aunts and
abysses of perfection; for this reason I need music. But Wagner makes one
ill--What do I care about the theatre? What do I care about the spasms of
its moral ecstasies in which the mob--and who is not the mob
to-day?--rejoices? What do I care about the whole pantomimic hocus-pocus of
the actor? You are beginning to see that I am essentially anti-theatrical
at heart. For the stage, this mob art _par excellence_, my soul has that
deepest scorn felt by every artist to-day. With a stage success a man
sinks to such an extent in my esteem as to drop out of sight; failure in
this quarter makes me prick my ears, makes me begin to pay attention. But
this was not so with Wagner, next to the Wagner who created the most
unique music that has ever existed there was the Wagner who was
essentially a man of the stage, an actor, the most enthusiastic mimomaniac
that has perhaps existed on earth, even as a musician. And let it be said
_en passant_ that if Wagner's theory was "drama is the object, music is
only a means"--his practice was from beginning to end "the attitude is the
end, drama and even music can never be anything else than means." Music as
the manner of accentuating, of strengthening, and deepening dramatic poses
and all things which please the senses of the actor; and Wagnerian drama
only an opportunity for a host of interesting attitudes!--Alongside of all
other instincts he had the dictatorial instinct of a great actor in
everything and, as I have already said, as a musician also.--On one
occasion, and not without trouble, I made this clear to a Wagnerite _pur
sang_,--clearness and a Wagnerite! I won't say another word. There were
reasons for adding; "For heaven's sake, be a little more true unto
yourself! We are not in Bayreuth now. In Bayreuth people are only upright
in the mass; the individual lies, he even lies to himself. One leaves
oneself at home when one goes to Bayreuth, one gives up all right to one's
own tongue and choice, to one's own taste and even to one's own courage,
one knows these things no longer as one is wont to have them and practise
them before God and the world and between one's own four walls. In the
theatre no one brings the finest senses of his art with him, and least of
all the artist who works for the theatre,--for here loneliness is lacking;
everything perfect does not suffer a witness.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} In the theatre one becomes
mob, herd, woman, Pharisee, electing cattle, patro