Introduction to Ernst Bertram, Nietzsche: Attempt at a Mythology1 by Pierre Hadot Translated by Paul Bishop Translator’S Preface 1
Introduction to Ernst Bertram, Nietzsche: Attempt at a Mythology1 by Pierre Hadot translated by Paul Bishop Translator’s Preface 1 rnst Bertram was born in Elberfeld in 1884, and he held the post of professor of EGerman literature from 1922 to 1946. A prolific scholar, he is best remembered today, if at all, for his study of Nietzsche, first published in 1929, which became an immediate bestseller. More recently, his significance as a commentator on Nietzsche has become overlooked, but in 1990, the French publishing house Éditions du Félin reprinted the French translation of his study by Robert Pitrou, first published in 1932. And in 2009 the University of Illinois Press published the first English translation, prepared by Robert E. Norton. The 1990 French edition included a preface by the renowned French scholar, Pierre Hadot. In it, he placed Bertram’s Nietzsche in its intellectual and historico- cultural context, and in particular Bertram’s friendship with another German admirer of Nietzsche, Thomas Mann. Hadot’s preface explains why Bertram’s image of Nietzsche remains so significant, and provides an excellent introduction to Bertram’s work; it has been translated here to bring it to a wider audience, and with a view to promoting further interest in Bertram’s study. 1 [ Pierre Hadot’s preface is included in the 1990 reprint of Robert Pitrou’s translation (1932) of the seventh edition (1929) of Ernst Bertram’s study of Nietzsche, available as Ernst Bertram, Nietzsche: Essai de Mythologie (Paris: Éditions du Félin, 1990, repr. 2007). For the original German edition, see Ernst Bertram, Nietzsche: Versuch einer Mythologie (Berlin: Bon- di, 1918); tenth edition (Bonn: Bouvier, 1989).
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