Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-03-25
STUPID GENIUSES.
The Unaccountable Freaks They
Have Committed.

Sir Isaac Newton constructed a house
for his cats. For the convenience of
the cat he cut a large hole for en-
trance, for the equal convenience of the
kitten he cut smaller one, and it was
not until his attention was called to it
that he realized the fact which one
would suppose might be self-evident to
the feeblest understanding, that the
large hole would have served for both.
The author of the ''Principia," one of
the grandest works of the human in
tellect, failed to perceive that kitten
could go through hole made for a
cat.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan hired
suburban villa, and two days later re-
ceived visit from a friend, who was
told to climb the fence in order to enter
the house. 'sBut why not open the
gate?" the friend inquired. Because
l can't unite the string" ''Why don't
you cut 1t then?' Sheridan looked at
him in amazement, drew his knife, cut
the rope, walked through the gate, and
turning around kicked it off the hinges.
eff you love me, please kick me in
the same fashion," he remarked to his
friend. The most brilliant wit of his
time, the dramatist who could unravel
the most intricate complications in
stage situations. had climbed fence
for two days for lack of the stroke of
penknife.
A few years ago one of our famous
found ,1aoI nnInr nj
stances which gave rise to suspicion of
suicide. One of his acquaintance re-
marked: He was certainly crazy.
One evening l called upon him and
found him trying to write letter.
! could hardly see my way across
the room. He complained that his
eyesight must be failing, as it
was hard for him to follow the lines
upon the paper. In surprise l turned
up the gas. His look of establishment
as he glanced at the light, at me, at the
letter, at the light again. was some
thing impossible to describe. OF course
he was crazy. If he hadn't been he
would have turned up the gas him.
self"
So easily do we reach our conclu-
sions; so easily do we take things for
granted. Yet Sir Isaac Newton was
never supposed to be ''out of his mind"
and Sheridan was never suspected of
being lunatic. The gas jet simply
served to throw more light on the
stupidity of sensible man, instead of
proving by its feeble glimmer the cor
responding feebleness of his intellect.
Nothing is more constantly and COM
pletely surprising than these apparent
lapses of intelligence in persons whose
intellect is acknowledged to be superior
to the average. From fool we expect
foolishness. and seldom have We reason
to complain of disappointment. From
the wise we expect wisdom. though we
sometimes fail to find it. 1t is said that
it is only the fool who learns no wis
dom from experience, but the foolish
ness of sensible people is generally of a
kind which experience can in no way
modify. 1t is occasional, variable, un-
expected, of a peculiar quality, admits
no argument from precedent. gives no
basis for calculation Probably by con-
trast and incongruity its effect is
heightened and it seems more sense
less than ordinary dullness. because it
is inevitably compared with the usual
mental brilliancy.
Welcarn from the entertaining Let
tiers of GuStave Flaubert" that he had pre-
pared dictionary of 1.-The stupid say
ings of great men," and the volume is
unique and amusing one. 1t was the
illustrious Napoleon LII. who made the
profound observation: The wealth of
4 country depends upon its general
prosperity The famous Havin wrote,
as if giving utterance to most valuable
philosophical statement: las soon as a
Frenchman passes the frontier, he finds
himself on forei On soil.
Emerson saws: Men who have COM
manded great armies and taken great
armies and taken great cities. who have
made laws tor an empire. or proclaimed
the greatest discoveries in science. have
sometimes shown the utmost idiocy in
connection with the commonest affairs
OF life
Some of the greatest financiers are the
first to involve themselves in financial
embarrasSments. Their familiarity with
the fluctuations of the money market,
and 4 long career of success. has made
them careless of risks and consequences.
The world looks on Open-eyed at the
colossal schemes carried on BY the brains
and capital of these men. and stares
opcn-mouthcd at the inch-long letters
In the daily papers announcing their
commercial crash. 1t is, in fact, only
the great kings of finance who have