THE 



POPULAR SCIENCE 



MONTHLY 



JULY, 1911 



PASTEUE: A STUDY IN GEEATNESS 



By Pbofessok FERNANDO WOOD MARTIN 



RANDOLPH MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE 



S~^\ EEATNESS is a matter of judgment. The degree of worth ac- 

 vZT corded anything whatsoever is determined solely by the intel- 

 lectual and moral content of the individual, or the age, that plays the 

 iole of judge. We speak of great architects, musicians, orators, paint- 

 ers, poets, sculptors, soldiers, statesmen ; and cite as examples such men 

 as Wrenn, Beethoven, Demosthenes, Baphael, Homer, Angelo, Cassar, 

 Bismarck. These men, I say, were great. Why do I say so ? Well, the 

 world has pronounced them great. But you ask me, " Have you no 

 grounds for formulating an opinion of your own?" Oh, yes, I have 

 beard rendered the music of many composers; seen the masterpieces of 

 many artists, and so on. And the achievements of none appear to me to 

 surpass those of the men whose names I have mentioned. Perhaps you 

 would name another in each line whom you hold to be more illustrious. 

 You ask me then — " Is there no objective absolute standard by which 

 the achievements of men may be definitely measured ?" I answer 

 " None." 



You stand before Michel Angelo's " Moses " in the church of St. 

 Peter in vinculo at Eome. " This " (you say) " is the finest statue in 

 the world ! " Please enlighten me as to the manner by which you have 

 reached your decision. I grant at once that the judgment of the critics 

 coincides with yours; but, of course, you are uninfluenced by that fact. 

 " Is it " (I ask you) " because the statue is a true representation of a 

 real person and event?" You answer — "No, oh no! But it seems to 

 me that a man who dared the wrath of the most powerful potentate in 

 the world; who wrestled with desert, and famine, and pestilence to 

 shape the beginnings of a nation; who talked face to face with God — 

 would have looked like that ! " Ah, now you have found the standard 

 of greatness; and you perceive that it is an ideal thing. 



