A STUDY OF BRITISH GENIUS. 63 



223 of the 902 eminent persons in our list may in one sense or another 

 be termed precocious, and only thirty-seven are mentioned as not pre- 

 cocious. Many of the latter belong to the second group, as defined 

 above — those who are already absorbed in their own lines of mental 

 activity — and are really just as 'precocious' as the others; thus Car- 

 dinal Wiseman as a boy was 'dull and stupid, always reading and think- 

 ing;' Byron showed no aptitude for school work, but was absorbed in 

 romance, and Landor, thougli not regarded as precocious, was already 

 preparing for his future literary career. In a small but interesting 

 group of cases, which must be mentioned separately, the mental de- 

 velopment is first retarded and then accelerated; thus Chatterton up 

 to the age of 6^ was, said his mother, 'little better than an absolute 

 fool,' then he fell in love with the illuminated capitals of an old folio, 

 at seven was remarkable for brightness and at ten was writing poems; 

 Goldsmith, again, was a stupid child, but before he could write legibly 

 he was fond of poetry and rhyming, and a little later he was regarded 

 as a clever boy, while Fanny Burney did not know her letters at eight, 

 but at ten was writing stories and poems. 



Probably the greatest prodigies of infant precocity among these 

 eminent persons were Cowley, Sir W. E. Hamilton, Wren and Thomas 

 Young, three of these, it will seem, being men of the first order of 

 genius. Barry and Thirlwall were also notable prodigies, and it would 

 be easy to name a large number of others whose youthful proficiency 

 in learning was of extremely unusual character. While, however, this 

 is undoubtedly the case, it scarcely appears that any actual achieve- 

 ments of note date from early youth. It is only in mathematics, and 

 to some extent in poetry, that originality may be attained at an early 

 age, but even then it is very rare (Newton and Keats are examples), and 

 is not notable until adolescence is completed. 



The very marked prevalence of an early bent towards those lines 

 of achievement in which success is eventually to be won is indicated 

 by the fact that in those fields in which such bent is most easily per- 

 ceived it is most frequently found. It is marked among the musicians, 

 and would doubtless be still more evident if it were not that our 

 knowledge concerning British composers is very incomplete. It is 

 specially notable in the case of artists. It is reported of not less than 

 thirty-five (or in the proportion of over 50 per cent.) that in art they 

 were 'precocious.' 



A certain proportion of the eminent persons on our list have fol- 

 lowed the third course of early development as defined above, that is 

 to say, they have been merely noted for physical energy in youth. 

 Sir Joseph Banks was very fond of play till fourteen, when he was 

 suddenly struck by the beauty of a lane; Isaac Barrow was chiefly 

 noted for fighting at school; Chalmers was full of physical activity. 



