Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals - Volume I. | Page 2

and that
he is ranked with the best of our earlier painters.
In my selection of letters to be published I have tried to place much
emphasis on this phase of his career, a most interesting one. I have
found so many letters, diaries, and sketch-books of those earlier years,
never before published, that seemed to me of great human interest, that
I have ventured to let a large number of these documents chronicle the
history of Morse the artist.
Many of the letters here published have already appeared in Mr. S.
Irenaeus Prime's biography of Morse, but others are now printed for the
first time, and I have omitted many which Mr. Prime included. I must
acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Prime for the possibility of filling
in certain gaps in the correspondence; and for much interesting material
not now otherwise obtainable.
Before the telegraph had demonstrated its practical utility, its inventor

was subjected to ridicule most galling to a sensitive nature, and after it
was a proved success he was vilified by the enemies he was obliged to
make on account of his own probity, and by the unscrupulous men who
tried to rob him of the fruits of his genius; but in this he was only
paying the penalty of greatness, and, as the perspective of time enables
us to render a more impartial verdict, his character will be found to
emerge triumphant.
His versatility and abounding vitality were astounding. He would have
been an eminent man in his day had he never invented the telegraph;
but it is of absorbing interest, in following his career, to note how he
was forced to give up one ambition after another, to suffer blow after
blow which would have overwhelmed a man of less indomitable
perseverance, until all his great energies were impelled into the one
channel which ultimately led to undying fame.
In every great achievement in the history of progress one man must
stand preëminent, one name must symbolize to future generations the
thing accomplished, whether it be the founding of an empire, the
discovery of a new world, or the invention of a new and useful art; and
this one man must be so endowed by nature as to be capable of carrying
to a successful issue the great enterprise, be it what it may. He must, in
short, be a man of destiny. That he should call to his assistance other
men, that he should legitimately make use of the labors of others, in no
wise detracts from his claims to greatness. It is futile to say that without
this one or that one the enterprise would have been a failure; that
without his officers and his men the general could not have waged a
successful campaign. We must, in every great accomplishment which
has influenced the history of the world, search out the master mind to
whom, under Heaven, the epoch-making result is due, and him must we
crown with the laurel wreath.
Of nothing is this more true than of invention, for I venture to assert
that no great invention has ever sprung Minerva-like from the brain of
one man. It has been the culmination of the discoveries, the researches,
yes, and the failures, of others, until the time was ripe and the destined
man appeared. While due credit and all honor must be given to the

other laborers in the field, the niche in the temple of fame must be
reserved for the one man whose genius has combined all the known
elements and added the connecting link to produce the great result.
As an invention the telegraph was truly epoch-making. It came at a
time when steam navigation on land and water was yet in its infancy,
and it is idle to speculate on the slow progress which this would have
made had it not been for the assistance of the electric spark.
The science of electricity itself was but an academic curiosity, and it
was not until the telegraph had demonstrated that this mysterious force
could be harnessed to the use of man, that other men of genius arose to
extend its usefulness in other directions; and this, in turn, stimulated
invention in many other fields, and the end is not yet.
It has been necessary, in selecting letters, to omit many fully as
interesting as those which have been included; barely to touch on
subjects of research, or of political and religious discussion, which are
worthy of being pursued further, and to omit some subjects entirely.
Very probably another more experienced hand would have made a
better selection, but my aim has been to give, through characteristic
letters and contemporary opinions, an accurate portrait of the man, and
a succinct history of his life and labors. If I have succeeded in