192 



SCIENCE, 



[Vol. VI., No. 135. 



Such atrocious pomposity can hardly be con- 

 ceived of in our day as characterized the 

 egoism of Louis XIV. Nevertheless, better 

 things than he projected came from the as- 

 sociation which he evoked for the purpose 

 of devising inscriptions, mottoes, and medals, 

 and for making suggestions in respect to royal 

 fetes ^ tapestries, and operas. The simple 

 organization of 1663 was revised in 1701 ; 

 and then, for a long period, associated and 

 co-operative learning, of a very high order, 

 distinguished the Academy of inscriptions. 

 The first volume of its memoirs appeared in 

 1717 ; and before the revolution forty-six 

 quarto volumes had been printed, embod3ing 

 important historical and classical memoirs. 



The Academy of sciences was founded in 

 1666, and reorganized in 1699. It has a his- 

 tory of its own so distinct from that of the 

 French academy, and so illustrious, that we 

 shall not attempt to give it in any subordinate 

 paragraph. 



The tragic days of the revolution swept 

 good things as well as bad into the vortex. In 

 August, 1793, the convention decreed that 

 all academies and literary societies authorized 

 {patentees) by the nation be suppressed. 

 When the reign of terror was over, a reaction 

 naturally came. The leaders of public opinion 

 were ready to recognize the value of organized 

 efforts for the promotion of knowledge ; and 

 the convention, two years after its abolition of 

 the academies, established an Institut national 

 for promoting discoveries, and for advancing 

 the arts and sciences. This was in October, 

 1 795. The new foundation was to be composed 

 of a hundred and forty-four members resident 

 in Paris, and a like number in other parts of 

 France, together with twenty-four foreign as- 

 sociates. Three 'classes' were established, — 

 t\\Q firsts of mathematical and physical science, 

 with ten sections, each of which had six Pari- 

 sian and six departmental members ; the sec- 

 ond^ of moral and political sciences, with six 

 sections of the same number of members ; and 

 the third, of literature and the fine arts, di- 

 vided into eight sections, each of six Parisian 

 and six departmental members. The directory 

 was to nominate forty- eight members from 

 Paris ; they were to select ninet3'-six more ; 

 and this company of one hundred and forty- 

 four were to choose an equal number of col- 

 leagues from the departments. Subsequent 

 legislation matured the regulations of the 

 institute; but in 1803, Napoleon, then first 

 consul, gave them a thorough overhauling. 

 For three classes, he substituted four. That 

 of moral and political sciences, to which he 



seemed to owe a grudge, was abolished. The 

 old French academy, which had almost disap- 

 peared in the 'section of grammar,' now reap- 

 peared as the second class of the new institute, 

 and the academy of sciences became the first 

 class. History and ancient literature, repre- 

 senting the old academy of inscriptions, gave 

 the name to the third class, and the fourth was 

 that of the fine arts. Here substantially were 

 the four academies of the monarchy united in 

 one bond. The second class, representing 

 the Academie frangaise, was restricted to forty 

 chairs ; and twelve of the occupants might be 

 chosen from the other classes of the institute. 



The reaction went still farther, on the res- 

 toration of royalty. In 1816 the French 

 academy, which had been suppressed, then 

 barely recognized as a grammatical section, 

 afterwards allowed the second place among the 

 classes of the institute, was now reinstated in 

 its true position, and recalled by its original 

 and honored name. The institute, reads the 

 new decree, shall consist of four academies, 

 named as follows, and in the order of their 

 foundation, — the French academj^, the acad- 

 emy ro3'al of inscriptions and belles-lettres, 

 the academy royal of sciences, and the acad- 

 emy royal of fine arts. Members of any 

 academy are eligible to the three others. The 

 French academy resumes its former statutes. 

 It was not until sixteen j^ears later, in 

 1832, that the academy of moral and political 

 sciences was reinstated under the ministry of 

 Guizot. The second empire modified in some 

 details the regulations of the Institut ; and 

 the new republic in 1872 removed these im- 

 perial modifications, and restored the former 

 statutes, under which the institute of France 

 is now organized with its five academies. 



We have thus traced in outline the growth 

 of the French academy during two centuries 

 and a half. A private club employs such ex- 

 cellent methods of associated criticism, that it 

 is recognized bj^ the state, and made an im- 

 portant public agency for the promotion of 

 letters. Kindred associations are formed upon 

 its model. It grows so steadily in importance, 

 that at length three kings successively assume 

 its protection. When the crown falls in the 

 da3^s of anarchy, the academ3' and its sisters 

 are suppressed. As order is restored to the 

 state, the institute of France rises from the 

 ashes, hiding in its organization the faint 

 remembrance of the academy. Presently the 

 old organization is distinctly recognized, but 

 without its name and without the precedence 

 which is its birthright. The next step is to 

 re-establish it, with its earliest designation, as 



