Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1889-03-23
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INTELLECTUAL WORK,
Pres sure ma spur to Activity In Litera
ture, science and Art.

tur~, science and Art.
II you want good work done In
science. or art, or literature, you must
endow people. it is said, with the means
o. giving their whole time to it. There
is certain priori plausibility abou.
the demand which often persuades an
unthinking mind OF its truth. But as
matter Of fact It is opposed to the
lessons OF experience, and even to the
laws OF human nature. Indeed, the
Endowment OF Research" would, we
verify believe. be the best possible way
to insure the worst possible results, |
both in quantity and quality. In qnac-
tity, because the pressure Of other oc- |
cupations is Of itself spur to intel |
| lectual activity-so much 80 that 1t
has come 10 be almost prov
erb that the busiest men have
always the most time 10 spare.
And in quality. because removal
from the 'rough-and-tumble" OF the
work-a-day world distorts mans judg-
ment and narrows his vision-so much
SO that mankind ut large always feels
some deserved contempt for the mere
armchair" writer. On the other
hand. the history OF literature is full OF
examples which show the bracing and
the broadening effects OF their other
work upon authors who have been
busy men. Aristotle and Plato did not
clamor, like our modern university
dons. TO be relieved OF the .'drudgery"
Of teaching; but rather found, like so
lany OF the great German professors,
their best stimulus in their disciples.
Bacon (who, even il he did not write
, Shakespeare, wrote quite enough on his
own account) was buster than bustling
Lord Halsbury. Cicero was political
barrister. Grote was London banker
: Mill, like Charles Lamb was cl erik In
the East India House-a farm oi
y slavery" in no way inconsistent either
with the depths of philosophy or the
! sparkle OF bellies letters. The Greek
tragedians were proud. no doubt, OF
j their iambics. but even prouder OF
A their generalship. Shakespeare was
/ n stagc-manager, and Goethe Ge-
q heimrdth. Even in the domain of the
q fine arts, it may be doubted whether
A the greatest masters have not been
o those who had most else to do besides
:. painting. Certain 1t is that Leonardo
Y thought far more OF his skill as Q
x civil engineer than OF his grace
r as a designer. that "the painter
v Rubens amused himself as Am
y bassador," and that the prince OF gold
. smiths. Benvenuto Cellini, spent II.
X much time in fighting and travelling
g as in beating gold or molding clay
q And TO skip now to our own time, VIII,
, is the first of living English scientists
/ Why, Prof Huxley. who has also beef
= one Of the busiest OF men. Sir .Johl
10 Lubbock is another man who has com
9. bined high general culture with origi
- nal scientific research; and he Is poll
e tician with hobbies. and financie
with ideasp No better work has bee
l. done in the domain OF pure Literature
o during this generation than that whicl
. Matthew Arnold did In the intervals o
Is his daily tasks and common rounds u
:, Il school inspector His namesake, 81
Is Edwin Arnold. who find, time to go on
le into tho by-ways OF foreign literature
K is working journalist. Mr.. Williar
"a Morris, though In his verse .the idl
nt singer OF an empty day." is in his lii
g; the busy spender OF very full days ir
Dr deed. The omission OF the creates
re pets of the day from the list is not S
he much an exception to the rule as
In looks. For the spontaneity, which
J. of the essence OF great poetry, make Z
lie the pressure OF any other spur unnet
,e essary. So again Darwin, who was
IN man of independent means, Is almos
ly an exception that proves the rule; fo
In his devotion to scientific research wa
$. altogether exceptional. And as for til
le evil effects OF purely literary avoct
re ton, the open ''secret OF Carlyle's life
ct is that he pined for political employ
IS ment Pail Mall Gazette.