58 



patum divi Nervae, et imperium Trajani, uberiorem 

 securioremque materiam senectuti seposui: rara tern- 

 porum felicitate, ubi sentire quae velis, et quae sentias 

 dicere licet." Tacit. Hist. I. 1. 



In order to avoid too special references, I shall simply 

 give the numerical quotations ; thus : Tacit. Vita Ag. 

 c. 3, Hist. I. 1. 



HT. 



XLYIII. 



HUMBOLDT TO YARNHAGEN. 



Berlin, Tuesday night, 27th October, 1840. 

 That I was so long without calling upon you, my dear 

 and valued .friend, before and after my northern cam- 

 paign, is only because there are impossibilities in life 

 against which it is vain to struggle. I wanted to hasten 

 to you immediately after the festivities here, but the un- 

 certainty of my journey to Paris (I declined it because 

 at the time it would neither have been honourable to the 

 King or to myself, since Prussia could not play an 

 independent part), the approaching departure of Billow, 

 the arrival of Greneral Hedemann,* who is still ailing, 

 and has his family with him, as well as a rheumatic fever 

 which kept me six days at home, brought all to nought. 

 To-morrow, 8 A.M., I shall have again to migrate to 

 Sans Souci, but only, as I hope, for a few days. I now 

 therefore take up my pen to have some little confiden- 

 tial talk with you. First of all, sincere thanks for 

 your talented and noble treatment of the very ordinary 

 tc Erinnerungen von M. Arndt "! I had indeed ob- 

 served the hostility evinced towards you. The tone 



* Son-in-law of Wilhelm v. Humboldt. TR. 



