﻿xiii 
  

  

  audiences 
  of 
  all 
  classes 
  of 
  society. 
  He 
  had 
  a 
  true 
  gift 
  for 
  exposition, 
  

   and 
  could 
  with 
  very 
  simple 
  apparatus 
  make 
  himself 
  clearly 
  understood. 
  

   In 
  fact 
  he 
  objected 
  to 
  complicated 
  instruments, 
  and 
  said 
  of 
  them 
  that 
  

   they 
  often 
  serve 
  only 
  to 
  distract 
  the 
  attention 
  from 
  the 
  results 
  which 
  it 
  

   is 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  lesson 
  to 
  explain, 
  

  

  Quetelet 
  composed 
  several 
  elementary 
  works 
  for 
  his 
  public 
  courses 
  of 
  

   instruction. 
  The 
  first 
  in 
  date, 
  " 
  On 
  Elementary 
  Astronomy," 
  appeared 
  in 
  

   1826 
  at 
  Paris, 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Bibliothe'que 
  Industrielle 
  de 
  Malher,' 
  and 
  was 
  fre- 
  

   quentl} 
  T 
  reprinted 
  in 
  France 
  and 
  Belgium, 
  and 
  translated 
  into 
  several 
  lan- 
  

   guages. 
  In 
  1827 
  he 
  published 
  a 
  much 
  more 
  complete 
  work, 
  his 
  1 
  Astro- 
  

   nomie 
  Populaire.' 
  This 
  latter 
  was 
  shortly 
  followed 
  by 
  ' 
  Les 
  Positions 
  de 
  

   Physique,' 
  which 
  is 
  considered 
  superior 
  to 
  the 
  'Astronomic' 
  He 
  endea- 
  

   voured 
  subsequently, 
  in 
  a 
  little 
  volume 
  entitled 
  " 
  De 
  la 
  Chaleur," 
  to 
  put 
  

   into 
  practice 
  his 
  idea 
  of 
  founding 
  instruction 
  in 
  Elementary 
  Physics 
  on 
  

   experiments 
  within 
  reach 
  of 
  all. 
  His 
  intention 
  was 
  to 
  follow 
  this 
  up 
  

   by 
  similar 
  treatises 
  on 
  Magnetism, 
  Electricity, 
  and 
  Light. 
  Quetelet 
  

   wrote 
  the 
  chapter 
  on 
  Acoustics 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Physique,' 
  contributed 
  by 
  M. 
  

   Plateau 
  to 
  the 
  ' 
  Encyclopedic 
  Populaire.' 
  Finally, 
  he 
  published 
  in 
  1828 
  

   * 
  Instructions 
  Populaires 
  sur 
  le 
  Calcul 
  des 
  Probabilites,' 
  which 
  was 
  a 
  

   resume 
  of 
  the 
  lessons 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  giving 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  at 
  Brussels. 
  

  

  His 
  public 
  courses 
  of 
  lectures 
  had 
  been 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  successful 
  

   ever 
  since 
  1824. 
  The 
  government 
  now 
  deemed 
  it 
  advisable 
  to 
  organize 
  

   other 
  lectures 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  kind 
  ; 
  and 
  towards 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  1826 
  the 
  Admi- 
  

   nistrator 
  General 
  Van 
  Ewyek 
  requested 
  of 
  Quetelet, 
  on 
  the 
  king's 
  

   behalf, 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  matter, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  1 
  7th 
  December 
  the 
  Museum 
  

   of 
  Science 
  and 
  Literature 
  was 
  established 
  by 
  a 
  royal 
  decree 
  at 
  Brussels. 
  

   Quetelet 
  was 
  chosen 
  for 
  the 
  Chair 
  of 
  Physics 
  and 
  Astronomy 
  ; 
  but 
  as 
  he 
  

   already 
  gave 
  courses 
  of 
  lectures 
  on 
  these 
  subjects 
  in 
  his 
  capacity 
  of 
  

   Professor 
  at 
  the 
  Athenaeum, 
  he 
  obtained 
  leave 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  course 
  on 
  the 
  

   History 
  of 
  Science 
  at 
  the 
  Museum. 
  He 
  did 
  not, 
  however, 
  long 
  con- 
  

   tinue 
  to 
  give 
  this 
  course, 
  as 
  he 
  left 
  the 
  Athenaeum 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  

   the 
  year 
  1828, 
  when 
  he 
  transferred 
  his 
  courses 
  of 
  Physics 
  and 
  Astronomy, 
  

   which 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  giving 
  at 
  the 
  latter 
  institution, 
  to 
  the 
  programme 
  of 
  

   the 
  Museum, 
  and 
  these 
  he 
  continued 
  to 
  give 
  until 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  session 
  

   1833 
  and 
  1834. 
  

  

  The 
  usefulness 
  of 
  the 
  Museum 
  was 
  much 
  diminished 
  by 
  the 
  Revolution 
  

   of 
  1830 
  ; 
  and 
  after 
  languishing 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  that 
  institution 
  was 
  finally 
  

   absorbed 
  in 
  1834 
  by 
  the 
  Free 
  University. 
  A 
  proposal 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  

   Quetelet 
  to 
  join 
  the 
  Free 
  University 
  ; 
  but 
  this 
  he 
  declined, 
  stating 
  that 
  

   he 
  considered 
  such 
  an 
  appointment 
  to 
  be 
  inconsistent 
  with 
  his 
  duties 
  at 
  

   the 
  Observatory, 
  to 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  appointed 
  on 
  condition 
  of 
  not 
  

   taking 
  any 
  other. 
  He 
  proposed, 
  however, 
  to 
  continue 
  his 
  courses 
  at 
  the 
  

   Observatory, 
  those 
  of 
  Physics 
  and 
  Meteorology 
  during 
  the 
  winter, 
  and 
  

   that 
  of 
  Astronomy 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  evenings. 
  This 
  proposal 
  was 
  

   not 
  acceded 
  to 
  ; 
  and 
  Quetelet 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  time 
  gave 
  up 
  public 
  teaching, 
  in 
  

  

  