Letters of Alexander von Humboldt to Varnhagen von Ense

191 Lines by Varnhagen on Hildebrandt’s Painting of Humboldt’s Apartments, and the Motto Attached

(Translated by Charles Goepp, Esq., at Easton, Pa.)

This was the latest, the peaceful home, where the mighty explorer,
Early ascender of summits, reposed on the heights of his glory.
Hall of the Castle of Knowledge, the limner has deftly restored thee!
Lofty and light, rich hung with trophies of noble endeavor;
Treasures of nature and art, and of love, and the weapons of science.
While in the midst sits, earnestly glad, thoughtfully commanding
All the profusion around, himself thy sovereign, breathing
Speech and significant life into every shape of the picture;
Plying the wonderful shuttle of thought, until it produces,
Painting and painted at once, fresh images, brighter and brighter.87
          Varnhagen von Ense.

Berlin, December 1st, 1856.