ough they see the result, and know the motive, the
inward meaning and spirit of it all escapes them. It is theirs to be,
and existence is in itself their all. To think, to create, to act, to
feel can be only for the few. To one is given the transcendent genius
that turns the very stones along life's road to precious gems of
thought; whose gift it is to find speech in dumb things and eloquence in
the ideal half of the living world; to whom sorrow is a melody and joy
sweet music; to whom the humblest effort of a humble life can furnish
an immortal lyric, and in whom one thought of the Divine can inspire a
sublime hymn. Another stoops and takes a handful of clay from the earth,
and with the pressure of his fingers moulds it to the reality of an
unreal image seen in dreams; or, standing before the vast, rough
block of marble, he sees within the mass the perfection of a faultless
form--he lays the chisel to the stone, the mallet strikes the steel, one
by one the shapeless fragments fly from the shapely limbs, the
matchless curves are uncovered, the breathing mouth smiles through the
petrifaction of a thousand ages, the shroud of stone falls from
the godlike brow, and the Hermes of Olympia stands forth in all his
deathless beauty. Another is born to the heritage of this world's power,
fore-destined to rule and fated to destroy; the naked sword of destiny
lies in his cradle; the axe of a king-maker awaits the awakening of his
strength; the sceptre of supreme empire hangs within his reach. Unknown,
he dreams and broods over the future; unheeded, he begins to move among
his fellows; a smile, half of encouragement, half of indifference,
greets his first effort; he advances a little farther, and thoughtful
men look grave, another step, and suddenly all mankind cries out and
faces him and would beat him back; but it is too late; one struggle
more, and the hush of a great and unknown fear falls on the wrangling
nations; they are silent, and the world is his. He is the man who
is already thinking when others have scarcely begun to feel; who is
creating before the thoughts of his rivals have reached any conclusion;
who acts suddenly, terribly and irresistibly, before their creations
have received life. And yet, the greatest and the richest inheritance of
all is not his, for it has fallen to another, to the man of heart, and
it is the inheritance of the kingdom of love.

In all ages the reason of the world has been at the mercy of brute