CONDOECET: A BIOGRAPHY. 233 



Condorcet, entirely overwhelmed by an affair of the heart, had then be- 

 come for all his acquaintances an object of pity. lie even thought of 

 committing suicide. The manner in which he rejected the palliative tor 

 his grief, recommended by his friend and confidant, Turgot, is interest- 

 ing: "Make some verses; it is a kind ofcomposition you are unaccustomed 

 to, and will distract your mind." '' I do not like bad verses ; I could not 

 endure my own." "Attack some deep problem of geometry." " When a 

 depraved taste has supplied us with aliment of strong flavor, all other 

 food is displeasing to us. The passions are a degradation of the intel- 

 lect; outside of the feeling which absorbs me, nothing in the world 

 interests me." As a physician tries all remedies in des})erate cases, Tur- 

 got then endeavored to excite the fortitude of his friend by examples 

 taken from ancient and modern history and even mythology, but all in 

 vain ; time alone could cure, time alone did cure, in fact, the wound 

 which rendered our confrere so unhappy'. 



If the public were wrong in accusing Condorcet of insensibility, they 

 were equally mistaken in considering him indifferent in matters of art. 



"When at the French Academy was read for the first time one of those 

 literary productions which formed the glory and the honor of theeighteeuth 

 century, Condorcet would remain completely impassive in the midst of 

 the most enthusiastic manifestations of admiration for the author, would 

 hardly seem to have listened, but as soon as opportunity offered he 

 would analyze minutely the work, appreciating its beauties and indi- 

 cating the weak portions with tact and delicacy as well as admirable 

 judgment, while in support of his rcjnarks he would recite without hesi- 

 tation long quotations in prose or verse which had become engraved 

 upon his most remarkable memory. 



The reserve Condorcet imposed upon himself before strangers gave 

 place in social intercourse to a gayety, simple, refined, and slightly 

 epigrammatic in expression. It was then the immense variety of his 

 knowledge was revealed. He spoke with equal clearness, equal assur- 

 ance of the rules of geometry, and the regulations of the palace; of 

 philosoi)hy and the genealogy of the court people ; of the customs of 

 the republics of antiquity, and the trifles of society. 



The secretary of the ancient Academy of Sciences descended into the 

 polemic arena onl}' to defend his friends against the attacks of mediocrity, 

 of hate, and of envy. But his courageous devotion did not lead him to 

 share the unjust prejudices even of those to whom he was most tenderly 

 attached. This kind of independence is so rare I must give some exam- 

 ples of it. 



D'Alembert, unconsciously influenced by a feeling of jealousy, did not 

 render full justice to Clairaut. Yet we find Condorcet, in his eulogies 

 of M. de Trudaine and of M. d'Arci, referring almost unnecessarily to the 

 relations of these savans with the author of the beautiful work upon the 

 figure of the earth, while he does not hesitate to call Clairaut a man of 

 genius and to speak of the wonders he accomplished in his youth. 



