Produced by Jana Srna, Ernest Schaal and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) LETTERS OF A LUNATIC, OR A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF MY UNIVERSITY LIFE, DURING THE YEARS 1853-54. BY G. J. ADLER, A. M., PROFESSOR OF GERMAN LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ORIENTAL, AND OF THE AMERICAN ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETIES, &C., &C. Spectatum admissi risum teneatis, amici? Horat. Ars Poet. v. 5. [Greek: mê ny toi ou chraismê skêptron kai stemma theoio]! Iliad I. v. 28. PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1854. PREFATORY NOTE TO THE PUBLIC. IN a recent publication on German Literature, I hinted to the reader my design of giving an account of an event in my personal history, which I alleged to be the cause of an absentment from my proper place of study, and consequently of an injustice to my public. I now proceed to fulfil my promise, by offering to my personal friends, and to such as are interested in matters of academic education and morality, a few of the many letters written by me during the past year. I might have added others, both of an anterior and of a more recent date. The question however was not to write a volume, but simply a brief exposition, of a page or two from my life in connection with a public institution of the metropolis, and thus to bring a matter of private and iniquitous dispute before the forum of the public, after having vainly sought redress in private. My main object was of course to vindicate and defend my character, my professional honor and my most sacred rights as a rational man and as a public educator, against the invasions of narrow-minded and unjust aggressors, whose machinations have for several years been busily at work in subverting what other men have reared before them, in retarding and impeding what the intelligence of our age and country is eager to accelerate and to promote. The much agitated question of University reform and of the liberty of academic instruction, which of late years has engaged the attention of some of the best intellects on both sides of the Atlantic, and which within a month past has again occupied the public mind, and even called forth legislative intervention may, however, perhaps likewise receive some additional light from the following pages, which I now submit, not from any motive of vanity, or from the expectation of self-aggrandisement or of histrionic applause; but from a sense of duty to the cause of liberal culture and of sound morality, to which I have devoted many a year of laborious effort and of earnest thought. NEW-YORK UNIVERSITY, } G. J. A. _June_, 1854. } LETTER I. New-York University, Sept. 10th, 1853. Rev. Isaac Ferris, D. D. Dear Sir,--I deem it a duty of justice towards myself, as well as to the honor of the Institution of which I am an officer and yourself the newly-elected head, to bring to your consideration a few circumstances from the history of our incidental intercourse during the past winter, which at the time of occurrence, struck me with painful surprise, and which I cannot suffer to pass without my most earnest protestations. 1st, During the earlier part of the winter, in passing out of my lecture-room one morning, I met you in the hall of the University with a pale face, asking me in the most uncalled-for and singular manner the strange question:--"_Are you my superior?_"--The reply, which I ought to have written on the spot to such an enquiry, I would now make by saying, that such an idea never occurred to me, and that, as I had never seen any thing of your presence in the actual performance of duty in the University at the time of my instruction to the students, such an idea _never could have suggested itself_ to me. The question of superiority or inferiority being, moreover, of a relative nature and one that (in our profession) can only be settled by actual services rendered to the cause of letters and by actual acknowledgements obtained in a proper manner and from competent judges, it would be folly for me or for any one else to attempt to place it on any other ground; and for that reason I never touch it, although I am always ready to acknowledge both moral and intellectual superiority, wherever I become aware of its existence. 2d, On a second occasion, I met you by accident in the hall before my door, when to my equal surprise, you informed me by indefinite murmurs and in the same painful half-way-utterance, "_that I had the chapel_," and "_that I was in the next church_," pointing to Dr. Hutton's. This cannot possibly be the case, as I am not of your persuasion in matters of religion, and if I am to communicate any instruction in the Institution, it must be done in the usual way. 3d, During the horrid disorders within the Institution the past winter, I repeatedly heard vociferous declamations in the adjoining room, and at one time the famous words of Patrick Henry were declaimed by Mr. Bennet (I think) of the last class: "_Give me liberty, or give me death!_" fearfully emphasized, and _your own voice echoed_: "_Death you shall have!_" As at that particular time I underwent the crucifixion of college-disorder, at the same time receiving occasional intimations that either in my speculations or in my instruction _I was going too far_, and that on that account it was necessary for me to leave, I cannot possibly be mistaken in supposing, _that both that horrible word of yours_, as well as the frequent scandalous vociferations were intended as an insult for me; (and, _if that is so_, I would most respectfully beg leave to reciprocate the compliment). 4th, At the dinner of the Alumni my attention along with that of all the rest of the assembled guests was directed towards you, at the time you rose to speak. While yet standing, you turned towards me with a peculiar expression of countenance (which I beg you to allow me to reciprocate) and in an under-tone (distinctly audible to me) asked the guests of the opposite side of the room (between whom and yourself there appears to have been a collusion): _Shall I have to become the step-father of that man?_ and again in the same tone and with the same expression of countenance: "_Next year I shall see another man in that man's place!_" The subsequent exchange of salutations _over Prof._ Martin was ironical on your part, and independently of the rudeness of the act, wholly out of place. No one else present was treated in the same way.--In regard to the last expression, with which you honored me on that occasion, I would say, that by the repetition of the scenes of immorality and disorder of which this building was the theatre (in the most odious sense of that term) during the past year, such an event might be possible, not however without some troublesome resistance on my part and _the prospect of another change_.--In regard to the first question, I will myself take the responsibility of a reply, by frankly informing you, that, although I do not feel the slightest inclination to question the responsible honor of your office, and with due deference to the reputation for moral integrity (of your _scholarship_ I have never seen any proof), which must have secured the same to you, I nevertheless most emphatically decline such paternal supervision--having for many years past been myself of full age, and even won a place _as a man_ among the men and scholars of our land. And this I purpose to maintain, whether I am in the University, or out of it. I must, therefore, beg you _to take back the offensive words at the next dinner as publicly as they were uttered_, or else I shall be obliged to take measures in defence of my honor, which, painful and disagreeable as they would be to me, would nevertheless be a necessary duty of self-protection. As for my peculiar views and position with reference to questions of scholarship and education, I have undergone no change of opinion whatever, nor could I undergo one, unless it were the necessary consequence of a rational conviction; and I shall have my hands full for some years to come, to write out and publish what I have but imperfectly and in a desultory manner indicated in my lectures and conversations; and while I am convinced that in many respects I have (as is usual) been voluntarily and involuntarily misunderstood, I am sure, that in the main I am right, and entitled to a hearing or a reading, whether, as has been intimated to me, I go too far or not.--In regard to the many scandalous interruptions by spectral noises (by day and by night), of which I well remember the chief authors, and in regard to my other persecutions, I am aware, that they can only be the subject of commiseration and of merited contempt, and that under the given circumstances, it would be difficult to obtain redress or justice. I shall, however, procure some legal advice on the subject. Allow me, in conclusion, Sir, to assure you of the absence of all hostile personal feeling on my part. I have said what my duty imperatively demands, and my silence would have made me a villain, justly liable to perpetual abuse. I am, Dear Sir, with the most distinguished consideration, Yours, &c. G. J. Adler. LETTER II. New-York University, Sept. 12th, 1853. To his Honor, the Mayor } of the city of New-York.} Dear Sir,--I deem it my duty as a citizen of New-York, and a member of a literary institution, of which your Honor is _ex-officio_ an officer, to apprize you of a fact of my personal history during the past winter, which as it is intimately connected with the maintenance of social order, should not for one moment be passed over by the authorities of the municipal corporation. I have for a number of years past been connected with the University of the city of New-York, first as a resident graduate and lately as the Professor of a modern language, and have ever since my connection with the institution resided in the building on Washington Square, spending most of my time in authorship and instruction in a room, which for several years I have occupied for that purpose. In consequence of some bad feeling towards me on the part of certain enemies of mine, who of late have done all in their power to annoy me, the quiet of my residence has been disturbed in a scandalous manner, by day and at all hours of the night, for weeks and months together, so as to inflict on me the torments of perpetual interruption not only in my work during the day, but of rest during the night, until my health was completely shattered; and in this miserable manner I have lost nearly the whole of last winter without accomplishing any of my purposes with satisfaction or comfort. This outrageous annoyance has been the source of severe loss to me not only in regard to my health, but also in a pecuniary point of view. My salary in the institution being altogether inadequate for my support, I have been engaged for a number of years past in preparing works for publication, and this winter the ruin of my health from the causes already mentioned has also threatened me with the ruin of my income. As this villainous business has proceeded in part from the institution itself, or rather from individuals personally hostile to me and to my purposes, I deem an address to your Honor so much the more in place, as I believe it to be officially your duty to interpose your municipal authority in matters of this kind, and to reprimand or punish men for the immorality of so flagrant a disturbance of the peace. As my ears have almost daily been wounded by disorderly noises, not only from students, but (and mostly) from other persons, who ought to blush for such base conduct, I cannot say, that I am unacquainted with the authors of the nuisance, and could easily designate to you at least half a dozen. Such cries as "Go on! Stop!--Out of the institution with that man!--Kill him!" besides multitudes of vulgar chuckles, screams and other horrid vociferations have been heard by me from well-known voices, until at times I felt as if I could support the vexation no longer. Numberless insults in the street and even menaces were constantly thrown out by a low gang, who were evidently hired for the vile purpose, and I have seen things, which I never witnessed before either in Europe or America. A certain firm of this city seems to have commenced the nefarious hostilities. I have suffered encroachments on my personal safety to which no American citizen ought for one moment to submit. As I cannot afford, nor feel inclined to lose my time and health any longer, I would respectfully submit to your Honor's consideration _my claim to the protection of the laws of the city_ in this respect, to which as an American citizen I am entitled, and the necessity of a sterner maintenance of order by the police of the city. Disagreeable and painful as it is for any one to come into hostile collision with fellow-citizens, there are nevertheless cases, in which such enmities may be innocently contracted, and holding mine to be of such a nature, I may confidently expect the ready and effectual interposition of your Honor and of the honorable members of the Common Council, to whom the order and honor of the city must ever be dear, in a matter that seems to me to involve one of the most cherished principles of our republican freedom, viz., the personal safety and peaceable domicile of every member of our community, of every citizen of this vast republic. To sum up my complaints briefly, they are as follows:--1st, Personal hostility towards me in the institution itself; 2dly, Horrid footsteps, noises and loud conferences under my window by day and by night; 3dly, Menacing insults from low people in the street, without the slightest provocation on my part. Trusting that your Honor may find an early occasion to give me an opportunity for finding my firm conviction true, that the majesty of the law is capable of being upheld by its representatives in the community, and that I may have a different tale to tell respecting the morality of the city and my own sense of personal safety, I am your Honor's most respectful and obedient servant. G. J. Adler. LETTER III.--(Answer to No. I.) Rev. Dr.---- Dear Sir,--Understanding that you are a friend of Professor Adler, of this University, and know his brother, I take the liberty of calling your attention to his present condition.--During the last winter he gave various indications of a disordered mind, and these have become more decided during the past summer. I am distressed to see his haggard look, and have feared unhappy results. He is unfitted for the business of teaching, and his friends would do well to get him another institution, adapted to such, away from study. I think there should be no delay in the matter.--We all esteem Dr. Adler highly, and would be delighted with his restoration to the full use of his fine intellectual powers. May I solicit your fraternal aid in this case, and please let me hear from you at an early day. I am with great regard, Yours, University of the City of } New-York, _Sept_. 19th, '53.} (Signed) Isaac Ferris. EPILOGOMENA TO LETTER III. As the above letter was handed to my personal friends for the purpose of conveying the desired intelligence, and sent to me, when the report of my illness and mental derangement was found to be groundless and false, there can be no impropriety or breach of courtesy or justice in its publication. The serious consequences to which it gave rise, the deprivation of my liberty for six entire months, and the suspension of my functions as an academic instructor (though not of my activity as an author, which under the most inauspicious circumstances was still continued) alike demand, that it should be made known in connection with my own communications before and during my imprisonment. A comment or two will exhibit the contents of the Doctor's epistle in their proper light. 1st, The Dr's. letter is itself a contradiction and an egregious symptom of insanity on his part, which is, moreover, confirmed by his previous conduct from his first entrance into the institution. In comparing the University with the Lunatic Asylum, I find that the former during the winter of 1852-'53 (I may add, ever since my return from Europe in 1850) was a far more disorderly and irrational place than the latter, where the occasional confusion or the perpetual (sane and insane) perversity of men is the lamentable, but natural and necessary (consequently _irresponsible_) result, of an internal physical or intellectual disorder or defect, which is moreover susceptible of classification and of a psychological exposition, while in the former it was "got up" for the particular purpose of subjugation or of expulsion, and where consequently it was the result of _responsible_ perversity and malice, _susceptible of moral reprobation_. 2d, The allegation of my being "unfitted for the business of teaching," and of the propriety of finding me "another institution, adapted to such, away from study," is an absurd and a libelous perversion of the truth, which it is scarcely worth while to refute. From the year 1839, the year of my matriculation at the institution, to the present hour I have had no other profession, except that of having appeared in the additional capacity of an author. Even during my undergraduate career I taught successfully the various disciplines of our academic course, with the approbation and to the satisfaction of the Faculty, members of which examined and admitted to promotion several of my private scholars, who had been expressly referred to me for tuition in the Classics, in Mathematics, in Philosophy, &c.--Of my courses of instruction since my official and regular connection with the institution (which dates from the year 1846) in the language and in the literature which I was more especially appointed to profess, it is not necessary to speak here, the University itself having offered but little inducement and no emolument or honor to the cultivation of the modern languages. In all the professional services, however, which I have had occasion to render to the institution of late years, my qualifications and my efficiency could never have been honestly or honorably questioned. I have prepared my own text-books, which have found their way into most of the literary and educational institutions of this continent to some extent into Europe even. One of them was begun at the very time, when "the indications of a disordered mind had become more decided," and was completed with scarcely a day's intermission of my work at the lunatic asylum, where I subsequently improved my leisure (as far as my shattered health would permit) by zealously engaging in some preliminary studies for a history of modern literature.--It is equally needless to expatiate on my extensive acquaintance, direct and indirect, with academic men and methods both in the United States and in Europe, where within a few years past I spent an entire year in the pursuit of literary and philosophical studies at two of its most prominent Universities.--_To my morality, both private and social, and to my religion, no one but a hyper-puristic religionist or a calvinistic tyrant could possibly object._--The real objection, and the cause of my being unfitted for the business of instruction must therefore be looked for elsewhere. From various indications and from several catastrophes in my personal history, brought about by sectarian jealousy and fanatical intrigue, from certain significant changes in the faculty of the institution, and from innumerable efforts to subject me to a creed, or to the social control of certain religious parties, I should infer that it manifestly and palpably resided in a mistrust of what is vulgarly termed "the soundness of my views" on certain questions, never discussed in respectable literary institutions, and beyond their jurisdiction, or in other words _in a suspicion of heresy_.--I claim, however, in opposition to all these pretensions, which I deem an absurdity, my right (which is _inalienable_ and _imprescriptible_) to my moral and intellectual culture, commenced under the auspices and fostering care of my Alma Mater herself (during a former administration) and continued and perfected by years of serious and earnest effort in America and Europe, since. _I recognize no sectarian guidance or control whatever in any of the independent sciences, cultivated from time immemorial at academic institutions, much less in the science of sciences, the very law and indispensable condition of which is absolute freedom from all external authority or restraint._ The law of intellectual freedom, of which the Reader will find a short exposition in the concluding document of this pamphlet (which I have extracted and translated from a distinguished authority on the "Philosophy of Right") is recognized by the spirit and the letter of the Constitution and by the political and social history of the United States, by the Revised Statutes of the State of New-York, by all the leading universities _of Protestant and Catholic Europe_, and by a number of similar institutions in America, among which stands, "professedly" at least, the University of the city of New-York. The attempts of certain parties in connection with the institution and _ab extra_ to "smother" (to use one of their own cant words) and to crush my independence by gravely endeavoring to _coerce me into an alliance with a questionable religionism, which is abhorrent to my ideas, my habits and my sentiments, and by fomenting internal disorders for the purpose of effecting an exclusion_, are an unconstitutional, an unjust, an iniquitous invasion of my most sacred rights as a man, an American citizen, a scholar and a professor. I repel, therefore, Dr. Ferris' insinuation as a maliciously astute and as a false one, which of itself declares the Dr. _incompetent to decide upon the merits of a real scholar, and utterly unfit for the important trust of presiding over the interests of any other but a sectarian institution of the narrowest description, of the most painfully exclusive moral perversity_. To this I may add, that in consideration of the many and various disciplines, earnestly and steadily cultivated by me for several years past, such as intellectual philosophy, the learned and modern languages, linguistics and the history of literature generally, I could in academic justice _demand the right_ to instruct in any one of the departments for which I was fitted. That such a right exists, and that it is applicable to my case, the reader may learn from Sir William Hamilton's Essays on University Education, recently republished in America, to which I refer _passim_. I can therefore confidently challenge not only the chancellor, but, in case of a concurrence in his sentiments, the entire faculty of the University to the following proposition:--In case my capacity to teach or lecture academically is questioned, I propose to take, and I demand one of the following chairs; _where under suitable auspices and with proper and regular provisions for the maintenance of order, I could at once begin_:--1st, The Latin language and literature.--2d, the Greek ditto, ditto.--3d, Moral and intellectual philosophy, either systematically or historically.--4th, History or the general history of literature (of which I have at present a text-book in preparation).--5th, Linguistics or the classification of languages, including general grammar.--6th, the history of modern (European) languages and literatures.--7th, the elements of the Sanscrit, of which I still have a Mss. grammar, compiled by myself for my private use, during the winter of 1851.--I omit mentioning the remaining academic disciplines, for which I have no particular taste, but which I still could teach, and for which I could prepare the text-books, if it were necessary to do so. 3d, The alleged indications of insanity were _utterly unfounded_ at the time they were made. I had recovered my usual health and spirits immediately after the commencement of last year, about the beginning of July '53, when those who had flagrantly disturbed the quiet of my residence in and about the University building had vanished into the country. Of the winter of 1852-'53 I only recollect, that subsequently to the dismissal of my class, which I could not in honor consent to hear any longer, I made a fruitless attempt to continue my private studies, and to finish a commentary on a Greek drama which I had begun at the commencement of the term, and that the ominous symptoms of _external insanity_ about me soon increased to such an alarming extent, that I was forced to lay aside my pen, unable to endure the outrage and annoyance any longer; that gangs of scandalous ruffians in the shape of boys, girls, men and women, many of whom I knew by their voices, kept up at certain intervals, by day and by night, a nefarious system of mystification and of nuisance from January to the end of June, in the council-room of the institution, in the hall, before my door, in front of my window, and on the parade ground; that in consequence of all this my rest at night was completely broken, until I could only sleep by day; that after a while I was confined to my bed most of the time, and that I frequently did not rise for breakfast till 6 o'clock, P. M.; that it was painful and disgusting for me to be awake, and that all I read for several successive months was "Hegel's Logic" for two or three hours a day, and that for some time I only eat once a day. In May, I think, I fled to a neighboring State and University, partly with the intention of changing my place of residence.--As a psychologist I was well aware, that sleep was a sovereign preventive, as well as a remedy for all the disorders of the mind, especially for those which might arise from external causes such as those I have just described; I therefore anticipated and _prevented_ the unhappy consequences which the Dr. seems to have expected from the outrageous nuisance of his cherished institution, where such scenes of scandal only _date from the time his prospective and his actual entrance on the duties of his office_, and really seem to have been made to order, I know not for whose benefit (certainly not for mine). _During the summer I was_, in consequence of the happy reaction and repose, _unusually gay and regular in my work_. I then wrote an introduction to Schiller's Maid of Orleans, another one to Goethe's Iphigenia, and a third to Tieck's Puss in Boots, all of which have since been published in my new Manual of German Literature. I deny, therefore, having ever given any symptoms of insanity whatsoever at any time of the year, while I admit that a renewal of the scandal (which the parties concerned have endeavored to revive since my release this spring, but which I checked by a speedy notice to the police court and to some of my friends), in the autumn might have led to such calamitous results. Neither my Kant, nor my Rauch, nor my Hegel, nor any other philosopher or psychologist could for one moment be induced to admit, _that the presence of external causes and tendencies to intellectual derangement were necessarily attended or followed by the malady itself_. This would be an egregious logical fallacy, to which no intelligent physician in or out of the Lunatic Asylum could for one moment subscribe, without justly incurring the risk of being charged with an inexcusable lack of professional knowledge and experience or what is still worse, with a criminal connivance at an unjust and inquitous conspiracy against the reputation and the life of an American citizen. To the charge of the folly of suffering so long and so severely from so gross a system of disorder which might have speedily been checked by the extra-academic authorities of the city, I can only reply, that the confusion and the consequent embarrassment was so great, that it was impossible for me at the time to come to any decision as to the course to be pursued. The most advisable policy would have been, to have left entirely, and to have directed the correction or the punishment from a distance. The following letters, written from the Lunatic Asylum (_between which and the University there was a manifest internal harmony, and which was evidently commissioned to complete the work of humiliation and of subjugation_), may serve to elucidate the facts of the case with some additional particulars. To the above mentioned causes of the ruin of my health, I may add, that during the same winter I had an opportunity of witnessing a resurrection of "Salem Witchcraft," practiced on me by a certain lady, a mother in Israel of this city, who was manifestly in connection with the ultra-calvinistic faction of the University, which is the one to which Dr. Ferris is indebted for his elevation. I moreover discovered in the same connection, one of the two sources, from which the low insults in the street, at certain well-known hours of my walks, in certain places and directions, (to which I made allusion in my letter to the mayor of the city,) had emanated, and I received some additional light on certain events of my personal history, to which I allude in letter No. 5.--A father in Israel, a gray-headed sinner in my opinion, likewise informed me _that they had the Irish to defend them_.--I venture to assert that few of my countrymen, except perhaps the lowest rabble, would ever lend their aid to such nefarious purposes. From all that I have had occasion to observe of social disorder and discontent in the city for several years past, I am sure that there are men who foment intestine commotions, who shamelessly and openly conspire against the honor and the interests, if not against the property and lives of their fellow-citizens, and whom the State ought to prosecute and punish as offenders against a clearly defined law of the statute-book. My sanity at the time of arrest I can establish:--1st, By the testimony of those who saw me daily, and more especially, by that of a young man, who came to see me frequently, after the reception of Dr. Ferris' letter, and who in fact brought it from the office. 2dly, By the testimony of a distinguished physician, who about a week before, dressed a slight wound on one of my eye-brows, received from a fall against my sofa in the dark. 3dly, By the fact, that I was quietly and constantly engaged in writing, and in daily communication with the printer, who stereotyped my "Hand-book of German Literature." _Symptoms of unusual excitement, in consequence of such an outrage, are no proof of derangement._ LETTER IV. Bloomingdale Asylum, _Dec. 26th_, 1853. To----, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir, For several years past, I have repeatedly been on the point of making an effort to resuscitate a slight, but to me no less cherished acquaintance, by giving you some account of my doings and purposes, which, I have sometimes flattered myself, might not be without interest both to yourself and to such of your co-adjutors in Washington, as have enlisted with you in the noble cause of extending and diffusing knowledge among men. Of the proceedings of your institution I have occasionally informed myself, both from the pamphlets and reports periodically submitted to the public, and more especially from the volumes of regular "Transactions," in the archæological and linguistical parts of which, I have taken so much the greater interest, as of late years my own attention has at times been almost exclusively directed to the same field of investigation. It is true, I have as yet neither been able nor willing to give any positive result of my studies. I have hardly done anything more than "to break the ice." This, however, I may safely say to have done, having not only had the best opportunities, (since I saw you last in 1848) of surveying the field in the time-honored centres of intellectual light on the other side of the Atlantic, but having also since my return, as a member of several Learned Associations, had special occasion and incitement to keep alive my interest in these engaging pursuits. And if there be any truth in the ancient adage: [Greek: archê hêmisy pantos], I may perhaps even entertain the hope (_non invitá Minervâ_) of some future concentration of my somewhat desultory excursions in these regions of light (where ignorance indeed, but ignorance alone, sees only darkness) to some radiant focal point. There are a number of subjects, closely connected with the inquiries, that come under the cognizance of the historico-philosophical section of your institute, which, I see, are agitated anew by the _savants_ of the old world, and which to the resolution of certain problems, relating to the primitive history of this continent, are equally important here, perhaps entitled to our special consideration. Recent investigations would seem to show, for example, that our genial and acute Du Ponceau had by no means said the last word on the subject he has so learnedly reported. Several new works on the origin and classification of languages, that have made their appearance in Berlin, &c., since the day of Humboldt's attempt, would seem to invite to similar efforts on our side, and with special reference to the immensity of our cis-Atlantic field, which ought to be [Greek: kat' exochên] adopted as our own. Having most of these materials at hand, I have sometimes been tempted myself to try, whether by an _exposition of the present state_ of that science, as cultivated by the Germans particularly, a new impulsion might not be imparted to it among ourselves. Some such purpose has been among the tasks, which I had proposed to myself for the present winter. The sudden suspension of my studies, and the consequent uncertainty of my affairs, however, have so seriously deranged my plans, that now I almost despair of being able to accomplish any of my more immediate and necessary purposes.--You will undoubtedly be surprised to learn, that I have been an inmate of the Lunatic Asylum, at Bloomingdale, for now nearly three months; your surprise will be still greater, when you come to learn, by what sort of machinations I have been brought here. For several years past, I have been made the object of a systematic and invidious persecution, in consequence of which I have been obliged to shift my residence from one place to another, to spend my means in involuntary exile and unnecessary travelling, and altogether to lead a life of a discouraging uncertainty. Shortly after my visit to Washington, (1848), where I saw you last, I was driven away from New-York, while yet absorbed in the midst of an arduous undertaking, (my large German and English Dictionary, which in consequence of my forced removal from the place of printing, I had to finish at an inconvenient distance), under circumstances of the most aggravated insults and abuses, (such as I had never dreamt men capable of,) and about six months after its completion the same miserable clique had already "finished" me in Boston and a regular "_hedjra_" to Europe was the consequence.[1]--I spent a year in London, Paris and Berlin, in a miserable struggle to repair my shattered health, (I had a cough, contracted from sheer vexation, while in the clutches of the miserable wretches, who seemed to be determined to vex me out of existence, which clung to me a year and ever and anon returns again,) and what was still more difficult, to forget the loathsome reminiscences of the immediate past by bringing myself in contact with the sanatory influences of the literature and art of the old world; partly with the intention of remaining there. I returned, however, in the hope of finding my difficulties subsided. But the same odious conspiracy, which had even contrived to mar my comfort and happiness in one place on the other side, (in Paris, where I spent the greater part of an academic year, at the University and libraries, in various studies,) had, as I found to my surprise, kept up a malevolent espionage over my peregrinations even, and I have since been subjected to a series of vexations and intrigues, which at times made me regret that I had not preferred any lot in a foreign land and among entire strangers to such an ignoble re-establishment at home. A personal attachment of former years was made use of to harass and lacerate my feelings, and an underhanded, venomous persecution, (which the parties, who were the authors, and who were in alliance with certain ecclesiastical tricksters, did not even blush to own), followed me at every step. The scum of New-York in the shape of Negroes, Irishmen, Germans, &c., were hired, in well-organized gangs, to drop mysterious allusions and to offer me other insults in the street, (and thus I was daily forced to see and hear things in New-York, of which I had never dreamt before,) while a body of proselyting religionists were busy in their endeavors to make me a submissive tool of some ecclesiastical party or else to rob me of the last prospect of eating a respectable piece of bread and butter. This odious vice of certain countrymen of yours was in fact the prolific source of all the difficulties I complain of, and it is remotely the cause of my confinement here. [1] The details of this scandalous act of vandalism, which though it nearly cost me my life, I did not even mention in the preface to my large German and English Lexicon, finished in the course of the same year, are too diffuse and complicated, to be noticed here. As the leading personages of this drama, however, were the representatives of powerful and influential ecclesiastical organizations, and as shortly before, repeated and desperate proselyting efforts had been made by some of these men, and by their miserable underlings, I cannot possibly be wrong in designating the vile commotion, by which I was swept from my post, _as the venomous explosion of ignoble and of bigoted elements_, which have in fact been the prolific source of all the confusion I complain of now. I distinctly remember the treacherous and inquisitorial anxiousness of a certain (now) president of a prominent University, (with whom I was reading Logic,) to become acquainted with German metaphysics, the mysterious meetings of a certain ecclesiastical committee, the efforts of a certain temperance coterie at a certain hotel, and a dozen other despicable conclaves and combinations, whose machinations were too palpable to be mistaken or forgotten. I also know, that a certain philosophy to which I was known to be particularly partial, is looked upon with jealous suspicion by certain superficial and insignificant pretenders to that science, whose ignorance and malice forges weapons of destruction out of the noblest and sublimest conceptions that have ever emanated from the intellect of man. To all these ambitious and noisy enemies of intellectual freedom, _whose littleness asperses, calumniates and levels whatever is gigantic and sublime_, I would here say, once for all, that if they could but rationally comprehend this Goethe, this Jean Paul, this Fichte, Kant and Hegel, whom they regard with so much horror, their _moral regeneration_ would almost be beyond a doubt, and if they could think and write like them, their title to enduring fame would never need an advocate or petty trickster to defend it. In the course of this last year, however, these manoeuvres assumed a still more startling and iniquitous shape than before. Hitherto my _domicile_ had been safe and quiet. For, although meddlesome attempts had been made to force certain associations on me and to cut me off from others, I had still been left sufficiently unmolested to accomplish some study without any flagrant interruptions. This last resource of self-defence and happiness was destroyed me at the beginning of last winter. New appointments at the University, (some of them degradations to me, at any rate, employed for _humiliating_ purposes,) and the petty jealousies, nay even animosities, which among men of a certain order of intellect are the natural consequence of such changes, soon introduced disorder into the Institution, fostered a spirit of rebellion against me, and before the end of the first term of the present year, my course of instruction was entirely broken up. The difficulty (which in fact was wholly due to a shameless inefficiency of discipline,) was enveloped in a sort of mummery, the sum and substance of which, however, was plainly this: "that if I remained in the Institution in the unmolested enjoyment of a peaceful life of study, my independent progress would be an encroachment on certain colleagues of mine;" and this was in fact, thrown out as a hint for me to leave. The rent of my private room in the building had _already been nearly doubled_ by Prof. J. ---- for the same reason. As the University, however, had contributed but an insignificant item to my support, I neither considered it necessary to remove from the building, which is accessible to all classes of tenants, nor did I make much account of a self-made suspension of my course, although I grieved to think of the means that had been used to superinduce such a necessity. Prof. L----, who has always exhibited a pettiness of disposition, altogether unworthy of a man of science, had _openly before my eyes_ played the confidant and supporter of a disorderly student, who on my motion was under college discipline, and the meetings of the faculty were made so disgusting to me, that I could no longer attend to make my reports. New methods of annoyance were devised. The council-room of the Institution, next door to mine, was converted into an omnibus for noisy meetings of every description--religious gatherings in the morning--ominous vociferations during recitation time--obstreperous conclaves of students in the afternoon--and violent political town gatherings in the evening. Besides all this, the menials of the Institution were corrupted into unusual insolence towards me, (among them my special attendant,) and the vexations of this description became so annoying to me, that for some time I had actually to do my own chamber-work. I had almost forgotten to mention certain mysterious _desk_-slammings in the council-room, and equally significant and intimidating _door_-slammings, particularly at a room opposite mine, which communicates (I believe) with a private part of the building, now occupied by a dentist, (that sublime science having also found its way into our college,) at unseasonable hours of the night, sometimes accompanied with various remarks, one of which now occurs to me: "Oh, you are not one of us!" (sung in operatic style.) The quiet of my residence was, moreover, destroyed by horrid vociferations at all hours of the night, before my very door, and regularly under my window, and these were made not only by students, (of which there were only a few, _supported in their insubordination_) but by an extra-academic body of men and women, certain zealous religionists and their impenitent coadjutors, evidently the abettors of my in-door enemies, _and by two of my colleagues_. A night or week of such proceedings would be enough to set a man crazy. What must be their effect if they continue for months? And yet expressions like the following were perpetually ringing in my ears:--"Go on!" "You _are_ the man!" "You are _not_ the man!" "Go on! no, stop!" (by the same voice in the same breath.) "Out of the Institution with that man!" (by the laurelled valedictorian of last year.), "Stand up!" (by Prof. C----, close to my door.) "He started with nothing!" (by the same voice in the same place). "Pray!" (by ditto.) "You have finished!" "Go away!" "Thank God, that that man is out of the Institution!" (by a lady member of a certain religious fraternity, on terms of intimacy with a certain prominent politician of the neighborhood.) "Pursue him, worm that never d-i-e-s!" (theatrically shrieked by the same voice.) "You are a dead man! Dead, dead, dead, dead!" (by the voice of a certain popular preacher.) "He is deceived, he is deceived!" (by the spokesman of a body of theological students in front of the neighboring Seminary, as I was passing.) And at times even: "Die!" "Break!" (on the supposition that I was in embarrassed circumstances.) "_Whore!_" even was one of the delectable cries! To these I should add the mysterious blowings of noses (both within _sight_ and _hearing_,) frightfully significant coughs, horse-laughs, shouts and other methods of demonstration, such as striking the sidewalk in front of my windows with a cane, usually accompanied with some remark: "I understand that passage so!" for example. A clique in the Historical Society, (where I had been several times insulted at the meetings,) and several religious coteries and secret organizations were evidently largely concerned in the business. To these noises and sounds corresponded an equally ingenious series of sights, so arranged as to leave no doubt whatever, but that the impressions of my sense of hearing were no delusion, and that there was no mistake about the authors. My spirits and health were completely shattered by the close of winter, and I crawled out a miserable existence, being confined to my bed most of the time, unable to do anything but to read an hour or two a day. The summer season emptied the University and the city, and I was relieved from the pressure. The repose was like a gift from heaven. A stout resolution soon consigned the terrors of the past to a _provisional_ oblivion. I collected myself, recovered my usual composure and bodily strength, made arrangements for two additional text-books to my series, at which after the 1st of July I began to work steadily, in the hope of getting out of my pecuniary difficulty which the recent events of my life had entailed. One of these is now ready for publication and will appear in a short time. After I had fairly recovered the proper balance of mind, I wrote to the Mayor of the city, and to Dr. Ferris, the Chancellor of our University. To the former I complained of persecution _ab extra_, which might be stopped by police intervention, of the latter I demanded explanations for personal vexations and insults. Besides having connived at, nay participated in the disorders of the Institution, and besides having employed the menials of the establishment to enforce a ridiculous submission to an unconstitutional authority, the Dr. had in the presence of the Alumni of the Institution, convened at a banquet in the Astor House, openly insulted me by saying; "_Shall I have to become the step-father to that man?_" and again: "_Next year I shall see another man in that man's place!_" Both these expressions were used by the Dr. as he stood before the assembled guests, while making a short speech. In uttering them, he looked at me with a supercilious grin, and the question was addressed to the opposite side of the house, between which and the speaker there was a manifest collusion. My letter consisted of a protestation against the scandalous disorders of the Institution in general, and a request that the Dr. would retract the obnoxious offer of an unacceptable paternity as publicly as it was made, to include also a recantation of the words: "_Death you shall have!_" uttered near the door that connects my room with that of the Dr's., _in his own voice_ and in connection with a declamation of Patrick Henry's famous speech, "Give me liberty or &c." This letter of mine was answered by spectral demonstrations (not unlike those of ghost-rappers,) in the Chancellor's room (next to my private study) between 11 and 12 o'clock on the night after its delivery, and by the insolent behavior of the University scullion, who on the following day after many other impertinences told me: "_You must not speak so to the Chancellor, my son!_" No other reply was made, and no further notice taken of my complaint. And yet my deportment towards Dr. Ferris had never been disrespectful, while his whole course towards me had been singularly provoking and offensive. He seemed to be ignorant of the fact, that I was both an alumnus and an officer of the Institution, and that as such I expected to be regarded in the light
{'title': 'Letters of a Lunatic by G. J. Adler', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}