THE LAST TEN YEARS. 415 



of the age, forms, as it were, a picture of the intellectual pro- 

 gress hitherto attained. These ideas, when stimulated to re- 

 production, lead to an historical delineation of the century, and, 

 the more imperative the demand in consequence of a sub- 

 division of labour for a summary of isolated efforts, the more 

 enthusiastic will be the expressions of gratitude towards those 

 by whom it has been accomplished. It is to the physical 

 sciences, especially as combining so many branches of investi- 

 gation, that the present century is indebted for that general 

 international civilisation by which the whole human family is 

 brought into unison. It is no wonder, therefore, that the fame 

 of Alexander von Humboldt rests upon a wider basis than that 

 of any of his predecessors among the historians of science. 

 With the rapid growth of political institutions in modern 

 times, the history of civilisation has fully kept pace ; in Hum- 

 boldt the whole civilised world recognised its ideal representa- 

 tive, and when his testimony was sealed in death, it tendered 

 to him its thanks for the indefatigable manner in which he had 

 given expression to its theoretic and practical aims and wishes 

 with the stormy enthusiasm characteristic of a grateful multi- 

 tude. 



That he thereby became invested with an adventitious glory, 

 can be no subject of surprise. We must no longer hesitate to 

 admit that Alexander von Humboldt is not to be ranked as a 

 mind of the highest order. In his moral constitution a remark- 

 able complexity is noticeable ; with the purest benevolence, and 

 most elevated views of life, there was often painfully apparent 

 in the e very-day occurrences of social life a thousand mean 

 motives and unworthy calculations. As in the composition 

 of ' Cosmos,' the grandeur of generalisation often rises above 

 the dry detail of scientific research, so in the routine of daily 

 life there often burst forth in Humboldt the ideal principles 

 of his moral consciousness. In his judgment of character, too, 

 there was frequently to be observed in sharp contrast a firm 

 belief in the best with the strongest suspicion of the worst. 

 The former incited him to flattering praise of any he might 

 be addressing, irrespective of personal merit beyond the claims 

 of universal humanity ; the latter led him to employ the 

 ironical criticism which he directed with equal readiness against 



