Volume 1

Cosmos, a sketch of a physical description of the universe / by Alexander von Humboldt ; translated from the German by E.C. Otté.

  • Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859.
Date:
1849-1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cosmos, a sketch of a physical description of the universe / by Alexander von Humboldt ; translated from the German by E.C. Otté. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    aim is an inner one, arising from exalted mental activity. Mode of treatment with regard to the object and presentation; reciprocal con- nection existing between thought and speech—p. 36. The notes to pp. 6-12. Comparative hypsometrical data of the eleva- tions of the Dhawalagiri, Jawahir, Chimborazo, Etna, (according to the measurement of Sir John Herschel), the Swiss Alps, &c.—p. 6. Rarity of palms and ferns in the Himalaya mountains—p. 8. European vege- table forms in the Indian mountains—p. 8. Northern and southern limits of perpetual snow on the Himalaya; influence of the elevated plateau of Thibet—pp. 9-12. Fishes of an earlier world—p. 26. Limits and Method of Exposition of the Physical Description of the Universe pp. 37-61. Subjects embraced by the study of the Cosmos or of physical cosmo- graphy. Separation of other kindred studies—pp. 37-44. The urano- logical portion of the Cosmos is more simple than the telluric; the impossibility of ascertaining the diversity of matter simplifies the study of the mechanism of the heavens. Origin of the word Cosmos, its signification of adornment and order of the universe. The existing cannot be absolutely separated in our contemplation of nature from the future. History of the world and description of the world—pp. 44-56. Attempts to embrace the multiplicity of the phenomena of the Cosmos in the unity of thought and under the form of a purely rational combi- nation. Natural philosophy which preceded all exact observation in antiquity is a natural, but not unfreqnently ill-directed, effort of reason. Two forms of abstraction rule the whole mass of knowledge, viz., the quantitative, relative determinations according to number and magni- tude, and qualitative, material characters. Means of submitting pheno- mena to calculation. Atoms, mechanical methods of construction. Figurative representations; mythical conception of imponderable mat- ters, and the peculiar vital forces in every organism. That which is attained by observation and experiment (calling forth phenomena) leads by analogy and induction to a knowledge of empirical laws; their gradual simplification and generalisation. Arrangement of the facts discovered in accordance with leading ideas. The treasure of empirical contemplation collected through ages, is in no danger of experiencing any hostile agency from philosophy—pp. 56-61. [In the notes appended to pp. 48-53, are considerations of the general and comparative geography of Yarenius. Philological investigation into the meaning of the words Koapog and mundus.] Delineation of Nature. General Review of Natural Phenomena pp. 62-369. Introduction—pp. 62-67. A descriptive delineation of the world embraces the whole universe (to irav) in the celestial and terrestrial spheres. Form and course of the representation. It begins with the depths of space, of which we know little beyond the existence of laws of gravitation, and with the region of the remotest nebulous spots