Fragments from Reimarus

natural sciences, to which he added many valuable contributions. However, as the years passed, the study of philosophy left all others in the background. Without making authorship the sole occupation of his life, Reimarus left many invaluable works, one on each of his favorite subjects. He was anything but a dull bookworm. His great object seemed to be bringing science closer to life, to bring men of science nearer to men of the world. He was modest without being bashful, sympathetic without being vain or importunate, and, notwithstanding his innate dignity of manner, he was a lively and charming companion.

In his later years, he enjoyed gathering around him a circle of men who conversed with unrestrained sociality upon scientific and useful subjects, and exchanged their experiences, discoveries, views, and judgments with one another.

The domestic life of Reimarus was also exemplary. His wife, a daughter worthy of Fabricius, gave him seven children, only three of whom—a son and two daughters—survived him. No happier, more united, or more respected family could be found than his; and long after his death, the house of Reimarus, occupied by his accomplished unmarried daughter Elise and his son, Doctor A. Reimarus, remained one of the scientific centers of Hamburg.

Esteemed both as a scholar and as a man, honored and respected far and near, Reimarus—though not of robust constitution—reached the comparatively advanced age of 72. On the 19th of February,