642 RUDOLPH YIRCHOW, 1821-1902. 



set down in the Easter vacation of 1830. This first literary produc- 

 tion deserves in more than one respect the publication awarded to it 

 by the Prussian minister of education in the eightieth year of its 

 author's age, for the reader can see depicted in the child's inner life 

 many of the germs of character which unmistaka)>ly developed in the 

 work of later j^ears. 



. The youth of 17 expresses deep gratitude for the loving care of his 

 father, the treasurer of the town, who was enabled to meet with help- 

 fulness all the difficulties which rose up to oppose the eager humanistic 

 ambitions of the son. Reading and writing were learned from the 

 father; and at the town school and with the clergyman of the parish 

 he continued his preparation for college. But the way was not made 

 easy for him. The methods of instruction of the rector must have 

 been quite peculiar. "He so overrated nw knowledge that he gave 

 over the instruction of some l)eginners in Latin to me, so that I myself 

 forgot what little I had learned." The young teacher was at that time 

 but 11 years old. Private instruction with the preacher, Gantzkow, 

 remedied these defects, however, so that the happy student entered 

 the third class of the gymnasium at Koslin on May 1, 1835. 



In the pul)lication of the minister of education there is a portrait of 

 the boy at about ■! years of age which shows a friendly child face with 

 large, wide-opened eyes, the corners of the mouth a little drooping, 

 and the expression one of interested attention. The presence of certain 

 anatomical peculiarities which appear in later photographs, indicate 

 that the portrait must have been well drawn. By the aid of this like- 

 ness the reader can picture to himself the student at the gymnasium 

 who discloses in his diary his thoughtful spirit, and in whom the 

 extraordinary eagerness for knowledge, the sharp self-criticism, and 

 the love of truth havQ left the impress of an early maturitv. 



The undesirable influences of unworthy fellow-students upon his 

 impressionable and vivacious temperament during the second year 

 were overcome as a senior. He was certainly an exception among 

 young men of his age in that he realized what threatened him. He 

 writes " I can at least assure you that in the pursuit of pleasure 1 have 

 always sought to keep within proper bounds, and I believe I have 

 generally succeeded, at least so far that my studies have not suffered, 

 nor even has ni}^ health been impaired. The good spirit which rules 

 among my classmates of the senior year has aided me in this endeavor." 



His favorite studies were the natural sciences, history, and geog- 

 raphy, as well as the ancient classic writings of Cicero, Sallust, and 

 among the Greeks, Sophocles. To these he devoted his spare hours, 

 but at the same time ho did not neglect to improve himself f)y reading 

 French and German authors. The highly gifted lad early showed a 

 strong tendency to r(>ll(»ction, and soon acciuired a solidly grounded 

 and copious store of knowledge, which enabled the 3'oung student to 



