He held that drudgery lay on the
road to genius, and that there was no limit to the proficiency of
an artist except the limit of his own painstaking. He would not
believe in what is called inspiration, but only in study and
labour. "Excellence," he said, "is never granted to man but as the
reward of labour." "If you have great talents, industry will
improve them; if you have but moderate abilities, industry will
supply their deficiency. Nothing is denied to well-directed
labour; nothing is to be obtained without it." Sir Fowell Buxton
was an equal believer in the power of study; and he entertained the
modest idea that he could do as well as other men if he devoted to
the pursuit double the time and labour that they did. He placed
his great confidence in ordinary means and extraordinary
application.
"I have known several men in my life," says Dr. Ross, "who may be
recognized in days to come as men of genius, and they were all
plodders, hard-working, INTENT men. Genius is known by its works;
genius without works is a blind faith, a dumb oracle. But
meritorious works are the result of time and labour, and cannot be
accomplished by intention or by a wish. . . . Every great work is
the result of vast preparatory training. Facility comes by labour.
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