Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 9.djvu/68

50 the science of drugs in perfection. To such an apothecary, residing at Heppenheim, near Darmstadt, Liebig went, and remained there about ten months, but in that occupation as an apprentice his mind soon became wearied, he saw that he could not attain his object; and when, while continuing some of his early experiments on the fulminates, on one occasion he had the misfortune to produce a great explosion, this fact quickly terminated his apprenticeship, and he returned to Darmstadt. These explosions in the early days of great chemists are not uncommon. It is related in the case of Scheele that, when he was apprenticed to an apothecary, he once had a great explosion, in consequence of which his landlady expelled him from the house.

Liebig returned to his father's house in the year 1814, and read for six months in order to prepare himself for visiting the University of Bonn. He there listened to the lectures on theoretical chemistry of the well-known Prof. Kastner, and he also studied the other natural sciences and some languages, and, what is very characteristic of his great genius and perseverance, he formed a society among the students for the purpose of teaching one another, and for discussing subjects connected with chemistry and physics. Kastner being called to Erlangen, Liebig followed him there, and we are told that there he read all the new chemical publications, established another students' society for the same object as the first, and made many friends among the students, of whom several continued that friendship up to their death. Thus the celebrated poet, Count Platen, corresponded with him to the time of his death in 1830, and of this friendship we can see many congenial influences in the writings of Liebig, for there is no doubt that, in his "Familiar Letters on Chemistry," the language, although always prose, frequently rises to the highest beauty, such as can only be produced by a mind of a poetical turn. The same influence of the classical period of German literature you will also perceive for example in the writings of Humboldt, particularly in his "Views on Nature," which are therefore considered as examples of classical German diction. Liebig also made the acquaintance of Bischof, the botanist, and of Engelhard, later Professor of Chemistry at Nuremberg. He went in for the severe study of what at that time was called philosophy, that is, he listened to the lectures on metaphysics and philosophy in general, of the then great Schelling. Now, let me give you the words of Liebig on that period of his life. He says: "I myself studied for some time in a university where the greatest philosophers and metaphysicians of the century carried the studying youths away to admiration and imitation. Who could at that time resist the infection? I, too, have lived and participated in this period so rich in words and ideas, so poor in true knowledge and solid studies: it has robbed me of two precious years of my life. I cannot describe the terror and dismay which I felt when I awoke from this giddy dream to consciousness. How many most gifted and talented men