In the previous entry My Friend Nietzsche, references have been made to the unfortunate efforts to connect Nietzsche’s philosophical legacy to Nazism and anti-Semitism, thus establishing a classic case of “guilt by association.” It is therefore necessary to set the record straight by pointing out that such popular associative stereotypes are by no means representative of the collective Jewish attitude toward the great German. More on this subject can be found in my series of entries on Russia And Nietzsche (see, for instance, my post of August 23, 2011), where glowing tributes to Nietzsche on the part of the Russian Jews, such as Lev Shestov and others, are being discussed. It makes sense, then, to start this entry with a short discussion of the Jewish angle on Nietzsche, which is, of course, by no means limited to the Russian Jews.
It is commonly known that Mendelssohn “returned” Bach to Western Civilization, and I had another entry already, where I commented on it. The reason why I am bringing up this fact again here is that most notably another Jew, the Danish literary critic and historian Georg Brandes (1842-1927) was among the first who discovered Nietzsche’s genius early on, and wrote the following Note, circa 1872! (This unbelievably early date almost seems like a misprint, but even had this been written at a much later date, during Nietzsche’s lifetime, this would still have been remarkable!)----
“I read constantly my crazy friend Nietzsche. I squeeze him, I turn him inside out, press him, and turn him upside down, I knead him this way and that, so he now gets one face, now another. I am fond of Nietzsche. Here is this one great man that Germany has, and nobody values him in Germany, hardly anybody knows him.”
To be sure, I dislike the rather vulgar tone of the second sentence here, but it can be forgiven to Brandes on account of everything else.
Before I close my brief reference to a particular Jewish discernment of genius, I must add this indispensable note on this subject, well in tune with this entry’s title theme. It was yet another Jew, the eminent American student of philosophy Professor Walter Kaufmann, who devoted his life to the study of Nietzsche and made a large number of commendable translations of his works into English. Many of his translations are used in my Nietzsche quotes, which thus makes Kaufmann an indispensable part of my Nietzsche discussion.
Next, we turn to a reiteration of the point of special Russian discernment of Nietzsche’s genius, and we start with a stunning paradox. Compare Brandes’s quote above to the following “obituary” for Nietzsche, written by Russia’s own Lev Tolstoy, in his 1902 essay What is Religion?--
“An agile but unintelligent and abnormal German, possessed of the mania of grandeur.”
One must show some indulgence to Lev Tolstoy, for here writes not a healthy genius in the prime of life, but a seventy-four-year-old religious freak deep in his life stage of repentance for the sins of his earlier life, who is greatly troubled by the late Nietzsche’s negative influence on Russia’s religious thought and its dangerously rampant iconoclastic tendencies. The good news is that Tolstoy’s badly biased opinion of Nietzsche was by no means representative of Russia’s opinion as a whole.
As some relief for my Russian pride, I have said this before, and it is very proper to say it again in this fitting place, Nietzsche’s great influence in Russia has been a singular factor in Russian philosophical thinking, and, no matter how Lev Tolstoy talks about him, this lasting historical influence is a far better tribute to Nietzsche than any single comment or epitaph. In fact, even the Russian Orthodox Church herself has been strongly influenced by Nietzsche in a positive way, with numerous theological dissertations and essays written by the Church’s leading theoreticians, discussing the indisputable merits of Nietzsche’s finer points for Orthodox Christian spirituality and religio-philosophical apprehension.
To give an example of Nietzsche’s special place in Russian discernment, here is an interesting reference to him in Nikolai Gumilev’s 1911 Review of Vyacheslav Ivanov’s volume of poems Cor Ardens. It ought to be taken into consideration that Gumilev is a poet par excellence, and for him to call another person a poet is a mark of highest distinction.
“If this is true-- and this is most probably true-- that one who creates a fiery heroic feat of his life is a poet; that a truthful tale of one’s truthfully trodden mystical path is poetry, that Confucius and Muhammad, that Socrates and Nietzsche are poets,-- then it is true that Vyacheslav Ivanov is a poet too.”
Gumilev is giving a glowing review here to the great Russian talent Vyacheslav Ivanov, but it is his choice of the four great poets of the mystical path, to whom he compares Ivanov, which is the principal reason why I am quoting him here... Confucius and Muhammad, Socrates and Nietzsche,-- here is some company!!! Here is some lofty Russian praise, which would have left Nietzsche flattered.
But what is particularly wonderful about the Gumilev passage is that calling Nietzsche “a poet” captures the essence of Nietzsche’s genius, that very same quality of his that makes Nietzsche my friend…
It is commonly known that Mendelssohn “returned” Bach to Western Civilization, and I had another entry already, where I commented on it. The reason why I am bringing up this fact again here is that most notably another Jew, the Danish literary critic and historian Georg Brandes (1842-1927) was among the first who discovered Nietzsche’s genius early on, and wrote the following Note, circa 1872! (This unbelievably early date almost seems like a misprint, but even had this been written at a much later date, during Nietzsche’s lifetime, this would still have been remarkable!)----
“I read constantly my crazy friend Nietzsche. I squeeze him, I turn him inside out, press him, and turn him upside down, I knead him this way and that, so he now gets one face, now another. I am fond of Nietzsche. Here is this one great man that Germany has, and nobody values him in Germany, hardly anybody knows him.”
To be sure, I dislike the rather vulgar tone of the second sentence here, but it can be forgiven to Brandes on account of everything else.
Before I close my brief reference to a particular Jewish discernment of genius, I must add this indispensable note on this subject, well in tune with this entry’s title theme. It was yet another Jew, the eminent American student of philosophy Professor Walter Kaufmann, who devoted his life to the study of Nietzsche and made a large number of commendable translations of his works into English. Many of his translations are used in my Nietzsche quotes, which thus makes Kaufmann an indispensable part of my Nietzsche discussion.
Next, we turn to a reiteration of the point of special Russian discernment of Nietzsche’s genius, and we start with a stunning paradox. Compare Brandes’s quote above to the following “obituary” for Nietzsche, written by Russia’s own Lev Tolstoy, in his 1902 essay What is Religion?--
“An agile but unintelligent and abnormal German, possessed of the mania of grandeur.”
One must show some indulgence to Lev Tolstoy, for here writes not a healthy genius in the prime of life, but a seventy-four-year-old religious freak deep in his life stage of repentance for the sins of his earlier life, who is greatly troubled by the late Nietzsche’s negative influence on Russia’s religious thought and its dangerously rampant iconoclastic tendencies. The good news is that Tolstoy’s badly biased opinion of Nietzsche was by no means representative of Russia’s opinion as a whole.
As some relief for my Russian pride, I have said this before, and it is very proper to say it again in this fitting place, Nietzsche’s great influence in Russia has been a singular factor in Russian philosophical thinking, and, no matter how Lev Tolstoy talks about him, this lasting historical influence is a far better tribute to Nietzsche than any single comment or epitaph. In fact, even the Russian Orthodox Church herself has been strongly influenced by Nietzsche in a positive way, with numerous theological dissertations and essays written by the Church’s leading theoreticians, discussing the indisputable merits of Nietzsche’s finer points for Orthodox Christian spirituality and religio-philosophical apprehension.
To give an example of Nietzsche’s special place in Russian discernment, here is an interesting reference to him in Nikolai Gumilev’s 1911 Review of Vyacheslav Ivanov’s volume of poems Cor Ardens. It ought to be taken into consideration that Gumilev is a poet par excellence, and for him to call another person a poet is a mark of highest distinction.
“If this is true-- and this is most probably true-- that one who creates a fiery heroic feat of his life is a poet; that a truthful tale of one’s truthfully trodden mystical path is poetry, that Confucius and Muhammad, that Socrates and Nietzsche are poets,-- then it is true that Vyacheslav Ivanov is a poet too.”
Gumilev is giving a glowing review here to the great Russian talent Vyacheslav Ivanov, but it is his choice of the four great poets of the mystical path, to whom he compares Ivanov, which is the principal reason why I am quoting him here... Confucius and Muhammad, Socrates and Nietzsche,-- here is some company!!! Here is some lofty Russian praise, which would have left Nietzsche flattered.
But what is particularly wonderful about the Gumilev passage is that calling Nietzsche “a poet” captures the essence of Nietzsche’s genius, that very same quality of his that makes Nietzsche my friend…
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