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An effort to re-value some of the ideas about genius. The author is inclined to think that the toxin of tuberculosis and alcohol may release brilliant reactions that might otherwise not find their way to expression, and he gives great numbers of noted names of geniuses who have been
tubercular or alcoholic. That the genius is to madness closely allied he admits, but does not believe that mental disease expresses itself as genius. He thinks only that the highly, delicately constituted organization of the genius renders him liable to mental illness.
The book is very readable and very interesting and gives lots of suggestions and furnishes much food for thought. He is particularly interested in the combinations of the different ethnic strains with which we are so familiar these days and seems to see in such combinations the same sort of value that was introduced upon the stage of evolution when bi-sexuality made its entrance. Reproduction by two sexes undoubtedly furnishes a much wider series of variations for natural selection to take hold of. The same thing seems to happen with the mixture of ethnic strains. Rather facetiously he remarks that if a certain type of dog in a certain situation meets it by biting and another type in the same situation runs away, then if these two types are mated the resulting dog he says, is likely to develop a higher intelligence because of frequently being called upon to formulate new policies, and I might add thus increasing the number of variations which can be taken hold of by natural selection.
The author has no sympathy with the standardizing efforts of the eugenicists. He calls attention to the frequency with which genius has blossomed forth from progeny which would by all standards be considered worthless. He cites the ancestry of Jonathan Edwards and the vagabond-age of Francis Thompson. “The world should never give up its atypical boys,” says Bliss Perry, speaking of Rousseau's late attainment of maturity.
One can never tell whe