Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-06

One of the most famous cases Of "the
blues" in literary history was that OF
! DR.. Samuel johnson, who is mostly
known to the world today because a
| man by the name of James Boswell
wrote his Life"
In Johnson's time what is popularity
known today as THE blues" was called
! hypochondria, or melancholia. When
he was home at Lichfield one Summer
| from oxford College, he found himself
overwhelmed with perpetual irritation,
fretfulness and Impotence, with a
detection, gloom and despair, which
made existence misery" as the faithful
Boswell tells US. From this malady he
never afterWard fully recovered, land
all his labors and all his enjoyments
/ were but temporary Interruptions of its
baleful influence"
Boswell continues: How wonderful,
how unsearchable are the ways Of God!
johnson. who was blest with all the
powers of genius and understanding in
a degree far above the ordinary state of
human nature. was at the same time
visited with disorder so affective. that
they who know it by dire experience
will not envy his exalted endoWments.
That it was. in some degree. occasioned
by defect in his nervous system, that
ineXplicable part of our frame, appears
highly probable.
johnson tried to cope with his
blues" as many another man has
done, by putting it in writing. Not in
English, however, but in Latin, the
learned language. He presented this
treatise to his physician, Dr. Swinten,
who was so struck by Johnson's acute
understanding of his own case that he
showed it to several people When
Johnson found this out, naturally
enough he got sore, as we say today.
Boswell tells us: "He indeed had
good reason to be offended; for though
DR.. Swinfen'S motive was good, he in
considerably betrayed a matter deeply
interesting and of great delicacy which
had been entrusted to him in conf
dence, and exposed complaint of his
young friend and patient, which in the
superficial opinion of the generality of
mankind is attended with contempt
and disgrace"
Although medical science has done
much toward clearing up the mystery
of this disease, with discoveries as to
the real functions of the so-Called
glands of internal secretion, to the
present generality of men 1t remains
almost as mysterious as to those of the
eighteenth century.
The sad part of it is that even today
most people profess to look upon those
The average man knows little If any,
thing about disease and cares less.
When he becomes i'll he calls a doctor
and expects that functionary Ito do the
rest"
With most people sickness means
visible sickness. If the patient has
pale face or a very red face they are
satisfied that he is ill. They can see
It'll If he vomits before them they
20 all i
that Tom Jones is a very sick man."
But let the worthy Tom unfortu-
nately contract some sort of maIady
with no visible symptoms he will
shortly find himself facing the Sneers
Of the unsympathetic.
Samuel johnson was large fellow
with rather peculiar appearance. Now,
If there is any one thing which the
world resentS, it is a peculiar, a diff
ferent appearance. No doubt there
are many men who secretly wonder in
their heart of hearts how they get
by" so we'll when they know all the
time that they possess no talent. We
will tell them: They escape the malice
and down-pulling of their comrades
because they are so like the average
that no one finds anything in them to
resent. Resentment plays a much
larger part in human affairs than many
imagine. The unfortunate person who
by some peculiar mannerism of speech,
action or appearance causes resentment
has a much more difficult row to hoe
in this world than he whose collar and
tie quite naturally fall into the correct
lines.
Then, too no doubt the question of
insanity occupies a larger part in the
thoughts of the people than they are
willing to admit. They fear it for
themselves, and are always looking for
its appearance in others. The lower in
the scale of society, the more vulgar the