2811.] State of the National Institute in France. 4 id 
relate daily explained to all visitors by 
men illustrious tor their skill and their 
discoveries;—public exhibitions to excite 
literary emulation, and national rewards 
to inspirit literary industry;—an univer¬ 
sal patronage ostentatiously proclaimed 
by the government, and in some instances 
really bestowed. Such are but a part 
of the seducements by which Paris en¬ 
thrals the fancy, and extorts the applause 
of a stranger, and which would appear, 
at first sight, to render the French me¬ 
tropolis, the most eligible residence in 
the world for a lover of learning. I say 
nothing at this time of the establishments 
relating to the fine arts, upon which I 
mean to dwell hereafter. 
These dazzling advantages lose, how¬ 
ever, some portion of their lustre on a near 
inspection, and very serious disappoint¬ 
ments are experienced, as you investigate 
more closely their actual effects upon 
the national intellect. Their beneficial 
tendency is in part counteracted by cir- 
cu?Tistauces connected with the national 
ta^te, and the genius of the government. 
Many of them give fetters instead of 
wings to the mind. My ideas on this 
subject will be best explained, by a few 
details relative to the organisation of two 
or three of the principal establishments, 
for the promotion of literature and 
science. I shall begin with the Natio¬ 
nal Institute, of which his Imperial 
Majesty himself is a member, and of 
wbicl* the reputation exceeds thatof any 
other learned society in the world. This 
body, as you know, is but an incorpora¬ 
tion of the old academies of Paris, and is 
now divided into four distinct classes 
correspondent to those academies. The 
first class is that of the physical and ma¬ 
thematical sciences the second thafof 
the literature of France, and of the 
French language ;—-the third that of his¬ 
tory and ancient literatureand the 
fourth that of the fine arts. The mem^^ 
hers, together with the foreign associates, 
amount to the number of t'.vo hundred. 
When a nomination is to take place, the 
class by vs^hicb it is to be made selects 
twcj candidates, betv,een whom the Mm- 
^eror makes a choice. Each class has 
one public sitting annually, at which 
prizes are distributed, memoirs read, &:c. 
The first class has a private sitting every 
Jilonday from three o’clock until six in 
the evening, to which strangers are ad¬ 
mitted when introduced by a member. 
I regularly attended tliese weekly meet¬ 
ings, during many months, and was pre¬ 
sent at an annual sitting of each class. 
The members receive an annuity.from the 
government of about two hundred dol¬ 
lars. Most of them, however, and par¬ 
ticularly those w'ho belong to the first 
class, are invested with public employ¬ 
ments, so as to be furnished with an easy 
subsistence. Upon several of the latter, 
such as Laplace^ LacepedCy Bertholiet^ 
Chaptaly hc.'&ome 0 ^ the highest honors 
of the state have been lavished. 
For some time after his accession to 
the government Bonaparte found the In¬ 
stitute the most unmanageable of all 
the public associations of France. It 
w’as filled with men who had taken an 
active part in the revolution, and some 
of whom were enthusiastically devoted 
to the principles of freedom. Several 
who had accompanied him to Egypt were 
his personal enemies. His etforts to 
mould them to his purposes, and to ren¬ 
der them completely subservient to the- 
consolidation and increase of power, 
were for a long time ineffectual; and if 
there at this moment in France any 
men in the civil walks of life, formidable 
to his despotism, they are to be found in 
the National Institute. After employing 
the arts of intimidation without success, 
he had recourse to a system of patronage 
and corruption, which he has found much 
more efficacious. 
The laborious sat-WJS and the indigent 
literati were converted into senators, 
counsellors of state, legislators, inspec¬ 
tors, and even ministers; and the ma¬ 
jority of the whole body invested with 
the cross of the legion of honor. Many 
yielded to the imperial influence through 
a sense of fear, or of the necessity of 
submission ; and not a few to the temp¬ 
tations of place and emolument. As ha 
made senators and legislators of mem¬ 
bers of the Institute, he made, inversely, 
senators and legislators members of the 
Institute; and thus introduced several 
of his most devoted and prostitute ad^ 
herents. The right of determining the 
choice between the two candidates for 
admission elected by the classes, was re¬ 
luctantly and tardily granted, and liais 
served to give him an unlimited cont.oi 
over the whole body. When a vacancy 
now occurs, it is filled up at his nomina¬ 
tion, through both stages of the process, 
as his authority has become completely 
absolute. Opposition from the few indi¬ 
viduals who may remain unsubfiuedjwolsld 
only endanger their personal safety. No 
stranger could have enjoyed better op¬ 
portunities than myself, of studying the 
constitution of this body, and of obaerv* 
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