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IIIJ   ORIGIN OF TASTE FOR SCIENCE.   233

chances when competition is keen. To obtain the highest order of success, two things are wanted ; first, the qualities of the man must either be good all round, or else he must be so circumstanced as to be able, when the need arises, to supplement his deficiencies by extraneous help ; secondly, he must have some very useful qualities highly developed. It is said that "genius" is required for high success, and there is much talk about what genius is, and on the failures of men of genius, while some persons go so far as to doubt the existence of genius as a separate quality. It appears to me, that what is generally meant by genius, when the word is used in a special sense, is the automatic activity of the mind, as distinguished from the effort of the will. In a man of genius, the ideas come as by inspiration ; in other words, his character is enthusiastic, his mental associations are rapid, numerous and firm, his imagination is vivid, and he is driven rather than drives himself. All men have some genius ; they are all apt, under excitement, to show flashes of unusual enthusiasm, and to ex-