The mystery of syphilis in the genius, the madman

Author: (USA) Heyden
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: This book boldly proposes that geniuses and madmen such as composers Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann, painter Van Gogh, philosopher Nietzsche, writers Baudelaire, Flaubert, Maupassant, Wilde, and Joyce, as well as figures like Lincoln and Hitler, were all syphilis patients. They endured extreme pain and the exhilaration of ecstasy, sometimes feeling so despondent they wished to commit suicide, and at other times becoming arrogant to the point of delusion. In the later stages, they terrifyingly descended into madness. Syphilis profoundly influenced their worldview, sexual behavior, personality, and their art.