San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-12-02

expressions bUplObtu ny Dt l5i aCii ~
his Literary Character" etc. 1t Is not
an eXaggeration, prompted by excess OF
admiration for the character Of literary
men of brilliant genius, nor is it the sllu-
zion OF a teeming fancy, 10 apply the
term "enthusiasm of genius to literary
men whose works bear the stamp OF gem
ius. Genius Ia a strong bent towards
particular pursuit accompanied by
natural aptitude for il that ensures excel
lence In II. AS Bulver expresses 1t, tai
ent does what 1t can; genius does what
il must do" the sOwer reaps and CLEANS
the field with industry-genius IL essen
italy creative and original, though IN
dustrious in collecting its stores. The
man of genius is animated by love OF
fame, and instinct teaches him that dur
able fame Is only to be won by elevation
of character and broad humanity that
embraces the entire human race. The
intellect and the heart must WORK IN
unison, and both must emanclpate
themselves from the benumbing iniiIl-
ences of selfishness and sOrdidness, IN
order to secure lasting fame.
This love of fame generates the ZEN
thusiasm of genius" 1t is but too COM
mon to ridicule enthusiasm OF all SORTS
as mere emotional eXCitability, but such
that state Of mind and feeling that con-
stitute enthusiasm, lose sight Of the fact
that all the triumphs of art, all the con-
quests and discoveries made by science,
and all the glOries OF literature are the
products OF enthusiasm. By the term
enthusi ISM it is not meant mere animal
excitement, or emotional fervOr, which
soon exhaust themselves by their vio-
lence. but that enthusiasm born OF q
thorough conviction that a person has
work to execute and that God has en-
dOwed him with the needful capacity.
There is persistence In the "enthuslasm
of genius" Toll and study are a"labOr
OF love" not irksOme taskwOrK. Com
position is q positive pleasure n well as
a necessity. The enthusiasm OF gen
ius'' means sustained effort and pcrse-
verance, not sudden and spasmOdic
movement to be followed by the reiaXa-
tion of the nerves and sinews OF the
mind and Il state of tOrpidity resembling
that of ALTERNATING animals.
The great painters and sculptors
whose master pieces, after the lapse OF
centuries, still continue to excite our
wonder and admiration, felt In its full
force the enthusiasm OF genius" whilst
they were engaged upon their great
works. in solitude, and perhaps in power
ty, since genius is rarely burthened with
riches. 1t certainly will not be an eXag-
geratiOn to say that the world ia in
debted to the enthusiasm of genius"
for the master pieces in poetry, in liter
AZURE, in music, and in all the depart
ments of art. This enthusiasm has
cheered and sustained poets and artists
amid the deepest gloom of poverty and
the neglect OF the world. when clouds
and darkness seemed to cover them like
a pail. Confident in the atflusnce OF their
resources, and bOuyed up by the "enthu-
siasm of genius" they tOiled on, day
after day, upon the works, which Will
live while time lasts. Milton, when poor
and blind and under the frowns of
power, conceived and executed Para
disc Lost" which DR.. johnson truly
said, was not the greatest poem in the
world only because il was not the first
in point of time. The lustre of Millions
fame is only frightened by the lapse OF
time; but how many of the names of his
contemporaries whose glory consisted
only in their riches have descended to the
present generation? Dives and Lazarus
typify the man of genius and the nan
whose riches constitute his only title to
consideration. Dives has his good
things in this world and is "Of the earth,
earthly" but Lazarus enjoys his good
things in the future. The poet Otway
died of starvation, in the heart of Lon
don, surrounded by fabulous boards of
wealth, but his plays still move and
facnate all that read them, and inspire
all with pity for his cruel fate; but even
the names of the rich men Of his day
and generation" have long since passed
into the night of oblivion. This is only
a just retributiOn. The creations of the
mind are endued with perpetual
bloom and with immOrtality-they alone
shed renOwn and lustre upon nations
and challenge the admiration of unborn
generations, reaching down, like an end
less chain, into the far away future.
When the very names of Vanderbilt and
Gould shall have ceased to be borne in
remembrance, the works of Washington
Irving, Poe, Hawthorne and Long
fellow will be read with delight and
pleasure in every civilized nation upon
the globe, and will gild the United
States with halo of deathless glory.
Such are the glorious and deafness
fruits OF the enthusiasm of genius"
whether in art, poetry or literature. But
the works wrought by the enthusiasm
of genius" become the seed of progress
and improvement, terminating and
fructifying in remote ages with an
amazing fecundity-the influence Of the
mere rich man is the result of sOrdiness
and toadyism, and terminates the mo-
ment that his life becomes extinct and
his heirs begin an unseemly squabble
and scramble over his property in which
he is turned inside out and viewed
through a microscope. Jefferson and
Hamilton sOwed seed, century ago,
that are still doing service as the semi
nal principles of political parties, and
entering into the di cussiOn of almost
every political issue that arises from the
clash of contending opinions; but who
remembers, or cares for the names of
the merely rich men of century ago?
OF course, during their lives, they were
surrounded by swarms of toadies, sycO-
plants, llckspittles, Jacques, whitewash
ers and parasites-the very same scene
is being re-enacted among us in 1856
and it is destined to be repeated by
each succeeding generation; bur these
merely rich men exerted no Influence
upon the ebb and flow of the tide of
opinion-they sowed none of the prec-
ious seed of thought-they neither
fought against error, nor supported the
righr-the accumulation of money was
the only thing for which they lived,
moved and had their being. Intellect
ual triumphs become the heritage Of fu-
ture generations and cover nations with
q no of oil