178 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of Humboldt and was made professor of oriental languages in the uni- 

 versity. He devoted himself mainly to Sanscrit, and published his 

 dictionary of that language in 1827. The first part of his 'Compara- 

 tive Grammar,' by which his fame was gained, appeared in 1852. 

 Other editions appeared at different times from 1856 to 1862, and the 

 last edition shortly after his death in 1868. To him all orientalists 

 owe a debt of gratitude. Jacob Grimm gave himself to the study of 

 the German language and William von Humboldt to the study of the 

 philosophy of language, in which his writings are as important for the 

 science of law as those of Linnaeus for the science of botany. Every 

 one knows what Xiebuhr did for history, which he studied in the belief 

 that knowledge of it is of value for the present day. Boeckh found 

 his chief interest for the time in which he lived, in the study of life 

 and government among the ancient Greeks. Bekker was famous for 

 his studies of Homer, his editions of Provencial works, his studies in 

 old French and Italian and in modern Greek. From him Lachmann 

 learned the true method of criticism. Wilker and Friederich von 

 Raumer were students of universal history, the latter being known for 

 his 'History of the Crusades.' Savigny and Eichorn were historians 

 of law, as Niebuhr was of Rome and Neander of the church. Savigny 

 is the founder of the historical school of jurisprudence, and immortal- 

 ized himself in a six-volume history of 'Roman Law in the Middle 

 Ages.' K. E. Eichorn is the father of the history of German law. 

 Von Ranke, who died in 1886, stands at the head of modern historians. 

 As he went to the original sources for what he wrote, his books will 

 not soon lose their value. Hoffmann, the statesman, became famous 

 as a statistician and a political economist. It is said of him, as of no 

 one else in his time, that he knew how to arrange statistics scientifically 

 and to deduce ethical lessons from them. He was director of the 

 Prussian bureau of statistics and made it one of the most valuable in 

 Europe. These are some of the men who were in the academy during 

 the period under treatment and whose names are sufficient to furnish 

 reasons for the fame it attained and for the share it had in contributing 

 to the knowledge of the world. Indeed it has been proudly said that 

 no volume of the 'Proceedings' during this period is without some 

 treatise which either founds a discipline or lifts an older one to a 

 higher grade. 



V. The Academy under Frederick William IV., ISJ^O to 1859. 

 Xot since the days of Frederick the Great had there been so warm 

 a friend of the academy on the throne as the new king. He was will- 

 ing to identify himself with the academy by attending its public meet- 

 ings as Frederick had not been. Save in the realm of politics and 

 theology he granted it full liberty of discussion and publication. He 

 was very friendly with Alexander von Humboldt, whom he had as a 



