204 Baron Fourier's Historical Ehge of the 



of the symbols of the language of calculation cannot contri- 

 .bute to its perspicuity, and render the perusal of it more easy. 

 • The work is a perfectly regular exposition of the results of pro- 

 found study : It is an ingenious epitome of the principal disco- 

 veries. The precision of its style, the choice of methods, the 

 greatness of the subject, give a singular interest to this vast pic- 

 ture ; but its real utility is to recal to geometers those theorems 

 whose demonstrations were already known to them. It is pro- 

 perly speaking the contents of a mathematical treatise. 



The purely historical works of Laplace have a different 

 object. They present to geometers with admirable talent the 

 progress of the human mind in the invention of the sciences. 

 The most abstract theories have indeed an innate beauty of 

 expression. It is this which strikes us in several of the treatises 

 of Descartes, and in some of the pages of Galileo, of New- 

 ton, and Lagrange. Novelty of views, elevation of thought, 

 and their connection with the grand objects of nature, fix the 

 attention and fill the mind. It is sufficient that the style be 

 pure, and have a noble simplicity. It is this kind of literature 

 that Laplace has chosen, and it is certain that he has attained 

 in it the first rank. If he writes the history of great astronomi- 

 cal discoveries, he becomes a model of elegance and precision. 

 No leading fact ever escapes him : the expression is never ob- 

 scure or ambiguous. Whatever he calls great is great in reality. 

 •Whatever he omits does not deserve to be cited. 

 ^ M. Laplace retained to a very advanced age that extraordi- 

 nary memory which he had exhibited from his earliest years; a 

 precious gift, which, though it is not genius, is that which serves 

 to acquire and preserve it. He had not cultivated the fine 

 arts, but he appreciated them. He was fond of Italian music 

 and of the poetry of Racine, and he often took delight in 

 quoting from memory different passages of this great poet. 

 The works of Raphael adorned his apartments, and they were 

 found beside the portraits of Descartes, Francis Vieta, Newton, 

 Galileo and Euler. 



Laplace had always accustomed himself to a very light diet, 

 and he diminished the quantity of it continually, and even to 

 an excessive degree. His very delicate sight required con- 



