“ While envy expends itself on the one and nothing is forgiven him, everything is construed in the other's favour; vanity declares itself on his side. But if so many disadvantages burden the man of genius, what is to be said of the hard lot of a scientific man? ”
Montesquieu, Persian Letters (1721). copy citation
| Author | Montesquieu |
|---|---|
| Source | Persian Letters |
| Topic | vanity genius |
| Date | 1721 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by John Davidson |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Persian_Letters |
Context
“The mediocre man, on the other hand, tries to make use of everything, he is so well aware that he cannot afford to neglect trifles.
Universal approbation is very generally accorded to the mediocre man. Every one is delighted to give the latter praise, and enchanted to withhold it from the former. While envy expends itself on the one and nothing is forgiven him, everything is construed in the other's favour; vanity declares itself on his side.
But if so many disadvantages burden the man of genius, what is to be said of the hard lot of a scientific man?
I never think of it without recalling a letter written by a savant to one of his friends. Here it is:
"SIR, -I am a man whose nights are spent in studying through telescopes thirty feet long those great bodies which roll over our heads;”
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