In 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche witnessed a horse being flogged. In tears, the philosopher flung his arms around the animal’s neck and collapsed. In accounts of Nietzsche’s life, this act of interspecies solidarity heralds his descent into madness. A decade later, one year before his death, a photographer captures Nietzsche in the grip of stroke-induced paralysis. … Continue reading Empty Daybook – Ross Birrell on 3 January 1889