The times., 1901-04-19
The Temperament of Genius.

4
There used to be a notion, prevalent
among the respectable classes of socie-
] ty-the people who read and listened
but did not produce-that genius was
necessarily accompanied with laxity OF
morals. 1t is beginning to be dimly
! realized that this notion is false.
There is no doubt, Of course, that
many men Of genius have been law
unto themselves, and disregarded, with
a happy waywardness or diabolic
| recklessness. as the case might be, all
obligations obeyed by ordinary NOR
tals-who loved hated, stole, drank
gambled, or murdered, as it happened
to suit their fancy to do; but the genius
of today is not likely to be of that sort
| The wild and reckless person nowadays
is apt to be the man who thinks he is
genius, which is quite different from
being one, and takes much less time.
What is the reason of the change. If
there has been one? Or was il always
thus? Let us consider.
In the first place, the man of prom
inence is watched and observed. and
while he may be no worse than other
men of his time and place, all his pecca-
dillos are recorded and reported. which
is not the case with the ordinary man.
Moreover, il is no doubt true that great
talent brings with ii certain tempta-
uons. The man whose abilities are un-
common is likely to be especially sensi-
tive to all the pleasures of the world
and if his will is not as strong as his
inclination, evil results may follow. The
problem in his case is, however. much
the same as that in the case of the or
binary man. In both. 1t is a question
whether love of work and of high ideals
will be strong enough to counterbalanee
the love of pleasure. If the man of
genius loves amusement intensely, he
is also possessed by a passion for crea-
ton: and in some arts, at least the
creative genius cannot reach its fulfill
ment without an amount of toll and
steady, persistent drudgery which pre-
cludes the possibility of much harmful
indulgence
The creative genius in these days is,
as rule, hard worker. The time has
gone by when he can afford to be any,
thing else, if he ever could. A mans
fame now does not rest on one poem or
one painting, but on the general excel
lence of his work. His rewards come
sooner, and his work is more regularly
rewarded than it used to be. The poet
is not compelled to depend on the favor
OF some monarch, the artist need not
court and f1atter a Medici to gain rec
ognition or keep his fame. His fame
depends on the people, and SO long as
be does good work, and keeps on doing
It, he is. sure of living If his great
ness is shown in one book, picture or
song, and he never writes anything else.
but spends the proceeds of that one
success in riotous living, he is pretty
certain not to be a genius. There is
nothing like hard work to counteract
and there are many men of
brilliant gifts and high standing in the |
literary, dramatic, or artistic |
world Who work far more steadily. deDy |
themselves more consistently and are
better men in every way than the vain !
Doseur of dilettante who thinks he |
proves his talent by alternating fitfuI |
interval of feverish activity with a long |
'eriod of idleness and carousaI. The
irtist has generally to make his own
abits, which sometimes seem irregular
o the outsider, but he works hard, and |
e does not waste vitality