The World as Will and Idea, Vol. I — Arthur Schopenhauer, trans. Haldane & Kemp

and Wi^and in the introduction to “ Oberon ” speaks of it as “ amiable madness.” Even Aristotle, as quoted by Seneca (De Trauq. Animi, 15, 1 6), 'is~fepbrte3rTo Tiavep. 247 said : Nullum magnum ingenium sine mxxtura dementia fuit. Plato expresses it in the fi^re of the dark cave, referred to above (De Eep. 7), when he says : “ Those who, ^tsidi^*^e"Sive, have seen the true junlij^ht and the things that have true being ^Ideas), cannot afterwards see groperly down in the cave, because their eyes are not accustomed^ to the darkness ; they cannot distinguish the shadows, and are jeered at fw thek mis^^ who have never left the cave and its shadows.” In the “ Phsedrus ” als^p. 317), he distinctly says that*^CTe ca!h he no true'poet without a certain madness ; in fact, (p. 3 2 7)7 that~ eveiy'" ohhappeairslmad who^recognises the eternal Ideas in fleeting thm^s. Cicero also quotes ; Tlegat enxm sine furore, ~15emocrltus, 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 cqn^ntly; passes into madness. Finally, the fact of the direct connectidn of genius and madness is established by the biographies oT^eat men oTgeniu^such m Eousseau, Byron, and Alfieii, and by anecdotes from the lives of others. On the other hand, I must mention thatj by a (Eligent 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 {s^rarhb^dnd all ordinary estimation, and only appears in nature as the greatest exception. It will be suMcient to convince us bnEis if we compare the

p. 348

THE WORLD AS IDEA.

BK. III.

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 Ihfs that every advance of intellect beyond the ordinary mi^ure, as an abnormal development, disposes to madnera.. 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 of the real nature of genius, that is to say, of that mental endowment which alone can produce genuine works of art. But this necessitates a brief explanation of madness itself.^