KESIDENCE AT BERLIN TO THE REVOLUTION OF JULY. 133 



existence he had by theory been able to predict ; Sommering, 

 the most distinguished anatomist of the age, who, with an 

 eagerness equal to that with which he investigated the marvels 

 of organic structure, has examined the solar faculse and spots 

 those openings and thickenings in the undulating sea of light ;. 

 and lastly, Blumenbach, my teacher, who by his writings and 

 animating lectures has everywhere kindled the love of compara- 

 tive anatomy, physiology, and natural philosophy a love which 

 he has carefully nurtured as a sacred flame for more than half 

 a century. Shall I not be excused for yielding to the tempta- 

 tion offered me by the absence of these great men to ornament 

 my address by names which will continue for ages to be held 

 in veneration ? 



' These observations upon the intellectual wealth of Ger- 

 many, with which the progress and development of our Asso- 

 ciation is so closely connected, naturally lead me to the 

 consideration of the obstacles presented to securing the advan- 

 tage of united effort in any important scientific undertaking. 

 The chief object of the Association, as stated upon its insti- 

 tution, is not like that of other academies, where the members, 

 forming a restricted community, meet for the communication 

 of papers or the delivery of lectures, which, being intended 

 for publication, are at the close of the annual session printed 

 in the Society's memoirs. The object of this Association is 

 to bring into personal contact those who are labouring in 

 the same field of science, to secure verbal, and therefore the 

 most effective, interchange of ideas, whether concerning facts, 

 opinions, or even doubts, and to give opportunity for the for- 

 mation of friendly relationships, by which scientific knowledge 

 may be increased, the pleasures of life heightened, and for- 

 bearance and gentleness promoted. 



c The ancient Greeks, who attained an unexampled height of 

 intellectual culture, and whose latest descendants, saved as it 

 were from the wreck of nations, are still the objects of our 

 keenest solicitude, exhibited during the splendour of the 

 Hellenic age their keen appreciation of the vast difference 

 between speech and writing. It was not alone the difficulty 

 of interchanging ideas, nor the want of that art given to the 

 world by Germany, whereby thought as on wings is spread 



