The eye
of the sailor, the wrist of the conjuror, the toe of the professional
medium, are all found capable of development to an astonishing degree,
even in a single lifetime; but in every case success has been attained by
the simple process of making the best of whatever power a man has had at
any given time, and by being on the look-out to take advantage of
accident, and even of misfortune. If a man would learn to paint, he must
not theorise concerning art, nor think much what he would do beforehand,
but he must do _something_--whatever under the circumstances will come
handiest and easiest to him; and he must do that something as well as he
can. This will presently open the door for something else, and a way
will show itself which no conceivable amount of searching would have
discovered, but which yet could never have been discovered by sitting
still and taking no pains at all. "Dans l'animal," says Buffon, "il y a
moins de jugement que de sentiment." {153b}
It may appear as though this were blowing hot and cold with the same
breath, inasmuch as I am insisting that important modifications of
structure have been always purposive; and at the same time am denying
that the creature modified has had any far-seeing purpose in the greater
part of all those actions which have at length modified both structure
and instinct.
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