The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-11-03

Alexander Won B0mb0idt.
From tie Frankfort Germany journal
Nv hat a maj! ~ exclaimed Goethe once, after
receiving h welt from Humboldt. IL know of no
man 10 compare him To he resembles a source of
ever.gushing sweet waters; he knows everything,
and Knows thoroughly what he does know"
The poet Was ight Alexander Won Humbodt,
who comptrtd his S0th year on the l4h ct Sep
TENDER Of thus year, with all the undlrnuish-d VI
eor Of his mind. aud with body still hale, Is
one Of the gr~alest aud most cOmpIeh. nslve minds
that have fourshed III any age, end Que OF the
most iIDpoitonI men ot our own. He has been
most appOsn-ly calico the Napoleon OF natural
science, order To convey the idea that he stands
ior'h without compare from amongst Ordinary
mOIlals.
There have been, perhaps, few men so entirely
fortunate ar he mas been; for nature endowed him
with 4 saue b,oy abd gigantic az well saue
mind. IL Is seldom that EuTop can from north
en cline can rove with IMMUNITY among palm
tfees; but On Humboldt neither the heat of the
tropics DoI lh- icy cold Of the Ufal aud AtaI could
ext II any banetul luiiut nee. From early per cd
he was IA dependent as TO foItua-, and there was
no adverse circumstance t. prevent hun from gi-
wing himself Ia The impulse OF his genius Even
as youth he ENJOY ed the society Ut the w'se.t and
best IN Germany To calm persplcuity OF I'M
Outstanding ne unltes wonderful acute aeSs OF
pen. tratioD, and hie first impr ssion is unerrng.
In pow.rs OF combination he has seldom been
equa-d, and besides his colossal memory, that
never deserts HIM. that Is equally faithful as IL IS
cue VEN, and again vivid fancy Is all his own,
his iasit Is Ia exquisite and fine, that he throws
The chain OF at,iacuon over the very dryest sub
J.c' hs may happen TO treat Geographers unanl-
mUusly recognise hIm as their master, historians
gratefully confess that their lore is deeply Indebted
10 HIM, and phloogisfs have received no l,ttIe
light item him 10 illuInlne what had been hitherto
Oh cue for Them IN antiquity Hardly 10 there
one single held IT scientific inquiry that Humboldt
has not enriched; he has even enlightened the ta-
theTs Ut The church on their athletic side. The
Spsn,aids as we'll as we Germans, so likewise the
French ana the English, enrol this wonderful man
among Iher classic sly lists, for in addition to The
most accurate Lsun, Humboldt writes Spanish,
English (D, and French, with sklil, precision, aud
force, as his own native language. When he gave
Iectuies ~ years ago III Paris, the French will
hngly admitted that lew Of her own great country.
NC up to him IN luxuriance, correctness, and
cleaTness
Th,s man, in the pleniitude of his understand.
ing and with the ceaIest consciousness, has lived
" iih and through a period Of traDsitlOn such NJ
The world has never seen since the earliest centu
nes VI ChrlstenGom Born In the same year with
Napos ON, he knew the Great Frederick his
youth coeval with the North American con-
tesi for liberty; h- admired the great Wash ington;
The Drama II the French revolution that convulsed
the word and that shed torrents Of blood, he saw,
and hot remotely, pass before HIM, with It's martial
feats and Its giants. But while The German empire
Of d thousand years was tumbling into RUN, and
the German land was becoming the prey Of the po-
tent coLqut lOr, Humboldt was wandering through
the table lands Of the Andes or the low plains
near the Ofmoco and kionrgro; he was not an
immediate witness Of the disasters his country
men bewailed at Ulm or Jena. During the long
time OF the restoration he employed his leisure In
the composition Of those literary works that will
remain as pati. in all ages for the natural sci
epocs, for future research in tho ans,q,tias Of
America, ind for every branch OF geography. lie,
the man Of touTscore years. who has 81 stirred men
by the living woid, and so genally promoted stu
DIV, has seen, TOO, IN the evening Ut his infinitely
rich llfe how The German people still struggle for
q new cOnformation-for unity and Freedom SO
enlightened soul, so clear thinker, head so in
Capable Of all nanow-mindedaess, must be devoid
al prejudice, must be favorably Inclined from the
d.pibs Of that soul, 10 the canse OF freedom and
progress. Yet for any inlmedl ate political actlvl-
" hs nature has been as ittle disposed Goethes
was. Humboldt hes ever been content with en-
ploy ing his influence preferably III behalf OF SCI
encr, which owes an infinite debt Of acknowledge
mtbt To HIM.
There are very few scientific great individuals
Of the last 90 years with whom he had not personal
relations II anything In HIM, IN addItioa TO the
inm.ns comprehensiveness OF his requirements,
could raise our astonishment, II would be his al
most Unparalleled Industry, and that wonderful
activity that distinguishes this great man. lie has
laresd the science OF navigation, especially en-
ichmg the history OF nautlcs-geology, zoology,
boNny, are ne lcss indebted To him than the col
lecliNe physical sciences, more particularly mete-
oIolppy, nagnetlsm, that science which treats OF
ID, Distribution Of heat over the earth; geography,
agriculture, aud trade. Almost in every field this
tie history OF nstIoDs, and political history, lastly
statistics, German gigantic mind has formed new
pafhs OF exploration.
When Young man Of twenty, after he had COM
Jl,ied his universiiy studies IN Gottingen aud at
Frankfort The Oder, WE ind HIM lu the compa-
n, of Gtorge Forster descending the Rhine ON his
way To Holland anu EDglsnd he writes his work
On the bssal,s near the Rhine. linn, dialely after
tins he proceeds TO Freiberg, for studying under
Werner, the founder OF geological science, laad he
writ.s on iossIl plants He then enters for shori
the If administrative duties not satisfy ing hts ar
cent mind, he applies with rcdoubled ardOf To the
study Of animsl electricity, goes to Vlenna, where
lie labors nitDty on botany, then travels, accom-
Isbied BY Leopold Won Buch, and to whom II u
eth yeInt,,d to behold the light Ut day. through
Salzburg and Styns, but u 10 compelled to renounce
J the psb Of exploring Italy. lie however, repairs
! with he glorious brother Wilhelm to PARIS, " here
he t,ims the acquaintance OF his future travelling
4 c,myBnion, b'pplaDd ;spd, In l7y9, lets out fol
I the court If Msdnd, To obtain there the pcrmIs-
, Sou a travelling through the Spanish COLONIES %
4 America. Ia h's eighteenth year he had resolved
op vsItng the American coDtineD OF aud what he haC
/ tudied and lsbored on up to his thftleth year he
considered ~ mere preparation for the accom-
/ lllsbm.nt of a grester task. The youth had, in
deco had HE fancy fired ut first by the splrndld anC
luxursnt vegs taii'n IL the plant world, by the TO
reefs Of gigantic uees interwovrn wl,h lianas an,
the foliage of countless shrubs, by the peculiarit,
OF The lofty stepn~son the Andes, the boundles
extent at the savsDnShs OF which he subsequently
traced so VIVID picture In hts Views OF Nature
/ Gradually, however, with his increasing know
l. DE rose the purely scienthc interest, and Hum
b ldt commenced his voyage across the Atlanta
oC,"n.
The hardy traveller, go carefully pre- instructed
trs,ers, d H.. moupis and plains 81 modern VeDe
zu, IL, s.c.bded the OrInoco, To where u brsDche
| oH, aid thus forms Junction with the Amazon
! exploring GUYANA, concerning which sDothe
| German irayellsT, SchvmOerg, has lately give
On, valuable contributions; he then called acros
the ses to Cuba, the pearl of the Antilles, tnei
hack 10 the continent again, which he moune,
along the vsl,y 1T Magdslepa up to the table
lsro OF th. CoIdlleras. Thus he scanned tn
majestic sulltudts OF Quito, and navigated tn
COATS Of M Pacific he has coolured ny for q
the depsred world oi the State OF the lncss IN HI
hie. biestbng pictures and tue delIneatons; thu
he wandered Though Mexico aud classlcally de
scibed ", returning thence by the United state
10 Europe. But while he was patty editing. partly
pi.Jsrng his works on the bew world, he received
H. lS1y. The sum- mons to travel, accompanied b