nerve-quality

Updated: August 16, 2026

With Humboldt was one companion, Bonpland, a Swiss by birth, and a rare soul. Humboldt was a naturalist and a philosopher; by nature he was a traveler. But he lacked that intrepid quality possessed by, say, Lewis and Clarke. He had too much brain too fine a nerve-quality to face the forest alone. Bonpland made good all that he lacked. He used to call Bonpland his "Treasure."

Elbert Hubbard - Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12: Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists