Woodville Republican. [volume] (Woodville, Miss.) 1833-1844, 1839-09-07


ius, that
'--as imaginationg bodies forth
The forms Of things unknown the poets pen
Turns them 20 shape. and gives 20 airy nothing
local habitatiOn and name.n
Genius then, .'islhat faculty ofihe mind which
calls forth and combines ideas with great Ia
lpidity and yivacity, and with an intuitiye per-
ceplion Of their congruity or incongruty." -
Il combines the deepest penetration with the
Iiveliest fancy-the greatest quickness with
the most indelatigable diligence and the most
resOute perseverance.
As rare combinations Of the faculties Of the
mind are therefore essential TO genius, there
must be judgment as well as Imagination,
and the mind must be imbued with that per>
severing energy that smiles at impedilnents,
scOrns difficulties, and braves even itnncssi.
bilities. A lively imagination is sometimes
mistaken for genius, but unless il is aided and
governed by judgment, its productions are
those incongruous abortions that Horace has
compared 10 the swain vagaries of sick
mans DREAM" Genius is a precious depos-
tie, and the responsibilities connected with ii
are weighty. IT'S the richest gift ever be-
slowed BY the God Of bessngs-iime and
space cannot limit its influences--its aims
and objects should be truly honorable and no.
bic. fully says ssNihil ulie, quod idem non
sit honestup, nihil honestum quod idem non
sit utile. Et nuIlam pestem majoreml in VII
tam hominun, inVassisse guam eorum opin-
ionem, qui ista distraherenl." Nothing is benz
eficial which is not at the same time honoTa-
bic +; nothing is honorable which is not at the
same time benefcial-and no evil more per-
ncious, has corrupted the life of man, than
the opinion Of those who have separated these.
Genius is a gift that is not TO be cherished
merely for the qualification of IFS possessor /:
he is not to follow every syren call, even tho
il be TO fields of pleasuTe-this were TO bury a
gift, the advantages of which, belonged to
mankind. The bee gathers honey while he
huns his morning song the flowers noulish
the future seed, Willie they smile in beauty,
and dispense a Profusion Of fragrance ;ilv
birds sing not for themselves alone--and there
is a whisper Of benevolence in the breeze,
while the leaves among which it plays, dam
ces with delight. And for man to have soul
filled with beauty, overlooking with fulness,
and yet cherish il only for his own gratifica-
ton, is 10 be unfaithful TO himself, unfaiLhful
TO his fellow men, and unfaithful 10 his ma.
ker. We dOnot by this intend TO say that he
should narrow down his mind to the degrads
ling STANDARD of any sect of utiitaFians, either
in science or literature but some definite OBJ
Jet should be proposed, and this object should
be honorable, noble, and expansive.
! SI Joshua Reynolds once said s'that if GER
tain scctaries were right, God would have
clothed the world in drab,' and there are
i Quakers in morals as well as in dress.
We would like 10 see the men of genius
follow the old maxim of mingling the futile
cum dulce"-let them instruct as we'll as
please-let them purify and elevate as well
as entrance aud subdue.
II The possession of genius must be favorable
to virtue. Genius cannot exist without sen.
sibiIity, while the result of vice, in all its
forms, is 10 blunt and deaden the feelings
The pleasures Of genius are derived from vir-
tuous sources they delight TO gaze upon the
elegant, the graceful, the lovely, the beauti-
full, the wonderful, and the sublime
"They cannot wade through filth that dunesss dares
Their nobler spirits soar above the clod
They must be pure, whielyet their bosom bears
The bright unsullied impress Of their GOdV
: We speak here Of the general principle
and know that the cases OF Byron and Burns
may be brought TO oppose the statement
Burns was the poet Of Mature; he had fol-
lowed her teaching among his own native
hills, and when, at length, he came before
the world, demanding its patronage and fav'
or, his partial success ruined him. He'd h
been entirely disappointed, his own geniul
would have urged him, and enabled him, By
a second effort, TO have taken his stand among
the first of men; as il was, he that nigh
! have been the first Of men, became the best o
'gOod fellows.p No convivial meeting wa
complete without him, and little did his pro
fessed friends think that they were destroying
the flower they pretended to cherish.
The genius of Burns has been compared &
the pearl Of Cleopatra, both in its worth AM
fortune. The one was moulded by nature i
secret, beneath the depths Of the ocean tn
5 other was produced and perfected BY the SAM
hand, in equal Obscurity, on the banks Of 90
3 Ayr;-the former was suddenly brought Gofll
. to light and shone, fOr season, on the fore
: lead Of imperial beauty; the latter, not les
I Unexpectedly, emerged from the shade an
E dazzIed and delighted nation in the keeping
Of Scottish peasant. The fate Of both wa
D the same-each was wanlonly dissolved il
the cup Of pleasure, and quaffed by lis posses
soE in one illenlpefaie drGHgks.
: The chief mistake concerning genius, lie
ii