188 EULOGY ON ARTHUR AUGUSTE DE LA RIVE. 



ical scene, iu which I took part as one of the et ccctera of Arago, aud I 

 shall never forget the powerful impression produced upon those who 

 ■were present. Nearly all came with the conviction that Oersted was 

 the dupe of some illusion ; but they saw the magnetic needle obey the 

 action of the electric current, move iu one direction when the conduct- 

 iug-wire of the battery was placed above it, and in the contrary direc- 

 tion when placed below it, and were convinced that these effects could 

 be attributed to no external agitation, since they were i>roduced in the 

 vacuum of the air-pump, as well as in the open air, aud ceased when a 

 slip of wood was substituted for the magnetic needle. 



Ampere, in Paris, entered upon the investigation of this phenomenon 

 with great enthusiasm, and having, by dint of earnest and persevering 

 thought, arrived at general conceptions, he deduced from these infer- 

 ences, which he immediately proceeded to verif}- by actual experiments, 

 emi)loyiug for the purpose all the resources of practical mechanics. The 

 discoveries that followed week after week in rapid succession excited 

 the unbounded admiration of Gaspard De La Rive, and no sooner had 

 the Academy of Sciences of Paris announced some new inference of 

 Ampere than the watch-making establishments of Geneva, under the 

 direction of De La Eive, constructed the delicate apparatus conceived 

 by the illustrious French physicist to verify his deductions, and varied 

 the form so as to bring it within the means of the smallest laboratory. 

 If in this De La Eive was animated solely by a love of science, he was 

 amply rewarded. 



Anguste De La Rive, excited first by sympathy- with his father, and 

 afterward by individual interest in the new facts brought to light, deter- 

 mined to devote his life to the study of electricity. Born on the 9th of 

 October, 1801, he was at the time of these researches a student iu the uni- 

 versity, but shortly after pret)ared resolutely and with success to compete 

 for the chair of general physics left vacant by Pierre Pre vost. Only twen- 

 ty-oneyears of age, and aspiriugto take theplaceof a professor well known 

 throughout Europe, he was obliged to face a jury composed of sixty-six 

 judges, that is to say, of all the professors of the academy, and all the mem- 

 bers of the venerable company intrusted with the direction of the ecclesias- 

 tical affairs of Geneva. The academy was at that time a powerful cor- 

 poration. Closely united with the church, it was considered the first 

 educational establishment, and held control over all the other schools 

 of the canton. It constituted a state within the state, and extended 

 its jurisdiction even to politics and the affairs of the rei)uL)lic. The 

 authority with which it was invested was founded upon traditional laws, 

 aud its functions were highly respected. Its professors, select men, 

 were all capable of serious work and prolonged application. Very 

 poorly remunerated for their services, their expenses far exceeded their 

 emoluments, but they valued the prestige of a professorshij), a truh 

 magisterial oflice, much more than its material profits. The higl 

 character of the political instruction attracted to the academy the rich 



