The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1859-02-25
Patience and Work.

Hundreds have attempted the definition
of genius. When Sir Isaac Newton was
| asked for it, he replied, "Patience and work. v
| The answer WAS emineutly characteristic,
and whether correct or not, it is pregnant
with meaning, and affords large loud for
thought. Sir Isaac would spend whole
months in the examination Of single nu-
merical relation, or the bearings ola an
gle of incidence, and if he was not then per
fectly satisfied, other months were consumed
in the same studies. Then, when he had
| grasped fact after fact in All iron hand, and
on them built up his sublime theory of the
J physical universe.it is no wonder that, with
humility ofintellcct which alike with his
power Of discovery, was the wonder of the
age, he attributed the massive laurels cncir.
eln.. his broad forehead, to "Patence.' -
Dcnosthcnes, whose thun,lerons clouuencc
| shook his native islands, and so long kent
the invader at bay, when wishing 10 make
IA great effort, would retire to some secret
place, with his head shaved, so that dcccncv.
if his love Of glory failed, should prevent his
appearance in public, and there, in bald
headed solitude, the orator forged his rhet-
orlcal thunderholls. and with IA new growth
of locks, his beloved Athens received n new
speech, which, to this day, is the delight of
the scholar and the model of the greatest
declaincrs. The iIus,rious Fox poured over
the mighty Greek for years; 5rougham even
yet, in tie radiant plenttude Of his fame,
makes him close stn'ly. A celebrated
English judge copied the text books of his
profession no less than five tunes. Cuvier,
the Prince Of ofNaturaIsts, spent weeks in the
examination of single bone. What i'm
lncnse IaborA gassiz must have gone through,
What years oftoi were those of HerscheIl
before, as he SO simply and sublimely cx-
pressed it, he could look farther into space,
with It's tremendous systems of suns and
planets, than any other mortal before him {!
Now, granting that Sir Isaac definition Of
genius is not the true one, but that genius
is power of itself entirely Independent of
patience and wolk,it would be ridiculous to
| suppose that the men whom we have men
! toned could have accomplished their i'm
! mortal trumphs without them. How val
liable this fact to the aspiring young !
| We know that bright minded and entbns-
'st'c youth are too apt to suppose that they
can almost entirely depend on the mere in
spirations OF genius. All! you may have
ever SO rich quarry, but without the un-
wearying chisel and mallct, the glorious stat
utes will sleep there forever.
The most beautiful operations Of nature
are the result Of patience. The waters slow
ly deposit their rich aIluvium the fruits are
months in their growth and perfecture.
"Pa,ience and Work." Ye are the Grand.
though often painful powers in the hands of
man which discoses tho secrets of the uni
verse, subdue the wiIiness Of the continent,
adorn the world with the gems Of civilization
draws man from his native savagcry, and
give paper, with its purifying and exalted
mentality, its three hundred and odd thou
sand circulation, anil its million and a half
of readers.-Wew York Ledger.