“What a world this would be,” says Christopher North, “were
all its inhabitants to fiddle like Paganini, ride like Ducrow,
discourse like Coleridge, and do everything else in a style
of equal perfection!” Nay, good Christopher, the world would
remain the same old dull commonplace world. Our standard
would be raised, that is all. If every one rode like Ducrow,
no one would stop a moment to look at Ducrow; if every one
fiddled like Paganini, Paganini’s fiddle would be complained
of by the neighbors as a nuisance; if every one discoursed
like Coleridge, Coleridge would be voted an intolerable bore.
We give our admiration to intellectual performances that are
rare and difficult. The moment the rarity and the difficulty
disappear our admiration also disappears, we seek fresh idols to
worship,--_Lippincott’s Magazine._
(980)
=Excelling=--See BEST, MAKING THE; ENCOURAGEMENT.
=Exceptional Men=--See CROWD, AND THE EXCEPTION.
=Excess=--See STUDY OVERDONE.
=Excess of Duty=--See OVERPLUS OF DUTY.