206 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



rendered so accessible, that even indolent persons may now find 

 inducement to become its votaries. By its means truth may be 

 so easily attained that the love of the unreal is subdued. The 

 teachings and demonstrations of science are so conclusive that 

 by their light the most mysterious and incomprehensible 

 phenomena of nature are seen to take place in the most regular 

 order, and entirely without the influence of the supernatural ; 

 this must at length effect a cure in those poor ignorant mortals 

 who thirst after the mystery of extraordinary manifestations, 

 by showing them that the extraordinary is after all so ordinary, 

 the inexplicable so easy of explanation. I pray daily to my 

 good genius to be preserved from every other form of doctrine 

 or method of observation, and to be always kept in that un- 

 obtrusive path that leads to truth.' 



The love of scientific investigation animating alike Karl 

 August and Humboldt originated in a similar temperament and 

 constitution of mind. One instance of their sympathy on these 

 subjects will suffice. 



In the momentous year of 1808 Humboldt dedicated, as is 

 well known, his ' Aspects of Nature ' to ' those oppressed spirits 

 who, glad to escape from the stormy waves of life,' are willing 

 to follow him through the dense glades of primeval forests, 

 across immeasurable plains and over the rugged heights of the 

 Andes. 



In equal need of such a refuge, Karl August sought and 

 found this peace of mind in the study of botany. When Eohr, the 

 court chaplain, once expressed to the prince his astonishment at 

 the extensive knowledge he displayed on the subject, the prince 

 replied : ' I can easily give you the explanation, my dear Rohr. 

 When in the year 1806 our country was overwhelmed with mis- 

 fortune, and I saw around me so much falsehood, treason, and 

 deception, my faith in man was destroyed. In my despair the 

 only thing that sustained me was my inextinguishable love of 

 nature. Disgusted with mankind, I turned to the study of 

 plants, and made flowers my companions, and the flowers have 

 never deceived me ! ' 



Humboldt was, in fact, early honoured by the prince's confi- 

 dence, and indeed to such a degree that upon his recommenda- 

 tion in 1797, Scherer was summoned to Weimar as Counsellor 



