Chronicle of Nietzsche 's Life 352of death; the thought of being separated forever from my beloved
father seized me, and I wept bittedy" (1858). In Ecce Homo (1888), N.
wdtes about his father: "I consider it a great privilege to have had a
father like this: it even seems to me that this explains any other privileges
I might have—even apart from life, the great Yes to life."1850
January 9: Shordy before his second birthday, N.'s brother, Ludwig
Joseph, dies. "At that time I once had a dream of hearing organ music in
the church of the sort that is played at funerals. When I saw what was
making these sounds, a grave suddenly opened and my father emerged
from it, wrapped in a shroud. He hurried into the church and soon
returned with a small child in his arms. The tomb opened up, he entered
it, and the cover closed over the opening. Just then, the deafening organ
sounds fell silent, and I awoke. On the day following this night, litde
Joseph suddenly fell ill with cramps and died in a matter of hours. Our
grief was overwhelming. My dream had come utterly true" (1858).
Early April: A new parson comes to Röcken. The family—two unmar-
ried aunts, his mother, and the two children, Friedrich and Elisabeth—
relocates to Naumburg. The family has some savings, and his mother
receives a widow's subsidy and a small pension from the court of
Altenburg, where his father had worked as an educator for several years.Attends the local boys' public school (until February 1851). His sister gave
the following account of this period in his life: his fellow pupils called him
"the litde pastor" because he could recite "biblical verses and spiritual
songs" with such feeling that "you almost had to cry." His sister told this
anecdote: "One day, just as school was letting out, there was a heavy
downpour of rain, and we looked along Priester Lane for our Fritz. All of
the boys were running like mad to get home—at last, litde Fritz also
appeared, walking along slowly, his cap covered by his slate and his litde
handkerchief spread on top When our mother scolded him for com-
ing home soaked to the skin, he replied in a serious tone: *But Mamma, the