72 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



an expounder of German law, the youthful Hugo, appointed 

 professor in 1789, excited universal attention as the founder of 

 a new system in the study of jurisprudence. 



But the pre-eminence of the University of Gottingen was un- 

 doubtedly due to the facilities it afforded to the study of mathe- 

 matics, physical science, and medicine. The pursuit of these 

 sciences had nothing in common with the philosophies of a 

 revolutionary freedom, nor with the idle speculations of meta- 

 physics; their object was the discovery and investigation of that 

 only which was available and useful for human life. Kastner 

 and Lichtenberg were not less distinguished for the pure science 

 of their lectures on mathematics and physics, than for the 

 classical wit and humour with which they were enlivened. 

 Lichtenberg illustrated his lectures upon applied mathematics^ 

 the theory of the earth, meteorology, electricity, and physics, 

 by means of a philosophical apparatus that was one of the most 

 complete of the time. Among the professors of chemistry, 

 Gmelin and Osiander are to this day mentioned with honour ; 

 the former distinguished for his work on ' The History of 

 Chemistry,' the latter known as a successful accoucheur, and 

 the founder of a museum of natural curiosities. Of all the 

 professors at Gottingen, the most renowned was Blumenbach, 

 6 who by his writings as well as by his animating lectures every- 

 where kindled a love for comparative anatomy, physiology, and 

 natural philosophy a love which he has carefully nurtured as 

 a sacred flame for more than half a century.' - l He was the first 

 in Germany to raise natural history, hitherto regarded merely 

 as a subject for the instruction of children, to the dignity of a 

 science, and successfully demonstrated it to be in intimate con- 

 nection with the history of the world and of mankind. His 

 works have been translated into nearly all the European lan- 

 guages. He formed comparative anatomy into a distinct 

 branch of study, and in 1785, long before Cuvier's time, he ex- 

 pounded in a complete course of lectures the system he had 

 established. 



Upon his arrival at Gottingen, Alexander von Humboldt 

 found his brother already on terms of friendly intercourse with 



1 Alexander von Humboldt's 'Rede bei Eroffnung der Versammlung- 

 deutscher Naturforscher nnd Aerzte in Berlin ana 18. Sept. 1828, J p. 6. 



