(^44) Nietzsche
out that all great men of God had to overcome doubts and temptations.
She calmed down for the moment, but demanded that her son show
considerate restraint in the future. He was not to mention any doubts
about religion in her presence. His mother wrote to her brother
Edmund: "My dear old Fritz is a noble person, despite our differences
of opinion. He truly interprets life or, more accurately, time and appre-
ciates only the lofty and good and despises everything crude. Yet 1 am
often worried about this dear child of mine. But God looks into our
hearts" (Janz, 1,147).
For the time being, though, his mother did not really want to know
exacdy what was going on in the heart of her rebellious son. The young
Nietzsche, in turn, complained about the restriction she imposed on him
to write only about "the latest news," and implored her in a letter of May
3,1865: "Let us choose other subjects to write about" (Β 2,51). He was
candid when writing to his sister. On June 11,1865, he gave Elisabeth an
update on his thoughts concerning religion and faith. He wrote that
while it would be easy to stay with comforting beliefs, the truth is diffi-
cult to pursue, because the truth is not necessarily in league with the
beautiful and the good. A lover of truth cannot aim at tranquillity, peace,
and happiness, because truth can be "detestable and ugly in the
extreme" (B 2,60). Thus, people need to choose one of two paths: "If
you want to attain peace of mind and happiness, then you should have
faith; if you want to be a disciple of truth, then you should probe" (B
2,61).
As a student of classical philology, Nietzsche initially forwent the
search for grand truths and remained satisfied with the little nuggets his
scholarly field offered. Delving into scholarship had a positive effect on
his disposition; his sustained project gave him "peace of mind and an
uplifting feeling" (B 2,79). He was also gaining considerable recognition
throughout the academy. Friedrich Ritsehl, the leading classical philolo-
gist of the time in I^eipzig, encouraged Nietzsche to work on scholarly
editions at an early stage in his career and submit essays to professional
journals. Ritschl also awarded one of his essays a prize in a competition.
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