242 AN INTELLECTUAL MONSTROSITY. 



from excessive fatigue. Let sordid men sneer at what they term 

 ill-judged notions — let them compare their own wealth with his 

 indigence^ and their substantial and present comforts with his ideal 

 and dreamy anticipations — the sum total is not in their favour. 

 The intellectual monstrosity has not any tedium vitas, nor is his body 

 the rendezvous of diseases ; and if we compare the moments of plea- 

 sure by their endurance, the balance is in his favour; for never can 

 things of a mere sensual nature be compared to the pure and hal- 

 lowed emotions experienced from the exercise of our moral and in- 

 tellectual attributes. 



The object of this essay is not so much to point out the weak- 

 nesses of men of talent, but to deprecate the contumely with which 

 they are often treated by the possessors of wealth. The man of 

 refined intellect who is poor, is still rich in mental lore, and he not 

 only derives pleasure from the continual acquisition he can make to 

 his stores, which are, in one point of view at least, more secure than 

 the riches which the worldling prizes : intellectual wealth is impe- 

 rishable. 



But much depends on the spirit which stimulates a philosopher. 

 If he is feverish for the applause of his cotemporaries, and if he mis- 

 takes their occasional attention to him as respect for his talent, he 

 will find himself miserably deceived. It often happens that when a 

 man of genius is invited to the tables of the wealthy, instead of its 

 being from motives of esteem it results from a most unworthy and 

 selfish motive. He is expected, for such condescension, to repay his 

 host with compound interest, by the delivery of an oral lecture on 

 his most favourite subject ; and all this because he has the honour 

 of an invitation to dine : hence, he not only teaches the master of 

 the feast, but instructs or amuses the whole party, who obtain in 

 this manner much valuable information without any of that perso- 

 nal fatigue which even the most gifted minds must experience dur- 

 ing the laborious period of study. What annoys us most is, that 

 often the ephemeral patrons of talent mistake their own selfish mo- 

 tives and confound them with the hallowed sensations of Benevo- 

 lence. If this noble sentiment really influenced their conduct, they 

 would show it by a different bearing. We have often been disgust- 

 ed at witnessing the tyranny and insolence with which an intellec- 

 tual monstrosity has been treated on such occasions of mis-called 

 hospitality. Whatever may have been his favourite pursuit, it is 

 attacked on all sides ; some part of the company affecting to admire 

 it, whilst others express their doubts as to its relative or positive 

 importance. The stranger being thus unpleasantly annoyed or ur- 



