74 MEMOIRS OF 



a letter to his friend M. Duvenioy : — '' All my labours are 

 nearly arrested by a work demanded by the Emperor, the 

 greater part of which has devolved upon me as secretary to 

 the class (of natural sciences.) It is a history of the march 

 and progress of the human mind since 1789. You may 

 suppose to what a degree this is a complicated undertaking, 

 respecting natural sciences ; thus 1 have already written a 

 volume, without having nearly readied the end ; but this 

 history is so rich, there is such a beautiful mass of discove- 

 ries, that 1 have become interested in it, and work at it 

 with pleasure. I hope it will be a striking dissertation on 

 literary and philosophical history ; but above all things, i. 

 endeavour to point out the real views which ought to guide 

 ulterior researches,"' It may be considered as a w^ork of the 

 same nature as those which I have just been describing, only 

 infinitely greater in extent, inasmuch as it embraces a lar- 

 ger portion of time, and extends to those who were not in 

 the habit of communicating with the Institute. 



Napoleon had conceived tlie bold thought of embracing; 

 at one view^, all that the general impulse towards learning 

 and science had produced since the above period ; and it 

 may be unhesitatingly affirmed, that the execution of his 

 wishes accorded v.'ith the elevated feelings from which they 

 sprang. It commences with one of those introductions 

 which always rank among the liighest elTorts of M.. Cu- 

 vier's genius ; in which he sets before us, — if I may be al- 

 lowed so to express myself, — the sublimity of science ; and 

 is throughout remarkable for the extensive views it takes, 

 and its unflinching impartiality. The following beautiful 

 passage is among the concluding pages, w^iich pages con- 

 tain a solicitation for amendments and continued protection 

 on the part of the Emperor : — " To lead the mind of man 

 to its noble destination, — a knowledge of the truth, — to 

 spread sound and wholesome ideas among the lowest class- 

 es of the people, to draw human beings Iroin the empire of 

 prejudices and passions, to make reason the arbitrator and 

 supreme guide of public opinion ; these are the essential 

 objects of science. This is how she contributes to the ad- 

 vancement of civilization ; this is w^hy she merits the pro- 

 tection of those governments, who, desirous of erecting their 

 power on the surest foundation, form their basis on the com- 



