Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-18
Special corrsspondenee OF The Star.

Special Correspondence of The Star
BERLIN. November Z, 1906.
OES alcohol inspire poets and au-
thors? According to the great
ones of living literature in Ger
| IL many. 1t does not. According 20
biographers. in the case of many
men, notably Edgar Allan Poe and Addi-
SON, the English essayist it does.
This interesting question has been
brought to the front by DIR. Van Vleuten,
editor of Das Literarische Echo, new Pc
riodical, The editor sought some means
of attracting marked attention from the
literary world, and SO he sprung his ques-
tions on alcohol. The $50 leading authors
and poets of Germany were appealed to-
OF these lis answered. Rhapsodies in prose
and poetry were among the answers, which
have attracted great attention, not alone
from those interested in literature, but
from the medical world and scientists as
well.
The result of the thorough poll of ex-
perts is that inspiration by alcohol Is not
worth the having, If indeed there Is sucn
an inspiration. And yet the fatherland's
poets sing more eloquently OF beer ana
wine and the cup that cheers and In
ebriates than the poets OF perhaps any
other country.
or the writer's appealed to, four are total
abstainers, twenty-three moderate drinkers,
1OS avoid alcohol before and during work
But a majority of these twelve are eio-
quent only in the praise of wine taken at
table.
X
Here are the questions propounded by
Or. Van Vleuten:
/. Do you regularly take alcohol in some
form before you begin work and what eff
facts do you attribute to it?
2 If you do. not regularly take alcohol
before you begin work. but have occasion
ally done SO. has it acted as stimulant
as hindrance to activity?
3. VIII you give us your opinion. based
on observation. of the effect of alcohol on
poetic inspiration and your views on the
question of alcohol in general?
The opinions of some of the men, VINO
are among the most eminent writers OF
poetry and prose in Germany, are here
briefly given:
Karl Henchell-'I dare say good cognac
has occasionally delivered me from an at
tack of stomach ache. but it has never yet
carried my lyric balloon into more rarified
air. For habitual drunkards total abst-
hence seems the only cure, no matter
whether the tippler is grocer or poet"
Victor Bluthgen-"I should not care to be
a guest at a feast under the sign of Milk
and Lemonade
A. Observation-Disclosures 1 have oc-
casionally been induced to take alcohol
during the day. the result has been that
both the wish and the ability to work have
invariably vanished. l take no stimulants
apart from bottle of light beer just be-
fore going to bed"
Detlef Won Liliencorn-'I never take al
cohol before or during work. l have OBJ
served that it interferes with my working
powers"
Fritz Lienhard-'I take next to no alco-
hol l have no need and no desire for it,
oil ms
inspire this or that idea. but real work is
only hindered by it. / would not do away
entirely with alcoholic drinks, but the
greatest moderation should be practiced."
F. Avenarious-"Since I began serious
work have never taken alcohol either be-
fore or while I am at work. 1t does not
inspire the imagination and it does paralyze
the critical faculty. Judging by personal
experience and observation. alcohol is the
greatest stupefier in existence"
Dr. Karl Busse-'I own with satisfaction
that mine is a good German throat which
l take care to moisten. every evening. l
object to temperance principles because
they seem to me to go hand in hand with
a certain lack of temperament. 1t is non
sense to try and force man physically
and morally sound to adopt methods only
required for invalids and those morally
weak"
o. j. Bierbaum-"I have nothing to say
against people raising their spirits by the
consumption of moderate quantity of al
cohol? Should do it myself if the conse-
quences were not fatal to me. Unfortn-
nately, acknowledgement hlarity does not
make my heart merry, but heavy, and has
the exactly opposite effect of the feeling
of exhilaration in rarified mountain air, or
the sight of thing of beauty, or the
sound of good music. or certain odors. The
smallest quantity of alcohol absolutely
paralyzes me. 1t stupefies my brain. 1t
acts as poison"
Another volume of memoirs of a member