VOLTAIRE. 85 



towards the poles ; and so puffed up was the philosopher 

 with this poor triumph, that, after publishing a book 

 recording the history of the expedition, in which he 

 carefully suppressed all merit but his own, he actually 

 had himself represented in a picture, with his hands 

 on a globe, in the act of flattening it at -the two poles. 

 Frederick, who was wholly ignorant of physical 

 science, was deceived by the noise which this person's 

 name, or his tongue, made in the world, and urged 

 him to live at Berlin, where he was named President 

 of the Academy which the king had founded. It is a 

 striking proof how perilous royal meddling in scientific 

 matters is, that the illustrious Euler was one of the 

 strangers whom his liberalities had attracted, and 

 that over his head was placed the flattener of the poles 

 and the flatterer of the king. 



Such a personage was sure to be jealous of Vol- 

 taire, whose arrival occurred long after his own place 

 had been taken. Accordingly, we find that he gave 

 indications of this immediately. A month after he 

 came, Voltaire describes him as having become unso- 

 ciable,* referring doubtless to his very different be- 

 haviour when he lived for months his fellow-guest 

 at Cirey ; and before four months had elapsed, we 

 find him painted drolly enough " as taking the poet's 

 dimensions harshly with his quadrant," and " allow- 

 ing some portion of envy to enter into his problems." 

 In the course of the next year this envy broke out. 

 Of the most intriguing disposition, he used his access 

 to the king for the base purpose of bearing tales 



* Cor. Ghi., in. 411, 438. 



