OF BARON HUMBOLDT. 15 



live ; and this I consider to be his high moral 

 position as a man in the world of men. Hum- 

 boldt, in discovering the secrets of nature and 

 in explaining them to mankind, caused of 

 necessity a great change in the prevailing ideas 

 of the human race, and their purpose of life 

 and reality approached nearer to man. His 

 object was to labour for the whole : his actions 

 are interwoven with the history of mankind. 

 He did not overlook the limits which separate 

 the genius from the great mass, one period of 

 time from another. His idea concerning the 

 purpose of human life was to perceive below 

 the surface of phenomena the soul; and for 

 that purpose he searched for the germs of 

 truth, even in the darkest ages ; corrected 

 errors, and assisted in bringing to light facts 

 hitherto overlooked or ignored. Thus did he 

 reach the present high point by the conquered 

 steps of the past ; and it is no empty phrase 

 when some one, speaking of his " Cosmos," 

 remarked,- " In order to further Humboldt's 

 researches, the Phoenicians and the Greeks 

 must, two thousand years previously, navigate; 

 Aristotle originate a system of astronomy ; and, 

 from the beginning of modern times, Coperni- 

 cus, Kepler, and Galileo must wage the battle 

 against the prejudices of the people and the 



