WILLIAM G. STEVENSON. 85 
widely separated conditions a series of connections is 
made by persons who stand out from the throng of men 
by the possession of special talents in particular lines of 
development ; and it is they who, displaying a mixture 
of madness and genius at the same time, have given rise 
to the opinion that great wit is allied to madness.”’ 
To the extent that a nervous organization makes possi- 
ble excessive emotional life, or vagaries in thought or ac- 
tion, to this same extent is true genius qualified and lim- 
ited ; for without calm reason and volitional control cre- 
ative imagination is distorted into an irresponsible fancy. 
The degree of perfection of any mechanism, whether it 
be a watch, an engine, a harp, a telescope, or the human 
brain, is the measure of the quality of the work which 
can be produced therefrom ; and, conversely, the quality 
of the work is an index of the structural character of the 
instrument employed. 
The better the finish and adjustment of a mechanism 
in its various parts, the less will be the friction, and the 
‘wear and tear’’ from constant use ; and, although the 
very delicacy of its adjustment may give a greater sus- 
ceptibility to disturbing causes, the causes themselves 
are not inherent but incidental. These facts apply with 
equal force to that most perfect and complex of all known 
mechanisms—the human brain, which is energized with 
the subtile principle of life, and evolves thought, feeling, 
and will, which, in their noblest and most exalted ex- 
pressions, are indicative not of disease but of mental 
health. 
Nervous and mental diseases are too common among 
all-classes of people and orders of intelligence, to per- 
mit us to think that genius is the special object of 
their dominion. This idea is rejected, not because it is 
repugnant, but because it is not sustained by facts when 
measured by the standard of the highest art, or loftiest 
thought, or greatest work. 
