The intellectual poets of "Vienna Modernism" are noteworthy, because their work is a synthesis of philosophy and poetry, where the experience of cognitive factors completely dominates. Among them the phenomenon of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1928) is the most outstanding because of several reasons:

1.      We deal with both poetically and intellectually mature artist, who created his lyrical masterpiece at a very young age;

2.      Unlike Artur Rembo, George Trakl, George Heim and other geniuses (of the same age) Hofmannsthal is different by the grand scale of cognitive and cultural range. Noone has ever created theoretical texts full will such overall depth, at the ages 17-22​​;

3.      The intellectual, rational character of thinking of  Hofmannsthal  did not have a negative effect  on the lyrical features of his masterpieces; 

4.      In the lyrical works of Hofmannsthal we have the assimilation of the theoretical visions of the poet and the understanding of those who had an effect on the poet.

Among the philosophers who created the intellectual framework of "Vienne Modernism" it should not be surprising that Friedrich Nietzsche was the main spiritual teacher of Hofmannsthal.

Hofmannsthal's esthetics and first of all his ‘‘The Letter of Lord Chandos" gives a rich material to understand exactly which of Nietzsche's philosophy had an impact on Hofmannsthal's works and to what extent.  

Hofmannsthal's attitude towards Nietzsche was not only a delight by the thoughts of this influential philosopher, Nietzsche as a fiction illustrator or his role adjustment. His position towards Nietzsche was what is called a creative dialogue between philosophy and poetry. In fact, some researchers were encouraged to find and revise Nietzsche's role in  Hofmannsthal's writing.

In this regard, the German scientist, Theo Meyer should be mentioned, and his study, which is dedicated to the impact of the classic era on the modern and the influence of Nietzsche [Meyer, 2006: 13-46]. The author believes that Nietzsche's influence on Hofmannsthal was not as important as that on - Rilke. Despite this statement, Hofmannsthal got several, fruitful impulses from Nietzsche: „For Hofmannsthal Nietzsche's pathos towards dithyrambs is unfamiliar.   He stands in a distance from Nietzsche. What makes him interested in Nietzsche is his artistic prose."[Meyer, 2006: 27] [1]

The scholar brings two noteworthy quotes from Hofmannsthal's notes: "Nietzsche's "The Joyful Science" shows clear transparency, delightful laughter, bright snobism" (July, 1892); "Nietzsche is temperature, where thoughts are being catalysed" (July 6, 1892) [Meyer, 2006: 27]. What is more, as the author suggests Hofmannsthal shows some kind of irony toward the pathos of Nietzsche and to justify his thesis, brings an extract from an essay by Hofmannsthal create in 1916 ("Austria in the Mirror of its own poetry"), stating that the feather of the highflying german Kant, Holderlein and Nietzsche, compared to the lowflying "austrian bird" cannot be seen [Meyer, 2006: 27]. Meyer gives another example from another essay created in 1927, called "writing as a spiritual space of a nation":  „...respektiert Hofmannsthal Nietzsche als großes Individuum, kritisiert aber das einsame, elitäre Höhenmenschentum und plädiert für ein kulturelles Gemeinschaftsethos" [Meyer, 2006: 28].

To illustrate the idea that for Hofmannsthal "dyonisian writing" was not unfamiliar brings the example of the lyric drama "Fool and Death", which Hofmannsthal created in 1893, when Death says „Ich bin nicht schauerlich, bin kein Gerippe! / Aus der Dyonysos, der Venus Sippe" (I am not horrific, I am not a skeleton! I belong to the race of Dionysus and Venus), also the lyrical fragment of "The Death of Tician" (1892), where "Dying Tician is the creative existence of Life" [Meyer, 2006: 28]. The author concludes: "The Artist as creator of Life - it's grown out from Nietzsche's spirit. Death related to creativity and sick bile motive of Death connected to the fin-de-siècle - is definitely not Nietzschean" [Meyer, 2006: 27].

The Researcher clearly reveals an apparent inconsistency, when he does not separate from each other the early, lyrical period, and later, the dramatic-epic period, sacrificing Nietzsche's contribution in the formation of the poet's outlook. The famous words of the young Hofmannsthal ("Nietzsche is temperature, where thoughts are being catalysed") shows that in the first case Nietzsche's spirit dominates over the poet as on the whole artistic and theoretical thinking of classical modernism and in particular "Vienna Modernism".

On the one hand, this condition, and on the other hand without taking into consideration the poetical and world outline that Hofmannsthal shared with Nietzsche until the creation of "Letter of Chandos", it will be difficult to understand which circumstances made the author write such a work, that became not only the manifest of his epoch, but also became a great impulse for the philosophical speculations of the next decades. It is not only the spirit, but to the front came, on the one hand, the themes researched by Nietzsche, an the on the other hand - other thinkers "infected" by Nietzsche (first of all, Ernst Mach and Rudolf Kasner) and their role in the formation of the Hofmannsthal's critical attitude. As for the Dionysian pathos, whose example as the researcher believes can be found in the two stanzas from the drama "Fool and Death", it could be noted that every second verse in Hofmannsthal's lyrical works is full of Dionysian spirit and life, the unity of the world, and by the connection of dreams and reality finds its deep relations with the Dionysian dithyrambs.[2]

"Letter of Chandos" is at one and the same time a theoretical-aesthetic text and an artistic work as well that can fit well in the genre of epistolary pieces. Lord Chandos writes a letter to his friend Francis Bacon and shares with his the fundamental reasons that made him to refuse creating literary works. This form of art creates another layer of content, which serves to strengthen and dramatize the main point of the work. The function of it is to show the total dualism of existence, split consciousness of the tragedy, any opposition of illusory harmony, personal outset resulting in de-personalization, complete rupture of artistic integrity. The unique feature of the text can be seen in the rivalry between the content and form. To put it more clearly: The author of the letter tells the addressee (who is also "double coded" addressee not only because of the laws of artistic narration, but also or the function he has in the work) about his crisis, the split of conscious, many-layered alienation - in the first case the total linguistic Nihilism - with rational, logical and orderly manner that is quite unusual for a man who has undergone such a crises and has abandoned creating literature (The author of the fictional letter Lord Chandos is such a person).

The dramatic content by which the text is full, can practically be seen at the very beginning of the text, when the reader finds out that the letter is a reply (imagined continuation of the narrative structure of fiction) to the unknown letter of the philosopher Francis Bacon, which the philosopher wrote to Lord Chandos who remained silent for two years. In the letter Bacon expressed his idea, that Lord Chandos needs a treatment not only to overcome his illness, but also to look inside him and to understand his spiritual condition [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 46]. The reader finds out that the letter by Bacon is finished by the quote of Hypocrate, which is then repeted by Chandos (Here two noteworthy artistic tools are used: Firstly, Lord Chandos starts his letter by the phrase Bacon used to continue his; Secondly, Chandos quotes Cacon an at the same time, Hypocrate cited by Bacon, so to say Hypocrate and Hypocrate quoted by Bacon!) The quote is the following: „Qui gravi morbo correpti dolores non sentiunt, iis mens aegrotat" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 46].[3] This citation is an imaginary bridge which Hofmannstahl built between the letter of Chandos and the letter that Bacon wrote,which is unfamiliar to the reaader. To understand the deep content of the text this quote is rather important it shows the spiritual illness of the author. The letter of Chandos, the poet suffering from spiritual sickness, is a kind of manifest with two layers: performative (Chandos refused creating literary works) and theoretical (Chandos tries to find the reasons for such an action).

Chandos gives away his diseas to the addresser of the after a coherent and harmonious describtion of the the condition of the past from which he feels alienated. Out of this highly romantic past of the harmonic content in the world and describing his ideal world as a whole. The fictional author of the letter recalls a historical topic related to his artistic intention, which was especially precious to him, his grandfather's records that should have been the bases of his fictional intention. He also mentions another source of his inspiration - literature - and describes the aesthetic nature of it: "aus dem Sallust [4] floß in jenen glücklichen belebten Tagen wie durch nie verstopfte Röhren die Erkenntnis der Form in mich herüber, jener tiefen wahren inneren Form, die jenseits des Geheges der rhetorischen Kunststücke erst geahnt werden kann, die, von welcher man nicht mehr sagen kann, daß sie das Stoffliche anordne, denn sie durchdringt es, sie hebt es auf und schafft Dichtung und Wahrheit zugleich, ein Widerspiel ewiger Kräfte, ein Ding, herrlich wie Musik und Algebra"[Hofmannsthal, 2000: 48].

The passage from the text showing the conclusion by Chandos, showing his loss of ideal spiritual condition is this: "Mir erschien damals in einer Art von andauernder Trunkenheit das ganze Dasein als eine große Einheit: geistige und körperliche Welt schien mir keinen Gegensatz zu bilden, ebensowenig höfisches und tierisches Wesen, Kunst und Unkunst, Einsamkeit und Gesellschaft; in allem fühlte ich Natur, in den Verirrungen des Wahnsinns ebensowohl wie in den äußersten Verfeinerungen eines spanischen Zeremoniells; in den Tölpelhaftigkeiten junger Bauern nicht minder als in den süßesten Allegorien; und in aller Natur fühlte ich mich selber; wenn ich auf meiner Jagdhütte die schäumende laue Milch in mich hineintrank, die ein struppiger Mensch einer schönen sanftäugigen Kuh aus dem strotzenden Euter in einen Holzeimer niedermolk, so war mir das nichts anderes, als wenn ich, in der dem Fenster eingebauten Bank meines studio sitzend, aus einem Folianten süße und schäumende Nahrung des Geistes in mich sog. Das eine war wie das andere; keines gab dem andern weder an traumhafter überirdischer Natur, noch an leiblicher Gewalt nach, und so gings fort durch die ganze Breite des Lebens, rechter und linker Hand; überall war ich mitten drinnen, wurde nie ein Scheinhaftes gewahr: Oder es ahnte mir, alles wäre Gleichnis und jede Kreatur ein Schlüssel der anderen, und ich fühlte mich wohl den, der im Stande wäre, eine nach der andern bei der Krone zu packen und mit ihr so viele der andern aufzusperren, als sie aufsperren könnte. Soweit erklärt sich der Titel, den ich jenem enzyklopädischen Buch zu geben gedachte"[Hofmannsthal, 2000: 49-50].

It is noteworthy that Lord Chandos talks about his illness in one sentence: "Es ist mir völlig die Fähigkeit abhanden gekommen, über irgend etwas zusammenhängend zu denken oder zu sprechen"[Hofmannsthal, 2000: 50].

It should be said, that Chandos principally denies religious discourse and to define his own problem in the context of God's decision, the plan arranged by God beforehead: „Mir haben sich die Geheimnisse des Glaubens zu einer erhabenen Allegorie verdichtet"[Hofmannsthal, 2000: 50],  - adresses he Bacon (1561-1626), who rebelled against scolastics and found solution in the thoery of two truths. But Chandos despite his respect towards Bacon, does not see conformity in their opinions. He refuses the both truth approved by Bacon: Religious and scientific-philosophical.  

The famous thesis of Bacon ‘‘The New Organon" (1620) which declares knowledge as a main tool for mankind to rule nature, forms the methodological basis for the study of nature and the nature of the victory of science, natural resources management is opening positive, therefore, is a direct target for scepticism for Chandos and Hofmannsthal himself. If Bacon's target was scholastics and tried to free scholastics from the slavery of philosophy and science, Hofmannsthal attacks both "truths", religious and scientific. In Bacon's "Organon" among these four idols, or "ghosts" that prevents humans from obtaining knowledge, the proper scientific research of nature, and one is called "the ghost of square" and its essence lies in the fact that people submitted to the accepted false beliefs, which, in turn, is caused by the semantics of the language of everyday people's thinking, was influenced by the disoriented speech and language clichés of daily life [Бэкон, 1977: 303-309]. The cornerstone of Bacon's Gnesealogy is the wise doubt of these fore idols, the correct understanding of the scientific method and to overcome the natural regularities. Bacon considered empirical method to be the fundamental scientific method, described the types of experiment and types of cognition. Bacon processed the basic laws of nature in inductive ways, as an instrument of empirical understanding.

As for Chandos one of the symptoms of his illness is the total alienation of inductive thinking and physical antipathy towards abstract discussion. When he recalls the first symptoms of the crisis, names the despair which his efforts were bearing - the ability of discussing sublime and abstract issues, the use of the words, which any person applies without thinking. While saying the abstract words or notions, such as "Spirit", "Heaven" or "Body" he has "an unpleasant feeling that cannot be explained" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 51]. Hofmannstahl with high aristism describes: „die abstrakten Worte, deren sich doch die Zunge naturgemäß bedienen muß, um irgendwelches Urtheil an den Tag zu geben, zerfielen mir im Munde wie modrige Pilze" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 52].

The concrete examples and by describing his personal feeings Chandos adresses the total disfaith towards inductive thinking and portrays the loss of ability of thinking with concepts and generalization. Chandos lost the ability of understanding things and events normally and sees everything as once ‘‘the part of his skin on the thumb in a magnifying glass". Chandos tells Bacon: „Mein Geist zwang mich, alle Dinge, die in einem solchen Gespräch vorkamen, in einer unheimlichen Nähe zu sehen" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 52].

The process of disintegration and fragmentation of the radical semantic universe of consciousness szisophrenia  coincides with the protagonistis consciousness with "realization" process of the words. The drama of concious is depicted by Hofmannstahl as following: „Es zerfiel mir alles in Teile, die Teile wieder in Teile und nichts mehr ließ sich mit einem Begriff umspannen. Die einzelnen Worte schwammen um mich; sie gerannen zu Augen, die mich anstarrten und in die ich wieder hineinstarren muß: Wirbel sind sie, in die hinabzusehen mich schwindelt, die sich unaufhaltsam drehen und durch die hindurch man ins Leere kommt" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 52].

Here precision needs the fact that the harmonic and ideal existence, whose door is closed for Chandos, refers only to the poet, his lost ideal spiritual state, which - at the same time - is the missed opportunity of creating, is identical to closing of the perspective. The esthetics of Hofmannstahl and his neo-romantic philosophy excludes the eqaulization of experience of peotical and non-poetical exsistence and the crisis that can only be experienced by the poet. In this respect the words by Chandos are noteworthy:  „Seither führe ich ein Dasein, das Sie, fürchte ich, kaum begreifen können, so geistlos, ja gedankenlos fließt es dahin; ein Dasein, das sich freilich von dem meiner Nachbarn, meiner Verwandten und der meisten landbesitzenden Edelleute dieses Königreiches kaum unterscheidet..." [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 53].

In this ‘‘lifeless" and "sensless" i.e., the usual rhythm and content of life normal for most, Lord Chandos from time to time, as if to remind, what a great and special for him the loss is, returns to the minutes of vision and enjoys the integrity of the world, which If we say on a medical language is remission, but for the creation of poetry and to write books such remission is not enough. Hofmannsthal unites the lost time beyond the drama of existence in a beautiful passage: Chandos compares his existence to that of Roman Ortor Krasus, who according to the saying fell in love with the red-eyed Murena, living in the lake, and when the fish was dying Krasus was weeping bitterly [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 57-58], and the commentary of this passage and the whole text is expressed in the following words said by Chandos: „...die Sprache, in welcher nicht nur zu schreiben, sondern auch zu denken mir vielleicht gegeben wäre, weder die lateinische noch die englische, noch die italienische oder spanische ist, sondern eine Sprache, in welcher die stummen Dinge zuweilen zu mir sprechen, und in welcher ich vielleicht einst im Grabe vor einem unbekannten Richter mich verantworten werde" [Hofmannsthal, 2000: 59].

Chandos' alienation develops in several different directions:

1.      Alienation from the religious truth and religious discourse by institutional legal opinions from God;

2.      Alienation of the material and the spiritual world, which give it an artistic form;

3.      Alienation from the world of classical thinking and the bright, well-organized categorical apparatus (including his failed attempt to restore equilibrium concerning the texts of Cicero and Seneca);

4.      Alienation for the works created by him before and - from the indications of the open letter - literate and poetic masterpieces of tasty recognized by the reader, as well as all of his literary and poetic intention of the project;

5.      Actual total alienation from the literary activity of the internal demand, the demand is disappearing poetic creativity.

The bases of this long row of alienation lies in the skepsis of Chandos towards language, firstly the poetical language, understanding the problem that language is unable to reflect the unity of world. But the problem is not limited to it. Understanding the inability of language, in themselves, new knowledge, a sensible person, especially philosopher (Chandos signes his letter as a philosopher) and his new action strategy also poses new conditions for existencial field. New knowledge, for Chandos, which is not a result of consistent and rational analysis-search, but of a mystical leap, as it turned out to be an incredible experience in this crucial decision: He refused to have any kind of relation with words, and depicting the world artistically and by this action shared the existence of humans who have nothing in common with words. However, Chandos does not say that his new existential condition is identical to that of the others. The similarity in appearance does not mena equality, moreover, when the majority did not have the same mystical experience. So, the question that arises is the value of the new state, its meaning for Chandos, or paradoxical to say the spiritual status of the situation.

The spiritual experience that "dumbed" Chanos, Nietzsche had already researched in the 19^th century. In 1973 in his written essay "The abnormal mind on Truth and Lie", by his usual rebellious pathos examines language as a deep aspect of philosophical problem.[5]. Nietzsche analyses the the nature of thinking and remarks that Intellect beyond human life has no mission or meaning; If we ha the ability to read the minds of a mosquito, we would be sure that „daß auch sie mit diesem Pathos durch die Luft schwimmt und in sich das fliegende Zentrum dieser Welt fühlt" [Nietzsche, 1954: 309]. The main result of Intellect is to convince humans in existence, and the value of it, and does this with the only criteria that it has. As a result individual is trapped in one big lie that has nothing in common with reality. Intellect, according to Nietzsche, is a weapon for the physical survival of human, the developing of hypocrisy of the main forces in the direction: „Im Menschen kommt diese Verstellungskunst auf ihren Gipfel: hier ist die Täuschung, das Schmeicheln, Lügen und Trügen, das Hinter-dem-Rücken-Reden, das Repräsentieren, das im erborgten Glanze leben, das Maskiertsein, die verhüllende Konvention, das Bühnenspiel vor anderen und vor sich selbst, kurz das fortwährende Herumflattern um die eine Flamme Eitelkeit so sehr die Regel und das Gesetz, daß fast nichts unbegreiflicher ist, als wie unter den Menschen ein ehrlicher und reiner Trieb zur Wahrheit aufkommen konnte"[Nietzsche, 1954: 310].

The individual knows nothing about the universe and himself, nature has hidden everything from him, in order to lock the individual in his fraudulent Consciousness. Nietzsche uses the metaphor of key in a negative context - „Sie (die Natur - D. B.) warf den Schlüssel weg" -, [Nietzsche, 1954: 310] which as we see in Hofmannsthal's "The Letter of Chandos" is used in a positive way. For this aim individuals should protect themselves, and because the individual „zugleich aus Not und Langeweile gesellschaftlich und herdenweise existieren will" [Nietzsche, 1954: 311], needs  peacy treaty with other individuals and at this time comes in the game and is fixed what is called "truth". Nietzsche writes: „es wird eine gleichmäßig gültige und verbindliche Bezeichnung der Dinge erfunden, und die Gesetzgebung der Sprache gibt auch die ersten Gesetze der Wahrheit: denn es entsteht hier zum ersten Male der Kontrast von Wahrheit und Lüge. Der Lügner gebraucht die gültigen Bezeichnungen, die Worte, um das Unwirkliche als wirklich erscheinen zu machen; er sagt zum Beispiel: »Ich bin reich«, während für seinen Zustand gerade »arm« die richtige Bezeichnung wäre. Er mißbraucht die festen Konventionen durch beliebige Vertauschungen oder gar Umkehrungen der Namen"[Nietzsche, 1954: 311].

According to Nietzsche when the society sees, that individual violates conventions for the sake of their own goals and therefore creates harm for the society, the society so to speak, establishes sanctions on individuals, but it does not mean that the individual lied, but because society has suffered;  Lie does not fear the society, it is vulnerable and sensitive to the loss caused by lies, so to say a person, in some ways, has demand for the truth, but the truth that does not hold danger of destruction. Therefore, individual starts, to control and manage the truth and makes him believe that the real utilitarian truth is the verily truth.

Nietzsche here arises the core linguistic, language conventionalism, a purely semiotic problem, in particular the issue: Is not it against the conventions of knowledge and the truth of sensitivity? To what extent are these conventions consistent to the things and events in real circumstances? According to Nietzsche what people call variability, in reality is a linguistic tautological and nothing more, and those who are satisfied by tautology can never free from the slavery of illusions. „Was ist ein Wort? Die Abbildung eines Nervenreizes in Lauten. Von dem Nervenreiz aber weiterzuschließen auf eine Ursache außer uns, ist bereits das Resultat einer falschen und unberechtigten Anwendung des Satzes vom Grunde"[Nietzsche, 1954: 312].

For visible presence Nietzsche brings such an example: When we say that "the stone is heavy", we use the word "heavy", as if we do not express our subjective feeling, but as if it was the objective feature. This same can be said, for example, the division of things according to sex, is an arbitrary act just as naming things, because it has nothing in common with the essential feature of the word. For Nietzsche a living example of the fact that the word has nothing to do with the truth, is the existence of the very many languages, because if words could reflect accurately the essence of a thing, then you do not have so many words for the same thing and the multitude of languages ​​would not be needed.  Here Nietzsche uses the central notion of Kant's philosophy ("the thing itself") and writes that for the language such an original thing is unfamiliar and without cognition [Nietzsche, 1954: 312].   Nietzsche writes „Er (der Verfasser der Sprache - D. B.) bezeichnet nur die Relationen der Dinge zu den Menschen und nimmt zu deren Ausdruck die kühnsten Metaphern zu Hilfe. Ein Nervenreiz, zuerst übertragen in ein Bild! Erste Metapher. Das Bild wird nachgeformt in einem Laut! Zweite Metapher. Und jedesmal vollständiges Überspringen der Sphäre, mitten hinein in eine ganz andre und neue" [Nietzsche, 1954: 312].

The conclusion is the following: „Was ist also Wahrheit? Ein bewegliches Heer von Metaphern, Metonymien, Anthropomorphismen, kurz eine Summe von menschlichen Relationen, die, poetisch und rhetorisch gesteigert, übertragen, geschmückt wurden und die nach langem Gebrauch einem Volke fest, kanonisch und verbindlich dünken: die Wahrheiten sind Illusionen, von denen man vergessen hat, daß sie welche sind, Metaphern, die abgenutzt und sinnlich kraftlos geworden sind, Münzen, die ihr Bild verloren haben und nun als Metall, nicht mehr als Münzen, in Betracht kommen"[Nietzsche, 1954: 314].

So, the saying by Lord Chandos that he is unable "to say something in a coherent way of thinking and speaking ability" or "language crisis" (as a literary term indicates) and refusal of literary activities, is the recognition and sharing of Nietzsche's philosophical analysis on Human language. 

In scientific literature nobody argues that "The Letter of Chandos" practically is the dual -poetical and spiritual- autobiography of Hofmannsthal and symbolically expresses the mystical experience of the author. It is noteworthy that this text was a kind of confession of the poet, because after this Hofmannsthal has not written poetry. Hofmannsthal wrote dramatic texts for over 27 years, but by their artistic and literary importance they cannot be compared to the lyrical masterpieces created by Hofmannsthal.

[1] All the remarks on foreign language is translated by the author himself.

[2] Several verses of Hofmannsthal - "For Me"(1890), "The music of future" (1891), "Letter"(1893) and "Life"(1892) -  in the 20s of the past century were regarded as texts inspired by Nietzsche's "The Birth of a Tragedy". See:[Feise, 1945: 31-39].

[3] ‘‘Those who are severly ill and feel no pain, do not have an ill soul" (Latin).

[4] The mentioning of the Roman Historian and Reformer of Historical Sciences Gaius Sallustius Crispus, who lived in I century B.C is not accidental, because he was the first to refuse to narrate based on the historical facts and started using literary tools, psychological portraits and moralist rhetoric that had a great influence on the functions of the Historians causing a crisis of traditional „objectivism".  Apart from this his vocabulary which was full of archaism and had its unique style became a rich source of knowledge for the next generation of Historians and Writers. More information can be found in V. Gorenstein's book [Гай Саллюстий Крисп, 1981:148-164].

[5] What is surprising though it may seem, among scholars there was a belief that the text written in 1973 by Nietzsche was first published in 1903. But the text was first published in 1896 in Leipzig, in the 10-volume book of Nitzche published by Fritz Coegel. See:[Helmut Pfotenhauer..., 2006:112].