…it has often been claimed that since so many brilliant men had syphilis, much of the world’s greatest achievement was evidently formulated in brains stimulated by the cerebral irritation of an early general paresis. We omit reference to specific instances of this among our contemporaries only to avoid, for our publishers, the vulgar embarrassment of libel suits.

— Rats, Lice and History by Hans Zinsser (Page 62)