W0EKS PUBLISHED IN 1811. 329 



ciatc, all the Germans of their countryman, and all the 

 liberals of their fellow. 



"It has been rarely vouchsafed to a man in such degree 

 as to Humboldt, to stand forth in individual independence 

 and always equal to himself, and at one and the same 

 time, in scientific activity, and in the widest social and 

 international intercourse, in the solitude of minute in- 

 quiry, and in the almost confusing brilliancy of the 

 society of the day : but I know of no one who, with all 

 this, has endeavoured throughout his whole life to pro- 

 mote the progress and welfare of our race, so steadily, 

 uniformly, and with such ample success." 



Humboldt published three works in 1811 ; one in Ger- 

 man, on the Geography of Plants, another, or rather the 

 first volume of another, in French, on Zoology and Ana- 

 tomy, and another, also in French, on Mexico. It was 

 his " Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain." 



The title of this celebrated work gives but a poor in- 

 dication of its contents. It is not only a political essay 

 in the amplest sense of the word, but a geographical, mi- 

 neralogical, agricultural, and ethnological picture of Mex- 

 ico, as it appeared to Humboldt at the time of his visit. 

 It is divided into six grand sections or books. The first is 

 taken up with general considerations of the extent and 

 physical aspect of the country. The second treats of the 

 general population and division of the castes. The third 

 presents a particular statistical view of the intendancies, 

 their population, and area. He discusses in the fourth 

 book the state of agriculture, and of the metallic mines ; 

 and in the fifth, the progress of manufactures and com- 

 merce. The sixth contains researches into the revenues 

 of the state, and the military defence of the country. 



