The herald., 1897-03-14

l.
is much less than the average among the
pupils Of our schools. The involuntary
! memory therefore, as DIR. Toulouse re-
| marks, is weaker than the voluntary.
| In speaking he makes use of auditory
| images although he has no ear for music
and 1t is by addition that he judges
| phrases and retains words. Neverthe-
| less, the gate for the memory in Zola is
| the eye, the ear serving only to fix 1t. He
| gets his perception Of objects from sight,
| the words from hearing.
| ION examination of Zola's powers of
attention It was found that he can do
| good work only for three hours, after
which any mental effort causes curious
| spasms. While at work he is lost to all
his surroundings. His perception of ex-
! ternal sensations is confused, and his
| recollections of them are very indis-
| tinct He does not hear the bark Of a
| dog, or the ring of his door bell. or at
any rate he does not remember having
heard them.
| greater distinctness than visual images,
| more particularly than colors, he cannot
| imagine a red dress while he is able at
| will to perceive an odor which he has
once smelt. The sense Of odor is highly
developed in Zola, who is almost slave
to 1t. Everything is in perfect order on
his table. When he writes he arranges
| HIS HOttb Ill a bCficp VI Pi6COH hOiCSb AiC
keeps all his letters, etc. Disorder makes
| him suffer.
Among morbid ideas detected in Zola
| DR.. Toulouse mentions that he Is afraid
of leaving the house unless he begins to
walk with the left foot, etc. Among
other delusions he presents particularly
that of doubt. He is possessed by fear
| that he will not be able to do his daily
work, or to finish speech when obliged
| to speak In public. To examine the
| house numbers, or those on cabs pass
| ing in the street, Is another OF his morbid
] ideas. At home he counts the steps of
| the stairs. He feels the necessity of
touching several times the same furni-
ture and opening the same drawers be-
| fore going to bed.
In addition he had various other NOR
bid ideas, he adds together the figures
| forming, the number of a cab, and II the
result Is a figure which he regards as
q bad augury he fears mishap OF some
| kind. Formerly 1t was the multiplee OF
three which appeared to him to be fav-
orable, at present 1t is the multiples Of
seven. Thus at night he frequently
opens his eyes seven times In order to
prove to his own satisfaction that he Is
not dying. Zola, according to DR.. Tou-
louise, attaches no importance to the
dress OF women. But his works furnish
proof that the opposite is true
Jules Lenaitre recently expressed
himself as follows: What is there In
fact to construct our books from il not
from our own life, sometimes indeed our
innermost souls? II there ever was a
writer who in the highest degree has
personified In his works 1t Is certainly
Zola, who defines work Of art as
corner In creation seen from a temper
ament.'
Whether these phenomena be describ-
"a rlo ~ ic
of small Importance for the theory of the
origin of genius. The name does not
change the fact that Zola Is man of
genius presenting cerebral patheologi-
cal phenomena which date from infancy
and have exerted a powerful influence
on his works as whole. There Is, how
ever, limit to vagueness of diagnosis
for to content oneself with merely
pointing to these symptoms as charac-
teristic of upward degeneration Is too
indefinite and generic by far for clinic
ian. 1t would in fact be as II we were to
ask a naturalist for the classification OF
an OK and he should reply that 1t is
vertebrate. tf
Those familiar with Lombroso's meth
cd of deduction will at once recognize
the gravity of the charges he makes
against Zola. In other words, he charges
the author with being all that Is vile, re-
framing from criminal pursuits only
through fear Of consequences, and,
while having brain. being inspired in
his writings almost purely by halluci-
nations. 1t is one of the most interesting
ex-parte statements-for it cannot yet
be called a controvery-ever made re-
garding a literary star.
Only once before has anything ap-
preaching this been brought before the
public eye, and that was the case of the
unfortunate Guy de Maupassant, whose
most impressive writings are proved to
have been indicted while the author was
under the influence of opium or hash
eesh.