ABSTRACT
Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844 in Röcken, Germany, near the birthplace of Martin Luther and even closer to the hometown of Johann Sebastian Bach. Five generations of maternal ancestors were Lutheran ministers, as was his father, and his paternal grandfather was a distinguished Protestant scholar. His most intimate love interest Lou Salomé recalled how “Nietzsche repeatedly emphasized that the Christianity which imbued the pastor-home of his parents suited his inner being—smooth and soft, like a healthy skin—and compliance with all its commandments was as easy to follow as his own inclinations.” 1 His father died when Nietzsche was five, and in 1850 he moved to nearby Naumburg because his uncle was a preacher in the cathedral. His sister Elisabeth recalled that Naumburg was “a thoroughly Christian, conservative city, loyal to the King and a pillar of the Throne and the Church.” 2 He and his sister were raised by their pious mother, two aunts, and a grandmother. At ten he enrolled at the Cathedral Grammar School where the day was punctuated by resounding church bells. In 1858 he won a scholarship to the prestigious Pforta School, originally a monastery that included a twelfth-century Romanesque chapel and a thirteenth-century Gothic church, which imposed rigorous study and observance with morning chapel and daily prayers. There he recited scriptural passages and songs with great enthusiasm that brought tears to the eyes of listeners. His schoolmates called him “the little pastor.”
