having a place In the company of the specially talented.
In an inconspicuous book called _The New Party_, edited by Andrew Reid
and containing selections from many "labor" leaders, these words
occur: "We have had politics for politics' sake, religion for
religion's sake, science for science's sake, literature for
literature's sake, art for art's sake: we want politics for justice,
religion for right, science for happiness, literature for love of
humanity, and art for the social pleasure of all." Those who can thus
translate the separate achievements of mankind which taken at the top
have won the title of works of genius are beginning to be seen above
the human horizon as among the great of earth.
It is still, however, as of old, the man or woman who has a special
gift of voice or pen or brush or sculptor's tool or command of
instrument or ability to compose music or to write literature fit to
live forever, or build temples that command wonder and admiration, or
who in some form of creative activity makes his mark upon history, who
is most often spoken of as a genius. It is now only a little while
since we began to add to this list the scientific, the commercial and
the political genius. The military genius has held a place for ages,
but his specialty is losing standing as a social asset, and we can
foresee a time when he must learn constructive rather than destructive
methods of action in order to qualify for the "Hall of Fame."[13]
=Only Men in Lists of Geniuses.=--Genius along any line has for its
topmost reaches the names of men only. Few women have even attained
the secondary place of the talented. When we remember that higher
education for women is a child of less than a hundred years' growth,
and that all the higher walks of achievement in the intellectual, the
political, the scientific, and the industrial field have been
masculine monopolies in custom and even in law for ages after men had
opportunity of specialized development and work, this is not a sure
proof of the intellectual and vocational inferiority of women. Until
women have had several centuries of equal education and freedom of
activity with men no one can tell what they can do in any special
line. It is therefore idle at this date for any one to argue either
for or against the possibilities of a more balanced list of the sexes
in those at the top of human achievement.
What we are now beginning to be sure of is that all talent is
precious, all special power a social asset, all leadership to be
conserved, and all real genius a priceless treasure--hence, that all
children who are gifted, whether boys or girls, shall be developed to
the height of social power. This means that although every gifted
child is born in a private family, society must see to it that its
chance for right nurture and fitting education is not limited to the
resources of any private family, especially to those of the poorer in
economic power.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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