" He went on to inquire if we were following any particular line
of study, and as our answers were unsatisfactory, he said that we could
not do better than begin by attending the school of literature. "I
observed," he said, "that you were listening to our Professor, Sylvanus,
with attention. He is devoting himself to the development of poetical
form. It is a rich subject. It has generally been believed that poets
work by a sort of native inspiration, and that the poetic gift is a sort
of heightening of temperament. But Sylvanus has proved--I think I may go
so far as to say this--that this is all pure fancy, and what is worse,
unsound fancy. It is all merely a matter of heredity, and the apparent
accidents on which poetical expression depends can be analysed exactly
and precisely into the most commonplace and simple elements. It is only
a question of proportion. Now we who value clearness of mind above
everything, find this a very refreshing thought. The real crown and sum
of human achievement, in the intellectual domain, is to see things
clearly and exactly, and upon that clearness all progress depends.
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