Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 1.djvu/617

Rh contribute most of the intellectual laborers of note, and that the popular notion that genius is generally of low origin or derived from obscure districts is a mistake. Some "village Hampden," it is true, may adorn the region of politics, but this is an exceptional distinction. It is needless to premise that Mr. Clarke has considered the influence of population, and has not merely enumerated the clever men from given places. He has taken 2,000 names of men of genius or high intellectual powers, and sorted them out into districts, and this forms the basis of his calculations. He says:

Speaking of the preëminence of London in the production of such men, he says:

Of the 2,000 names, three-eighths belong to the country, and five-eighths to the town districts.

The following extracts give the main points in the interesting analysis:

In regarding the distribution among the town population, again, the unequal distribution gives in most cases a larger pro rata proportion to the large towns over the small. The most striking case is, however, that of London (333), and, as that is supported by the example of other metropolitan cities, ancient and modern, it can be accepted as an authenticated fact that the larger the population the larger the proportion of distinguished men. Edinburgh gives 73, and Dublin 53. The proportion of those metropolitan cities to the whole number is about 22 per cent. Still, on examining the smaller towns among themselves, this by no means holds good. Many small towns furnish more names than those of larger population, and these will be found to be cathedral and university towns. What is to be marked is the low position of such great modern centres of industry and population as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Bradford, etc‥‥The relation of names may, therefore, be considered to be, not to the population generally in gross, but rather to the classes engaged in the pursuit of learning, to the educated classes, and those in easy circumstances. This explains best the phenomena of London, and the preponderant towns, and likewise what may be called the intellectual