Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 
Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism 

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Our father’s family was also in fairly comfortable circumstances, and likewise very large. Our grand father Dr. Nietzsche (d.d. And Superintendent) married twice, and had in all twelve children, of whom three died young. Our grandfather on this side, whom I never knew, must certainly have been a distinguished, dignified, very learned and reserved man; his second wife – our beloved grandmother was an active-minded, intelligent, and exceptionally good-natured woman. The whole of our father’s family, which I only got to know when they were very advanced in years, were remarkable for their great power of self-control, their lively interest in intellectual matters, and a strong sense of family unity, which manifested itself both in their splen did readiness to help one another and in their very excellent relations with each other. Our father was the youngest son, and, thanks to his un commonly lovable disposition, together with other gifts, which only tended to become more marked as he grew older, he was quite the favourite of the family. Blessed with a thoroughly sound constitution, as all averred who knew him at the convent-school in Rossleben, at the University, or later at the ducal court of Altenburg, he was tall and slender, possessed an undoubted gift for poetry and real musical talent, and was moreover a man of delicate sensibilities, full of consideration for his whole family, and distinguished in his manners.