4: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANCIS ARAGO. 



From this moment I abandoned the classes of the cen- 

 tral school, where I was taught to admire Corneille, 

 Racine, La Fontaine, Moliere, and attended only the 

 mathematical course. This course was entrusted to a re- 

 tired ecclesiastic, the Abbe Verdier, a very respectable 

 man, but whose knowledge went no further than the ele- 

 mentary course of La Caille. I saw at a glance that M. 

 Verdier's lessons would not be sufficient to secure my ad- 

 mission to the Polytechnic School ; I therefore decided 

 on studying by myself the newest works, which I sent for 

 from Paris. These were those of Legendre, Lacroix, 

 and Gamier. In going through these works I often met 

 with difficulties which exceeded my powers ; happily, 

 strange though it be, and perhaps without example in all 

 the rest of France, there was a proprietor at Estagel, M. 

 Raynal, who made the study of the higher mathematics 

 his recreation. It was in his kitchen, whilst giving 

 orders to numerous domestics for the labours of the next 

 day, that M. Raynal read with advantage the " Hydraulic 

 Architecture " of Prony, the " Mecanique Analytique," 

 and the " Mecanique Celeste." This excellent man often 

 gave me useful advice ; but I must say that I found my 

 real master in the cover of M. Garnier's " Treatise on 

 Algebra." This cover consisted of a printed leaf, on the 

 outside of which blue paper was pasted. The reading of 

 the page not covered made me desirous to know what the 

 blue paper hid from me. I took off this paper carefully, 

 having first damped it, and was able to read underneath 

 it the advice given by d'Alembert to a young man who 

 communicated to him the difficulties which he met with 

 in his studies : "Go on, sir, go on, and conviction will 

 come to you." 



This gave me a gleam of light ; instead of persisting 



