Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1845-05-09
From the New Yort Organ.
INFLUENCE OF INTEMPERANCE
ON GENIUS.

Wv - ''| ''''' '''' W. ~
toxica,ion is the supposilion that it imparts
inspiration TO the intellect ; that it ponrs ell
oqncnce from the lips of the orator, infnscs
grace into the movements of the actor, and
the pen of the poet with thoughts
that breathe and words that burn We
have seen the wick Of IA lamp raised an inch
by some speculative child, who wondered
that no one else had hit on so obvious a
method Of making its ligh, more brilliant,
and 10! we have seen the light 90 out in a
few minutes with "A poisonous stcnch-and
we have thought of the brilliant inspiration
of intoxicaiion-tie protracied excitement
Of the brain, which burns it rapidly away.
ending in darkness and disgust. We have
gone to listen 10 a celebrated orator we
have heard him speak thick, s,u,,cr, ramble
in his discourse, and at last, in the excess of
his inspiration, he has broken out in "A tor
rent Of ribilI invectiv", accoLrrhuied with
the gcsticulations of a %lnna,ic. Really, we
had no great opinion of the source of his ell
oqnencc.
1t is not twenty years ago tha, a clergy
man, considered one Of the most eloquen, of
any of his professlon-and snch he was so
long as he trusted to the ceHius Heaven had
favored him wiih-liad to I've fOrciblv carried
ont of the pulpit he was disgracing will, his
winp-inspired drivel. We would not give
much to hear ilamlrt's s~oli'o0ny on death,
or any other of the sublime passages of
Shakspcarr, rcciled in a harsh, cracked
voice, with unsteady and unneaning ges-
'i'ae ovnn If as~sns"1tnle acilr had taken
an extra bottle for il@ purpose of perform
ing the part with a degree of Inspiration he
could not find in any nobler source. On the
contrary, we would rather pay considerahl,
to he spared the dire infection.
What made Edmund kean and Georg,
Frederick Cooke at one time the ornaments
of the British stagel The inspiration o
genius. What broke them down, in the ze.
NTH of their fame, drove them from tn,
boards, made them "A disgrace to society, ant
buried them in a dislionored gravel Til,
inspiration of the bottle
And what has that inspiration ever don,
for the poets! Can one incorporate poe
be named who has achieved ANYTHING rom.
mensura,c with his natural abilities How
many can be pointed out gifted BY natur,
with talents, that might have made their wa,
to fortune and power. who drowned thei
glorious gifts in the bowl, and died misrrabl,
and despiscd! Shall we be told Of Byron
His reputation was achieved before he aban.
doned himself to incompetence ; and it wa,
at the poin, that both his literary and person.
al reputation began rapidly to 90 down. Anc
even while we admit the unqnes,ionabl,
power and beauty of Byron's eenins in it,
l.,,-, ., ,,-,os ,,,,.I L..
place among the higher order of poets, fot
he was wanting in moral grandeur. VIVA
is "A poet! One of the greatest of the ae.'
the Goethe tells us, the poet is at once ;
teacher, a prophet, n friend of God and man,
Was Byron anything of tIisl Was he no
rather IA foe to God and man! Is not III,
whole tendency Of his writings 10 make u
discontented with ourselves and our Creator
Does he throw attraction around anything
but vice? Can any one resort To his page
for consolation or hope! Yet how lofty III,
destiny he might have accomplished-how
precious the works he might have bequeaih,
ed--had he employed his genius to elevated
purposes, instead of wasting both his nenta
and physical powers in the senselrss anc
he%ar,less dissipation winch cut him of IN the
flower Of his youth
But let us turn 10 the greatest poet thu
world has ever known, or is ever like tc
know-the Incompatible shakespeare
Look through his writings from beginning t,
end, and you feel an irresistible persuasion
of the contempt with which he looked upor
incompetence and of the d~ignifed sobricty u
his WI habits. In all other dramatic wri'
ters, bacchanalian songs are introduced II
almost every play. tie has only, in the
whole course Of his volumlnous productions
introduced the fragment Of one, and placed
il in the mouth of the vilesl scoundrel he ha.
drawn. Wherever he has designed 10 give
the last finish Of vice or faulty 10 a despica'
bic character, intrmperancc is the finishing
touch. The passages in illustration Of ihi'
point are too numerous, and too well known,
to be quoted. Hear, however, his iesiino.
ny to the effects of mrcmrerance. A man
: almost fourscorc,' is made to say -
"Though | look old, yet am I strong and lus,y,
For in my youth ] never did apply
Hot and rebelious in my Hood;
Nor did not with nbashful forehead WOO
The means Of weakness and debility;
Therefore my are is a lastly winter,
Frosty, but kindly"
How sublime and magnificent was the
genius Of Milton! Where did he look fol
inspiration 7 To heaven alone. 1t is unne'
cessary to speak Of Millions temperate habr'
to which all his biographevs have borne ties,
,imony. VIVA, he though, Of lntemperano'