FROM LAMARCK TO ST. HILAIRE 277 



course of the afternoon I went to Goethe. "Well," he 

 exclaimed as I entered, "what do you think of this 

 great event? The volcano has burst forth, all is in 

 flames, and there are no more negotiations behind 

 closed doors." "A dreadful affair," I answered ; "but 

 what else could be expected under the circumstances, 

 and with such a ministry, except that it would end 

 in the expulsion of the present royal family.^" "We 

 do not seem to understand each other, my dear 

 friend," replied Goethe. "I am not speaking of those 

 people at all ; I am interested in something very dif- 

 ferent. I mean the dispute between Cuvier and Geof- 

 froy de Saint Hilaire, which has broken out in the 

 Academy, and which is of such great importance to 

 science." This remark of Goethe's came upon me so 

 unexpectedly that I did not know what to say, and 

 my thoughts for some minutes seemed to have come 

 to a complete standstill. "The affair is of the utmost 

 importance," he continued, "and you cannot form 

 any idea of what I felt on receiving the news of the 

 meeting on the 19th. In Geoffroy de Saint Hilaire 

 we have now a mighty ally for a long time to come. 

 But I see also how great the sympathy of the French 

 scientific world must be in this affair, for, in spite of 

 the terrible political excitement, the meeting on the 

 19th was attended by a full house. The best of it is, 

 how^ever, that the S3mthetic treatment of nature, in- 

 troduced into France by Geoffroy, can now no longer 

 be stopped. This matter has now become public 

 through the discussions in the Academy, carried on 

 in the presence of a large audience ; it can no longer 

 be referred to secret committees, or be settled or sup- 

 pressed behind closed doors." 



