The Washington herald., 1915-03-07
Man Is Just
What His
BACTERIA
Make Him

AAAN is just what his microbes make
N him. according to DR.. Robert T.
Morris. of New York. With a nor
NAL proportion of symbolic bacteria he
is good citizen: with an excess of in
imical bacteria he may be a criminal.
When he speaks it is not he but the mi
crobe that is speaking. Freedom of will
is subject to dictation by the microbe.
Nature is trying out certain races, one
after the other, in order to eliminate the
ones which are inca pable of development
beyond certain points, says DR.. Morris.
This is done through the microbe-the
agent of sublime power-which attacks
the cells of which all men and organic
structures are composed.
Dr. Morris blames the microbe for the
decadence OF nations, and the depression
OF literature. art and philosophy. The
bodies of all animals and plants are COM
posed of groups of cells, in the orange.
These cells are all exposed to microbc
attack, says DR.. Morris. The kind of mi
crobe in charge of the attack produces
its own characteristic effect. as in the
orange normal man. like the I'M
spoiled orange. is normally agreeable.
He may be unusually agreeable or I'M
usually diSagreeable, for the same rea-
son that the orange is agreeable or dis
agreeable at various stages in its history.
Incidentally, DR.. Morris says. the mi
crobe causes practically all the unhappi-
ness in the world. 1t is found. on read
ing the life histories of the depressing
philosophers. that all were i'll men. The
body cells conduct all physiological proc
esses. but they are in constant warfare
with the micrObe. When microbes or
microbe poisonS reach the cells destruc-
tive process follows. Perhaps the most
important OF these destructive changes
is represented in what is called allergy,
which refers to a certain general kind of
toxic sensitization of protOplaSm.
When cultivation has carried a certain
plant TO the point where its stamens have
ali gone TO form petals il has no more
good <eX cells left for continuing its race.
Much the same process occurs among
animals. In addition. the prOtoplaSm of
any species is wound up by nature. and.
given Il certain time TO run. becomes
ssnpSCent.
Senescence of protopIasm is fastened
by processes incidental TO cultivation.
The logical end of culture. then. is elm
inatiOn OF the race among plants and
among animals The superman is the
to a close. \ double rose among plants
and a genius among men represent the
same thing.
Most of the plants with double flowers
are so vulnerable TO microbic influences
that they readily Succumb or produce
freaks in progeny if they nave any. Most
OF the SPniuses are vulnerable to
microbiC influences that they succumh
easily. or produce freaks in progeny. if
~. l., L
progeny which. if left TO struggle. will
either fail quickly or will revert to
simple type.
The progeny of a genius when left to
struggle will quickly succumb or will
have a tendency to revert toward a prim-
tive type.
In this way nature sets limitations
prohibiting TOO rapid development of Spe-
ci"S OF plants or Of animals in order TO
conserve the prUtOplaSm of species
against premature SeneScencr
'Micrnbc toxins" Dr. Morris contin-
ues. give us sort of literary solvent.
allowing us in the library to reduce many
mysteries to simple formulas for ANALYSIS.
from the literatmr" of ecstatic passion to
That Of more orderly emotions. and to the
literature Of calm science" In scientific,
criticism OF genius in literature We have
to make note of some .uch order as this.
a mind alIergic to the tubprcla
bacillus stevenson with his spirited or
timismI
Il mind all"rcic 10 the colon bacilIuS
(NietzSChe with y-baby philoSouhvI
~ mind belonging to = definite
r>yChosiS hySteria. Mrs FIiZaherh
barrett Browning. With grace and sweet
re>S in morbid eAacgerafiun of feminine
characteristics.
a mind with definite pSychUsis
ryClothemia. de MuSssi with fine in
SEPARATION in the euphoriC stage. He did
not write much when in the Oppressive
stage because dipsomania supcrvenedl
"a mind with another definite psy-
Ghosts. manic Oppressive lStrindberg.
with beauty in his collection of Fairy
Tales belonging to the euphoric stage:
distress in his inferno of the depres-
sive STAGE
~ mind that we might classify at
present as belonging to the internal Sc
erection of aberrant gland development
Octave Mirbeau represents the latter.)
Reading the list OF great minds which
have strongly Influenced art or literature
IS reading a list of i'll men whose physi-
oloCy was abnormal. The history of
their lives reads like A hospital report
The same is true of the creative geniuses
in science, but not to the extent found in
literature and art