104 Prof. Agassiz’s Eulogy on Humboldt. 
child in our schools has his mind fed from the labors of Hum- 
boldt’s brain, wherever geography is no longer taught in the old 
routine. Having completed his American labors, Humboldt 
published three works partly connected with his investigations 
in America, and partly with his further studies in Europe since 
his return, and among others, a book, which first appeared as a 
paper in the “Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles,” but of 
which separate copies were printed under the title of ‘‘ Essai sur 
la Constitution des Roches dans les deux Hemisphéres.” This 
work has been noticed to the extent which it deserved by only 
one geologist, Elie de Beaumont. No other seems to have seen 
what there is in that paper, for there Humboldt shows, for the 
first time, that while inorganic nature is the same all the world 
over,—granite is granite, and basalt is basalt, and limestone and 
sandstone, limestone and sandstone wherever found,—there is 
r 
in the old countries. The distinction which exists in the mate- 
rial basis of scientific culture in different parts of the world is 
first made evident by this work. By two happily chosen words 
Humboldt has presented at once the results of our knowledge in 
geology at the time, in a most remarkable manner. He speaks 
there of “independent: formations.” Who, before Humboldt, 
thought there were successive periods in the history of our globe 
which were independent one from the other? There was in the 
mind of geologists — a former and a present world. Those 
words expressing the thought and expressing it in reference t0 
the thing itself, for the first time occur in that memoir; thus 
putting an end to those views mgt in geology, according 
to which the age of all the rocks upon t 
mined by the mineralogical character of the rocks appearing at 
the surface. The different geological levels at which rocks be 
longing to the same period have been deposited, but which have 
been disturbed by subsequent revolutions, he happily designated 
as ‘ ical horizons. 
he 
tinents above the sea. Thus far geographers and geologists 
he earth can be deter- 
geolo , , : 
_ It was about the time he was tracing these investigations that — 
made his attempt to determine the mean altitude of the — 
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