August 7, 1885.] 



SCIENCE 



105 



THE FRENCH A CA DEMY IN ITS ORIGIN. 



"I UNDERTAKE, since jou rcquest it, to 

 write down what I know of the French acad- 

 emy, — a society about which many people 

 talk, but which few people know as it ought to 

 be known." 



These are the words with which Pelisson, 

 the original historian of that famous society, 

 began his narrative. Notwithstanding the 

 charm of his graceful stj'le, the exact additions 

 to the record which were made by the Abbe 

 Olivet, and the much more recent notes of 

 Livet, to say nothing of Kerviler's readable 

 bibliography, and Arsene Houssaj^e's witty 

 and satirical criticism, the French academy 

 remains to this day as it was in 1653, when 

 Pt'lisson's storj' was first anonj^mously pub- 

 lished, — "a societ}- about which many people 

 talk, but which few people understand." Now 

 and then some enthusiastic English or Ameri- 

 can writer proposes an English or an Amer- 

 ican reproduction, or a critic skilled in the 

 poise of conflicting ideas sets forth the possi- 

 bilities and the difficulties of organizing such 

 an imperial agenc}^, amid the de-centralized 

 institutions of Great Britain and the United 

 States. Matthew Arnold concludes his famous 

 essay on this subject by a sentence in which 

 admiration is tempered with doubt. "An 

 academy," he saj's, " quite like the French 

 academ}', — a sovereign organ of the highest 

 literary opinion, a recognized authority in mat- 

 ters of intellectual tone and taste, we shall 

 hardly have, and perhaps we ought not to wish 

 to have it." We may venture to add, that, if 

 London cannot have its literar}' court to exer- 

 cise an acknowledged supremacy within a pre- 

 scribed domain. New York and Washington 

 must wait awhile before their political or finan- 

 cial power can originate a society which will be 

 potent in the promotion of letters. 



Nevertheless, the growth of the French 

 academy, and its influence upon the scientific, 

 as well as the literar}^, progress of France, are 

 quite worth studying. It is the parent of the 

 Institute of France, but it is the child of a 

 modest coterie of literary people such as maj^ 

 be found in almost every cultivated town. Its 

 extraordinary^ growth is due in no small degree 

 to that innate love of symmetrical organiza- 

 tion, or of good form, which the French 

 exhibit in many phases of their activity. It 

 owes not a little to the power of the monarch}' 

 in the days of Louis XIV. 



The French academy is always spoken of 

 as founded in 1635, but several years before 

 that date its nucleus was in existence. As 



early as 1629, a number of bright men living 

 in different parts of Paris, suffering from the 

 social impediments of a great cit}^ and finding 

 it inconvenient to pay visits without finding 

 their acquaintances at home, determined to have 

 a weekly meeting at a private house. The}' 

 were men of letters, above the average ability, 

 associated like our literary clubs, by the prin- 

 ciple of good fellowship, with the slightest 

 possible regulations, and having at first no 

 higher purpose than familiar and friendly con- 

 versation on business, news, and literature, 

 the interview ending with a promenade or a 

 collation. If any one of the company wrote 

 something on which he wished genuine criti- 

 cism, here was his opportunity to receive un- 

 guarded and honest comments. In later years 

 the members of the academy looked back to 

 this golden age of its infancy, when all that is 

 bright and charming in literary society was 

 enjoyed without noise, parade, or animosity. 

 To avoid the intrusion of unwelcome fame, 

 even the fact that there was such a club was 

 for a long time not mentioned to those who 

 were unconnected with it. 



But such light could not long be hidden 

 beneath a bushel. One by one, outsiders heard 

 of that charming circle which was not engaged 

 in the exchange of compliments and flattery, 

 but which openly and boldly pointed out to the 

 members their literary faults. All this Arca- 

 dian chapter is charmingly told by Pelisson, 

 whose narrative we are following as others 

 have so often done before. Boisrobert was 

 then in high favor with Richelieu, — the one to 

 whom the Cardinal's physician referred when 

 he said, "Monseigneur, I can prescribe nothing 

 more for you but two drams of Boisrobert 

 after dinner." From this source the great 

 minister of France heard of the brilliant cote- 

 rie which met at the house of Conrart. The 

 far-sighted sagacity of Richelieu perceived the 

 possibiUty of giving public authority to these 

 self-contained critics, and through Boisrobert 

 he oflfered to become the protector of the club, 

 and to give it the authority of Lettres patentes. 

 His proposals were gladly accepted as honors 

 from the crown, and after due deliberation and 

 formalities, the charter passed under the royal 

 hand and seal in the month of January, 1635. 

 This document is far more interesting at this 

 late day than most such official papers. It 

 abounds in lofty sentiments admirably ex- 

 pressed. It recognizes the conferences which 

 have been held by the pre-existent ' assembly ; ' 

 it confirms and defines their purpose to be the 

 promotion of eloquence, that is to say, of skill 

 in the use of language ; it bestows upon the 



