Notice of Professor Steffens’ Geological Writings. 355 
state of things which then prevailed, and, amidst the con. 
fusion which existed, they were probably scarcely read, and 
certainly not attended to. 
Malte-Brun deserted his Emperor, in such an incompre- 
hensible manner, that it may well be supposed his want of 
feeling was very distasteful to me, and was disgusting to a 
man of such determined principles as Heiberg. The latter 
hated such weak characters, and Malte-Brun seemed to fear 
his countryman, so that they never saw each other. 
Some years after the war, I saw mentioned in one of the 
French newspapers, that Malte-Brun had opened a salon which 
was much frequented. He died during the Restoration.* 
a ee nN 
Notice of Professor Steffens’ Geological Wi ritings. 
Tux author of the preceding paper, Professor Steffens, is 
one of the most remarkable men of the present day, for the 
diversity and accuracy of his acquirements, the multifarious- ‘ 
ness and brilliancy of his writings, and the singularly varied 
events of his personal history. He has distinguished himself 
as a naturalist, a theologian, a moral philosopher, a novelist, 
an orator, and a soldier. At present we propose giving a 
short sketch of his contributions to geology, which we borrow 
from Hoffmann’s Hinterlassene Werke. 
Although Steffens did not receive all his geological instrue- 
tion in the school of Freiberg,t yet he attached himself with 
peculiar zeal to the views there promulgated, and endeavoured 
to impart to them a higher philosophical meaning, by attempt- 
ing to prove the internal connection of many of the pheno- 
mena of the formation of the earth’s crust. The natural- 
philosophical school, which was in the course of being formed at 
the early period of his career, and of which Schelling may be 
regarded as the first representative, endeavoured to explain a 
* Malte-Brun died suddenly at Paris in 1826, in the midst of his labours 
as Secretary of the Geographical Society, His widow received a small pen- 
sion from the Jowrnal des Debats.—Epir. 
t Before going to Freiberg he published his essay, “ Ueber Mineralogie 
und das Mineralogische Studium.” Altona, 1797.—Eprv. 
