Ehge of Baron Cuvier. 165 



that under consideration, and not unfrequently he was employed 

 in writing out the result to which the discussions were intended 

 to lead. His turn to speak did not arrive till reasons had been 

 interchanged by both parties, and fruitless words were well nigh 

 exhausted ; then a new light broke upon the minds of all ; facts 

 resumed their proper places; ideas, previously confused, be- 

 came distinct ; the necessary deductions were made, and the dis- 

 cussion had terminated when he ceased to speak. 



In what, then, consisted the power which M. Cuvier exer- 

 cised ? It cannot assuredly be ascribed to his style ; for his ex- 

 pressions were simple, and occasionally negligent, unadorned 

 with imagery, and destitute of every thing that addressed itself 

 to the imagination. No recourse was had to the illusions of art, 

 but all was order and perspicuity, those first of requisites, which 

 are the sources of the purest pleasure to the mind. Let us re- 

 gard him on a more extended theatre, as taking part in the 

 preparation of the laws, and in the discussions to which they 

 were subjected, either in private committees, in the councils of 

 state, or in the councils of the cabinet, to which he was often 

 called. I should reproach myself for not having spoken, in the 

 first place, (for I know it is one of the services which he most 

 congratulated himself for having performed), of the use which 

 he made of his talents and influence, to obtain certain modifi- 

 cations in the constitution and jurisdiction of the cours pre- 

 votales, which have principally contributed to diminish their 

 dangerous effects. He took pleasure in recalling his success, 

 but he never did so without mentioning at the same time the 

 assistance which he had derived from the good sense and ho- 

 nourable character (I use his own expressions) of the Due de 

 Richelieu, as well as from M. Royer Collard, and M. de Serre, the 

 one in the Council of State, the other in the Chamber of Depu^ 

 ties. If we pass on to other subjects, which, without being of 

 a more important, are perhaps of a more elevated character, we 

 will see him applying the same instinct of vigorous observation, 

 which made him acquainted with the form and organization of 

 beings emanating from the present and preceding creations, to 

 the constitution of political bodies, and acquiring with equid 

 facility a knowledge of their most secret springs, and the causes 

 of their strength or weakness. 



