Nietzsche's Philosophical Context: An Intellectual Biography

Table 1. Chronological Listing of Nietzsche's Philosophical Reading

Table 1 Chronological Listing of Nietzsche’s Philosophical Reading The first column lists the authors and titles. A dagger (†) signifies that Nietzsche may not have read the work (or not read it in the year listed). The second column (BN) lists whether the book is available in Nietzsche’s private library with a “Y” for yes. Asterisks after the “Y” indicate light (*), medium (**), and heavy (***) annotations made by Nietzsche in his copy of the book. Some books present in his library, without asterisk indication, nonetheless contain some minor annotations or other signs of having been read. Parentheses around the “Y” means that the work has been lost from the library. The third column gives short comments about Nietzsche’s reading of and response to the book. The term “p-ref” means that Nietzsche refers to specific page(s) of the work. The last column gives the reference where Nietzsche mentions, or discusses, the book (a two- or three-digit number for letters, as published in KSB and KGB, and a number containing brackets for his notebooks, as published in KSA and KGW). Letters to Nietzsche are identified by date. The young Nietzsche’s writings are referred to as BAW (see note on references). GSA refers to unpublished papers in the Goethe and Schiller archive in Weimar. Nietzsche read more philosophic works than are listed in this table (which only contains works for which one can determine the year he read them). Compare , for example, table 2. 186 Table 1 Title BN Comment Ref. 1857 †Herder, Der Cid —  N wrote long poems about KGW I.1, 3[1+6] Alfonso der Cid, probably based on reading Herder. Marcus Aurelius — School work. KGW I.1, 3A[3] 1858 †Herder, J. G., Der Cid — Probably list of books N BAW 1, 400+ wanted 1858. N only refers to KGW, I.1, the work as Cid or Der Cid, 4[4+5] but it is very probably Herder’s version of the story. 1859 †Cicero’s letters Y Pinder recommends N to read 62+Pinder to N, Cicero’s letters. It is probable, April 1859 but not certain, that N read them this year. Novalis — N read Novalis (“whose BAW 1, 147 philosophical thoughts interest me”) in his uncle’s library. 1860 Cicero’s letters: (Y) N writes a list of the books he 173 K. F. Süpfle, M. Tullii will need and probably buy, Ciceronis epistolae selectae for the coming school year temporum ordine compositae: (i.e., 1860–61). Für den Schulgebrauch mit Einleitung und erklärenden Anmerkungen versehen 1861 Sallust [Sallust und Y Receipt. N bought this book KGB, I.4, p. Ciceronis Opera, I, vol. 1] in 1861. 156+243+244 Cicero [Sallust und Y Receipt. N bought this book 267+288+KGB, Ciceronis Opera, I, in 1861. N asked for money I.4, p. 156+243+ vol. 1] to have this work bound. At 244 this time they read Cicero’s Oratio pro Murena in the Latin class. Hölderlin, F., Kurze (Y)1 +Y N was reading Hölderlin at 181+182+252+ Biographie und Proben this time. Listed title with 281+BAW 1, Table 1 187 aus seinen Werken, price and planned to work 251+253+BAW 2 booklets from Verlag with during the holidays 2, 1–5 der modernen (1861 or 1862); wrote a Klassiker school essay in 1861. “I need for a German work about Hölderlin [i.e., ‘Brief an meinen Freund, in dem ich ihm meinen Lieblingsdichter zum Lesen empfehle’] necessarily his biography, it stands in my bookshelf.” Voltaire, Histoire de — N tells his sister of his studies 288 Charles XII at Pforta. N’s library contains Voltair’s sämmtliche Schriften (1786) in three volumes, but this work N read in French. Herder, J. G., Cid, Der — Listed under the title BAW 1, 250 “Bibliothek.” †Feuerbach, Das Wesen — List of books N wanted for BAW 1, 251 des Christenthums. his birthday in 1861. †Feuerbach, Gedanken — List of books N wanted for BAW 1, 251 über Tod und his birthday in 1861. Unsterblichkeit †Cicero, 2 vols. Y Probably list of books N BAW 1, 263 wanted to buy in 1861–62. †Unidentified book — G. Krug discusses an Krug to N, unidentified book N wanted December 10, for Christmas 1861 that 1861 aroused fear and anxiety in Krug.2 Anregung für Kunst, Leben (Y) N read this journal in 1861...