Humboldt's Letters. 37 



whole physical astronomy ; our globe, its interior, exte- 

 rior ; electro-magnetism of its interior ; vulcanism, that is, 

 the reaction of the interior of a planet upon its surface ; 

 organization of the masses ; a concise geognosy ; ocean ; 

 atmosphere ; climate ; organic matter ; vegetable geogra- 

 phy; animal geography ; human races and languages; the 

 physical organization of which (articulation of sounds) is 

 controlled by the intellect, the product and manifestation 

 of which is language. In the special part all numerical 

 results, the most minute, as in " Laplac&s Exposition 

 du Systeme du Monde." As these particulars do not 

 admit the same literary perfection of style as the general 

 combinations of natural science, the simple facts are 

 stated in short sentences, arranged in tabular order. The 

 attentive reader will find condensed in a few pages all 

 results on climate, magnetism of the earth, etc., which it 

 would take years of application to learn by study. The 

 intimate relations of the fundamental details, for the sake 

 of literary harmony with the general plan, are effected by 

 brief introductory remarks to each chapter. Otfried 

 Mueller, in his ably written " Archaeology," has very suc- 

 cessfully pursued the same method. 



It was my wish that you, my dear friend, should get 

 a clear perception of my undertaking from myself. I 

 have not succeeded in concentrating the whole in one 

 single volume, however magnificent the effect of such 

 conciseness would have been. I hope, however, that 



