MEMOIR OF FLEISCHER. 521 



grainmar by De Sacy with the " Beitnige,^^ is occupied, on the fiehl of 

 lexicography, by Dozy's 8iq)plnnent, eniiched by Fleischer's corrections 

 and additions. His " Minor Works," covering, together with the others 

 mentioned, 2225 pages, are a legacy, the conscientions use of which will, 

 for a long time, continue to be the prime dutj^ of every scientific Ara- 

 bist. 



We should use it however not only conscientiously, but also with 

 the most grateful remembrance. We should always bear in mind that 

 Fleischer, in order to become for his pupils and co-laborers what he was 

 to them, refrained from working for himself except by working for 

 others, and this at a time when his powers were at their height and his 

 comprehensive learning in its ripest state. 



Possibly manj^ a one has shared the feeling of a prominent and 

 clever co-laborer of mine, who said to me some years ago that it vexed 

 him to think that Fleischer, with his magnificent learning and ability, 

 was deserting from the solution of the highest problems. I can not 

 agree with my nameless friend. Diverse gifts — one mind. Some, vent- 

 uring fearlessly abroad, are permitted to discover new domains ; others 

 secure law and order at home. Not the one by itself, nor the other is 

 the desideratum. The one cannot stand without the other. When 

 Fleischer came upon the stage we stood in need of law and order, 

 which he secured. Now, let the venturesome go forth upon voyages of 

 discovery ; the less talented will still do well to remain at home and 

 watch lest law and order be undermined. Certainly it would have 

 been a great achievement if, for instance, our sheikh had built up the 

 edifice of Islamic doctrines for us. But has he not done better in sharp- 

 ening tools for many generations of workers, so that now they may 

 themselves build, not so quickly and not so high, but on a broad base 

 and with many wings ? 



"Let me say briefly that from my early youth I have dimly felt the 

 desire and hope to cultivate uiyself, my whole self, such as it is," writes 

 Wilhelm Meister to his wise friend Werner. Man's duty with regard 

 to his own gifts has never been expresse<l more pertinently. Fleischer's 

 was a sagacious, acute, and sensible mind. He in nov/ise sympathized 

 with what is mystic and ambiguous. A critic by nature, he exercised 

 his critical faculties not only upon others, hut also and chiefly upon 

 himself. Besides, he was faithful to duty, a lover of truth, benevolent, 

 humbly self-sacrificing, and single-minded. Not one of these natural 

 traits did he fail to cultivate conscientiously, Tior did he ever attempt 

 to lay false claims to virtues which he did not possess. A man of this 

 kind could not fail to see that only by means of self-restraint can one 

 succeed in perfectly cultivating one's own nature. In no respect, — 

 neither in his views, nor in liis studies, — was he one-sided; but he knew 

 accurately wherein his strength lay, and was too sensible to sin against 

 the proverb: " Qui trap emhrasse, mal etreint.'" ''II nefaut pa>i courir 

 deux lievres a lafois,^^ he once wrote to me, — (he often delighted in using 



