New-York tribune., 1912-08-30

optical defect A desperate illness foi-
lowing his ambulance service In the
war Of 1870 completely ruined his
health and. moreover. taught him the
use OF drugs, which gradually grew
into abuse His sisters explanation
of the clouding Of his mind is an in
terestinC one. An incessant and inten-
slve Intellectual worker. she says IN
substance. Nietzsche required much
nourishmert. His wrecked digestive
tract was unable TO supply his brain
with the needed food. until, overtaXed
and understimulated except by the
drugs. Il ceased TO work properly
The portrait she draws Of him dur
ing this period from 1874 10 1876 is
that Of an obedient, loving and lovaDle
child and boy. serious and thoughtful
exceptionally gifted mentally, drawing
uUon himself the attention Of his fam
liz and teachers promising great
things for the future. always little
aloof from his companions, dignified'
sensitive, fastidious in thought. word
and act. At eighteen he appears 20
have suffered for q while from what
psychologists call the "melancholia of
adolescence" but Frau Forster
Nictzschc naiveiy ascribes II 70 his
reading of Byron. When a student at
Leipsic, and q member Of Franconia,
he antagOnized his corps brethren by
preaching chastity. and pointediy dis
approving OF what he called their
beer conviviality." He appears to
have had no light love affairs what
ever In fact, he seems never to have
known love, and 10 have wondered
uncomprehendingly at the power Of
passion over his friends:
His love never exceeded q rather mod
crate and poetical attachment. This was
thoroughly In keeping with the fact that
throughout his life he never once fell into
the clutches Of q great passion or OF "A
vulgar love His whole heart was alb
sorbed by the world Of knowledge Later
in life he was really sorry never to ue
o,no,,r-uoSS;on But he was never
able completely 10 conceal his astonlsh-
ment that love should be taken so seri-
ously. and with grave shake o. ne ne
head he would always ark, why all TINS
for a little girl?'
While still an undergraduate Nietzsche
was called TO an extraordinary proies-
sorship Of classical philology at Bale.
thanks 10 the brilliant scholarship dis
played in his contributions TO peri0di-
cal literature. This was In 1868, when
he was twenty-four years old. Leipsic
hastily gave him q doctorate hOn0rtS
cdusd, for, as a member of the faculty
put il, I'VE really cannot very well ex-
anime a colleague" At the Swiss uni
versity the young German appears to
have made a brilliant impression and
to have been exceptionally successful
socially. According to his sister he
would have had no difficulty In find
ing a wife In the circles he assiduously
frequented, had he been so minded, but
love touched him not. He had genius
for friendship instead. And thus he
was made welcome at Tribschen,
whittier his admiration for Wagner's
genius guided his steps.
Frau Forster -Nietzsches account Of
this friendship. begun in the clouds, is
far from unimportant contribution 10
Wagner literature. The gradual dis
illusion was mutual The Master ex-
pected his friend to abandon all idea Of
his own career, and to devote himself to
the propaganda of his music instead.
His robust brand Of anecdotes, more
over, offended the fastidious scholar.
Bulow, we are also told, while assuming
a high philosOphic attitude toward
Cosimas divorce from him and sub
sequent marriage to Wagner, could not
refrain from making remarks about
the lady in private that deeply hurt
the admiring Nietzsche II was the
first Bayreuth performances OF the
Ring" that brought him TO the part
ing OF the ways. The biographer gives
u piquant description of the event,
which she describes as q ludicrous yet
painful fiasco. Her brother wrote OF
1t in 1878:
My picture OF Wagner completely sur
passed him. had depicted an ideal