EXCESSIVE EXERCISE OP THE BRAIN. 235 



ordinary interests, which so often appear as the 

 harbingers of insanity. -< 



The number of literary and public men, students, 

 and persons in business, who do themselves irrepa- 

 rable injury in this way, is so great, that few of my 

 readers who have had experience of the world will 

 be at a loss for examples even among their own ac- 

 quaintances. In addition to Davy, Scott, and others, 

 already mentioned, Sir Isaac Newton may be re- 

 ferred to ; as it is now certain that his mind was for 

 a time disordered by excessive application, and 

 there is much reason to believe that he never alto- 

 gether recovered the shock. The premature ex- 

 tinction of early " prodigies" of genius is also gene- 

 rally traceable to the operation of the same cause. 

 The wonder excited by their performances stimu- 

 lates them to incessant and severe exertion, unre- 

 lieved either by adequate repose or by variety of 

 pursuit ; and the exhausted brain either sinks at the 

 period of growth, or becomes so much weakened 

 as to be unfit for the same splendour of manifesta- 

 tions. The more limited the sphere of talent, the 

 greater the danger of its being over- exercised ; and 

 hence the frequency of nervous affections in musi- 

 cians, and others who dedicate their lives to the 

 exclusive cultivation of their arts. It is said that 

 Gretry not only ruined his own health, but lost 

 three highly-gifted and beautiful daughters in suc- 

 cession, from over-excitement of the nervous sys- 

 tem thus induced ; and there can be no doubt that 

 the melancholy fate of Weber was greatly hastened 

 by intense application. He continued deeply en- 

 gaged in musical composition long after his health 

 was undermined; and, even when the hand of death 

 was almost upon him, his avocations pressed so 

 heavily that he could not help exclaiming, "Would 

 that I were a tailor, for then I should have a Sunday's 

 holyday .'" The philanthropic physician will rather 

 06 inclined to exclaim, " Would that mankind would 



