90 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



crew,' as Groethe calls the Berlinese, to pull down everything 

 claiming distinction when the first ebullition of enthusiasm 

 had become exhausted. In writing to Encke from Paris on 

 December 23, 1831, he remarks: 'It is the good old custom 

 of my native city to rate the inhabitants of Berlin, in the ab- 

 stract, above the citizens of any other town in Europe, while 

 at the same time it would roll in the mud and tear limb from 

 limb any who dared openly to praise in a foreign land any indi- 

 vidual citizen, especially if his name should be of a Semitic 

 character. ... It is a gain to the whole community if the 

 individual be torn to pieces. One is obliged to say that Berlin 

 is the first city in the world, one dares not say that the works 

 of Schinkel are worthy of the admiration which you and I 

 accord them. Every individual forms a part of Berlin in the 

 abstract, and apart from this aggregate no individuality is 

 tolerated.' It must have been in some such mood that he 

 inscribed, when about seventy years of age, upon the cover of a 

 portfolio containing botanical notices for ' Cosmos,' the follow- 

 ing words : < Shame on thee, Berlin ! I am weary of thee ; thou 

 art nothing better than a bear-garden.' 



After all that has been said, it may seem somewhat strange 

 that Humboldt, on February 16, 1827, only a few weeks before 

 his final departure from Paris, should write to Gauss in the 

 following strain : c It has not been without an effort that I have 

 come to the resolution of yielding up a portion of my liberty 

 and relinquishing a scientific position in which I have enjoyed 

 many varied pleasures during the last eighteen years. But I 

 do not regret the step that I have taken. I was exceedingly 

 impressed with the intellectual life of Germany on my last visit 

 to my native country, and the prospect of living in your vicinity 

 and of being surrounded by those who share with me my 

 admiration for your great and universal talent, has been an im- 

 portant element in the formation of this decision. I shall not 

 lack the will to make myself useful, and I shall always rely 

 upon your counsel as upon the counsel of a " great master in 

 the art.'" To those who are familiar with Humboldt's epistolary 

 style these words present no difficulty. He does not venture 

 to state that his decision is a voluntary one, and it is evident 

 that the motive he adduces in the ' vicinity ' to Gauss, who 



