merely to
the composition and external characters of minerals, but also to what he
termed "geognosy," or the natural position of minerals in particular
rocks, together with the grouping of those rocks, their geographical
distribution, and various relations. The phenomena observed in the
structure of the globe had hitherto served for little else than to
furnish interesting topics for philosophical discussion; but when Werner
pointed out their application to the practical purposes of mining, they
were instantly regarded by a large class of men as an essential part of
their professional education, and from that time the science was
cultivated in Europe more ardently and systematically. Werner's mind was
at once imaginative and richly stored with miscellaneous knowledge. He
associated every thing with his favorite science, and in his excursive
lectures, he pointed out all the economical uses of minerals, and their
application to medicine; the influence of the mineral composition of
rocks upon the soil, and of the soil upon the resources, wealth, and
civilization of man. The vast sandy plains of Tartary and Africa, he
would say, retained their inhabitants in the shape of wandering
shepherds; the granitic mountains and the low calcareous and alluvial
plains gave rise to different manners, degrees of wealth, and
intelligence. The history even of languages, and the migration of
tribes, had been determined by the direction of particular strata. The
qualities of certain stones used in building would lead him to descant
on the architecture of different ages and nations; and the physical
geography of a country frequently invited him to treat of military
tactics. The charm of his manners and his eloquence kindled enthusiasm
in the minds of his pupils; and many, who had intended at first only to
acquire a slight knowledge of mineralogy, when they had once heard him,
devoted themselves to it as the business of their lives. In a few years,
a small school of mines, before unheard of in Europe, was raised to the
rank of a great university; and men already distinguished in science
studied the German language, and came from the most distant countries to
hear the great oracle of geology.[97]

Werner had a great antipathy to the mechanical labor of writing, and,
with the exception of a valuable treatise on metalliferous veins, he
could never be persuaded to pen more than a few brief memoirs, and those
containing no development of his general