THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT IN FRANCE. 



109 



It was of immense importance to the cause of science 

 that in many of the discussions of that assembly a 

 marked preference was shown for the scientific side of 

 instruction. In this matter, as in many others, the suc- 

 cessful constructive efforts of the Revolutionary Govern- 

 ments came from the side of those brought up in the 



Montagne et du Comite de salut 

 public. Nous n'ignorons pas que 

 c'est encore la Convention qui, prise 

 d'un tardif remords, la veille seule- 

 ment du jour ou elle devait faire 

 placeaunautre gouvernement moins 

 despotique et moins cruel, decreta 

 I'organisation de I'lnstitut. Mais 

 la Convention du 3 brumaire an 

 iv. n'etait plus celle de 1793 ; c'etait 

 en realite une autre Convention, 

 epuree, decimee, renouvelee, animee 

 d'un tout autre esprit," &e., &c. 

 The idea of a national Institute for 

 the advancement of letters, science, 

 and arts was a very early one (see 

 ' Rapport de Talleyrand Perigord,' 

 September 1791, Hippeau, p. 102). 

 The explanation how the same 

 Government which was labouring at 

 the problem of a national instruc- 

 tion, crowned by the higher teaching 

 and research of an Institute, could 

 begin by closing the existing acad- 

 emies and universities, lies in this, 

 that the aim was to make education 

 general and learning popular, not 

 merely fashionable, as it had been. 

 See, for instance, what Ducos said 

 on the 18th December 1792: " Les 

 moeurs d'un peuple corrompu ne 

 se r^g^nerent point par de legers 

 adoucissements, mais par de vigour- 

 euses et brusques institutions. II 

 faut opter ouvertement entre I'^du- 

 cation domestique et la liberte ; car 

 citoyens, tant que par une instruc- 

 tion commune vous n'aurez pas 

 rapproche le pauvre du riche, le 

 faible du puissant ; tant que, pour 

 me servir des expressions de Plu- 

 tarque, vous n'aurez pas achemin^ K 



une meme trace, et moule sur une 

 meme forme de vertu tous les 

 en f ants de la pa trie, c'est en vain 

 que vos lois proclameront la sainte 

 egalitd, la Rei^ublique sera tou jours 

 divisee en deux classes : les citoyens 

 et les messieurs" (Hippeau, 2'^ 

 s^rie, p. 21). It was because the 

 academies and colleges supported 

 "les messieurs" that they were 

 supiDressed. In the end education 

 must always begin from above, and 

 before the people can be taught 

 you must form their teachers. See 

 Lakanal's Report on the Ecoles nor- 

 males, Hippeau, vol. i. p. 408. The 

 academies and colleges of the eigh- 

 teenth century were closed in order 

 to make room for that uniform 

 system of public instruction de- 

 scribed by Talleyrand and Condor- 

 cet, but not without a frequently 

 expressed admiration for the work 

 which they had done. See the de- 

 fence of the academies by Condor- 

 cet (Hippeau, loc. cit., vol. i. p. 272), 

 and the tribute to the " Collt^ge de 

 France," by Gilbert Romme (ibid., 

 vol. i. p. 308). The arguments for 

 radical change are summed up by 

 that speaker as follows : " L'exist- 

 ence de ces corps privildgies blesse 

 tous nos principes republicains, 

 attaque I'dgalite et la liberte de 

 penser et nuit aux progres des 

 arts. Mais si leur organisation est 

 vicieuse, les Elements en sont bons, 

 et nous serviront utilement dans 

 I'organisation nouvelle de I'instruc- 

 tion publique que vous allez 66- 

 creter" (p. 309). 



