R. unpleasantly surprised by the invoice from Mr Maurer, which exceeds his expectations by several thousand florins. However, he says, “even if I must spend the rest of my life paying for the house, I am still glad that I will have managed to bring it about.”
He always writing letters regarding the organisation of the rehearsals for the summer. I also handle the correspondence, the girls on the ice, Fidi accompanying me to Frau von Aufsess.
In the evening, reading Gfrörer with much interest, finding his interpretation of the Gospel of John to be very spiritual and captivating. Above all, the words of our Savior stand supreme!
When I spoke with R. about an honorable death, he remarked, “It is remarkable how often such occurrences take place; one may ask, what it is that makes the death of our Savior so profoundly moving, so incomparable, that no martyr’s death may measure up to it? Probably because he linked this death to the foundation of religion, knowing that only through his dying could he do something for mankind. This is the tragedy par excellence, that, even if recognised, Christ could not have endured, for the Jews would have demanded political actions from him; and, unrecognised, only death presented itself to him.
Letter to Friedericke Sadler-Grün vom 11. Februar 1875
Original: ➝ Richard Wagner Museum Bayreuth
Text in German: ➝ here
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.