Walking the Tightrope

If the late-summer of 1881 changed Nietzsche completely with his “discovery” of the eternal return of the same , then the late-spring of 1882 was equally momentous and compelling. I would argue that no single moment in his life affected Fritz more profoundly than a extended walk taken with Lou just before sunset one day in early May 1882. It would reverb through his thought and emotions for many months, if not years, afterwards. It ultimately led him down the path to composing his most famous philosophic work. Paul and Fritz joined Lou and her mother in the small town of Orta on what was apparently a beautiful spring day. As has been mentioned, the meeting was delayed by a sudden bout of illness in Fritz. But, he rallied quickly and things went pretty much as he and Lou had planned. “…so the party arrived on an early May day in the ancient town of Orta , situated on a peninsula that juts out into the lake from the eastern shore. Opposite it, like an emerging pearl, lies the Isla...

“While they waited for Nietzsche’s arrival, Rée and Lou continued their joint exploration of the sites of Rome. They spent a good deal of time at Saint Peter’s . Rée had discovered a quiet corner in one of the side chapels where he could work undisturbed on his new book in which he wanted to prove the nonexistence of God. Lou was highly amused at his choice of a study and often accompanied him there to argue her point of view.” ( Peters , page 92) Here is an example of how Nietzsche scholars disagree on a multitude of small details depending upon the different perspectives found in their research of the primary sources, letters, diaries and such. Cate tells the exact situation slightly differently but all the main facts are the same. His details reveal some intimate things about Fritz and Paul and Lou. “The momentous excursion to St. Peter’s had been carefully staged by Paul Rée, who like an impatient alchemist had been waiting for weeks to see what kind of chemical reaction would tak...

Paul Rée's friendship with Fritz began in 1873 when Paul, visiting Basel for other reasons, chose to attend several of the Herr Professor’s lectures. Paul promptly approached Fritz and soon each was enjoying the other’s company socially. The two stayed in touch and had regular visits. Along with Franz Overbeck and Peter Gast ( Heinrich Köselitz ), Paul was one of the very few friends with whom Fritz could express total honesty. Gast, of course, did proofing on most of Nietzsche’s published work to date. So, he was closely connected with everything Fritz wrote. Overbeck and Fritz had a very close relationship, as is posted here . But, with Paul, Fritz could be completely himself. By all accounts, Fritz was witty, able to display brief moments of dexterity in his otherwise near-sighted state, a good listener, possessed an entertaining sense of humor, a great conversationalist on a range of topics, clever with piano improvisations when such was available, enjoyed a good party, and ...

Louise von Salomé was the striking daughter of the Inspector General of the Russian Army, greatly favored by Tsar Nicholas I . She was given the name Louise after her mother, the daughter of a wealthy sugar manufacturer. Thus the von Salomé’s enjoyed the air of nobility. Lou was the youngest of the couple’s four children, the other three all being brothers. Thus Lou grew up in the best society, battling her childhood with older brothers and a domineering father who nevertheless showered her with affection. Her mother evidently played a role of strict traditionalist with her daughter, desiring for her to marry into nobility and to give the General and herself grandchildren. But, Lou was fiercely independent, an exceptionally bright child with an extraordinary imagination. She soon grew adversarial with her mother. She lost her faith in God in early adolescence when she felt that all prayers went unanswered. When her father suddenly died, she also lost the first man she genuinely loved...

“When we see someone suffering, we like to use this opportunity to take possession of him; that is for example what those who would become his benefactors and those who have compassion for him do, and they lust for new possessions that is awakened in them ‘love’; and their delight is like that aroused by the prospects of a new conquest. Sexual love, however, is what most clearly reveals itself as a craving for new property: the lover wants unconditional and sole possession of the longed-for person; he wants a power over her soul as unconditional as his power over her body; he wants to be the only beloved, to live and to rule in the other soul as that which is supreme and most desirable….to the lover himself the rest of the world appears indifferent, pale, and worthless and that he is prepared to make any sacrifice, upset any order, subordinate any other interest; then one is indeed amazed that this wild greed and injustice of sexual love has been glorified and defied as it has in all a...

Nietzsche completed The Gay Science at his mother’s home in Naumberg where he arrived by train in May 1882. “…there remained the irksome problem of preparing a legible manuscript. Elisabeth’s ‘girlish’ handwriting seemed to her brother ill-suited to the adult seriousness of the contents. She then hired the services of a Naumberg shopkeeper, who had recently gone bankrupt, Elisabeth and Fritz took turns dictating the text to an unsatisfactory and often shocked ‘scribe’.” ( Cate , page 335) The work is shocking to the extent that it is groundbreaking and outrageous philosophy. Whereas “St. Januarius” deals with how best to stylistically express oneself in a world without God, the first three Books of The Gay Science deal with, among other things, the “death of God” and some of the consequences of the death of God. Nietzsche begins his book with 63 short poems. Once more, these strike me as mediocre. Perhaps they are more interesting and clever in German. What is noteworthy, however, is...

In January 1882, as we now know, the weather was beautiful in Genoa. Fritz, always so psychosomatically affected by atmospheric conditions, felt jubilant. He had developed his version of eternal recurrence of the same just a few months before but had not yet fully comprehended his intent. His philosophy was taking on a wider view with more expansive ideas and he enjoyed expressing himself in a provocative fashion, perhaps reflecting the sense of joy and freedom he personally experienced at this time. He began the first three books of The Gay Science while still in the mountains at Sils-Maria the previous summer. Book Four was written entirely in Genoa and was subtitled “St. Januarius” in honor of the new year. Since it was conceived separately and specifically in the month of January I wanted to explore it first, coming back to the other books next. Book Five was written more or less as an addendum and placed in the 1887 edition of the work. I won’t consider it until much later in t...