One of his friends, in a memoir of Parkman, recalls an observation of
Sainte-Beuve, in his paper on Taine's "English Literature," that has found
its best illustration in what Parkman accomplished in spite of lameness,
blindness, and mental distress: "All things considered, every allowance
being made for general or particular elements and for circumstances, there
still remain place and space enough around men of talent, wherein they can
move and turn themselves with entire freedom. And, moreover, were the
circle drawn round each a very contracted one, every man of talent, every
genius, in so far as he is in some degree a magician and an enchanter,
possesses a secret entirely his own, whereby to perform prodigies within
this circle and work wonders there." [Footnote: "Nouveaux Lundis," vol.
VIII, English translation in "English Portraits," p. 243.]
This autobiography has shown how short was the radius of the circle. The
twelve volumes of his work attest, under Sainte-Beuve's definition, the
degree of his powers of magic and enchantment.
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