42.METTERNICH TO HUMBOLDT.
Vienna,29th of March, 1840.
Vienna,29th of March, 1840.
Vienna,29th of March, 1840.
Vienna,29th of March, 1840.
My dear Baron—Though I do not doubt that the Crown-Prince, to whom I had the honor of replying to-day, will inform you of my declaration, I refer you to my letter to his Royal Highness. You will see that I haveplaced myself at his disposal, with a reservation, however, prescribed by my ignorance of archæology. To my ignorance upon this point must be added my ignorance upon another—I mean the duties of the Presidency. I desire to state, at all events, what I think of the relations of a single member with any scientific association. There are three sorts of men—some are true savans; the number of these is small: others are friends of science in general, or of some branch of it; these are more numerous: the third class—the largest of all—comprises the narrow-minded, the barren in spirit, the “viveurs,” to whom, though often they are very good fellows, art and science are quite superfluous. I enrol myself in the second of these classes. My brethren and I can be of some service to mental cultivation, provided we do not meddle too much with details. When I feel that I can do a good work, I consider it my duty to devote myself to it. In the present case, however, I can only throw my good-will into the scale.
My confession of faith is set forth in the explanations given to the August Protector; and to what I took the liberty of stating to him, I also take the liberty of referring you.
It is so long, my dear Baron, since you paid us a visit, that when you feel inclined to judge for yourself, you will be more than gratified by the real progress we have made in the departments of which you are theacknowledged master. The place of Jaeger, whose loss was greatly to be regretted, is well filled by Endlicher—a man of eminent genius; Baumgarten and Ettinghausen, are savans of great distinction. The Polytechnic School goes on admirably and is training up savans, and thoroughly educated mechanicians. Roesel is the best optician of our time, and the young Voigtlander follows in his footsteps.
The establishment of Baron Charles Huegel has opened a new and vast field to botany. The arts and sciences advance quite to one’s liking; all that is wanted is a supervisor like yourself.
You complain, my dear Baron, at finding yourself the oldest of the foreign members of the Institute; this indeed is a dreary lot, but it is inevitable and quite natural—provided one does not commit the folly of going off before the others. I have the same feeling—and that in a field which is certainly the greatest of all fields. Of all the Kings and the Ministers of State in office, between the year 1813 and the year 1815, the King of Prussia and myself are the only survivors! And yet the time does not embrace more than a quarter of a century—so true is it that twenty-five years are quite an historical epoch. Let us not lose courage at such trifles, but go on as if they were nothing at all.
My sincerest homage, dear Baron.Metternich.
My sincerest homage, dear Baron.Metternich.
My sincerest homage, dear Baron.Metternich.
My sincerest homage, dear Baron.
Metternich.