88 Sojiie Jccoiinl of the Life and Writings' of Condor eel. 



of the place thought him a suspicious character, and took him 

 before the coinniitlee, who sent him the same evening to the 

 prison of Boiirg-la-Rciue. When the revolutionary assassins 

 came to interrogate him next day (2Sth of March 1794) he was 

 no more. Sensible that inevitable death awaited him, he made 

 use of the poison which he constantly carried aliout liis person, 

 to avoid the catastrophe which was prepared for him by the 

 ferocious enemies of reason and humanity. 



In those trying times, which vi'ould have entirelv depressed or 

 exasperated minds less firm, or even more occupied with their 

 personal interest, he developed the noblest character : every mo- 

 ment was employed with thinking ©n the welfare of the human 

 race, and he occupied himself in the improvement of the sciences, 

 and the instruction of youth, with a zeal, a mildness of expression, 

 and a firmness of principle, of which there are very few examples. 

 Other men of letters embraced the revolution with as much 

 warmth, and only changed their opinion when it attacked them; 

 but tlien they spoke rather from sentiment than from the im- 

 pulse of reason. When we read " The Sketch of a historical 

 Picture of the Progress of the human Mind," we find nothing 

 but the most active benevolence, and the most sincere wishes for 

 the happiness of mankind. This work, in my opinion, is one of 

 thoe whose perusal is indispensable at the conclusion of every 

 course of education, in order to give connection to the various 

 studies of which it consists. Some pages of the last section, 

 being those in which the author seems to assign to the duration 

 of human life an indefinite extent, as a consequence of the per- 

 fection of the human race, have been fiercely attacked by the 

 critics : but this exaggerated conclusion, this spot in the sun's 

 disk, if we may so call it, what is it in comparison with the 

 merit of the rest of the work, which is a chef-d' oevvre of pre- 

 cision, learning and genius ? While, deprived of all literary 

 resources, Condorcet drew upon his memory alone for the ma- 

 terials of this finished ])crformauce, he composed a Treatise on 

 Arithmetic, not less remarkable of its kind. Fearing that he 

 might not see his daughter again, he traced out for her a plan 

 of conduct the wisest and most sensible which goodness and 

 philosophy combined could have dictated. At this period even 

 he made verses for his benefactress, and addressed to his wife an 

 epistle, in which is the following couplet: 



lis m'ont flit : " Choisis d'etre opprcsseur ou victime :" 

 J'ciiibriwsni le uiallicui', et leiir Jaissai le crime. 



This is not the occasion for discussing the great political ques- 

 tions which occupied the last days of Condorcet's life. We refer 

 to the complete edition of his works, such readers as have not 



blamed 



