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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



thought ; but it is not willing, and 

 never henceforth will be willing, to 

 substitute any form of theological 

 prescription for the authority which 

 it has learned to attach to verified 

 truth. If we have battles to fight we 

 must fight them, and perhaps, when 

 it comes to that, we may learn a wis- 

 dom which in times of comparative 

 ease and prosperity we were inca- 

 pable of learning. Certain it is that 

 in this world everything has its spe- 

 cific cause, which means that every 

 evil has its specific remedy. Trouble, 

 it was long ago observed, does not 

 spring out of the ground ; it is for us 

 to find out where it does spring 

 from ; and when the trouble be- 

 comes acute, our intellectual opera- 

 tions are wont to be greatly stimu- 

 lated. 



The dean would have us restore 

 the Bible to the schools and place the 

 latter in efi'ect under the control of 

 the clergy. Our idea is to study 

 out the problem of education in the 

 widest sense until we have, in a 

 really effectual manner, correlated it 

 with the whole life of society. The 

 former is the ecclesiastical remedy 

 for social ills ; the latter is the sci- 

 entific, and we believe it to be that 

 which the future is destined to jus- 

 tify. 



THE EUNDEEDTH ANNIVERSARY OF 

 THE FRENCH INSTITUTE. 



The Institut de France, popular- 

 ly known as the French Academy, 

 and which is undoubtedly the oldest 

 and the most famous of the world's 

 learned societies, celebrated with 

 great ceremony and with the active 

 participation of the Government of 

 France, on October 23d-26th last, the 

 hundredth anniversary of its exist- 

 ence ; one of the most noted and 

 pleasant features of which was the 

 hearty welcome extended to its for- 

 eign associates and corresi)onding 



members. As it is generally under- 

 stood that these two titles are the 

 highest honors which France can 

 award in testimony of intellectual 

 work actually done by foreigners 

 the cross of the Legion of Honor 

 being often conferred for merely po- 

 litical reasons it is a matter of in- 

 terest to know what citizens of the 

 United States have been the recipi- 

 ents of these honors. Preliminary, 

 however, to their specification, it is 

 desirable to explain the organization 

 of the institute. It consists of five 

 departments or divisions, each of 

 which is designated as an academy 

 namely, the Academic Fran^aise, 

 Academic des Inscriptions et Belles- 

 Lettres, Academic des Sciences, 

 Academic des Beaux- Arts, Academic 

 des Sciences Morales et Politique. 

 Each academy, except the Academic 

 Fran^aise, which comprises a general 

 reunion of all the other academies, is 

 divided into sections for the con- 

 sideration of special subjects, and is 

 made iip of members of the institute 

 who are regarded as specialists, or 

 acknowledged authorities in differ- 

 ent departments of learning. Thus, 

 the domain of the "Academic des In- 

 scriptions et Belles-Lettres " embraces 

 the learned languages, antiquities, 

 monuments. Oriental literature, and 

 history; that of "Sciences," astrono- 

 my, geography, navigation, general 

 physics, chemistry, zoology, botany, 

 medicine, andx surgery ; that of 

 " Beaux- Arts," painting, sculpture, 

 architecture, engraving, and music ; 

 and that of " Sciences Morales et Poli- 

 tique," morals, philosophy, jurispru- 

 dence, political economy, finance, and 

 philosophical history. Each of the 

 academies holds weekly meetings, 

 and once a year the five academies as 

 a rule hold a public meeting in com- 

 mon ; and occasionally other general 

 meetings for the reception of new 

 members and the distribution of 

 prizes. In virtue of endowments, be- 



