Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-03-22
INTELLECTUAL WORK.
Pressure as a spur to Activity In Litera
ture, science and Art.

Pressure as a spur to Activity In Liter"-
ture, 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
of giving their whole time to II. lhere
is a certain prior plausibility aoou'
the demand which often persuades an
unthinking mind OF its truth. But as
a matter OF fact it is opposed 10 inc
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 guam
titv. because the pressure OF other oc-
equations is of itself spur to Intel
lectual activity--so much SO that IL
has come to be almost prov
erb that the busiest men nave
always the most time to spare.
And in quality. because removal
from the ''rough-and-tumble' OF the
work-a-day world distorts mans ludg-
meut and narrows his vision-so much
40 that mankind ut large always feels
come deserved contempt for the mere
"srm-chair'. writer. On the other
hand. the history OF literature is full OF
examples which show the bracing ana
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 If he did not write
Shakespeare, wrote quite enough on his
own account) was buster than busting
Lord Halsbury. Cicero was apolitlcal
barrister. Grote was London banker
, Mill, like Charles Lamb, was cl ERIK in
| the East India House, farm oil
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
) their iambics. but even prouder OF
' their generalship. Shakespeare was
stage-manager, and Goethe de.
? heinrath. Even in the domain OF the
: ane arts, it may be doubted whether
the greatest masters have not beer
those who had most else to do besides
painting. Certain it is that Leonardo
thought far more of his skill as {
: civil engineer than of his grace
t as a designer, that 1.-The painter
t Rubens amused himself as Am
bassador," and that the prince of gold
)" smiths, Benvenuto Cellini, spent a
much time in fighting and travelin!
L as in beating gold or molding clay
And to skip now to our own time, VIII
x is the first of living English scientists
u Why, Prof Huxley, who has also bee
one of the busiest of men. Sir job
d Lubbock is another man who has CON
e bined high general culture with orig
n nal scientific research; and he is a pol
T tician with hobbies, and financie
IT with ideas? No better work has bee
| done in the domain of pure literatur
;. during this generation than that whic
a Matthew Arnold did in the intervals {
Or his daily tasks and common rounds {
1T school inspector. His namesake, S
Edwin Arnold, who finds time to go OF
ty into the by-ways of foreign literature
is is working journalist. Mr.. William
to Morris, though in his verse 1.-THE id
m singer of an empty day." is in his Ii
the busy spender of very full days il
bit deed. The omission of the create
le pets OF the day from the list is not s
lis much an exception to the rule as
b. looks. For the spontaneity, which
of the essence Of great poetry, max
the pressure of any other spur unne
e5sary. So again Darwin, who was
man of Independent means, is almo
ly an exception that proves the rule; f
rs his devotion to scientific research W
m altogether exceptional. And as for Il
Ri evil effects of a purely literary avoc
no ton, the open 'secret of Carlyle's lif
nd is that he pinned for political emplo
Is ment. Pail Mall Gazette.
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