Digitale Ausgabe

The existence of a large society of cultivators of the natural sciences meetingannually at some great capital or some central town of Europe, is a circumstance al-most unknown to us and deserving of our attention from the important advantageswhich may arise from it. About eight years ago, Dr. Okens, of Munich, suggested a plan for an annualmeeting of all Germans who cultivated the sciences of medicine and botany. Thefirst meeting, of about forty members, took place at Leipsig in 1822, and it was suc-cessively held at Halle, Wurtsburg, Frankfort on the Maine, Dresden,Munich, and Berlin. All those who had printed a certain number of sheets oftheir inquiries were considered as members of this academy. The great advantages which resulted to these sciences from the communication ofobservations from all quarters of Germany, soon induced an extension of the planand other departments of natural knowledge were admitted, until at the last meet-ing the cultivators even of pure mathematics were found in the ranks of this acade-my. Several circumstances independent of the form and constitution of the academy,contributed to give unwonted splendor to the meeting which took place at Berlin inthe middle of September of the last year. The capital selected for its temporaryresidence, is scarcely surpassed by any in Europe in the number and celebrity of itssavans. The taste for knowledge possessed by the reigning family, has made know-ledge itself fashionable; and the severe sufferings of the Prussians, previous to thewar, which freed both them and Europe, have impressed on them so strongly the les-son that ‘knowledge is power,’ that its effects are visible in every department of thegovernment, and in no country in Europe do talents and genius so surely open fortheir possessors the road to wealth and to distinction. Another circumstance continued to increase the number of the meeting of thepast year. The office of President, which is annually changed, was assigned to M.Alexander de Humboldt. The universality of his acquirements which have left nobranch within the wide range of science indifferent or unexplored, has connected himby friendship with almost all the most celebrated philosophers of the age, while thepolished amenity of his manners and his intense desire of acquiring and spreadingknowledge, render him accessible to strangers and insure them the assistance of hiscounsel in their scientific pursuits and the advantage being made known to all whoare interested or occupied in similar inquiries. Professor Lichtenstein, (director of the Museum of Zoology) as secretary of theacademy, was indefatigable in his attentions and most ably seconded the wishes of itsdistinguished President. These two gentlemen, assisted by several of the residentsat Berlin, undertook the numerous preliminary arrangements for the accommodationof the meeting. On the 18th of September, 1828, there were assembled at Berlin three hundredand seventy-seven members of the academy, whose names and residence (at Berlin)were printed in a small pamphlet, and to each name was affixed a number to indicatehis seat in the great concert room, where the morning meetings took place. Eachmember was provided with an engraved card of the hall of meeting, on which thenumbers of the seats were printed in black ink, so that every person immediatelyfound his own place and knew where to look for any friend whom he might wishto find. |220| At the hour appointed, the members being assembled, the galleries and orchestrafilled by an assemblage of a large part of the rank and beauty of the capital, and theside boxes occupied by several branches of the royal family, and by the foreign am-bassadors, the session of the academy was opened by the eloquent address of thepresident. Speech of Baron Humboldt.— ‘Since through your choice I am permitted to openthis meeting, the first duty I have to discharge is one of gratitude. The distinctionwhich has been conferred on him who has never yet been able to attend your excel-lent society, is not the reward of scientific efforts, or of feeble and perseveringattempts to discover new phenomena or to draw the light of knowledge from theunexplored depths of nature. A finer feeling directs your attention to me. You haveassured me that while during an absence of many years in a distant quarter of theglobe, I labored in the same cause with yourselves, I was not a stranger in yourthoughts. ‘What can the picture of this our native land present more agreeable to the mindthan that we perceive to-day, for the first time, within our walls? From the banksof the Neckar, the birth-place of Kepler and Schiller, to the remotest border of theBaltic plains; — from hence to the mouth of the Rhine, where, under the beneficentinfluence of commerce, the treasures of exotic nature have for centuries been col-lected and investigated, the friends of nature, inspired by the same zeal, flock togetherto this assembly; from all lands where the German language is used, and its peculiarstructure affects the spirit of the people, from the Great European Alps to the otherside of the Weichsel, where, in the country of Copernicus, astronomy rose in renewedsplendor; wherever, in the extensive dominions of the German nation, we attempt todiscover the secret operations of nature, whether in the heavens or in the deepestproblems of mechanics, or in the interior of the earth, or in the finely woven tissuesof organic structure. Protected by noble princes, this assembly has annually increased in interest and,extent. Every distinction which difference of religion or of government can occasion,is here annulled. Germany manifest itself in its intellectual unity; and since know-ledge of truth and performance of duty are the highest objects of morality, that feelingof unity weakens none of the bonds which the religion, constitution and laws of ourcountry endear to each of us. This emulation in mental struggles even called forth,as the glorious history of our country tells us, the fairest blossoms of humanity, scienceand art. The assembly of German naturalists and natural philosophers, since its last meeting,when it was so hospitably received at Munich, has, through the flattering interest ofneighboring states and academies, shone with peculiar lustre. Allied nations haverenewed the ancient alliance between Germany and the Scandinavian North. Suchan interest deserves acknowledgement the more, because it increases the mass of factsand opinions here brought into one common union. It also brings lofty recollections tothe mind of the naturalists. Scarce half a century has elapsed since Linne appeared,in the boldness of the undertakings which he has attempted and accomplished, as oneof the greatest men of the last century. His glory, however bright, has not renderedEurope blind to the merits of Scheele and Bergman. — The catalogue of great namesis not completed, but, lest I should offend noble modesty I dare not speak of thelight still flowing in richest profusion from the north, nor mention the discoveries inthe chemical nature of substances in the numerical relation of their elements, or theeddying streams of electro-magnetic powers.*—May those excellent persons who

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* Berzelius and Oersted.|221| deterred neither by perils of sea or land, have hastened to our meeting from Sweden,Norway, Denmark, Holland, England, and Poland, point out the way to other stran-gers in succeeding years, so that by turns every part of Germany may enjoy thebenefits of scientific communication with the different nations of Europe. But though I restrain the expression of my personal feelings in presence of theassembly, let me at least name the patriarchs of our national glory detained from usby a regard for lives so dear to our country: — Goethe, whom the creations of poeticfancy have not withheld from penetrating the secrets of nature, and who now in ruralsolitude mourns for his princely friend as Germany for one of her greatest ornament;Olbers, who has discovered two bodies where he predicted they would be found; thegreatest anatomists of our age, Soemmering, who with equal zeal has investigatedthe wonders of organic structure and the spots and feculae of the sun, (condensationsand openings of the photospheres) — Blumenbach, whose pupil I have the honor to be,whose works and immortal eloquence and labors of half a century have inspired everywhere a love of comparative anatomy, physiology, and the general history of nature. These observations on the literary wealth of our country, and the progressive de-velopement of our institution, lead us naturally to the obstructions which may arisefrom the increasing number of our fellow laborers. The principal object of this so-ciety is not the mutual interchange of treaties, or the publication of innumerablememoirs in some general collection, but it is to bring those personally together whoare engaged in the same field of science. It is the immediate and therefore moreobvious interchange of ideas, whether presented as facts, opinions, or doubts. It isthe establishment of friendly connection, which throws light on science, adds, cheer-fulness to life, and gives grace and amenity to the manners. In the most flourishing period of ancient Greece, the distinction between words andwriting manifested itself most strongly among a race which had raised itself to themost splendid intellectual superiority, and to whose latest descendants preserved fromthe shipwreck of nations we still consecrate our most anxious wishes. It was notthe difficulty of interchanging ideas alone, nor the want of German science which hasspread thought as on wings through the world, and given it permanence, that led thefriends of philosophy and natural history in Magna Grecia and Asia Minor to wanderon long journeys. That ancient race knew the inspiring influence of conversation,as it extemporaneously penetrates the tissue of scientific opinions and doubts. Thediscovery of truth without difference of opinion is unattainable, for truth in its fullextent can never be recognized by all and at the same time. Each step that bringsthe student of nature nearer to his object conducts him to the threshhold of new laby-rinths. The mass of doubt does not diminish, but spreads like a moving cloud overnew fields, and whoever calls that a golden period when the disputes of the learnedwill be finished, has as imperfect a conception of the wants of science, as he who ex-pects that the same opinions in geognosy, chemistry, or physiology will be maintainedfor centuries. The founders of this society with a deep sense of the unity of nature have combinedin the completest manner, all the branches of physical knowledge and of historical,geometrical and experimental philosophy. The names of natural historian and naturalphilosopher are here therefore nearly synonymous, chained by a terrestrial link to thetype of the lower animals. Man completes the scale of higher organization. In hisphysiological and pathological qualities, he scarcely presents to us a distinct class ofbeings. As to what has brought him to this exalted object of physical study, andraised him to general scientific investigation, it belongs principally to this society. |222| Important as it is not to break that link which connects the investigation of organicand morganic nature, the increasing ties and daily developement of this institution,render it necessary, besides the general meeting destined for these halls, to have specificmeetings for single branches of science. For it is only in such contracted circles andamong men whom reciprocity of studies has brought together, that oral discussionscan take place. Without these would the voluntary associations of men in search oftruth, be deprived of an inspiring principle. Among the arrangements for the advancement of the society attention has beenpaid to the possibility of such a subdivision into sections. The hope that these ar-rangements will meet with your approbation imposes the duty of reminding you, thatalthough you had entrusted to two travellers equally the duty of making them, it isto one alone, my noble friend M. Lichtenstein, that the merit of careful precautionand indefatigable activity is due. Out of respect to the scientific spirit which animatesthe Society of German Naturalists and Natural Philosophy, and in acknowledg-ment of the utility of their efforts, the government has readily seconded our wishes. In the vicinity of the place of meeting thus prepared for our general and speciallabors are situated the museums of Anatomy, Zoology, Oryctognosy and Geology,offering to the naturalist a rich mine for observation and critical discussion. Thegreater number of these collections have existed, like the University of Berlin, scarce-ly twenty years. The oldest of them, to which the Botanical Garden, the richestone in Europe belongs, have during this period not only been increased, but entirelyremodelled. The amusement and instruction they furnish recall to our grateful mindsthat they are the work of that great monarch who modestly and in simple grandeuradorns every year this city with new treasures of nature and art—and what is of stillgreater value—what inspires every Prussian with an enthusiastic love for the ancientreigning family, he attaches to himself every species of talent, and extends with con-fidence his royal protection to the free cultivation of the understanding.’ Baron Humboldt’s speech was followed by a paper on magnetism, by ProfessorOersted, and several other memoirs were then read. The arrival of so many persons of similar pursuit, (for four hundred and sixty-four members were present) rendered it convenient to have some ordinary at whichthose who chose might dine, and introduce their friends and families. This hadbeen foreseen and his Majesty had allowed the immense building used for the exer-cise of his troops to be used for this purpose. One third of it was floored on theoccasion, and tables were arranged, at which on one occasion, eight hundred andfifty persons sat down to dinner. On the evening of the first day, M. de Humboldtgave a soiree in the concert rooms attached to the theatre. About twelve hundredpersons assembled on this occasion, and the King of Prussia honored with his pre-sence the fete of his illustrious Chamberlain. The nobility of the country, foreignprinces, and foreign ambassadors were present. It was gratifying to observe theprinces of the blood mingled with the cultivators of science, and to see the heirapparent to the throne engaged in conversation with those most celebrated for talentsof his own or other countries. Nor were the minor arrangements of the eveningbeneath the consideration of the President. The words of the music, selected forthe concert, were printed and distributed among the guests, The names of the mostillustrious philosophers which Germany had produced, were inscribed in letters ofgold at the end of the great concert room. In the first rank among these, stood aname which England too enrolls among her brightest, and proud as she may well beof having fostered and brought to maturity the genius of the first Herschel, she has |223| reaped an ample reward in being able to claim entirely as her own the inheriter ofhis talents and his name. The six succeeding days were occupied in the morning, by a meeting of theacademy, at which papers of great interest were read. In the afternoon, throughthe arrangements of M. de Humboldt and M. Lichtenstein, various rooms wereappropriated for different sections of the academy. In one the chemical philosophersattended to some chemical memoir, whilst the botanists assembled in another room,the physiologists in a third, and the natural philosophers in a fourth. Each attendedto the reading of papers connected with their several sciences. Thus every memberwas at liberty to choose that section in which he felt most interest at the moment,and had at all times access to the others. The evenings were generally spent at the soirees of the savans, resident at Berlin, whose hospitality and attentions to theirlearned brethren of other countries were unbounded. In the morning the collectionsof natural history, which are rapidly rising into importance, were open to examina-tions, and the various professors and directors assisted the stranger in his inquiries. A map of Europe was printed, on which those towns only appeared which hadsent representatives to this scientific Congress; and the numbers sent by differentkingdoms appeared by the following table, which was attached to it:

Russia,	1		Bavaria,	12
Austria,	0		Hanover,	5
England,	1		Saxony,	21
Holland,	2		Wirtemburg,	12
Denmark,	7		Sweden,	13
France,	1		Naples,	1
Sardina,	0		Poland,	3
Prussia,	95		German States,	43
				217
			Berlin,	172
			Total,	389*

The proportion in which the cultivators of different sciences appeared, was noteasy to ascertain, because there were few among the more eminent who had notadded to more than one branch of human knowledge. The following table, thoughnot professing to be very accurate, will afford, perhaps, a tolerably fair view: —Geometers, 1; Astronomers, 5; Natural Philosophers, 23—in all 39. Mines, 5;Mineralogy, 14; Geology, 9—in all 30. Chemistry, 18; Geography, 8; Anatomy,12. Zoology, 14; Natural History, 8; and Botany, 35—in all 57. Physicians,175. Amateurs, 9. Various, 33. Grand total, 381. A medal was struck in commemoration of this meeting; and it was proposed thatit should form the first of a series, comprising all those persons most celebrated fordiscoveries in the past and present age.

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The American Lyceum, when its entire organization shall have been carried intopractical effect, will present a bolder scene of moral sublimity than even the Con-gress of Philosophers at Berlin. The wide spread materials for scientific and literaryorganization throughout our country demand immediate consideration.