The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1904-11-09
THE ORIGIN CT GENIUS.
Mystery Surrounding tho Cause of Great
ness IN Men.

Mystery surrounding the Cause of Great
ness IN Men.
The revival of interest I'm Chopin,
10 the appearance OF Il biography and
a discussion of his place among mu-
S,cal composers, has also called alien.
ton TO the fact that there is also 10 .
discoyerablc origin OF his genius. His |
parents, while not OF the lowest peas. |
ant class, were not remarkable people, |
nor did any OF his brothers or sisters |
display any marked characteristics to |
distinguish them from the average bu-
man kind. Chopin, however, from in
fancy, gave evidence of superior mu.
steal development. He speedily dis
tancCd his instructors upon the piano,
wrote such difficult music that he was
compelled TO devise his own method
OF lingering, aud improNised long be-
| fore he knew anything of technical
counterpart and harmony. His genius
was intuitve. No one can tell whence
| il came. All delighted in It's maufasta-
| ton.
What Is true of Chopin Is true of
nearly every other genius the world
has known. A family pursucs its com.
monplacc existence for several genera
tons, and then, without any apparent
reason, a son or daughter, endowed
with faculties quite foreign TO parents
and relatives, mounts to the highest
pedestal of fame. Genius, however,
does not beget genius, ana so, as soon
as nature has rp0rtcd with the one
shining example, the glory dies away,
and once more the dead level OF COM
mon humanity is resumed.
There was not, for instence, n grad
ual ascent to nor an equally even de-
scent from the height which Shakes.
pearc reached. He stands alone, with
nothing before and nothing after.
Neither his father, reputable mrr-
chant in Stratford, nor lis mother, the
daughter OF respectable landholder,
was apparently destined to give to the
world so great son. Waguers father
was the clerk OF a police court, al
though he passlouatcly loved the the.
atre, and his mother possessed no es-
pecial gifts. Bcethovens father was
an ordinary musician and his mother
was the daughter of Il cook. The list
might be indefinitely extended, inciud.
ing great leaders of men like MahOmet
and Napoleon; or poets, from Homer to
Tennyson; or painters, from Raphael
to all the famous artists Of the present
day.
In all OF these men the mystery OF
genius was present. It's presence cS'
cited curiosity, as well as admiration
and yet its cause remained n sealed
book. All that is said and written Il
mere guesswork. No one knows wha
peculiar convolutIon Of the brain, whH
particular activity OF undiscovered
cells, makes the poet, the musician, tn
artist, or the general. We say that ;
man is born poet or born musician
and there we pause. Science bring
: nothing definite TO our aid, and leave
u the curtain darkly down.
While 1t Is true, as Carlyle said, tina
: genius is capacity for taking infnit
pains, II Is also true that no amount o
= labor can supply the missing eiemen
: OF genius. a nan who lacks the vita
spark at his birth might MS well ncccp
! the place which nature has assiGne
4 him. 1t IS not for him to be great
Perhaps the time will come when III
+ researches of the scientists will reveG
to us how gcnirScs are made, dlsCoy
I erinE the conditions which create tn
: wonderful gifts which make tho whol
: world bow in admiration. Until thcr
e however, the mystery Of genius mus
a be Gnornntly worshiped.
c 1t IS even poor consolation 10 agre
: with SChOpenhaucr that there is
u touch Of genius il every man. He al
= CUES that unless this We're the cast
S 1t would be impossible to explain IN
Il love Of humanity for art and must
u and all the concrete manifestations q
n beauty. At the same time this Is mere
: ly the statement of fact, not the DIS
covcry Of cause. With the birth q
g every genius the eternal riddle pr,
e scnts itself unsolved. Some OF thps
l. days when the 'vorld Is not 50 who'll
Il given over TO matcrialism, as II is 4
1t day, some rare, ethereal. spiritual min
&c may grasp the secret. Meanwhile, W
S OF IN" gr)sser Gosh ca simply woldi
Il ard GdCre.-WaShington Pest.