CONTINENTAL PATRONAGE. 34:7 
Russia, and last, though not least, the famous 
Linnzeus in Sweden, are some of the most striking 
and familiar instances where scientific attainments 
were rewarded either with high appointments, 
honorary rank, or liberal pensions ; but, what was 
still more gratifying to the feelings of such men, 
they enjoyed the confidence of their sovereigns, the 
converse of their ministers, and the influence they 
merited. Such an age was not unworthy of that 
which immediately preceded it, when the sun of 
patronage arose with such lustre in Italy, and shed 
a halo of glory over the reign of the Medici, 
the Emperor Rodolph II., and those sovereigns and 
princes who courted the acquaintance of Tycho 
Brahe, and contended for the honour of retaining 
Descartes at their respective courts. These, and 
other equally striking proofs of the respect and 
admiration paid to such men need not be dwelt 
upon ; for it may be urged in explanation, that high 
scientific attainments were then rare, and were con- 
sequently more calculated to excite wonder and 
respect than they are at present. 
(242.) Let us now bring the parallel nearer to 
our own times; and let us see if, in an age wherein 
science is more diffused, —and has by this diffusion 
lost part of its wonderment in the eyes of the mul- 
titude, — whether other nations treat it with that 
indifference and neglect which we complain of. Is 
France, in the nineteenth century, indifferent to her 
scientific sons? and does she suffer her philosophers 
to live unhonoured and unrewarded. Let the names 
of La Place, Chaptal, Carnot, and Cuvier, created 
by the government peers of France, and esteemed by 
