The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-29
PHOBIAS AND MANIAS.

1t can be safely affirmed that no book
of modern times has aroused such a
storm of indignant protest and adverse
criticism as the recent voluminous and
exhaustive treatise Of the astute Ger
man Savant Max NOrdau, and quite
naturally-with possibly q few excep-
tionS-hiS aSSailants belong TO the brain
sick fraternity whose mental and moral
defOrmitieS he has so StudiouSly and
clearly defined to the minds of those
who have sanity enough left to under
stand the full meaning of the author.
Cold-bloOded he may seem TO the sen
timentalist, the subject of inyestiga-
ton, but only as the surgeon may be
thOughtlesSly regarded who cuts and
probes TO save the life of his patient,
or to add another link to the endless
chain of science, in the interest OF
which this book was written. II is
not pleasant to be under the knife of
the surgeon, but it is sometimes quite
necessary. The supersensitive who at
tempt the perusal of Degeneration"
can scarcely be expected to finish ii,
and yet if they could it would unques-
uonabiy do them good. 1t is not, how
ever, among the possibilities that the
subject undergoing viviSection, be it
ever so necessary, should enjoy the
operation. According To NOrdau. all
the different varieties of degenerates
come within the meaning of the com
prehensive term mysticism, which in
plain English consists in imposing upon
the public the whims and wild fancies
of lunacy as the genuine coin Of truth.
The mystic represent every grade.
shade and condition of mental defOrm-
ity, charlatanS of the occult, spiritual
who scribble verses in which there Is
neither rhyme nor reason, etc. etc. I'M
til one Is almost driven 10 the cOnclu-
sion that the most dangerous class of
lunaticS are outside the asylumS. Nor
dau is not a theorist, he is neither OBJ
scure or ambiguous, he presents his
readers with facts and calls TO his sup
port the most eminent authorities
known 10 science. II he errs in listing
certain authors rs graphOmaniacs. the
allegation remains ~ be sustained 10y
jury composed of competent men
whose sanity cannot be doubted. He
does not hold up to public gaze the
obscure, the small fry among the mys-
ties, but on the contrary the most prom
inent, the ones who have made the
greatest noise in the world and attract
ed the most attention. The following.
OF Count Leo Tolstoi over whose re-
ligiouS and social theories 50 many
Americans have gone clean daft. will
serve 10 show how easily the Russian
mystic Is condemned by his own ut
terance>: These views" says Nor
ddu. are but little complicated and
can be condensed in a few words: The
individual Is nothing; the species i
everything; the individual lives in or
der 10 do his fellow creatures good:
thought and inquiry are great evils;
science ! perdition: faith Is salvation"
Again: Il lost my faith early. lived
for a long time Ike everyone else. in
the frivolitieS q life. l wrote books.
and taught Ike everyone else what
did nor know. Then the Sphinx began
10 follow NE more and more ruthlessly:
Guess my problem OF | viii tear thee
10 pieces. Science has explained abb
Soluteiy nothing 10 me. Ia answer 10
my everlasting question, the only one
which means anything. w therefore, AN
l aliveE science replied by teaching ne
things that were Indifferent 70 me
Science only said - Life J.
q senseleSs evil I wanted 10 Kill my
self The siSt OF which plainly IT,
dicatcS . nonsensical desire i1r r.
turn 10 savage lie. for science aoan-
doned. that i the inevitable result
Tuistoi condemns all sexual intercourse
as unchAsIe. marriage i quite as i'm
pure a. the iooSest tie" Vide kTeutzer
sonata His ethics not only prescriles
4 TerOErade movement fO- civilization
but the death OF al humanity II tA.4
j not madness. then. the word has 2
meaning The idolized Richard Was
ner Is placed upon the dissec'ing tab--
by our author, and his mental abe.ra-