It should be
noted that the first and second editions of
these essays on Wagner appeared in pamphlet form, for which
the above first preface was written.
Note.—It was a real disaster for æsthetics when the
word drama got to be translated by “action.” Wagner is
not the only culprit here, the whole world does the same,—even
the philologists who ought to know better. What
ancient drama had in view was grand pathetic scenes,—it
even excluded action (or placed it before
the piece or behind
the scenes). The word drama is of Doric origin, and
according to the usage of the Dorian language it meant
“event,”“history,”—both words in a hieratic sense. The
oldest drama represented local legends, “sacred history,”
upon which the foundation of the cult rested (—thus it was
not “action,” but fatality. δρᾶν in Doric has nothing to do
with action).
Was Wagner
a German at all? There are reasons enough for putting this question.
It is difficult to find a single German trait in his character. Great learner that
he was, he naturally imitated a great deal that was German—but
that is all. His very soul contradicts everything which
hitherto has been regarded as German, not to mention
German musicians!—His father was an actor of the name
of Geyer.… That which has been popularised hitherto
as “Wagner's life” is fable convenue if not something worse.
I confess my doubts on any point which is vouched for by
Wagner alone. He was not proud enough to be able to
suffer the truth about himself. Nobody had less pride than
he. Like Victor Hugo he remained true to himself even
in his biography,—he remained an actor.
My “Genealogy of Morals” contains the best exposition
of the antithesis “noble morality” and
“Christian morality”;
a more decisive turning point in the history of
religious and moral science does not perhaps exist. This
book, which is a touchstone by which I can discover who are
my peers, rejoices in being accessible only to the most
elevated and most severe minds: the others have not the
ears to hear me. One must have one's passion in things,
wherein no one has passion nowadays.
It
should be noted that the German Catholic party is
called the Ultramontane Party. The river which can thus
flow over mountains is Catholicism, towards which Nietzsche
thought Wagner's art to be tending.—Tr.