6 THE NEW WORLD OF SCIENCE 



report on the best means of baking bread for the army, the 

 discovery of a substitute for hops needed in the manufacture 

 of beer, the best method of purifying the water of the Nile, the 

 relative efficiency of wind-mills and water-mills, the possibility 

 of manufacturing powder in Egypt. By no means forgetful 

 of the wider interests of science and the arts, Napoleon secured 

 the appointment of a committee to report on the feasibility of 

 establishing an astronomical observatory in Egypt, and 

 permanently preserved, in the magnificent volumes of the 

 Description de I'Egypt, the exhaustive studies of the temples 

 and antiquities made by his architects and archeologists. It 

 is interesting to remember that it was Napoleon who announced 

 to the National Institute, a few days after his return to Paris, 

 that he had given orders to bring to France the celebrated 

 Rosetta Stone, with its tri-lingual inscription, which enabled 

 Champollion some years later to decipher the Egyptian hiero- 

 glyphs. Thus the title " Le membre de ITnstitut, General en 

 chef," invariably used by Napoleon throughout his Egyptian 

 campaign, was fairly descriptive of his double service. Indeed, 

 when we recall the early collapse of that ill-fated expedition, 

 we cannot fail to recognize that his contribution to science 

 and the arts as Member of the Institute was far more enduring 

 than his initial military success as Commander in Chief at the 

 Battle of the Pyramids. 



During the triumphs of his subsequent career Napoleon gave 

 strong support to the National Institute of France, which then 

 attained a brilliancy of success and achievement without a 

 parallel in the history of science. In 1800, as First Consul, 

 Napoleon presided over the meetings of its Class of Physical 

 and Mathematical Sciences (corresponding to the present 

 Academy of Sciences), and after listening to an address by 

 Volta on his electrical researches, proposed that a medal be 

 awarded him for his discoveries, which was done without de- 

 lay. Soon afterwards, deeply impressed by the great possi- 

 bilities which he keenly perceived to lie in the future develop- 

 ment of similar researches, Napoleon established a medal 



