The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-27
VAGARIES OF FINE WITS.
THE RAGING ooNcErr OF GENIUS.

ton of Attention-Lan Self
Ranking with the Iron Duke--The
Sublime Assurance of DisraeIi.
The Egofism of JOwett-Nietsxche's
Modest Opinion of His "Zarathus-
ira"
From the London Standard.
If it is love that makes the world
go round, it is self-love that keeps it
from tumbling to pieces. Conceit is the
glue which amalgamates mankind into
society, and vanity the varnish which
preserves man from being saturated by
despair, as the ducks feathers throw
off water. From self-esteem springs the
desire to rise; many a man would not
strive to excel did he not believe that
he could perform his particular duty
better than anybody else. Yet the
greatest men are generally supposed
to be diffident of their own powers, and
genius to be the companion of humili-
ty. Biographers have ever delighted in
recounting the simplicity and self-de-
probation of their heroes.
But genius is, as a rule, not combined
with such qualities; the dominance of
the ego is the very spirit of genius.
Genius is not the infinite capacity for
taking pains, but a profound self-re-
liance--a sort of mere esotric self
containment. 1t is a sublime confidence
of power of self which has raised many
q man to greatness. Nor have heroes
been shy in declaring their pretensions,
though the very vastness of them has
produced bashfulness in some. Homer
probably knew he was singing for all
time, and Shakspere must have realized
his Immortality.
Not Seven-NOr Three-but One.
OF poets pride there is an amusing
story about Wordsworth. He, Southey,
and Coleridge were one morning ram
bling around Rydal Mount, when the
glorious weather prompted Coleridge to
exclaim that the day might have been
ordered for the three poets. Three
poets" muttered Wordsworth; "who
are the other two?"
Tennyson'S shynesss was merely the
cloak of his sensitive vanity. He raved
at the impertinent curiosity of tour
lists, but hated public disregard even
more. His cloak streaming behind him
and his wide-awake hat were a kind
of advertisement. but he would not
part with them. GO away, you rude
boy, what are you staring at?" angrily
demanded Tennyson of small boy
who persistently followed him on one
of his walks about fastener. Don't
you want to be stared at? What for
do you wear those things, then?" asked
the lad in all innocense, and it is on re-
cord that the poet blushed. Once after
furiously denouncing the passion for
autographs and anecdotes and records
of great men as the source of every
crime and vice in the world, he plain
lively said that the post for two days
had brought him no letters, and that
he thought there was a sort of syncope
in the world as to him and his fame,
In all seriousness Walter Savage
Lander asked Miss Martineau if she
did not think that he and the Duke of
Wellington We're the first two men In
| the world.
Seventy years ago Jewish stripping,
in the most affected of attire, went to
| hear a debate in the House of Com
| mons. To his sister he wrote Heard
Macaulay's best speech, She'll, and
| Charles Grant. Macaulay admirable
but between ourselves 1 could floor
them ALL That this assurance was not
mere braggadocio Disraeli's career
proved; but the sublimity of it, When
I
| teresting book to her, Disraeli charm
| ingly answered, when want to read
| a good book, l write one" So, too
| William Corbett, when | am asked
what book young man or woman
ought to read, 1 always answers. Let
him or her read all the books / have
| written &"
The Splendid Audacity of MacauIay
| Different only in kind from the bIus-
| tering egotism OF DR.. Johnson and the
sensitive vanity of Goldsmith WAS the
cool self-confidence of Macaulay. The
| splendid aUiacity nf the opening SEN
| tence of his History" takes away the
breath. II purpose tc write the History
Of England from the accession of King
James the Second donw to time with
in the memory of men still living. |
| shall recount"-this, that, and the
other. to the extent of half a page of
intentions. All this before writing a
word of the actual history. Scarcely a
fifth of his audaciously announced task
| did Macaulay accomplish. His vast
stores of knowledge made him a trifie
more magisterial in tone than Whe-
| WELL
1t was into Jowett's mouth that an
undergraduate put the couplet--
81 am the Master of this College:
What / don know is no knowledge
To the same famous Head was attri-
buted the dictum: 81 am Master OF
Balliol College; Balliol is the first Col
lege in Oxford; oxford is the first city
in England: England is the first
country in the world"
Delightfully."- frank is Bjornstjerne
| Bjornson's. the Swedish poet and
dramatist. opinion of himself. During
his recent stay in Paris he declared,
There are two men in Europe who
possess genius. myself and Ibsen-ad-
hitting that Ibsen has it." Ibsen him
self has no doubt on the matter. Every
afternoon he sits for couple OF hours
in cafe in Christiania to be seen and
admired of the people. From time to
time the famous Scandinavian buries
his face in his hat. This proceeding is
not due to a sudden inspiration; in
the great dramatist's hat is fixed a
small mirror. and it is into this he
peers, constantly. arranging his hair
With a pocket comb Such, at least, is
the story told by his admirers. There
are other living men of letters, be-
longing to our own country, of whom
the most childish vanity is recorded.
But nobody thinks the worse of them
for failing that seems to bring them
nearer to the common level Of every
day humanity.
Cfrcumventing "a Diya's Vanity.
Concerning the vanity of genius, a
pretty story is told of a famous diva.
On the even OF an engagement at
Bucharest. the prima donna declared
she would not go; there was snow
everywhere, and ii was too cold for the
Journey. Every seat had been booked
for the concert; but the representa-