The sun., 1892-03-06
Pascal. Burns, Keats. Byron. Mozart. Felix
Mendelssohn. Bellini. and Bichat Tho list
might easily have been expanded. Marows
and Shelley. for instance. are omitted,

Mendelssohn. Bellini. and Bichat. Tho list
might easily have been expanded Marlown
and Shelley. for instance. are omitted.
VI.
Another character common to genius and 10
insanity Ia precocty. Dante. when nine years
OF age. wrote a sonnet: Tasso imposed verses
at ten: Pascal AMI Comte were great thinkers
at the age OF thirteen: FORMER at fifteen
Niebuhr at seven Jonathan Edwards at twelve
| Michel Angelo at nineteen: Bossuet at twelve
voltaire at thirteen. and aassendi at four. Pco
de la Mirandoa knew Latin. Greek. Hebrew.
Chaldaic. and Arabic in his childhood. The
author might have added that J. s. Mill
mastered Greek while yot child. and that
Sir W. II. Hamilton. the inventor OF
uuaternions. was also an amazing in
stance OF prococty. Goethe wrote n story in
seven languages when lie was scarcely ton
Wieland knew Latin at seven. and meditated
an epic poem at thirteen: Lopsz de la Vega
composed his first verses at twelve. Cadcron
| ut thirteen. Kotzcbue was trying to writo
| comedies at seven. and at eighteen had his
first tragedy acted. Schiller was only nine
teen when his epoch- making Robbers" ap-
peared. Victor Hugo composed "lrtamane" "
at fifteen. and at twenty had already published
Han d. Islande," BudJareal.' and the first
volume Of "Odcs ct Balladcs."
The list of precocious geniuscs is intermina-
ble Pope produced his ode to Solitude" at
twelve and his Pastorals at sixteen At tho
age Of eighteen Byron published his Hours
OF Idloness.' and Moore translated Anacreon
Mt thirteen Meyerbeera at five played excellent
| ly on the piano. Nernet drew very we'll at four.
| and at twenty was already q celebrated
painter. At thirteen Wren invented an u.s.
Economical instrument. and offered It to his
| father with n Latin dedication. Metastasio
improvised at ten. At fifteen Feneon preached
| at Paris before Il select audience At five Wot-
ton could translate Latin. Greek. and Hebrew.
and at ten knew Chaldaic. Syrinc. and Arabic
| Handel composed q mass at thirteen. ut SOW
enteen "Corinda" and Nero" andI at ninc-
teen was director Of the opera at Hamburg
Raphael was famous Mt fourteen. Restif de In
Bretonne had already read much at four at
| eleven he had seduced young girls. and at
| fourteen composed poem on his first twelve
| mistresses. Eichorn. Mozart. and Eybler gave
! concerts at six: at thirteen Beethoven COM
posed threo sonatas. Weber was only four
| teen when his first opera was represented
| Cherubini at thirteen wrote mass which filled
| Iris fellow citizens with enthusiasm. Bacon con-
| ceived the AormR Oyan',n, at lftoen. Charles
| NIL manifested his great designs ut the age
| OF eighteen. We may mention finally that
| Klaproth. the celebrated Orientalist. when
| following the regular courses at Berlin Uni
versity. was considered backward student.
| In examination once professor said to him:
why. you know nothing. sir!" Excuse me-"
| replied KIaproth. Il know Chinese"
This precocity is regarded by Lombroso as
| morbid and atavistic. He points out that it
maybe observed among all savages. and that
the proverb. "A man who has genius at five is
mad Mt flfteen." is often verified in asylums.
| The children of tho demented are often preco-
| nfTc ~ ~ tta; ;Doo
frequently revealed aptltudes. chiefly for
music. the arts. and mathematics. which are
not usually found in other young persons.
| 1t will. Of course. bo said that to LON brosos 8
| conclusions grave objection Is presented by
| those men OF genius-few in number. it
is true-who lave completed their intel
| lectual career without mental alteration.
| Most Of US would 10 inclined to put for
ward as exceptions Calico. Leonardo da
| vinci. Votaire. Machiavclli. Michael Angelo.
| and Darwin. Each ono of those seems to tes-
| tify by the ample volume and. at the same
| time. by tho symmetrical proportion of tho
| skull. to force OF intellect unshaken by turbu-
| lent desrcs. Tho author Of this book. how
| ever. weakens tho force of this objection by
| pointing out that epilepsy and moral insanity.
| often russ unobserNed not only in criminals
| but also in distinguished men. the prestige of
| whose names and work dazzles our judgment
and prevents our observing their cerebral
shortcomings. Who for example. but for the
revelations made by intimate friends. would
have suspected that Cavour was repeatedly
subject to attacks Of suicidal mania. or imag-
ined that Richelieu was epileptlc. Then. again.
n close study of Vo.taire's biography has dis
| closed many traces OF hypochondra. SO, too.
| with Michel Angelo: tho publication OF his lot
| ters and the keen researches Of Parlagrecco
have revealed physical anomalies never be-
| fore suspected. Ono Of the most important of
| these Is his strange Indifference to women.
| His masterpieces were all masculine He
| never used. 1t appears. living female
model though he made use OF corpses: his
Bacchante is a virago with masculine muscles.
uniformed breasts. and no feminine touches.
In his many lovs sonnets. written rather to
follow tho prevailing fashion than from any
true outgusE of passion. none bears the
mark OF being addressed to a real woman. On
tho other hand. in sonncts xii. and xviii. in
the Barbeia collection. is cvinccd n very
marked admiration for tho male. and Varcl
considers that these are addressed to Cavalieri
who was of great physical beauty. There are in
existence two lctters Of Michel Angelo ad-
dressed to Cuvnlleri which one would say woro
written to a mistress. and In which. humliat-
ing himself. ho swears that II fbanishcd from tho
others heart he will die. There is similarlet-
ter written to Ang"lini. This moral anomaly.
which he would share with many artists. in
Guiding Benvenuto Ceilni. Is not the only one
met with in Michel Angelo. Parlagrecco has
detected in his letters various psychlcal mani
festatlons which have led him to believe that
the great artist suffered from n homeopathic
condition bordering on hysteria. We come
finally to Darwin. and il is admitted that with