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Der Fall Wagner
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1888)

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Downloading books is available only for authorized users

Le Cas Wagner The Case of Wagner

AVANT-PROPOS Preface
Je me permets un petit soulagement. Ce n’est pas méchanceté pure, si, dans cet écrit, je loue Bizet aux dépens de Wagner. J’avance, au milieu de beaucoup de plaisanteries, une chose avec laquelle il n’y a pas à plaisanter. Tourner le dos à Wagner fut pour moi une fatalité ; aimer ensuite quoi que ce fût, un triomphe. Personne n’était peut-être plus que moi dangereusement difformé par le wagnérisme. Personne ne s’était plus défendu contre lui. Personne ne s’est plus réjoui d’en être débarrassé. Une longue histoire ! Veut-on un mot pour la caractériser ? — Si j’étais moraliste, qui sait comment je la nommerais ! Peut-être Victoire sur soi-même. — Mais le philosophe n’aime pas les moralistes… il n’aime pas davantage les grands mots.

Qu’exige un philosophe en premier et en dernier lieu de lui-même ? De vaincre en lui-même son époque, de devenir « sans époque ». Avec qui a-t-il donc à lutter le plus durement ? Avec ce par quoi est-il l’enfant de son temps. Eh bien ! je suis aussi bien que Wagner l’enfant de cette époque-ci, je veux dire un décadent : seulement, moi j’ai constaté cet état, seulement, moi je me suis défendu. Le philosophe en moi protestait contre le décadent.

Ce qui m’a le plus occupé, c’est, en vérité, le problème de la décadence. J’ai eu pour cela des raisons. « Le bien et le mal » n’est qu’une espèce de jeu de ce problème. Si l’on s’est formé une idée des signes de la décrépitude, on comprendra la morale aussi, on comprendra ce qui se cache sous les noms les plus saints et les formules les plus sacrées qu’on lui donne : la vie appauvrie, la volonté arrivée à sa fin, la grande fatigue. La morale est la négation de la vie… Pour une pareille tâche, il me fallait une discipline personnelle : Prendre parti contre tout ce qu’il y a de malade en moi, y compris Wagner, y compris Schopenhauer, y compris toute la moderne « humanité ». Une profonde aliénation, un absolu refroidissement, un complet éloignement de tout ce qui est époque ou s’y rapportant, et comme souhait le plus élevé, l’œil de Zarathustra, un œil qui contemple tout l’être humain comme tout ce qui s’y rapporte, d’une hauteur infinie. Quel sacrifice ne serait pas digne d’un tel but ? Quelle victoire sur soi-même, quelle négation de soi ne vaudrait pas un semblable résultat ?

Le plus grand événement de ma vie fut ma guérison. Wagner n’appartient qu’à mes maladies. Non pas que je veuille être ingrat contre cette maladie. Si, dans cet écrit, j’entends déclarer que Wagner est nuisible, je ne prétends pas moins dire à qui il est indispensable : au philosophe. Sans cela, on pourrait peut-être se passer de Wagner : mais il n’est pas loisible au philosophe de renier Wagner. Il a la mauvaise conscience d’être de son temps, c’est pourquoi il doit en avoir la meilleure conception. Mais où trouverait-il pour le labyrinthe des âmes modernes, un guide plus initié, un plus savant connaisseur des âmes que Wagner ? Par Wagner, les temps modernes parlent leur langage le plus intime : ils ne cachent ni leur mal, ni leur bien, ils ont désappris toute pudeur d’eux-mêmes. Et réciproquement, on a presque fait le compte de la valeur des modernes, quand on est d’accord avec soi-même sur le bien et le mal chez Wagner. Je comprends parfaitement quand un musicien dit aujourd’hui : « Je hais Wagner, mais je ne supporte plus d’autre musique ». Mais je comprendrais aussi un philosophe qui dirait : « Wagner résume la modernité. Il n’y a rien à faire, il faut être d’abord wagnérien… »

I am writing this to relieve my mind. It is not malice alone which makes me praise Bizet at the expense of Wagner in this essay. Amid a good deal of jesting I wish to make one point clear which does not admit of levity. To turn my back on Wagner was for me a piece of fate; to get to like anything else whatever afterwards was for me a triumph. Nobody, perhaps, had ever been more dangerously involved in Wagnerism, nobody had defended himself more obstinately against it, nobody had ever been so overjoyed at ridding himself of it. A long history!—Shall I give it a name?—If I were a moralist, who knows what I might not call it! Perhaps a piece of self-mastery.—But the philosopher does not like the moralist, neither does he like high-falutin' words....

What is the first and last thing that a philosopher demands of himself? To overcome his age in himself, to become "timeless." With what then does the philosopher have the greatest fight? With all that in him which makes him the child of his time. Very well then! I am just as much a child of my age as Wagner—i.e., I am a decadent. The only difference is that I recognised the fact,[Pg xxx] that I struggled against it. The philosopher in me struggled against it.

My greatest preoccupation hitherto has been the problem of decadence, and I had reasons for this. "Good and evil" form only a playful subdivision of this problem. If one has trained one's eye to detect the symptoms of decline, one also understands morality,—one understands what lies concealed beneath its holiest names and tables of values: e.g., impoverished life, the will to nonentity, great exhaustion. Morality denies life.... In order to undertake such a mission I was obliged to exercise self-discipline:—I had to side against all that was morbid in myself including Wagner, including Schopenhauer, including the whole of modern humanity.—A profound estrangement, coldness and soberness towards all that belongs to my age, all that was contemporary: and as the highest wish, Zarathustra's eye, an eye which surveys the whole phenomenon—mankind—from an enormous distance,—which look down upon it.—For such a goal—what sacrifice would not have been worth while? What "self-mastery"! What "self-denial"!

The greatest event of my life took the form of a recovery. Wagner belongs only to my diseases.

Not that I wish to appear ungrateful to this disease. If in this essay I support the proposition that Wagner is harmful, I none the less wish to point out unto whom, in spite of all, he is indispensable—to the philosopher. Anyone else may perhaps be able to get on without Wagner: but the philosopher is not free to pass him by. The philosopher must be the evil conscience of his age,—but to this end he must be possessed of its best knowledge. And what better guide, or more thoroughly efficient revealer of the soul, could be found for the labyrinth of the modern spirit than Wagner? Through Wagner modernity speaks her most intimate language: it conceals neither its good nor its evil; it has thrown off all shame. And, conversely, one has almost calculated the whole of the value of modernity once one is clear concerning what is good and evil in Wagner. I can perfectly well understand a musician of to-day who says: "I hate Wagner but I can endure no other music." But I should also understand a philosopher who said: "Wagner is modernity in concentrated form." There is no help for it, we must first be Wagnerites....

well: You use well to say that something was done in a good way.
evil: Evil describes something or someone bad or cruel, not good.
ever: Ever means at any time.
concern: Concern is a feeling of worry.
none: None means not any of someone or something.
belong: If something belongs to you, you own it.
distance: The distance between two things is how far it is between them.
difference: A difference is a way that something is not like other things.
harm: Harm is hurt or problems caused to someone or something.
lay: To lay means to put or place in a horizontal or flat position.
against: To be against something is to be touching it or opposed to it.
perhaps: Perhaps is used when you say that something could happen.
throw: To throw something is to use your hand to make it go through the air.
either: Either is used with or to say there are two or more possibilities.
strange: When something is strange, it is not normal.
alone: If someone is alone, they are not with another person.
thin: If someone or something is thin, they are not fat.
demand: To demand something is to say strongly that you want it.
hole: A hole is an opening in something.
position: A position is the way something is placed.
raise: To raise something is to lift it up.
whole: Whole means all of something.
else: If you talk about something else, you talk about something different.
lone: If someone or something is lone, they are the only one of that kind.
toward: If you go toward something, you go closer to it.
goal: A goal is something you work toward.
lie: To lie is to say or write something untrue to deceive someone.
war: A war is a big fight between two groups of people.
worth: If something is worth an amount of money, it costs that amount.
appear: To appear is to seem.
event: An event is something that happens, especially something important.
exercise: To exercise is to run or play sports so that you can be healthy.
guide: A guide is someone who shows you where to go.
support: To support something is to like it and help it be successful.
involve: To involve means to be actively taking part in something.
range: A range is a number or a set of similar things.
neither: You use neither to connect two negative statements.
deal: A deal is an agreement that you have with another person.
value: If something has value, it is worth a lot of money.
list: A list is a record of information printed with an item on each line.
own: To own something means to have it. That thing belongs to you.
gain: If you gain something, you get more of it.
knowledge: Knowledge is information that you have about something.
master: A master is a person who is very good at something.

Next chapter

Der Fall Wagner Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1888)

Downloading books is available only for authorized users
Downloading books is available only for authorized users
Le Cas Wagner		The Case of Wagner
AVANT-PROPOS		Preface
Je me permets un petit soulagement. Ce n’est pas méchanceté pure, si, dans cet écrit, je loue Bizet aux dépens de Wagner. J’avance, au milieu de beaucoup de plaisanteries, une chose avec laquelle il n’y a pas à plaisanter. Tourner le dos à Wagner fut pour moi une fatalité ; aimer ensuite quoi que ce fût, un triomphe. Personne n’était peut-être plus que moi dangereusement difformé par le wagnérisme. Personne ne s’était plus défendu contre lui. Personne ne s’est plus réjoui d’en être débarrassé. Une longue histoire ! Veut-on un mot pour la caractériser ? — Si j’étais moraliste, qui sait comment je la nommerais ! Peut-être Victoire sur soi-même. — Mais le philosophe n’aime pas les moralistes… il n’aime pas davantage les grands mots. Qu’exige un philosophe en premier et en dernier lieu de lui-même ? De vaincre en lui-même son époque, de devenir « sans époque ». Avec qui a-t-il donc à lutter le plus durement ? Avec ce par quoi est-il l’enfant de son temps. Eh bien ! je suis aussi bien que Wagner l’enfant de cette époque-ci, je veux dire un décadent : seulement, moi j’ai constaté cet état, seulement, moi je me suis défendu. Le philosophe en moi protestait contre le décadent. Ce qui m’a le plus occupé, c’est, en vérité, le problème de la décadence. J’ai eu pour cela des raisons. « Le bien et le mal » n’est qu’une espèce de jeu de ce problème. Si l’on s’est formé une idée des signes de la décrépitude, on comprendra la morale aussi, on comprendra ce qui se cache sous les noms les plus saints et les formules les plus sacrées qu’on lui donne : la vie appauvrie, la volonté arrivée à sa fin, la grande fatigue. La morale est la négation de la vie… Pour une pareille tâche, il me fallait une discipline personnelle : Prendre parti contre tout ce qu’il y a de malade en moi, y compris Wagner, y compris Schopenhauer, y compris toute la moderne « humanité ». Une profonde aliénation, un absolu refroidissement, un complet éloignement de tout ce qui est époque ou s’y rapportant, et comme souhait le plus élevé, l’œil de Zarathustra, un œil qui contemple tout l’être humain comme tout ce qui s’y rapporte, d’une hauteur infinie. Quel sacrifice ne serait pas digne d’un tel but ? Quelle victoire sur soi-même, quelle négation de soi ne vaudrait pas un semblable résultat ? Le plus grand événement de ma vie fut ma guérison. Wagner n’appartient qu’à mes maladies. Non pas que je veuille être ingrat contre cette maladie. Si, dans cet écrit, j’entends déclarer que Wagner est nuisible, je ne prétends pas moins dire à qui il est indispensable : au philosophe. Sans cela, on pourrait peut-être se passer de Wagner : mais il n’est pas loisible au philosophe de renier Wagner. Il a la mauvaise conscience d’être de son temps, c’est pourquoi il doit en avoir la meilleure conception. Mais où trouverait-il pour le labyrinthe des âmes modernes, un guide plus initié, un plus savant connaisseur des âmes que Wagner ? Par Wagner, les temps modernes parlent leur langage le plus intime : ils ne cachent ni leur mal, ni leur bien, ils ont désappris toute pudeur d’eux-mêmes. Et réciproquement, on a presque fait le compte de la valeur des modernes, quand on est d’accord avec soi-même sur le bien et le mal chez Wagner. Je comprends parfaitement quand un musicien dit aujourd’hui : « Je hais Wagner, mais je ne supporte plus d’autre musique ». Mais je comprendrais aussi un philosophe qui dirait : « Wagner résume la modernité. Il n’y a rien à faire, il faut être d’abord wagnérien… »		I am writing this to relieve my mind. It is not malice alone which makes me praise Bizet at the expense of Wagner in this essay. Amid a good deal of jesting I wish to make one point clear which does not admit of levity. To turn my back on Wagner was for me a piece of fate; to get to like anything else whatever afterwards was for me a triumph. Nobody, perhaps, had ever been more dangerously involved in Wagnerism, nobody had defended himself more obstinately against it, nobody had ever been so overjoyed at ridding himself of it. A long history!—Shall I give it a name?—If I were a moralist, who knows what I might not call it! Perhaps a piece of self-mastery.—But the philosopher does not like the moralist, neither does he like high-falutin' words.... What is the first and last thing that a philosopher demands of himself? To overcome his age in himself, to become "timeless." With what then does the philosopher have the greatest fight? With all that in him which makes him the child of his time. Very well then! I am just as much a child of my age as Wagner—i.e., I am a decadent. The only difference is that I recognised the fact,[Pg xxx] that I struggled against it. The philosopher in me struggled against it. My greatest preoccupation hitherto has been the problem of decadence, and I had reasons for this. "Good and evil" form only a playful subdivision of this problem. If one has trained one's eye to detect the symptoms of decline, one also understands morality,—one understands what lies concealed beneath its holiest names and tables of values: e.g., impoverished life, the will to nonentity, great exhaustion. Morality denies life.... In order to undertake such a mission I was obliged to exercise self-discipline:—I had to side against all that was morbid in myself including Wagner, including Schopenhauer, including the whole of modern humanity.—A profound estrangement, coldness and soberness towards all that belongs to my age, all that was contemporary: and as the highest wish, Zarathustra's eye, an eye which surveys the whole phenomenon—mankind—from an enormous distance,—which look down upon it.—For such a goal—what sacrifice would not have been worth while? What "self-mastery"! What "self-denial"! The greatest event of my life took the form of a recovery. Wagner belongs only to my diseases. Not that I wish to appear ungrateful to this disease. If in this essay I support the proposition that Wagner is harmful, I none the less wish to point out unto whom, in spite of all, he is indispensable—to the philosopher. Anyone else may perhaps be able to get on without Wagner: but the philosopher is not free to pass him by. The philosopher must be the evil conscience of his age,—but to this end he must be possessed of its best knowledge. And what better guide, or more thoroughly efficient revealer of the soul, could be found for the labyrinth of the modern spirit than Wagner? Through Wagner modernity speaks her most intimate language: it conceals neither its good nor its evil; it has thrown off all shame. And, conversely, one has almost calculated the whole of the value of modernity once one is clear concerning what is good and evil in Wagner. I can perfectly well understand a musician of to-day who says: "I hate Wagner but I can endure no other music." But I should also understand a philosopher who said: "Wagner is modernity in concentrated form." There is no help for it, we must first be Wagnerites....
		well: You use well to say that something was done in a good way. evil: Evil describes something or someone bad or cruel, not good. ever: Ever means at any time. concern: Concern is a feeling of worry. none: None means not any of someone or something. belong: If something belongs to you, you own it. distance: The distance between two things is how far it is between them. difference: A difference is a way that something is not like other things. harm: Harm is hurt or problems caused to someone or something. lay: To lay means to put or place in a horizontal or flat position. against: To be against something is to be touching it or opposed to it. perhaps: Perhaps is used when you say that something could happen. throw: To throw something is to use your hand to make it go through the air. either: Either is used with or to say there are two or more possibilities. strange: When something is strange, it is not normal. alone: If someone is alone, they are not with another person. thin: If someone or something is thin, they are not fat. demand: To demand something is to say strongly that you want it. hole: A hole is an opening in something. position: A position is the way something is placed. raise: To raise something is to lift it up. whole: Whole means all of something. else: If you talk about something else, you talk about something different. lone: If someone or something is lone, they are the only one of that kind. toward: If you go toward something, you go closer to it. goal: A goal is something you work toward. lie: To lie is to say or write something untrue to deceive someone. war: A war is a big fight between two groups of people. worth: If something is worth an amount of money, it costs that amount. appear: To appear is to seem. event: An event is something that happens, especially something important. exercise: To exercise is to run or play sports so that you can be healthy. guide: A guide is someone who shows you where to go. support: To support something is to like it and help it be successful. involve: To involve means to be actively taking part in something. range: A range is a number or a set of similar things. neither: You use neither to connect two negative statements. deal: A deal is an agreement that you have with another person. value: If something has value, it is worth a lot of money. list: A list is a record of information printed with an item on each line. own: To own something means to have it. That thing belongs to you. gain: If you gain something, you get more of it. knowledge: Knowledge is information that you have about something. master: A master is a person who is very good at something.

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