The Moon and Sixpence

I con'fess / that when 'first↗ / I made ac'quaintance with 'Charles S'trickland /I 'never↗ for a moment dis'cerned /that there was in 'him / 'anything out of the 'ordinary↘.Yet 'now / 'few will be 'found / to de'ny↗ his 'greatness↘.I do 'not↗ speak of that 'greatness / which is a'chieved↗ by the 'fortunate 'poli'tician / or the suc'cessful ‘soldier;'that↗ is a 'quality / which be'longs↗ to the 'place↗ he occupies / 'rather than to the 'man;and a 'change↗ of 'circumstances / re'duces↗ it to 'very dis'creet pro'portions↘.The 'greatness↗ of 'Charles S'trickland / was au'thentic↘.It may be that you do 'not↗ like his 'art, but at 'all↗ e'vents / you can 'hardly re'fuse it / the 'tribute of your 'interest↘.'His 'faults / are ac'cepted / as the 'necessary 'complement / to his 'merits↘.The 'adu'lation of his ad'mirers / is per'haps↗ 'no↗ less ca'pricious / than the dis'paragement of his de'tractors;but 'one↗ 'thing can 'never be 'doubtful, and 'that↗ is / that 'he had 'genius↘. There was in his 'soul / some 'deep-rooted 'instinct of cre'ation, 'which↗ the 'circumstances of his 'life had obs'cured,but 'which↗ grew re'lentlessly, as a 'cancer may grow in the 'living 'tissues,till at 'last / it 'took po'ssession of his 'whole↗ 'being / and 'forced↗ him / 'irre'sistibly to ‘action↘. Con'version may 'come / under 'many 'shapes, and it may be 'brought a'bout↗ / in 'many 'ways↘.With 'some 'men↗ / it needs a 'cataclysm, as a s'tone may be 'broken to 'fragments / by the 'fury of a 'torrent;but with 'some / it 'comes↗ 'gradually, as a s'tone may be 'worn a'way / by the 'ceaseless 'fall / of a 'drop↗ / of ‘water↘.