“I ought to leave here to-morrow in order to keep to the time fixed
upon,” he writes to Bunsen, on February 18, 1841; “but it is not
possible for me to finish yet. I need at least two days more to complete
all that is of most importance. I go to the museum at half-past eight;
they are not up there before that; I stay there the whole day, except
from four till quarter of five, my meal-time; from the table I go back
again and work until ten or half-past ten o’clock. I cannot work at the
great papyrus by candlelight, for fear of injuring something, but then,
I have the finest things to look over to select for copying, all of
which I had not found when I was here first.” Altogether, he now
perceived that during his former visit much had been intentionally
withheld from him; this time everything was entrusted to him, and he
made the most profitable use, for his chronological purposes especially,
of the large “Papyrus of the Kings.” He had busts cast in plaster, from
the finest images of the Pharaohs, for the Berlin museum, and amongst
the treasures of Turin the idea occurred to him of publishing the most
important records of the time of the Pharaohs as a separate work. This
accordingly appeared in 1842.[40]
He employed the draughtsmen Weidenbach before mentioned, on this work
and on the edition of the “Book of the Dead,” and he expressed to Bunsen
his delight over the great progress made by these artists on the path
which he had indicated to them.
On his way home he visited Bunsen in Bern, spent several happy days in
the circle of the ambassador’s family, and then tarried for some time in
Munich, where v. Zech was his “cicerone,” and where he established
relations with Cornelius and other men of celebrity. He enjoyed the most
frequent and agreeable intercourse with Schelling, of whom he says “his
nature is as great as it is lovely.” The latter had just accepted a call
to Berlin, (at first for one year only) and Lepsius says he was going
thither with great hopes of success and of exercising a salutary
influence. “He is convinced beforehand of the victory of his good cause,
since it is not a question of bare negation and opposition, such as he
reproaches Stahl with, (who only filched from him), but he has something
to advance which is new and positive, and will make a place for itself.
He must either be refuted, or he must convince and prevail. As,
according to his firm conviction, he cannot be refuted, the latter must
take place. Besides the foregoing alternatives, it is true that another
occurred to me, but about that I naturally kept silence. Good fortune to
him!”
Refreshed and satisfied with the results of this journey he devoted
himself at home with all his energy to the editing of the Umbrian and
Oscan inscriptions[41] which he had collected in Rome.
In the following year two more of the fruits of his Italian labors came
to maturity,[42] and were received with universal commendation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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