54 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



this branch of classic philology, for several of his early writings 

 are on kindred subjects, such as c On the Basalt of ancient and 

 modern Authors ; ' ; On the Syenite of the Ancients ; ' 4 On the 

 Basalt of Pliny and the Columnar Rocks of Strabo,' which were 

 incorporated into his work, ' Mineralogical Observations on 

 some Basalts of the Ehine.' 



Concerning the course of his studies, even at this period, 

 nothing definite can be ascertained. The only information 

 on the subject is to be gathered from his letters to his friend 

 Wegener. In the beginning of May he tells him that he was re- 

 ceiving instructions in Greek from Bartholdi, and ' was still 

 struggling with prophets and otters 1 in the first declension.' 

 Yet within a month, in order to save his grammatical reputa- 

 tion from the charge of an error in declension, he writes 

 him a formal letter in Greek, without accents, but with this 

 preface : ; I must freely confess that I fear you will not under- 

 stand a syllable of all that I have written, and then I shall 

 have to say with Sancho Panza : " Your worship does not 

 understand me? No matter. God who knows all things 

 understands me. " 



The letter concludes in German : ' Thus much, and possibly 

 already too much for to-day, my dear friend. From these 

 few lines, which I have put together without a master (there- 

 fore the faults must all rest upon my own shoulders), you will 

 be able to judge of my progress in Greek. I work hard, and 

 continue to study it with pleasure. If I could only have 

 followed my own inclination, and had not always to contend 

 against a disagreeable mental constraint a something that was 

 impossible to define, although I was conscious of its powerful in- 

 fluence I should long since have prosecuted this study with 

 greater energy. The more I know of the Greek language, the 

 more am I confirmed in my preconceived opinion that it is the 

 true foundation for all the higher branches of learning. It was 

 certainly very ill contrived of me to build my house on mere 

 sand ; yet the foundations of so temporary a structure as mine 

 may easily be relaid, and therefore it does not distress me 

 that I am only learning to decline estiva in my nineteenth 

 year. 



