The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-09-15
s, and eo,nStmes 50, the whole Of the lifetime OF

Meanwhile, though tho Intellect ual cnorey
q, .nnrer rh was Gmroduay Era discovering BY practical
best advantage, vet the actual amount OF that
energy, o. what may call its specific value.
renamed the samo. Tho material for study
constantly growing in bulk and complcx:ty.
tho capacity for study remained alnlos. uu,
changed, except in the Improvement of its
methods; and II was hnally found impractica-
PIE i9r to average ability OF the distinguished
ih'eliects OF our raco to conquer the whoIc
domain OF physical knowledge. Nor will W,
W"ndor ut this. when we call to mind tho in.
,'e thn DIVERSITY in the unity of nature. and :a
.lo service she exacts Of her followers is in
ttellccluai LABOR, OF which Humboldt is one @
tne most remarkable representatives; q kiuG
VI nnplr go inthnse that it has been scicntif
caIy estimated that two hours OF such xer.
ton eIhausls the vital energy OF man as much
as a q whole day Of mtnual labor.
Ihese dlthcult'es IN the pursuit OF positive
knowledge of nature gradually, and indepen-
gently OF the yottion OF man, wrought out
their own result III the wcil.known form of a
aivIson ;nvis oi labor by which tho idea of a
single IndlviduaPs attaining TO the mastery Of
the whole field was fually abandoned. aud
each worker so,ectod aud devoted himself to q
single branch Of research.
The concentration OF individual energy upon
speclaties soon produced in sconce effects
similar to those 1t has given birth to in COM
metcc aud to industrial arts, namely, incrcas-
cd production with less expenditure OF time
But II is easy to understand that the more The
study OF the Cosmos became thoreby divided
into separate channels and tho more the de-
the les. was it possible to ro.ain the links of
connection which, in nature, bind all these to-
Gether into one great whole, animated by what
We may call slngle life. Tho difficulty Of do
ing sowas, moreover. increased by tho fact that
sue co5lnical principles OF unity as were par
TALLY revealed from timo to time to observers
wore sect to involve vii ,llv new conceptions,
such rs the human mind could not have fore
| sceu. A little reflection will disclose to us the
reason OF this new difficulty in the great diff
ference there is between til; perception OF o
rn ~
hotional perception OF the unity of creation
men had had from tho earliest epochs, and
less degree i'll past ages, by the prevalence of
polytbeism, wo may say that this perception
! has always existed, either in q latent form or
with that degree OF distinct vitality which it
maneSts in tue pIgcs OF our Bibles; vitality
| to which our present knowledge can add
| nothing.
Now, our modern science began it's career
with this perception and has always retained
| it, and modern soenco has mover yet attained
! to rational conception of tho unity Of nature.
ln making such distinctions as these, compari-
one here.
1t has for example always been perceived by
mankiud that the light aud heat of the sun are
essential sss to tho Sell-being OF animals and
plants; and so greatly ut timos las that percep-
| tion influenced human thought, that religious
systems have boon formed upon or modified by
it: Yet 80 far rs is known, it was not until
within q few years past that science came to
understand that light and hoat once considered
US fluids, are really forces, which, in the lumi-
nous splendor Of our central orb, are combined
with other forces, such rs actnism and mag
! nctism, and that the operation OF these forces
| from tho sun produces upon Garth that endless
| internal movement OF matter which is the es-
sental condition of the exercise OF vital activity.
Thus, though mon have always perceioed that
| sunlight is essential to organic life, they have
never, until quite recently. approached to
| clear conception OF the mutual relation between
| these two things.
| In manner precisely similar, science has
always perceived the unity Of the Cosmos, 5ut
has pever yet arrival. &C q. rational conception
! G' IT. Always, however, aspiring to such q
conception, many and varied have been the
| speculative attempts in philosophical syster,sS--
to discover aouie principle funlfication, which.
derived from pure theory, might supply tho
means OF reaching that conception without the
such were nearly all the phyaIcai doctrines on;
tue Greeks and OF the Middle Ages. They.
with others OF more modern birth, lie scattered
which we sometimes trace the migration
| OF races. Notwithstanding the germs of
truth, which many Of them contain, they
IN turn bss Supd oa ns1 sEsbI
truth that man cannot preconceive the mys-
alone, by well directed AMI unceasiug labor, can
gradually bring US to nearer view OF these
| mysteries. Tho rational conception OF the
attained, but, perhaps, it never oan BIO fully
| attained because it may, and probably Does
| involve one OF those apparent contradictions
Which ssm constitute the limits Of human thought.
| I'VE are still. snys Humboldt, "very far from
the time when it will be possible FOR us 10 re-
duce by tho operation OF thought al that We
perceive by tie senses. to the unity. ora ra-
tional principle. It may even be doubted"
he contlnues, "if such victory could ever be
aentsyed in the field Of Natural Philosophy.
feI, he concludes. seven partial solution
| OF the problem--the tendency towards the
! comprehension Of the phenomena OF the ut,ie
syerseAwill not the less remain the eternAl ana
sublime aim ofevery investigation OF natutS."
Such, then, boing the problem towards the
science must tend. and such as we have seen
beng tho natural laws aud conditions which
make that progress what it is. we are, Thops,
III position to understand the relation OF
Hu:nboIdt to the advancement OF human
knowledge. and the magnitude OF the task
which he seems to have been specially design
| ed to accomplish. ~ .2tt
The Infinite diversity Of the special phenon,-
| ena OF fnalure which had compelled men tacitly
to adopt system OF division OF labor, had un-
avoidabiy led at the same time to a virtual
neglect Of the problem Of the unity Of nature.
The study OF special adaptations to special.
ends, seemed to engage tho whole attention OF
scienthc men, and though out OF suoh re-
searches often grew the most splendid gene
ralizatons Of the last Importance to science.
yet these were for the most part limited by
their nature to the special departments in
eining all the results Of ali OF the many fields
OF Systematic research into one whole, pre-
serving at the same time their true relations
! to each other, seems to have been quietly pass
ed oy as an impraoticable undertaking.
10 any other man than HumboldtIt proba-
1 ply would have been 30. He who should at
tempt THE work must frat make himself prae-
ticaily aud critically familiar with every hrauoh
ofphysicai science. No eIoyolopedlst, no com
pler. no mere bookworm. could be the author.
otthe Cosmos. He who would put the problem
OF the unity OF crestion into . distinct and
tangible form, by bringing to one focus all the
mRnifold lights derived from the researchea of
innumnrabo observers IN tho most varied fields
OF research, must be by nature critic and a
judge OF other men's labors, and must, more
over, qualify himself by culture for the exer-
else OF bis functions. We all know the great
distance between these two things. Every
| one recognizes that to be Judge
| or what other men have done is o very differ
ent thing from being the moro narrator OF
their achievements. In great musical per-
formance any ona, however unskilful, may en-
| Joy the full harmony and tho exquisite melody,