Synopsis
Exposition Of The False Medium And Barriers Excluding Men Of Genius From The Public by Richard H. Horne. This 1833 polemical treatise surveys how genius has been marginalized and persecuted throughout history, arguing that the social mechanisms of publishing, criticism, theatre, and academic patronage form a false medium that excludes the world’s greatest minds. The work opens with the claim that a common stone enjoys ready patronage while a man of genius remains homeless, and then traces the fates of Homer, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Ovid, and many others, illustrating chronic neglect, imprisonment, poverty, and social contempt endured by creators. It contends that such oppression arises from barriers instantiated by publishers, readers, reviewers, managers, and institutions like the Royal Academy, and it analyzes drama, music, and literature to reveal how original talent is stifled. The volume then proposes a remedy: a national establishment funded by public patronage to provide annuities and secure income for living genius, with a council of eminent peers to judge merit. It also offers a wide array of historical anecdotes and modern examples to advocate reform and the protection of intellectual merit, including a dedication to Edward Lytton Bulwer and a comprehensive critique of how society undervalues the minds that shape culture and knowledge.
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