Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

And whoever will examine the Iliad, from the first to the last line of it, will find every sentiment, simile, description, and allusion, either actually to express objects of sense, or to be resolvable into them.

One question may still be asked, by the advocates of Genius. Why two individuals, similarly organized, (admitting such a supposition,) should not proceed alike in the acquisition of knowledge, and the display of Genius? One answer has already been given, in a former part of this Essay; the unequal use, or exercise of those equal powers. And if the question be pressed still further, why that use, or exercise is unequal? I scruple not to affirm, that some accident, some casualty, unnoticed when it occurred, and discovered in its consequence only, is the efficient cause of this difference. "I too am a Painter," was the sudden burst of exclamation, by an humble artist, when he first beheld a finely executed drawing: and but for this circumstance, his emulation might never have been excited, and those equal powers, which afterwards displayed such consummate excellence, might have perished in mediocrity. Even the tale of Cimon and Iphigenia, whether fictitious or real, serves to illustrate this truth. Passion there, accidentally created, gave birth to poetry; which Formey, in his Belles Letters, very expressively, calls "the language of passion." The father of Crotch

.

was a musician; and the exquisitely organized structure of the infant's ear, received, from the performances of the parent, an impression proportioned to that perfection. Had he been born of other parents, he might have resembled "the mute inglorious Milton" of Gray.

There is another peculiarity of some minds, respecting which we hear frequent mention, by those who complain of the want of Genius, viz. want of memory. By what system it was that Pascal remembered every thing he heard, read, or saw, I know not. Neither can I help dissenting from the opinion of the Poet, who declares, that where

"Memory prevails,

The solid power of understanding fails;"

although Lord Kaines, in his Elements of Criticism, has the same thought expressed in prose; for without memory there would be no materials in the mind, upon which the judgment could be exercised though mere memory, like mere observation, may, doubtless, coexist with great ignorance. But, as I promised to say something upon this subject, in the earlier part of this Essay, I will here briefly redeem that pledge.

What we see with our natural eye, we commonly remember with great fidelity. The dullest boy taken to a "show," will carry away with him, and retain long, much of what he has seen. This

is the great secret of memory. We must see every truth, as the boy sees the show; as Hamlet saw his father; "in his mind's eye." He who reads and hears, and SEES what he reads and hears, will remember with a tenacity hardly credible. It will be found the best system of mnemonics. Still I beg to reiterate the remark, that here, as well as in conception, judgment, imagination, &c. sense, sense is every thing.

As some readers, perhaps, may be led to conclude, that the distinction between Genius, as a property of the mind; and Genius, as dependent upon a perfect physical organization, is rather verbal than real; I will endeavour, very briefly, to correct that error, by showing the important practical difference between them.

A boy, thought to be devoid of Genius, is now considered as placed almost beyond hope. He is said to have no talent, no capacity; because he learns slowly, and reluctantly, reasons inconclusively, and carries, in his looks and manners, the appearances of deficient intellect. On this account, even his companions treat him with contempt: and, as Genius is thought to be the gift of nature, and this gift she has withheld from him, he is, in one sense, abandoned to ignorance, as if born to no other inheritance. But, according to the doctrines of this Essay, he becomes a proper object of discipline. His defects are declared to be physical, and those we have shown to admit of almost

illimitable improvement: here, then, we derive not only hope but encouragement. Let his senses be exercised in every way possible, before any attempt is made to cultivate his mind. Make him familiar with things first, and he will soon become a disciple fit for reason. There may, and doubtless there will be, more trouble required to produce this habitual exercise of the senses, in one thus physically feeble or defective, than in another perfectly organized; but then, application and perseverance will overcome every difficulty; and the labour will be abundantly rewarded in the end. Much of this praxis should be performed by parents. It would cost them little toil, and they would every day witness the fruits of it: and in a shorter or longer period, according to the degree of defectiveness of the organs, would behold their child and pupil, become fitted for the tasks of mental discipline, and the hands of the master.

It was most absurd to attempt to educate the sons of Cicero and Chesterfield, as those great men attempted, by learned precepts, and refined doctrines. They should first have introduced them to objects of nature, and of art; have pointed out to them the most remarkable properties of every thing they saw; have shown in what particulars similar objects differed from each other; and then their precepts, and their doctrines, would have found a congenial soil, have flourished in it, and have produced fruit. The consequence of the neglect of this is

well known, and might have been anticipated. Hence we perceive that the distinction is palpable, and the conclusions which result from it most important.

Let us now turn, for one moment, to the perplexing, and almost contradictory observations, made by the justly celebrated Quinctilian on the subject of education; simply because he accredited this phantom Genius. In the introduction to his Institutes of Eloquence, he says, "This treatise is no more intended for those who are defective in point of Genius, than a treatise upon the improvement of lands is applicable to barren ground. "To barren ground! what a fatal exclusion to a boy that has not these indications of Genius."-But for our consolation he adds, in the sequel of this very paragraph; "this work will itself be of very little service without a skilful tutor, obstinate application, with great and continual practice in writing, reading, and speaking." Here we have the "antidote" to the previous "bane." Poor Genius, even in the estimation of Quinctilian, has to submit to the same drudgery, which raises ordinary minds to distinction. It finds no north west passage to the Indies of intellect.

Who ever beheld "obstinate application, great and continual practice in writing, reading, and speaking, under a skilful tutor," in one who was not a Genius? They would certainly create it. But these exercises cannot exist in one who has not first

« PoprzedniaDalej »