FRENCH GEODESY. 275 



conflicts, but I should like to make a few reflections 

 upon two lines of Voltaire's. In his Discoiirs sur la 

 Moderation (there is no question of moderation in 

 praise or blame), the poet wrote : — 



Vous avez confirme dans des lieux pleins d 'ennui 

 Ce que Newton connut sans sortir de chez lui. 



(You have confirmed, in dreary far-off lands, 

 What Newton knew without e'er leaving home.) 



These two lines, which take the place of the hyper- 

 bolical praises of earlier date, are most unjust, and 

 without any doubt, Voltaire was too well informed 

 not to realize it. 



At that time men valued only the discoveries that 

 can be made without leaving home. To-day it is 

 theory rather that is held in low esteem. But this 

 implies a misconception of the aim of science. 



Is nature governed by caprice, or is harmony the 

 reigning influence ? That is the question. It is when 

 science reveals this harmony that it becomes beauti- 

 ful, and for that reason worthy of being cultivated. 

 But whence can this revelation come if not from the 

 accordance of a theory with experience? Our aim 

 then is to find out whether or not this accordance 

 exists. From that moment, these two terms, which 

 must be compared with each other, become one as 

 indispensable as the other. To neglect one for the 

 other would be folly. Isolated, theory is empty and 

 experience blind ; and both are u.seless and of no 

 interest alone. 



Maupertuis is therefore entitled to his share of the 

 fame. Certainly it is not equal to that of Newton, 

 who had received the divine spark, or even of his 



