The Arizona sentinel., 1888-09-01
DISCIPLINE OF GENIUS.
An Able RefutatIon of a Mischievous an
 Groundless Delusion.

An Able RefutatIon of Mischievous and
 Groundless Delusion.
 It is still the fashion in certain quarters to depreciate collegiate edu
 cation by citing the examples of men who have risen to eminence in various intellectual callings without having been trained in the schools. We are bidden to observe that many Of the worlds greatest orators, poets E-and statesmen, as well as some men whose names stand high on the rolls of art and science, were '.the untaught chil- the inference, expressed or implied, that, after all, elaborate mental train ing is of doubtful value, even if it be not positive hindrance in the strug- gle for success. This kind of talk, at all times sufficiently common, is es- pecially rife each year immediately after the close of the commencement season. The present, therefore, seems to be good opportunity for stating few plain facts in refutation of a mis- chievous and groundless delusion. Of course no one denies that indi- vidual instances of splendid mental achievement by persons not iberally educated may be easily pointed out; but to assume that, as rule, these men were ''untaught'' is to commit an egregious blunder Whenever the vail is lifted and the world gets glimpse of the inner life of one of these diamonds in the rough" it is discovered that the diamond was most assiduously polished. That the polish ing was not done by professional lapidaries in institutions established for the purpose is a fact of minor inn portance. A favorite instance with the decriers of culture is Patrick Henry. But the most recent and au- thentic biography of the famous rev. olutionary orator shows that the pOpu- lar impression about him is all wrong in so far as it conceives MT. Henry to have been an untrained prodigy of genius. In the first place, his school ing was much more and better than tradition has accounted it; and in the second place, instead of leaping at a bound into fame and fortune, he climbed by slow, toilsome steps. In- stead of neglecting the books and trusting to torrents of eloquence for success at the bar, Patrick Henry was, through all his early career, a patient, plodding student, both of law and general literature. A still more familiar instance is that of Rob- ert Burns. Certainly he affords a wonderful example of genius triumph ant over adverse conditions. His schooling was indeed meager. Yet it is doubtful whether any poet was ever trained, even in the technicalities of his art. It is a thousand pities that those who talk so glibly about Burns as poet of nature and nothing else do not read his autobiography. In that too brief story of himself the immortal Scottish bard lets us see the process through which he went in learning to do his work. It was a process exactly the same, Tn all essentials, as that which is repeated year after year by collegians of the present time. In the deplored absence of living teachers, Robert Burns sought instruction from books. He studied words, made lists of rhymes, analysed sentences in prose and verse, diligently gave heed to all the printed directions for the formation of style which came within his reach, observed and investigated, with view to avoiding like errors, specimens of poetry, and unsparingly criticised his own productions in the light Of all the knowledge gained by unwearied efforts.