M\UPEIITUIS. 
ral philosophy, and discovered great know- 
ledge and dexterity, in observations and ex- 
periments upon animals. 
If the custom of travelling into remote 
countries, like the sages of antiquity, in or- 
der to be initiated into the learned myste- 
ries of those times, had still subsisted, no one 
W'ould have conformed to it with more ea- 
gerness than Maupertuis. His first gratifi- 
cation of this passion was to visit the coun- 
try which had given birth to Newton ; and 
during his residence at London he became 
as zealous an admirer and follower of that 
philosopher as any of his own countrymen. 
His next excursion was to Basil in Switzer- 
land, where he formed a friendship with the 
celebrated John Bernoulli and his family, 
which continued till his death. At his re- 
turn to Paris, he applied himself to his fa- 
vourite studies with greater zeal tlian ever. 
And how well he fulfilled the duties of an 
academician, may be seen by running over 
the memoirs of the academy from the year 
1724 to'1744 ; where it appears he was nei- 
ther idle, nor occupied lay objects of small 
importance. The most sublime questions 
in the mathematical sciences, received from 
his hand that elegance, clearness, and pre- 
cision, so remarkable in all his writings. 
In the year 1736, he was sent to the 
polar circle, to measure a degree of the me- 
ridian, in order to ascertain the figure of the 
earth ; in which expedition he was accom- 
panied by Messrs. Clairault, Camus, Mon- 
nier, Outliier, and Celsus, the celebrated 
professor of astronomy at Upsal. This bu- 
siness rendered him so famous, that on his 
return he was admitted a member of almost 
every academy in Europe. 
In the year 1740, Maupertuis had an in- 
vitation from the King of Prussia to go to 
Berlin ; which was too flattering to be re- 
fused. His rank among men of letters had 
not wholly effaced his love for his profes- 
sion, that of arms. He followed the King 
to the field, but at the battle of MblWitz 
was deprived of the pleasure of being pre- 
sent, when victory declared in favour of his 
royal patron, by a singular kind of adven- 
ture. His horse during the heat of the 
action running away with him, he fell into 
the hands of the enemy ; and was at first but 
roughly treated by the Austrian Hussars, to 
whom he could not make hinrselt known for 
want of language ; but being carried pri- 
soner to Vienna, he rccf ived such honours 
from the Emperor as never were effaced 
from his memory. Maupertuis lamented 
very- much the loss of a watch of Mr, 
Graham’s the celebrated English artist, 
which they had taken from him ; the Em- 
peror H’ho happened to have another by the 
same artist, but enriched with diamonds, 
presented it to him, saying, “ 'ITie Hussars 
meant only to Jest with you, they have sent 
me your watch, and I return it to you.” 
He went soon after to Berlin, but as the 
reform of tlie academy which the King 
of Prussia then meditated was not yet 
mature, he repaired to Paris, where his af- 
fairs called him, and was chosen, in 1742, 
director of the Academy of Sciences. In 
1743, he was received into the French 
Academy, which was the first instance of 
the same person being a member of both 
the academies at Paris at the same time. 
Maupertuis again assumed the soldier at the 
siege of Fribourg, and was pitched upon by 
Marshal Coigny and the Count d’Argenson, 
to carry the news to the French King of the 
surrender of that citadel. 
Maupertuis returned to Berlin in the 
year 1744, when a marriage was negociated 
and brought about, by the good offices of the 
Queen mother, between our author and 
Mademoiselle de Borck, a lady of great 
beauty and merit, and nearly related to M. 
de Borck at that time minister of state. 
This determined him to settle at Berlin, as 
he was extremely attaclied to his new 
spouse, and regarded this alliance as the 
most fortunate circumstance of his life. 
In the year 1746, Maupertuis was de- 
clared, by tiie King of Prussia, president of 
the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, 
and soon after by the same prince was ho- 
noured with the Order of Merit. However, 
all these accumulated honours and advan- 
tages, so far from lessening his ardour for 
the sciences, seemed to furnish new allure- 
ments to labour and application.- Not a 
day passed but he produced some new 
project or essay for the advancement of 
knowledge. Nor did he confine himself to 
mathematical studies only ; metaphysics, 
chemistry, botany, polite literature, all 
shared his attention, and contributed to his 
fame. At the same time he had, it seems, a 
straii-e inquietude of spirit, with a dark 
atrabilaire humour, which rendered him 
miserable amidst honours and pleasures. 
Such a temperament did not promise a pa- 
cific life ; and he was in fact engaged in 
several quarrels. One of these was with 
Koenig, the professor of philosophy at 
Franeker, and anotlier more terrible with 
Voltaire. Maupertuis had inserted in the 
volume of memoirs of the academy of Ber« 
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