Letters of Alexander von Humboldt to Varnhagen von Ense. / From 1827 to 1858. With extracts from Varnhagen's diaries, and letters of Varnhagen and others to Humboldt

by Alexander von Humboldt

My wicked friend Lasalle—Heraclitus the Obscure—has been expelled by the Prince of Prussia and Illaire,[^[104]] in spite of all my intercession, and in spite of the promises made to me. They led me to hope that after a few weeks (the election being over) the Obscure would return to Pythagoras, the more obscure. What a dispensation of justice!

Note by Varnhagen.—Iwan Golowin had asked Humboldt’s permission to dedicate to him a Russian drama entitled Rovira, and when Humboldt assented in a hasty French note, he inserted a facsimile of the note into the book.

225.
HUMBOLDT TO LUDMILLA ASSING.

Berlin, Oct. 12th, 1858.

What a day of agitation, of grief, of misfortune was yesterday. I was summoned by the Queen to Potsdam, to take leave of the King. He wept with deep emotion. Returning home at six in the evening, I opened your letter, my friend! He has departed from the earth before me, the man of ninety years, the old man of the hills! It is not enough to say that Germany has lost a great author, him who could most nobly mould our tongue to the expression of the finest sentiments—for what is the value of form in the presence of such acuteness, such pregnant force of mind, such elevation of thought, such knowledge of the world. What he was to me, to me who am now entirely isolated, is incomprehensible to any mind less refined, less beautiful than yours; I shall soon come to tell you,

Bowed with grief, yours,

A. v. Humboldt.

Alphabetical Index
OF PERSONS ALLUDED TO.

The figures opposite the names refer to the numbers of the letters in which they are mentioned.

• A.
• Aberdeen, Lord, [106].
• Albert, Prince Consort, [124], [131], [132].
• Alembert, d’, [143].
• Allan, [46].
• Alvensleben, [46], [61].
• Amerigo Vespucci, [36].
• Ancillon, [22], [217].
• Arago, Francis, [50], [68], [75], [76], [78], [153], [155], [157].
• Arndt, E. M., [48].
• Arnim, Achim von, [64].
• Assing, Ludmilla, [213], [214], [217], [222], [224], [225].
• Augustus, Prince of Prussia, [4], [87]. Auguste, Princess, [22].
• B.
• Baader, Francis, [145], [205]. Balzac, [75], [83].
• Baudin, [128].
• Bauer, Bruno, [60], [66], [94]. Baumgarten, [42].
• Bavaria, Crown-Prince of, [123].
• Belgium, King of, [48].
• Bettina, [43], [48], [51], [52], [63], [71], [75], [88], [120], [133], [144], [162], [178].
• Bessel, [48], [111].
• Beyme, [168].
• Beust, [175].
• Beuth, [11].
• Bigelow, John, [192].
• Bodelschwingh, von, [106], [107], [116].
• Bollmann, [19].
• Bopp, [48].
• Bresson, [22], [75], [76], [78].
• Brown, R., [76], [84].
• Brunel, [75], [76].
• Buch, Leopold von, [31], [41], [150].
• Buchanan, James, [176], [208].
• Buelow, von, [8], [48], [49], [61], [65], [69], [70], [71], [72], [97], [101], [103], [106], [111].
• Bugeaud, Marshal, [27].
• Bunsen, [11], [61], [68], [75], [159], [168].
• C.
• Cados, [80].
• Canino, Princess, [116].
• Canitz, von, [61], [74], [75], [126], [134].
• Cardanus, [6], [7].
• Carolath, [12].
• Carlyle, Thos., [70].
• Carrière, M., [70], [132].
• Chasles, [62], [172].
• Chateaubriand, [16], [36].
• Cherubini, [63].
• Christian VII., King of Denmark, [43], [44], [53], [76], [81].
• Clanricarde, Marquis of, [41].
• Columbus, Christopher, [28], [36], [61].
• Constant, [163].
• Cornelius, Peter, [142].
• Cotta, [10], [16], [24], [35], [56].
• Custine, [71], [73].
• D.
• Dahlmann, Prof., [48].
• Delisle, [17].
• Dohm, [64].
• Duchess of Dino (Talleyrand), [75], [76].
• Duke of Coburg-Gotha, [168].
• Duchess of Orleans, [27], [75], [76], [117], [119], [139], [148].
• E.
• Eckermann, [71].
• Ehrhard, [7].
• Eichhorn, [48], [51], [60], [68], [75], [107], [133], [134].
• Elsner, [11].
• Encke, [74], [111].
• Endlicher, [42].
• Engel, [64].
• Ettinghausen, [42].
• Eylert, Bishop, [8].
• F.
• Fallersleben, Hoffmann von, [106].
• Feuerbach, Ludwig, [94].
• Fichte, [99], [196], [213].
• Fillmore, Millard, [177].
• Forster, [16].
• Freiligrath, F., [62].
• Fremont, [176], [177], [192].
• Friedrich II., [64], [68].
• Friedrich Wilhelm III., [8], [22], [35], [42].
• Friedrich Wilhelm IV., [35], [40], [42], [45], [46], [49], [51], [52], [53], [54], [60], [63], [67], [68], [75], [76], [91], [92], [110], [134], [154], [156], [158], [168], [185].
• Friesen, [213].
• Froebel, Julius, [223].
• Froriep, [159].
• Fry, Mrs., [46].
• G.
• Gagern, H., [134], [141].
• Galuski, [125], [135], [147].
• Galilei, [41].
• Gama, Vasco de, [28].
• Gans, E., [7], [25], [29], [30].
• Gauss, [44].
• Gay, Mad., [73].
• Gay-Lussac, [88].
• Gentz, Fr., [36], [202], [217].
• Gérard, [33], [83].
• Gerlach, L. von, [68], [92], [159], [168], [183], [195].
• Gerolt, Baron de, [177].
• Girardin, Mad., [73].
• Gneisenau, [159].
• Görres, [41].
• Goethe, J. W., [10], [43], [52], [71], [161].
• Goethe, Ottilie von, [145].
• Goetze, [28].
• Golowin, [224].
• Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold, [88].
• Grand Duke of Weimar, Charles Alexander, [171], [179], [180], [181], [182], [183], [189], [193], [194], [200], [201], [202], [206], [207], [208], [209], [210], [212].
• Grand-Duchess of Weimar, [135], [183].
• Grau, [149].
• Gretsch, [41].
• Grimm Brothers, [40], [48], [51].
• Guhrauer, [106].
• Guizot, [48], [49], [60], [62], [99], [106], [172], [221].
• H.
• Hanover, King of, [31], [40], [66].
• Hansen, [81].
• Hardenberg, Prince, [7].
• Hedemann, [48], [193].
• Hegel, [3], [7], [29], [30], [41], [54], [196].
• Heine, [174], [177].
• Helfert, Frau von, [75].
• Hengstenberg, [68], [159].
• Herschel, [75], [76], [82].
• Hertzberg, Count, [64].
• Heyne, [38], [64].
• Hildebrandt, [186], [187], [191].
• Hoeninghaus, [76].
• Hordt, [64].
• Hormayr, [60], [95], [101], [103].
• Huegel, Baron, [42].
• Humboldt, Wilhelm von, [10], [16], [18], [21], [27], [31], [33], [36], [64], [67], [70], [129], [133], [140], [152], [153], [154], [159], [167], [192], [217].
• I.
• Jacobs, Friedrich, [38].
• Jaeger, [42].
• Janin, [99].
• Jobard, [190].
• Itzstein, [97].
• K.
• Kamptz, [26], [76].
• Kant, Immanuel, [33], [73], [107].
• Klein, [64].
• König, [41].
• Kolowrat, [129].
• Koreff, [2].
• Kotzebue, [169], [170].
• Kries, [38].
• Kunth, [64].
• L.
• Ladenberg, [48].
• Lafayette, Marquis de, [20], [151].
• Laplace, [16].
• Lasaulx, [195].
• Lassalle, [217], [224].
• Lavater, [6], [105].
• Leist, [31].
• Leo, [196].
• Leonardo da Vinci, [52].
• Liegnitz, Princess of, [35].
• Lieven, Princess, [169], [170], [172].
• Link, [68].
• Liszt, [68].
• Loeffler, [64].
• Louis Philippe, [75], [139], [184], [221].
• Louise, Princess, [33].
• M.
• Maltzan, [61], [68].
• Manzoni, [114].
• Marco Polo, [36].
• Marheineke, [41], [68], [94].
• Mary, Princess, [22].
• Massmann, [110].
• Melloni, [68].
• Melgunoff, [41].
• Metternich, [35], [42], [45], [68], [75], [76], [85], [98], [106], [122], [130], [137], [181], [185].
• Meyerbeer, [88], [99].
• Milnes, [104].
• Molé, [78].
• Mueffling, [43].
• Muller, A., [36], [202].
• Muller, O., [16].
• Mueller, Chancellor, [106].
• Mueller, Privy Councillor, [28], [68].
• Muenster, Count, [60].
• Mundt, Theo., [19].
• N.
• Nacke, [39].
• Napoleon I., [48], [71], [161].
• Napoleon III., [141], [146], [147], [212].
• Neander, [95].
• Nesselrode, [187].
• Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, [35].
• Netherlands, Queen of, [22].
• Niebuhr, G. B., [40].
• Niebuhr, M., [154], [212], [216].
• Normanby, [221].
• Noroff, [208].
• O.
• Oersted, [44].
• Oertzen, [26].
• Olfers, [142].
• Oltmann, [13].
• P.
• Palmerston, Lord, [48], [124].
• Peel, Robert, [75], [76], [84].
• Persigny, Fialin, [146].
• Pertz, [160].
• Pichler, [159].
• Pierce, Franklin, [173].
• Pourtalès, Count, [176].
• Prescott, [75], [76], [86].
• Preuss, [105].
• Prussia, Prince of, [74], [158], [168], [224].
• Prussia, Princess of, [52].
• Prutz, R., [90], [104], [106].
• Pückler, Princess, [26].
• Q.
• Quinet, [43].
• R.
• Radowitz, [61], [68], [75], [142], [159], [168].
• Rahel, [7], [9], [10], [24], [33], [36], [132], [133], [145].
• Ranke, Leopold, [5], [68], [86], [105], [159].
• Raphael, [52].
• Rauch, [25].
• Raumer, Charles, [41].
• Raumer, Fred., [23], [64].
• Raumer, Minister, [154], [168].
• Récamier, Mad., [36], [75], [76], [87].
• Redern, [88].
• Reeden, [64].
• Reimer, [70].
• Reitmeyer, [64].
• Reumont, [75].
• Riess, [67], [68].
• Rochow, [45].
• Robert, [52].
• Roesel, [42].
• Rother, [75].
• Rueckert, [59], [75], [113].
• Ruehle, [25].
• Rumohr, [68].
• S.
• Sachs, [101], [103].
• Savary, [50].
• Savigny, [68], [133].
• Schelling, [41], [52], [54], [64], [75], [196].
• Schiller, [2], [129], [169].
• Schlagintweit, Brothers, [154], [212].
• Schlegel, Aug., [55], [125].
• Schlegel, Fr., [13], [14], [151].
• Schleiermacher, [66].
• Schlosser, [68].
• Schoenlein, [197].
• Schwerin, [61].
• Seckendorf, [60].
• Schumacher, [41], [81], [111].
• Seiffert, [50], [173].
• Sintenis, [41].
• Spiker, [13], [55], [57].
• Spontini, [68], [88], [91].
• Staegemann, [47].
• Stael, Mad., [87].
• Stahl, [159].
• Stanley, [75], [76].
• Steffens, [52], [65], [196].
• Stein, [160], [168].
• Stieglitz, [30], [33].
• Stillfried, [176].
• Stilling, [105].
• Stollberg, [75].
• Strauss, [64], [66].
• T.
• Talleyrand, [33], [78].
• Therese, [133].
• Thiele, [68], [107], [172].
• Thiers, [48], [102], [115], [116], [211].
• Thomas, [102], [115].
• Tholuk, [65].
• Tieck, [55].
• Trubetzkoi, Princess, [73].
• U.
• Uhden, [158].
• Uwaroff, [68].
• V.
• Varnhagen, Fr. A., [168].
• Victoria, Queen, [124], [224].
• Voigtlaender, [42].
• W.
• Wittgenstein, [5], [45], [88], [160].
• Z.
• Zeune, [16], [212].
• Zinzendorf, Count, [6], [105].