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1Partly from curiosity and partly from idleness, I went into the lecturing room, which M. Waldman entered shortly after.
2This professor was very unlike his colleague. He appeared about fifty years of age, but with an aspect expressive of the
3greatest benevolence; a few grey hairs covered his temples, but those at the back of his head were nearly black. His
4person was short but remarkably erect and his voice the sweetest I had ever heard. He began his lecture by a
5recapitulation of the history of chemistry and the various improvements made by different men of learning, pronouncing
6with fervour the names of the most distinguished discoverers. He then took a cursory view of the present state of the
7science and explained many of its elementary terms. After having made a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a
8panegyric upon modern chemistry, the terms of which I shall never forget: "The ancient teachers of this science," said
9he, "promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals
10cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to
11dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate
12into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have
13discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited
14powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own
15shadows." Such were the professor's words--rather let me say such the words of the fate--enounced to destroy me. As he
16went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed
17the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception,
18one purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein--more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the
19steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of
20creation. I closed not my eyes that night. My internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil; I felt that
21order would thence arise, but I had no power to produce it. By degrees, after the morning's dawn, sleep came. I awoke,
22and my yesternight's thoughts were as a dream. There only remained a resolution to return to my ancient studies and to
23devote myself to a science for which I believed myself to possess a natural talent. On the same day I paid M. Waldman a
24visit. His manners in private were even more mild and attractive than in public, for there was a certain dignity in his
25mien during his lecture which in his own house was replaced by the greatest affability and kindness. I gave him pretty
26nearly the same account of my former pursuits as I had given to his fellow professor. He heard with attention the little
27narration concerning my studies and smiled at the names of Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus, but without the contempt
28that M. Krempe had exhibited. He said that "These were men to whose indefatigable zeal modern philosophers were indebted
29for most of the foundations of their knowledge. They had left to us, as an easier task, to give new names and arrange in
30connected classifications the facts which they in a great degree had been the instruments of bringing to light. The
31labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage
32of mankind." I listened to his statement, which was delivered without any presumption or affectation, and then added
33that his lecture had removed my prejudices against modern chemists; I expressed myself in measured terms, with the
34modesty and deference due from a youth to his instructor, without letting escape (inexperience in life would have made
35me ashamed) any of the enthusiasm which stimulated my intended labours. I requested his advice concerning the books I
36ought to procure. "I am happy," said M. Waldman, "to have gained a disciple; and if your application equals your
37ability, I have no doubt of your success. Chemistry is that branch of natural philosophy in which the greatest
38improvements have been and may be made; it is on that account that I have made it my peculiar study; but at the same
39time, I have not neglected the other branches of science. A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to
40that department of human knowledge alone. If your wish is to become really a man of science and not merely a petty
41experimentalist, I should advise you to apply to every branch of natural philosophy, including mathematics." He then
42took me into his laboratory and explained to me the uses of his various machines, instructing me as to what I ought to
43procure and promising me the use of his own when I should have advanced far enough in the science not to derange their
44mechanism. He also gave me the list of books which I had requested, and I took my leave. Thus ended a day memorable to
45me; it decided my future destiny. Chapter 4 From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most
46comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation. I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and
47discrimination, which modern inquirers have written on these subjects. I attended the lectures and cultivated the
48acquaintance of the men of science of the university, and I found even in M. Krempe a great deal of sound sense and real
49information, combined, it is true, with a repulsive physiognomy and manners, but not on that account the less valuable.
50In M. Waldman I found a true friend. His gentleness was never tinged by dogmatism, and his instructions were given with
51an air of frankness and good nature that banished every idea of pedantry. In a thousand ways he smoothed for me the path
52of knowledge and made the most abstruse inquiries clear and facile to my apprehension. My application was at first
53fluctuating and uncertain; it gained strength as I proceeded and soon became so ardent and eager that the stars often
54disappeared in the light of morning whilst I was yet engaged in my laboratory. As I applied so closely, it may be easily
55conceived that my progress was rapid. My ardour was indeed the astonishment of the students, and my proficiency that of
56the masters. Professor Krempe often asked me, with a sly smile, how Cornelius Agrippa went on, whilst M. Waldman
57expressed the most heartfelt exultation in my progress. Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to
58Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make. None but those who
59have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone
60before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and
61wonder. A mind of moderate capacity which closely pursues one study must infallibly arrive at great proficiency in that
62study; and I, who continually sought the attainment of one object of pursuit and was solely wrapped up in this, improved
63so rapidly that at the end of two years I made some discoveries in the improvement of some chemical instruments, which
64procured me great esteem and admiration at the university. When I had arrived at this point and had become as well
65acquainted with the theory and practice of natural philosophy as depended on the lessons of any of the professors at
66Ingolstadt, my residence there being no longer conducive to my improvements, I thought of returning to my friends and my
67native town, when an incident happened that protracted my stay.
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