Evening star., 1932-03-26
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G. BOEERu4N


and of children's Summer camp. author
and editor, has chosen for his most
recent book, just published, title which
is subtly flattering to every reader. dis
covering the Genius Within You" He
says: Every man has the CAPACITY tn
excel along some line" and the power
of creativeness is open to every one. "
His first chapter is called The Uni
versatility of Genius" and makes one
who has never considered himself a
genius wonder wherein he himself or
his environment has failed in his de-
velopment. But other chapter head
mgs perhaps furnish a clue: The Need
OF Solitude and Meditation" Genius
Is Childlike," The Victorious Attitude. !"
Bovine Souls Lotus Island" Mr..
Cobb has no illusion that all people
possess the sort of genius which pro-
ouceS great poem, statue, painting or
symphony. He admits that the ma
IoTity OF people are Of only average
ability and belong to the great median
group, out ne contends that they need
not therefore be mediocre. Mediocrity
comes from choice, either Conscious or
unconscious. ITO be mediocre is merely
to fail to express the uniqueness Of the
self within u.s."
The development of genius. according
to Mr.. Cobb, requires intelIigentIv di-
fected effort. There must. first Of all
be work for self-chosen goals. not goals
imposed by others. This is the IDEAL
Unfortunately, in this highly competi-
tive world, many a potential genius
must earn the right to keen on living
by methods entirely distasteful tn him
Wherever an individual finds that his
working day is mere grind. it is more
than ever important that he should ex-
press his creative interests in his snare
time This is where adult education
comes In. The man who would be a
genius must work or play with concen-
tIatlon. lime is never long enough for
MIN, he aSplres to work actively until
extreme old age. and, with luck in the
matter OF health, he does 50 Edison
and Charles w. Eliot are given AS ex-
amples. The absent -mindedness of men
OF genius is often only a form of con-
centration. When AuglIste Connte re-
ma1ned In unbroken meditation for 8O
nours ne forgot number of meals as
well as other everyday affairs: and the
example OF Newton boiling his watch
while he carefully consulted an egg held
in his hand, whether true or not is
familiar to every one. The power of
enthusiasm Is an accompaniment of
genius. The destructive critic the
blaSe, or miSanthropic person NAV
sometimes have not entirely unwhole-
some influence. but he will not be a
creator. Interest, zest, enthusiasm
these are the hallmarks of genius. -
There must also be a favorable atmos-
phere for the development of genius.
an environment which will permit soli-
tude and mediation. Perhaps it some
times takes kind of genius to create
for ones self desired atmosphere. to
eVade hostile one. In minor WAYS
genius often creates a special environ
ment when especially needed. Ana
tole France was always Changing the
decorations of his home, building up an
atmosphere expressive of the period
which was engaging his thoughts. When
ne wrote 'ThaiS' he surrounded himself
with the art of ancient Greece-pieces
OF sculpture and fragments of columns
which he had managed to acquire. For
LIE Lys Rouge he submerged himself
IN the works of Italian art" Spon-
tanefty, constant self Improvement
world vision and idealiSm and a VIC
tor1ous attitude toward life are all es-
sentials for genius.
X x
Mr.. Cobb treats the relation of money
to achievement in life in the chapte-
The Midas Touch" and takes as a tex.
the maxim of Bacon, No mans fortune
can be an end worthy of his being. "
The chapter The New Education" o.
Iers the authors most definite prescrip-
ton for the production of genius-that
children should be educated to be Gre
atlye, not merely receptive. THE new
movement in education. sometimes
called progressive education, has for
Its aim the all-round development of
the child-on the physical, mental, emo
tlonal and social planes. 1t sees the
child as essentially a creative being,
with innate powers seeking expression.
ItS chief aim Is to aid those powers
rather than to follow a nard-and- fast
curriculum which imposes itself from
without on the child. It's slogan is:
Release the creative energies of the
child"
Fanny Kemble, born into a family
whose associations were all with the
theater, would have found it hard not
TO be an actress. Her father, Charles
kemble, was an actor; her uncle, John
Phl1p Kemble, was an actor and part
owner of the Covent Garden Theater.
her aunt was Mrs. Siddons. When
Fanny was 20, she made her first an
pearance on the stage, though she had
no particular taste for acting and was
impelled by financial difficulties in her
family. She played as Juliet and her
mother acted as Lady Capulet. This
was in 1929. In 1882 she went with her
father to New York. where she won a
triumph as actress but found misfortune
as woman She married an American
Pierce Butler Of Georgia, and her mar
riage proved most unhappy, so that in
1847 she left her husband and re-
turned to England. Divorce followed
She lived to be 81 and had a full life
apart from her stage career. with her
Shakespeare readings, her writing
travel and close association with such
friends at Thackeray, Tennyson. Har-
riet Martineau and Longfellow. The
biography, Fanny KembIe," by Doro-
THE Bobbe, is written in the vivacious
style which made Abigail Adams" and
Mr.. and Mrs. John Quincy Adams. by
the same author, so popular.
The lingering of primitive form OF
life IN the mountains of Tennessee anf
North Carolina has often been madf
subject of comment, both in history
and in fiction. A similar survival in
another section of the United States
is described in The Ozarks: An Amer
lean Survival of Primitive Society,"" by
Vance Randolph. The Ozarks extend
from southern Missouri into Oklahoma
and Arkansas and at no place attain
a great altitude. Yet they are wild
and rugged and shelter in their iso-
lated places people who preserve
many prlmitice folkways. The women
use. the spinning wheel and handloom
and cook over open fireplaces. They
also milk the COWS and carry the wood
and water and work in the fields. The
men and boys eat first at meal times
ana the women and girls eat what is
left Obedience on the part of a wife
is still included in the marriage cere-
mony-and in actual practice. Wed
ding frolics" and "infares." camp
meetings, branch water revivals." love
potions and charms. shooting matches