New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-01
GENIUS.
A HERO wORsHIPPER WITH A THE
DRY

THE SONS OF GLoRY-STUDIES IN GENIUS.
BY Adolfo Padovan. Translated and Adapted
from the italian by the Duchess Litta Visconti
Arese. Octave. PIP. SO6. Funk Wagnalls Com
pany.
The sons OF glory. we are told, are those who
by the power of genius have achieved prodigies-
They are divided into two classes, artists and
scientists Poet musician, painter. sculptor and
architect are in the first: philosopher. inventor.
explorer, warrior and prophet belong to the
second. The author selects for discussion
true and perfect exemplars" He writes of
them in a tone of rapt hero worship re-
citing their achievements, and makes mention
also Of the lesser intellects in each field. which
he groups around the central figure. In conclu-
sion he sets down a theory which. he says, de-
velOped gradually as the leaves Of his manu-
script increased on his writing desk. This the
DRY he affrms in contradiction TO the views OF
CesarO Lombroso, professor of psychiatry In the
University of Turin. who has published the re-
suits and conclusions of his alienist studies from
time TO time for the last twenty years and more.
The author of this book promises to make
amends for his later start by devOting the rest
of his natural life to the study of the works of
genius. He informs us on this point that he is
the slave of his destiny. which. involving it
does the description and definition of genius,
appears TO be the next best thing. to use his own
words TO analyzing the essence of the uni
verse" to penetrating. with the aid Of our five
senses. into the viscera of Nature itself" This
is manifestly a formidable task But Signor
Padovan has already made progress enough 10
have framed definition in fiat opposition to the
idea of the Lombrosan writer's that genius is
a manifestation of neuross. The genius in
man. according 10 his theory, is Unborn from the
beginning The nervous element predomnates
in the ovule and the child is born with
- oh
nestle in his brain and ramify all over his body,
like the shoots of the wistaria" Armed with
this outfit of nervous cells more perfect than
in the normal man. the genius is better attuned
10 every chance and faint note Of cosmic mys-
terry. Naturally he is bound to hear, see and
dream things beyond the comprehension Of the
'aurea mediocritas" This surmise as to the
nature OF genius, Signor Padovan hopes. may
be confirmed by psychologists, who may be
= BILE 70 discover with their microscope the his
tonomic and histochemic differentiation of gen
ius. and prove my theory by experience, as the
Copernican theory was proven by the discoveries
of Calico" No who reads this fervid book
will fail to watch with interest for the coming
OF the second Calico
In the discussion OF the men selected as sons
Of glory for the occasion. there is some diff
fuseness and a lack of definite aim. or. rather
a failure 10 keep along the intended line of
thought When it comes TO the followers Of each
son of glory. the argument is crowded with
names and events. and the essence of the uni
verse is lost in a mass of historical statements
In the chapter on the artist, Michael Angelo
being the chosen example. the mention of the
lesser man degenerates at times into mere
list. Though the author sets the highest esti-
nation on science, even going far pre-
dict that IT Will displace religion. he has no in
clination for scientific method i'm his bIographi-
cal excursions. He idealizes his subject, takes
the tradition accounts, whether in good stand
ing among historians of the present day or not,
and fills in his picture with assumptions of what
must have gone I'm the mind of the subject
This leaves an impression of heedlessness. The
sons of glory here described are Dante Bee
thoven. Michael Angelo. Socrates, Calico, Co
lumbus, hansen. Buddha. Hannibal. julius Cse-
sar, Frederick H. Napoleon 1 and Moltke.