154 TRANSACTIOISS OF THE SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND 



sious, and realize early that a man devoted to science is not an exceptional 

 beiug, but that any one may enter into the pursuit of knowledge with- 

 out necessarily considering himself a genins, was the highest kind of 

 teaching, was a stimulus both intellectual and moral. 



Augnste de la Rive profited so well by his advantages that at the age 

 of twenty-three years he was able to present himself as a candidate for 

 a situation as professor of physics, which had just been created, and ob- 

 tained it, after i)assing through the preliminary competition for it with 

 distinction. This was a fortunate circumstance for him. Without this 

 nomination, which attached him definitely to one branch of science, he 

 might perhaps have allowed himself to be diverted into many direc- 

 tions. He was much interested in politics, local and general. He would 

 have been solicited to enter the administration, and would i)robably 

 have consented. Thanks to his election he concentrated his activity 

 npon the teaching and the development of a i:)articular science. He oc- 

 cupied himself very actively with the organization and direction of pub- 

 lic instruction. As rector of the academy, and professor, he exercised 

 over his colleagues and the youth under his care a very important influ- 

 ence. Politics, properly so called, became in his life only a secondary 

 interest. Once only his tastes in this direction attained ascendency over 

 him, when, on account of extreme distress, in my opinion legitimate, 

 caused by a revolution, he resigned his ofiQce of professor in order to 

 tender his services to his country, although all his colleagues, as well 

 as the ecclesiastics and judges, less influenced by political ideas, con 

 sidered themselves quite independent of all vicissitudes of public order 

 De la Eive then accepted a temporary mission for Switzerland to the 

 English government, and the charge, also temporary, of deputy to a 

 constituent assembly. This was, however, but an episode. We may 

 say that above all else his time and heart were consecrated to science, 

 his friends, and his family. Working during the morning in his labora- 

 tory, he afterward exercised a liberal hospitality either at his country- 

 residence, Presingc, or at his house in Geneva. Notwithstanding the 

 interest these details must have for those who knew De la Eive, I must 

 return to what constituted his claim to renown, his scientific labors. 

 These were already worthy of attention during the years 1824 to 1828, 

 before he had especially directed his researches to the subject of elec- 

 tricity. 



We all know how deep and unalterable was the friendship which existed 

 between Auguste de la Rive and our colleague, Francois Marcet. These 

 two friends made in company during the years I have mentioned several 

 journeys to Paris and London, and in the intervals occupied themselves 

 with scientific labors. Their investigations in regard to the specific heat 

 of gases were important, since the subsequent experiments of Regnault 



* ileiuoiri'S de la Socit^te de physique et d'histoire naturelle de Geueve, vol. vi, p. 

 503. 



tM^moires de la Soc.de phys. et d'bist. uat (1, p. 70,) et Bibl. nuiv He. et Arts, 

 vol. sxxix, p. 'i06. 



