270 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



aristocracy pervades the work, and I am disgusted with his 

 scheme for an Upper House, composed exclusively of titles and 

 eldest sons. His sympathies are quite Hanoverian, and this 

 passes in Germany for liberalism. Civilisation in its infancy ! ' l 

 On this, as on most other subjects, Humboldt was accustomed 

 to adopt the French mode of thought, but this did not prevent 

 him forming a just estimate of the condition of home affairs. 2 

 The proceedings of the Diet gave him ground for hope. The 

 king's answer to the address appeared to him excellent. It 

 gave evidence,' he remarked, c of a softening of rigid dogmatism, 

 a leaning towards the reception of new ideas, and contained a 

 .promise that the Diet should periodically be convened. The 

 patent as at present drawn up is impracticable. The impos- 

 sible cannot be accomplished, but with moderate demands and 

 a spirit of compliance the end may, I hope, be attained. It is 

 difficult to trace the boundary-line which is supposed to exist 

 between a constitutional form of government and the system 

 promised in the patent. I have no doubt it will give great 

 offence to many, but I have every confidence in the intelli- 

 gence and noble sentiments of the king. We must all strive 

 to lessen the difficulties of his position, so that Vienna and St. 

 Petersburg may not be allowed to triumph.' 3 It would have 

 been scarcely possible for anyone at that period to have spoken 

 in a manner more reasonable, more 'considerate, or with more 

 unbounded confidence. It is true that on this, as on other occa- 

 sions, his sentiments suffered a reaction in consequence of the 

 failure of the expectations which the king had excited. In 

 October Humboldt describes the king on his return from the 

 Rhine ' as being in his usual high spirits,' but adds sorrowfully 

 that in matters relative to the constitution ' all progress is at 

 a stand-still, and there is no prospect of a settlement.' 4 Had 

 the French Revolution of 1 848 never occurred, the development 

 of affairs in Prussia might possibly have pursued the even 

 course which, from the nature of the contending forces, Hum- 



1 See ' Briefweclisel und Gesprache Alexander von Humboldt's mit 

 einem jungen Freunde' (Berlin, 1861), p. 9. 



2 Ibid. p. 10. 



3 ' Brief e an Bunsen,' No. 51. 



4 Ibid. No. 55. 



