100 THE LIFE OF SCIENCE 



him; I love him for all those who failed to love him; I love him be- 

 cause of his adversity. 



His tragic life teaches us at least one great lesson : one can never 

 be too kind to the young; one can never be too tolerant of their 

 faults, even of their intolerance. The pride and intolerance of 

 youth, however immoderate, are excusable because of youth's 

 ignorance, and also because one may hope that it is only a tempo- 

 rary disorder. Of course there will always be men despicable 

 enough to resort to snubbing, as it were, to protect their own posi- 

 tion and to hide their mediocrity, but I am not thinking of them. 

 I am simply thinking of the many men who were unkind to Galois 

 without meaning to be so. To be sure, one could hardly expect 

 them to divine the presence of genius in an awkward boy. But 

 even if they did not believe in him, could they not have shown 

 more forbearance? Even if he had been a conceited dunce, instead 

 of a genius, could kindness have harmed him? ... It is painful 

 to think that a few rays of generosity from the heart of his elders 

 might have saved this boy or at least might have sweetened his 

 life. 



But does it really matter? A few years more or less, a little more 

 or less suffering. . . . Life is such a short drive altogether. Galois 

 has accomplished his task and very few men will ever accomplish 

 more. He has conquered the purest kind of immortality. As he 

 wrote to his friends: <c l take with me to the grave a conscience 

 free from lie, free from partiots' blood/' How many of the con- 

 ventional heroes of history, how many of the kings, captains and 

 statesmen could say the same? 



