People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1896 — GENIUS OR INSANITY [ARTICLE]

GENIUS OR INSANITY

THE FADS AND PECULIARITIES OF WRITERS AND COMPOSERS. Innumerable Ways of Supplying Mental Stimulus—Trifling Manias That Lornbroso Incorrectly Regards as Mental Aberrations. It is not an easy matter to try to draw the frontier line of insanity. Although certain psychologists, basing their opinion on the physical anomalies and eccentricities of mind observed in men of genius, claim, with apparent reason, that genius and insanity are the same thing, it is going to excess to consider writers and artists insane in whom queer traits and little manias appear. In this respect Lombroso and his disciples have gone too far, their tendency being to make no distinction between genins and talent. Genius is an anomaly, but an anomaly that the whole world is satisfied to admire. It is constituted by the exaggerated development of a single faculty, usually at the expense of the others. This is the cause of the imperfections of these brilliant meteors and the explanation of their degeneracy on other points. Essentially spontaneous and original genius is a natural phenomenon that we cannot explain, although it is unquestionably the result of natural causes. Talent is different. It is the fruit of work and sustained application, and it can bo acquired and developed at any time. At the present da& for instance, there are few men of genius among painters, and yet they almost all have talent. The consequence is that the greater number of the paintings in our exhibitions are pleasing to us, although no exceptional work fills us with admiration and reveals a painter of genius. Actions, therefore, in appearanoe extraordinary do not warrant us in inferring insanity on the part of those who accomplish them, especially as these actions, however abnormal they may seem' at first, are often very rational and justifiable. Thus, in order to be able to meditate at their ease, many writers insist on not being disturbed by anything and seek seclusion. Montaigne, in his momenta of inspiration, used to run out of bis house and go and shut himself up in an old tower, into which no one else entered. Jean Jacques Rousseau used to meditate in the fields while gathering flowers in the sunshine. In order to shut out the noise of tho world he liked to bury himself in the hay or close his ears with cotton.

Others can only compose with success in the midst of tumults. The celebrated Italian composer Cimarosa was of this number, and only found the fine motives of his operas in the midst of the joys and noise of the orowd. Such was also the professor of whom Felix Regnault says that he could only lecturo in the midst of a great racket. When his scholars wished to manifest against him, they kept absolute silence, as under snob conditions he was incapable of making an addition even. Jnst as noisd stimulates the brain of some, motion quickens the circulation of others, whence the large number of persons who can only compose while exercising. Ampere could not explain clearly even the things he knew best unless the action of his brain was helped by exercise. Victor Hugo, while composing, walked about muttering to himself. In our day many writers prefer to walk. Gatulle Mendes walks up and down, and then writes at his desk; Jean Lombard, the well known writer, who died a few years ago, walked a great deal; Mistral, the Provenoal poet, composes while walking. On> the other hand, certain writers avoid all motion, probably on account of their weak constitutions, and in order to stimulate the braiu circulation put themselves in a horizontal position. For example, Descartes, who used to lie down motionless, and Cujas, who could only work profitably lying on his stomach on the carpet. A whole class of writers, Tlieophile Gautier, Baudelaire, Francois Coppee and Scaooini, require the presence of oats to write. Gautier used to have as many as 12 or 15. Leon Cladal writes in wooden shoes, in the society of his dog in a garret At intervals he takes his dog off for a walk.

Intellectual stimulants are largely used, among which ooffee is a great favorite. Lortzing drank bowls of it while composing his melodies, and Balzac used it to great excess. De Musset, Poe, Verlaine and many others preferred alcohol, while Schubert wrote his beautiful sonatas under the influence of large quantities of Rhine wine. Tobacco smoke is also much used. Flaubert could not write a word until be bad smoked three or four large pipes and half a dozen very strong cigars. Daudet smokes enormously, Catulle Mendes smokes cigars *while writing and often has three or four going at the same time through absentmindedness. Perfumes were highly appreciated by Baudelaire, Theophile Gautier, Loti and Maizeroy. Byron couldn’t write without having the odor of truffles about him and frequently carried his pockets full of them. Cooper acted on his sense of taste by Ailing his month with honey tablets and small pieces of licorice. Carolns Dnran and Aime Morot worked themselves up before painting by playing the piano and organ. Darwin preferred the violin. The singularities, qneer traits and even manias to which I have just oalled attention in writers and artists are, if one reflects, generally explicable. No doubt some of them betray a nervous condition that is on the limits of mental derangement, but as a rule they are simple peculiarities, whose importance is exaggerated on account of the public position of the writer and would not justify in any sense the term insanity, which for this reason Lombroso wonld like to attribute to men of great talent—Paris Herald.