Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-01-05
CossrNIcATfb.
SUccess.-BY J. y. JOHNSON.

SUccess.-BY j. y. JOHNSON.
Patience, industry, and integrity. ar b..
passwords to prosperity and if an indi,ii
ual will adhere to them, they will soon l,a.a
him to that structure, within whose wall. ..
will meet, at every step, independence lIf
| ease
Nothing desirable is gained save hy %.
tient labor; and, notwithstanding. the wyr,
looks upon the extraordinary achicycmra,
rent inclination for particular specie, &,
mental employment, we find upon examina.
ton, that that which is attributed To GrNlrs
is nothing more than the result Of diligen.
application of the natural powers of III.
mind to a single object, with fixed determ
nation to excel. There are, unquestionahly
differences of mental capacity; and although
each individual has mind peculiarly h..
own, nature has left it to man so to regula'a
his acts, rs to invigorate or eneryate both hi,
mind and body. The timid are apt to say.
1T is useless for me to aspire TO anything
great: have no genius for such Il calling
If such will but cultivate the energies o.
their minds, and each one give his attentyr
to particular branch of art or science. the.
will soon detect that that genius which thrs
regard rs Il special endowment is nOthin,
more than another term for Industry.
A. performs most sweetly on the plan,
forte. He is far superior to all his cotcmpo.
raries, and the world recognises him a, Ii.
greatest pianist living. Did nature antic
pate his calling, and give him Il gen6, s-
performing on the piano forte? Certainly
not; for pianos are of human invention. an.
an individual is not born to things tacttiul,
but to things natural, and only become "a.
miliar with the artificial by association ami
education. The same party Of reasoning
will apply to all those mental excellence,
which are proclaimed as aptitudcs, and view.
ed a. the unmistakable children of genius.
If Genius does exist, it must be a part d.
mans instinct, and he is necessarily force.
to take to particular calling, as fish take,
to swimming, or bird to flying; and there.
FORE one man is predestined to be better
shoemaker, one better tailor, than another
If shoemaker or a tailor excels his contem
poraries in his calling, as much rs II di>tr.
guished orator does his, he is equally entitled
to the claim of Genius, and the one deserve.
as much credit for natural superiority as ,i,
other; for the orator would display quite q,
much awkwardncss in making a shoe or Q
coat az the shoemaker or tailor would IN max
ing a display in oratory.
Sometimes variety Of excellencies ar
found in the same mind, and those person,
who are recognized as the possessors of e.
MUS, are the first to deny its existence for
they well know that everything is IA trad"
and that nature could not III anywisc hay
created an aptitude for advancement III thosa
avocations which the mind itself has devised
\ well balanced mind, Il good constitution
and an unfinching will, are the requisites q.
what is called genius; and an individual wh1
possesses these qualities can ascend from the
most humble condition of life To the highr.'
in the history of man; for these are Unequal.
ticatiOns which surround mans name wit
a nimbus that makes him respected and pre-
ferred while living and causes the bloom 90,
Immortality 10 be shed on his virtues when
dead.
IiuTt VIC Nilt WI
and the elementary principles of given pur
suit must be rigidly acquired before the doc
to cardinal achievements will be opened
Some, like the famed gourd, have arisen o.
greatness apparently in a day but they ar
very rare; for the longest lifetime, most eco.
nomically spent, is too frequently necessary
to the realization of full success. An indiyii
ual, too, must have fair surroundings Forwr
would not esteem that man skilful angler
who would fish in some petty mountain stream
for shad nor would we reckon man very
wise botanist, who would seek the Sahara
desert to study his calling; but would natu
rally expect the former to seek deep water
and the latter TO select those locations wherr
flowers grow most luxurantly.
Let no young man say, 81 cannot" H..
him study the biography Of those men who's
names are held in sacred remembrance by
the world, and learn lessons of wisdom an
patient endurance. Let him seek suitabi,
theatre. and press steadily onward in III
paths Of virtue and usefulness. and Succr,,
will soon lend its smiles: for it is the will
the godlike, indomitablc will-which accom-
plishes wonders. and surmounts obstacL.-
whose proportions seem too enormous for thr
energies of man to overcome.
Alexandria, Jan. Sd. 1859.