The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1873-04-08
NOTABLE LUNATICS.
Tyranny and :DespOtism the Re-
suit of Cerebral Disease.
From tho Dublin University Magssino.]

suit Oh CereDrat Disease.
From tho Dublin University Magssins.l
Much of the tyranny aud despotism
of the world have been the result OF GER
ebral disease, ard, if justice had been
done, not few of the rulers of history
would have been confined In asylums for
the insane. Caligula, the beastly Roman
Emperor, was certainly lunatic His
accession to the throne was greeted with
Joy by the Roman people, and he after
ward became so popular by the generous
and conciliatory acts of his reign, that
when he was attacked with sickness, sac.
riices were offered in the temple for his
recovery. His brain undoubtedly be-
came diseased during bis sickness, for
from that time he became changed
man The remaining four years Of his
reign were disgraced by some of the
most unnatural and capricious tyranny
recorded in history. He put to death a
large number of his Senators Every
ten days he delivered human victims t.
be devoured bv wild beasts.aud jocosely
termed this horrible act "clearing his
| account" He caused divine honors to
be paid to bimself, in temple erected
expressly for that purpose, and under
the superintendent OF priests Of his
own appointment. He invited his IA
vorite horse, Incitatus, to dine at the
royal table, where he was fed on gilded
oats and drank wine from jeweled gob.
lets. and but for his premature death this
animal would have oeen raised to the
consulship. In more enlightened and
liberal age Caligula would have been sent
to an insane retreat. The Romans en-
dured his cruelty for four years, and then
put him to death by we'll planned and
successful conspiracy. The career of
Nero was somewhat like that of Caligu-
Ia. In youth he was notably clever,
kindly and amiable, and for the first Ave
years of his reign he ruled with cemen7
cy and Justice He was at this time so
harrassed by the attempts of his mother
to wrest the sceptre from his hands that
his brain probably became disordered,
and he was metamorphosed into ty--
rant He poisoned his own brother at a
feast to which he had invited him. His
mother, Agrippina, he murdered in her
own bed. He relentlessly prosecuted
the Christians on the plea that they had
set fire to Rome. He eaused to be exe-
cuted Luean, the poet, aud Seneca, the
philosopher, and kicked hiseown wife TO
death. Nor was his insanity manifested
by acts OF cruelty alone He had silly
rage for music, ana in his morbid ambi-
tion. to be thought the greatest singer of
the world, he appeared on the stage in
the character of an operate performer.
Domitian, Heiogabalus, and possibly
some Others Of tue tyrants of Rome,
must have been of unsound mind Do-
mitian, like Caligula and Nero, began to
reign with generosity, and under the
pressures and worryings of government
he developed into monster. Helioga-
balus made his horse consul, appointed a
Senate of women, forced the Romans to
worship black stone, e,and prepared COL.
den swords and dagaers, and cords of
silk and gold, in order to put an end tn
his own life whenever he saw fit. All
these were tie freaks of madman. Al
exande- the Great behaved like lunatic
in the latter days of his reign, and the
supposition is plausible. that it he had
survived few years longer he might
have become most implacable and ca
PRECIOUS tyrant From being very alb
stemious he gave himself up to dehach-
cry. His lust forpower became disease,
and he strove for gigantic impossibi.i-
ties. Robespierre and some of the other
leaders in the French revolution were
lprobably made more or; less insane by
the exciting events in which they took
part 1t is. certain that Rahespierre was
natively kind hearted and cousiderate,
tor he began life by endeavoring to pro-
cure the abolition of capital punish
ment
Louis XI, Of France, was insane both
in his despotic cruelty and in his capri
ces. He shut up his mobiles in cages or
hung them on trees of the forest He
lived IN constant fear of death, kept in
seclusion in his castle, was on intimate
terms with his hangman, amused himself
by watching battles between rats and
cats, drank the blood of young children,
and tried various and ahominabIe COM
pounds in order to lengthen his life
Jeffreys, the notorious English Judge,
was raving maniac, aud that he was al
lowed to preside at the circuits is a seve-
rer comment on the scientific ignorance
than on the political cruelty or the age