My dear old friend,
This summer I read your great novel, The German War, and, as I did so, I felt a repeated urge to give you some sign of life on my part. I cannot deny that I was especially affected by the Jesuit party in it, and by the poisoning of Bernhard v. W. How you could hope to remain inviolate in your Viennese appointment after writing such a book was quite inconceivable. As soon as I heard of the latest turn of events, I told my friends what the reason was.
On winter evenings I have been dictating my biography, urged to do so by friendly entreaty; many memories have been revived in the process, and, much to my own delight, my gaze grew more intense as I recalled my relations with you, for, in essence, you are the only person whom I can thank for having rendered me true service as a friend; I consider you to be one of the very few honest men who have met me. I shall always remember you with sincere warmth.
I knew nothing of the newspaper rumours which - on account of their inaccuracy - persuaded you to write to me: but, as you can well imagine, they would not have made any impression upon me, even if I had known of them. As far as the directorship of the Munich Theatre is concerned, it looks as though things will remain as they are; I doubt whether anything decisive will emerge from it. Given my extremely poor opinion of the activities of Germany’s regular theatres and my firm belief that, however these theatres are run, - (a belief which was confirmed when I told the King of my decisive reluctance ever to have anything to do with them) - they can only add to the confusion and corruption that characterize the Germans’ taste in art, I have promised myself no further involvement except, where possible, to see to it that, should the case arise and something of mine is to receive a decent performance, I should deal only with a relatively couth and helpful person such as I now find entrusted with running the theatre in Munich. It now seems uniquely difficult to achieve even this aim.
For the rest I thank God for being allowed to live here quietly and in the most absolute seclusion, completely cut off from the world and devoting myself to my creative work which has been neglected for so long now: I am so jealous of this good fortune (which I owe to the most wonderful love of a young King) that I tremble at any undertaking that might disturb it.
I am grateful to you, dear Laube, for having remembered me. Give my warmest regards to my admirable friend, your dear wife, and accept the most cordial good wishes of
Your
Richard Wagner
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 362