My father was a theologian of the old school, who held knowledge and science in less estimation than faith; but yet he endeavoured to keep pace with the times.  For this purpose he subscribed to the best periodicals he could obtain, and carefully examined what information they offered him.  This helped not a little to elevate and enlighten the old-fashioned truly Christian life which reigned in our family.  Morning and evening all its members gathered together, and even on Sunday as well, although on that day divine service would of course also call upon us to assemble for common religious worship.  Zollikofer, Hermes, Marezoll, Sturm, and others, turned our thoughts, in those delightful hours of heavenly meditation, upon our innermost being, and served to quicken, unfold, and raise up the life of the soul within us.  Thus my life was early brought under the influence of nature, of useful handiwork, and of religious feelings; or, as I prefer to say, the primitive and natural inclinations of every human being were even in my case also tenderly fostered in the germ.  I must mention here, with reference to my ideas regarding the nature of man, to be treated of later, and as throwing light upon my professional and individual work, that at this time I used repeatedly, and with deep emotion, to resolve to try and be a good and brave man.  As I have heard since, this firm inward resolution of mine was in flagrant contrast with my outward life.  I was full of youthful energy and in high spirits, and did not always know how properly to moderate my vivacity.  Through my want of restraint I got into all kinds of scrapes.  Often, in my thoughtlessness, I would destroy the things I saw around me, in the endeavour to investigate and understand them.

My father was prevented by his manifold occupations from himself instructing me.  Besides, he lost all further inclination to teach me, after the great trouble he found in teaching me to read—­an art which came to me with great difficulty.  As soon as I could read, therefore, I was sent to the public village school.

The position in which my father stood to the village schoolmasters, that is to say, to the Cantor,[5] and to the master of the girls’ school, and his judgment of the value of their respective teaching, decided him to send me to the latter.  This choice had a remarkable influence on the development of my inner nature, on account of the perfect neatness, quiet, intelligence, and order which reigned in the school; nay, I may go further, and say the school was exactly suitable for such a child as I was.  In proof of this I will describe my entrance into the school.  At that time church and school generally stood in strict mutual relationship, and so it was in our case.  The school children had their special places in church; and not only were they obliged to attend church, but each child had to repeat to the teacher, at a special class held for the purpose every Monday, some passage of Scripture used by the minister