Whensuchaseedhasbeenplanted，itsdivineoriginisshownbyitspowerofgrowthandexpansion；andinanoblesoul，apparentlyinsurmountabledifficultiesandobstaclescannotarrestitsdevelopment。ThelifeandcareerofJasminamplyillustratesthistruth。Herewasayoungmanborninthedepthsofpoverty。Inhisearlylifehesufferedthemostcruelneedsofexistence。Whenhebecameabarber’sapprentice，hetouchedthelowestrungoftheladderofreputation；buthehadatleastlearnedthebeginningsofknowledge。
Heknewhowtoread，andwhenweknowthetwenty-fourlettersofthealphabet，wemaylearnalmosteverythingthatwewishtoknow。Fromthatslightbeginningmostmenmayraisethemselvestotheheightsofmoralandintellectualworthbyaperseveringwillandthefaithfulperformanceofduty。
Atthesametimeitmustbeconfessedthatitisaltogetherdifferentwithpoeticalgenius。Itisnotpossibletotellwhatunforeseenandforgottencircumstancesmayhavegiventheinitialimpulsetoapoeticnature。Itisnottheresultofanyfortuitousimpression，andstilllessofanyactofthewill。
ItispossiblethatJasminmayhaveobtainedhisfirstinsightintopoeticartduringhissolitaryeveningwalksalongthebanksoftheGaronne，orfromthenightingalessingingoverhead，orfromhischantinginthechoirwhenachild。Perhapsthe’FablesofFlorian’kindledthepoeticfirewithinhim；atalleventstheymayhaveactedasthefirststimulustohisartofrhyming。Theyopenedhismindtotheloveofnature，tothepleasuresofcountrylife，andthejoysofsocialintercourse。
Thereisnothingintheoccupationofabarberincompatiblewiththecultivationofpoetry。Folez，theoldGermanpoet，wasabarber，aswellasthestillmorecelebratedBurchiello，ofFlorence，whosesonnetsarestilladmiredbecauseofthepurityoftheirstyle。OurownAllanRamsay，authorof’TheGentleShepherd，’spentsomeofhisearlyyearsinthesameoccupation。