ould these German youths--in their present condition,--miss
what we others, we _halcyonians_, miss in Wagner? _i.e._: _la gaya
scienza_; light feet, wit, fire, grave, grand logic, stellar dancing,
wanton intellectuality, the vibrating light of the South, the calm
sea--perfection.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~}

11.

--I have mentioned the sphere to which Wagner belongs--certainly not to the
history of music. What, however, does he mean historically?--_The rise of
the actor in music_: a momentous event which not only leads me to think
but also to fear.

In a word: "Wagner and Liszt." Never yet have the "uprightness" and
"genuineness" of musicians been put to such a dangerous test. It is
glaringly obvious: great success, mob success is no longer the achievement
of the genuine,--in order to get it a man must be an actor!--Victor Hugo and
Richard Wagner--they both prove one and the same thing: that in declining
civilisations, wherever the mob is allowed to decide, genuineness becomes
superfluous, prejudicial, unfavourable. The actor, alone, can still kindle
_great_ enthusiasm.--And thus it is his _golden age_ which is now
dawning,--his and that of all those who are in any way related to him. With
drums and fifes, Wagner marches at the head of all artists in declamation,
in display and virtuosity. He began by convincing the conductors of
orchestras, the scene-shifters and stage-singers, not to forget the
orchestra:--he "delivered" them from monotony.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} The movement that Wagner
created has spread even to the land of knowledge: whole sciences
pertaining to music are rising slowly, out of centuries of scholasticism.
As an example of what I mean, let me point more particularly to
_Riemann's_ services to rhythmics; he was the first who called attention
to the leading idea in punctuation--even for music (unfortunately he did so
with a bad word; he called it "phrasing").--All these people, and I say it
with gratitude, are the best, the most respectable among Wagner's
admirers--they have a perfect right to honour Wagner. The same instinct
unites them with one another; in him they recognise their highest type,
and since he has inflamed them with his own ardour they feel themselves
transformed into power, even into great power. In this quarter, if
anywhere, Wagner's influence has really been _beneficent_. Never before
has there been so much thinking, willing, and industry in this sphere.
Wagner endowed all these