Page:Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1904).djvu/15



position reached and maintained by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the domain of Art and Poetry, the remarkable influence which he exerted upon the second Renaissance in Art and Letters witnessed by the nineteenth century, and, moreover, the glamour which yet illumines his individuality, and the high esteem in which his accomplishments are justly held, proffer, it is suggested, an ample apology, if such be needed, for rescuing these Recollections from the obscurity of the annals of the family to which the author belonged, and giving them the publicity of print.

Whatever pertains to the mission and conquests of a man of genius—his ideals, methods, and struggles—is of great and permanent value. It necessarily commands universal respect, and sometimes should evoke emulation. But at the same time such knowledge, generally speaking, is beyond the understanding of the non-scientific and insufficiently-versed mind. It is the human side of genius which receives the widest comprehension, and B