I must apologize for these extracts to those of my readers who are
able to follow the original, and I hope that others may yet feel
something of the warmth of Wagner's language even in the feeble shadow
of a very free paraphrase. Many more might be gathered from his works
to show how vivid and forcible was Wagner's prose when he once threw
off the restraint of cold logical reasoning. Other passages well
worthy of perusal as specimens of his better style are the description
of the theatrical sunset in _le Prophete_, and especially the
admirably worked-out metaphor of the _Volkslied_ as a wild flower
in vol. iii. of his collected works, pp. 309 and 372 seq.

[Footnote 9: _Ges. Schr_., iii, p. 298.]

Very different views have been expressed about Wagner in his capacity
of philosopher. To some he appears as a verbose dilettante totally
unable to put two ideas logically together, while others look up to
him as a teacher of the profoundest truths. I cannot say that either
view is wrong. On the one hand he possessed the deep insight which is
the first qualification for a philosopher, but is found in so few; on
the other he lacked the patience to express himself logically, feeling
that in his art he wielded a far more powerful means of persuasion
than logic. Those who persevere in studying his writings until they
master what he really was aiming at cannot fail at last to admit that
as philosopher he is at least suggestive, as art-critic he is amongst
the very first of all times, worthy of a place beside Plato,[10]
Lessing, Ruskin.

[Footnote 10: See Note II. at end of this chapter.]