come

infinite

103

to Siegfried, for he

has grasped the highest truth and knows that •death is better than a

the ring, too, has

leed do

come

of fear

:

knowledge of

to him, but he does not

power, for he has something better to

its

he keeps

;

life

it

only as a proof that he at least

has never learnt what fear means.

Confess, in

the presence of such a being, the splendour of

the gods must be dimmed.

What strikes me most is your question, "Why, seeing that the gold it

is

restored to the Rhine,

necessary that the gods should perish

feel certain that, at

?

"

is

I

a good performance, the

most simple-minded spectator

will

be

left in

no

doubt on that point. Certainly the downfall of the gods as a

As

is

no necessary part of the drama regarded

mere contrapuntal nexus of motives.

such, indeed,

twisted,

it

might have been turned,

and interpreted to mean any conceiv-

able thing

—after

politicians.

the

manner of lawyers and

No, the necessity

for this downfall

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

104

had to

arise out of our

own

deepest convictions,

And

was

all-

important to justify this catastrophe to the

feel-

as

Wotan.

did with

it

ings of the spectator

and

;

thus

it is

it

so justified to

any one who follows the course of the whole action with

When

simple and natural motives.

all its

finally

Wotan

gives expression to this

sense of necessity, he only proclaims that which

we have

along

all

must needs

felt

be.

At the

end of " Rhine Gold " when Loge watches the gods enter Walhalla and speaks these

fateful

words: "They hasten towards their end

who

imagine themselves so strong in their might," he, in that

own

moment, only

conviction

;

for

gives utterance to our

any one who has followed

the prelude sympathetically, and not in a hypercritical, cavilling spirit,

to

his impressions

but abandoning himself

and

feelings,

will entirely

agree with Loge.

And now Brunhilde.

let

me

say something to you about

You misunderstand

her, too,

when

TO AUGUST ROECKEL. you attribute her

Wotan

refusal to give the ring

it

was

for love's sake that

Wotan

the gods, because where

schemes^ she could only the

moment

—love

that Siegfried

Brun-

Wotan and from

hilde sundered herself from all

up to

Can you

and obstinacy.

to hardness

not see that

105

?

clung to

Above all, from

had awakened her

she has no other knowledge than the knowledge

Now

of love.

the symbol of this

fried's

departure

claims

it

her

spirit

—

is

it

was that

after Sieg-

When Wotan

the ring.

from her, one thing only

—what

— is

present to

originally alienated

her from him, her having disobeyed for Love's

sake; and this alone she that

for

head.

still

conscious

of,

Love she has renounced her god-

She knows also that one thing alone

god-like,

and that

Love; therefore

is

splendour of Walhalla give

is

up the ring

fall in ruins,

(her love).

poor, avaricious and

stood revealed to us,

the

she will not

Just consider

common if

let

is

how

she would have

she had refused the ring

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

106

because she had learned (possibly from Siegfried)

of

its

magic, and the power of gold.

Surely you did not seriously think such a thing of so grand a

woman ?

But

woman

because, being the

you shudder

if

she

she should

is,

have preserved as a symbol of love just

this

ring on which the curse lay, then you will have

penetrated

my

meaning, and

will

have under-

stood the curse of the Nibelungs in terrible

and

tragic significance

its

most

then you will

;

admit the necessity of the whole of the

drama

of " Siegfried's death."

compassed

in order that the

That had to be

malign influence of

How

the gold should be fully revealed.

come about

last

did

it

that Brunhilde yielded so readily to

the disguised Siegfried

Simply because he

?

had wrested the ring from whole strength

lay.

(das Damonische)

The

her, in terror,

which her

the fatality

that underlie the whole of

that scene seem entirely to have escaped you.

Through the fire which

it

had been foreordained

;

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

that none but Siegfried should

his

way

pass,

which

had passed, another has

actually none but he

made

107

to her with but

little difficulty.

Everything totters round Briinhilde, everything

is

out of joint

overcome, she over

it is

is

"forsaken of God."

Siegfried in reality

share his couch sciously

in a terrible conflict she

;

;

who

And more-

orders her to

whom

Siegfried

is

she (uncon-

and thus with the greater bewilderment)

almost recognises, by his gleaming eye, in spite

You must

of his disguise. is

being enacted that

—and

mere words

me

to explain

Well,

I

it

is

it is

feel

that something

not to be expressed in

wrong

of

you to challenge

in words.

have certainly expanded pretty

freely

the fear of doing so was really the cause of delay in writing.

I

was perturbed

to find that

you had so completely misunderstood features of

my

drama.

me, that only in

its

my

certain

This has made clear to

complete form and under

favourable circumstances would the work be safe

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

108

from misapprehension, and as

was

I

seized with

a violent longing to begin the musical composition, I gladly

gave myself up to

The completion

writing to you.

" Rhine Gold,"

once so

at

my

important, has restored

you

perceive.

I

now

of the whole spirit

only for

made

my

life

I

and so

;

I

how much

my poem cannot

is

now

even look at the words without the

need say

perfect unity;

is

ceding motifs.

that

there

orchestra which

upon

myself

and meaning of

hope to send you the

all

of the music of

difficult

by the music

clear

desire, before

sense of security, as

realise

musical accompaniment. I

my

is

In the course of time

score. it

is

For the present,

has worked up to a scarcely a bar in the

not developed out of pre-

But

it is difficult

to enter fully

this in a letter.

What you

say as to the carrying out and per-

formance of the whole work meets with approval infallible.

;

my

full

on these points your judgment I

shall certainly follow

is

your advice.

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

How I am ever to

bring about a complete repre-

sentation of the cycle

a grave problem.

is still

But when the time comes otherwise

I shall attack

aim in life.

I

believe there

for

it,

my one serious

should be deprived of

I

109

would be no

difficulty

about the merely mechanical part of the undertaking

;

but

how about my

very thought makes

must look

to

young

me

artists

performers

?

The

Of course

groan.

who have

I

not been

already entirely ruined by our present Opera system.

I

called "stars."

company

my dreams think of soHow I am to educate my young

don't even in

is

the question.

would be to have a

my

I

I

should like

whole troupe together

year, without allowing

in public.

What

them

should in that

for

to perform once

way have daily inter-

course with them, and train them both on their

human and

their

them gradually to

artistic

side,

ripen for their task.

the most favourable conditions

on a

first

thus allowing

I

So under

could not count

performance before the summer of 1858.

;

no

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

But no matter how long

it

such concentrated activity,

thing inspiring in for the sake of

an object that

own

which makes

As

creation,

some-

I feel

lasts,

worth

life

living.

must turn a deaf ear

for the rest, I

my

entirely of

is

to all

your life-precepts and counsels over these things ;

one has no control

—they

Believe me,

was once possessed by the

too

I

idea of "the agricultural

become a

radically healthy

come

of themselves.

In order to

life."

human

being, I

went

to a Hydropathic Establishment

two years ago

up Art and everything

I

was prepared

I

could once more become a child of Nature.

But,

my

good

my own

—we

is,

is

as

friend, I

naivete

going mad. land

to give

when

None

was obliged I

to laugh at

found myself almost

of us will reach the promised

shall all die in the wilderness. Intellect

someone has

incurable.

said, a sort of disease

In the present conditions of

Nature only admits of abnormities.

we can

if

only hope to be martyrs

;

;

it

life,

At the best

to refuse this

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

vocation

is

to put oneself in opposition to the

possibilities of

For myself,

life.

exist except as

an

pass love and

life,

interests

The

me in

result

Ill

is

a

artist

it

can no longer

since I cannot

all else

so far as life

;

I

com-

me, or only

repels

has a bearing on Art.

of torment, but

it is

the only

possible life. Moreover, some strange experiences

me

have come to

through

my

When

works.

think of the pain and discomfort which are

my

chronic condition,

I

cannot but

nerves are completely shattered to relate, lus,

of insight

never

comes to me, and

and

known

my nerves I

my

but marvellous

on occasion, and under a happy stimu-

these nerves do wonders for

receptive

:

now

that

feel

I

me I

;

a clearness

experience a

creative activity such as

After this, can

before.

are shattered

?

I

I

have

say that

Certainly not.

must admit that the normal condition of

—as circumstances—

temperament

is

calm and repose

it

But

my

has been developed through

a state of exaltation, whereas

is its

abnormal condition. The

—

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

112

fact

that

become

I

happy.

If

him on

when

only

is

is, it

my

Goethe

I

am

and

real self,

change places with any one,

Humboldt, opinion

I

whom

I

as indeed

;

and

feel well

otherwise,

felt

that account

"beside myself"

do not envy

I

— not

would not even with

you look on as a genius, an

cannot share.

No

doubt you

feel just

as I do,

and are not prepared to change with

any one

;

wherein you do wisely.

admire you After

I,

at least,

sincerely.

all, I

am

not so

much

out of touch with

Nature as you seem to think, even though

I

am

no longer in a position to have scientific dealings with her.

who lives

In these matters here,

and has

I

for long

student of natural science. friend

I

look to Herwegh,

been a profound

From

this

dear

have learnt many beautiful and inspiring

things about Nature, and they have influenced

me on many and let

vital points.

Nature take the place to

namely of

love,

—

I

But rather than

me

of real

life

would let her go by the board.

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

In this respect Better to

die,

am like Briinhilde with the ring.

I

—to

live

than renounce one's because that

I

am

tell

;

You must not think

belief.

reply in this

I

manner

to your advice,

ungrateful to you for

be ungrateful

No

without thought of joy,

indeed

it

for the love that

I rejoice in

you how deeply

I

am

;

how

could I

prompts you?

that love, and cannot

touched by

it.

This

by a sense

feeling of gratitude is only equalled

of admiration for the strength and at the same

time for the gentleness of your

One

thing

I

wish, and that

spirit. is

a speedy per-

formance of the work which you have written.

Send me more help you.

Can

the thing not be

details

about

is

;

managed

Have you heard nothing from

the only one with

influence

me you

for with

my own

?

in case I could

it,

Publisher Avenarius at Leipzig

he

tell

?

the

Unfortunately

whom

I

have any

publishing firms

I

have only had dealings through others, and never satisfactorily to myself. 8

As soon

as I

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

114

received your letter

him

I

correspond

to

terms, offers, etc.

wrote to him and begged with you about

directly

In spite of a second

letter, I

have had no answer from him. I don't

know what

would be of

to send

interest to you.

you just now that I

myself have got

quite out of the habit of reading; but if I

upon anything

striking,

I

pass

will

come on to

it

you.

My

" Tannhauser "

being performed almost,

is

everywhere in Germany

especially has

;

taken up by the small theatres.

it

been:

The large ones,,

from reasons which one quite understands, hold aloof.

still

As regards the performances,

I

hear that they are for the most part wretchedly bad, so

comes

I

in.

do not quite know where the pleasure

As

I

do not see them,

I

have ceased

to be sensitive about this prostitution

works; though a recent

first

of

my

performance of

" Lohengrin " at Leipzig did make a very painful

impression on me.

I

hear

it

was incredibly

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

Amongst other

bad.

1 15

one word was

things, not

clearly declaimed throughout the evening, except

by the heralds.

It

has come to

my works

regret ever having given

this, that 1

to the public.

In Boston they have got the length of having

Wagner nights, but

my

—concerts where nothing They want me

compositions.

America

if

;

But

?

given

to go to

there with

who knows

the necessary means,

should do so

me

they could provide

is

but that

I

to tour about as a giver of

concerts, even for large

sums of money,

is

what

no one need expect of me.

And now, my

dearest friend, I must stop.

necessary I could

fill

a

folio

would be no lack of matter it

for

and

some other

see that

me waiting

it

—that

writings.

If I

in

Tell

be hoped

It is to

you

next

me much letter.

8 *

keep

will not I

kept you

about your

have forgotten anything,

my

there

we must keep

but

so long for your letter as

answer.

it

occasion.

you do

for this

retrieve

;

of paper;

If

I

can

Now good-bye,

Ii6

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

dear old friend.

Hope,

—

for

even

I

am

not

without hope. Yours,

Richard Wagner. Zurich, 26th Jan., 1854.

To August

Roeckel,

Schloss Waldheim,

Saxony.

LETTER

V.

Dear Friend, have

I

have put

you

at

this

minute received your

my work

and

aside in order to reply to

once and thus carry out an intention

A

have postponed for a year.

my

burdened

unwritten;

moment

letter to

why

it

I

you has

conscience for long, and

hardly understand

for

letter,

I

can

has been so long

most probably the mood of the

never set in the direction of writing,

my lonely walks I have often written to in my thoughts. But I have developed into

on

you

a thorough-going pedant, and sort of brooding,

which makes

impossible, and from which

work.

But

I

I

I

am

a prey to a

all

expansion

seek refuge in

won't waste time on excuses of

this nature. I

have been comforted 117

lately

by news of

my

—

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

Il8

and by the accounts she

wife's visit to you,

sends

me

me

her report

Your

father, too,

in quite

Don't take

for.

who came

good

spirits

we

me

here, put

about you.

In his

I

several times laughed heartily over

it.

The consequence

not

much

myself,

to see

account of you, that,

quaintly reassuring confess,

me up wrongly.

way, he gave such a

definite

clear, sensible,

seems to

it

your account was

that any anxiety on

indeed uncalled

me

From

of you.

to

left

and

me

of which

to write to

in dealing

that there

is,

is

you about but

with this subject there

are various hindrances.

But to come

to the point

—and

in the first

instance as regards outward circumstances, I

continue to lead a

absolutely

and

life

of the utmost seclusion,

entirely given

work, the composition of In Germany their

way

;

my but

"Tannhauser"

is

my

up

to

my

great

Nibelung dramas.

operas are steadily making it

is

still

a slow

business.

given more or less every-

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

119

Brunswick, Vienna,

-where except in Berlin,

Munich, Stuttgart, and the smaller theatres of Bavaria and Austria ; in Prague and Gratz, how" Lohengrin " follows

-ever, it is given.

is in

suit,

and

high favour in the Rhine provinces and in

and

Breslau;

Dutchman

"

in

I

am

"Flying

As regards the

being given.

is

performances,

certain places the

quite convinced that they

are poor, and that they would only distress if

I

were to be present

particularly

concerned

performed as

it is

to

show what

I

stage myself.

as to

forbid

new

I

it

meant, by

my

I

" Lohengrin,"

having been able

first

putting

it

on the

report that reached you

being given in Paris was certainly a

its

canard.

were

about

without

The

them.

at

me am

have heard nothing of

on the cards

it.

On

and even

should most probably

I

the other hand, something quite

has turned up.

Society in

it,

The

old Philharmonic

London has asked me

their concerts this season.

to conduct

When their invitation

!

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

120

reached me, clouds. in the

I felt

as

if I

had dropped from the

had never troubled myself the

I

least

world about London, and had calmly

accepted the fact last year that at these very

my "Tannhauser"

concerts

only massacred, but

was not

overture

As

actually hissed.

I

hesitated about accepting their invitation, they

went so

far as to

send one of their directors

At length

Zurich to secure me. as I

and

that

felt

for

it

I

to-

consented,

was a case of repudiating, once

any further connection with the Art

all,

public, or of accepting the

The pay

out to me.

is

hand they stretched

not large, and as I

not contemplate any private speculation, I

do

am

merely going out of curiosity, in order to see

what the people had any

ulterior

together, at rate

some

company

and more

in

London

design,

it

are about.

would be to get

future date in

London, a

in order to give all

especially

event will prove

If I

"Lohengrin."

my

first-

operas,

Well, the

;

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

start at the

I

concert

end of

this

121

35th of June.

beginning

I

of

The

month.

on the 12th of March, the

is

last

first

on the

expect to be back in the

on

July

the Lake of

Lucerne,

Switzerland.

There

the

my

spot in

favourite

shall recover

I

by

Seelisberg,

from the

my

worries of London, and hope to compose

" Young Siegfried."

I

have finished the composi-

tion of the " Walkure," spirit,

my

all

will

amid much anguish of

of which no one

knows anything,

excellent wife.

Peace to the subject

I

!

complete the instrumentation in London

up to now

I

have only commenced

I only finished the fair last

autumn.

to

have

it

I at

urged

sistently to allow

was obliged to

him do

it.

copy of " Rheingold

"

once sent the score to Dresden

my

copied by

Liszt, however,

let

least of

me

him to

old copyist there.

so strongly and per-

see the original, that I

interrupt the copying in order to

so.

Liszt has only

the score to Dresden

;

now

returned

as soon as the copy

is

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

122

ready, either

you

it

or the original shall be sent to

The upshot

provisionally.

doubt be that you

improve

will

I

no

the whole better.

be delighted to see some specimens of Possibly you will succeed better

your music. than

(?)

all will

So much the

thing out of existence. I shall

of

have done.

But now to deeper

subjects.

I

do not mean

to philosophize with you to-day, but shall let

another do so in

my

stead.

I

have just sent an

order to Leipzig to forward you a copy of

Arthur Schopenhauer's book,

World

The

as

Will and Idea. I

hope you

as there

is

will

be allowed to read this book,

nothing in

it

that has any objection-

As you

able bearing on your position.

to

know

the book for yourself, I need

nothing about

account of

its

it,

but

author.

present 62 years old

some time

I

past

;

in

he

give

will

will get tell

you some

Schopenhauer lives

you

is

at

and has been

for

complete

retirement at

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

Frankfort.

Briefly, this

123

has been his career.

His chief work appeared as early as 1819 in 1844 he published a fuller edition of

an extra volume.

He

;

and

it,

with

took up his position as

the direct heir of Kant, and this simultaneously

with Hegel's appearance on the scene. Schopenhauer's philosophy, which completely demolishes

the nonsense and charlatanism of the FichteSchelling-Hegel view, was absolutely ignored for forty years

and

by the professors of philosophy,

purpose and intention.

this of

knew anything

of him.

discovered by an English

At long critic,

last

No

one

he was

and introduced

to the world in a long article in the Westminster

Review.

This writer expresses his astonishment of Schopenhauer's eminence should

that a

mind

have

remained

unnoticed

for

nearly half

a

century, though, naturally enough, he recognises

that the philosophy

these

professors

hermetically,

was of a kind which forced

to

seal

and shut him

up off

Schopenhauer from the world

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

124

they meant to cut away the

large, unless

at

ground from under article

when

their

was translated

it

said

into a Berlin paper, since

since

bare and openly declared. the book

Kant has been

my

a

to

of

incalculable, but in a sense that will

is

confess

laid

The importance

from satisfactory to many.

far

me

The

has been impossible to ignore Schopen-

German philosophy

I

feet.

and now the miserable impotence of

hauer,

be

own

experience of

life

For myself, had brought

when only Schopenhauer's

point

philosophy could wholly satisfy a decisive influence on

me and

my whole

exercise

life.

In accepting unreservedly the profound truths of his teaching

I

was

my own given my line

able to follow

inner bent, and although he has

thought

of

from

its

a

direction

somewhat

different

previous one, yet only this direction '

harmonized with the profoundly sorrowful conception I had already formed of the world. I

am

sure that the

book will have a great and

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

125

may

even be that

decisive influence on

you

will find in

it,

you

it

;

should you require

it,

the

more

unique consolation of which strong

spirits

than others stand

say nothing

further to you

in need.

on the

I will

subject, but I feel that

from henceforth we have a new and sublime

common on which we may exchange

interest in

In reading Schopenhauer

our ideas.

of you constantly, and

is

it

once deep and solemn that work, which at a inner

me

gave

life

strength to renounce.

no greater finished

discuss

it,

it.

benefit

write

to me,

father,

Do

it

I

can confer

When

you have

me, and we

can then

read

letter to

;

London, care

Milton

St.,

Dorset

who has been most

recommended me

to Praeger

lodge with him on arrival. await your next

my own

of

endure and

Address your

Your

send you this

to

of Ferdinand Praeger, 31

Square.

I

courage

on you. to

with a feeling at

moment

critical

thought

I

letter.

I

:

I

kind shall

shall anxiously

For to-day you must

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

126

be

satisfied

with these few pages.

outward events

I

have nothing to

As regards tell,

and

for

the things of the spirit I send you Schopenhauer.

From London

I

shall write often

and

fully.

Trust ever in

me

Kindest regards from

my

Farewell, dearest friend.

and

in

my

affection.

wife.

Your

Richard Wagner.

LETTER

VI.

22 Portland Terrace,

Regent's Park,

London.

Dear Friend, I

have just read your

to answer

exchange for into

my

at

it

it

me

feel

prompted

once, or rather to send in

some of the

ideas which

mind while reading

attempt to answer lead

and

letter,

it

it;

in detail

astray into too

much

;

for I

to

came

cannot

do so would

hair-splitting.

I

I

perceive that you continue to be an obstinate

optimist;

Apostle

and

that, like unto

Paul, Judaism

in

your friend the

particular

is

still

deeply rooted in your nature.

As regards

myself, for long past

only with the greatest 127

difficulty,

it

has been

and by per-

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

128

sistent rejection of the teaching of experience,

that

had succeeded

I

in maintaining

mistic attitude towards

mere remnant of Hebrew to be

still

cast out

It

life.

an opti-

was thus a had

superstition that

when

encountered the

I

prodigious force of friend Schopenhauer's genius.

Only with much exorcised,

finally

was

this superstition

but in the

end there was

travail

comfort and that peace which comes to a

who

has once for

all

and has attained the that

is

man

done with self-deception measure of freedom

full

The

possible to mankind.

deepest truth

of Schopenhauer's doctrine, the truth that only

the greatest minds have been able to grasp, rests

on Kant's important

subjective too,

character of

must have

we can

fully

all

discovery of

phenomena.

the

We,

grasped this truth before

take one step further towards the com-

prehension of the "thing in itself" (Das Ding

an

sich)

outside

;

held, as

the

sphere

you know, by Kant to of

our

knowledge,

lie

but

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

1

29

designated with convincing force by Schopen-

hauer as Will.

I

cannot pretend that

I

am at all

times able to follow the process of the solution of this mighty problem,

The

clearly.

still less

to

expound

it

clear realisation of the subjective

character of time, space, and causality, as mere

forms of perception, argues a mental process of so sublime a nature that,

proves beyond dispute, to

sooner have

brain,

and under

excitement.

peculiar

of

Schopenhauer

can only be possible

an abnormally organised

conditions

all

it

as

we comprehended

But no

this truth

than

the illusions which have hitherto darkened

our judgment vanish as

sudden even words plain

;

for our

fail

if

by magic, and of a

us to

make our

position

words hitherto have been adapted

to the service of a far different knowledge than

that to which difficulty

now

we have now is

to

attained.

The

communicate our ideas

through this confused medium of word-symbols, without every

moment

giving occasion for mis9

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

130

It is therefore wisest to start

understanding.

from the simplest phenomena, namely, from, nearest to our

those that

lie

To have

achieved

common

experience.

kind of clearness

this

Schopenhauer's extraordinary merit. only to those

through those of

his

who first

and most important process

that

presents no stumbling-block;

and

his it

that initial step that the difficulty point,

intelligible to it

it

however, must

be

is

him

are capable of following

reasoning

following

But

is

stages-

meaningis

just in

lies.

The

perfectly

any mind of a superior order,

for

has been unanswerably demonstrated, and in

fact

serves as the point of departure of our

modern natural

sciences.

In normal man,

all

his

senses,

and more

especially his organ of perception, namely, his brain,

is

entirely in the service of his Will.

The

emancipation of this faculty of perception from the service of the Will act,

is

thus an abnormal

and can only take place with abnormal

1

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

13

organisations (having in a sense the stamp of

In

monstrosity).

exceptional condition

this

which we recognise

in its highest

development

as genius, the faculty of perception becomes

conscious in the

first

instance of

its

normal

condition, and, being thus liberated from the

the

of

service

bondage

to

and asks

which

itself

:

recognises the state of

Will, it

has been hitherto subjected,

How does

dominating

this

up

controlling Will manifest itself

when

in

all-

to this point,

an abnormal condition of liberated

perception

it

ceases to assert itself

to this question

we have

?

In answer

to admit, with a deep

sense of shame, that this Will has sought nothing

but to

live,

namely, to nourish

itself

by the

extermination of others, and to reproduce

by propagation.

We

can discover nothing in

Will beyond this blind

Now in truth has

itself

instinct.

the abnormal condition in which this

become

clear to us,

ask ourselves whether there n *

is

we

are forced to

not some risk in

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

132

subjecting ourselves to the service of a Will so constituted,

into the

and we seek to penetrate further

meaning of

phenomenon.

this

then recognise that this Will perceptible

quently

all

is

phenomena

isolated

individuations of the

same

identical in all

and

manifestations,

We

that

conse-

are nothing but

Will, recognisable as

such by our faculty of perception, according to

fundamental forms of cognition

its

manifestations, that is

is

—individual

to say, of an entity that

continually engaged in self-consumption

and

self-reproduction.

This entity thus appears as

something that

perpetually at variance with

itself,

is

something that subsists

which the only

in a discord, of

to us

fruit visible

is

pain and

suffering.

The question then this

Will attain

circumstances?

arises

:

To what

under the

height can

most favourable

Just to that point which

we

have reached when we recognise the possibility of the

emancipation

(that

is

to

say in an

— TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

abnormal case) of one of

its

133

organs, namely, of

the faculty of perception, from the service of the Will,

and thus

to a recognition of

character.

And

we gain?

Clearly

in

acknowledging

we

its

essential

this,

what do

gain the knowledge of

the essential, the awful nature of this Will, and at

length through this knowledge

to

sympathy

it is

characteristic that

no word to express sympathy with this

perception

point

sympathy with

by reason of

their

life,

all

things living, and

that has been kept apart from

all

virtue,

This has at of religion.

all

bondage

In this perfect

us by the illusion of individuation all

At

Under the

in unconscious

of the Will.

service

unison with

of

joy.

and most favourable conditions we

attain to a

to the

we have

gains a moral import

which hitherto had been ignored. highest

attain

compassion with suffering

i.e.,

(Mitleiden), for

we

lies

the root

the true secret of redemption.

times been the point of departure

But what deliverance

is

there from

—

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

134

the infinite pain of such a sympathy

make

be sought in an endeavour to easier, to mitigate to

means this this

Is

?

humane

a certain extent by

and increasing

instinct

which we have spoken still

has

would

be in complete bondage to the Will, as to

whose true nature individuation deceived.

—thanks to the illusory

—our

effect of

enslaved faculties are

True insight (and

difficult to grasp)

in

it

knowledge of

his perception

;

The

?

could believe this and desire

completely missed the perfect

itself,

towards

self-consumption and self-reproduction

man who

to

things

eternal conflict of the Will with

terrible

it

it is

still

this that is so

has only come to us when

an abnormal condition

—we

have renounced

our individual Will, and thereby repudiated and

denied the service

of

the Will.

And

there

follows as the highest product of this knowledge

the recognition that for

him who has attained

universal sympathy, redemption

is

to be found

only in the deliberate negation of the Will

—that

I

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

is,

135

in realisation of its corrupt nature,

and of the

necessity of release from participation in service.

And

ceivable

and

its

in the first place the only con-

practicable

way towards

open to us

this

the renun-

liberation that

is

ciation through

sympathy of our individual Will.

And

lies in

that amounts to nothing short of the com-

plete negation, in fact to the annihilation, of the

Will.

Well,

I

must confess that

appeals profoundly to

can conceive of no

my

loftier

this

philosophy

heart and head

—

or truer teaching.

All misapprehensions of the apparent disagree-

ment between the of

all

individual Will

and the Will

things living outside myself, result from

the defective understanding of the subjective character of our perceptions, in so far as they are conditioned by the fundamental forms of

our cognition (Time, Space, and Causality).

man who

The

has mastered this profoundest of

problems, to

whom

are no longer

all

Time, Space, and Causality

realities,

has also grasped the

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

I3 6

truth that his individuality based on these forms

and he

sees that not

in the creation of these notions of

Time, Space,

of perception

no

is

reality,

and Causality, but

in self-renunciation is to

sought the highest act of the Will.

It

be

does not

occur to Schopenhauer to draw utilitarian and practical

conclusions from

formulate theories

;

for

the

truth,

he knows that

it

or

to

is

not

the business of philosophy to conjure up spirits,

but that

its

mission

is still in

on the contrary,

—seeing that our bondage—the old phantoms,

to destroy as far as

perception

is,

may

be

of our enslaved perception.

He

is in

no wise

concerned to interfere with the peace of a

who,

in order to enjoy life

only addresses those

who

man

quand mime, busies

himself with the creation of fresh illusions

It follows that

new

truly desire to

Philosophy, the

sum

;

he

know.

total of all

the sciences, can only end in negation, whereas all

other speculation being in the service of the:

Will seeks truth in affirmation. This affirmation.

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

137

carried out to its logical conclusion at all costs is

nothing more nor

less

than Judaism, grown

so powerful again at the present time,

embodying, as

it

does,

and

most miserably

the

narrow-minded conception of the world that has ever been imagined.

From

all

time the minds that have attained,

thanks to their abnormal organisation, to a clear perception

have turned to the minds of the

multitude

in

still

bondage to the Will, and,

having compassion on them, have sought a

means of communication with them. Foremost

among

these enlightened spirits have been the

founders of religions, and

it

has been their

tragic destiny that they were forced to

make

use of such a language and of such symbols as are alone intelligible to ordinary unenlightened

minds. Certainly the Indian Prince

Buddha spoke

the language which most nearly gives expression to that lofty enlightenment.

Thanks

to recent

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

I38

oriental studies, the scales have fallen

eyes,

from our

and we can form an independent judgment

of this wonderful personality, no longer seen

through the distorting medium of the Hindoo religion of the present day.

If

we

are to speak

terms understanded of the people of this

in

highest perception,

the

form

of

can only be done under

it

and

pure

Especially important

teaching.

Buddhist

primitive

the doctrine

is

of the transmigration of souls as the basis of a truly

human life

—a

life

whose sympathy extends

even to the inconscient animal and vegetable world.

Surely this doctrine

is

the happiest

inspiration of a sublimely sympathetic spirit.*

The lished

latest

scientific

inquiries

have estab-

beyond dispute that the idea underlying

Christianity

enormous

has

its

difficulty,

in

India.

remind the reader that Wagner

in attributing the ancient Indian doctrine of

the transmigration of souls to Buddha, as invention of

The

nay, the absolute impossi-

* It is barely necessary to

was mistaken

origin

his.

if

it

were an

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

bility of grafting

Judaism central

on to the barren stock of which has as

this sublime truth,

its

thought contempt of the world and

negation of the will to

cause of

139

all

has alone been the

live,

those contradictions which hitherto

have so sadly distorted Christianity that

For

pure image can scarcely be recognised. the quintessence of Judaism

is

unreasoning optimism, to which right so long as purse filled

;

all

things are well-

and for this there is no lack of opportunity,

accepting the world as things to one's

own

how

is

divine

it

it

in the right

way,

and twisting

is,

advantage.

all

In contrast to

the recognition of the vanity

and nothingness of

this

world manifest

faith of primitive Christianity, is

that heartless

and stomach are

provided one sets about

this,

its

in the

and how sublime

Buddha's doctrine, which makes us one

through sympathy with

all

things living!

In judging other details of Schopenhauer's

philosophy

—

for instance, his treatment of the

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

140

penal code, already

—you

philosopher

this

said,

postulates,

must remember, as

I

have

makes

never

nor does he express approval or

disapproval, but he rests satisfied with establish-

ing the essential character of

all

phenomena.

For instance, he demonstrates what the State is,

what

justice

ought to be.

is,

and so on

Far from

it,

;

but not what they

and

if

you are not

satisfied

with things as he shows them to be, by

much

the more are you at one with Schopen-

so

•hauer,

who turns

saying, as

it

his

were

back on the whole business, " See, so

:

much

is

within

your reach, these are the makeshifts which allow

you to continue affirming your is

on sophistries of

will to live.

this nature that are

what you are pleased

to call

founded

humane methods

for the difficult task of preserving the

race,

It

human

though you are quite well aware how much

'justice

'

is

in

them

;

but don't imagine that you

impose upon me, and, above

all,

don't prate to

me, forsooth, of a State philosophy and similar

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

From

nonsense."

which

all

141

follows that

it

if

we would fain allay the divine thirst for sympathy aroused in us by the clearer insight that has come

we must

to us, in

seek satisfaction elsewhere than

any conceivable By-and-by

I

social

and

civil institutions.

send you Schopenhauer's

will

minor writings, among which there exhaustive

treatise

From

you

this

profound insight this

in

a very

Somnambulism,

on

what

etc.

rare

and

this philosopher has dealt

with

will

problem, and

see with

how from

which we are aware of an

a second

is

intuitive faculty,

a phenomenon, activity implying

he deduces convincing

proof of the subjective character of our ordinary

methods of cognition,* of the unity of the Will in all things that have

life,

and of the

illusive-

ness of the sense of individuality, so that the

problem of the denial of the Will

becomes *

i.e.

that

at

once

intelligible.

we

are deluded in thinking

knowledge of the external world. reflex inside his

own

head.

Each

we have any of us

direct

knows only a

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

142

But enough of

The

this.

demonstration was not so (for-

certainly

you

will

do

must

philosophy colours

much

my

to teach

you

up once more for

you that

tell

my

this best yourself), as

to clear the whole subject myself, for I

of

object

this

profound

mental processes from

day to day, and that

I

now contemplate

world from a point of view which allows

the

me

to

recognise facts of deep and irresistible signifi-

cance

—

facts in relation to

which

I

used formerly

to practise systematic self-deception, in the vain

endeavour to remain true to optimistic delusion.

am

Especially

I

deeply

moved by contempla-

tion of the position of animals, so shamefully ill-used

and

ill-treated

by mankind, and

glad to be able to give

way without shame

the strong sense of pity which felt,

I

I

am to

have always

and no longer to have to seek about for

sophistries to

whitewash the wickedness of men

in this respect.

As

for the rest, if

anything could increase

my

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

contempt of the world, expedition to London. that

I

have

bitterly

145

my

would have been

it

Suffice

to say briefly,

it

my own

atoned for

folly

in allowing myself, in spite of experience,

and

through mere foolish curiosity, to be beguiled into accepting the present engagement.

more can

I

say

?

At the

to hope for here, and

my

What

have nothing

best, I

presence as conductor

of these concerts can only lead to fresh mis-

understandings.

I

have not

even

had the

satisfaction of giving really beautiful perform-

ances of Beethoven's works, for each time

it

has only been possible to have one rehearsal;

and even had the orchestra been not

enough

to

establish

better, that is

a thorough under-

That the Jewish

standing with the players. press here should cut

me up

profound indifference to

me

;

I

is

am

a matter of all

the more

glad that other journalists, and particularly

own

audiences, do not

astray,

and do

let

my

themselves be led

justice to me, in so far as they

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

144

But

are able.

I

recognise that

possible for them to do so fully, I

heartily repent having

hold out

and consequently

come here. Now,

the end of June.

till

and even

a good one);

if

It

were possible,

it

that can interest Besides,

work

I

gets

am

It is

?

Praeger here

at

or did rest,

I

Bath

we

itself

for a

I

see a great deal of

visit.

I

Did we,

few days' holiday.

much

of you

For the

?

new acquaintances, but Thanks is

I

mean

for the sugges-

actually going to be

given at Berlin, but without Liszt, as Edward

my

going to

"Tannhauser"

*

success.

its

am

not, speak

avoid

not

Lately

to look up N. S. Tulk. tion.

only the work

good, crazy fellow.

Edward * was here on a him

my own

always depressed here, and

—a

I

what

me now,

on very slowly.

is,

—and

would not be possible

would be the good

must

here (that

should not wish for a performance of operas.

I

It is useless to

German opera

think of having a

now

not

is

it

I

Roeckel, brother of August.

was not

—

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

in a position to insist upon

That

longer do without the fees.

conduct

it

effect,

shall hear nothing.

not

In

—to my beloved

mean

summer

intended to

my

and work

being,

shall

I

return

via,

I

— these can

I

do

Retirement,

live

and from which

constitute

and move

I will

never

Excuse more to-day

soon write again, as there

be something to add on various points. -well,

have

I

Switzerland, which

again be dragged away. I

I

and in all probability

the element in which alone

perhaps

and could no

ever to leave again.

beautiful scenery,

.and have

145

myself was a mere canard;

heard nothing to that

Paris

it,

;

may

Fare-

and be as ever of good courage.

Your

Richard Wagner.

10

LETTER

VII.

Zurich,

August 23rd, 1856.

Your

my

letter,

dearest

friend,

from

far

rousing a combative spirit in me, has only

confirmed

me

nothing

is

gained by discussion.

which

essentially

is

is

in the belief that in this

world

That

in us,

,

and fundamentally our own,,

not our conceptions (Begriff) but our intuitions

These, however, are so inalien-

(Anschauung).

able a part of our being, that

we can

never

wholly express them, never adequately com-

municate them

;

for

even the most complete

—the achievement of the work of Art — apprehended by

attempt in this direction the

artist,

is

others purely in accordance with their intuitions. 146

How can

an

artist

expect that

own what

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS. he has

by

147

should be perfectly realized

felt intuitively

others, seeing that

presence of his work,

he himself

if it is

the

feels in

true Art, that he

is

confronted by a riddle, about' which he too

might have

might?

just as another

illusions,

Now, would you suppose

it

possible for an artist

to be helped to a clear understanding of his

own work by an own ?

As

intelligence other than

to this, I

am

as on this very point

I

in a position to speak,

have had the strangest

Seldom has there taken place

experiences.

man

the soul of one and the same

a

division

and

estrangement

between

the

and

understanding of

my own

the help of another, the

my

reasoned

his

For

consciously or reasonably formed ideas.

must confess to having arrived

in

so profound

intuitive or impulsive part of his nature

I

his

at a clear

works of Art through

who has

conceptions

provided

me

with

corresponding

to

intuitive principles.

The

period during which 10 *

I

have worked in

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

148

obedience to

my

intuitions dates

" Tannhauser "

Dutchman."

Flying

"The

from

" Lohengrin " followed, and

there

if

and any

is

expression of an underlying poetic motive in these works,

it

is

to be sought in the sublime

tragedy of renunciation, the negation of the

which here appears as necessary and

and alone capable was

this

will,

inevitable,

of working redemption.

It

deep underlying idea that gave to

my

poetry and

my music

that peculiar consecration,

without which they would not have had that

power

to

Now, the

move profoundly which they strange thing

tellectual ideas

at which

I

struggles

to

conscious

on

life,

is,

and

had arrived

that in

all

have.

my

in all the conceptions

in the course of

understand the world with

reason,

I

in-

was working

in

my my

direct

opposition to the intuitive ideas expressed in

these works.

While, as an

artist,

such convincing certainty that took their colouring from

all

my

I felt

my

with

creations

feelings,

as a

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

philosopher

sought

I

to

149

a

discover

opposed interpretation of the world interpretation once

discovered,

though, to

my own

totally

and

;

this

obstinately

I

found

held to

it,

that

had invariably to go to the wall when

it

confronted

my

by

surprise, I

and purely

spontaneous

objective artistic intuitions.

made my most

I

my

remarkable discovery in this respect with

Nibelung drama.

It

time when, with

my

had taken form ideas,

I

had

at

a

up

built

an optimistic world, on Hellenic principles; believing that in order to realize such a world, it

was only necessary

for

man

to wish

ingeniously set aside the problem,

did not wish

it.

I

remember

that

it.

why it

I

they

was with

this definite creative purpose that I conceived

the personality of Siegfried, with the intention of representing an existence free from pain.

But

I

meant

in the

presentment of the whole

Nibelung myth to express

more

clearly,

my

meaning even

by showing how from the

first

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

15°

wrong-doing a whole world of consequently

fell

the lesson, that

up by the

it

we must

recognise evil and tear

and

roots,

was

I

raise in its stead a

scarcely aware that in

the working out, nay, in the

scheme,

by a wholly intuition,

I

and

to pieces in order to teach us

righteous world.

my

evil arose,

first

elaboration of

was being unconsciously guided

different, infinitely

and that instead

of

more profound conceiving a

phase in the development of the world,

I

had

grasped the very essence and meaning of the

world

possible phases,

itself in all its

realized its

nothingness

which was, that as intuitions

and not

I

the consequence of

;

was

my

to

and had

true to

my

living

abstract ideas in

my

completed work, something quite different saw the light from

But

I

what

had

originally intended.

remember that once, towards the end,

decided to bring out

what

I

it

my

I

original purpose, cost

might, namely, in Briinhilde's final

somewhat artificially coloured invocation to those

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

around her,

in which,

151

having pointed out the

^vils of possession, she declares that in love

alone

is

blessedness

{unfortunately)

making

nature of that Love

ment

of the

to

is,

myth we

be

without

found,

quite

what the

clear

which

in the develop-

find playing the part of

-destructive genius.

To

this extent

was

I

led astray in this one

my

passage by the interposition of Strangely enough,

intention.

I

was always

despair over this said passage, and subversion

the complete

of

-conceptions, brought about

to discover to faction,

me

my

required

intellectual

by Schopenhauer,

the reason of

my poem*

in

my

dissatis-

keeping with the

whole idea of the drama, which simple and

consists in a

sincere recognition of

This new version of the

the

true

final verses of Goetterdaemmerung,

Wagner here refers, was later on cancelled as the had been the poem was allowed to finish without any

to which first

it

in

and to supply me with the only adequate

Jkey-stone to

*

intellectual

;

irace of moral reflection and doctrine.

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

152

of things and

relations

the attempt

from

to

complete abstinence

preach any

particular

doctrine.

My reason process,

Once

between

make my own this

problem

position clear to of

the

difference

and

(Anschauung) had been solved for

Schopenhauer's profound and inspired

penetration,

I

ceased to think of

abstract idea, for I realised

was borne that,

mental

intellectual conceptions (Begriff)

intuitions

me by

this

which cannot be considered devoid of

interest, is to

you.

you

for imparting to

in

having

on

me

fully

it

mere

as a

which

as a truth,

with such convincing force

recognized

satisfied to accept

it

it

its

nature, I

for myself, without

was

com-

mitting myself to the presumptuous mistake of

attempting to force dialectic.

that

I

I

am

it

on others by means of

profoundly conscious myself

should never have been convinced by

such means, unless

my own

had been

and therefore

satisfied

;

deepest intuitions I see

that if

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

the truth of which

brought it

home

to

I

153

have spoken

to be

is

any one, he must have

intuitively before

he can grasp

it

felt

intellec-

tually.

We

can form no abstract conception of a

thing unless

we have

living intuition

especially

if

;

he

if

philosopher as

a

previously grasped

man

feels

himself as

is

order to

sum up

conceive

of

root

idea

the

is

and

Nevertheless,

Art.

is

most

perfect

much

My

only

ask you, in

the whole matter, can you

moral

not

I

of a

little

inclination to pose as a dialectician.

language

as a

realizes that clearly,

do, he will not have

I

a

it

action

renunciation

ideal

of

which the

?

And what

holiness,

redemption,

if

it

namely,

full

not

the

is

recognition of this truth, as the basis of

our action

?

But even with these simple questions too

far,

all

go

I

and become more abstract than

advantageous to myself.

Therefore

let

me

is

tell

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

154

you a few more things

my

about

concrete

personality.

am an

I

my

once

Artist,

nothing

my

and

blessing

else,

and that

curse;

at

is

otherwise

I

should have wished to have been a saint and to

have ordered it

achieve

rest,

in the simplest

am,

mean

I

As

and struggle

I strive

by which

way.

to

the completed

of an undisturbed, tolerably comfortable

rest

to

life

fool that I

is,

life,

my

in order that I

work and

To

may have

to be an artist.

attain

this

is

so

laugh at myself.

been

am

Since last

pretty

that in

difficult,

constant pursuit of rest I

have

nothing to do but

I

wretched.

often obliged to

wrote to you

which

I

I

The London

expedition was a foolish inconsistency on part, for

my

my

have patiently submitted to

punishment, even to the extent of remaining to the end of

my

power of work the score of

engagement. left

"The

me.

I

While

had meant

Walkiire," but

there, all

to finish

my memory

TO AUGUST ROECKEL. of what

had meant

I

returned to Zurich

ill,

it

and

155

to be vanished.

I

in the course of the

winter, during repeated attacks of erysipelas,

completed the "Walkiire" with

between ourselves,

beginning of summer

well

is

it

I

difficulty (but,

went to the neighbour-

hood of Geneva, where, under the a

first-rate doctor, I

course

of

In the

done).

direction of

underwent a most beneficial

which

hydropathy,

I

have

just

completed, and have returned here, where

found your

letter awaiting

to think of

" Young

It

was too soon

commencing the composition

Siegfried."

Liszt

at the end of September:

two

me.

finished scores with

is

him

;

of

visit

me

go through

my

going to

I shall

I

and then

I

hope

to start on " Siegfried " refreshed and inspired,

and

to present

it

finished to the world

by the

end of next year.

That

With

is

all

I

have to

tell

you of myself.

sore difficulty I got, while in

year, a finished copy of " Rhine

London Gold

"

last

from

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

156

Dresden.

and

I left it

behind with a young friend

gifted musician, Klindworth, in order that

he might make a good pianoforte arrangement of

He had

it.

the misfortune to be

for a long time,

me

the

ment latter

ill

himself

and has only recently returned

score and the completed arrange-

full

for the pianoforte

must be taken

a

;

fair

and

here,

copy of the

for this

purpose

the copyist must have the score on account of

When

the annotations.

can do what

with

like

I

the copy

it

I

after Liszt's

As yet no copy has been made of the

"Walkiire," as here,

finished I

the score, and

promise that you shall have visit.

is

I

have only one good copyist

and he has not much time.

unwilling to

hands that

let

my

I shall

am

original scores out of

so

my

not send the " Walkiire " to

Dresden to be copied its loss,

I

;

not so

much

for fear of

though that would be serious enough,

as because

I

need to have

go on with the work.

it

at

hand

in order to

So you must kindly

"

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

157

my

works, and

excuse delay in the receipt of attribute

get you Schopenhauer's minor works.

I will

There

to above-mentioned circumstances.

it

is

so

them, that

much I

that

is

new and important

in

can promise you pleasure from

them, in spite of the undeniable asperities and prejudices of a pronounced misanthrope which

may I

At the same time

occasionally repel you.

owing

which,

overture,

In

suggestion, I retouched.

seems to

me

an

to its

" Faust

my

send you the score of

will

unexpected

present form

not unworthy of myself.

books must be sent from Leipzig.

my giving my

it

But the

As regards the

German

the external events of

life,

theatres continue

operas very badly,

and none the that

fills

me

less

with

Efforts are being for

me

humorous

made

to return to

part of the

with a persistent success

amazement.

to procure permission

Germany,

especially

on the

Grand Duke of Weimar, who has

interested himself actively in the matter, but

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

:58

without, so part,

what

far,

I chiefly

to carry out all the

unfortunately,

desire for myself is health

schemes of which

more

"Tristan and Isolde" as a

power of anguish)

in

my

Buddhist legend concerning

am

them

be,

;

for,

have got a is

final

treated

(a

Redemption).

them that

some steadfastness of purpose

into

full

Conquerors "

so possessed by both of

requires

am

head, and also a

wholly new subject, " The

I

I

which Love

(in

I

need

than

full

Nibelung dramas,

besides the

my

For

a favourable result.

it

to force

the background in favour of

the

"Nibelungs."

Now,

white what

I,

who am

could do at one bound. spirits

still

in

need of

Keep up your

and your clear-headedness, and

philosophy to your needs. only

and

dearest August, you see in black

know what we

must allow are nothing

desire to

less

cheerful

suit

your

At the best we can

that, in spite of our

more or

rest,

know;

for

knowledge,

you

we

than embodiments of

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

will,

and as such the most powerful,

wisest, of things created.

159

if

not the

Farewell, and believe

me,

Your

Richard Wagner.

LETTER To

VIII.

Mr. August Roeckel,

Weimar. Biebrich,

You

March

6th, 1862.

will easily believe, dear friend,

many and what each time

I

varied feelings

I

am moved

think of the Past we had in

of your imprisonment,

and now at

by how

common,

last of

your

turn

my sympathy on this last of events, and above all let me congratulate

you,

if

liberation.

is

Accept

you are able truly to enjoy your liberty.

not easy to

Anyhow, you position.

make are

clear at

It is as if

long winter's sleep

;

what

I

mean by

It

this.

present in an enviable

you were awakened from a thanks to your incredibly

vigorous nature, your powers are strengthened,

and

at the 1 60

same time have kept

their freshness.

RICHARD WAGNER' S LETTERS.

You have

suffered

now may

pass

changed you

in

much, but your

for

dreams

any way

;

:

l6r

sufferings

they have

for, as I

not

can see from

your printed report, not only have you remained the same in

all respects,

but your desire to take

things up exactly where you

strengthened.

and

them has

nothing short of a miracle,

does not occur to

it

me

to pity you, for I

know where my condolences would

should not

come

It is

left

As you have chosen open

in.

political

agitation for the field of your future activity,

it

follows that you are full of hopes for the future

of

events.

before you,

With

so wide a field of vision

cares for your

home and

family

must seem to you secondary considerations.

Your nature demands a sphere shall

bring

things,

you into touch with men and

and you

have

will

gratifying your desire.

that has

of activity which

no

difficulty

in

In short, everything

become a burden to me, and

all

that I

avoid on principle, appears desirable to you and ii

— ;

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

162

attracts you,

and the freshness which you have

kept, thanks to your long privation, will save

you from a too

As

disgust.

for

speedy disillusionment

me,

I

shall

and

watch you with

great interest, and shall rejoice that a

man

of

such parts and so good a fellow as yourself should have been preserved in

work which

full

recognise as necessary, though

I

personally feeling no vocation for tell

you further that

but that

me

it

is

me unmolested,

necessary to

my

dog,

add

I I

perfectly well really clever

angel), I

granting

my work

that, with a willing servant

have

can

that

all ;

and

exist

I

that,

friend

I

happiness

namely, leisure and peace of mind for

when

When

it.

ask nothing of the world

I

should leave

only what

vigour for a

and

a,

want, and can get on

with the exception of a

(whom

I

entertain as

an

without seeking intercourse

with anyone, you will understand with what peculiar feelings I shall contemplate you attaching

yourself

once more actively to a party and

TO AUGUST ROECKEE.

163

cheerfully associating yourself with blockheads

and

To I

of

riffraff

all sorts.

But that

is

your

affair.

give you fuller particulars about myself,

must

tell

you that

I

have with

infinite difficulty

established myself here in great privacy and

new work.

retirement, in order to produce a

My

belp me.

my

came from Dresden

to

She remained here ten days, and

it

wife, to

was during

the early part of her

letter arrived.

Theatre,

I

surprise,

shall

that your

As regards the Art World and the

mean

in the future to

possible to do with either of I

visit

have as

them

;

little

in this

way,

perhaps succeed, as you succeeded in

prison, in thinking better of the world than

deserves (though a single

visit to

Theatre promptly dispelled Therefore

I

am

similar prison,

ment.

all

the

your

if

it

Weimar

illusions).

striving to shut myself

up

in a

possible, in solitary confine-

Believe me,

less involuntary

much

as

my

imprisonment

than yours was.

There

is

not

is

not

difference in the matter of constraint 11 *

;

in

:

RICliARD

164

WAGNERS LETTERS such as you were subjected

fact, brutal constraint

to

may

agree better with an energetic nature

than does the

But

fate which forces

not deny that

I will

I

have submitted just as

me into

seclusion.

should most probably little

as you

the constraint imposed on you.

did to

Sometimes,

used to wish that you might

indeed, I

freei

yourself at whatever cost, and I used to urge:

your people to go through with sary forms.

have done for your

now

I

it,

and

all

the neces-

see that you

could not

I feel

the utmost admiration

behaviour towards your tormentors^

Clearly your conscience

reward.

But

if

must

you mean to pursue

am curious to know how you will would be wisest

opinion,

it

office in

some Liberal

convinced

if

politics, I

begin.

In

And

my

you were to seek'

service, for I

am

almost

that nothing can be achieved

politics save in

power.

be your only

in-

a practical way, and armed with

this

is,

after all, the

one essential

thing in a sphere where obviously you can

do

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

1 65

no more than deal with the urgent of the

necessities

moment, undertaking from time

to time

necessary repairs, without which there would

be confusion and an absolute block. to

my

experience, to be political

to have nothing else in view but in

an immediate

hope

for results

;

future, for

and

According

means always

what

is

possible

then only can you

political activity,

without

Ideas belong to the

results, is sheer nonsense.

domain of Philosophy, but have no meaning to the majority of mankind, with

form of thought or

at

whom

any higher

once becomes superstition

folly.

Well, trip

I

hope we may meet before long ; a

eastwards

is

not an altogether impracticable

idea to me, and most gladly in that case would I stop at

You

Weimar.

quite unchanged;

will, I

indeed,

more

hope, find

me

accessible as

regards hopefulness and belief in progress than I

could wish, which only means that one will

always be an

ass.

I

am

glad just

now

to be

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

166

me

engaged on a work which gives

Would

to

God

I

had got well into

more, thanks for your understand

me

in

—nothing more.

welcome amongst

it.

Once

and do not mis-

any respect.

mortal

believe with

letter,

pleasure.*

am

I

Farewell

Be heartily

!

free -ranging

what genuine envy

I

a suffering

bipeds,

and

look on you.

Best remembrances to your people. Yours,

Richard Wagner. * Wagner was just finishing the poem when he wrote these lines.

of the Meistersingw

LETTER To

IX.

Mr. August Roeckel,

Weimar. Biebrich-on-the-Rhine, April 5th, 1862.

Dearest Friend, have a friend here, a most gifted young

I

musician from

and who

is

whom

attached to

devotion; he would his

an

life if

opera.

A

look for great things,

me with a most touching

feel

happy

he could secure a

"Wieland."* *

I

I

have

Now,

for the rest of

really fine

spoken

to

for

him about

great politician,

detailed sketch of a lyrical drama,

poem

tell

me,

which Wagner

wrote in 1849, but never attempted to carry out ; he offered It will be found in the it to Liszt, Berlioz, and Roeckel. 3rd volume of his writings. 167

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

168

do you ever mean to compose opera again Frankly, I don't believe

anything

to

libretto.

I

me

could try his talents

me

you do not

satisfy

skill

my young

and

you

will ever use

Assuming that

Anyhow, friend

it

he

if

this is so, I should it,

ponder

decide.

have a feeling that you

happened that things

suffering

"Wieland,"

Therefore, think over

last letter amiss.

half

it.

ask you to return the manuscript

be very glad.

Now

probably you

as a musician and develop his

believe

here.

well,

;

of the

with your hand on your heart that

I will frankly

I

it

said

on a really poetical subject. So if you can

swear to

it

scheme

the

doubt your doing

would amply

me

about

some reason against

have

to

You have not

it.

?

I

begin

in

taken

you did wrong.

If so,

was

may have

an

to

evil

mood just

look brighter.

my

It so

then. I

am

from an old complaint, which uses up

my vital

energy to no purpose.

But enough.

My wife

has obtained for

me

a

TO AUGUST EOECKEL.

169

complete pardon and permission to enter Saxony

But

freely. I I

am

I shall

quite comfortably established,

have had

—up

till

For the present potically;

—perfect peace for work.

this

it is

and where

now

work

my

rules

in every respect, both

and without,

my

remain here unmoved, where

des-

life

from within

the one thing necessary for

self-preservation.

I

absolutely do not

know

where to lay hands on a Thaler, unless next winter

have something new to launch "for

I

the theatre."

me

Therefore, for the present, judge

according to this

me,

or, better still,

summer must

I shall

my

come

necessity.

Write to

to the Rhine.

This

not budge from this place.

I

not.

Farewell.

Best regards to

all

and send me soon good accounts

your people,

of yourself.

Affectionately yours,

R.

Wagner.

LETTER To

X.

August Roeckel,

Weimar. Biebrich,

April 23rd, 1862.

Dear Friend, Your

letter

has brought vividly to mind the

There was a peculiar " something "

old days.

about that time when

we were

together.

long to be with you once again. could not

we

Rhine when he has

we

like

too,

Tell me,

your brother here on the

tryst

merry together

I,

his holidays,

and

boys for a week

?

all

be

Here

should be perfectly undisturbed, which, so

far as I

am

concerned at

easy elsewhere. 170

I

least,

would not be so

hope, towards the end of

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS. May,

to pass through

When

day with you.

Weimar, and

171

to spend a

the time approaches let

me know where you will be. But inclined to visit me first for a couple come it so happens that I am in a ;

if

you

feel

of days, do position at

present to pay your travelling expenses.

In summer (June and July) the Billows are

coming

here.

Such things would give

all

are the only joy in

life,

and

I

the world to be able always to

have a friend staying with me. near each other

all

one's

life

If

one

lives

in a large place,

does not come to the same thing:

it

one can

never thoroughly enjoy one's friends by seeing

them I

in snatches.

Therefore, decide quickly.

had rather not come to Weimar to Farewell.

Be

wise,

see you.

and come. Yours,

W.

LETTER To

XI.

Mr. August Roeckel,

Weimar. Biebrich,

June

17th, 1862.

Dearest Friend, was delighted to hear from you

I

sure you

make

whole summer.

came

that you

out the If

to

it

me

visit.

I

again.

Be

remain here the

suited you, I should prefer

About that

early in July.

date the Biilows are coming here for some time.

I

"The read

have forthwith to read them

Meistersingers,"

it

to

had

times

some

and

shall

you as to

and

I

should like to

well, but as I

do

so

already,

have several have

I

lost

of the freshness for such undertakings, it

172

always takes

it

out of

me

;

therefore

RICHARD WAGNERS LETTERS. should

I

be very glad

173

you would com-

if

municate with the Biilows (Hans von Biilow, Schoneberger

12

possible, fix the

Biebrich. {in

Strasse,

same date

and,

Berlin),

if

your arrival at

for

Billow might then inform Schnorr

Dresden) of the date, for he proposes to

pay a

same

about that time to submit to the

visit

ordeal.

As a

and retirement

rule I live in such solitude

that I greatly look forward to this combined outburst.

do

will

It

Another reason

me

a world of good.

for choosing this time

shall be then in a position to let

new

things to

is

little.

you hear

Of

course

I

my

play,

a very good musician,

help with the singing, of which

make but

that I

Hans will

some advantage.

and Schnorr, who

is,

will

nowadays can

Edward

will

be

heartily welcome. I

am

very anxious and curious to see you

seems strange to

again.

It

go on

living,

when

I

me

that

I

should

have outlived so much in

!

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS

174

myself and alas

!

my

surroundings, and on the whole,

to feel so unchanged, that I often appear

Heaven knows, when

to myself like a ghost.

thinking

you,

of

often

I

forget

quite

the

incredibly long episode of your imprisonment,

and go back Dresden

must

in thought to the time of

walks.

And

changed

have

appearance

considerably.

show you what

closed will

your

yet

our

The

en-

looked like two

I

years ago.

Well,

we

shall see

Yesterday

I

caught myself once again in a

burst of political rage.

I

felt

strongly

to write to the Swiss advising

come

way

them not to

to the Frankfort Rifle Meeting

asses having behaved in such a

to the Italians.

excellent

lesson

Perhaps

you

have a

will

political

appearances —

to

it

It

moved

:

those

compromising

would have been an

them and well-deserved. write.

position

stands

However,

you

and must keep up to

reason

one

has

!

TO AUGUST ROECKEL.

175

The

Devil take

sometimes to be prudent.

you

politicians

However, au

revoir.

Make

all

the necessary

arrangements. Heartily yours,

R.W.

—

LETTER To Mr. August

XII.

Roeckel,

Editor of the Frankfort Reform, Frankfort-on-the-Main.

My dear Old Your book * It

is

Friend,

is terrible

!

written with such modesty,

all

such

restraint,

such unwavering love of humanity,

and

same time

at the

it

excites

one to the pitch

of madness.

You certainly are one of the most extraordinary of men, and

With your

God knows what you may

faith

yet do.

you might remove mountains

there can be no doubt of that. It

would be hard to quarrel xwith you

;

I

have

not the least intention of doing so. I

simply devoured your book.

* The Revolution in Saxony, and

176

my Imprisonment in Waldheim.

—

!

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

I feel

much

to escape? fulfil

for

my

But

—how to get man

a sudden, a young heaven, destined for

man can do

rest

When

?

me by

no one

the stars.*

He

as

if

He

by

in-

thanks

Fate that has called him so young to

may

throne, in order that he

my

realise

There

object.

just conjure

Munich rest.

!

This

ideal. !

And now, on

can bear

it

I

one aim and

the other hand, !

all is,

rest

—for

I

no longer, and a general sense of

But what am

I to

me do

beautiful corner

stranger

and

be able to imagine the

will

long for above

disgust overwhelms

some

the

up before your fancy Bavaria

—and you

What

befriend me, his

is

of

!

from

has done.

else

lo

if

appears, as

knows me, and understands me spiration, as

I

need rest and concentration to

mission, which no other

me.

How am

as you did in prison.

I

177

?

I

long to get away to

of Italy,

—a lazzarone—and to

rest

to live as a

my

* Reference to Louis II. of Bavaria.

shattered

RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS.

178

But how can

nerves.

who

clings to

him

leave

That

is

What

to

my

can

me

surroundings

disgraceful

his

What will become

That

do?

young King,

desert this

with his whole heart, and

position. I

I

what

is

of

me ?

ask myself,

I

and no answer comes—no human being can

me— I am As

too tired

and you

sufficient

sense

tell

!

to you, I have

vocation,

?

no

will fulfil

of

You have your

fears.

You have even

it.

humour

stick

to

to

the

Frankfort newspaper.

Accept

done as

my best

excellently,

much

You have once more

thanks.

and your book

is

worth

fully

as your imprisonment.

Farewell; and keep your affection for me, as shall ever be heartily true

and attached to you.

Your R.

Munich, March

I

7th, 1865.

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