well known, was Voltaire, who already perhaps, like his successors, knew how to disguise his hatred of certain men and things as pity towards animals. At least Wagner's hatred of science, which manifests itself in his preaching, has certainly not been inspired by the spirit of charitableness and kindness--nor by the _spirit_ at all, as is sufficiently obvious.--Finally, it is of little importance what the philosophy of an artist is, provided it is only a supplementary philosophy, and does not do any injury to his art itself. We cannot be sufficiently on our guard against taking a dislike to an artist on account of an occasional, perhaps very unfortunate and presumptuous masquerade; let us not forget that the dear artists are all of them something of actors--and must be so; it would be difficult for them to hold out in the long run without stage-playing. Let us be loyal to Wagner in that which is _true_ and original in him,--and especially in this point, that we, his disciples, remain loyal to ourselves in that which is true and original in us. Let us allow him his intellectual humours and spasms, let us in fairness rather consider what strange nutriments and necessaries an art like his _is entitled to,_ in order to be able to live and grow! It is of no account that he is often wrong as a thinker; justice and patience are not _his_ affair. It is sufficient that his life is right in his own eyes, and maintains its right,--the life which calls to each of us: "Be a man, and do not follow me--but thyself! thyself!" _Our_ life, also ought to maintain its right in our own eyes! We also are to grow and blossom out of ourselves, free and fearless, in innocent selfishness! And so, on the contemplation of such a man, these thoughts still ring in my ears to-day, as formerly: "That passion is better than stoicism or hypocrisy; that straight-forwardness, even in evil, is better than losing oneself in trying to observe traditional morality; that the free man is just as able to be good as evil, but that the unemancipated man is a disgrace to nature, and has no share in heavenly or earthly bliss; finally, that _all who wish to be free must become so through themselves,_ and that freedom falls to nobody's lot as a gift from Heaven." (_Richard Wagner in Bayreuth,_ Vol. I. of this Translation, pp. 199-200). 100.