Wilamowitz contro «il demonio della democrazia». Una lettera inedita del gennaio 1919

Abstract

An unpublished letter by Wilamowitz, which is kept among the papers of his Nachlass at the Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek in Göttingen, dated "around New Year’s Eve 1919" and with an unspecified addressee, is published here. In the letter, Wilamowitz expresses his gratitude for the homage (Adresse) he has received from the Leipzig philologists, probably on the occasion of his 70th birthday (22 December 1918), and gives an interesting assessment of the political situation after the beginning of the Weimar Republic. Wilamowitz brands the supporters of democracy as "ghosts" (Gespenster) and "predators" (Raubtiere) and calls for mobilisation in view of the upcoming elections to the German National Assembly, because it is necessary to "look the Gorgon head of shame and the devil of democracy fearlessly in the eye". Based on some references in the text, it can be assumed that the addressee of the letter was his colleague and friend Eduard Schwartz.