Among the deaf persons who have acquired fame in literature and
the arts have been Dibil Alkoffay, an Arabian poet of the eighth
century; the tactician, Folard; the German poet, Engelshall; Le
Sage; La Condamine, who composed an epigram on his own infirmity;
and Beethoven, the famous musician. Fernandez, a Spanish painter
of the sixteenth century, was a deaf-mute.
All the world pities the blind, but despite their infirmities
many have achieved the highest glory in every profession. Since
Homer there have been numerous blind poets. Milton lost none of
his poetic power after he had become blind. The Argovienne,
Louise Egloff, and Daniel Leopold, who died in 1753, were blind
from infancy. Blacklock, Avisse, Koslov, and La Mott-Houdart are
among other blind poets. Asconius Pedianus, a grammarian of the
first century; Didyme, the celebrated doctor of Alexandria; the
Florentine, Bandolini, so well versed in Latin poetry; the
celebrated Italian grammarian, Pontanus; the German, Griesinger,
who spoke seven languages; the philologist, Grassi, who died in
1831, and many others have become blind at an age more or less
advanced in their working lives.
Probably the most remarkable of the blind scientists was the
Englishman, Saunderson, who in 1683, in his first year, was
deprived of sight after an attack of small-pox.
Pages:
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858