The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national
character of the Germans is integrity, tho' sometimes cloaked under a rough
exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with
a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans
of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished
because they take more pains in cultivating their minds.
A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with
hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves
nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern
political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than
taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a _Portento_, but in
Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of
science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities,
but also well versed in political economy and in analysis before he can
venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by
reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is
a terrible _Erforscher_ and wishes to know the _what_, the _how_ and the
_when_ of every thing; besides an Italian _savant_ is seldom versed in any
other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of
French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge
of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but
very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology.
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