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    318 GERMAN UTEEATTTKE ,

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    No. Iii. As An Instance Of The Evil Whic...

    by " obeying her laws . " He , like Newton , could liave pronounced that God " set the world in order with the properties that most

    conduced to the ends for which He formed it . _" In such a sense n the ever true be that naturalist meddling may int dissect ellect , which without " missh murdering _^ es , the and beauteous his can

    form of things , " and by increasing knowledge without "wisdom , is likely to increase sorrow . It would be well if all amateur

    naturalists would be guided by the principle of Descartes , to reserve judgment on all subjects which they do not clearly understand .

    Hypotheses may be likened to nets let down warily to catch truth , but they must not be hastily deemed conclusive . Yet growth and

    _develojnnent , as Huniboldt knew _, are the " beacon lights of research " in all science , whether in the plant or the animal world . Truth

    only " doth judge itself . " It can never be really dangerous , but everything must be braved for its establishment . The object of

    natural history is to demonstrate the harmony which pervades the whole world , and bespeaks the unity of the one final Cause . Each

    individual species is bound by " affinities and analogies" to one vast system . We have no space to dwell on the interesting career

    of Huniboldt . Born at Berlin , 1769 , and belonging to a noble family of Pomerania—his mother being the cousin of the Princess of Bliicher

    , and descended from ancient Burgundians , Alexander von Huniboldt received a brilliant education , and profited by every advantage

    which wealth could furnish . " A man ' s name , " says Landor quaintly" is no better than a skin given to him . What is natively

    , his own remains ; what is not , falls off and comes to nothing . " But the brothers Huniboldt belonged to a higher aristocracy than that of

    rank , and theirs was the exceptional case of extraordinary mental power , developed by advantages of birth and propitious

    circumstances of daily life . " Or For to not be content known with because , ancestorial their fathers name were ,

    They on the rank hereditary stood , , To And take gazin another g higher step purposed . " in their hearts

    The tale of this life has been often told : the slow elaboration and patient investigation of the careful philosopher who perceived

    that mine every dlike man old 's Sir reason Thomas " was Browne his best to find CEdi < pus ! a , " and to loose was deter those - way

    , , bonds with which the subtleties of error enchain our more flexible judgments . _" "We cannot follow him through lifewe cannot ( in

    , these short limits ) trace the careful explorer penetrating to the interior of countriesnavigating the most difficult liversscaling

    the heights of mountains , , disembowelling the earth of its treasures , , and yet waiting to investigate the microscopical wonders of the

    vegetable kingdom ; never carried away by the fever of discovery , never allowing his judgment to be overpowered by impulsive

    imagination ; but . slow and cautious , seeking for " no trophies / '

    318 German Uteeatttke ,

    318 GERMAN UTEEATTTKE _,

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1862, page 318, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071862/page/30/