In 1862 he gained the gold medal of the University by an essay on
"Fatalism among the Ancients," which showed a surprising brilliancy of
expression and maturity of thought; and soon after he passed his
examination for the doctorate of philosophy with the highest
distinction. It is told that the old poet Hauch, who was then Professor
of AEsthetics at the University, was so much impressed by the young
doctor's ability that he hoped to make him his successor. And toward
this end Dr. Brandes began to bend his energies. During the next five or
six years he travelled on the Continent, spending the winter of 1865 in
Stockholm, that of 1866-67 in Paris, and sojourning, moreover, for
longer or shorter periods in the principal cities of Germany. He became
a most accomplished linguist, speaking French and German almost as
fluently as his mother-tongue; and, being an acute observer as well as
an earnest student, he acquired an equipment for the position to which
he aspired which distanced all competitors. But in Denmark, as
elsewhere, cosmopolitan culture does not constitute the strongest claim
to a professorship.
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