COLLEGE LIFE. 85 



place the importance of peaceful aims and pure intellectual 

 interests in their true light. In place of a mere love of adven- 

 ture, he was led by a spirit of thoughtful investigation ; instead 

 of a search after worldly gain, he was moved by a desire to 

 gratify the love of knowledge. The study of nature and political 

 economy, the study of history and moral philosophy, as well as 

 an acquaintance with the exact sciences, were all collectively 

 regarded by him as the sole agents in moral elevation. From 

 Forster, the world has learnt, in the fullest sense of the terms, 

 both how to travel and how to describe travel. 



Humboldt often mentions Forster's name with grateful 

 remembrance and esteem. He speaks of him as a ' philosophe 

 aimable,' and when at the height of his fame alludes to him 

 in fi Cosmos ' l as his ' distinguished teacher and friend, whose 

 name I can never mention without a feeling of the most heart- 

 felt gratitude,' and as one who powerfully influenced the lite- 

 rature of Germany by the introduction of the modern book of 

 travel which affords a delightful contrast to the dramatic 

 fashion of the middle ages. ' Through his influence there 

 dawned a new era of scientific travel, having for its aim the 

 comparison of various countries and peoples. Endowed with 

 a keen susceptibility for the beautiful, and an imagination 

 enriched by the lovely scenes presented to him by Tahiti and 

 other peaceful islands of the Southern Seas, Ofeorge Forster 

 describes with a peculiar charm the varied glories of vegetation, 

 the conditions of climate, the varieties of food in connection 

 with the different habits of men, with reference to the races 

 from whom they sprang, and the country whence they originated. 

 In his works we see the reflection of a mind characterised by 

 originality, a love of truth, and an observant thoughtfulness, a 

 mind replete with images derived from a view of Nature in her 

 exotic loveliness. Not only in his excellent account of Captain 

 Cook's second voyage, but still more in his smaller works, is to 

 be traced the germ of that greatness which he subsequently 

 attained.' 



Free from the obligation of earning his livelihood, unat- 

 tracted by the honours of high station, and urged by no false 



1 < Kosmos/ vol. ii. pp. <35, 72. 



