It is our destiny to be alive during a renaissance epoch. This renaissance is beginning now, when people least expect it, when people see only decadence and sterility. Chapter 12 argues that a renaissance is bound to occur when decadence has reached an extreme. The chapter on genius enables you to see the classics from the inside, to meet the people behind the books. But it does more than introduce you to writers and artists.
Genius is a subset of human nature, just as neurotics are a subset of human nature.
Freud focused on neurotics, but his conclusions were relevant to mankind as a whole. Likewise, when we explore the psychology of genius, our conclusions throw light on man in general. The chapter on genius gives you an introduction to psychology, to Freud's work, and to the whole modern movement toward exploring the unconscious. One well-known Chinese scholar, Dong Leshan, said that it's the best piece he has seen on the subject of genius. This book is dead serious, but fun to read.