Johannes Brahms was one of the greatest composers of the 19th century. Though he found inspiration for his compositions in the Bible, he was an agnostic with one true “religion”—his music. From a psychoanalytic point of view, Brahms’ traumatic childhood experiences are connected with his melancholic disposition and his ambivalence towards lasting commitments as an adult. On the one hand his inner conflicts caused great hardship, but on the other hand his suffering inspired many of his masterpieces, and helped to shape Brahms, the humanist.