THE FRENCH A CADEMY. 3 1 7 



progress should be made by the amelioration of 

 men's intelligence and by persuasion. He may 

 have had his illusions like the rest of us, but he 

 never allowed himself to be blinded except when 

 doubt might seem to him a want of generosity, a 

 sin against faith.* 



* * * % * 



" You have been wise, indeed, sir, to place the 

 centre of gravity of your existence above these heart- 

 rending uncertainties of politics, which often leave 

 one only the choice between two blunders. Your 

 glory will not suffer from any intermission. Already 

 you have almost entered upon the enjoyment of the 

 judgment of posterity. Your happy, vigorous, and 

 honoured old age recalls that of Solomon, less, no 

 doubt, its weariness. As to that, you have never 

 known what it meant ; and although you have been 

 very well placed to see that all is vanity, I doubt 

 whether that thought has ever suggested itself to 

 you. You must be very happy, sir; satisfied with 

 your life, and indifferent to death, for you are brave. 

 You feel somewhat uneasy, you said in one of your 

 lectures, when you reflect that on the day of judg- 

 ment the Creator may reproach you for having modi- 

 fied His handiwork. But let me assure you that 

 there is no ground for fear on this score. If there is 

 one person more than another as to whose attitude 



: ' : Note of the Translator. I have omitted here the remainder of 

 M. Kenan's remarks on the literary career of Henri M artin. 



