The Initiation of Nietzsche

Is it possible to live your life as if it were a work of art? Can we go one step further and become the authors of our own lives rather than side characters in another's story? These were the dangerous ideas that Richard Wagner used to "corrupt" a bright young philology student named Friedrich Nietzsche. Just as Socrates corrupted Plato into becoming the founder of Western philosophy, so would Wagner corrupt Nietzsche into becoming one of the philosophical giants of the modern age. In the terms that we will use in this book, Wagner initiated Nietzsche (Plato was similarly initiated by Socrates).

Wagner's initiation was predicated on the idea of living life as if it were art. This was no mere theoretical exercise. It was how the composer lived. Nietzsche remarked that their initial meeting was like "living in a novel". In this book, we will relate the story of the relationship between the two men, beginning with the incredible coincidences that brought them together and ending with the dramatic episode that split them apart. It is a story of love, truth, deception, and betrayal, the equal of any of Wagner's operas.

The story of Nietzsche and Wagner was a lived story, and yet, it has all the hallmarks of a novel, a myth, or even a fairy tale. Therefore, it challenges our distinction between life and art, fact and fiction. That's fitting. Wagner and Nietzsche wanted to go beyond the Greek "know thyself" and pursue a new task - "create thyself". This book is the story of their journey towards that lofty goal.