It was very interesting to read these pieces, especially considering their chronology and how the authors' ideas may have built on each other. Khaldun and Montesquieu had similar ideas in that they focused on temperature of the climate and its relation to and influence on people. Khaldun had some striking ideas about the temperature of a zone being the reason for different appearances and intellect in people. Montesquieu mimicked these ideas, and even performed some semblance of scientific exploration in conjunction with his observations of people, though his conclusion that papilla on a tongue equates to the temperament of people in cold countries seems a little far-fetched. Montesquieu's paragraphs about the laws of climate stood out to me as profound, because it shows how he saw climate as a force that changes the intrinsic nature of people, but also shapes the way they live in a society. Buffon shifts to focusing on how man influences nature instead, in our mastery over fire, animal, and plants. He frequently equates the growing intelligence of man with our power over nature, and also acknowledges our underappreciation of nature as we continue to manipulate it without entirely understanding it and ignoring our negative impacts. Humboldt shifts again to talk more about the beauty of nature and man's intelligence in our collaboration with nature. The link between man and nature continues to grow and become more complex, which I read as a hopeful and exciting thing to Humboldt, because with more knowledge, the greater we can appreciate the Earth we live on. Man is part of nature, which the other pieces didn't seem to touch on, and we have an intimate relationship that can easily be thrown off-balance.