HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ 



Neither the most splendid buildings, fitted with the 

 most modern appliances, nor the endowment of 

 research, however wisely conceived, will compensate 

 for the absence of genius. The living spirit must be 

 the propelling force, and whilst it is reasonable that 

 every facility for research should be afforded, a view 

 which is now recognised in every civilised country, 

 and mostly by those nations that form the vanguard 

 of progress, there still remains the fact that in Science 

 as in Art the great investigator, like the great artist, is 

 born, not made. 



Helmholtz, like all hard workers, needed periods of 

 comparative rest, and he was wont usually to betake 

 himself to the mountains and valleys of Switzerland. 

 The year 1854 is memorable from the occurrence of 

 his first visit to England, and in a letter written to his 

 friend Ludwig, 1 after his return, we get a glimpse 

 into his first impressions : 



* KoNIGSBERG, 2, VI. 54. 



1 DEAR LUDWIG, England is a great land, and one 

 feels there what a magnificent and splendid thing civili- 

 sation is, and how the minutest conditions of life bear 

 its impress. In comparison with London, Berlin and 

 Vienna are mere villages. To describe London is 

 impossible ; it must be seen with one's own eyes 

 before one can attempt to form an estimate of it. A 



1 For this letter I am indebted to my friend Professor Hugo Kronecker, 

 of Bern, whose Life of Helmholtz, is eagerly expected. It is understood 

 that many letters have been placed at his disposal. 

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