126 BAILLY. 
I have discovered that Sedaine made a counterpart of 
it. The author of Richard Ceur de Lion and of The 
Deserter said,— 
“ Style is nothing, or next to it!’’ 
Place this heresy, in imagination, under the eyes of 
the immortal writer, whose days and nights were passed 
in polishing his style, and if you then ask me why he 
detested Sedaine, I shall have a right to answer: You do 
not know the human heart. 
Bailly firmly resisted the imperious solicitations of his 
former patron, and refused even to absent himself from 
the Academy on the day of the nomination. He did not 
hesitate to sacrifice the attractions and advantages of an 
illustrious friendship to the performance of a duty; he 
answered to him who wanted to be master, “I will be 
free.” Honour be to him! , 
The example of Bailly warns timid men never to listen 
to mere entreaties, whatever may be their source; not to 
yield but to good arguments. Those who have thought 
so little of their own tranquillity as to do any more in 
academical elections than to give a silent and secret vote, 
will see on their part, in the noble and painful resistance 
of an honest man, how culpable they become in trying to 
substitute authority for persuasion, in wishing to subject 
conscience to gratitude. 
On the occurrence of a similar discord, the astronomer 
Lemonnier, of the Academy of Sciences, said one day to 
Lalande, his fellow-academician and former pupil, “ I en- 
join you not to put your foot again within my door during 
the semi-revolution of the lunar orbital nodes.” Calcula- 
tion shows this to be nine years. Lalande submitted to 
the punishment with a truly astronomical punctuality ; 
