154 SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS 



afforded him a guide to the discovery of its 

 laws. He originated the modern school which 

 unites physical science with human history, 

 and which has produced, in its mode of in- 

 vestigation, remarkable results. This mathe- 

 matical, exact method of research is due to 

 Humboldt. It is at present the acknow- 

 ledged method of the most eminent naturalists, 

 though it cannot be denied that it led to the 

 most trifling empiricism in those who only 

 adopted Humboldt' s method, without possessing 

 his powers of combination, and his lofty insight 

 into the laws of the physical Cosmos. 



When we consider the style in which Hum- 

 boldt 5 s works are written, we find repeated 

 confirmation of the well-known motto : " The 

 man himself is the style." 



Two nations, the Germans and the French, 

 claim Humboldt as a classical author. In both 

 languages he is equally eminent in the striking 

 simplicity of his literary productions, although 

 he had frequently to deal with subjects in them- 

 selves dry, and notwithstanding that the repe- 

 tition of strict scientific facts is ill adapted for 

 elegant forms. His scientific dissertations are 

 distinguished by certainty and consecutive evi- 

 dence. His descriptions of nature are faithful 

 pictures, which produce an immediate and vivid 



