James Ball Naylor (1860-1945) was an American doctor who wrote novels, short stories, children's books, and poems. He also lectured. [1] S. Q. Lapius was a pen name he used in newspapers. [2] [3] Aesculapius is the Greek God of Medicine. A 1920 publication noted him as a "humorist, lecturer, and poet." [4]
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He worked as a teacher for several years he began the study of medicine and attended Starling Medical College. His first wife Myrta Gibson died soon after they were wed. He later married L. Villa Naylor. They had five daughters and a son.
His tale Ralph Marlowe is set in the hill country of Southeastern Ohio. [5] Some of his books were published by Saalfield Publishing Co. of Akron, Ohio.
He lived in McConnellsville, Ohio. [6] He wrote columns for the Ohio Star and Marion Star. He supported Warren G. Harding.
His poem "The Old River Bridge" was read at the July 8, 1902, dedication of the Malta-McConnellsville steel bridge. [7]
Ohio State University has a collection of his papers. [8]
Poems he wrote were published in Flowers by the Wayside in 1891. [9]
The book A Final Test: A Biography of James Ball Naylor by Theresa Marie Flaherty was published in 2011. [10] Sara K. Beardsley wrote an M.A. thesis in 2015 about his "forgotten bestseller" Ralph Marlowe. [11]
His poem "The Final Test" states:
When all is said and all is done,
When all is lost or all is won — In spite of musty theory, Of purblind faith and vain conceit, Of barren creed and sophistry: In spite of all — success, defeat, The Judge accords to worst and best, Impartially, this final test: What hast thou done with brawn and brain, To help the world to lose or gain An onward step? Canst reckon one Unselfish, brave or noble deed, That thou — nor counting cost! Hast done To help a brother’s crying need? Not what professed nor what believed —
But what good thing hast thou achieved?
