Diario las Américas Newspaper, January 29, 1956, Page 27

. = j > q ~ HUMBOLDT A UNIVERSAL MAN IN MARCH 1804 Alexander von on the basis of which he formulat- Mexico, to return to Europe after A review of Helmut de Terra’s book “The Life and Times of Alexander yon Humboldt, 1769-1859", by Irston R. Barnes, in the Magazine “Americas” of the Panamerican five years of systematic explora- tions in South and Central Ame- rica that established a pattern for future scientific expeditions, The New World of the Amazon and Orinoco, of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico, had provided the greatest of naturalist explorers with the. living experi- ments from which he drew his in- sights into the natural world, and on te basis of which he formulat- ed conclussions that shaped future scientific studies and still have large significance for the New World countries. When his career ended in 1859 in his ninetieth year, Humboldt had for two generations been the best-known European in the Ame- ricas and, after Napoleon Bona- parte, in Europe also. His pre- eminence was recognized alike by scientists and laymen, for it was Emerson who acclaimed him “one of the wonders of the world,” show- ing us “the possibilities of the hu- man mind, the force and the range of the faculties — a universal man.” His name identifies physical features in all parts of the world: Humboldt Glacier (Greenland), Humboldt Mountains (China), Humboldt Current, Humboldt Peak (Venezuela and also Colorado), Humboldt Bay (New Guinea and also California), Humboldt River, Humboldt Sink and Humboldt Range (Nevada), and numerous cities in the United States. Yet to- day Humboldt is largely unknown except as a legendary figure. A new biography of this great ex- plorer, naturalist, and scientist is, indeed, timely; we must be grate- ful to Dr. Helmut de Terra for supplying it. Humboldt was not only greatly venerated by fellow scientists; he was courted alike by emperors and the common man. His extraordin- ary popularity reflected not only his scientific achievements, exten- sive and diverse as they were, and the hold that the new science had on the imaginations of all men; it was equally the triumph of a bril- liant and massive intellect, which immediately impressed itself on all whom he met. Moreover, his deep humanity, his fellow-felling for the oppressed of Europe and the colo- nial peoples of the New World, for the enslaved and even for the primitive tribes, identified him emotionally and intellectually with Union. Humboldt as a young man. the currents flowing toward en- lightenment and freedom. In writing of his life and times, Dr. de Terra has not attempted to give a biographical account of Hum- boldt’s scientific work. Instead, he has chosen to show Humboldt in the routine of his daily life — be- yond the frontiers of the Americas, in the social and intellectual life of Paris, as a member of the Prus- sian court, and in the circle of his intimate friends and relatives. But Dr. de Terra is himself a scientist — a geologist whose scientific ex- peditions to Central Asia and whose studies of ancient. man in Mexico crossed many of Hum- boldt’s half-forgotten trails — and he may yet undertake to tell the story of Humboldt’s _ scientific works. Humboldt’s fame rested justly on the magnitude of his scientific contributions. His training and ex- perience as a mining engineer gave geology a first place in all his studies, and in the geographie pattern of volcanoes in the Ameri- cas he was the first to recognize the relationship between vulcanism and earth structures. His magnetic surveys established the law of de- clining magnetic intensity between the poles. He analyzed the physical properties of ocean waters, and was the first to give a graphic descrip- tion of the oceans. <He also analyz- ed the chemical constituents of the atmosphere and made signifi- cant observations on tropical storms. His principles of physio- graphic and economic geography and his recognition of the signi- ficance of geographie factors in the lives of nations established the basis for modern geography. With the botanist Bonpland, he collected sixty thousand plant specimens in the Americas, describing some 3,- 500 new species and providing the first accurate data on cinchona and * new animals from South America and described their habitats. His observations and writings on con- temporary and ancient cultures in South America inspired many an- thropological studies. Some of his most important contributions to science cannot even be identified — the*assistance, intellectual and material, which he generously be- stowed, sometimes at great person- al saerifice, on promisiog young intellectuals seeking larger oppor- tunities for scientific work. Although the details of his con- tributions are forgotten, and some have been outdated by more re- cent developments, Humboldt has a larger meaning for our times than for his own — if we properly perceive the nature of his great- ness and the tenor of his teachings. He has been hailed as a genius whose historical stage enabled him to know all that was significant in the science of his age, and in this, no modern man hope to emulate him. He*aroused awe and wonder at the volume and erudition of his work. Yet the true secret of his greatness for us lies in his de- monstration of the stimulus and in- sight that come from a competent knowledge of diverse disciplines, in his eapacity for synthesis, and in the fruitfulness of his imaginative evaluation of the array of facts which research, his own and others’, presented for considera- tion. It was his original insight in asking questions about natural phenomena that led him to develop procedures and methods that guid- ed others who pursued inquiries he initiated. In an age of increasing, and inevitable, specialization, the modern world needs more Hum- boldts who can ask questions of one science in terms of another, who can synthesize the meaning of diverse sciences in terms of hu- man needs and world progress, and whose understanding of the interdependence of all nature pro- vides a scale of values for guiding public policy. T-vo events shaped the main cur- rent; of Humboldt’s later career: his visit to Latin America, 1799- 1804, and his Berlin lectures in the winter of 1827-28. The first years in Latin America yielded such an abundant harvest of scientific data that for twenty- one years, throughout the Napo- leonic Wars, Humboldt was occup- ied in collaboration with other leading scientists, in presenting the results of his observations and studies.. In addition to shorter works, he published his scientific studies of South and Middle Ame- tica — relating to botany, geology, zoology, geography, and so on — in thirty volumes; his popular nar- rative of his travels, with much pertaining to economic and social conditions and native customs, in seven volumes; and a political es- say on Cuba in two volumes. His influence in interesting Europeans in South America was incalculable. Humboldt was, in turn, greatly indebted to Latin America. As the first scientific explorer in many re- gions, he observed everything, and from these observations came much of his reputation as a scient- ist, naturalist, and explorer as well as most of his original, far-reach- ing insights into natural phenome- na. His study of the changing vege- tation from the steaming tropical jungles to the top of the Andes provided him with an understand- ing of the relation between climate and geography and the plant com- munities associated with changing physical conditions. Both North and South America have suffered greatly from the destructive ex- ploitation of natural resources. In both, European: man, ignoring the Iessons of primitive peoples, be- came a destructive geologic force, destroying plant cover and setting deserts on the march. An under- standing of the interdependence of all natural resources of how man ean live in harmony with natural principles, which Humboldt pro- ber or reasons: The cost of con- structing the canal would be more or less the same as for the rail- road; and, once finished, even if initial building costs were consid- erably higher, the canal would not require the heavy expenses in per- sonnel, installations, rolling stock, administration, and maintenance necessary with a rail line. Trans- ferring cargo between ships and trains would slow transportation, and the additional handling char- ges and higher rail freight rates would raise the cost. While the canal was under construction, hy- droelectric installations could be built to take advantage of the Sete Quedas Falls, one of thé biggest in the world, which would trans- form the surrounding region in- dustrially and reinforce the gene- rating stations of such southern industrial centers as Sao Paulo, Campinas, Sorocaba, and Curitiba, Boats or barges could go direct form Buenos Airees to Sao Paulo and vice versa, up the Paraguay River and its tributaries as well, and eventually, whem the necesa- Ty connecting links were complet- ed, to the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco. This would make po- ssible transportation of the indus- trial hi agricultural products of Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires to all parts of South America except Chile, at low river rates, Of course, construction of this canal would have to be accompanied by improvements on the Tieté River -— a canal around the Itapura Falls and dams at other sites to elim- inate rapids and maintain the de- SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 1956 sired depth of water. But the works -could be built in such a way as to take full advantage of the hydroelectric potential of the river, an element that is vital to Sao Paulo’s industrial develop- ment. Incidentally, Governor Ja- nio Quadros of Sao Paulo State has called for hydroelectric devel- opment of Itapura Falls and the nearby Urubupunga Falls on the Parana, and lateral access canals should be included in the plans, at least for Itapura Falls, so that two purposes can be served at little more than the cost of one. Since benefits would redound not only to Brazil but also to Argen- tina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, it should be easier to raise the ne- cessary capital; shares could be divided among the governments of those countries and private in- dividuals. A mixed corporation or an autonomous body like the Hy- droelectric Company of the Sao Francisco River would be an ideal organization to do the job. Once construction is finished, it could organize the river traffic and ad- minister the electric plants. Indeed, all the major long-term projects I have suggested would requie international collarbora- tion. The connecting channels be- tween the Orinoco and the Ama- zon and between the Amazon and the Parana-Paraguay, for example, should be paid for by the benefit- ing countries. It would not be fair for Venezuela to assume the whole cost of the route through the Casi- quiare Canal, which would also help Brazil, Nor should Brazil pay the whole expense of linking the Tapajés to the Paraguay, for Ar- gentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay would gain. South America has a river sys- tem that could be the envy of the world, but it has yet to take advantage of it. Quite apart from those long-term inter-basin links that some may regard as visionary, many relatively simple measures could make it possible for the countries to realize more fully the potentialities of nature’s bounty. Itapura Falls, om Tiete Riyer in Brazil, are spectacularly beautiful but am obstacle te navigation. Lima, as Humboldt knew it, in the early 19th centu J claimed, would make our genera tion even more greatly indebted to him than those earlier genera tions which were stimulated t« settle in the New World by his dis coveries and writings. The Berlin lectures, a series of sixteen weekly lectures presented once at the univrsity and agaig in the concert hall, were a tre mendous personal triumph for Humboldt. The lectures were ab tended not only by professors and students, but also by royalty, so ciety women, government officialg and the general public. The lect- ures told of an orderly natural world, a cosmic design binding the earth to the rest of the universe, the workings of geologic forces in making the earth’s mountains and seas, the patterns of plant associa- tions, and the interdependence of all living creatures. The lecturer imparted scientific facts and hig own theories, but he likewise des- cribed the esthetic pleasures of nae ture study. The outline of his lect. ures became the plan for his most ambitious work. Immediately after the Berlin lectures, Humboldt began planning for his work, Cosmos. As finally completed in five volumes, the last appearing after his death, Cosmog presented all the known facts of the universe in an integrated con- cept of nature. However, fame had its costs as well as its pleasures and on balance impeded his work ag much as it helped. Frederick Wil liam III had appointed Humboldt Royal Chamberlain in the fall of 1826, promising him an annual pension of five thousand thalers, support for ocaasional travels, and permission to spend a few months each year in Paris. Thereafter, Humboldt was.in constant deman at the court. Furthermore, hun- dreds annually sought his advice and help, and wherever he could, Humboldt gave generously of hime self and hig substance. The heavy drain of these distractions he off set by adhering to a life-long sche dule of working Jate and rising ear ly, allowing himself only four hours of sleep a night. And so he continued until within three weekg of his death, sustained by his de termination to complete his under taking and encouraged by the une precedented popularity of the first volume of COSMOS, ~ Dr. de Terra’s Life is concerned primarily with Humboldt the man — the intimate friend of royalty and advisor to his own monarch, the friend of genious wherever dis covered, the ardent sympathizer with all movements to advance freedom and the dignity of man, the enthusiastic participant in the social and intellectual life of Pa- ris and Berlin, the debt-harried author who spent his personal for- tune on his travels and publica- tions. The author strains unduly to represent young Humboldt’s inte rest in nature as a substitute for the warm sympathy and affection that his rather austere mother fail- ed to supply, but the whole trend of Humboldt’s intellectual _ in- terests, as well as the climate of the times, affords a sufficient ex- planation of his life interests. How- ever, once Humboldt is finally em- barked on his scientific work, the story unfolds authentically and af- fords a revealing picture of the atmosphere in which Humboldt accomplished his prodigious works, —lIrston R. Barnes, HUMBOLDT: THE LIFE AND TIMES. OF ALEXANDER VAON HUMBOLDT, 1769-1859, by Hel mut de Terra. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Ine., 1955. 388 p. Illus, $5.75. PAGE 15 . & i