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102-600: Marie-Henri Beyle was born in Grenoble, Isère, on 23 January 1783, into the family of the advocate and landowner Chérubin Beyle and his wife Henriette Gagnon. He was an unhappy child, disliking his "unimaginative" father and mourning his mother, whom he loved fervently, and who died in childbirth in 1790, when he was seven. He spent "the happiest years of his life" at the Beyle country house in Claix near Grenoble. His closest friend

204-405: A fast heart rate . It is caused by cytokines released by the immune system in response to lipoproteins released from rupturing syphilis bacteria. Penicillin is an effective treatment for syphilis in pregnancy but there is no agreement on which dose or route of delivery is most effective. In 2012, about 0.5% of adults were infected with syphilis, with 6 million new cases. In 1999, it

306-764: A suffumigation . It was also treated by ingestion of mercury compounds. Once the disease had gained a strong foothold, however, the amounts and forms of mercury necessary to control its development exceeded the human body's ability to tolerate it, and the treatment became worse and more lethal than the disease. Nevertheless, medically directed mercury poisoning became widespread through the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in Europe, North America, and India. Mercury salts such as mercury (II) chloride were still in prominent medical use as late as 1916, and considered effective and worthwhile treatments. The first-line treatment for uncomplicated syphilis (primary or secondary stages) remains

408-494: A French invasion ( Italian War of 1494–98 ). Since it was claimed to have been spread by French troops, it was initially called the "French disease" by the people of Naples. The disease reached London in 1497 and was recorded at St Bartholomew's Hospital as infecting 10 out of the 20 patients. In 1530, the pastoral name "syphilis" (the name of a character) was first used by the Italian physician and poet Girolamo Fracastoro as

510-453: A character who contemplates suicide after being jilted, speaks about his attitude towards his home country: "To make this course of action clear to my French readers, I must explain that in Italy, a country very far away from us, people are still driven to despair by love." Stendhal identified with the nascent liberalism and his sojourn in Italy convinced him that Romanticism was essentially

612-400: A form of chemotherapy , elemental mercury had been used to treat skin diseases in Europe as early as 1363. As syphilis spread, preparations of mercury were among the first medicines used to combat it. Mercury is in fact highly anti-microbial: by the 16th century it was sometimes found to be sufficient to halt development of the disease when applied to ulcers as an inunction or when inhaled as

714-460: A great figure. His ideas are often forceful and inspired, but they are erratic, arbitrarily advanced, and, despite all their show of boldness, lacking in inward certainty and continuity. There is something unsettled about his whole nature: his fluctuation between realistic candor in general and silly mystification in particulars, between cold self-control, rapturous abandonment to sensual pleasures, and insecure and sometimes sentimental vaingloriousness,

816-560: A letter to Pauline, he described her as the woman of his dreams and wrote that he would have discovered happiness if he became her husband. This fusion of, and tension between, clear-headed analysis and romantic feeling is typical of Stendhal's great novels; he could be considered a Romantic realist. Stendhal suffered miserable physical disabilities in his final years as he continued to produce some of his most famous work. He contracted syphilis in December 1808. As he noted in his journal, he

918-420: A letter without signing a false name." Stendhal's Journal and autobiographical writings include many comments on masks and the pleasures of "feeling alive in many versions." "Look upon life as a masked ball," is the advice that Stendhal gives himself in his diary for 1814. In Memoirs of an Egotist he writes: "Will I be believed if I say I'd wear a mask with pleasure and be delighted to change my name?...for me

1020-412: A man. Even Stendhal's autobiographical works, such as The Life of Henry Brulard or Memoirs of an Egotist , are "far more closely, essentially, and concretely connected with the politics, sociology, and economics of the period than are, for example, the corresponding works of Rousseau or Goethe ; one feels that the great events of contemporary history affected Stendhal much more directly than they did

1122-504: A mortal sin in medieval times. It remains mysterious why the authors of medieval medical treatises so uniformly refrained from describing syphilis or commenting on its existence in the population. Many may have confused it with other diseases such as leprosy ( Hansen's disease ) or elephantiasis . The great variety of symptoms of treponematosis, the different ages at which the various diseases appear, and its widely divergent outcomes depending on climate and culture, would have added greatly to

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1224-399: A mortality rate of 8% to 58%, with a greater death rate among males. The symptoms of syphilis have become less severe over the 19th and 20th centuries, in part due to widespread availability of effective treatment, and partly due to virulence of the bacteria. With early treatment, few complications result. Syphilis increases the risk of HIV transmission by two to five times, and coinfection

1326-615: A most accurate and detailed knowledge of the political situation, the social stratification, and the economic circumstances of a perfectly definite historical moment, namely, that in which France found itself just before the July Revolution." In Auerbach's view, in Stendhal's novels "characters, attitudes, and relationships of the dramatis personæ , then, are very closely connected with contemporary historical circumstances; contemporary political and social conditions are woven into

1428-453: A reference to Canto 11 of Lord Byron 's Don Juan , which refers to "the thousand happy few" who enjoy high society, or to the "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers" line of William Shakespeare 's Henry V , but Stendhal's use more likely refers to The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith , parts of which he had memorized in the course of teaching himself English. In The Vicar of Wakefield , "the happy few" refers ironically to

1530-449: A single dose of intramuscular benzathine benzylpenicillin . The bacterium is highly vulnerable to penicillin when treated early, and a treated individual is typically rendered non-infective in about 24 hours. Doxycycline and tetracycline are alternative choices for those allergic to penicillin; due to the risk of birth defects , these are not recommended for pregnant women. Resistance to macrolides , rifampicin , and clindamycin

1632-527: A slow doubling time of greater than 30 hours. The bacterium is known for its ability to evade the immune system and its invasiveness. Syphilis is transmitted primarily by sexual contact or during pregnancy from a mother to her baby; the bacterium is able to pass through intact mucous membranes or compromised skin. It is thus transmissible by kissing near a lesion, as well as manual , oral , vaginal , and anal sex . Approximately 30% to 60% of those exposed to primary or secondary syphilis will get

1734-496: A taboo. The magnitude of its morbidity and mortality in those centuries reflected that, unlike today, there was no adequate understanding of its pathogenesis and no truly effective treatments. Its damage was caused not so much by great sickness or death early in the course of the disease but rather by its gruesome effects decades after infection as it progressed to neurosyphilis with tabes dorsalis . Mercury compounds and isolation were commonly used, with treatments often worse than

1836-419: A third of infected people develop tertiary disease. People with tertiary syphilis are not infectious. Gummatous syphilis or late benign syphilis usually occurs 1 to 46 years after the initial infection, with an average of 15 years. This stage is characterized by the formation of chronic gummas , which are soft, tumor-like balls of inflammation which may vary considerably in size. They typically affect

1938-525: A way which no one had done before him. Vladimir Nabokov was dismissive of Stendhal, in Strong Opinions calling him "that pet of all those who like their French plain". In the notes to his translation of Eugene Onegin , he asserts that Le Rouge et le Noir is "much overrated", and that Stendhal has a "paltry style". In Pnin Nabokov wrote satirically, "Literary departments still labored under

2040-436: A woman as just a woman and simply a human being. Citing Stendhal's rebellious heroines, she maintained that he was a feminist writer. One of his early works is On Love , a rational analysis of romantic passion that was based on his unrequited love for Mathilde, Countess Dembowska, whom he met while living at Milan . Later, he would also suffer "restlessness in spirit" when one of his childhood friends, Victorine got married. In

2142-583: Is benzathine benzylpenicillin injected into a muscle . In those who have a severe penicillin allergy , doxycycline or tetracycline may be used. In those with neurosyphilis , intravenous benzylpenicillin or ceftriaxone is recommended. During treatment people may develop fever, headache, and muscle pains , a reaction known as Jarisch–Herxheimer . In 2015, about 45.4 million people had syphilis infections, of which six million were new cases. During 2015, it caused about 107,000 deaths, down from 202,000 in 1990. After decreasing dramatically with

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2244-544: Is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France . It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). This Isère geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Syphilis Syphilis ( / ˈ s ɪ f ə l ɪ s / ) is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum . The signs and symptoms depend on

2346-625: Is a notifiable disease in many countries, including Canada, the European Union , and the United States. This means health care providers are required to notify public health authorities, which will then ideally provide partner notification to the person's partners. Physicians may also encourage patients to send their partners to seek care. Several strategies have been found to improve follow-up for STI testing, including email and text messaging of reminders for appointments. As

2448-599: Is also associated with miscarriage . The main dental defects seen in congenital syphilis are the peg-shaped, notched incisors known as Hutchinson's teeth and so-called mulberry molars (also known as Moon or Fournier molars), defective permanent molars with rounded, deformed crowns resembling a mulberry . Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum is a spiral-shaped, Gram-negative , highly mobile bacterium. Two other human diseases are caused by related Treponema pallidum subspecies, yaws (subspecies pertenue ) and bejel (subspecies endemicum ), and one further caused by

2550-570: Is believed to have infected 12 million additional people, with greater than 90% of cases in the developing world . It affects between 700,000 and 1.6 million pregnancies a year, resulting in spontaneous abortions , stillbirths , and congenital syphilis. During 2015, it caused about 107,000 deaths, down from 202,000 in 1990. In sub-Saharan Africa , syphilis contributes to approximately 20% of perinatal deaths . Rates are proportionally higher among intravenous drug users , those who are infected with HIV , and men who have sex with men. In

2652-418: Is both so profoundly romantic and so decidedly feminist; feminists are usually rational minds that adopt a universal point of view in all things; but it is not only in the name of freedom in general but also in the name of individual happiness that Stendhal calls for women's emancipation." Yet, Beauvoir criticises Stendhal for, although wanting a woman to be his equal, her only destiny he envisions for her remains

2754-528: Is common (30–60% in some urban centers). In 2015, Cuba became the first country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of syphilis. Paleopathologists have known for decades that syphilis was present in the Americas before European contact. The situation in Europe and Afro-Eurasia has been murkier and caused considerable debate. According to the Columbian theory, syphilis was brought to Spain by

2856-506: Is divided into early latent and late latent stages. Early latent syphilis is defined by the World Health Organization as less than 2 years after original infection. Early latent syphilis is infectious as up to 25% of people can develop a recurrent secondary infection (during which bacteria are actively replicating and are infectious). Two years after the original infection the person will enter late latent syphilis and

2958-589: Is effective at reducing the transmission of syphilis. The CDC states, "The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, is to abstain from sexual contact or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected." Congenital syphilis in the newborn can be prevented by screening mothers during early pregnancy and treating those who are infected. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommends universal screening of all pregnant women, while

3060-439: Is not always easy to put up with; his literary style is very impressive and unmistakably original, but it is short-winded, not uniformly successful, and only seldom wholly takes possession of and fixes the subject. But, such as he was, he offered himself to the moment; circumstances seized him, tossed him about, and laid upon him a unique and unexpected destiny; they formed him so that he was compelled to come to terms with reality in

3162-430: Is not as infectious as the early phase. The latent phase of syphilis can last many years after which, without treatment, approximately 15-40% of people can develop tertiary syphilis. Tertiary syphilis may occur approximately 3 to 15 years after the initial infection and may be divided into three different forms: gummatous syphilis (15%), late neurosyphilis (6.5%), and cardiovascular syphilis (10%). Without treatment,

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3264-559: Is not generally possible to contract syphilis through toilet seats, daily activities, hot tubs, or sharing eating utensils or clothing. This is mainly because the bacteria die very quickly outside of the body, making transmission by objects extremely difficult. Syphilis is difficult to diagnose clinically during early infection. Confirmation is either via blood tests or direct visual inspection using dark field microscopy . Blood tests are more commonly used, as they are easier to perform. Diagnostic tests are unable to distinguish between

3366-399: Is often present. Ceftriaxone , a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic , may be as effective as penicillin-based treatment. It is recommended that a treated person avoid sex until the sores are healed. In comparison to azithromycin for treatment in early infection, there is lack of strong evidence for superiority of azithromycin to benzathine penicillin G. For neurosyphilis, due to

3468-572: Is our imagination inclined to overrate their worth. In a word, in Bologna "crystallization" has not yet begun. When the journey begins, love departs. One leaves Bologna, climbs the Apennines , and takes the road to Rome. The departure, according to Stendhal, has nothing to do with one's will; it is an instinctive moment. This transformative process actuates in terms of four steps along a journey: This journey or crystallization process (shown above)

3570-527: Is said to have sought the best treatment in Paris, Vienna and Rome. Stendhal died on 23 March 1842, a few hours after collapsing with a seizure in the street in Paris. He is interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre . Before settling on the pen name Stendhal, he published under many pen names , including "Louis Alexandre Bombet" and "Anastasius Serpière". The only book that Stendhal published under his own name

3672-416: Is usually made by using blood tests ; the bacteria can also be detected using dark field microscopy . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) recommends for all pregnant women to be tested. The risk of sexual transmission of syphilis can be reduced by using a latex or polyurethane condom . Syphilis can be effectively treated with antibiotics . The preferred antibiotic for most cases

3774-425: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all women be tested at their first antenatal visit and again in the third trimester . If they are positive, it is recommended their partners also be treated. Congenital syphilis is still common in the developing world, as many women do not receive antenatal care at all, and the antenatal care others receive does not include screening. It still occasionally occurs in

3876-596: The cerebrospinal fluid in the setting of a known syphilis infection. Dark field microscopy of serous fluid from a chancre may be used to make an immediate diagnosis. Hospitals do not always have equipment or experienced staff members, and testing must be done within 10 minutes of acquiring the sample. Two other tests can be carried out on a sample from the chancre: direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. DFA uses antibodies tagged with fluorescein , which attach to specific syphilis proteins, while PCR uses techniques to detect

3978-419: The "birth of love", in which the love object is 'crystallized' in the mind, as being a process similar or analogous to a trip to Rome. In the analogy, the city of Bologna represents indifference and Rome represents perfect love : When we are in Bologna, we are entirely indifferent; we are not concerned to admire in any particular way the person with whom we shall perhaps one day be madly in love; even less

4080-595: The 1960s, examples of probable treponematosis —the parent disease of syphilis, bejel , and yaws —in skeletal remains shifted the opinion of some towards a "pre-Columbian" origin. When living conditions changed with urbanization, elite social groups began to practice basic hygiene and started to separate themselves from other social tiers. Consequently, treponematosis was driven out of the age group in which it had become endemic. It then began to appear in adults as syphilis. Because they had never been exposed as children, they were not able to fend off serious illness. Spreading

4182-538: The Black , Stendhal refers to a novel as a mirror being carried in a basket. The metaphor of the realistic novel as a mirror of contemporary reality, accessible to the narrator, has certain limitations, which the artist is aware of. A valuable realistic work exceeds the Platonic meaning of art as a copy of reality. A mirror does not reflect reality in its entirety, nor is the artist's aim to document it fully. In The Red and

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4284-476: The Black , the writer emphasizes the significance of selection when it comes to describing reality, with a view to realizing the cognitive function of a work of art, achieved through the categories of unity, coherence and typicality". Stendhal was an admirer of Napoleon and his novel Le Rouge et le Noir is considered his literary tribute to the emperor. Today, Stendhal's works attract attention for their irony and psychological and historical dimensions. Stendhal

4386-507: The Novel as such was capable of being regarded as a means of profoundly serious and many-sided discussion and therefore as a medium of profoundly serious investigation into the human case." Erich Auerbach considers modern "serious realism" to have begun with Stendhal and Balzac . In Mimesis , he remarks of a scene in The Red and the Black that "it would be almost incomprehensible without

4488-643: The US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe, primarily among men who have sex with men. Rates of syphilis among US women have remained stable during this time, while rates among UK women have increased, but at a rate less than that of men. Increased rates among heterosexuals have occurred in China and Russia since the 1990s. This has been attributed to unsafe sexual practices, such as sexual promiscuity, prostitution, and decreasing use of barrier protection. Left untreated, it has

4590-498: The United States about 55,400 people are newly infected each year as of 2014 . African Americans accounted for almost half of all cases in 2010. As of 2014, syphilis infections continue to increase in the United States. In the United States as of 2020, rates of syphilis have increased by more than threefold; in 2018 approximately 86% of all cases of syphilis in the United States were in men. In 2021, preliminary CDC data illustrated that 2,677 cases of congenital syphilis were found in

4692-561: The absolute number of cases is not large, new ones are continually discovered, most recently in 2015. At least fifteen cases of acquired treponematosis based on evidence from bones, and six examples of congenital treponematosis based on evidence from teeth, are now widely accepted. In several of the twenty-one cases the evidence may also indicate syphilis. In 2020, a group of leading paleopathologists concluded that enough evidence had been collected to prove that treponemal disease, almost certainly including syphilis, had existed in Europe prior to

4794-494: The action in a manner more detailed and more real than had been exhibited in any earlier novel, and indeed in any works of literary art except those expressly purporting to be politico-satirical tracts." Simone de Beauvoir uses Stendhal as an example of a feminist author. In The Second Sex de Beauvoir writes "Stendhal never describes his heroines as a function of his heroes: he provides them with their own destinies." She furthermore points out that it "is remarkable that Stendhal

4896-662: The administration of the Kingdom of Westphalia , one of Napoleon's client states in Germany. From 1807 to 1808, Beyle lived in Braunschweig (Brunswick), where he fell in love with Wilhelmine von Griesheim, whom he called Minette, and for whose sake he remained in the city. "I have no inclination, now, except for Minette, for this blonde and charming Minette, this soul of the north, such as I have never seen in France or Italy." He

4998-480: The availability of penicillin in the 1940s, rates of infection have increased since the turn of the millennium in many countries, often in combination with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This is believed to be partly due to unsafe drug use, increased prostitution , and decreased use of condoms . Syphilis can present in one of four different stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary, and may also occur congenitally . There may be no symptoms . It

5100-555: The bacterium responsible for treponematosis is rare in skeletal remains and fragile, making it notoriously difficult to recover and analyze. Precise dating to the medieval period is not yet possible but work by Kettu Majander et al. uncovering the presence of several different kinds of treponematosis at the beginning of the early modern period argues against its recent introduction from elsewhere. Therefore, they argue, treponematosis—possibly including syphilis—almost certainly existed in medieval Europe. Despite significant progress in tracing

5202-579: The confusion of medical practitioners, as indeed they did right down to the middle of the 20th century. In addition, evidence indicates that some writers on disease feared the political implications of discussing a condition more fatal to elites than to commoners. Historian Jon Arrizabalaga has investigated this question for Castile with startling results revealing an effort to hide its association with elites. The first written records of an outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1495 in Naples, Italy , during

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5304-551: The cultural richness of Florence he encountered when he first visited the Tuscan city. As he described in his book Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio : As I emerged from the porch of Santa Croce, I was seized with a fierce palpitation of the heart (that same symptom which, in Berlin, is referred to as an attack of the nerves); the well-spring of life was dried up within me, and I walked in constant fear of falling to

5406-607: The developed world, as those most likely to acquire syphilis are least likely to receive care during pregnancy. Several measures to increase access to testing appear effective at reducing rates of congenital syphilis in low- to middle-income countries. Point-of-care testing to detect syphilis appeared to be reliable, although more research is needed to assess its effectiveness and into improving outcomes in mothers and babies. The CDC recommends that sexually active men who have sex with men be tested at least yearly. The USPSTF also recommends screening among those at high risk. Syphilis

5508-499: The disease and has a limited effect on damage which has already occurred. Serologic cure can be measured when the non-treponemal titers decline by a factor of 4 or more in 6–12 months in early syphilis or 12–24 months in late syphilis. One of the potential side effects of treatment is the Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction . It frequently starts within one hour and lasts for 24 hours, with symptoms of fever, muscle pains, headache, and

5610-399: The disease via sexual contact also led to victims being infected with a massive bacterial load from open sores on the genitalia. Adults in higher socioeconomic groups then became very sick with painful and debilitating symptoms lasting for decades. Often, they died of the disease, as did their children who were infected with congenital syphilis. The difference between rural and urban populations

5712-463: The disease. The causative organism, Treponema pallidum , was first identified by Fritz Schaudinn and Erich Hoffmann , in 1905. The first effective treatment for syphilis was arsphenamine , discovered by Sahachiro Hata in 1909, during a survey of hundreds of newly synthesized organic arsenical compounds led by Paul Ehrlich . It was manufactured and marketed from 1910 under the trade name Salvarsan by Hoechst AG . This organoarsenic compound

5814-505: The disease. Its infectivity is exemplified by the fact that an individual inoculated with only 57 organisms has a 50% chance of being infected. Most new cases in the United States (60%) occur in men who have sex with men; and in this population 20% of syphilis cases were due to oral sex alone. Syphilis can be transmitted by blood products , but the risk is low due to screening of donated blood in many countries. The risk of transmission from sharing needles appears to be limited. It

5916-485: The fearsome and sordid status of sexually transmitted infections in those centuries. According to a 2020 study, more than 20% of individuals in the age range 15–34 years in late 18th-century London were treated for syphilis. At the time the causative agent was unknown but it was well known that it was spread sexually and also often from mother to child. Its association with sex, especially sexual promiscuity and prostitution , made it an object of fear and revulsion and

6018-456: The genitals (2–7%). The most common location in women is the cervix (44%), the penis in heterosexual men (99%), and anally and rectally in men who have sex with men (34%). Lymph node enlargement frequently (80%) occurs around the area of infection, occurring seven to 10 days after chancre formation. The lesion may persist for three to six weeks if left untreated. Secondary syphilis occurs approximately four to ten weeks after

6120-633: The ground. The condition was diagnosed and named in 1979 by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini , who had noticed similar psychosomatic conditions (racing heart beat, nausea and dizziness ) amongst first-time visitors to the city. In homage to Stendhal, Trenitalia named their overnight train service from Paris to Venice the Stendhal Express, though there is no physical distress connected to it. [REDACTED] Category Claix, Is%C3%A8re Claix ( French pronunciation: [klɛ] ; Arpitan : Cllês )

6222-418: The impression that Stendhal, Galsworthy , Dreiser , and Mann were great writers." Michael Dirda considers Stendhal "the greatest all round French writer – author of two of the top 20 French novels, author of a highly original autobiography ( Vie de Henry Brulard ), a superb travel writer, and as inimitable a presence on the page as any writer you'll ever meet." In 1817 Stendhal was reportedly overcome by

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6324-537: The infection. It may occur early, being either asymptomatic or in the form of syphilitic meningitis ; or late as meningovascular syphilis, manifesting as general paresis or tabes dorsalis . Meningovascular syphilis involves inflammation of the small and medium arteries of the central nervous system. It can present between 1–10 years after the initial infection. Meningovascular syphilis is characterized by stroke, cranial nerve palsies and spinal cord inflammation . Late symptomatic neurosyphilis can develop decades after

6426-574: The literary counterpart of liberalism in politics. When Stendhal was appointed to a consular post in Trieste in 1830, Metternich refused his exequatur on account of Stendhal's liberalism and anti-clericalism. Stendhal was a dandy and wit about town in Paris, as well as an obsessive womaniser. His genuine empathy towards women is evident in his books; Simone de Beauvoir spoke highly of him in The Second Sex . She credited him for perceiving

6528-408: The men who sailed with Christopher Columbus in 1492 and spread from there, with a serious epidemic in Naples beginning as early as 1495. Contemporaries believed the disease sprang from American roots, and in the 16th century physicians wrote extensively about the new disease inflicted on them by the returning explorers. Most evidence supports the Columbian origin hypothesis. However, beginning in

6630-464: The most typical deformities, for example, is a collapsed nasal bridge called saddle nose . Salmon discovered that it appeared often in medieval illuminations , especially among the men tormenting Christ in scenes of the crucifixion. The association of saddle nose with men perceived to be so evil they would kill the son of God indicates the artists were thinking of syphilis, which is typically transmitted through sexual intercourse with promiscuous partners,

6732-761: The mouth or vagina. Latent syphilis has no symptoms and can last years. In tertiary syphilis, there are gummas (soft, non-cancerous growths), neurological problems, or heart symptoms. Syphilis has been known as " the great imitator " because it may cause symptoms similar to many other diseases. Syphilis is most commonly spread through sexual activity . It may also be transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis . Other diseases caused by Treponema bacteria include yaws ( T. pallidum subspecies pertenue ), pinta ( T. carateum ), and nonvenereal endemic syphilis ( T. pallidum subspecies endemicum ). These three diseases are not typically sexually transmitted. Diagnosis

6834-931: The name in honour of Winckelmann or simply knew the place as a centre of communications between Berlin and Hanover. Stendhal added an additional "H" to make the Germanic pronunciation more clear. Stendhal used many aliases in his autobiographical writings and correspondence, and often assigned pseudonyms to friends, some of whom adopted the names for themselves. Stendhal used more than a hundred pseudonyms, which were astonishingly diverse. Some he used no more than once, while others he returned to throughout his life. "Dominique" and "Salviati" served as intimate pet names. He coins comic names "that make him even more bourgeois than he really is: Cotonnet, Bombet, Chamier." He uses many ridiculous names: "Don phlegm", " Giorgio Vasari ", "William Crocodile", "Poverino", "Baron de Cutendre". One of his correspondents, Prosper Mérimée , said: "He never wrote

6936-499: The optic nerve , uveitis , and interstitial keratitis . The acute symptoms usually resolve after three to six weeks; about 25% of people may present with a recurrence of secondary symptoms. Many people who present with secondary syphilis (40–85% of women, 20–65% of men) do not report previously having had the classical chancre of primary syphilis. Latent syphilis is defined as having serologic proof of infection without symptoms of disease. It develops after secondary syphilis and

7038-488: The original infection and includes 2 types; general paresis and tabes dorsalis. General paresis presents with dementia, personality changes, delusions, seizures, psychosis and depression. Tabes dorsalis is characterized by gait instability, sharp pains in the trunk and limbs, impaired positional sensation of the limbs as well as having a positive Romberg's sign . Both tabes dorsalis and general paresis may present with Argyll Robertson pupil which are pupils that constrict when

7140-463: The other two; Rousseau did not live to see them, and Goethe had managed to keep aloof from them." Auerbach goes on to say: We may ask ourselves how it came about that modern consciousness of reality began to find literary form for the first time precisely in Henri Beyle of Grenoble. Beyle-Stendhal was a man of keen intelligence, quick and alive, mentally independent and courageous, but not quite

7242-673: The person focuses on near objects ( accommodation reflex ) but do not constrict when exposed to bright light ( pupillary reflex ). Congenital syphilis is that which is transmitted during pregnancy or during birth. Two-thirds of syphilitic infants are born without symptoms. Common symptoms that develop over the first couple of years of life include enlargement of the liver and spleen (70%), rash (70%), fever (40%), neurosyphilis (20%), and lung inflammation (20%). If untreated, late congenital syphilis may occur in 40%, including saddle nose deformation, Higouménakis' sign , saber shin , or Clutton's joints among others. Infection during pregnancy

7344-456: The poor penetration of benzathine penicillin into the central nervous system , those affected are given large doses of intravenous penicillin G for a minimum of 10 days. If a person is allergic to penicillin, ceftriaxone may be used or penicillin desensitization attempted. Other late presentations may be treated with once-weekly intramuscular benzathine penicillin for three weeks. Treatment at this stage solely limits further progression of

7446-404: The population of 332 million in the United States. Syphilis was very common in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Flaubert found it universal among 19th-century Egyptian prostitutes. In the developed world during the early 20th century, infections declined rapidly with the widespread use of antibiotics , until the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000, rates of syphilis have been increasing in

7548-499: The possibility of false positives with nontreponemal tests, confirmation is required with a treponemal test, such as Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPHA) or fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test (FTA-Abs). Treponemal antibody tests usually become positive two to five weeks after the initial infection and remain positive for many years. Neurosyphilis is diagnosed by finding high numbers of leukocytes (predominately lymphocytes ) and high protein levels in

7650-417: The presence of specific syphilis genes . These tests are not as time-sensitive, as they do not require living bacteria to make the diagnosis. As of 2018 , there is no vaccine effective for prevention. Several vaccines based on treponemal proteins reduce lesion development in an animal model but research continues. Condom use reduces the likelihood of transmission during sex, but does not eliminate

7752-415: The presence of syphilis in past historic periods, definitive findings from paleopathology and aDNA studies are still lacking for the medieval period. Evidence from art is therefore helpful in settling the issue. Research by Marylynn Salmon has demonstrated that deformities in medieval subjects can be identified by comparing them to those of modern victims of syphilis in medical drawings and photographs. One of

7854-747: The primary infection. While secondary disease is known for the many different ways it can manifest, symptoms most commonly involve the skin , mucous membranes , and lymph nodes . There may be a symmetrical, reddish-pink, non-itchy rash on the trunk and extremities, including the palms and soles. The rash may become maculopapular or pustular . It may form flat, broad, whitish, wart-like lesions on mucous membranes, known as condyloma latum . All of these lesions harbor bacteria and are infectious. Other symptoms may include fever , sore throat , malaise , weight loss , hair loss , and headache . Rare manifestations include liver inflammation , kidney disease, joint inflammation , periostitis , inflammation of

7956-536: The retreat from Moscow. After the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau , he left for Italy, where he settled in Milan . In 1830, he was appointed as French consul at Trieste and Civitavecchia. He formed a particular attachment to Italy, where he spent much of the remainder of his career. His novel The Charterhouse of Parma , written in 52 days, is set in Italy, which he considered a more sincere and passionate country than Restoration France. An aside in that novel, referring to

8058-595: The returning army. He crossed the Berezina River by finding a usable ford rather than the overwhelmed pontoon bridge, which probably saved his life and those of his companions. He arrived in Paris in 1813, largely unaware of the general fiasco that the retreat had become. Stendhal became known, during the Russian campaign, for keeping his wits about him, and maintaining his "sang-froid and clear-headedness." He also maintained his daily routine, shaving each day during

8160-453: The risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, "Correct and consistent use of latex condoms can reduce the risk of syphilis only when the infected area or site of potential exposure is protected. However, a syphilis sore outside of the area covered by a latex condom can still allow transmission, so caution should be exercised even when using a condom." Abstinence from intimate physical contact with an infected person

8262-442: The skin, bone, and liver, but can occur anywhere. Cardiovascular syphilis usually occurs 10–30 years after the initial infection. The most common complication is syphilitic aortitis , which may result in aortic aneurysm formation. Neurosyphilis refers to an infection involving the central nervous system . Involvement of the central nervous system in syphilis (either asymptomatic or symptomatic) can occur at any stage of

8364-564: The small number of people who read the title character's obscure and pedantic treatise on monogamy. As a literary critic, such as in Racine and Shakespeare , Stendhal championed the Romantic aesthetic by unfavorably comparing the rules and strictures of Jean Racine 's classicism to the freer verse and settings of Shakespeare, and supporting the writing of plays in prose. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas: "In his novel The Red and

8466-412: The stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent or tertiary. The primary stage classically presents with a single chancre (a firm, painless, non-itchy skin ulceration usually between 1 cm and 2 cm in diameter) though there may be multiple sores. In secondary syphilis, a diffuse rash occurs, which frequently involves the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. There may also be sores in

8568-517: The stages of the disease. Blood tests are divided into nontreponemal and treponemal tests. Nontreponemal tests are used initially and include venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) tests. False positives on the nontreponemal tests can occur with some viral infections, such as varicella (chickenpox) and measles . False positives can also occur with lymphoma , tuberculosis , malaria , endocarditis , connective tissue disease , and pregnancy . Because of

8670-568: The supreme happiness would be to change into a lanky, blonde German and to walk about like that in Paris." Contemporary readers did not fully appreciate Stendhal's realistic style during the Romantic period in which he lived . He was not fully appreciated until the beginning of the 20th century. He dedicated his writing to "the Happy Few" (in English in the original). This can be interpreted as

8772-485: The time) a single, firm, painless, non-itchy skin ulceration with a clean base and sharp borders approximately 0.3–3.0 cm in size. The lesion may take on almost any form. In the classic form, it evolves from a macule to a papule and finally to an erosion or ulcer . Occasionally, multiple lesions may be present (~40%), with multiple lesions being more common when coinfected with HIV. Lesions may be painful or tender (30%), and they may occur in places other than

8874-440: The title of his Latin poem in dactylic hexameter Syphilis sive morbus gallicus ( Syphilis or The French Disease ) describing the ravages of the disease in Italy. In Great Britain it was also called the "Great Pox". In the 16th through 19th centuries, syphilis was one of the largest public health burdens in prevalence , symptoms, and disability, although records of its true prevalence were generally not kept because of

8976-471: The treponemal diseases is pinta , a skin disease and therefore unrecoverable through paleopathology.) Ancient DNA (aDNA) holds the answer, because just as only aDNA suffices to distinguish between syphilis and other diseases that produce similar symptoms in the body, it alone can differentiate spirochetes that are 99.8 percent identical with absolute accuracy. Progress on uncovering the historical extent of syndromes through aDNA remains slow, however, because

9078-881: The various implausibilities of the novels and Stendhal's clear authorial intervention. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche refers to Stendhal as "France's last great psychologist" in Beyond Good and Evil (1886). He also mentions Stendhal in the Twilight of the Idols (1889) during a discussion of Dostoevsky as a psychologist, saying that encountering Dostoevsky was "the most beautiful accident of my life, more so than even my discovery of Stendhal". Ford Madox Ford , in The English Novel , asserts that to Diderot and Stendhal "the Novel owes its next great step forward...At that point it became suddenly evident that

9180-406: The very closely related Treponema carateum , pinta . Unlike subspecies pallidum , they do not cause neurological disease. Humans are the only known natural reservoir for subspecies pallidum . It is unable to survive more than a few days without a host . This is due to its small genome (1.14 Mbp ) failing to encode the metabolic pathways necessary to make most of its macronutrients. It has

9282-504: The voyages of Columbus. There is an outstanding issue, however. Damaged teeth and bones may seem to hold proof of pre-Columbian syphilis, but there is a possibility that they point to an endemic form of treponemal disease instead. As syphilis, bejel, and yaws vary considerably in mortality rates and the level of human disease they elicit, it is important to know which one is under discussion in any given case, but it remains difficult for paleopathologists to distinguish among them. (The fourth of

9384-453: Was The History of Painting (1817). From the publication of Rome, Naples, Florence (September 1817) onwards, he published his works under the pseudonym "M. de Stendhal, officier de cavalerie ". He borrowed this pen name from the German city of Stendal , birthplace of Johann Joachim Winckelmann , an art historian and archaeologist famous at the time. However, it is not clear whether he chose

9486-620: Was an avid fan of music, particularly the works of the composers Domenico Cimarosa , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gioacchino Rossini . He wrote a biography of Rossini, Vie de Rossini (1824), now more valued for its wide-ranging musical criticism than for its historical content. He also idealized aristocracy, noting its antiegalitarianism but appreciating how it is liberal in its love of liberty. In his works, Stendhal reprised excerpts appropriated from Giuseppe Carpani , Théophile Frédéric Winckler , Sismondi and others. Stendhal's brief memoir, Souvenirs d'Égotisme ( Memoirs of an Egotist ),

9588-475: Was confirmed in trials in 1943, at which time it became the main treatment. Many famous historical figures, including Franz Schubert , Arthur Schopenhauer , Édouard Manet , Charles Baudelaire , and Guy de Maupassant are believed to have had the disease. Friedrich Nietzsche was long believed to have gone mad as a result of tertiary syphilis , but that diagnosis has recently come into question. The earliest known depiction of an individual with syphilis

9690-578: Was detailed by Stendhal on the back of a playing card while speaking to Madame Gherardi, during his trip to the Salzburg salt mine. Hippolyte Taine considered the psychological portraits of Stendhal's characters to be "real, because they are complex, many-sided, particular and original, like living human beings." Émile Zola concurred with Taine's assessment of Stendhal's skills as a "psychologist", and although emphatic in his praise of Stendhal's psychological accuracy and rejection of convention, he deplored

9792-507: Was first noted by Ellis Herndon Hudson, a clinician who published extensively about the prevalence of treponematosis, including syphilis, in times past. The importance of bacterial load was first noted by the physician Ernest Grin in 1952 in his study of syphilis in Bosnia. The most compelling evidence for the validity of the pre-Columbian hypothesis is the presence of syphilitic-like damage to bones and teeth in medieval skeletal remains. While

9894-656: Was his younger sister, Pauline, with whom he maintained a steady correspondence throughout the first decade of the 19th century. His family was part of the bourgeois class of the Ancien Regime , which explains his ambiguous attitude toward Napoleon , the Bourbon Restoration , and the monarchy later on. The military and theatrical worlds of the First French Empire were a revelation to Beyle. As an assistant war commissioner, he served in

9996-642: Was named an auditor with the Conseil d'État on 3 August 1810, and thereafter took part in the French administration and in the Napoleonic wars in Italy. He travelled extensively in Germany and was part of Napoleon 's army in the 1812 invasion of Russia. Upon arriving, Stendhal witnessed the burning of Moscow from just outside the city as well as the army's winter retreat. He was appointed Commissioner of War Supplies and sent to Smolensk to prepare provisions for

10098-523: Was published posthumously in 1892. Also published was a more extended autobiographical work, thinly disguised as the Life of Henry Brulard . His other works include short stories, journalism, travel books ( A Roman Journal ), a famous collection of essays on Italian painting, and biographies of several prominent figures of his time, including Napoleon , Haydn , Mozart , Rossini and Metastasio . In Stendhal's 1822 classic On Love he describes or compares

10200-403: Was referred to as "the great imitator" by Sir William Osler due to its varied presentations. Primary syphilis is typically acquired by direct sexual contact with the infectious lesions of another person. Approximately 2–6 weeks after contact (with a range of 10–90 days) a skin lesion, called a chancre , appears at the site and this contains infectious bacteria. This is classically (40% of

10302-402: Was taking iodide of potassium and quicksilver to treat his sexual disease, resulting in swollen armpits, difficulty swallowing, pains in his shrunken testicles, sleeplessness, giddiness, roaring in the ears, racing pulse and "tremors so bad he could scarcely hold a fork or a pen". Modern medicine has shown that his health problems were more attributable to his treatment than to his syphilis. He

10404-449: Was the first modern chemotherapeutic agent . During the 20th century, as both microbiology and pharmacology advanced greatly, syphilis, like many other infectious diseases, became more of a manageable burden than a scary and disfiguring mystery, at least in developed countries among those people who could afford to pay for timely diagnosis and treatment. Penicillin was discovered in 1928, and effectiveness of treatment with penicillin

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