Genius means the transcendent capacity of taking trouble.1
ATTRIBUTION:
Life of Frederick the Great. Book iv. Chap. iii.
Note 1. Buffon says:La génie nest autre chose quune grande aptitude à la patience. (Genius is nothing else than a great aptitude for patience). There is also a popular proverb: Genius is patience. See also Disraeli, p. 627: Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius. See Leslie Stephen: Genius is a capacity for taking trouble. Jan Walæus also says: Genius is an intuitive talent for labor. [back]