grossness, perversity, silliness and brutality
of by far the greater part of the race, are always an obstacle to the
efforts of the genius, whatever be the method of his art; they so form
that hostile army to which at last he has to succumb. Let the isolated
champion achieve what he may: it is slow to be acknowledged; it is
late in being appreciated, and then only on the score of authority;
it may easily fall into neglect again, at any rate for a while. Ever
afresh it finds itself opposed by false, shallow, and insipid ideas,
which are better suited to that large majority, that so generally hold
the field. Though the critic may step forth and say, like Hamlet when
he held up the two portraits to his wretched mother, _Have you eyes?
Have you eyes_? alas! they have none. When I watch the behavior of a
crowd of people in the presence of some great master's work, and mark
the manner of their applause, they often remind me of trained monkeys
in a show. The monkey's gestures are, no doubt, much like those of
men; but now and again they betray that the real inward spirit of
these gestures is not in them. Their irrational nature peeps out.

[Footnote 1: _Translator's Note_.--At this point Schopenhauer
interrupts the thread of his discourse to speak at length upon an
example of false fame. Those who are at all acquainted with the
philosopher's views will not be surprised to find that the writer thus
held up to scorn is Hegel; and readers of the other volumes in this
series will, with the translator, have had by now quite enough of the
subject. The passage is therefore omitted.]

It is often said of a man that _he is in advance of his age_; and it
follows from the above remarks that this must be taken to mean that
he is in advance of humanity in general. Just because of this fact,
a genius makes no direct appeal except to those who are too rare to
allow of their ever forming a numerous body at any one period. If he
is in this respect not particularly favored by fortune, he will
be _misunderstood by his own age_; in other words, he will remain
unaccepted until time gradually brings together the voices of those
few persons who are capable of judging a work of such high character.
Then posterity will say: _This man was in advance of his age_, instead
of _in advance of humanity_; because humanity will be glad to lay the
burden of its own faults upon a single epoch.

Hence, if a man has been superior to his own age, he would also ha