The First Explicit Manifesto For Originality
Know thyself . . . dive deep into thy bosom.
From 'The Art of Ignorance”: An Afterword to Ludwig Börne' - LELAND DE LA DURANTAYE
"The first explicit manifesto for originality, Edward Young’s Conjectures on Original Composition, offered a golden rule in this regard:
Know thyself . . . dive deep into thy bosom; learn the depth, extent, bias, and full fort of thy mind; contract full intimacy with the stranger within thee; excite and cherish every spark of intellectual light and heat, however smothered under former negligence, or scattered through the dull, dark mass of common thoughts; and collecting them into a body, let thy genius rise (if a genius thou hast) as the sun from chaos; and if I should then say, like an Indian, Worship it."
