Nietzsche: Four Unpublished Letters
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Walter Kaufmann Nietzsche Four Unpublished Letters IETZSCHE'S life and character have some small point about his life; but some N probably excited more interest than those letters illuminate his relationships to others and of any other philosopher. Thomas Mann drew show us vividly how he felt. inspiration from both for his Doctor Faustus, Andre Malraux embodied an episode from OUR FIRST LETTER was addressed to Karl Hille- Nietzsche's life in La lutte avec I'ange, and brand (1829-84), a scholar and literary critic to Stefan George, Christian Morgenstern, and whom the Encyclopaedia Britannica, nth Gottfried Benn each wrote more than one edition, devoted half a column. He "became poem about him. involved, as a student in Heidelberg, in the Hence a good deal of attention has always Baden revolutionary movement, and was im been focused on Nietzsche's letters, although prisoned in Rastatt. He succeeded in escaping they contain scarcely any philosophy. The and lived for a time in Strassburg, Paris— various German collections of the letters are where for several months he was Heine's secre spread over fifteen volumes, but many letters tary—and Bordeaux." He took a doctorate at still await publication. In the following pages the Sorbonne, became a professor at Douai, I want to illuminate Nietzsche's character with resigned his chair and went to Italy when the the help of four hitherto unpublished Nietzsche Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, and letters. died in Florence. "His essays, collected under His finest letters are exceedingly personal. the title Zeiten, Vol\er und Menschen (Berlin, Many people write letters mainly in order to 1874-1885), show clear discernment, a finely write, and then address them to someone almost balanced cosmopolitan judgment and grace of as an afterthought. Nietzsche wrote into his style." So far the Encyclopaedia. The collection notebooks when he wanted to try out ideas; mentioned includes three review-essays on when he succeeded in giving adequate form to Nietzsche's first three TJnzeitgemdsse Betrach- his thoughts he put them into his books. His tungen—his earliest books, except for The Birth letters usually show a pervasive awareness of the of Tragedy. Like most of Nietzsche's works, the person whom he is addressing and speak to "Untimely Meditations" met with very little him, not to the public or posterity. Hence many response. Here is Nietzsche's letter to Hille- 1 of Nietzsche's letters are of no great interest brand, written in April 1878: except to those who are concerned to establish Hochverehrter Herr, after a winter of severe illness, my health is WALTER KAUFMANN is the author of an waking up again and I am enjoying your four edition of Nietzsche's Will to Power, with volumes V6l\er, Zeiten und Menschen, commentary, and a study of Hegel (both published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. His delighted as if they were milk and honey. Tragedy and Philosophy is to be published by Doubleday this autumn. 1 The manuscript belongs to the Princeton Univer sity Library. Walter Kaufmann O books that exhale a European air and not it has thus long been possible to reconstruct nationalistic nitrogen! How good for the Nietzsche's relation to Lanzky by turning to lungs! And then: I'd like to see the author these three published collections, not one of who could equal your candour and benevolent Nietzsche's letters to Lanzky has been pub sense of justice—or rather: I shall exert myself lished, and the comprehensive survey of to discover all authors—but how few they'll Nietzsche's known letters in the first volume of be!—who come close to you in these great the Historisch-Kritische Gcsamtausgabe of the virtues.—How grateful I am to you for col lecting these essays! Otherwise you might letters (1938) indicates that the Nietzsche almost have escaped me, for I read neither Archive in Weimar owned only three drafts for newspapers nor magazines and altogether, letters and one draft for a postcard to Lanzky. living on the edge of blindness, read (and On 26 December 1883 Franz Overbeck re write) very little. This reminds me that you ceived a letter from Nietzsche which contains have spoken of my writings, too: of all the this passage: comments on them that have come to my notice, yours are the only ones that have There is a new human being who may have truly delighted me. For here it is clearly been given to me at the right time: his name is superiority (in experience and taste and a Paul Lanzky, and he is so devoted to me that few other things) that passes judgment, and he would like to tie his destiny to mine as soon as possible. Independent and a friend of solitude if only he that is judged is no fool he and simplicity, 31 years old, with a philosophical will take sides against himself with genuine disposition, even more of a pessimist than a pleasure. And how gladly one learns from sceptic—he is the first to address me in his letters you! as Verchrtester Meisterl (which aroused the most diverse feelings and memories)... .a Cordially grateful and devoted, DR. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE Nietzsche was then thirty-nine, and earlier University of Basel, Switzerland that year Richard Wagner had died, whom his Don't take amiss a philologist's pedantry: it admirers had been in the habit of calling Meister. is das Sophismay not der Sophismus—please forgive me! In November 1884 Nietzsche wrote his mother and sister from Mentone: OUR SECOND LETTER was written five-and-a-half Imagine: meanwhile Herr Lanzky waited for years later, after Nietzsche had finished the me one whole week in the Pension de Geneve third part of Zarathustra (which appeared in (Nizza); I heard about it two days too late. Then 1883) and before he wrote the fourth part the he left for Ajaccio. A touching letter from him reached me today.3 following winter in Nice and Mentone. He sent the letter from Mentone in late November A few days later, 28 November, Nietzsche 1883, to Paul Lanzky. In 1884, only forty copies wrote them: of Zarathustra IV were printed, privately, but no more than seven were actually distributed After my last card, until today, a severe attack. among friends. Lanzky got one of the seven; Today exhausted.—The Corsican affair is settled: so did Carl Fuchs, to whom the last of these Herr Lanzky will come back from there and spend the winter with me in the same Pension, four letters was written. (The result of letters and telegrams.) I will and Since Lanzky was one of the few who were must stick to Nizza for the sake of my future close to Nietzsche during his last creative years, "colony" which now seems more possible to it is not surprising that Nietzsche mentioned me (I mean: sympathetic people to whom I can present my philosophy). So alone as I have been him in five of his letters to Peter Gast, in nine here or in the Engadine, I am always sick. to Franz Overbeck, and in sixteen to his mother and sister, not counting three with which the Our hitherto unpublished letter is evidently sister tampered before publishing them. While one of the letters Nietzsche mentions here. The manuscript* comprises three small pages, 3 Cf, the letters to mother and sister, 25 Dec. written very neatly: 1883, and to Gast, 5 March 1884. 3 Nietzsche's sister seems to have tampered with Mein lieber Herr Lanzky, the first part of this letter but not with this para graph. (See Wer\e, ed. Schlechta, vol. Ill, p. X417.) Malheur! You have left a couple of days * Owned by the author. too early—but that you have come to Nizza Nietzsche pleases me greatly, and I might even carry Lanzky is not cheerful enough for me. But he my gratitude so far as to come to Corsica takes a lot of trouble and bears with me though now. Send me, immediately, if that is pos occasionally I cannot bear things any longer with out becoming rude.... sible, a few details about the How and Where Please send me, for Lanzky's sake, Rohde's in Ajaccio—addressed here, Mentone, pension pamphlet about The Birth of Tragedy (bound in des Etrangers. brown leather).... I am not well just now; but walking I am sending you an essay Lanzky has written bravely and making plans for the future of about me, not that I feel like praising it but man shall get me over that. Not counting a only because it is the first longish essay about few attacks of impatience and rudeness. me. That it appeared in a provincial Hungarian Again: I feel cordially delighted to have journal is another example of the stupidity and clumsiness of my publisher. heard from you again. Yours faithfully, The following day Nietzsche wrote Overbeck: DR. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE Then Herr Paul Lanzky lives in my pension, Prof, a great admirer: formerly editor of the Rivista Europea, thus in summa N.B.—Give it a try a journalist. But yester and come to the day when he gave me pier Sunday morning, a long essay about me Nov. 30: perhaps 1*11 (printed in a Hungar ian journal!), I had no be there. choice but to do what I had done last year That is the author of with Dr. Paneth,5 also Zarathustra, about to a great admirer and write the fourth and worshipper: namely, to oblige him not to last part. A few pas write about me.