The Mystery of Syphilis in the Genius and Madman

Author: Deborah Haydn [USA], Translated by Li Zhenchang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: They are geniuses, they are madmen, and they have a mysterious connection with syphilis. Beethoven's hair tells of his mysterious death after reaching the peak of his creativity? Schubert and Schumann's lyrical compositions depict the unbearable pain of life? Van Gogh, like a flame, what was the secret of his madness before his self-mutilation? Did the American saint Lincoln take a blue pill once a week to treat syphilis? How does the dictator's career of the madman Hitler relate to his illness? Wilde, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Maupassant, and Joyce, why did they suffer from the agony of life and death? This book boldly proposes that the musicians Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, the painter Van Gogh, the philosopher Nietzsche, the writers Baudelaire, Flaubert, Maupassant, Wilde, Joyce, as well as Lincoln, Hitler, and other geniuses and madmen, were syphilis patients. They endured extreme pain and the exhilaration of ecstasy, sometimes so depressed that they wanted to commit suicide, sometimes becoming arrogant, and in the terminal stage, terrifyingly insane. Syphilis deeply influenced their worldview, sexual behavior, personality, and their art. This book boldly proposes that the musicians Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, the painter Van Gogh, the philosopher Nietzsche, the writers Baudelaire, Flaubert, Maupassant, Wilde, Joyce, as well as Lincoln, Hitler, and other geniuses and madmen, were syphilis patients. They endured extreme suffering and the exhilaration of ecstasy, sometimes so depressed that they wanted to commit suicide, sometimes becoming arrogant, and in the terminal stage, terrifyingly insane. Syphilis deeply influenced their worldview, sexual behavior, personality, and their art.