Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of March 24, 1881

Overview

Wagner and Cosima clash sharply over the Russian nihilists, with Cosima arguing the conspirators have no moral right to speak for the peasants while Wagner counters that political legitimacy is simply a matter of force, not principle. The evening turns to Brahmanism after Cosima's afternoon reading, leading to a shared exploration of the Oupnekhat on the subject of death. Wagner also recounts unsettling memories of his brother-in-law's brutal treatment of Cossacks, reflecting on how little Russian society could have changed.

Content

Thursday, March 24:

R. had a good night, but at midday, after his work, he does not feel well and frequently gets up during lunch. And unfortunately my statement that the nihilists are more remote from the people than the Tsar arouses his violent displeasure.

When I observe that these conspirators have no right to act in the name of the peasants, R. exclaims: “Right? And what right has the Tsar? This is a matter of strength, of right as jus, power as the Romans defined it; there is no strength in the rulers, but there is in these conspirators.”

In the evening he relates that his brother-in-law, General Meek, used to have his Cossacks flogged and then made them kiss the knout! These people could not have changed so swiftly, he says.

He goes with Jouk. for a walk in the palace gardens; I, tired after an errand in the morning, stay at home and read about Brahmanism, which permits me at supper to bring the conversation around to this, and that in turn leads to the reading of the first Oupnekhat (Colebrooke), on death.

I came in for such merry teasing about my “golden-mean” views in the matter of the nihilists.