In the West, tuberculosis has even been seen as a stimulant to artistic genius, increasing the tragic coloring of many writers. Keats, Shelley, Thoreau and the Bronte "sisters--all were weak, enervated and racked by fits of coughing.
在西方，結核病更像是「天才的激發劑」，濟慈、雪萊、梭羅，以及簡愛、咆哮山莊的作者勃朗特姊妹，都是纖弱、無生氣，伴隨著陣陣咳嗽是他們的共通特質，也增添了許多藝術家的悲劇色彩。