Smyrna times., 1872-08-21
Notable Lunaties.

Much of the tyranny and despotism of the
world have been the result of cerebral disease {
and, If justice had been done, not few of the I
ancient rulers would have been confined in
asylums TOR the insane. Caligula, the beasty
Roman emperor, was certainly lunatc. His
accession to the throne was greeted with Joy by
the Roman people, and he attcrward became so
popular by the generouS and concilia ory acts of
his reign that when he was attacked with sick
ness sacrifices were offered in the temples for
his recovery. His brain undoubtedly became
diseased during his sickness, for from that time
he became changed man. The remaining |
! four years of his reign were dsgraced by some |
of the most unnatural and capricious acts of
tyranny recorded i'll history. lie put to death |
a large number Of his senator's Every ten
days he delivered human victims to be dcvoured
by wild beasts, and jocosely termed this h0rrid
act clearing his account. He caused divine
honors to be paid to himself, in a temple erected
expressly for that purpose, and under the su-
perintendence of priests of his own appoint
ment lie invited his favorte horse, Incitatus,
to dine at the royal table, where he was fed on
gllded oats and drank wine from jeweled COB
, lets, and but for his premature death this ami
NAL would have been raised to the consulship.
! In a more enlightened and liberal age Caligula
would have been deposed and sent to an insane
retreat. The Romans endured his cruelty for
. four years. and then ru: him to death by a
Wcll- DldIlIleu dIlu SUCCESSFUL conspiracy. j H6
o career of Nero was somewhat like that OF Ca
. ligula. ln youth he was notably clever, kind
n and amlable, and for the first five years OF his
reign he ruled with clemency and Justice. lie
q was at this time so harassed by the attempts OF
4 his mother to wrest the sceptre from his hands
), that bis brain probably became disordered, and
!, he was metamorphOsed into tyrant. He poi
70 sored his own brother at feast to which he haC
m invited him. His mother, Agrippina he mur
| dorad in bar bod Ha rninDtlaCSlv U
m cuted the Christians on the plea that they haC
h. set fire to Rome. He caused to be executed
TO Luean, the poet, and Seneca, the philosopher
es and kicked his own wife to death. Nor was hi
h. insanity manifested by acts of cruelty alone
er He had silly rage for music, aud, i'll his MOI
ed bid ambition to be thought the greatest SINCE
,c of the world he appeared on the stage in tn
er character of an operate performer. DOmtiar
ce Heliogabalus and possibly also some OF til
us tyrants of Rome, must have been of uns0un
IF mind. Domitian, like Caligula and Nero
,k- began to reign with generosity, and under tn
oer pressures and worryings of government he d'
he velOped into monster. HeGOgabalus mad
be his horse consul, appointed senate OF womcl
,el- forced the Romans to worship 4 black ston
oer and prepared golden swords and dagGers, al
the cords of silk and gold, in order to put an eI
ira to his own life whenever he saw fit. All the
ne were the freaks Of a madman. Alexander Il
and Great behaved like lunatlc in the latter da
I'M Of his reign, and the supposition is plausit
nall that if he had survived few years longer
use might have become most implacable and {
the PRECIOUS tyrant. From being very abstemio
age he gave himself up to debauchery. His II
and for power became disease, and he strOve
the gigantic impossibilities Robespierre and sol
we'd Of the other leaders in the French Revoluti
ring were probably made more on less insane by
.Ypi exciting events in which they took part. L
hich certain that Robespierre was naturally XII
e bv hearted and considcrate, for he began life
ould en- 1eavoring to procure the abolition of cap
! six punishment.
c or Louis XI. of France was insane both in
usu- despotc cruelty and in his caprices. He S
rup, up his mobiles in cages or hung them on
naIy trees of the forest. He lived in constant
|, for of death, kept in sccusion in his castle, wa
divi- intimate terms with his hangman, amused b
mt" self by watching battles between rats and C
ux," drank the blood of young children, and t
pres various and abominable compounds in orde
tmos- lengthen his life. Jeffreys the notorious
lrst. lish Judge, was raving maniac; and thai
is its was allowed to preside at the circuits is sew
mt so comment on scientific ignorance than on
c ad- political cruelty of the age.-Dublm UntUe
cent Md1dziue.