Friday, October 24:
R. had a good night. He works on his article and tells me that in it he praises Hans’s Nirwana very highly.
Good letter from Rub., who seems to be one of those people for whom harshness is more beneficial than kindness, but we are pleased that it has had this effect. At lunch we talk about Coriolanus, and R. says that only the fifth act does not much appeal to him; indeed, all the fifth acts, including that of Hamlet. He says the tragic catastrophe has already taken place, and death adds nothing. From the way in which he depicts the common people it is easy to believe that Shakespeare was an aristocrat.
Discussion with Herr v. St. about Siegfried; in response to R.’s ideas on surgery, he says he would consider it right to have models of the human form, including the internal organs, in the schoolroom we are going to build. R. thinks: later, first of all allow him to take pleasure in the outward appearance, the naked body as depicted by the Greeks, which will enchant him, and only when the daemon begins to stir within him show him the inner workings. At this stage he would perhaps feel revolted. He then talks of Fidi’s willing nature: he is lighthearted but not unthinking, “the youngster enjoys life.”
R. finds the Illustrirte Blätter interesting, with its pictures from Alsace, the Emperor’s visit, and once again he voices his utter scorn for the spiked helmet. The Supreme Court’s ball also evokes many remarks from him: “How solemn and dignified we are - we open the Supreme Court with a ball! And all those bearded men - beards are all right in the wilderness, but with frock coats ...”
In the open letter, which is now ready for distribution, Herr v. Weber asks R. to alter “the inscrutabilities” of God into “the mysteries,” since religious people are supporting the cause. R. tells of our meeting with Herr Windthorst and says that he came to us wearing large white kid gloves, which had almost certainly been sent to him by Pio Nono after the final blessing. In the evening whist with Herr v. Stein, after R. glanced with enjoyment through the Illustrirte Blätter.