El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-01
Men Of Genius Often Martyrs
Poverty. Cruelty and Violent Death
Are Portions of Many Of the
Worlds Greatest Men.
By Madison c. Peters.
R1sTIDEs. statesman Of ancient


- Greece, for whose strict integ-
= rity he was surnamed The Just
was exiled and so poor that he was
buried at the public expense; Aristotle,
the most renowned Of the Greek philo-
sophers. had to flee for his life and
swallowed poison; Archimedes. the most
famous ancient mathematician, was
stabbed and Alexander the Great, who
had conquered the then known world.
died Of a broken heart because there
were no more worlds to conquer.
Beethoven produced his greatest
works amidst gloomy sorrow after he
was stricken deaf; BunyOn wrote mis-
Pilgrims Progress" on the UNFINISHED
papers used to cork the bottles Of milk
brought for his meals in prison; Roger
Bacon, one OF the worlds profoundest
natural philosophers, was accused OF
dealing in magic. his works were pub
licly burned and he was kept in prison
for years: John Brown was shot as a
reward for his plot to iberate the
slaves Of Virginia.
Caesar, in the midst Of his vast de-
signs for Rome was cut off by assassi-
nation Cervantes, imprisoned for debt
was so poor that he could not even
get paper and had to finish the writing
Of Don QuiXOte on scraps OF leather
CromwelTs bleached bones were hung
IN chains and buried among thieves
and murderers- the irons bit into the
flesh OF Columbus and neglect wore
into his heart: Cowper was tinged
with madness and hampered BY poverty,
while Cortez, conquerer Of Mexico, was
beheaded.
Dante. who elevated the Italian Ian
Ruage to highest perfection, was ban
ished from Florence; De Foe, author OF
Robinson Crusoe. misunderstood by
both churchmen and dissenters, was i'm
prisOned for expressing his opinion;
Dryden whose genius raised him TO
the highest pitch Of public estimation,
uneQualed as a satirist among Eng
lish poets, lived in poverty and died
in distress, but he is buried in West
minister Abbey
GarabaIdi was compelled 10 flee the
beloved Italy ne helped to free; Cold
smith, always poor. died in misery. but
more truly lamented than any literary
man Of his generation and William
Lloyd Garrison was mObbed IN the
streets Of Boston for preaching freedom
for the slave in his 'Liberator-"
Homer a Blind Beggar.
Homer. the first and greatest Of the
poets. was blind and a beggar; Hanni-
bal took poison to escape falling into
the hands Of his enemies; Henry Of
Navarro. who granted TO the Protest I
ants religious liberty and political Sc
curity by the edict OF Nantes, was as
sassinated and Huss, who prepared /
the way for the reformation OF the 18th !
century, was burned alive
Joan Of Arc, who lost all thoughts OF /
self in devotion TO her mission, after a /
trial disgraced by every form Of shame /
ful brutality, was burned at the stake i
and Johnson. who wrote 'Rasselas," to I
raise money to bury his mother, died /
Of scrofula and in poverty.
Leonidas. the Greek patriot, was j
hanged: Lafayette, in France, was i'm
prisoned and nearly starved; Lee in
vented the spinning jenny TO get bread /
for his children and Lincoln, emancipa-
tor Of a race, was assassinated
Milton Gets $50 for Epic
Milton. who sat in his blindness, re-
ceived $50 for his immortal eplcs MO-
zart. the gifted musical genius died
penniless and sleeps in an unknown
crave Napoleon, who strobe the world ]
like a Colossus, was sent TO st aelena
and Marshall Ney. "braTest OF the
brave =" was shot for alleged treason
Otway. whose tragedy, venice Pre-
served is the best remembered OF the
restoration dramas, died through nun
Philip Of Macedon was assassinated |
by his own body guard; Palsy the pot
ter. had to burn his own house 10 1eed
his furnace: William Penn was i'm
prisoned: Wendell Philips was mobbed
in the streets Of Boston; PizarrO was
murdered and Paul beheaded-
Sir Walter Raleigh. condemned Tor
high treason, without the least eYI-
dence. was beheaded and Nine Roland,
fate
Violent Death Claims Many.
Socrates. educator Of Greece. in its
palmiest days, was made TO drink the
fatal hemlOck; Scipio, one Of the great
est OF the Romans, was strangled N
his bed. Seneca, whose Quotable
maxims immortaliZed his name was
banishedt: Spencer. author Of "Fairie
Queen" died in want and SavOneraiO,
the reformer, was strangled and his
body burned on a heap Of faggots-
Tasso whose Jerusalem Delivered"
made his name immortal was exiled,
imprisoned and died in poverty.
Sir Henry Nane was beheaded be-
cause he was the friend Of liberty; |
William Prince Of Orange, was assas-
sinated and Xerxes was shot in mis-
sleep.
This list Of the martyrdom Of genius
might be multiplied indefinitely. If |
you have become discouraged because
fou have so far failed. then thank God (
and take courage in the fact that you I
have not Jared worse.
Verify. the boosted men today are
hose we roasted yesterday.