Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1898 — Why Was He an Idiot? [ARTICLE]

Why Was He an Idiot?

There is a story told of a very talkative lady who met with a well-deserved rebuke at a social gathering not long ago. Her husband is a man of high standing in the world of science, but the lady regards him as a dreamer of impossible dreams. “Do you know,” she remarked, “that genius and imbecility are twin brothers? The world regards John as a genius. Now there are times when I believe him to be an idiot.” A painful silence followed, broken by a blunt old doctor who had overheard the remark. “Are we to understand, madam,” he said, “that Prof. Y., though your husband, is so slightly esteemed by you?” “I say what I think,” she retorted. “At times John is unmistakably an idiot.” “Merely because he is your husband?” "Sir!” “Oh, very well,” was the grim rejoinder. “We will put it in another way. He is your husband because he is an idiot. Will that do?”