"A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not, but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place."

 

       First of all, could he be foretelling his own breakdown? Perhaps he did stay in the same place for too long. On a more general note, he seems to be saying that gifted individuals like him need the stimulus of new environments to keep them sane. One has to wonder if the man suffered from what we now recognize as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Perhaps ADHD is my problem too, since I love to be on the move and get antsy if something is not happening or we don’t have a trip planned.