Humboldt's Letters. 107 



I did not wish to mention Steffens, however much he 

 might deserve a reproach for his utter barrenness in. 

 experimental science, and for his vain and criminal idle- 

 ness. " Saturnalia " I call that merry but short farce, 

 of which lately I gave you some specimens, but which 

 are not from Steffens ; they are by some of his wor- 

 shippers several degrees lower down. Were Steffens a 

 poor savan, oppressed by the powerful, I would be 

 more careful ; but as you are an amateur of autographs, 

 I will give you one from which you will see how north- 

 ern kings believe that there exists in Berlin a Stef- 

 fensian philosophy, which is consoling to the theologians, 

 et qui tfest pas cette de Hegel! Steffens will believe 

 that he is included among those deep and powerful 

 thinkers, whose advice has been disregarded. Besides 

 the dangerous passage is immediately followed by 

 another : " Abuse of youthful talents ; for serious 

 minds, devoted equally to philosophy and to observa- 

 tion, have kept aloof from those Saturnalia." Such a 

 sentence is a defense, a fort detache, and Steffens cer- 

 tainly thinks that he, too, devoted himself to observa- 

 tion, when he once descended into a mine at Freiburg. 

 By softening anything I should spoil the whole, and 

 we ought in writing to show the same courage as in 

 speaking, but should do both in the same easy and 

 cheerful manner. 



Did you find out from Steffens's tiresome biography, 



