394 D'ALEMBERT. 



tion whose exact exponents had escaped him, some 

 formula of which he could not recal the solution ; he 

 would then get back a volume, and thus one by one 

 the whole of his little stock of precious learning re- 

 turned into his possession, while the title of Doctor, 

 the quantity, the arbitrary function M.D., remained 

 without any approximation. He then fairly gave up 

 the struggle, and devoted his life to geometrical 

 pursuits. 



The account which he always gave of his following 

 years was one glowing with the recollection of the 

 purest happiness ; and he was fond of dwelling upon 

 all its details. Perfectly tranquil, without a thought 

 of wealth or power or distinction, his whole enjoy- 

 ments of an intellectual cast, his existence was as en- 

 tirely that of a philosopher as ever fell to the lot of any 

 one in ancient or in modern days. " I awoke," he 

 would say, " every morning to look back, with a feel- 

 ing of gladness in my heart, on the investigation which 

 I had begun over-night, and exulting in the prospect 

 of continuing it to the result as soon as I rose. When 

 I stopt my operations for a few moments to rest my- 

 self, I used to look forward to the evening when I 

 should go to the theatre and enjoy another kind of 

 treat, but also aware that between the acts I should be 

 thinking on the greater treat my next morning's work 

 was to afford me." It was at this period of his life, at 

 once glorious and happy, though still passed in ob- 

 scurity, that the good old woman whom he loved as a 

 mother, and who doated on him as a son, would say 

 when any one told her of the great renown he was pre- 

 paring for his name, " Oh, you will never be any thing 

 better than a philosopher. And what's a philosopher? 

 A foolish body who wears his life out to be spoken of 

 after he's dead." 



His studies, however, as might well be expected, 

 soon proved eminently successful. In 1739 he pre- 

 sented to the Academy of Sciences a paper containing 



