Unbridled Ferocity

I've been thinking a bit lately about Nietzsche, not because I've been dipping into my trusty Penguin Portable (edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, and really all you need) but due to the fact he's featured in the last Philosophy Now of 2012 in some very readable articles, and, by an odd serendipity, I've recently chanced on a couple of other essays on line which were rather good.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for old Friedrich as one of the most endearing of the outright barmy philosophers. It's difficult not to take to a guy who rubbished Wagner with such precision. But I think the crucial factor is that moustache. It's phenomenal, and one illustration in Philosophy Now makes that so clear that I found it quite difficult to pay reasonable attention to the accompanying article, excellent as it was. (Eric Walther on Nietzsche, Our Contemporary.)

I've been trying to think of a word that does that 'tache justice, and I reckon ferocious is about as close as I can get. Imagine carrying that thing around with you on your upper lip. How did he ever drink a cup of tea?