116 SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS 



in Paris, to arrange, with the faithful friend and 

 companion of his travels, the abundant material 

 which had been collected. He received the co- 

 operation of the most distinguished men of 

 Paris, viz., Cuvier, Gay-Lussac, Arago, Vau- 

 quelin, Oltmann, Laplace, and others. Nearly 

 a whole year was occupied in preparation 

 for the publication of his great work. In the 

 spring of 1805 Alexander von Humboldt could 

 no longer resist his earnest longing to see 

 Wilhelm, and he left accordingly for Rome, 

 with the intention to remain for some time. 

 The house of Wilhelm von Humboldt was at 

 this time the centre of a circle of the most 

 eminent persons present in Rome, and the 

 arrival of Alexander must have added very 

 materially to its lustre. To witness the meeting, 

 after a separation of some years, of these 

 remarkable brothers,* who were so tenderly 

 united by love, and intellectually so great and 

 intimate, must have been a sublime spectacle. 

 Wilhelm, above all others, could comprehend 

 and appreciate the new views of his brother 

 concerning the great phenomena of nature in the 

 New World ; and he, himself, in consequence of 

 Alexander's discoveries, could realize a more 



* The brothers Humboldt were called " German Dioscuri." 



