Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1844-1904) Born in Rocken,
Germany, Nietzsche studied classical philology at the
Universities of Bonn and Leipzig (1864-5). He became professor
of classical philology at the University of Basel, Switzerland
in 1869 at the age of 24, but resigned from the post ten years
later owing to ill health, having been granted a pension.
Nietzsche's creative life spanned from the publication of The
Birth of Tragedy in 1872 to the production of Twilight of the
Idols and The Antichrist (a vehemently polemical attack on
Christian belief) in late 1888. In January 1889 Nietzsche
suffered a mental collapse from which he never recovered. He was
cared for by his mother, and subsequently by his sister, until
his death in 1900. The apparent ease with which it is possible
to read Nietzsche's books is deceptive. Stylistically, he is one
of the most approachable of philosophers, but the complexity of
his ideas and their development defies simple exegesis. What
follows merely selects some of the more infl