Side by side
with this characterization he constantly dwells, as just noted, on
Beethoven's uncontrollable tendency to humor, gayety (_Heiterkeit_)
which shows itself not only in his life, but still more in his works.
This may have been a device deliberately assumed to enable him to escape
mental suffering. At all events it was a prominent trait of his
character, but does not seem to have added to his enjoyment of life. No
circumstance, however painful, but that he is able to extract some jest
or pleasantry from it. The paradox is before us of a man world-weary at
the core, outwardly serene, gay. In the same ratio in which those things
which serve to make life enjoyable to the average man were diminished or
withdrawn, does his tendency to incessant humor increase.
The consciousness of being able to achieve great things, and the joy in
accomplishing them, is what gives the artist the exultant mood, the
feeling of gayety. To be sensible of such an heritage, to participate in
this God-given wealth, to run riot in it, to know that the more of it
that is used the more will be given, to be favored of the gods in a way
that the possessor of untold wealth cannot aspire to--this is what gives
the serene and joyous mood, which characterizes the man of genius for
the most part.
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