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270
Hereditary Genius
the constitutional vigour of those who succeed is commonly
extraordinary. It would be impossible to read a collection of lives of
eminent orators, lawyers, and the like, without being impressed with
the largeness of the number of those who have constitutions of iron;
but this is not at all the case with the Divines, for Middleton speaks of
only 12, or perhaps 13 men who were remarkable for their vigour.
Two very instructive facts appear in connexion with these vigorous
Divines: we find, on the one hand, that of the 12 or 13 who were
decidedly robust, 5, if not 6, were irregular and wild in their youth;
and, on the other hand, that only 3 or 4 Divines are stated to have
been irregular in their youth, who were not also men of notably robust
constitutions. We are therefore compelled to conclude that robustness
of constitution is antagonistic, in a very marked degree, to an
extremely pious disposition.
First as to those who were both vigorous in constitution and wild in
youth; they are 5 or 6 in number, 1. Beza, d. aet. 86; “was a robust
man of very strong constitution, and what is very unusual among hard
students, never felt the headache;” he yielded as a youth to the
allurements of pleasure, and wrote poems of a very licentious
character. 2. Welch, d. aet. 53; was of strong robust constitution and
underwent a great deal of fatigue; in. youth he was a border-thief. 3.
Rothwell, d. aet. 64; was handsome, well set, of great strength of
body and activity; he hunted, bowled, and shot; he also poached a
little. Though he was a clergyman he did not reform till late, and still
the “devil assaulted him” much and long. He got on particularly well
with his parishioners in a wild part of the north of England. 4.
Grimshaw, d. aet. 55; was only once sick for the space of sixteen
years, though he “used his body with less consideration than a
merciful man would use his beast.” He was educated religiously, but
broke
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