The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1908-03-26

or less insane and, second, that 1t is
not such a very dreadful thing to be-
long to the "demi-fous," after all.
| There is not, as Prof. Grasset points
out, any way in which to draw dis
tinguishing line between sanity and
insanity. The shades, or brands. OF
one overlap and are interviewer with
| the other to such a degree that 1t is
| impossible to show where the one ends
and the other begins. In other words,
you, for instance, can be both sane
and insane at the same time-perfect-
ly sane on certain subjects, but insane,
or partly so, on at least one other.
There are so many brands of insanity
that, fortunately, not all of us are in
sane on the same subject.
Between calm, cold reason and
transport of passion" says Prof Gras-
set, between originality and eccen-
tricity, between nervousness and agita-
ton, between person who is slightly
J touched and one who is demented,
there are all degrees of transition, and
it is impossible to say where insanity
begins"
|
that everybody is more or less insane
ii Is not a question of just how insane
. person is, but of the particular brand
] of insanity he has inherited or &C
' quired says writer in the New York
, Sunday World.
: The brands may be counted by the
score. Some of them are of real value,
especially to a man of genius. Others
are useless, harmless or detrimental,
as the case may be-
The erotomaniac, for instance, falls
in love. But that is not all. He may
love two sisters with equal love al
the same time and, no matter how
hard he may try, he cannot make VI
his mind which to marry. 1t is impos
sible for him to bear the thought thai
&c either of the young women he loves
:. should become the wife of another
"a He generally solves the problem b,
n. giving them both UP and marrying
X third.
lie The Dipsomaniac Glass.
e The dipsomaniac, who must not b,
n classed with the habitual drunkard
suffers from an affection which impel
him to drink whenever an attacl
comes on.
Then there are the kleptomaniacs
Prof. Grasset describes them as sic
people who are driven in spite @
themselves to take what does not be
long to them, just as we have see
&C that the dipsomaniacs are driven b
Of an irresistible power to drink"
Is Among other brands of semi-insanit
n. may be mentioned sitomania, pyrt
c. mania, monomania and megalomani;
e. which are illustrated and briefly d.
es scribed Then there are other brand
Is which are characterized by illusions
of Authorizations, jealousy, conceit, boas
n. fulness rashness, inertness, impulsiv
m ness, timidity and many forms of e
&c. centricity.
Prof. Grasset declares that frol
childhood persons of unbalanced mir
are apt to draw attention to then
selves by their precocity, their quic
ness in taking hold of everything an
understanding 1t, and at the same tin
do by their whims, their headstrong way
M their cruel instincts, their violent an
II
a they become men they are queer, cor
10 pick, heterogeneous individuals. mac
~ up of contradictory qualities al
CT faults They are often as highly giftt
10 in one line as they are lacking in a
es other. From the intellectual point
no view they sometimes possess the ia
or ulties of Imagination, invention and e
or preston in very high degree; that
to say. they are gifted in speech,
the arts and in poetry
Those Who Are "a Little Off,"
The originals and eccentrlcs sho
lack of equilibration to a still great
degree These people," says Pro
=. Grasset, ARE what the public wou
-, describe as a little Off on some oil
~. subject; they either have some p
=. culiar habit or wear some odd sty
- of clothes or have queer manner
- wearing their hair or of walking
an writing or speaking 1t may be eth
-. a strange gesture, a form of speech,
=. tie or grievance. The eccentrici
'" is often shown by an imperious
obsessional tendency, as, for exampl
ers or cats; TO collect uninterestil
objects, particularly articles of wef
ing apparel, such as cravats, hats, foo
wear or wrappers of every style al
color, or to be absorbed in research
ac and calculations and ridiculous inve
m tions"
yet But, after all, semi-insanity in sor
re- forms has its advantages. MAJ
U.s. world-famous men-poets. matthew
Ire ticians, philosophers, bisto. la
4 e writer's, statesmen and scientists
ac- would probably rever have h,at. lea
a of but for '' ole little streak Of
art sanity which lent mster ana iMpet
a. to their minds and prompted them
accomplish something of tremendo
nlr1 to mankind.
COR instance, "Tolstoi belongs to t