living in the tragic teachings of great spirits, uplifts us to the altitudes of pity, -- is the knowledge, given in infinite [P. 249] variety of forms, of the Need of Redemption. In solemn hours when all the world’s appearances dissolve away as in a prophet’s dream, we seem already to partake of this redemption in advance: no more then tortures us the memory of that yawning gulf, the gruesome monsters of the deep, the reeking litter of the self-devouring Will, which Day – alas! the history of mankind, had forced upon us: then pure and peace-desiring sounds to us the cry of Nature, fearless, hopeful, all-assuaging, world-redeeming.” [1037W-{6-8/80}Religion and Art: PW Vol. VI, p. 248-249]
[1038W-{6-8/80}Religion and Art: PW Vol. VI, p. 250-252]
[P. 250] {FEUER} “ ‘Do you want to found a new religion?’ – the author of the present essay might be asked. (…) My thoughts have come to me as to a working artist in his intercourse with public life: in that contact it must seem to me that I [P. 251] should light upon the proper road if I weighed the reasons why even considerable and envied successes have left me uncontented with the public. Upon this road I grew convinced that Art can only prosper on the basis of true Morals, and thus could but ascribe to it a mission all the higher when I found it altogether one with true Religion. (…) … at last it dawned on me that another, better state of future man – conceived by others as a hideous chaos – might well arise in comely order, if Religion and Art not only were retained therein, but for the first time gained their right acceptance. From this path all violence is quite shut out … .
{anti- FEUER} But things may turn out otherwise, should Wisdom more andmore recede from rampant violence. (…) … it can but rouse our apprehension, to see the progress of the art-of-war departing from the springs of moral force, and turning more and more to the mechanical: here the rawest forces of the lower Nature-powers are brought into an artificial play, in which, for all arithmetic and [P. 252] mathematics, the blind Will might one day break its leash and take an elemental share. (…) ‘Twere thinkable that all of this, with art and science, valour,point-of-honour, life and chattels, should one day fly into the air through some incalculable accident. When every pledge of peace was thus exploded in the grandest style, it would only need the outbreak of a general famine – already slowly, but infallibly prepared: then should we stand once more where world-Historical development began, and it really might look ‘as if God had made the world that the Devil might take it,’ as our great philosopher found stated in the Judaeo-Christian dogma.” [1038W-{6-8/80}Religion and Art: PW Vol. VI, p. 250-252]
[1039W-{9/6/80}CD Vol. II, p. 534]
[P. 534] “R. is amused at Rothschild’s request for an audience with the Emperor in order to explain to him to what extent the Jews in Germany are endangered, and he says with a certain satisfaction, ‘I have played some part in that.’ However, he does not see much significance in the movement.” [1039W-{9/6/80}CD Vol. II, p. 534]
