The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1865-12-14
GENIUS Ann INpraTRr.

ing TO support the theory that all men
have an equal aptitude Tor genius, q.
mongst whom wo may name Locke
Helvetlg' and Diderot They maintain
ed that what some are ablc TO effect
under the influence Of fundamental
laws, which regulate intellect, may bo
reached by others, who, in the same
circumstance, apply themselves 10
like pursuits. Button said Of genius,
1T is patience" John Foster held It
10 be the power Of lighting ones
own FIRE. 1t has received many def.
nitions, Iaconic and otherwise; but it is
apparent that the greatest men-those
TO whom tho world bas been most viii.
ling TO accord the honors of extraor-
dinary geDius-have believed little in
its power. and have achieved those
great results by which their fame has
been acquired through years ofpatient
and earnest toll. The men whom wo
cell gcniuses have been indefatigablo
workers. Ncwton's mind was unques-
tionabiy one Of the highest order, and
yet, when asked by what means he
had worked out his extraordinary dis
coyeries, lie answered, "by always
thinking about them 's
There is no royal road to learning.
The brain full Of knowledge, whose &C.
liyity sends CLEANS Of light over our
pathway has been acquired by hard
and constant study. Every book and
newspaper which the careful or care
less reader picks up is filed with tho
results Of laborious investigation
Take the single issue Of daily paper,
and see in It's selections Of news, in its
editorial leaders, lis financial articles,
lis book reviews, its mere drudgery Of
daily fact, quips aud qualities, its phi.
losopby and fun, how much care and
labor must be bestowed to furnish it
al with the regularity Of onos morn
ing meal. Ii makes no pretention. 1t
Is furnished 70 every man for frac-
tion Of what his ice or any one Of the
simple luxuriys Of bis household costs
him, aud Jet it is teeniDg with
thoughts which are constantly infu-
cucing his actions, and forming the
opinion Of bis children to govern their
;4i.er lives. Into the columns os the
1aily press come the matured opinions
the greatest thinkers and statesman Of
Tie Old World ard the New.
The press furnishes the means where.
by many of the foremost men in En-.
rope and America live. 1t is the We
hicie of communicating to the public
the results Of their learning End their
thoughts.
Nothing is more unfortunate to
young persons than to mistake an ap-
titude for rhyme as genius. There is
a sort of ceverness which enables
some people, with little labor, to ac-
quire smattering Of whatever is be-
ing studied around them. The pos
session Of this clevcrness is often their
bane. If it should fasten upon them
the character Of genius, they are sure
to collapse into failures. 1t is part Of
faith in genius that work is degrading.
Henceforth they are to live in nubibas
to feed upon their own stock ofexal-
ted thoughts-to read nothing new,
and, as q consequence, forget what
they have already acquired. For y
while they play off their afectations
of knowledge in the little circle Of
admirers which surrounds them in So
ciai life, but a little attrition of the
practical world soon brings them down
from the ''hifalutin" 10 hard facts.
1t is impossible tor an idle man to
keep together his certain stock Of
knowledge. Every day destroys tho
remembrance OF fact, relation or
on inference. He must. by constant
study, add TO his pile, or it will melt
away like ice before the meridian
sun. .-. ..... t.sI
The greatest poets, orators, states.
men, historians and editprs-men Of
the most brilliant and IMPOSING tai
ents have found it necessary to labor
as hard as the copyist ofa catalogue or
the maker of dictionary, The rca-
son for the acknowledged superiority
of some men is that they have taken
more pains than other men. Gibbon
was in his study every morning, win
ter ard summer, at o'clock. Burke
was the most laborious and indefatig-
able Of human beings; biebnitz was
never ont OF his library; Pasca! killed
himself by study; Cicero narrowly es.
capped death BY the same causei Mil.
ton was at his books with as much
regularity as a merchant or attorney
Tie greatest mind that ever lived cam
not exist upon IFS own thoughts. He
who does not study that which other
minds have produced will soon ex-
haust his own and be reduced TO mere
barrcnness. Hard labor is The only
method whereby men may attain that
excellence which is worthy of tho
worlds gratitude. We know that
hard study will not suffice to bestow
genius upon men of ordinary mould,
such as was possessed by Shakespeare .,
cr Michael Angelo. There was in
them a combination oflarge brain and
delicate fibre. the bestowment ofProv. :
idence. Such organizations cannot
fail to excel through industry; but
they were happily SO constituted.as
not only to possess the faculty of ex-
ccllonce, but the industry to develop
it.
Whilc it is true that no man can
hope to appropriate 10 himself the tenn
pic Of tamo which by the common vir-
dict of mankind is appropriated to
the Bard of Avon, yet it is gratifying
TO know that the men whose names