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Story
September 2, 1902
The Columbus Commercial
Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi
What is this article about?
A French psychologist in Paris claims brain malformations from injury or disease produce genius, citing examples like blind Milton's epic, opium-ravaged De Quincey and Coleridge, club-footed Byron, ill Scott, and deformed Mozart and Wagner.
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OCR Quality
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Excellent
Full Text
ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT.
French Scientist Declares That Malformation of the Brain Produces Intellectual Brilliancy.
Recently a Paris psychologist announced that he had conclusively proved that malformation of the brain produces intellectual brilliancy. The theory is, says London Answers, that deformity, disease or accident causes the abnormal development of some part of the brain, and the result is genius. In support of this several cases are mentioned. It is pointed out that Milton wrote his "Paradise Lost" while he was blind, and it is said that the blindness confined his mind to a certain scope in a manner that made it possible for him to evolve the great epic.
Cases of a somewhat different nature are shown in the elegant writings of Thomas de Quincey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, both of whom had brains in which the excessive use of opium had made havoc. De Quincey describes his horrible experience with opium taken in the form of laudanum in his "Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Byron's club foot is seriously advanced as the cause of his lyric power, and the point is made that Sir Walter Scott's most brilliant work was dictated from a sick bed. Mozart and Wagner both had deformed brains, said to have been due to disease and bumps while they were children.
French Scientist Declares That Malformation of the Brain Produces Intellectual Brilliancy.
Recently a Paris psychologist announced that he had conclusively proved that malformation of the brain produces intellectual brilliancy. The theory is, says London Answers, that deformity, disease or accident causes the abnormal development of some part of the brain, and the result is genius. In support of this several cases are mentioned. It is pointed out that Milton wrote his "Paradise Lost" while he was blind, and it is said that the blindness confined his mind to a certain scope in a manner that made it possible for him to evolve the great epic.
Cases of a somewhat different nature are shown in the elegant writings of Thomas de Quincey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, both of whom had brains in which the excessive use of opium had made havoc. De Quincey describes his horrible experience with opium taken in the form of laudanum in his "Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Byron's club foot is seriously advanced as the cause of his lyric power, and the point is made that Sir Walter Scott's most brilliant work was dictated from a sick bed. Mozart and Wagner both had deformed brains, said to have been due to disease and bumps while they were children.
What sub-type of article is it?
Medical Curiosity
Curiosity
Biography
What themes does it cover?
Misfortune
Triumph
Fortune Reversal
What keywords are associated?
Brain Malformation
Intellectual Brilliancy
Genius
Milton Blindness
Opium Addiction
Club Foot
Deformed Brains
What entities or persons were involved?
Milton
Thomas De Quincey
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Byron
Sir Walter Scott
Mozart
Wagner
Where did it happen?
Paris
Story Details
Key Persons
Milton
Thomas De Quincey
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Byron
Sir Walter Scott
Mozart
Wagner
Location
Paris
Event Date
Recently
Story Details
A Paris psychologist proves that brain malformation from deformity, disease, or accident causes abnormal development leading to genius, with examples including blind Milton writing Paradise Lost, opium-affected De Quincey and Coleridge, club-footed Byron, bedridden Scott dictating work, and diseased Mozart and Wagner.