FYI

Bedrich Smetana (The Moldau) was deaf when he completed the tone poem that contained The Moldau. Didn't hear the thunderous applause after its performance in 1875. Deafness caused by syphilis. Death nine years later also because of syphilis.

I knew that Franz Schubert had syphilis. He died at age 31 from typhoid fever, they say. They also say that Robert Schumann's insanity was caused by syphilis. Frederick Delius, another composer, had syphilis. And probably Paganini, Mozart and Beethoven, too.

Oscar Wilde had it. John Keats and Guy de Maupassant. Hitler and Lenin, too. Manet, Gaugin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Goch.

If you saw Out of Africa then you know Karen Blixen had syphilis, a gift from her husband. By the way, it's a long list of well-knowns who had it. My list here is partial and brief.

What brings this post about? I was listening to The Moldau this morning, a favorite of mine, and heard that bit of information about Smetana. I thought I'd do some research on syphilis, also called The French Disease--who's surprised about that?--but the more I read, the less I wanted to know. It's ugly, and each stage of it causes terrible effects, all of which are ugly, and it is deadly if untreated. It is known to have existed in the 1400s (before that, obviously, but that's when they began keeping records of these things).

I think it was also known as a silent killer because of the shame associated with it. Today, or since before the mid 20th century, it has been treated with penicillin and is curable if treated in a timely manner.

Okay, so this isn't my favorite posting either.