Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of January 18, 1875

Overview

R. suffers badly from his cold and an abscess in his gums, leaving him irritable and uneasy, though he still reads Gfrorer and handles correspondence. The decision to remove Schopenhauer from the wall sparks another of his grand arguments about the place of philosophy, and he ends by speaking darkly of possible losses he might not survive.

Content

Monday, January 18:

R. tormented by his cold, an abscess in his gums about to burst. Visits, letters, and in the evening reading Gfrorer.

Decision to take Schopenhauer down from the wall, “because he does not belong with Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven; the philosopher must stand alone, translating into wisdom everything the others express emotionally.” R. gets very indignant about Beethoven’s being pushed into a corner: “Who can be compared to him? What is the equal of a melody, that direct gift from Heaven?”

“I must assume that I am possessed by a spirit who wants something from me,” R. says, considering the possibility of losses which he would be unable to survive.