100 Lagrange’s Memoirs. 
other cause than the misfortunes that were believed ready to fall on 
Prussia. M. Hertzberg was dead. M. Lagrange, now a Count, and 
a French Senator, had no interest in dissembling truth. ‘Thus we 
must refer to his constant denials. 
The historian whom we have cited, was then misinformed. But 
the spirit of reviling and of satire, which so justly made his work 
suspicious, ought not to hinder us from quoting from it the lines 
wherein he sets forth, with all the energy which is peculiar to him, 
his own opinion, which is that of all Europe, where he does justice 
to M. Lagrange.* 
“Il me semble,” these are his terms, ‘‘ qui il y aurait ici en ce 
moment une acquisition digne du roi de Frances. L/illustre La- 
grange, le premier géometre qui ait paru depuis Newton, et que, 
sous tous les rapportes de l’esprit et du genre, est Phomme qui m’a 
le plus étonneé ; Lagrange le plus sage et peut-étre le seul philoso- 
phe vraiment pratique qui ait jamais existé recommandable par son 
imperturbable sagesse, ses mceurs, sa conduite de tout genre, en un 
mot, l’objet du plus tendre respect du petit nombre d’ hommes dont 
il le laisse approcher, Lagrange est mécontent, tout le convie a se 
retirer d’ un pays ou rien n’ absout du crime d’étre étranger, et ou 
il ne supportera pas de n’ étre pour ainsi dire qu’ un objet de tolé- 
rance. .. . . . Le prince Cardito de Caffredo, ministre de Naples 
a Copenhague lui a offert les plus belles conditions de la part de 
son souverain : le grand duc, le roi de Sardaigne, |’ invitent vivement ; 
mais toutes leurs propositions qui lui sont faites, pour attendre les 
notres. J’ai oublié de vous dire que |’ ambassadeur, (de France;) 
avait, 4 ma priere, addressé a M. de Vergennes la proposition 
d’ appeler M. Lagrange.” 
The author whon we quote seemed to fear the opposition of M. 
de Breteuil. According to Lagrange himself, it was the abbe Marie 
who proposed him to M. de Breteuil ; and this minister, that on all 
occasions met the wishes of the Atediony of Sciences, favored this 
demand, and caused him to be agreed upon by Louis XVI. 
The successor of Frederick, although moderately interested in the 
sciences, yet had some scruple im letting go a savant whom his pre- 
decessor had called, and whom he honored with peculiar esteem. 
After some steps, Lagrange succeeded in being permitted to depart, 
with the condition, however, that he would still give many memoirs 
* Secret History of the Court of Berlin, 1789. Tome II, p. 173, et suiv. 
. 
