ABSTRACT
On his own admission Nietzsche’s life had reached a low point by the year 1881 (see EH “Why I Am So Wise, 1 p. 222 and GS Preface to the Second Edition, pp. 32-33). in the period just prior to the writing of The Gay Science. It was a low point in at least
two respects. First, Nietzsche’s career as a writer and cultural critic had foundered. Nine years after his first publication his books had failed to make any substantial impact on an increasingly uninterested public.2
