that's a good reply. mozart didn't get to live out a normal adult life. he died young. i forget how old beethoven was - but at least he lived another 20 years, i think. this doesn't equal the playing field. and, in terms of judging by their music - they were both geniuses from the start and so to compare genius with genius is fairly impossible for the average person.
perhaps of more interest to me - is how environment seems to not hinder some genius. for instance, beethoven didn't seem to have any advantages in his youth. and, actually both of them began to work very hard under very bad situations at times. what causes this tremendous quest for musical knowledge and quick understanding of it. it's like they spoke the language as soon as they heard it.