INTELLECTUAL WORK AMONG THE BLIND.* 
By PIERRE VILLEY. 
Searcely two months have passed since the little world of the blind 
was en féte. They celebrated the centennary of the birth of Louis 
Braille, who is, aniong the blind, the object of great veneration and 
deep gratitude. Blind himself from the age of 3 years, professor 
after 1828 at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth, where he was 
educated, he devoted his thoughts and his entire hfe to the amelio- 
ration of the lot of his unfortunate companions, and it is to him that 
they owe the method of reading and writing which is employed to-day 
throughout the whole world. His memory is not less cherished than 
that of Valentin Haiiy. Although Hatiy conceived the idea of in- 
structing the blind, Louis ‘Braille discovered the means by which this 
could be made to bear fruit.® 
Their united efforts have transformed the life of the blind. Before 
their time only a few blind persons who were in favorable circum- 
stances succeeded in developing their faculties. To-day all are invited 
to take advantage of intellectual culture; all may lead a useful life in 
society. In spite of this transformation, the prejudice against blind- 
ness exists everywhere. It gives place but slowly. In nearly all 
minds the word “ blind” always evokes the same pitiable and false 
image. The first inclination is to suppose that behind these sightless 
eyes, this lifeless countenance, everything is quiet—intelligence, will, 
sensations—that all the faculties are torpid and, as it were, be- 
numbed. Furthermore, habituated as are those who can see to do 
nothing without the use of their eyes, it is quite natural that it should 
appear to them that if they should lose their sight they would at once 
become incapable of any activity. It is not easy for them to imagine 
that the blind, deprived of the resources of sight, find in exchange, 
4 Translated, by permission, from Revue des Deux Mondes (Paris) of March 
15, 1909. The author, Mr. Villey, lost his sight when 44 years old. 
> Regarding Valentin Haiiy, Louis Braille, and the Institution for Blind Youth, 
see the articles published by Maxime Du Camp in the numbers of the Revue 
des Deux Mondes for April 15, 1878, and March 1, 1884. 
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