318 Analysis of Scientific Books, 



logist, a politician, and much more, but who has laboured, di- 

 rectly and indirectly, to make the world believe all this, and who 

 has contrived to succeed, ought to have been better informed, 

 more accurate, and more dependent on his own powers and re- 

 sources. Had he been all this indeed, we should have heard far 

 less of him, for he would have been more modest, and modesty 

 is not now the purchase-money of fame. There may be an ex- 

 cuse for bad writing, and confusion of thought and repetition, 

 because an author cannot go beyond his powers. But there is 

 little excuse for the perpetual ambition of being every thing ; and 

 there is none for inaccuracy, where accuracy is asserted, and 

 where it is easily attained, nor for claims to originality founded on 

 the labours of others. He at least who carrif^s quadrants and 

 wearies us with angles and immersions, is bound to be correct in 

 longitudes, and most certainly in latitudes ; and he who pub- 

 lishes the statistics of New Spain, would have judged more 

 wisely had he informed us that they were a collection of public 

 documents, and not the proper result of his own labour and ob^ 

 servation. 



But we must pass on to the work before us, and to the geo- 

 logy, or geognosy, of M. Humboldt. What we have extracted, 

 will serve to shew the laxity and vagueness of this author's ideas, 

 no less than of his writings. And it is not for the poor purpose 

 of criticising him alone, that we have examined his work ; but be- 

 cause, through him, we hope to induce other writers on the 

 same subject, to introduce more precision and purpose into their 

 geognostical writings. We are already encumbered with a mass 

 of useless and unintelligible matter, fit only for bonfires ; and if 

 we are to go on thus, a library of geology will soon rival the li- 

 braries of physicians. This is an age in which every man can 

 write something, and in which every man thinks it necessary 

 to write a book on something. Geognosy has the especial merit 

 of being an easy subject, " heaven bless the mark ;" since by 

 means of Hungary, Saxony, flotz, transition, and dolerite, with 

 a little aid from loxodromism, hyenas, potaraoid, acephalous, 

 types, and a few more magic words, volumes are made, as vo- 

 lumes have been made before. Some mercy is due to the un- 

 happy student, at least ; and he Avho has thus seen the " high 

 authority" of Humboldt doubted, may perhaps learn to doubt of 

 other authorities, and perhaps also learn to fear lest the same 

 measure may not be meted to himself, by future reviewers, less 

 humane than ourselves. 



Those who please to consider M. Humboldt as very great in 

 any other science, must enjoy their belief ; as that is their affair, 

 not ours. But it is our affair, to say that we do not consider him 

 a great geognost, practically, and that we do consider him a very 

 useless writer, not to say more. His book is meant, apparently. 



