“amiable madness.” Even Aristotle, as quoted by Seneca (De Tranq. Animi,
15, 16), is reported to have said: _Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura
dementiæ fuit_. Plato expresses it in the figure of the dark cave,
referred to above (De Rep. 7), when he says: “Those who, outside the cave,
have seen the true sunlight and the things that have true being (Ideas),
cannot afterwards see properly down in the cave, because their eyes are
not accustomed to the darkness; they cannot distinguish the shadows, and
are jeered at for their mistakes by those who have never left the cave and
its shadows.” In the “Phædrus” also (p. 317), he distinctly says that
there can be no true poet without a certain madness; in fact, (p. 327),
that every one appears mad who recognises the eternal Ideas in fleeting
things. Cicero also quotes: _Negat enim sine furore, Democritus, quemquam
poetam magnum esse posse; quod idem dicit Plato_ (De Divin., i. 37). And,
lastly, Pope says—
“Great wits to madness sure are near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.”
Especially instructive in this respect is Goethe’s “Torquato Tasso,” in
which he shows us not only the suffering, the martyrdom of genius as such,
but also how it constantly passes into madness. Finally, the fact of the
direct connection of genius and madness is established by the biographies
of great men of genius, such as Rousseau, Byron, and Alfieri, and by
anecdotes from the lives of others. On the other hand, I must mention
that, by a diligent search in lunatic asylums, I have found individual
cases of patients who were unquestionably endowed with great talents, and
whose genius distinctly appeared through their madness, which, however,
had completely gained the upper hand. Now this cannot be ascribed to
chance, for on the one hand the number of mad persons is relatively very
small, and on the other hand a person of genius is a phenomenon which is
rare beyond all ordinary estimation, and only appears in nature as the
greatest exception. It will be sufficient to convince us of this if we
compare the number of really great men of genius that the whole of
civilised Europe has produced, both in ancient and modern times, with the
two hundred and fifty millions who are always living in Europe, and who
change entirely every thirty years. In estimating the number of men of
outstanding genius, we must of course only count those who have produced
works which have retained through all time an enduring value for mankind.
I shall not refrain from mentioning, that I have known some persons of
decided, though not remarkable, mental superiority, who also showed a
slight trace of insanity. It might seem from this that every advance of
intellect beyond the ordinary measure, as an abnormal development,
disposes to madness. In the meantime, however, I will explain as briefly
as possible my view of the purely intellectual ground of the relation
between genius and madness, for this will certainly assist the explanation