NA TURE 



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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1895. 



THE CENTENARY OF THE INSTITUTE OF 

 FRANCE. 



FROM the brief telegraphic reports pubhshed in some 

 of the Enghsh newspapers, readers in this countr>' 

 may have observed that the hundredth anniversary of 

 the foundation of the Institut de France was celebrated 

 last week in Paris. These reports, however, convey but 

 a feeble impression of the real character of the celebra- 

 tion. The Institute is an establishment of which French- 

 men of all classes and of every shade of political opinion 

 are justly proud. They look on it as a living embodi- 

 ment of the culture and intellectual power of France. It 

 stands above and beyond politics. Forms of Govern- 

 ment may come and go ; kings, emperors, and republics 

 may arise, flourish, and disappear. But the Institute 

 remains unshaken, quietly pursuing its career, and sus- 

 taining with marvellous success the intellectual glory of 

 the nation. No wonder, then, that amid the turmoil of 

 parties, the strifes of Parliament, and the endless changes 

 of .Ministries, many men turn to the Institute as the only 

 stable institution, which royalists, repubhcans, socialists, 

 and anarchists seem to be alike agreed in respecting. 



That Republicans especially should show an interest 

 in this institution was natural. It was founded a hundred 

 years ago during the first Republic. The idea of restor- 

 ing the old Academies and combining them into one 

 central institution was carried out by the Republican 

 Convention, with the openly professed intention of 

 promoting the literary, artistic and scientific labours 

 which should best contribute to the general benefit and 

 glory of the Republic. After all the transformations of 

 the last hundred years, a Republican form of govern- 

 ment is once more in power. It was only fitting, there- 

 fore, that the State, by its highest officials, should mani- 

 fest its interest in this, the oldest and most illustrious 

 child of the Revolution, by taking an active and prominent 

 |)art in the Centenar)' of its existence. 



Xn Englishman privileged to be present at the cele- 

 liration could not fail to be struck by various features in 

 it that stood out in marked contrast to anything that 

 would have been possible in his own country. In the 

 lirst place, of course, the Institute itself is unique, in the 

 wide range of subjects with which it is concerned. We 

 have many admirable learned societies at home, from the 

 Royal Society downwards, and so far as scientific pro- 

 gress is concerned, they are possibly of at least as 

 great service as any Academy of Sciences in the world. 

 We have likewise our Royal Academy of the fine 

 arts, which may, it is to be hoped, hold its own against any 

 foreign competitor. We have, however, nothing that 

 corresponds to the French Institute, and the question 

 has often been discussed whether the creation of such an 

 Institute amongst us would be possible or desirable. 

 But what especially strikes a stranger at such a gathering 

 as that of last week in Paris, is the catholicity of view 

 which led to the union under one organisation of so 

 vast a range of human culture and faculty. Prose- 

 writers, poets, dramatists, antiquaries, mathcmati- 

 •cians, physicists, astronomers, geographers, engineers, 

 NO. 1357, VOL. 5?] 



chemists, mineralogists, geologists, botanists, ana- 

 tomists, zoologists, physicians, surgeons, painters, 

 sculptors, architects, engravers, musicians, writers on 

 philosophy, morals, law, political economy, and his- 

 tory — all meet as in a common home under the dome 

 of the Institute on the banks of the Seine. Each of the 

 five Academies has its own sphere of activity and its 

 own independent organisation. But they confer mutual 

 strength and dignity on each other by the common tie 

 that binds them together as the Institute of France. And 

 one cannot help feeling that in a country liable to such 

 political vicissitudes as France has gone through during 

 the last hundred years, it has been of unspeakably great 

 advantage to the stability and progress of all the arts and 

 sciences which elevate a people, that this solidarity of 

 intellectual effort should have been established at the 

 beginning of the long succession of political troubles. 



Another feature which impressed a native of this 

 country was the direct, hearty and effective part which 

 the highest functionaries in the State played in the chief 

 events of the celebration. The President of the Re- 

 ] public himself received the foreign members and cor- 

 respondants one morning at the Elysee, shaking hands 

 with each, and stopping every now and then to say some 

 few appropriate words to one whose name or whose 

 work was known to him. The whole ceremony was as 

 simple and natural as it was pleasant. M. Faure like- 

 wise presided at the opening meeting at the Sorbonne ; 

 •ind on Friday evening he held a brilliant reception, to 

 which all the members and correspondents of the Insti- 

 tute were invited, with their wives, together with a large 

 assemblage of other guests, including the Ministry-, the 

 Diplomatic Corps, and representatives of the chief de- 

 partments and institutions. In short, everything which 

 the head of the State could do to testify officially the 

 pride and interest of France in her Institute was done 

 simply and heartily. One felt that the President, kindly 

 and gracious as he was personally, represented a national 

 feeling which would have demanded expression no matter 

 what form of Government had been in existence, or what 

 political party had been in power. 



Nor was the action of the President the only manifesta- 

 tion of official interest in the celebration. The Prime 

 Minister, the Ministers for Foreign Aifairs, War, Marine, 

 Public Instruction, and others found time to spend an 

 hour or two at one or other of the gatherings. The 

 Minister for Public Instruction, M. Poincar^, indeed, 

 multiplied himself in the most astonishing way. Having 

 the official control of the department under which such 

 organisations as the Institute are placed, he evidently 

 considered it to be his duty, as it seemed certainly to be a 

 pleasure to him, to attend every gathering where his 

 presence could testify the sympathy of the Government 

 with the Institute and its objects. At one time he was to 

 be seen at the Ministry of Public Instruction holding a 

 reception of all the academicians and correspondants, 

 with their wives, and a large company of representative 

 men from outside. At another time he was on the plat- 

 form beside the President, making a vigorous speech, and 

 conveying to the Institute the appreciation which he and 

 his colleagues had of the work which the various 

 .\cademieshad accomplished. .•Xgain he was in his place 

 presiding at the banquet given to the Institute, ready once 



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