Gutot on Carl Bitter. 43 



" Erdkunde," not from a feeling of a vain boast, of which he 

 was utterly incapable, but of grateful acknowledgment of the 

 honor thus conferred upon him. 



Thanks to a scientific position so eminent and so univer- 

 sally conceded, and to the lively interest which he took in all 

 progress, Bitter became more and more, like Humboldt, one 01 

 the most important centres for geographical and ethnographi- 

 cal science, and a ready helper and considerate adviser for 

 all those disposed to collect new information in all parts of the 

 world. 



"When men who have wielded a vast influence for the good 

 of mankind appear before posterity, the world first inquires 

 about the work that they have achieved and the intellectual and 

 moral powers by which they have accomplished it. It judges 

 them as instruments, as parts of the great social organism, 

 and determines its estimates by the importance of the func- 

 tions performed by them. But human sympathy craves a more 

 personal acquaintance with these prominent representatives of 

 human nature. We want to know something of the deeper- 

 seated qualities of mind and heart, -which manifest their 

 moral nature in their personal intercourse with their fellow- 

 men, and reveal them as, on earth, citizens of a higher world. 

 I may, therefore, be pardoned if I yield to the temptation of 

 adding some words on the person and private character of Bit- 

 ter. The task, indeed, is an inviting one. For if in him we 

 admire the savant, we love and admire still more the man. 



Bitter's personal appearance was full of serene dignity, one 

 might say of antique repose. His tall and erect stature, his 

 strong, broad-chested frame, his firm but quiet step, his well- 

 marked features, his high forehead and intelligent eyes, gave 

 him an imposing look, which, however, was tempered by a 

 benevolent smile, an unassuming and kind manner, and an 

 expression of goodness and candor which at once inspired con- 

 fidence. The portrait, by Kriiger, which is before your eyes, 

 gives a perfect likeness of Bitter when about fifty-four years 

 of age. He was then at the height of his popularity in the 

 University of Berlin. Complying with the request of hundreds 

 of his admiring students, ne consented to have his likeness 

 taken by the excellent artist just named, and the very success- 

 ful original drawing was presented to him by the one who now 

 addresses you, as a member of a committee of three, acting in 

 behalf of their fellow-students. 



Bitter's peculiar turn of mind was more intuitive than 

 logical, more synthetical than analytical, more objective than 



