LEIBNIZ 113 



By an essay on the reform of the theory of law, he attracted 

 the attention of the Kurfiirst of Mainz, who called him in 

 1668 to do legal work, whereupon his extraordinary versatility 

 and power of work immediately led to his rising to continually 

 higher posts in the service of the State. At this time, at the 

 age of twenty-four, he was described in a letter of recom- 

 mendation by one of his patrons as 'learned to a degree be- 

 yond anything that can be said or believed . . . industrious 

 and fiery; independent in religion, but otherwise a member 

 of the Lutheran church.'^ At that time, it is true, State ser- 

 vice in Germany was the service of small States, but Leibniz 

 made higher plans on his own account. He wished to keep 

 Louis XIV, who at that time was already getting ready to take 

 Strasbourg, well away from Germany, and for this purpose 

 secretly worked out a memorial for this mighty prince which 

 was to recommend to him the idea of conquering Egypt. 

 The memorial was to be handed over in Paris, and Leibniz, 

 provided with good introductions, carried out the project 

 as a senator of Mainz, in the year 1672; the desired success 

 was not attained. 



On this occasion, Leibniz found himself introduced into 

 the highest circles in Paris, to which his published writings 

 of various kinds no doubt also contributed. Here he also 

 made the acquaintance of Huygens, which had long been his 

 desire; otherwise he buried himself, according to his own 

 statement, in the libraries. He thus came to know of a cal- 

 culating machine invented by Pascal, which however only 

 added and subtracted, and this he immediately perfected 

 (no doubt utilising in part ideas which he had previously 

 conceived) so as to make it execute multiplication, division 

 and the extraction of cube roots. The machine was con- 

 structed in Paris with the assistance of the minister Colbert, 

 and was recognised by the Academy; its construction served 



^ See, also as regards other matters, Guhrauer's biography of Leibniz, 

 Breslau, 1842. 



Is 



