OF BAKON HUMBOLDT. 3 



knowledge, but pre-eminently as a man in the 

 world of men. It is good to contemplate the 

 union of a well-balanced character with a com- 

 pleted and harmonious destiny. Like the Gre- 

 cian mother, who feasted her eyes on perfect 

 statues, that her unborn child might possess 

 something of their beauty, so that divine order 

 which Humboldt sought for with religious fer- 

 vour throughout the material world, seemed at 

 last to be reflected in the wonderful symmetry 

 of his life. Fortune, however, was less partial 

 than people were apt to suppose. And, though 

 Humboldt was born under a happy planet, 

 and it is difficult to imagine circumstances 

 more favourable than those which surrounded 

 his childhood, yet the same good fortune in 

 hundreds of other instances would only have 

 produced mediocrity. The germ of character 

 lay far below the influence of circumstances. 



The history of Humboldt' s early life, though 

 meagre and imperfect, yet furnishes the neces- 

 sary clue to its grand development. His first 

 teacher * was the translator of that wonderful 

 fiction, more real than reality, " Robinson Cru- 

 soe." His friend and companion was George 

 Forster, who had accompanied the celebrated 



* J. H. Campe. 

 B 2 



