Westport High School - Herald Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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O11C7S half- LHJC IS Vorld YN. lents 13 BS Ol hile, may still fhat eater or ' a 1 of ,ther dei- 'rom stin- and real t of orks part find the 1'6- such .uh- usf' ,inet gnc WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA Q Y 'A OH POOH,

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l V T 16 THE VVESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. reading of a book is no beneht. lt. is said that the whole world speaks to the man through the voluines he takes from tl1e shelves if he puts himself into a. receptive 11lOOCl towards tl1e1n. tilllf only means of tltffllllldllg it. To open onets mind to receive lllf0l'l1l21'lIlOl1, to n1eet it half- way-aye, even to go out a11d seek it-tl1at to secure the whole treasure-trove of the world lhe receptive mood towards knowledge of lllfO1ll1EltlOl1. .llbmfa CHZSLLGZ7. 1 1 A ' ,jf . . a Q -E Y fm-ffsfr 1 at -so .1 Z9 .3 Q B' -0-o-an-o-0-01-Q-4:-QD Q-o-o-o-o-0-vo-o-040-O-o-3-0-0-OQQ-0-6-W rib 3 fi' TJFI LQEZDICZWORY if ' ay: fs db , V fm . ., , . 0 2vf,ff.?L11l-,'? .h -+'- 1'.' qi 1--'5'-ff? C: -- ::1':P ' 1: 153' 2'-'I' T'3'- Va :'1 7-1'if'fi-.- -- feb Q Q' -o-0-0-o-o-o-o-o-0-o-o-0-o-o -0-0-0-0-O-0-0-0 0- db - L9 bg'6'Q'Q'9'5 9'9'Q'6'Q'e'e'Q'Q'9'Q.'9'9 '9'9 '9'f9-81 'Q 3'6'Q 3 9'9-5-db COIVIMERCIALISM AND GENIUS. W 1 E I Genius, taken in the- broad and general sense, means' distinguished,.mental superiority, or uncommon i11tellectual developn1ent. But the Word, as generally understood, implies great and peculiar gifts of Nature, which impel tl1c n1ind toward special favorite kinds of mental effort. The principal implements of genius are the imagination, tl1e power of calling up mental images, and of 'conceiving and expressing the idealf It is th7rough these that new co-mbina- tions of old ideas are formed, and by the use of an intuitivepoiwer that the aims of genius are reached. E M The mind of every great genius is concen- trefd upon one particular li11e of thought, such as literature, art, or painting 5 and the intellect, like the rays of the sun, when drawn to a small focus, only gains in strength and intensity. Every genius is skilled in butone kind of Work, and with t.he experience gained by expending all his efforts along this particular line, he is prepared to bring forth his masterpieces. But the rise of genius is not effected by the concentration of the n1ind upon special lines of thought, it is rather the result of a high degree of excellence wl1ich exists around about it and forms the enviromnent in which it flourishes. Raphael or a Michael Angelo does 11ot co111e itogthe World at a. ti111e when the world isinot ready toiappreciate him. The accomplishments of such men are the result ofa 'long series of efforts on the part of previous artists. While, perhaps, t.he works of these-previous artists may have been of a minor character, there was still a merit, a. substance, an essence in them, that prepared the way for the coming of greater productions. l Think for a. moment! Did a Dante ora Milton step suddenly into the foreground of the worldps great pictures? Ts not each rather a composite portrait of a host of vague, inden- nite, pliantasmago-rial faces peering out from the a.ges that have preceded them? . E A Miltonic or a Dantesque era is distin- guished for its flourishing co-11dition o-f art and literature-. They are then considered as of real a11d valuable assistance in the development of the 111ind and character o-f the people. Works are produced with no especial aim on the part of tl1e author. The soul of the artist mustmfind expression and the masterpieces in which the soul is given free expression find a. rea.dy re- sponse in the hearts of the peo-ple. It is such masterpieces that create a love for the beauti- ful, that stir the divinity that is Within us, and that receive everlasting public approval. In ages of this kind, men struggle against poverty Elllil disadva11ta0'es that tl1ev n1av Give C' . . 'O Fr. .vp - p

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18 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. their time to their labo-r. And just as great as were the accomplishments of these men, just so small, taken from a commercial standpoint, were their rewards. The souls of such artists were in their work, and all else was of no signifi- cance to them. Absolute unselfishness prevailed in their hearts and their rewards were such as men feel only when they have fully accom- plished all that they set out to do. The artists of these early schools were, however, not without substantial' recognition. Kings, nobles, and members of the royal fam- ily were looked upon as patrons of the a.rts. To them singers, poets, and painters turned for appreciation and support. And art gallery, li- brary, and public hall owe perhaps to such noble patrons all that remains of the glory of mediaeval art. Even to-day some countries give financial aid to artistic enterprises, but from the time of Johnson royal patronage has gradually and slowly changed into public patronage. As early as seventeen hundred the public had begun to give support to the authors in the way of a small allowance for their works. After J ohn- sonis declaration of independence from the patron, help from individual people was no longer expected and the future of art and lit- erature fell into the hands of the people. Unfortunately the value o-f true art was mis- judged. Authors, instead of being remuner- ated for the literary or artistic merit of their productions, were rewarded according to the amount of work received. By this method quantity grew to be the standard, and not qual- ity. No evil results were immediately felt on account of this system of compensation. Its effects upon future ages time alone' was to tell. During the early part of the eighteenth cent- ury, an intellectual revolutio-n was .slowly tak- ing place among the people. The public in gen- eral was growing more intelligent, and with this increased intellectual development came a nat- ural inorease in the number of people who were interested in the literary efforts of the times. The world of readers was enlarged. The mind of the people was developed by political and social experiences, and with these changes in government and social relations came an in- crease in wea.lth. The increased amount of wealth led to high-er refinement and culture, and this naturally caused a greater demand for books by the reading public. An interest in the works of such geniuses as Shakespeare and Milto-n was revived and the publishers were busy for some time, with the re- production of classical masterpieces. Never be- fore was the sale of these so large and never before were they read with so much avidity. But the work of past authors was not com- prehensive enough to satisfy the Wants of the people. The publisher was appealed to for newer productions, and only through him co-uld the demands of the readers be supplied. And through his enco-uragement literature became a profession. . Even after Goldsmith, the demand contin- ued to grow larger while the supply remained practically the same. Competition naturally arose among the publishers, and just as the price of any article of commerce is governed by the demand and the supply, so the lack of a suf- Hcient supply of literary productions resulted in a continuous rise in the desires of the peo- ple for works of an entertaining and fascinat- ing nature. The publishers' offers were too great an in- ducement for the writers of the times. The prospects of earning a living by writing only tempted many to hack-writing, and this period brought forth the writers of th.e attics and gar- rets of Grub Street, not one of whom can lay claim to other than mediocre abilities. f The intellectual impulse soon showed itself in a greater supply of literature. New fields of- thought opened, and as a result of the intellect- ual tastes of the public came the groups of nov- elists and ro-manticists, who contributed much of a pleasing but hardly valuable character. This activity continued to obtain up to and during the latter part of the eighteenth century, when a real literary revival occurred. At the present time literature is in a con- dition simila.r to that of the early eighteenth