St. Mary's beacon., 1859-07-28
SELECTED MISCELLANY.
rhs sa.acvy Side of Humboldt.

Our ucighbDg OF the Clrlsuan C"'o"'
,ain,ing 10 Just eD!ors the elevation. purity
Intellectual depth and compass, anI mArvr!-
Jus requirements Of Humboldt. AIDS thiS
,triking estimation Of his ono defect:
TneEe IA much In the contemplation oi Such
80 as this % excite our admiration.
ihcsc- purposrs, aud il was ever true !"
ful, inyriaa Humboldt WAS earnest, u"'h-
that which he lpd, AMI always devoted tn
mankind. The grcatred for the good "i
ligs was in failing u inG vii OF his n"oIe
his va., acAfi, men. Socrates Shi;h Is the
crates was the Hun?iuRl HuniuRQl..k kno~lense-1Ee" ~
the idea of GOOD WAS the hishcH. IIh''
Hlncc ho matter what else Ne NJ, "
the want Of that knowledge is the ~,
everything And Pla,n AID Aristotle .,n ~
Cured with Socrates in this grrl, IL"ugh,-
They could not tua It's, crates occupied In
apex oi human wI, lnm, but it WI, no Pis
Eah-hci,;ht % i'm. fpr the grdly Land VI
not IN sight. Il j., however, matter tn l.
deeply d'.pInre,! that Flumhnlt ,r,tld MT fn
this gnOdly Land. lie mulr past. board land
scapcs ami regarded them A. heavenly II
would not seek truth in Christianity As h
sought il in Phv-ical Scicncc.
When he found men announcing tina
there were five lines of direction through
which mountain ranges were 10 be studied
he went ~ work upon analysis and strip
ped the problem frrnl every element or mn
certainty by discovering that only two q
the i've lines of direction were cunnecte,
with the study Of uioTn'ain ranges. lie wa
able To- tell why the Andes. with peaks 1t
perpetual snow. had M glac'"rs he .ur
Veyed the magnetic forces with balances il
his wcll-furni>hcd mnd that enabled him I,
separate the true frum the fals-; hs surveyc,
civilization in its early as well as recent cen
tiers he weighed every fact OF observation
that had been recorded, on ANY of the cle>
uicnts OF S,nogra2hy he looked upon nj
the richrs nf tropical life, and his min,
glanced from the equator to either pole. witt
the power 10 seize every feature of natura
phenomena and place it in its Ii-htful pn
Siiion h, ;raver>-d the great oceans al,
made them Yield treasure 10 him, whicf
they never surrendered To any other mortal
he climbed Chmborazn and bathed =. 'h
ether, in which the cuin'.' n"ats nc our
veved The archipelago Of each continent, am
ranged among the Polynesia; he l"oked I"
h.yTiads before him have l"nkcd, III ave an'
wonder at the Z"diac light, t9fs Ffsriss S Of n,
S'oss' A'u IPo"a and In short, ne i"k"d II
nnon every physical fact that nature possesses
uPo" S'' -...'S.s st.o lUTutficSS Sicb
and thsE. al that the mind Of man ha.
altered, and in all the prvdigal affiucuce will
which n quick. active and pcrsevering min,
had loaded his unparalleled lhb,rs he failed I,
find ghA which was worth all that he knew
Tie m1sG exalted truth in this planet is thai
q - has given every human beng the privi.
Elege of being freed from sin, Of having hi,
whole moral nature renovated. of being ar
heir of blissful immortality, by the proper us,
of two elements Of human charactcr-the be
hri Of one fact, and by the obedience which
that belief demands. II he has not furnish
cd evidence Tor the belief, the belief Is an i'm.
\ possibility If the terms that express the ex
sct obedience are clear and explicit, obedience
o. Of the question. These are the very
-sGsooi,IPiS submitted to each mind for investiga
sSH' .. L->l.l. ----,.,,,; 10 ,b, o~;s,
snce OF the word impossible in physical ,,be
noplena; why was he timnrous in sni,i,m.r
mA.tsfs lie was quiet, thoughtful. loyinc
eontempishTe man. of boundleSs activity hn,
Paul. e conn., or
!, from the enlarged and spreading horizon ~
tae eontemplations Of Humboldt in n,,mroi
philosophy, world Of beauty and truth waS
eSoved, ont II has neither spirit nor innor-
tahty % u. His enlarged soul lunscG f.,
s"a.s' and his pleading for it are As plsip,ive
- The tones Of an eolian harp. He had G,i,b
IN the unity of the race arising frum ..the rc-
moval OF the impedilneu,s To the intellectual
advance at mankind and the ennnbleme,t of
snc'A! institutions" He held that the ,princ,,cs
OF indlvednal and political freedom are implan,.
ed 10 the tneradicable conviction Of the eoua,
rights OF one sole human race thus" a. bc
eays, mankind presents itself 10 our cont.rn.
Plation a. one great fraternity and as one in
dependent urity. striving for the attainment,
OF one ainl-the free development OF mort
vigor. And Humb,pldt deceived himself in,.,
the idea that "she condition Of humanity h..
'enes by .hc generating Influence Of its dircc.
I'on. most Speciality 10 Ihat which c!eva,es and
AnlmaieS eoSnlical life"
!. bat numh''ldi Was born anFlst the bnrriJ
IN OF tlla: strange hybrid. the Pnacs, s,,;.,n
y Prussia, lashi,'ne,l hv the clumsy Lands ,f
ne nrst frederick, srd brought int, co,,,rrn,
, Eredsssek the GTrAI. The clansOr. the an.
's.laag dlssonaHcea. the hatred, the want or
0aaresN The utter jc!k.crcmens rf the spirit,