Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 53.djvu/671

Rh In most of the expression forms of genius the senses play an all-important part. They must not only report accurately, they must operate together accurately. Think of the part played by the eye, the hand, the ear in the fine arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, music. These artists of whatever field, these men of genius, can do things that other men can not, things finer, truer, quicker.

The biography of genius makes it very clear that along with the highly sensitive brain organization goes a power of co-ordinated bodily movement not found in those less favored of the gods, just as a study of the deficient classes makes it very clear that along with a poorly developed brain tissue goes a pitiful lack of co-ordination in the bodily movement.

One can not, I think, look these results squarely in the face—results from both extremes of the intellectual scale—without accepting the middle ground as well. A well-developed brain organism is always accompanied by well-developed sense powers, and the senses can not be well developed without a corresponding increase of brain power. It is then both an actual and a possible result of manual training that through the cultivation of the sense faculties comes an increased power of the organism; and through this one comes into more complete control and possession of one's self—becomes, in fact, a more evolved and more moral being.

I would not claim too much for manual training. It does not pretend to make deficient boys clever, or average boys geniuses; but it does make deficient boys less deficient, and average boys more clever.

From this renovated self spring enlarged ideas of one's relations to other individuals. Manual training fosters individualism, and I have long suspected this to be the only social creed, despite the taunting cry of the opposition, "Every man for himself." Increased personality, deepened individuality, mean increased and deepened respect for the personality and individuality of others. I find as an actual result of manual training that one is less and less willing to enjoy things at the expense of others or to be waited on by others; less willing, too, to serve others in ways that are not worthy; quite willing to show others how to serve themselves. Increase of personal power means increase of self-poise and self-sufficiency. It does not, however, mean a smaller sympathy. On the contrary, the more evolved imagination makes possible a larger sympathy. Mr. Fiske has successfully shown that much of the cruelty and inhumanity of the world is due to lack of imagination, and inability to picture another's point of view or to put one's self in another's place. But I want you to mark especially that the quality of the sympathy fostered by manual training, or by