Let us, then, not be surprised if we find men of genius generally
unsociable and repellent. It is not their want of sociability that is
to blame. Their path through the world is like that of a man who goes
for a walk on a bright summer morning. He gazes with delight on the
beauty and freshness of nature, but he has to rely wholly on that for
entertainment; for he can find no society but the peasants as they
bend over the earth and cultivate the soil. It is often the case that
a great mind prefers soliloquy to the dialogue he may have in this
world. If he condescends to it now and then, the hollowness of it may
possibly drive him back to his soliloquy; for in forgetfulness of his
interlocutor, or caring little whether he understands or not, he talks
to him as a child talks to a doll.
Modesty in a great mind would, no doubt, be pleasing to the world;
but, unluckily, it is a _contradictio in adjecto_. It would compel a
genius to give the thoughts and opinions, nay, even the method and
style, of the million preference over his own; to set a higher value
upon them; and, wide apart as they are, to bring his views into
harmony with theirs, or even suppress them altogether, so as to let
the others hold the field. In that case, however, he would either
produce nothing at all, or else his achievements would be just upon a
level with theirs.
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