CHAPTER V 



THE SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS OF 1863 



IN the second decade of the nineteenth century, 

 Oken had inspired the formation of large 

 pubhc gatherings of German naturalists and 

 physicians. Oken was one of the advanced 

 thinkers who felt that all technical science 

 was in the end only preparatory to the great 

 work of educating the people. In his opinion 

 the naturalist, even if he spent his whole life 

 in investigating the filaments of plants or the 

 limbs of insects, was a pioneer of culture. In 

 any case these gatherings were a very good 

 practical move at the time. In a time of terrible 

 reaction on all sides a feeling came at last even 

 to the recluse of science that, besides the technical 

 value of his work, it ought to do something 

 towards lifting his fellows out of the rut they 

 were falling into. They felt that if all ideals 

 were going to be lost, the ultimate aim of 

 special research would perish with them. Oken 

 took up a position of democratic opposition. He 

 was soon joined by Alexander von Humboldt, who, 

 with the same feeling at heart, gave the work a 



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