How sad is this eighth attack upon the King! Strange that ministers and
cabinet councillors are never shot at! Such events are the more
unpleasant, the more the probabilities or improbabilities of their
recurrence baffle all attempts at calculation.
121.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.
POTSDAM, _May 18th, 1846_.
I send you, dear friend, to be added to your collection, a very
remarkable letter from Prince Metternich, with a semi-theological
conclusion, full of mind and rhetorical fervor, with a slight dread of
pantheism at the close of the letter.
With unaltered friendship, yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.
122.
METTERNICH TO HUMBOLDT.
(From the French.)
VIENNA, _May 10, 1846_.
MY DEAR BARON—Inclosed is my vote.[48] I give it in good conscience, and
absolve you from the crime of that electioneering to which the world is
addicted. The King and his Chancellor are the sound appreciators of
scientific merit, and I know how to designate the place which belongs to
me in the avenue of science, and which, to my great regret, is far from
the sanctuary.
What I have just told you, my dear Baron, is neither gasconade nor an
excess of modesty; it is the unvarnished history of my life. You do not
know this history, and I will relate it to you in a few words.
At the age at which life takes its direction, I contracted an
inclination for the exact and natural sciences which I would permit
myself to describe as irresistible, and a disgust for practical life
which I would call unconquerable, if I had not overcome both this
disgust and this inclination. It is fate that disposes of individuals,
and their qualities as well as their defects decide upon their careers.
Fate has separated me from the object of my choice, and has thrust me
upon the road I should not have chosen. Once started, I submitted
without losing sight of the goal of my wishes, and the result was that
what I should have wished to regard as the aim of my life has become
only the solace of it. The King has set the mark of a learned man upon
me. I know to whom this is to be attributed. If it is a question of the
heart, the King is not mistaken.
What you tell me of the forthcoming second volume of Cosmos, makes me
look forward to the study of it with impatience; you are not to be read,
you must be studied, and the place of a pupil suits me exactly. No one
is more called upon than I am to do justice to your remark relative to
the influence exercised by Christianity on the natural sciences,[49] as
upon mankind in general and hence upon all science, for that remark has
long since dawned upon my mind. It is correct in all respects, and its
generating cause is simple as are all other truths, those which are, as
well as those which are not understood, for the latter circumstance has
no effect on the substance of a truth. Error leads to error, as truth is
the guide to truth. As long as the mind remained in error in the sphere
of thought which is the most elevated of all those attainable by the
human mind, this deplorable state of things could not fail to react upon
every quarter of the moral compass upon all intellectual and social
questions, and to oppose to their development in the right direction, an
insurmountable obstacle. _The good news_ once told, the position could
not but change. It was not by bestowing divine honor on _effects_ that
they could be traced to the fountain head of truth; the investigation
continued to be confined to the abstract speculations of the
philosophers, and to the rhapsodies of poets. The _cause_ once laid
bare, the hearts of men were comforted, and their minds opened to
conviction. Nevertheless, the latter still remained for a long time
shrouded in the mists of pagan scepticism, until at last scholastic
philosophy was unhorsed by experimental science. Do you admit the force
of my reasoning? If you do, I have no doubt you will share my fears that
true scientific progress is in danger of being checked by too ambitious
spirits, who desire to rise from the effects to the cause, and who
finding the approach cut off by the impassable barriers which God has
set upon human intelligence, and finding themselves unable to advance,
roll back upon themselves, and relapse into the stupidity of paganism,
in seeking the cause in the effect!
The world, my dear Baron, is in a dangerous position. The social body is
in fermentation. You would do me a great favor if you could teach me the
nature of this fermentation, whether it is spirituous, acid, or putrid?
I greatly fear that the _verdict_ will be for the last-named of these
kinds, and it is not I who could teach you that these products are
hardly beneficial.
Be pleased to accept the thanks of my household for your friendly
memento, and the assurance of the continuance of my old attachment.