POWER OF MACHINES. 21 



Perhaps, Gentlemen, I should not have insisted at 

 such length on this painful episode in Carnot's life, if I 

 had not had opportunity of perceiving how far removed 

 are such times from ours ; if I had not seen, when ac- 

 companying our most illustrious officers of engineers in 

 the inspection of some fortified towns, in the discussion 

 of the amelioration they might be susceptible of, the 

 simple sous-lieutenant freely oppose his ideas, reflections, 

 and systems, with full liberty, to the opinions of the gen- 

 erals ; surrender only after having been victoriously 

 refuted ; and come forth from the animated contest, not, 

 as formerly, to go to the Bastille, but with fresh chances 

 of advancement. 



Those on whom the duty devolves of incessantly 

 referring to the ameliorations of which our social state 

 is susceptible, would become discouraged, Gentlemen, if, 

 when occasion presents itself, we did not show the public 

 that their endeavours have been sometimes crowned with 

 success. 



ESSAY ON MACHINES. NEW THEOREM ON THE LOSS 



OF POWER. 



The first nay, more, the principal scientific produc- 

 tion of Carnot, bears the date of the year 1783 ; it is 

 entitled Essay on Machines in general. 



They who would seek in the essay of our member the 

 technical description or special study of any one of the 

 machines in particular, simple or composite, from which 

 man has been able to derive so many advantages, would 

 labour to no purpose. Such was not, indeed, the end 

 which the author had in view. 



A machine, considered generally, is the assemblage of 

 a more or less considerable number of fixed or movable 



