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| Joseph
Henry | ||
| DOCUMENTS
| ||
| Although
Henry's skills as a research scientist brought him a measure of fame,
during
his years at
Albany and Princeton he was first and foremost a
teacher.
And judging from contemporary letters, diaries, and student notebooks,
he was an
outstanding
one, beloved and respected by students for his knowledge,
sense of humor, and
willingness
to discuss
issues outside the curriculum. The diary entries below by a senior at
Princeton
give us a starry-eyed glimpse of "Professor Henry."
| ||
| EXCERPTS,
DIARY OF JOHN
R.
BUHLER
Tuesday,
March. 3rd [1846]. | ||
| ...Had a long conversation with Prof. HENRY at the Bookstore this morning.... He is a splendid old fellow to talk with--he affects no superiority over the smallest, is free & familiar & social--but "for a' that", there is that about him--an indescribable Je ne sais quoi--which excites within one, an emotion akin to Awe! I always feel as if I were in the presence of a Superior Being--infinitely far above me or my hopes of future being. He amused me in his talk about the German Metaphysics, by his manner of telling a story of a Dutch Savan & Yankee Numskull. The Philosopher had been talking Transcendentalism to a Beotian38 headed Yankee who couldnt coincide with him for sheer lack of comprehension. At last, after exhausting every endeavor at elucidation, he exclaimed in despair--"GOT forgive Christopher Columbus for discovering America!!!"... |
