Preface.

All things, which in their totality comprise the universe, are mutually dependent; they act upon one another in their coexistence and produce a plurality and diversity of content and form. To the thinking observer, who searches for the connection between phenomena—to discover "what holds the world together in its innermost being"—the unity expressing itself within this multiplicity has not remained hidden.

original: "was die Welt im Innersten zusammenhält" — This is a famous quotation from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. In the play, Faust expresses his deep desire to understand the fundamental laws of nature and the secret forces of the universe.

This observation gathers the scattered things and forces of nature into a unified whole and sees in it a living organism. Within this organism, a multitude of specific systems prove themselves active; although independent, they are related to one another in constant interaction. Sustained in their connection by general laws, they converge into a single fundamental law: that of harmony. In this realization, natural science celebrates its victory, having subjected its conquered treasure of observations to the dominion of thought. It is a principle founded on experience, expressed by an authority: "The deeper one penetrates into the essence of natural forces, the more one recognizes the connection of phenomena, which, long viewed in isolation and superficially, seem to resist any categorization."¹ The contemplation of one's own limitations fills the individual with a sense of melancholy; however, this loses its bitterness when considering the infinite line of humanity, which searches incessantly and is forever discovering more. For "knowledge and understanding are the joy and the right of humanity."

original: "Wissen und Erkennen sind die Freude und Berechtigung der Menschheit" — This is a quote from Alexander von Humboldt's Cosmos. Roskoff uses it to align his historical research with the rigorous, enlightened scientific spirit of the mid-19th century.

In this justified joy of understanding, the eye of the observer of historical phenomena may also, when directed toward cultural conditions, attempt to find their connection with those [natural laws]. For not only in the physical world is there nothing unnatural, but everything is order, law;

¹ A. v. Humboldt, Cosmos, I, 30.