MAUPERTUIS. 



ed John Bernoulli and his family, which 

 continued till his death. At his return to 

 Paris, he applied himself to his favourite 

 studies with greater zeal than ever. And 

 how well he fulfilled the duties of an 

 academician, may be seen by running 

 over the memoirs of the academy from 

 the year 1724 to 1744 ; where it appears 

 he was neither idle, nor occupied by ob- 

 jects of small importance. The most 

 sublime questions in the mathematical 

 sciences, received from his hand that 

 elegance, clearness, and precision, so 

 remarkable in all his writings. 



In the year 1736, he was sent to the 

 polar circle, to measure a degree of the 

 meridian, in order to ascertain the figure 

 of the earth ; in which expedition he 

 was accompanied by Messrs. Clairault, 

 Camus, Monnier, Outhier, and Celsus, 

 the celebrated professor of astronomy at 

 Upsal. This business rendered him so 

 famous, that on his return he was ad- 

 mitted a member of almost every acade- 

 my in Europe. 



In the year 1740, Maupertuis had an 

 invitation from the King of Prussia to go 

 to Berlin ; which was too flattering to be 

 refused. His rank among men of letters 

 had not wholly effaced his love for his 

 profession, that of arms. He followed 

 the King to the field, but at the battle of 

 Molvvitz was deprived of the pleasure of 

 being present, when victory declared in 

 favour of his royal patron, by a singular 

 kind of adventure. His horse during the 

 heat of the action running away with him, 

 he fell into the hands of the enemy, and 

 was at first but roughly treated by the 

 Austrian Hussars, to whom he could not 

 make himself known for want of lan- 

 guage ; but being carried prisoner to 

 Vienna, he received such honours from 

 the Emperor as never were effaced from 

 his memory. Maupertuis lamented very 

 much the loss of a watch of Mr. Graham's, 

 the celebrated English artist, which they 

 had taken from him ; the Emperor, who 

 happened to have another by the same 

 artist, but enriched with diamonds, pre- 

 sented it to him, saying', " The Hussars 

 meant only to jest with you, they have 

 sent me your watch, and I return it to 

 you." 



He went soon after to Berlin, but as 

 the reform of the academy which the 

 King of Prussia then meditated was not 

 yet mature, he repaired to Paris, whore 

 his affairs called him, and was chosen, 

 in 1742, director of the Academy of 

 Sciences. In 1743, he was received into 

 the French Academy, which v/as the first 



instance of the s.ame person being a mem- 

 ber of both the academies at Paris at the 

 same time. Maupertuis again assumed 

 the soldier at the siege of Fribourg, and 

 was pitched upon by Marshal Coigny and 

 the Count d'Argenson, to carry the news 

 to the French King of the surrender of 

 that citudel. 



Maupertuis returned to Berlin in the 

 year 1744, when a marriage was nego- 

 tiated and brought about, by the good 

 offices of the Queen mother, between our 

 author and Mademoiselle de Borck, a 

 lady of great beauty and merit, and nearly 

 related to M. de Borck, at that time mi- 

 nister of state. This determined him to 

 settle at Berlin, as he was extremely at- 

 tached to his new spouse, and regarded 

 this alliance as the most fortunate cir- 

 cumstance of his life. 



In the year 1746, Maupertuis was de- 

 clared, by the King of Prussia, president 

 of the Royal Academy of Sciences at 

 Berlin, and soon after by the same prince 

 was honoured with the Order of Merit. 

 However, ail these accumulated honours 

 and advantages, so far from lessening his 

 ardour for the sciences, seemed to furnish 

 new allurements to labour and applica- 

 tion. Not a day passed but he produced 

 some new project or essay for the ad- 

 vancement of knowledge. Nor did lie 

 confine himself to mathematical studies 

 only ; metaphysics, chemistry, botany, 

 polite literature, all shared his attention, 

 and contributed to his fame. At the 

 same -time he had, it seems, a strange 

 inquietude of spirit, with a dark atra- 

 bilaire humour, which rendered him mi- 

 serable amidst honours and pleasures. 

 Such a temperament did not promise a 

 pacific lite ; and he was in fact engaged 

 in several quarrels. One of these was 

 with Kcenig, the professor of philosophy 

 at Fraueker, and another move terrible 

 with Voltaire. Maupertuis had inserted 

 in the volume of memoirs of the academy 

 of Berlin for 1746, a di;-,cour-e upon the 

 laws of motion ; which Koenig was not 

 content with attacking, but attributed to 

 Leibnitz. Maupertuis, stung with the im- 

 putation of plagiarism, engaged the aca- 

 demy of Berlin to call upon him for his 

 proof; which Koenig failing to produce, 

 his name was struck out of the academy, 

 of which he was a meml>er. 



Several pamphlets were the conse- 

 quence of this measure; and Voltaire, 

 for some reason or other, engaged in the 

 quarrel against Maupertuis. We say, for 

 some reason or other, because Mauper- 

 tuis fend Voltaire were apparently upon 



