Brown Scientific Organizations in Seventeenth Century France (1620-1680)

Scientific Organizations
tn
Seventeenth Century France

(1620-1680)
By
HARCOURT BROWN
M.A. <J'oronto, Ph.D., Columbia
Baltimore
The Williams & Wilkins Company
1934
CorYRIGHT, 1934
THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COMPANY
Published in the United States of America
Published March, 1934
COMPOSED AND PRINTED AT THE

WAVERLY PRESS, INC.
FOR
THE WILLIAMS & WILKÏNs Cm,fPANY
BALTIMORE, Mn., U. S. A.
TO
DOROTHY
Marve! not!
We of these latter days, with greater mind
Than our forerunners, since more composite,
Look not so great, beside their simple way,
To a judge who only sees one way at once,
One mind-point and no other at a time,
Compares the small part of a man of us
With some whole man of the heroic age,
Great in his way-not ours, nor meant for ours.
-Cicon
CONTENTS
Introduction................................................... 1x
I. Peiresc and the Cabinet of the Brothers Dupuy...............
II. Renaudot and Mersenne................................... 17
III. Mersenne and England................................. ... 41
IV. The Montmor Academy begins ............................. 64
V. The Montmor Academy and England........................ 91
VI. The End of the Montmor Academy......................... 117
VII. La Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts........................ 135
VIII. The Conferences of Henry Juste!. ........................... 161
IX. Science and the Press: the Journal des Savants and the Philo
sophical 'l'ransactions.................................... I 85
X, The Academies of the Provinces ............................. 208
XI. The Academy of the Abbé Bourdelot ........................ 231
XII. Fluctuai nec mergitur....................................... 254
Appendix:
A. Letters of Scientific Interest ................................. 268
B. A document for Chapter XI ...... ........................... 283
C. Summary of Manuscript Sources............................ . 287
Bibliography:
A. General................................................... 289
B. By Chapters .............................................. 291
Index ......................................................... 299
Vll
INTRODUCTION
" ....l'histoire ne nous offre qu'un tableau fort incomplet de l'activité
scientifique des temps passés. Seuls émergent, dans ce tableau, les quelques
penseurs de génie qui, aux tournants de la science, ont su lui imprimer une
direction personnelle. Mais les autres, la foule des savants secondaires,
ceux qui, à force d'en parler et d'y penser, ont peu à peu transformé en
notions usuelles et familières les idées révolutionnaires des inventeurs, les
obscurs agents de la lente et patiente évolution qui a créé les habitudes de
notre pensée scientifique, ceux-là sont perdus dans un oubli définitif. Ce
pendant leur influence n'a pas été negligeable. Au seizième ou au dix
septième siècle, la science n'était pas, comme aujourd'hui, le privilège d'un
petit nombre d'initiés conversant solennellement entre eux par la voix des
publications académiques. Bien des gens, alors, s'intéressaient au mouve
ment scientifique et en discouraient, qui n'ont jamais fait imprimer, qui
n'ont peut-être jamais écrit. Partout il se nichait de ces savants amateurs
avec qui l'on échangeait des lettres, que l'on visitait à l'occasion. Et ainsi
les idées, semées de droite et de gauche par les esprits aventureux, mûris
saient,se précisaient au cours des entretiens et des correspondances,jusqu'au
jour où elles réapparaissaient, plus pleines et plus riches, dans !'oeuvre de
quelque savant de marque."-Boutroux, Le Calcul des Probabilités, in
Revue du Mois, 10 juin 1908, I, 642.
In presenting a history of some of the private assemblies

of the amateurs of natural science in seventeenth century
France, it is scarcely necessary to demonstrate the interest
for us of an age that knew Descartes, Gassendi, Napier,
Roberval, Pascal, Fermat, Picard, Pecquet, Huygens, Boyle,
Cassini, and Leibniz, to mention only the more eminent of
those scientists and philosophers whose work found recog
nition in France. The importance of the work clone in this
period is sufficiently recognized today; the books which deal
with it in whole or in part have multiplied rapidly in recent
years, so that it would almost seem that a new work on the
era of the founding of the Académie des Sciences must excuse
itself for existing rather than plead necessity.
IX
X INTRODUCTION
The books which this study seeks to supplement, however,

are limited in number. Martha Ornstein's work, 'l'he
Rôle of the Scientijic Societies in the Seventeenth Century, is
rather a study of the relative value to the advancement of
science of the Academies and the Universities, than a true
history. She had a thesis to prove, not a story to tell; the
value of her work is demonstrated by the fact that in England
and Rolland, as in the United States and Canada, I have
had to argue the question of whether I had anything to add
to Dr. Ornstein. For a historical work it must at lèast be
said that more attention might have been paid to the ulti
mate sources of our knowledge-the books, pamphlets, and
letters of her period-and perhaps a little less to modern
authors whose documentation is sometimes not very
discriminating.
Faulty orientation is equally the case with a recent Paris
thesis, Miss Betty Morgan's Histoire du 'Journal des Savants.
In spite of considerable search among documents of the
seventeenth century, Miss Morgan somehow missed the due
to the appearance of the 'Journal in failing to find the essential
links in the network of correspondence that held the learned
men of Europe together through most of the period she dis
cussed. There is more in the 'Journal than meets the eye
of the reader inexperienced in seventeenth century erudition;
each page springs directly from the life and institutions of
the age, and the full meaning of its articles appears only
after lengthy acquaintance with the books of that learnP.ci
era.
In quite a different class is the monumental work of M.
Georges Ascoli, La Grande-Bretagne devant !'Opinion fran
çaise au dix-septième siècle. Since they appeared in 1930,
these two crowded volumes have been my constant corn
panions and guides in the intricacies of Anglo-French rela-
INTRODUCTION XI
tions. For the printed books of the age this work is invalu
able; if it is not frequently cited in these pages, it is because
my search has led me among manuscripts and into byways
where the main stream of the traffic of ideas did not flow.
My findings tend on the whole to justify the conclusions
reached by M. Ascoli; although my interest has not been
primarily in the English influence in France, nor in the
French opinion of the English, still such matters cannot be
escaped in the century of the founding of the Royal Society,
and I have been forced to elaborate somewhat a field of
which the boundaries have been laid clown with considerable
justness on the basis of an ample documentation.
In addition to these works, numerous others have been of
value at various stages of the preparation of this study. The
intelligent and well-documented writings of M. Fortunat
Strowski on Pascal; the work of M. Charles Bastide on
French and English at the end of the seventeenth century;
the research into the work of astronomers and physicists of
the middle of that century prosecuted with such persever
ance by the late Guillaume Bigourdan and published by him
in the Comptes-rendus of the Académie des Sciences; the
invaluable bibliographical assistance which Dr. George
Sarton affords in Isis; the hints thrown out by M. Gustave
Lanson in his lectures of 1908-1910 in the Revue des Cours et
Conférences, who was perhaps the first to realize that philo
sophical formulae might describe but could never account
for the shift in French literature from the seventeenth cen
tury to the eighteenth;-these and many other studies have
colored the pages of this research, and I desire to express an
inclusive thanks.
The modern connotation of the word Academy takes us

back ultimately to the exhedra built by Plata for his philo-
XII INTRODUCTION
sophical school near Athens. Organized as a thiasos for the

cult of the muses, styled from this circumstance a mouseion,
the building was adorned by Speusippus with the statues of
the Graces and by Mithridates with that of Plato; by its
founder the ownership had been assigned to the community
which, given a home, was assured of a certain continuity of
existence; from it sprang, a rival and almost equally lusty
community, the Lyceum of Aristotle. The three words,
Academy, Museum, Lyceum, have a long and honorable
history in the world of organized and liberal education; the
fonctions of the bodies so described have varied from age to
age with the changes of human society at large.
From our point of view, the necessary counterpart to the
story of the philosophie schools is the story of coëiperation
in the practical arts. From the earliest times one finds
records of groups of engineers working together in the employ
of governments and princes to build tombs and palaces,
baths, harbors, boats and roads. Although the duties of
building committees and boards of supervisors do not in
clude the disinterested investigation of nature, still such
habitual associations are not easily destroyed, and the acad
emy of the seventeenth century, a place of discussion, de
bate, and the expression of opinion, for the publication of
discoveries and inventions, for the trial of methods, and the
accumulation of the comforts and conveniences of life, falls
heir to the traditions of philosophy and the secrets of prac
titioners in the arts, occult, like judicial astrology, or merely
useful, like ship-building.
Before the seventeenth century the net achievement of the
academies was not very great, for at almost every turn they
met opposition from princes who saw subversive teaching
and political intrigu e in their secret meetings, and from the
church, which feared the propagation of heresies and the
INTRODUCTION Xlll
power of uncontrolled associations. At last, under Louis

XIII, a man of vision saw the power that might be wielded
over taste and sentiment by an approved academy of wits,
and one of his successors the practical advantages to be
obtained from a publicly established company where men of
science might collaborate in advancing the control of nature
for the greater glory of le roi soleil; with the foundation of the
Académie Française and the Académie des Sciences, long
known as the Académie Royale, the secular foundation for
intellectual pursuits cames from a corner where existence
was uncertain and hazardous into the front rank of national
policy. Their public history is known to all: its publica
tion is also a part of national policy.
Beside them, sometimes in opposition, sometimes in
collaboration, existed a succession of minor associations,
clubs, conférences, and assemblies, whose presence has long
been known, but whose nature has been left unanalyzed.
From them came a multitude of tracts, essays, collected
discourses, periodical publications; taken collectively, they
are the source of the bulk of the popular scientific litera
ture of seventeenth-century France. The history of these
groups lies in the archives and the manuscript collections
of the libraries of western Europe. For their own sake, and
because they were the heirs of the Platonic tradition of free
assembly and corporate activity outside political control,
their story seems worth telling.
It has seemed to me that the emphasis on doctrine in the

study of the classic age in France has tended to befog the
clear outlines of the progress achieved in general standards
of living and culture between the Renaissance and the Ency
clopedia of Diderot. Historians and critics, with the notable
exception of most of those I have mentioned above, have
XIV INTRODUCTION
gone into the detail of the warfare of ideas without clearing

the ground by study of the forms of human society and
the conditions governing the publication of books and the
communications of men. Censorship of the press, the slow
ness with which an author's book reached its public in defin
itive form, the difficulties of public policy with which writer,
printer, bookseller, and reader have had to deal-these have
often meant that an age which appears backward is merely
cautious, that the real substance of the radical ideas of an
age has circulated in manuscript, under the cloak as the
French say, and hence that the historian of ideas and culture
who limits himself to what may be found in print runs the
very serious risk of falsifying much of the thought of the
period of which he writes. Within the rather narrow limits
of this book, omission of the consideration of the manuscripts
would mean ignorance of the r8le played by Henry Justel,
of the fact that the amateurs of 1663 in Paris had Sir Thomas
Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica available for their study,
that the Académie des Sciences had a translation of the
Philosophical 'I'ransactions made as they appeared in London,
and that Justel's projected work on the Commodités de la Vie
was a common tapie of discussion in the years 1668-1675.
To be added to the material found in the manuscripts
only is an estimation of the significance of the ideas dis
cussed in the countless circles where conversation and dis
course were the principal abjects sought, whose freedom and
secrecy were jealously guarded even to preserving knowledge
of their existence from the eyes of the general public and
posterity. In the France of Louis XIV the historian finds
this problem particularly acute; because political and reli
gious inquisitions made liberalism dangerous, to his sorrow
he finds that many of the most interesting collections of
papers have been destroyed, dispersed, or emasculated be-
INTRODUCTION XV
yond recogmtion. The reader of this book may imagine

what one might expect to have found among the lost papers
of the protestant refugee Henry Justel !
Furthermore, may it be said from the further side of the
Atlantic, perspectives have been falsified to some extent by
the exigencies under which scholars have been forced to work.
The history of human affairs in England has largely been
studied from sources which exist in England, French history
from sources in France. The scholar whose luck has taken
him abroad for his material has frequently corne home with
valuable booty, a foreign point of view usually, very often
an instructive account of events already known, more rarely a
description of things at home not previously suspected to
exist. What was censored in Paris, what would be seized
by the agents of a de la Reynie or a d'Argenson, would pass
without comment or interference in England. Not only
that, but the veriest commonplace of Paris gossip was fre
quently juicy news for the family and friends of the young
Dutch or English gentleman on vacation, and found record
and description in diary or letters home. Add to the docu
ments about things in France from English or Dutch pens,
the news-letters written from France by such indefatigable
correspondents as the aforementioned Justel, of whose six
hundred and more known letters of the years 166o-1693 at
least half exist in England, while barely fifty are available
in the public libraries of Paris, the innumerable letters from
France received by Dutch grammarians and historians,
English gentlemen, German princelings and their secretaries,
Italian ecclesiastics and nobles-from such correspondence
one may often obtain the details of events suppressed at
home. In any case the conclusion is indicated, that guides
to the sources for seventeenth-century history must to be
complete include large quantities of material out of France.
XV! INTRODUCTION
This is a study, then, of a few of the more interesting and

important of the academies and like bodies of the middle
years of the seventeenth century in France, based on the
published documents of the time, supplemented by the
manuscripts, so far as available, in such centres as Paris,
London, Oxford, and Leiden. The organizations studied
are not chosen by chance; quite the contrary. Perhaps the
best way to describe their selection is to say they selected
themselves. My part in the matter has been to attempt to
achieve some continuity of ideas and personnel, and largely
on that basis to decide cases of doubtful merit. Claims to
more or less extended notice were presented in great variety
by the numerous academies of the century; some offered vast
masses of available material, some a notable influence on the
movement of ideas, others a membership of important or
interesting personalities, still others a record of social promi
nence in the days of Molière. A slight familiarity with the
period will enable a reader to name a dozen omissions; it is
probable, however, that consideration of the criteria before
mentioned, of the limitations of time and space, and of the
looseness of structure involved by encyclopedic thoroughness,
will permit that reader to confess some merit in selectivity.
It may be added that the only requirement whose fulfilment
was indispensable was that each body to be treated should
play some rôle in the development of scientific scepticism.
From the manuscripts found in an intensive search of some
of the most promising collections of England, Rolland and
France, extracts have been made and quoted to lend author
ity to the narrative. As the work preparatory to concen
trating on this field was very notably assisted by quotations
from unpublished sources, even without commentary, so I
have tried to allow my authorities to speak for themselves,
aided only by translations of all but the simplest French.
INTRODUCTION xvu
I hope further that my rather copious citations will f!avor

the mass of undistinguished detail with the spice of per
sonalities. The appendix contains a group of letters rep
resentative of the unpublished scientific correspondence of
the time, chosen to round out the picture of events and con
ditions in France, and perhaps to interest those who prefer a
complete document to the disjecta membra of my text.
The investigations I have been led to make in the field
represented by this book have convinced me of the necessity
of reconsidering the importance of the place to be assigned
to half a dozen of the leaders in this movement, each of whom
has, for one reason or another, been undeservedly neglected.
Chief among these is certainly Adrien Auzout, the astronomer
and mathematician to who,m contemporaries attributed the
plan of the Paris Observatory and the project of the Académie
des Sciences. With him might be grouped his constant
associates, Pierre Petit, engineer and amateur astronomer;
Melchisédec Thevenot, traveler and translator of books of
travel; and perhaps of most interest, Henry Justel, whose
life was characterized by a long and close friendship with
Auzout and an enthusiasm for England and English things
rare in his era. To these may be added the astronomer,
Platonist and librarian, Ismael Boulliau, whose lively mind
ref!ects most of the movements, literary, social and philo
sophie, of his age, and whose outspoken and candid letters
enlivened many days of toil among the manuscripts of a
dusty past. These men represent the tradition of the fa_
mous conferences of Mersenne, and this book does not pre
tend to offer a complete account of their manifold activities.
This study owes more than I can hope to express to the

Council and Secretaries of the Royal Society of London, and
to the interest and erudition of the Assistant Librarian, Mr.
XVlll INTRODUCTION
Henry W. Robinson, the Consultant Librarian, Mr. A. H.

White, and their staff. Through their kindness I was able
to make a complete search of the thousands of letters which
the Society preserves from my period. Their patience in
assisting me with the detail of the interna! history of the
Society, and the freedom with which they permitted me to
consult their large collection of early scientific books are a
pleasant memory indeed. To work on the letters of Auzout,
Juste!, and Petit under the eyes of John Evelyn and Samuel
Pepys and the politely sceptical Charles II, while Hauks
bee's exhaustion-pump and Newton's six-inch reflecting
telescope stood on near-by tables, brought the grand days of
Gresham College and Oldenburg very near.
While the Royal Society is the largest single source of my
material, many useful letters and documents were found
in the British Museum and in the Bodleian Library at
Oxford. I have further quoted from single documents in the
French Hospital, Victoria Park Road, and in the archives of
the Royal College of Physicians, London. To the staffs
of these institutions I extend my cordial thanks.
ln Paris the bulk of my material was of course found in
the Bibliothèque Nationale, although I discovered that the
Arsenal and the Mazarine had documents of considerable
assistance. I desire to express an especial debt of gratitude
to the learned and kindly librarian of the Société de !'His
toire du Protestantisme français, Monsieur le Pasteur J.
Pannier, whose suggestions corne from a ripe experience in
the history of many aspects of the seventeenth century.
To the librarian of the Bibliothèque Municipale at Reims,
and to the Archiviste de la Ville de Reims, as well as to the
librarians of the Bibliothèque de Versailles, who permitted
me to consult a collection of letters borrowed from the Bib
liothèque de Toulouse, my thanks are also due.
INTRODUCTION XIX
Access to the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France was

obtained for me through the kindly offices of Professors
Antoine Thomas and Fortunat Strowski. To the librarians
there, as to Monsieur Henri Malo, Conservateur of the
Musée Condé at Chantilly, and to his assistant, my sincere
gratitude must be expressed.
The material from the University of Leiden was made
available to me through the kindness of Dr. C. A. Crom
melin, Director of the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium and
of the Huygens Museum for the history of science, and Dr.
J. A. Vollgraff, Editor of the Oeuvres Complètes of Christiaan
Huygens. The hospitality with which the facilities of the
manuscript room were extended to me, as well as personal
attentions shown during our stay in Rolland, are very
pleasant memories.
Many of the printed books herein discussed and used
have been consulted at the above libraries. To the staffs
of those already listed, as well as to the personnel of the
libraries at Columbia University, Harvard, Princeton,
McGill, Queen's, and the Universities of Toronto and Ro
chester, to the staff of New York Public Library, the Uni
versity Library at Cambridge, the library of Gonville and
Caïus College, Cambridge, the library of Lambeth Palace
and of the Guildhall in London, the John Rylands Library
of Manchester, the Reale Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in
Florence, and the Library of Windsor Castle, I gratefully
acknowledge kindness received. I would like to make spe
cial mention of the interested and helpful assistance I re
ceived from Dr. W. W. Francis and his assistant, Miss E.
Brownlee, in the Osler Library at McGill University in the
course of a brief visit to Montreal in the summer of 1932.
A study of this nature, prosecuted in many places over a
considerable period of time, incurs many debts. I desire to
XX INTRODUCTION
express my thanks to my teachers at the University of

Toronto, especially to Professors J. S. Will and G. S. Brett,
whose advice and encouragement have not ended with the
years I spent under their instruction, and who I hope will not
disavow the method and approach of this work. ln Paris
in the summer of 1928 I received sage counsel from Pro
fessors Fernand Baldensperger and Charles Bastide.
I am anxious to acknowledge a personal debt to my in
structors at Columbia University, especially to the learning
and enthusiasm of Professor G. L. van Roosbroeck, who has
been my director of studies. I have had the best of advice
and practical help from Professor Frederick Barry of the
Department of History. I feel a keen obligation to the
sympathetic interest of Professor Fortunat Strowski, Visiting
Professor of French in Columbia in 1930-1931; in conver
sation, lectures, and writings, he has aided me in many
phases of this work.
The advice and active assistance of Professor George
Sarton of Harvard University has been of the greatest bene
fit to the completion of this book. To him also, as to Dr.
G. W. Corner of the Rochester School of Medicine, to Dr.
J. T. MacCurdy, of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and
to Dr. Charles P. Stacey of Princeton, N. J., I am indebted
for valuable introductions. I wish to express my special
thanks for advice to Dean Dorothy Stimson of Goucher
College, Baltimore, to Professer Colbert Searles of the
University of Minnesota, and to Professor J. S. Turner of the
Iowa State College.
ln various ways I owe very much to the kindly interest of
English scholars. ln addition to those already mentioned,
my work has been facilitated by Professor Elliot Smith,
F.R.S., F.R.C.P., of the lnstitute of Anatomy, University
College, London; by Professor James Kendall, F.R.S., of
INTRODUCTION XXI
the University of Edinburgh; by the late Dr. P. S. Allen,

President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; and by Dr.
Charles Singer, of the University of London. To them, as
to Rev. Sir Edwyn Hoskyns, Sir Humphrey Rolleston, Pro
fessor G. M. Trevelyan, Rev. Dr. Will Spens, Vice-Chancellor
of Cambridge University, Mr. J. M. Turner, librarian of the
Bibliotheca Pepysiana, Magdalene College, Cambridge, Dr.
Arnold Chaplin, Harveian Librarian of the Royal College
of Physicians, Rev. Dr. H.F. Stewart, Praelector in French
Studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, Mr. R. F. Young,
Secretary of the Consultative Committee of the Board of
Education, London, Mr. Joseph Bles, Mr. Geofl:rey L.
Keynes, F.R.C.S., Mr. Ernest Roberts, F.R.C.S., Mr. A. P.
R. Coulborn, Mr. F. R. Cowell of His Majesty's Stationery
Office, Rev. Dr. James Garvie, New College, Finchley Road,
London, and Miss Winifred Turner, Librarian of theFrench
Hospital, Victoria Park Road, I desire to express my sincere
thanks for many kindnesses.
InFrance I found no less encouragement and kindly guid
ance. Professors Strowski and Ascoli were invaluable guides
to the resources of Paris, and lent me much assistance with
introductions. The discussions I have had with Monsieur
René Ternois, Professeur au Lycée de Versailles, have made
themselves felt in the chapters concerning Juste!. Monsieur
Jules Bardin, Professeur au Lycée Charlemagne, has been
good enough to lend me a large number of copies of letters
from the Juste! Correspondence. The encouragement and
advice of Professors Hazard, Brunschvicg, and Mornet, was
a welcome feature of the last stages of the collection of ma
terials for this book. To Madame Paul Tannery, and to
Madame Hélène Metzger of the Centre de Synthèse, I owe a
debt of especial homage.
To each of these, and to others, this book is deeply in-
XXII INTRODUCTION
debted. It is to be hoped that I have profited by the warn

ings and advice I have sought; in many cases I am sure that
such counsel was necessary. Although I have received so
much encouragement and cooperation, the responsibility for
errors and omissions is my own.
I cannot close this introduction without attempting to
indicate the debt owed in all stages of this work, from the
first discussion of the theme through the long periods of slow
amassing of materials and the gradua! emergence of a plan,
clown to the time of writing and the making of a final copy,
to the invaluable assistance of my wife.
For the inclusion of this book in the present series, I am
deeply indebted to the Council of the History of Science
Society. To them, and in particular to Professor G. S.
Brett, Chairman of the Publications Committee, and to
Dr. F. E. Brasch, Corresponding Secretary of the Society,
I desire to express my sincere thanks.
H. B.
NEW YORK,
FEBRUARY, 1934.
CHAPTER I
PEIRESC AND THE CABINET OF THE BROTHERS DUPUY
"Le plus fructueux et naturel exercice de nostre esprit, c'est, à mon gré,
la conférence: j'en treuve l'usage plus doulx que d'aulcune aultre action de
nostre vie; et c'est la raison pourquoy, si j'estois asture forcé de choisir, je
consentirais plustost, ce crois je, de perdre la veue, que l'ouir ou le parler.
Les Athéniens, et encores les Romains, conservoient en grand honneur cet
exercice en leurs académies: de nostre temps, les Italiens en retiennent quel
ques vestiges, à leur grand proufit, comme il se veoid par la comparaison de
nos entendements aux leurs. L'estude des livres, c'est un mouvement lan
guissant et foible qui n'eschauffe point: là où la conférence apprend, et
exerce en un coup. Si je confère avecques une âme forte et un roide jous
teur, il me presse les flancs, me picque à gauche et à dextre; ses imaginations
0
eslancent les miennes: la jalousie, la gloire, la contention, me poulsent

et rehaulsent au dessus de moy mesme; et l'unisson est qualité du tout
ennuyeuse en la conférence....."-Montaigne, De l'art de Conférer.
An account of scientific activity in the society of seven

teenth century France begins with some justice with Mon
taigne. The importance he assigns to the individual man
and his experience, his esteem for the suspended judgment
of the Sceptic as opposed to the dogmas which warred for
supremacy through the turbulent sixteenth century, his
love for free discussion and his very real enthusiasm for the
improvement of the terrestrial state of man-these are
themes which will recur with varying emphasis through the
chapters of this book. In more than one sense the salons
and academies of the Paris of the heyday of classicism are a
prolongation of the chatter of the immortal Essays.
Whatever inspiration the sceptics of the seventeenth cen
tury may have derived from Montaigne, a tradition too
persistent to be denied associates the modern revival of
academic activities with fifteenth century Italy, especially
2 PEIRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY
with the founding of an academy at Florence under the

Medici by Marsilio Ficino, and another at Rome by Pompo
nius Laetus. From these bodies, both of serious purpose,
although much controversy has raged about their character,
sprang a numerous offspring-some say more than seven
hundred-whose rôles are usually of the least importance,
but which flourished for a space in the towns of northern
Italy. These earliest of the modern academies seem to have
been broad in their interests, and intent on restoring some
of the Platonic largeness to the studies and philosophy of the
modern man. Gradually, under the influence of persecu
tions for heresy, and the changing background of Italian
politics and culture, they tend to become more specialized;
one finds academies devoted to specific disciplines, poetry,
linguistics, philosophy, and more rarely science. The
sharply limited program characteristic of the Académie des
Sciences is a product of the same tendency; however, one
finds a definitely convivial element in these early groups,
with rules of etiquette and social standards, and a routine of
dinners, collations and musical entertainment which blurs the
boundary that separates the academy from the salon and
the club.
The character of these associations, the membership, and
the nature of the programs, depended of course on the cir
cumstances under which the particular academy began its
sessions. A patron of letters or the arts, a prince of church
or state, a merchant of great wealth, would draw the more
agreeable of the teachers or other professional men of his
entourage into a more or less regularly established society;
constant association gave a certain set of habits, sooner or
later to be set clown as laws and regulations governing activi
ties, ceremonial, and membership. In their meetings the
wit of those who know each other's habits of minci, temper,
PEIRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY 3
and prejudice, mingles with an esoteric lore derived from
common reading, and education; the vulgar idiom becomes a
badge of liberty, of racial integrity, of freedom from the
tyranny of the School, and of unity in a civilization which
begins to regard itself as national. Together, these men of
learning treat each other as persons apart from and above
the common run; when separated, their letters reflect the
interests and philosophy of their group. These remarks
hold in a very striking degree for the character and corpo
rate activities of the academicians and journalists of the mid
dle, and even of the end, of the seventeenth century in
France.
The full tide of the influence of ltalian models on French
social life lasts well into the reign of Louis XIII; in these
chapters we shall see academies of various ltalian types in
full activity in Paris. Somewhat less luxuriant and fan
tastic of growth, the northern climate produces a greater
sturdiness. Less hampered by external supervision, from
time to time these bodies are interrupted, modified, or sup
pressed for political or religious reasons, just as had hap
pened to most of their southern predecessors. But rising
in a great trading centre, a city from which armies and mer
chants and missionaries went over most of the world, the
academies and the erudite assemblies of Paris have a world
wide importance.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the chief
link between the academies of ltaly and those of Paris was
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637); his interest in
antiquity, in certain aspects of nature, and in the practical
arts, made him a model for the virtuosi of the latter part of
the century. His own inspiration was largely derived from
his sojourn as a student in Padua, from his contacts with the
erudite antiquary Pinelli, with the libraries of Florence, the
architecture of Rome, and the physicists della Porta in

Naples. These interests became fixed in him, and were
prized by the scholars in Paris, London, and the Low Coun
tries, whom he met in the course of his voyages between 1605
and 1620. Thereafter until his death in 1637, he was visited
in his home in Aix or Belgentier by ail curious travelers visit
ing Provence, and the privilege of maintaining correspond
ence with him was eagerly sought by the erudite of ail
countries; among these may be noted the Dupuys, Camden,
Gassendi, Mersenne, Spelman, Nostradamus, Saumaise,
Gabriel Naudé, Malherbe, and the painter Rubens.
Peiresc's curiosity led him to explore many natural phe
nomena; his five telescopes were constantly employed during
16rn-1612, and he seems to have been one of the first to
observe the great nebula in Orion. It is probable that he
was the first in France to see the satellites of Jupiter, then
newly discovered by Galileo. He collected rare plants,
studied fossil formations and crystals, and had dissections
performed in his house. The documents which exist in
Paris and in Carpentras show him as a persan of wide in
terests, without the desire or perseverance to carry his proj
ects to a conclusion, but with the leisure and income to
permit him to assemble an enormous collection of material
similar to that studied by the scientific and antiquarian
academies of the latter part of the century. There is reason
to believe that Peiresc had some appreciation of the nature
of scientific evidence, that upon occasion he could criticize
conclusions based upon analogies, that he distrusted astrol
ogy and the search for the philosopher's stone. His dis
coveries remained in manuscript, unpublished and un
announced, and illustrate very well the mixture of qualities
which was characteristic of his mind-the alert inquisitive-
PElRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY 5
ness, the lack of jealous self-advertisement and the universal
curiosity which prevented his following any single plan or
activity to a conclusion useful to humanity at large.
Peiresc's part in our story is that of the patron of letters
and the arts, the organizer and inspirer of many projects for
the improvement and advancement of learning, the man who
perhaps more than any other person of his period lays a firm
foundation for the Republic of Letters, as it will be found to
exist during the next hundred years. He imported plants
and animals, rare and curious as well as useful; to him is due
the discovery of the chyle ducts in man, and the observation
of the latitude of Marseilles from the height of the sun at the
summer solstice, verifying the result attained by an astrono
mer of Phenician times, nearly twenty centuries before.
Most important of all was his esta.blishment of half a dozen
stations from which the eclipse of August 2.8, 1635, was ob
served; the comparison of the results was carried out by
Peiresc himself, and the true differences in longitude worked
out, Aleppo being found to be two hundred leagues nearer
Aix than was shown on the maps of the Mediterranean Sea.
In his dissections, astronomical observations, and mathe
matical research, his constant associate was Pierre Gassendi,
provost of the Cathedra! of Digne, and later chosen Royal
Professor of Mathematics; after the death of Peiresc, one
of the most widely read and most celebrated Latin books of
the age, Gassendi's Viri illustris Nicolai Claudii Fabricii de
Peiresc .... Vita, was published in Paris by Cramoisy.
This sober and well-informed model of biography was trans
lated into English and published in 1657, under the appro
priate title, 'I'he Mirrour of '!'rue Nobility; John Evelyn notes
in his diary in March of that year that "Dr. Rand, a learned
physician" dedicated it to him. Through Evelyn, the book
associates itself with the last phase of the English Renais

sance, the interest in science which sent scores of English
gentlemen into the meetings of the Royal Society of London.
Among the regular correspondents of Peiresc were Pierre
and Jacques Dupuy, sons of an erudite conseiller au Parle
ment de Paris, themselves historians, skilled in the use of
documents, lovers not only of books but of the society of
learned men. The early part of their lives was spent as
librarians in the house of their relative the historian de
Thou; to the care of his books was added that of the con
siderable library left them by their father. Where three
men of learning are gathered together, one may expect to
find others, and it is not surprising to learn that in the last
year of the life of de Thou an assembly of men of letters,
scholars, amateurs of learning, and professional men, met ·
with regularity in the Hôtel de Thou, on the rue des Poicte
vins, not far from the present Place Saint Michel. This, the
famous Cabinet, at first du Président de '!'hou, later des frères
Dupuy, was the sturdiest of the private assemblies of Paris,
and in some ways the most desirable circle into which a
Parisian could obtain entry.
The Cabinet Dupuy, however, was not the oldest body of
the academic sort which Paris had known. Writing in the
middle of the seventeenth century, Charles Sorel places the
beginning of academies in France in the meetings of the
poets of the Pléiade, and in the Academy of the Palace, held
under Henri III, in which Desportes, Abbé de Thyron, and
the Lecteur du Roi, du Perron, met with other scholars and
poets, among them Ronsard, Dorat, and Jodelle. He adds
that the famous protestant leader, Agrippa d'Aubigné, has
let it be understood that the king once did him the honor to
admit him to this assembly. Severa! Philosophical Ques
tions were there discussed, of which some were to be found
PElRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY 7
in manuscript or in print, under the title of Discours Acadé

miques, and other names. With the approval of the Queen
Mother, Catherine de Médicis, and the brothers of the King,
the Dukes of Alençon and Anjou, this body was the first to
be officially known as an academy; continued in the Louvre
under the inspiration of the poet Pibrac, the meetings and
the organization disappear about l 584, leaving little beyond a
vague memory. In addition to this body in its two incar
nations, there were the numerous salons, the chief of which,
that of Madame de Rambouillet, devoted itself to the re
fining of taste in speech; and such assemblies as that which
in l 587 produced the Satire Ménippée in the house of the
Chancellor Gillot.
No one knows exactly when the Cabinet began; Peiresc
associated with its members when he visited Paris in 1616-17.
Soon after, in 1621, we find Fortin de la Hoguette writing in
familiar vein to Pierre Dupuy that he is very happy to hear
that a mutual friend, one Pelletier, has been married, and
that he would be still more pleased if his friend Dupuy were
seized by the same impulse, so great is his desire to see the
academy's life renewed. Because the news which he has
sent in his former letters has been so well received he dis
patches a further budget of notes on recent events. His
association with the Cabinet, here, as elsewhere in his letters
specifically called an academy, lasts until the end of his
life; his letters to the Dupuys end almost without exception
with salutations to the members. Uri, in his essay Un
Cercle savant au XVIIe Siècle prefixed to his study of the
philologist Francois Guyet (Paris, 1886), places him among
the least important of the fellowship, but the frequency and
length of his communications throughout a busy life merit
him a better place. A Norman by birth, a soldier by pro
fession, a traveler and a man of taste, and a letter-writer of
8 PElRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY
no small ability, his presence !ends color to the view that the
Cabinet was not strictly a place for philological discussion
and the criticism of works of erudition. His efforts to pro
vide the Dupuys with a portrait of Francis Bacon to hang
with those of other learned men in the library where the
friends were accustomed to meet seem to place him as an
intimate of the house. In common with all the members of
the Cabinet whose occupations took them from Paris, he
regrets the "honneste société," which he says he misses
"mille foys plus que la cour." In his book, 'l'estament ou
conseils fidelles d'un bon père à ses enfans, (Paris, 1648), he re
calls the harmony, sweetness, and discretion of the meetings
of the friends, so pleasant to the spirit that the troubles of the
day were quickly dissipated in this company.1
So that when we find a letter signed by Peiresc and L'Ali
gre from the "Bureau de l' Academie au logis de Monsieur de
Peyresc ce xvi Juin 1629" addressed to "Messieurs de l'Aca
demie, chez Monsieur Du Puy" (Bibliothèque Nationale,
Fonds Dupuy 675, f. 214), perhaps we are justified in assum
ing that the success of the meetings in Paris had encouraged
Peiresc to set up a similar organization in his house in Aix.
The Fonds Dupuy, the very large collection of papers now
in the Bibliothèque Nationale which cornes in the main
from the two seventeenth-century historians, contains many
communications from the circle of Peiresc. A number of
scientific documents of this origin are contained in Volume
669; these deal with such topics as the behavior and the
dissection of a chameleon, the eyes of a tuna, an owl, and a
1 "Tous les jours, sur le soir, il se faisait chez eux un certain concert d'amis,
ou toutes choses se passoient avec une telle harmonie, et avec tant de dou
ceur et de discretion que je n'ai jamais eu de trouble en l'esprit qui ne se
soit dissipé en cette compagnie. Chacun s'efforçait de contribuer de qu'il
avoit de meilleur en cette honneste société." (CJ'estament, 208-9.)
PEIRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY 9
cat, investigations mostly performed with the active coop
eration of the philosopher Gassendi. Other documents in
the volume include extracts from correspondence exchanged
by Peiresc with Saumaise, Aubery, and Naudé on the chame
leon, records of conversations with foreign visitors, and an
account of Egypt. The implication is certainly that one
of the advantages which his friends obtained from their
relations with Peiresc-the free and open-handed commu
nication of information about matters of natural science
was also of benefit to the Dupuys, whose interests were
apparently as universal as those of anyone of their day.
The purpose with which the Cabinet was conducted is a
matter on which those whose interest has been aroused by
this landmark of seventeenth century Paris differ. Isaac
Uri, writing on Guyet, a member of predominantly philo
logical �nterests, is inclined to regard the body as chiefly
literary and philological, occasionally commenting on some
new production by Balzac or Chapelain, but returning at
once to its serious purpose of the investigation of classic
texts and the discussion of meanings and morphology. Such
members as Fortin de la Hoguette, whose interests do not
fit in with this limited notion of the company's tastes and
interests, are relegated to footnotes and listed among those
whose presence cannot be explained.
It seems, however, that the purpose and interests of the
Cabinet undergo a very definite evolution in the course of
the eighty years of its existence. At no time does there
seem to have been a constitution or set of laws binding the
members to one limited course of procedure; the membership
at any moment could turn the meetings to any end that
suited their purposes, with the sole necessity of satisfying
the tastes and ideals of their hosts. We have seen that in
1621 Fortin de la Hoguette was pleased to hear that news
It: 7 =
of war and politics was appreciated by the company; we shall

not be surprised to note that by far the larger proportion of
letters sent in regular series to leaders in the Cabinet in Paris
in the forties and fifties of the century are nothing more nor
less than news-sheets of the sort read in taverns and coffee
houses, except that the writers are usually in a position to
give more authentic information about events and policies
than the nouvellistes à la main and the gazette-writers of the
day. Uri sees in volume 18 of the Fonds Dupuy a series of
letters of literary news from Ismael Boulliau, the celebrated
astronomer and librarian, who was traveling in Italy and the
Levant in 1645; for us the volume in question is a collection
of news letters of a general nature, in which books figure
largely as is natural for such a writer and recipient, but in
which the political and scientific news is of equal or greater
importance.
A further glimpse of the nature of the Cabinet in the
period between the latter years of the reign of Louis XIII and
its disappeara'nce about 1662 from a significant place in the
life of Paris is offered by a passage in Wicquefort's Mémoires
touchant les Ambassadeurs, a handy guide for the young dip
lomat, with copious illustrations from a career that had seen
many capital cities and the interior of the Bastille for an
indiscreet letter about the family of Mazarin and the love
affairs of Louis XIV. Here, speaking of the social code of
the ambassadors to Court of France, he says:
"Not so very long ago, even during the ministry of the Cardinal de Riche
lieu, the Ambassadors and other public ministers, who for special considera.
tions did not visit each other, used to meet two or three times a week in
the house of Mlle de Senneterre, aunt of the Maréchal de la Ferté, where they
learned everything that was going on in the world of affairs. For some time
there were assemblies in the house of Madame Desloges, but these were
prohibited when the power she held over the mind of the Duc d'Orléans was
discovered. Since the death of Mlle de Senneterre, the Cabinet of Mes-
PEIRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY II
sieurs Dupuy, and later that of M. de Thou was opened to them; but inso.
far as al! sorts of persons of rank and ability were received there, the Am.
bassadors were tacitly excluded, preferring not to appear in such large
companies."2
Wicquefort was in a position to know; he had spent thirty

two years in Paris as Resident of the Elector of Brandenburg.
On his release from the Bastille, he was banished to Rolland
and received a pension from Mazarin in exchange for writing
secret advices on the conduct of De Thou, French Ambassa
dor at the Hague, whose Paris house was the new home of the
Cabinet.
The impression that this assembly was a bureau for the
exchange of foreign news is strengthened by a reading of the
letters exchanged by Boulliau and the new moderator, de la
Rivière, in May of 1657. Having repeated the latest re
ports received in Paris, de la Rivière remarks that the Cabi
net is not what it used to be in this respect, that there is so
much ambiguity and confusion in the news that the most
judicious statesman in th.e world could not disentangle the
truth. In general terms, Boulliau agrees, remarking that
he had noticed as much on his return from the Levant in
1647.
The names of those who constituted the Cabinet may be
gathered from the numerous letters which close with greet
ings to a number of members mentioned singly; thus Boul
liau closes a letter from Venice to Jacques Dupuy:
"Je vous supplie tres-humblement de vouloir faire mes tres humbles
baisemains a Mr votre frère, à M" Genou et Board, M r• Sarrau, Sarazin,
Treilleport, Ménage, La Motte, Diodati, Pellaud, Guyet, Hulon, Luillier,
Gassendi, Forget sub conditione, le P. Mersenne et ses confrères, Mr• Bour
delot, Pelletier Trés. de France à grenier de Ferrand, et à tous les autres." 3
2Edition of Cologne, 1676, p. 430.

3Letter of August 19, 1645. Fonds Dupuy 18 f. 13. Original spelling
of names preserved.
A letter of Ménage in the Hohendorf collection in Vienna,

copied in the Nouvelles Acquisitions Françaises of the Bib
liothèque Nationale, 3252, f. 230, mentions the presence of
the Prince de Condé at a conference of the Cabinet in March
of 1647.
The Dupuys left the care of the De Thou library in 1647
to Jacques de la Rivière; they had been appointed to the care
of the Bibliothèque du Roi, and the Cabinet followed them
to their new rooms in the Rue de la Harpe, not far from the
Sorbonne. Pierre died in 1651, and Jacques was lef t the
sole support of the meetings until his own death in 1656. A
list of the principal members in these latter years is given
by "Vigneul-Marville" (Bonaventure d'Argonne) in his
notes to the Mélanges de Littérature collected from the
conferences of the Rouennais Emeric Bigot; these add to our
list the names of Bigot himself, and Grotius, Blondel,
Launoy and Thoynard, each of them well-known scholars of
the day. 4 Still others are indicated by the Abbé de Marolles
in his Mémoires, (II, 219) including du Colombier, the
brothers de Valois, the brothers Sainte-Marthe, du Chesne,
and du Bouchet; from other sources, manuscript letters and
other, we may add Bignon, Montmor, Chapelain, Pelisson,
Nublé, Salmonet, the historian Godefroy, the Protestant
pastor Daillé, and Pierre-Daniel Huet..
More than any other similar body in Paris the Cabinet
seems to have brought men of taste and learning together
in regular meetings for informai discussion under private
auspices, to a considerable degree free from publicity and its
consequent interference and criticism. The membership
was carefully selected, and in the letters one finds recorded
cases of exclusion and dismissal after admission.
4 Mélanges d'Histoire et de Littérature recueillis par M. de Vigneul
Marville, Rotterdam, 1702, III, 214.

PElRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY lJ
Drawing from the numerous letters of the years 1655-1660,

we find that the Cabinet is especially popular, drawing a full
attendance of members even when the Parlement de Paris is
not sitting, and the leisured and legal classes are mostly in
the country. The death of Jacques Dupuy in 1656 brought
about a brief period of uncertainty; some hoped that Boul
liau would be granted the post and some of the revenues of
the deceased, and offered to assist in the provision of exact
and trustworthy news. 5 The desire that the Cabinet should
continue to fulfil its mission among the gentlemen of Paris
was satisfied, although Boulliau obtained neither the post of
Royal Librarian nor the satisfaction of keeping up the meet
ings. As we have seen, the new moderator was the librarian of
the Hôtel de Thou, Jacques de la Rivière; Boulliau went to
Rolland in the company of the newly appointed Ambassador
J acgues-Auguste de Thou (1609-1677) a son of the historian in
whose house the Cabinet had begun; his brother had been
executed with Cinq-Mars in 1642, and he himself had been
compromised in the Parliamentary Fronde. Since then his
conduct had been exemplary, an'd he had a'pparently re
gained the confidence of the government. His name was
an attraction for ail the erudite of Paris, and lent a new
lease of life to the Cabinet.
A volume of the Boulliau papers, Fonds Français 13050,
contains a series of letters which indicate Boulliau's con
tinued interest in the affairs of the Cabinet. By these,
written by La Rivière from April of 1657, we find that
Boulliau was kept well informed of the progress of the newly
revived body, and that its interests were more political than
ever. On June 8 the Cabinet talks only of the retreat from
before Cambrai; in July the numbers are increasing from
6 Letter of Wicquefort ta Boulliau, Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds
Français, 13042, f. rn6.
day to day, there are more than fifty in regular attendance,

four days before Monsieur de Montmor, a wealthy Maître
des Requêtes,6 had corne to take his place with the rest, and
Monsieur de la Galissonière was to make his appearance on
the following day. He adds that the society sends its
greetings to Boulliau, and awaits each Tuesday evening the
arrival of his "Gazette du Nord" with great impatience. 7
From time to time distinguished visitors to Paris were
admitted to the meetings; thus Henry Oldenburg, later
Secretary of the Royal Society of London, who attended
meetings in 1659-1660 in the company of his pupil the youth
ful Richard Jones, records in his Liber Epistolaris 8 that they
have been welcomed to the assembly which meets every day
in the house of De Thou, where everything is discussed, but
especially current events and recent books; he notes further
that he wrote to Boyle that "we have several meetings here
of philosophers and statists which I carry your nevew to, for
to study men as well as books." On his arrival in London
he wrote at some length to La Rivière, 9 sending with the
usual compliments news of the extraordinary events at
tendant upon the return of the Stuarts to England. It does
not appear that Oldenburg's intention to continue his cor
respondence with the Paris circle was carried any further.
A complete and documented history of the Cabinet of the
Dupuys and its influence is a desideratum for our knowledge
of seventeenth century France. Claude Nicaise, in his
'l'raité des Sirènes, (1691) although not the first to contem
plate such a history, was the first to publish some account of
its activities and importance. Uri, whose book we have men-
• See Chapter IV.
7 Fonds Français 13050, ff. 184-197, etc., especially 186, 191, 196, 197.
8 In the Archives of the Royal Society, Burlington House. See Chapter V.
9 Liber Epistolaris, ff54, 56, 65verso.
PElRESC AND THE BROTHERS DUPUY
tioned, approached it from a limited point of view, and to

some extent failed to grasp the significance of the increasing
party among its members who sought in its meetings intel
ligent and authoritative reports and discussion of the affairs
of the world at large. Later writers who have had occasion
to refer to the Cabinet have drawn largely from Nicaise and
Uri, having been quite justifiably discouraged by the enor
mous collection of the Dupuy papers at the Bibliothèque
Nationale, not to mention the thirty-nine volumes of letters
and notes left by Boulliau. Yet a true picture of the erudi
tion of classic France as represented in the Cabinet must
still be sought for in the manuscripts. 10
The Cabinet is important to us in our account of the back
ground of the sciences in France because it set up a tradition
which later patrons of learning found it very hard ta equal.
Ménage, the poet and philologist, held similar meetings in
his house from about 1656 until nearly the end of his life;
Henry Justel, a wealthy Protestant and amateur of antiquity
and the sciences, held meetings which in some measure re
placed those of the Cabinet after its decline in prestige on the
bankruptcy of De Thou about 1662; when the old Hôtel de
Thou passed from the family, the Cabinet was continued by
Salmon, Garde des Rolles des Offices de France; later there
were meetings in the house of one whose name is variously
spelt Vilvault, Villevaut, and occasionally Villevant. At
the very end of the century, Pierre-Daniel Huet, bishop of
Avranches, who had been a member of the company in the
course of visits to Paris in 1658-1662, received friends in
10 That this will not long continue to be the case is the encouraging word
of M. René Pintard, Professeur au Lycée de Sens, who assures me that he
has carefully searched the Fonds Dupuy in preparation for an elaborate
study of the erudite society of France in the first half of the seventeenth
century.
regular meetings after he had retired to the J esuits'; al

though these meetings retain the traditions of the original
foundation, in no case do we find the same galaxy of talent
and the enthusiastic attendance that had characterized the
middle of the century.
CHAPTER II
RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE
None of the numerous private academies and assemblies

which are recorded to have existed in Paris during the first
half of the seventeenth century were as influential or as long
lived as the Cabinet of the Dupuys. Marolles mentions the
assemblies held about 1620-25 by Mademoiselle de Gournay,
the "fille d'alliance" of Montaigne, and adds that these
meetings were the real original of the Académie Française.
The meetings in the house of Conrart which were attended
by Boisrobert and so brought to Richelieu's attention, are
well known. Sorel, in his Discours de l'Académie Française,
which we have cited in the previous chapter, mentions, (p.
175), the assembly of ecclesiastics called by the Archbishop
of Rouen in the Abbaye de Saint Victor in 1631 for the pur
pose of discussion of matters of erudition; he adds that the
assembly was revived a few years later with Campanella as
its moderator.
Meetings of a more scientific nature were held by Des
cartes in his lodgings, rue du Four, about 1626, according
to Baillet; these were later moved to the house of a relative,
Le Vasseur d'Etioles, and became so crowded that Descartes
left the house, took lodgings, and was not discovered for
some weeks. Among his friends at this time were Claude
Hardy, an amateur mathematician and Conseiller au Châte
let; Florimond de Beaune, Conseiller au Présidial de Blois;
Jean-Baptiste Morin, Professeur Royal des Mathématiques;
Balzac, and Picot, the translator of the Principia. Des
cartes would not return to the meetings of his friends; he
left Paris, took part in the siege of La Rochelle, and returned
only two years later. Invited to a private conference on
17
18 RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE
philosophie matters at the house of the Papal Nuntio, he

was so roused by the views he had heard expressed by the
chemist Chandoux that he expounded certain original views
of his own at considerable length. The Cardinal de Bérulle,
founder of the Oratoire, was present, and asked for a private
repetition of the new principles; the place which Descartes
assigned to medicine in his system made an especially strong
appeal, and the young philosopher was urged to complete
his thinking along the new lines; the seriousness with which
the advice was taken up led to his retirement from Paris for
most of the rest of his life.
An account of the public places where scientific matters
were discussed in seventeenth century Paris must of neces
sity include the Conférences du Bureau d'Adresse, although
these meetings do not seem to have rendered much service
to the cause of science. The literature of the century speaks
of them in a most derogatory tone, when it speaks of them
at ail, and in the so-called classic writers they are not men
tioned. Furetière, in his Roman Bourgeois; Sorel, in the
Discours sur l'Académie Française; and Tallemant des
Réaux, in his Historiettes, are the only authors in whose
writings I have found any mention of them; in each case one
cannot but feel that the profit derived from attendance at
them was regarded in the better circles as something vulgar.
Taking these references in order, let us see what the people
of the day thought of this popular institution. Furetière's
mention is of the briefest, but undoubtedly indicates the
type of loafer who found the meetings attractive enough to
be attended:
"The fine gallant who had been suggested for J avotte was also a barrister,
or rather, one who wore his robe and bonnet in the Palais de Justice. The
only time he had appeared at the bar was when he swore to observe the
ordinances. To tell the truth, he kept them well, for he never found an op-
portunity of transgression. For twenty years he had not missed a single

morning in the Palais, and yet he had never held a consultation, drawn an
agreement nor made a plea. In return, he was very much occupied in
discoursing on several false reports published near his pillar and he had held
several consultations on public affairs and on the government, for he mingled
with large groups of idle persans who go every morning to the Palais to dis
cuss news of ail sorts .....In the afternoon he used to go to the Confer
ences of the Office of Address, to the lectures given by the teachers in the
colleges, to the sermons, to the concerts of church music, to see the seller of
Orvietan, and to ail the other public games and amusements which cost
nothing, for he was a man entirely governed by his avarice."1
Sorel is much more kind, and rather more precise in his

estimation of the merits and demerits of the institution. He
offers few details for our use, but the background of the
picture is very satisfactorily indicated:
"We have also seen the Conferences on various questions of Physics and
Ethics (Morale) which used to take place at the Office of Address in the
house of Theophraste Renaudot, its director; no end is attained in treating
them with contempt because of the variety of affairs which were carried on
there, such as the sale and distribution of the Gazettes, and the consultation
there permitted of the registers of investments and of houses for sale, and
because of the valets found for hire there, the money loaned on security,
the unredeemed goods for sale by auction, which sometimes made this house
a real second-hand shop. That did not prevent its appearing at other hours
a school of philosophers; and one may say that its various uses were created
to make it a mode! of our civilization, and a mirror of human life. As for
its disputes or doctrinal discourses, although they were not performed with
as much formality and order as they might have received in the houses of
the nobility, yet they represented what a private person could achieve; and
in comparison with many others this assembly has had this excellence, that
there remain four volumes of its conference for the four years that it lasted
in which one may find many great curiosities." 2
Tallemant des Réaux makes the lower-class nature of the

conferences still more plain; speaking of the novelist La
Calprenède he says:
1 Furetière, Le Roman Bourgeois, Amsterdam, Mortier, 1714, I, rr1-rr3.
• Discours sur l'Académie, Paris, 1654, p.176.
'.20 RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE
"He came to Paris very young, and a!though he played the man of rank,
he was long one of the buttresses of the Bureau of Address, and never missed
attending the conferences. "3
For the low esteem in which contemporaries seem to have

held the Bureau of Address there are perhaps two or three
reasons. Without family support and social standing,
Renaudot had put himself in a position which was a great
annoyance to the members of the Faculty of Medicine, in
particular to Gui Patin, its dean. Born in Loudun, in
Poitou, in I 586, his medical training had been obtained in
Montpellier, where certain things were taught which the
Paris Faculty did not regard as sound. He was a journalist,
the first in the city, who published in a quarto pamphlet the
news of the week, received from correspondents all over
Europe and the Levant; this part of his activities annoyed
Gabriel Naudé and others of the Cabinet Dupuy, who dis
liked publicity for many questions of policy and principles.
And as Sorel admitted, his associations were not at all digni
fied; the mont de piété, the employment exchange, the free
consultations, the second-hand shop, the classified adver
tisements-all of these brought large numbers of undesirables
to the House of the Great Cock in the centre of the Ile de la
Cité, between the Palais de Justice and the Hôtel-Dieu,
where he set up his Office of Address.
A Poitevin, as are others who figure in the story we are
telling, Boulliau, Richesource, de Sallo among others, Renau
dot had corne to Paris with the purpose of serving a class
that found doctors and medicine an impossible luxury.
Taking his text from a passage in Montaigne, in which the
essayist relates that his father had often thought how useful
it would be if in every large city there were a place where
men who had things to sell could list their commodities and
3 Historiettes, Paris, 18 57, VI, p. 382.
RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE 21
meet prospective customers, Renaudot set up an inclusive

organization to handle a large number of services, among
them those indicated above. Many of these were appre
ciated by the population of Paris; others were not. Sorne
the free clinic and dispensary, for example-were so much
liked and used that Renaudot suffered from the animosity of
a powerful and vested interest, the medical profession.
The weekly conferences began some time in 1633, and
almost at once Renaudot started publication of a weekly
pamphlet with an account of the last discussion and an
announcement of the next. Reprinted in book form, the
collected Conférences du Bureau d' Adresse had an enormous
vogue, appearing in various formats both in Paris and Lyons
down to at least 1673, sometimes without even acknowledg
ment of their source. From the titles of the conferences one
gathers an impression of the immense variety of intellectual
fare offered to the public of Paris; this impression is height
ened by the manner in which the conferences were conducted,
for the word conférence is here used in its primitive sense of a
comparison or collation of views, a bringing together of ideas
with the purpose of making a complete description of the
subject of discussion. Not only is there always more than
one speaker, sometimes even six or seven, but they seem to
have been chosen the better to contrast the most opposite
of views, the philosophy of the schools with the most modern
and naturalistic views in vogue. 4
• Sorne scholars are inclined to see in the weekly Feuilles du Bureau d'Ad
resse the first scientific periodical. Surely however journalism enters the
world of learning with the Journal des Savants in 1665, when for the first
time we find the reports of new discoveries and books in a periodical pub
lication. Even a casual reader cannot fail to perceive the difference be
tween the repetitious and dogmatic theorizing of the pamphlets of Renaudot
and the lively news-sense which characterizes the work of de Sallo, Gallois,
and their English competitor, Oldenburg. See Chapter IX.
To the collected edition of the Conferences published in

I 636 and thereafter Renaudot prefixed an Avis au Lecteur
which indicated briefly certain of the conditions under which
his work was clone. He begins by excusing the necessity for
the anonymity of the thousands of persons of rank who have
taken part in the conferences, the chief condition they have
imposed upon him, some in order to leave everyone free to
judge according to his own opinion, which is not infrequently
disturbed by the acquaintance of the speaker, others in order
to find without revealing their identity the judgment the
public would form of their deductions, in every case by reason
of a modesty as praiseworthy in them as it is harmful to the
public. We cannot but regret with Renaudot the almost
complete absence of indication of the public from which his
speakers and audiences were drawn. He was unable or
unwilling to draw up a program for the discussions in the
assembly; the choice of topics was decided by the public, as
he found that in that way lay the best chance of satisfying
so many diverse elements. Nor could he use the views
expressed to corne to any conclusion; the persona! factor was
always to be reckoned with, the injured vanity of the person
against whom Renaudot might decide in any given case
might lead at length to intervention of the sort the free
clinic and the employment office could least afford.
Certain parts of this Avis are of interest as indicating the
more popular phases of the scepticism of the earlier part of
the century. We can do no better than to quote:
"It may be that some would have preferred that we had not allowed any
opinion to be put forward contrary to that held by the School. That, how
ever seems to be repugnant to the freedom of our understanding, which
would !ose its name ifit remained entirely enslaved to the rad ofa magisterial
authority, to which the humor ofour nation adapts itselfless than any other.
And daily experience shows us that there is nothing more harmful to learn
ing than to prevent the search for truth, which appears chiefly in the opposi
tion of contraries."
Already one sees the opposition to scholastic logic based

on a practical end; the syllogism, the corner-stone of the
defense of theses, may serve well enough in metaphysical
arguments between professional disputants, but if a topic
is to be discussed in society, without professional ends, some
thing less conclusive must be sought. The anti-syllogistic
spirit here expressed is not so much founded on a new logic,
Baconian induction for example, as in the desire to establish
an etiquette for the conferences to corne. The democratic
spirit has already mined the foundations of the School.
"In short, the Colleges will hardly suffer a proposition to be set forth
which seems mistaken to them, without arising at once to set another up
against it; and they find that the most certain method of uncovering this
truth is the syllogism. But social intercourse being incompatible with the
manner of argumentation practised in the schools, and these disputes and
contradictions obscuring not only ail the charm and pleasure of the conversa
tion, but finishing usually in open quarre! and pedantic insults, one of the
chief cares we have taken to prevent them has been to persuade each speaker
that he was in no wise bound to sustain what he had advanced, and that the
opinion once proposed was a fruit exhibited to the company, the ownership
of which should interest no one any longer."
A further description of Renaudot's purpose in establish

ing and maintaining the conferences is found in the Deux
Cent LXXXV Conférence du Lundy 4 Mars I64I. De la
Conférence et si c'est la plus instructive sorte d'enseigner, in
whièh an unnamed speaker, perhaps the Gazetier himself,
outlines the comparative merits of a variety of educational
systems, and decides for his own:
"The Conference as practised in this house these eight years makes ail
sorts of people admit its utility, as it is impossible that an institution should
last so long if it had not proved highly beneficial. This it is which has been
the reason, that having been carried on at first without the keeping of a
written record, it has been found good not only to record on paper so many
fine thoughts, a part of which would have escaped the memory of hearers,
but also to print and publish them, as has been done regularly since tha t
time, with a popularity known to ail. Thus, of all the notable inventions to
which the Bureau of Address has given birth, the King his authority, and
public favor advancement, there has been only this conference which has had
neither contradictors nor opposition. Indeed it may well boast of having
produced others, and given publicity to several wits who had previously
held themselves hidden and buried in the dust of the schools, between which,
the pulpit and the bar, as of old the public declamations, it is today a middle
path, uniting agreeably these two extremities, for those who are fresh from
school are incapable of the life of the court and of other places where they
must appear. This incapacity springs rather from the harshness of the
terms of the Schools, and from the stubborn humor which Scholars con tract
ordinarily in dispute, where they learn never to yield, which is one of the
most disobliging qua!ities and the most inappropriate in company that a
man can bring.. . . . If Man is truly said to be a social animal, his Soul
being the best part of him, then his education can be attained only by
Conference, which is the commerce of souls."
The conferences began, as we have said, some time before

the summer of 1633, and were discontinued in 1642, when
the successive deaths of Richelieu and Louis XIII removed
the sole defense of Renaudot and his Bureau d' Adresse
against the unrestr�ined fury of the Faculty of Medicine.
The evidence is that they were very popular, attracting large
crowds to the Maison du Grand Coq every Montlay after
noon. The nature of the discourses which have been pre
served shows that any purpose which can be called pedagogic
must have been of the vaguest, and very uncertain of .the
ends to be achieved.
Renaudot tells us that the subjects for discussion were
chosen according to the taste of his audience; if so, one can
but conclude that their curiosity had no limits. In addition
to discussions of terms of philosophy, definitions of such
words as Entity, Method, Resemblance, First Matter,
Cause, one finds elaborate treatment of various topics of
popular morality and conduct-Drunkenness, Dancing,
Slavery, the education of women, the reading of novels, the

character of the French, the social status of trade. Numer
ous subjects are chosen from the world of simple objects
surrounding the ordinary man in Paris-Air, Water, Fire,
Ice, Earth, Atoms, Glass, Tobacco, Dew-as well as from
the marvelous, Unicorns, Satyrs, the Phoenix, the Mandrake,
Sibyls, Amulets, the Sympathetical Powder. Of topics
from Renaudot's own experience of practical medicine one
notes the following: Gout, Mineral Waters, the relative
value of water and wine for soldiers, the value of chemical
remedies, the advantages for health and longevity of lean
ness as opposed to fatness; the balancing of the merits of a
large dinner with a large supper. More general questions
reflect the literature and thought of the day; there is an
echo of Descartes' Discours sur la Méthode in the discussion
of why everyone thinks himself sufficiently provided with
wit, and of the sceptical current of the period in the question
whether one would be better off to know all that is known
than in knowing all that is not.
The general type for the conferences approximates to what
we know as a symposium or forum; a speaker opens the dis
cussion, and is followed by others who supplement or con
tradict what has been said; sometimes there are as many as
six disputants. There is never any due as to the identity of
the persons participating. At first there were two subjects
of discussion for each session, followed by the demonstration
of simple experiments in physics; one finds a gradual speciali
zation, first the physics, then the second topic, being dropped.
ln 1636 the Centurie des �,uestions 'I"raictées dans le Bu
reau d'Adresse, was edited in Paris, with dedication, title
page and Avis au Lecteur. Of this collected edition the
fifth and last volume appears in 1655, after the death of
Renaudot; in the next twenty years there are numerous
reprints. A complete bibliography is needed, but cannot

be made until the Bibliothèque Nationale has brought to
light the editions which lie hidden in its present photographie
catalogue of the latter half of the alphabet and anonymous
works. Meanwhile we can but signal a chance discovery
in the library at Princeton University; a duodecimo which
adds further evidence of the popularity of the conferences
and indicates the use of the collection as a topical encyclo
pedia.5 The title-page of this reprint is so misleading that
it is a curiosity in itself:
L'Academie/des/ Beaux Esprits,/contenant/ Ce qu'il y a de plus beau

et de plus/curieux à sçavoir, de !'Histoire,/de la Morale, de la Philoso
phie,/de la Theologie, de la Jurispru-/dence, & de tous les Arts et Sci
ences./ Agitez dans les/ Conferances de l'Academie/Françoise./A Paris,
/Chez Iean Baptiste Loyson, au/Palais à l'entrée de la Salle des Merciers,
/ du costé de la Sainte Chapelle,/ à la Croix d'Or. M.DC.LXXIII. Avec
Privilege du Roi.
There is a table of contents headed "De l'Accademie des

baux Esprits," and a "Preface sur les Conferences Publiques,"
taken from the authentic editions. Unknown to those who
have written on Renaudot, this volume shows the use of the
titles of the Académie Française with reference to a very
different establishment.
Appearing forty years after the establishment of the
public discussions in the Bureau d'Adresse, this partial
reprint appears in a time when academic publications are
very much in vogue. In addition to the learned journals,
begun in 1665, and the numerous scientific pamphlets of the
time, one notes the publications from Bourdelot's Academy
by Le Gallois, (1672, 1673-4) and Boccone, (1670--1674),
6 Professor Strowski informs me that he has seen this edition in Bordeaux.
Perhaps it exists elsewhere.

and from Denis's Assemblée as a supplement to the 'Journal

des Savants, (1672-74).
According to the monograph of M. Revillout, Un Maître
de conférences au milieu du XVIIe siècle, 'Jean de Soudier
de Richesource, published in Montpellier in 1881, the con
ferences of Renaudot were the inspiration for a series of as
semblies of more definitely pedagogical purpose. Born in
Renaudot's native town Loudun, about 1620, Richesource
came to Paris before the end of the Conférences du Bureau
d'Adresse, in which it is not unlikely that he played an active
part. He began lessons in eloquence in 1649, and four
years later he organized his Conférences Académiques et
Oratoires, in which rhetoric seems to have been emphasized
at the expense of philosophy. An announcement of Octo
ber 1655 says that he will hold a weekly assembly of savants
in his house on Mondays, at which no fee is requested; that
he will give lessons in philosophy in private assemblies for
which he asks a fee; and that he will hold two assemblies per
week (no mention of fees) in which philosophers, poets, and
orators are to be discussed, the pupils taking part in the
second. Of course Richesource does not figure in the history
of science in France; he does help to illustrate the influence
of Renaudot, and to account for the confusion of senses in
the use of the word académie, which means not only a learned
society but is used for numerous types of educational institu
tion, schools of manly exercise, classical languages, oratory,
sometimes science. Richesource obtained the protection of
Foucquet; his most noted pupil was the preacher Fléchier,
who studied oratory with him for three years. It seems
that after about 1666 his academy lost popular support,
and that the latter part of his life was spent in misery. Le
Maire, author of a guidebook to Paris in 1684, lists the con
ferences of de Richesource, "en vertu des Lettres Patentes du
2.8 RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE
Roy, dans son Académie des Philosophes Orateurs," in his

house on the Place Dauphine.
Another influence which Renaudot may not unreasonably
be said to have exercised lies across the channel, in England.
The British Museum possesses a collection of five quarto
pamphlets (press number 8462..b.13), translations of five of
the �,uestions du Bureau d' Adresse. Each title page bears a
serial number, one to five, in the upper right corner, as well
as the following explanation:
"Being one of those Questions handled in the weekly Conferences of

Monsieur Renaudot's Bureau d'addresses, at Paris. Translated into
English, anno 1640. London, printed by R. B. for Iasper Emery, at the
Eagle and Child in Saint Pauls Church-yard, neere Saint Augustines
Gate."
The tapies are, (1) Whether there be nothing new; (2.)

Which is most to be esteemed, an inventive wit, judgment,
or courage; (3) Whether truth begets hatred, and why;
(4) Of the cock, and whether his crowing do affright the
lion; and (5) Why dead bodies bleed in the presence of their
murtherers. The first and fourth of these exist in the Har
leian tracts at the Museum, and have been reprinted in the
Harleian Miscellany.
The two folio volumes of the General Collection of the
Discourses of the Virtuosi of France translated from Renau
dot's Conférences du Bureau d'Adresse by G. Havers and
published in London in 1664-65 are an obvious response to
public interest in the newly founded Royal Society. The
letter of dedication to the Honourable Anchitell Gray re
marks that these discourses "are extremely well fitted both
for instruction and pleasure, they handle weighty questions
with great facility; and what would be a load in the ordinary
modes of writing thereupon, is here as fully and substan-
tially delivered, and yet with exceeding Elegancy and per

spicuity." A preface to the second volume relates this publi
cation to current events;
"The good reception a Volume of the Iike conferences appears to
have tound last year by the speedy distribution of the copies, hath given
encouragement to the Version and Publication of this; wherein I assure
myself the readers will not find themselves worse entertained at the second
course than they were at the first; the questions here being proportionably
more philosophical, and chosen from such subjects as are most inquired
into at this time by the curious of our own nation, who undoubtedly will
find some contentment (if not satisfaction) in reading what the virtuosi of
our Neighbour-Nation have discoursed touching these matters •..• "
To this preface is added a translation of Eusèbe Renaudot's

discourse explaining the nature of the conferences and the
purpose of the speakers. We note that the conferences "are
the production of an assembly of the choicest wits in France,
whose design it was to rescue the liberal sciences from the
bondage of Scholastical Obscurities, and to render Things
intelligible without obliging the studious to the unpleasing
task of first surmounting the difficulties of Exotick Words.
To which purpose they judged fit to establish this as a
principal Law of their discourses, That only the French
Language should be used therein, in order to cultivate and
improve the same."
It is further very probable that Renaudot's Discours
sur l' Utilité des Bureaux d' Adresse, printed in the Mercure
François for 1637, (XX, 57 ff.) outlining the history and
purpose of his public services, is, with the addition of the
impressions of travelers, the stimulus which produced the
Office of Intelligence set up in London in 1638 by Captain
Robert Innes under Letters Patent from Charles I. It is
almost certain that Renaudot's activity in Paris was partly
responsible for Samuel Hartlib's transformation of the
Comenian scheme for a pansophic college into a project for a

self-supporting and utilitarian Office of Address for Commu
nications as expounded in his discourses of 1647-48, and
for which he worked during the latter years of his life. As
neither of these institutions reached an important place
in English life we may safely leave them aside as curios of the
academic current.
The end of the varied activities of the Bureau d' Adresse
was discouraging not only for Renaudot, but also for those
who hoped for the liberalizing of official intellectual activities
in Paris. His advocacy of modern remedies and his estab
lishment of free clinics and dispensaries for the poor led
directly to conflict with the faculty of medicine. As his
chief patrons and protectors, Louis XIII and Richelieu,
had both died in 1642, he was left without defense against
parties who had the support of Mazarin and Anne of Austria.
An unfortunately premature approval of antimony gave
the Faculty a majority verdict in both the Châtelet and the
Palais de Justice, and in successive decisions of December 9,
1643,and March 1, 1644,he and his adherents were forbidden
not only the practise of medicine and ail rights of assembly
for any purpose whatever inside Paris, but also the continu
ance of the charitable consultations, money-lending, chem
ical activities, and the employment agency. From this
time Renaudot remains the journalist until the end of his
life in 1653, nine years as troubled for him as any he had
seen.
Among the subjects discussed at the Conferences du Bu
reau d' Adresse one finds a question, Whether the French
tangue be su.fficient for learning ail the sciences, a question that
sprang naturally from the sixteenth century desire to create a
literature that would speak French as naturally as classic
literatures spoke Greek or Latin. To do this required a step
RENAUDOT AND MERSENNE JI
beyond the program of the poets, the invention of an exact

and scientific vocabulary; when that is achieved, then, says
J.-P. de Mesmes, in his Institutions Astronomiques:
"Then, as I hope, the best French wits will no longer consume the best
part of their early years in speaking and writing learnedly in Greek and
Latin, as they do today, because they will foresee that man's life is of little
duration, the arts and sciences long, difficult of comprehension, and more
difficult to practise and use by means of foreign words."6
The history of the movement which is noticeable through

out the seventeenth century to leave Latin for the specialists,
and to develop a modern language which will say anything
the modern man desires to express, is too complicated to
elaborate here; associated with its success are the influences
of several institutions, chief among which are the Académie
Française, the Académie de Richelieu-the school for young
gentry set up in his native town by the Cardinal-the
Faculté libre maintained at the Bureau d'Adresse by Renau
dot, and the learned periodical review. Among the authors
who develop the ideal of de Mesmes are Cureau de la Cham
bre, J.-A. Le Tenneur, probable author of a Discours de la
Manière d'expliquer les sciences en François dédié à Messieurs
de l'Académie Françoise, (Paris, 4to, 1640), J. Le Laboureur,
and others, ail writers of tracts or books on behalf of the
movement for the use of French in scientific works.
Considerable currency was given to the language of the
new sciences by the French writings of Marin Mersenne the
Minorite father whose correspondence with Descartes and
the scientists of Italy was of such value to the investigators
of Paris. Born in a village of le Maine in the same year as
Hobbes, 1 588, educated among the Jesuits at La Flèche,
where he met Descartes, taking to mathematical studies and
6 Paris, Vascosan, 1557. Cited by Maupin, II, 9.
the natural sciences from the earliest part of his life, Mer
senne is responsible perhaps more than any other single
person for the establishment of the intellectual centre of
Europe in Paris during the middle third of the seventeenth
century. Of prime importance in this connection is his
universal correspondence; there is hardly a figure of im
portance in the learned world who does not appear in the
pages of his letters. From ail parts of Europe news of the
advancement of the sciences came to the convent "des pères
Minimes, proche la Place Royale"; and thence went the
prized letters of the reverend father, written in their own
peculiar, cramped, and ail but illegible hand, with the pre
cious news of Descartes, Morin, Fermat, Torricelli or Galileo.
But from the point of view of Paris, Mersenne's most im
portant work was the foundation and maintenance of the
conferences which brought together with more or Jess regu
larity the mathematicians and physicists, Gassendi, Desar
gues, Roberval, Descartes, the Pascals, father and son, as
well as a dozen or more others Jess well known. These
meetings belong, with the conferences of the Bureau d'Ad
resse and the rise of the Académie Française, to the vogue
which such things had in the last fifteen years of the reign of
Louis XIII. They seem to have existed almost continu
ously from about 1635 to the end of Mersenne's life in 1648,
and to have been carried on thereafter by his friend the
Abbé Picot, then by Le Pailleur, and still later by Montmor.
The bond of ail such organizations is a pleasing person
ality; the case is particularly so with Mersenne. He seems
to have had no enemies, except the difficult Englishman
Fludd; ail those who came into contact with him remark not
only on the universai learning which was his, but also on the
sweetness and charm of his speech, the gentleness of his
temper, the naïveté which won its way to the hearts of ail
his hearers. Hilarion de Coste, another Minime, published
in 1649 an ail too brief account of Mersenne's life; the few
but precious biographical details are supplemented by a
lengthy list of the persans who had relations of one sort or
another with him. De Coste cites forty authors who have
spoken well of Mersenne in their books, sixty-seven eccle
siastics and more than a hundred laymen among his friends,
including Germans, English, Dutch, and Italians, and lists
seventy-eight correspondents scattered over Europe whose
letters were found in his cell after his death. With a few
additions, this list affords an ample basis for the statement
that Mersenne had the most important system of commu
nications in the scientific world of his day. Many of the
letters found by De Coste are in the three volumes of the
Bibliothèque Nationale, but one notes with regret that of
many of the individual groups of letters the earlier are lost.
On the other hand, the letters written by Mersenne seem
on the whole to have been regarded with esteem; in the
British Museum, the libraries of Rolland, Italy and some of
the smaller cities of France, and elsewhere, there are col
lections of his letters. Sorne of these have been published,
those to Descartes, to the Huygens, father and son, to
Galileo, Torricelli, and Peiresc, among others. Still further
letters may be found scattered singly or in small groups from
Hooke's Philosophical Collections of 168 l to the present day.
The completion of the edition of the entire body of the cor
respondence undertaken by Madame Paul Tannery with
the assistance of M. Cornelis de Waard will facilitate a
complete and authoritative treatment of the evolution of
the ideas of Mersenne, and should much enlarge our knowl
edge of his contemporaries.
For Mersenne the technique and method of the new
sciences were of importance because they freed man's mind
from err.or. This is clearly shown in such a book as his

f!luestions 'l'héologiques, Physiques, Morales, et Mathéma
tiques, (1634), in which a large number of simple scientific
problems are discussed on a basis of rationalism in the light
of the latest data available. In his preface he says that he
hopes the discussions are long enough to avoid the difficulties
which lie in too brief analysis of practical problems, and
that he hopes the book will encourage others to bring forth
the results of their observations in similar matters. For
those who seek longer explanations he refers to his Préludes
del' Harmonie and his book of Méchaniques.
Most of the f!luestions 'l'héologiques are problems of phy
sics and chemistry; one finds a few questions about the
universe in general for good measure. A complete or satis
factory analysis of the book is obviously impossible here; one
can but indicate some of the topics discussed, and hint at the
medley of philosophy and physics which characterizes the
book as a whole. In answer to his First Question, What are
the principal curiosities to which men devote themselves?
he distinguishes between the necessary arts of life and the
things that may be omitted, of which the latter are the
curiosities. Then he makes a characteristic comment:
"Now men show by their behavior and their 'activities that they give
more time to the curiosities than to the necessities, for the Canadois and
several other races show by their manner of living that reading and writing
and ail the arts of which I shall speak hereafter are quite unnecessary, and
consequently that they may be numbered among the curiosities."
At the end of the book he returns to this theme, noting that

these arts of curiosity are the things most typical of man,
and that their improvement is to be sought above al! things.
Severa! Questions offer summaries of certain books either
specifically described as new or whose newness may be sur
mised from the context. The third Question discusses Jean
Rey's recent work on the increase in the weight of tin after
calcination, the fourth outlines Galileo's work on the rela
tion of the rate of fall to the distance traversed. The sev
enth describes recent experiments designed to develop a
theory of practical ballistics, discovering the trajectory and
maximum range of cannon balls and the projectiles from an
arquebus; the eighth discusses the line of direction in mechan
ics, while the twelfth devotes fifteen pages to the perennial
tapie of the discovery of longitudes at sea. A propos of Jean
Rey's work, he notes that the author's communication of
his results is something in which "the Chemists and those who
work in metals are greatly deficient, for if they commu
nicated the numerous and notable observations they make
in their work, many excellent minds would be able to draw
conclusions from them in order to set up some certitude in
physics, so useful for the life and the society of men." In
spite of his respect for the "curiosities," the utilitarian atti
tude is never very far from the minds of these early writers
in the sciences. Thus in Question XV he turns to the cur
rent mania for making perpetual motion machines:
"lt would be a fine thing if one could disabuse al! those who waste their
time in the search for an artificial perpetual motion, in order that they would
use it for things that are possible and useful, for there is no doubt that they
would succeed in making a number of machines, both pneumatic and hy
draulic, as well as the chemists do in their salts and essences, if no one of
them ever worked at their inventions except when demonstration had shown
them the possibility of successful performance."7
In Questions XVI and XVII he rejects without hesitation

the quadrature of the circle, as also the efficacy of talismans
and amulets; then he proceeds to say that the stars were not
created for the earth and mankind, but for other ends un
specified. Such a study as conic sections, on the other
7 §2uestions 'Théologiques, p. 76.
hand, is useful in the making of lenses and burning mirrors,

and in solving problems of refraction and reflection. (Ques
tion XIX).
Mersenne's position as an officer of liaison between the
conservative forces of the church and the somewhat up
setting philosophy of the new sciences needs a certain
amount of elaboration. That he retained the respect of the
men of science of his own day and of their successors clown
to at least the end of the century is a remarkable sign of his
real ability; that he should die in friendly relations with a
long list of ecclesiastics, without a word of suspicion directed
against either his beliefs or his behavior, speaks of native
piety and a shrewd prudence. André Pineau, writing to his
uncle, the Pasteur Rivet, director of the Academy of Breda,
on September I I, I 648, records the sentiments of many
contemporaries:
"The first of this month .... was the end of the life of the Huguenot
Monk, your admirer and friend, to wit, Father Mersenne, in his sixtieth
year, in the infirmary of his convent. His illness lasted three weeks, a
continued fever, caused by an abscess which had formed between the Jung
and the spleen. This is what I have learned from one of his Minorite
brothers, who are nothing but scullions in comparison with him. You
know that he did not believe ail his religion, even to the Baptism of Bells;
also that he was one of those who are glad enough to see church service clone,
and that he dared not often repeat his Breviary for fear of spoiling his good
Latin. Requiescat in pace." 8•
8 Leiden University, Manuscripts B.P.L. IV, 286 f. 60. "Le 1•r de ce

mois et son commencement, fut la fin de la vie du Moine Huguenot, qui
étoit v&tre admirateur & ami, à sçavoir Le P. Mersenne, en sa 60• année,
dans l'infirmerie de son Convent. Sa maladie a duré 3 semaines, qui étoit
une fiévre continüe, causée par un abscez, qui s'étoit formé entre le poômon
& la rate. C'est ce que j'ay appris d'un de ses Fréres Minimes, qui ne sont
que des vrais Coupe-choux au prix de Lui. Vous sçavés qu'il ne croyoit
pas toute sa Religion, jusques au Baptesme des cloches. Aussi étoit-il de
ceux de sa robe qui aiment bien besongne <l'Eglise faite, & il n'osoit dire
souvent son Breviaire, de peur de giter son bon Latin. Requiescat in pace."
Pineau's comment is that of a not very critical young Pro
testant, but it is honest opinion, stated in one of a long
series of letters to his uncle, and presumably confidential.
Mersenne had been for many years a correspondent of Rivet;
the Rivetiana, the collection from which this quotation is
taken, contains seventy-four of his letters.
The impression of Mersenne's liberalism is strengthened
by the forty-fifth of the �,uestions 'l'héologiq ues, in which the
possibility of teaching the mobility of the earth in the schools
is discussed:
"Severa! have attempted since Aristarchus and Copernicus to prove
that the earth moves every day on its axis, and each year around the sun,
but no one has given us reasons which can force the intelligent, who yield
only to demonstration when it is a question of the things of nature, to
embrace this opinion."
If this statement did not represent the truth of the matter as

seen by a cautious investigator of the early seventeenth
century, it would look like another example of the aristoteli
anism of the preceding age; as it stands and in the light of
what follows, it is an enlightening comment on the declara
tion of the Roman Cardinals which he quotes at length.
His conclusion places the whole situation very clearly:
"But it must be noticed that it is not the intention of the censors to pre
vent the calculation of eclipses and of the movement of heavenly bodies by
the method of Copernicus, since this action does no harm to the Scriptures
and is not contrary to their decision. And if scholars were to proceed with
more discretion and prudence in the sciences, they would not be so subject
to censorship, and would have no occasion to complain nor to retract."
Thus it is clear that for Mersenne one retractation of the

conclusions or hypotheses of the new sciences does more harm
than a discreet and leisurely advancement against the views
which have the sanction of ages and ecclesiastical authority.
ln this his opinions are shared by such ecclesiastics as Pei-
resc, Gassendi, Boulliau, and others, who feel that contro

versies on such matters discredit both the church and
science, and that disagreement on questions not susceptible
of proof should not be allowed publicity. These men feel
that the church has no need of alchemy to prove its doctrines,
nor does science need religious sanctions to render it useful
to men. The two have different fonctions, different duties
to perform, and need not interfere with each other's activities.
The manner of litei-ary presentation which Mersenne
adopts seems strange in a branch of writing which demands
more than most the subordination of traditional formal
structure to the exigencies of content. His questions, with
their discursive responses, and his dialogues between men of
straw make the unity of his thought obscure, and the argu
ments unreal; the Christian Philosopher, the Alchemist, and
the Sceptic of La Vérité des Sciences are impossible types, who
could never under any circumstances have heard each other's
arguments to the end. There is difficulty in following the
author's line of thought; the points which are convincingly
made are obscured by masses of protective verbiage. A
cautious circumspection seems to have been necessary in an
age when censorship was completely arbitrary, and the
events of a few months could make a serious and thoughtful
publication the ground of a prosecution for heresy.
Nor is prudence the only cause of the forms which Mer
senne gives his books. We have spoken of the tradition of
Platonism which lies behind the academies and which is the.
cause of much of their opposition to the schools as homes of
Aristotelianism. The content of the thought was not the
only heritage of the seventeenth century writers; with the
philosophy a share of the form remained, and Mersenne's
writing follows easily in the tradition. He was not the last
to use the old forms; one finds the dialogue used by Boyle in
didactic writing such as the Sceptical Chymist, and in a limited

number of similar works on science and philosophy clown to
the present day.
His use of "Questions" associates him more directly to the
Renaissance from which he sprang; here, as in the first pub
lications of the Bureau d'Adresse, is the echo of such books
as Ortensio Lando's �uattro Libri de Dubbi, (Venice, I 5 52,
8vo) and thus of a long series of productions which go back
to the questions discussed in the courts of love in the later
middle ages. The influence of the Renaissance was to
amplify the field of literature to include literary criticism,
antique lore, and moral and theological philosophizing.
Following directly upon that the scientific current turns the
old forms to a new use in the books of Mersenne, as well as
in the numerous and popular books ofRecreations, beginning
with the production of Bachet de Méziriac at the opening of
the century.
Even a cursory reading of Mersenne creates the impression
that his thought is not a strongly individual production, that
it is a product of tradition and circumstance, of his reading,
and the conversation and communications of his friends.
Beginning in the realm of theology and metaphysics he
moves very definitely with his times towards the ends and
methods of the natural sciences and mathematics. Un
doubtedly his contact with some of the leaders in the scien
tific movement, such as Descartes and the Italian disciples of
Galileo, was responsible for his evolution; it is equally
certain that only the habits of association with amateurs of
experimentation such as Pascal, Petit, Gassendi, Morin,
Claude Hardy and others, could produce the consistent
scepticism which seems to characterize his thought in mat
ters of occultism in its various forms, astrology, necromancy,
and popular animism. The innumerable references to re-
I
cent literature, to the gifts and sayings of friends, to experi

ments performed in England, Germany, Italy, the south of
France, were available only to a person who had the widest
possible circle of friends, both in Paris and outside, who
brought or sent the latest results of scientific endeavors
everywhere. If we did not know that Mersenne was one
of the leaders of a regular assembly of devotees of the new
sciences, we should have to assume it from his books.
CHAPTER III
MERSENNE's RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND
The value to scientists in Paris and elsewhere of Mer
senne's bureau d'adresse depended equally on his own per
sonality and charm and on the regularity and skill with which
he enlarged and maintained his correspondence with persons
in the centres of intellectual activity in the smaller cities of
France and abroad. His foreign friends, as listed by his
biographer Hilarion de Coste, were numerous-Hevelius,
the Elzevirs, Christopher Scheiner, Jean Beverwich, M.
"Hoob, Anglois Precepteur de Monseigneur le Prince de
Galles," "M. le Chevalier d'Igby, Seigneur Anglois," Gro
tius, E. Deodati. To these must be added others whose
letters were found in the cell of the Minorite Convent after
the death of its occupant-Constantyn Huygens, Valerian
Magni, Giovanni Baptista Doni, Torricelli, le Chevalier
Cassian du Puy (Cassiano del Pozzo), Angelo Ricci, Luke
Holstein, "Stanihurst, Doct. en Théol., Hibernois," Caval
lieri; Schooten, Golius and Sorbière of Leiden; Buxtorf,
Selden, and finally three who offered Mersenne his closest
contact with the intellectual life of the British Isles, "Haat,
Theodore (de Londres), Hobb, Candysh."
Thomas Hobbes, whether spelt Hoob, Hobb, Hobs, was
hardly active enough in the organized life of English scien
tific circles to figure in these pages; his own works were widely
read in France, their translation and publication in French
was encouraged by Mersenne and Gassendi, and carried out
by Sorbière and others. His relations with France have
been studied elsewhere, and summarized by M. Ascoli.1
1 Ascoli, II, 105 ff.

~I
42 MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND
Candysh-the name is sometimes so spelt even by English

pens-or Cavendish (spelt by himself Cavendysshe) was a
younger brother of the Duke of Newcastle who wrote on the
care of horses and whose wife was the most remarkable of
English bluestockings. He was a noble amateur of science,
whose enforced travels during the civil wars and Common
wealth brought him into contact with many natural philos
ophers of the low countries and France; out of England
during the years that seem most fruitful of new things, his
letters do not cast much light on the general movement of the
times. The remaining member of the three, Theodore Haak
-sometimes written by French pens "Haac," whence de
Coste's misprint Haat-was a German of Neuhausen near
Worms, who had corne to England at the age of twenty in
1625, where he seems to have spent some time at each of the
universities; after a period of travel in which he visited
several continental centres of learning, he returned to Eng
land, and became a commoner of Gloucester Hall, Oxford,
in 1629. Sorne time thereafter he was ordained deacon by
Joseph Hall, the Bishop of Exeter whose influence on bath
English and French moralists has been signaled by M.
Ascoli (ii, 93 ff). Much of Haak's life remains in obscurity;
the unpublished correspondence with Mersenne which we
shall here analyze does not seem to have been drawn upon
for the light it throws upon his philosophical activities.in the
years immediately preceding and following Comenius' visit
to England; if our deductions are justified, the links between
those activities, the conférences of Mersenne, and the founda
tion of the Royal Society of London have a connection which
historians of that body have not been able to point out.
The most competent account2 places the beginning of the
2 For the earliest stages of the Royal Society see Weld, History of the
Roya/ Society, 2 vol., 1848; the facts here discussed are related in J. Wallis,
MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WlTH ENGLAND 43
Royal Society of London in the meetings held for the dis

cussion of the natural world in the lodgings of Dr. Goddard;
at the Mitre in Wood Street; in the Bull Head Tavern,
Cheapside; or in the more serious atmosphere of Gresham
College. The date mentioned by Wallis for his own partici
pation in them is 1645, and in one account he says that
they began in that year if not sooner. Among the members
he mentions Dr. Wilkins, at that time Chaplain to the Prince
Elector Palatine; we shall see that in 1648 the Prince him
self was present at a trial of the Torricellian experiment in a
company whose existence seems assured and stable. Wallis
describes Haak as "a German of the Palatinate and then
resident in London, who I think gave the first occasion, and
first suggested those meetings."
From the correspondence which passed between Mersenne
and Haak it appears that the latter was in more or less close
association with the agricultural writer Gabriel Plattes, the
mathematician John Pell, the Czech polygraph Amos Come
nius, Samuel Ward of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge,
and Samuel Hartlib. Of this group, Pell, Comenius, and
Hartlib are famous for their projects of an encyclopedic
nature, their programs in aid of universal education, and
towards a civilization based on the conquest of nature
through the cooperation of the learned world. Pell and
Hartlib were later to be more or less active in the movement
which produced the Royal Society. Ward <lied in 1643,
Plattes disappeared during the Commonwealth, and Come
nius was not active in affairs in England after that period.
Certain phrases used by Mersenne imply that Plattes, Pell,
d Defence of the Royal Society, (London, 1678) and in Dr. Wallis's account
of his own life, in T. Hearne, Works, (London, 1810) III, cxl, clxi-clxiv. See
also Record of the Royal Society, London, 1912, pp. 4-5; and Dorothy Stim
son, Dr. Wilkins and the Royal Society, in the Journal of Modern History,
1931, 539 ff.
and Haak in particular were especially closely associated

in their philosophie endeavors, using books in common,
receiving letters at a common address, evidence sufficient,
I think, to justify the assumption that Haak was a corre
sponding secretary of the group, that his knowledge of lan
guages and the continent served not only himself but his
friends. These exchanges were not so much the letters of
persona! friends discussing topics of mutual interest as the
news-letters of unofficial secretaries of informai societies
prosecuting similar designs. Here is clear evidence of a
systematic exchange of scientific news between Paris and
London twenty years and more before the Royal Society
set up its Committee for Foreign Correspondence.
The extant remains of the letters which passed between
Marin Mersenne and Theodore Haak are found in the Brit
ish Museum and the Bibliothèque Nationale; the first pos
sesses copies made by Haak himself of thirteen letters sent to
him in 1639-1640 by Mersenne, while in Paris are to be
found five letters from Haak dating from the last few months
of the life of Mersenne. 3 Publication of these letters in their
3 British Museum: Birch 427 9 (Pell Papers), ff. 104-124, thirteen letters
of Mersenne to Haak, copies by Haak. This volume contains several

autograph letters of Mersenne to Pell.
Bibliothèque Nationale: N. A. F. 6206, (Mersenne Correspondence)
five letters, Haak to Mersenne, originals, as follows:
24 May/ 3 June 1647.................................. f.8 9.
6 August 1647........................................ f .167.
24 March/ 3 April 1648................................ f.91.
(Early June 1648?) .................................... f.168.
3/13 July 1648........................................ f.64.
In addition, this volume contains two letters from Pell of 163 9-1640 at ff.
157-15 9; also one from J. Hübner, 1 9/2 9 August 1641, to which Haak has
added:
"Monsieur, Il me fust entierement impossible d'escrire à ce coup;
mais nous vous supplions pour le jugement de Mr Gassend de Veri
tate Herberti; nous le mesnagerons bien à l'honneur de l'Autheur.
Je suis, &c., Theod. Haak."
MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND 45
appropriate setting in the complete correspondence of

Mersenne, now beginning to appear in the edition by Mme
Tannery and M. de Waard, will undoubtedly illuminate
many points now more or less obscure in the text of the
letters and in their place in the life of the times.
The beginning of this exchange of news and comment ap
pears to have been lost. We know that Haak brought about
the relations between Pell and Mersenne by communicating
the former's manuscript Jdea of Mathematicks to the latter,
who wrote a criticism of it and passed it on to Descartes, who
did likewise. This work was published by Haak with both
criticisms and a letter from Mersenne to Haak in Hooke's
Philosophical Collections of February 1681/2; as the last
mentioned letter is there dated October 1639, it appears
that Mersenne had been in receipt of scientific news from
England since the summer of that year at least. The first
letter of the series in Pell's papers is not dated, but is marked
by Haak "La prem. lettre F. M. Mersenne a Th. Haak."
Its contents show some previous acquaintance, for Mersenne
knows that Haak is friendly with both Pell and Comenius.
Mersenne begins by commenting favorably on the Pan
sophic scheme of Comenius, and on Pell's plan for the reduc
tion of the mathematical sciences to a simple compendium
through the collaboration of a small group of scholars in
summarizing all extant books of a mathematical nature.
He proceeds to outline the most efficient method of organiz
ing the effort necessary to put the new learning in a form
conveniently used; he shows a keen sense of the balance that
must be preserved between the desire for a complete picture
of the subject matter and the necessity for a book that is a
useful guide to its subject. Mersenne's discussion is per
haps worth repeating in extenso:
"His project is praiseworthy, but in place of the great collection he sug
gests of al! those who have written on the subject of mathematics, it would
be better to make a selection of a dozen of the best in each branch, and after
having presented the ancients whose books we have, as Euclid, Apollonius,
Archimedes, Theodosius, Pappus, Ptolemy, with their manuscript works
as yet unpublished, of which Golius at Leiden has some, and others are at
Rome, the best of the modems would be presented, such as Vieta for anal
ysis, Clavius for his five or six large volumes, and several others, including
our Herigone..... And thus we should have ail that is good, without caring
about the rest. Likewise for Optics, we would include Witelo, Kepler,
Aquilio, and Monsieur de Ville the engineer who is preparing an excellent
treatise on this subject. For Arithmetic, after Diophantus, Cardan, Tar
taglio, your Napier, and for Spherical Triangles and calculations by log
arithms, Briggs, Gordon, Pitiscus, Snellius, and our Morin, Professor of the
Royal Mathematics. For Astronomy, after Ptolemy and a few Arabs, ail
those who have made tables, as Alphonsus, Regiomontanus, Kepler, and
our Durret, who has made the Parisian Tables, and the same for the Ephe
merides, which he is drawing up to include the year 1700.-ln short, for
Fortification, Music, etc., about eight or ten of those who have been most
successful, with those who have written on Mechanics, Statics, Machines,
Hydraulics, etc.; so that in a dozen authors one would have everything
necessary. And if twelve persons in friendly agreement undertook to
reduce each his dozen to reasonable compass with great clarity, supplying
what might be missing, and removing the superfluities, doubtless we should
have in a few dozen volumes ail that could be wished; and I even believe
that everything that belongs to the mathematics, pure and applied, may be
reduced to a single dozen volumes; ail the best philosophy to three, ail the
liberal and mechanical arts to three, ·etc., so that one may be learned very
easily. And as for the Instruments of Mathematics, it would be very little
use to make a collection of ail those that have been invented; it is much
better to have the four or five which alone have been found the best and
easiest to use, as the Astrolabe and the Semicircle or the Quadrant, the
Proportional Compass, to which the Goniometer, Shifting Bevels, Plani
spheres, etc., are related.4
4 Birch 4279, ff. 104-105. Although in general the reproduction of the
language of the source is preferable to an unauthenticated translation, the

impending publication of this correspondence in an authoritative and com
petently annotated edition renders extended citations of the French un
necessary. Where the manuscripts to be quoted are unpublished and likely
to remain so, we shall quote at length.
47
1
MERSENNE S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND
If Pell's projected work on the mathematics can offer a clear,

brief and orderly system of the various branches, then it
should be encouraged. Mersenne continues:
"As for the Philosophy of Mr Amos (Comenius), you may inform him,
that we have M. Gassendi in Provence who is preparing a Philosophy, in
which everything that has ever been discovered will be contained, and that
he may also see the Method of M. des Cartes, printed at Leiden two years
ago, where he will see the most heroic project ever made, as I believe it.
If anyone has worked on the llow and movement of water, if there is some
good lodestone, which without being bound with iron, lifts as much iron or
more than its own weight, or at least is lively and strong; or if you can seek
out for me the useful secrets which Mr Plattes has had printed in England,
etc., you will do me a favor to send me word ..•.•"
As a postscript to this letter, Mersenne has noted that

Plattes' book is 'The Hidden 'Treasure, and that Haak will
find enclosed a pamphlet on the properties of the magnet,
which Mersenne has been requested to draw up for some
curious Romans.
The letters of this correspondence are densely packed with
news and discussion of recent events in the Republic of
Letters. Perhaps a few quotations from the second letter
of the series, that of November 24, 1639, will best illustrate
Mersenne's competence as an observer and critic of affairs:
''You could not have applied to any one better qualified than I to learn
what Campanella or the Gazetier' in his name has said concerning the merits
of telescopes, and the appearance of Mars and Saturn, for besicles trying
the telescopes of Fontana from Florence, which were seven and a half feet
long, and performed nothing of note for so great a length, I assure you that
Campanella has neither seen nor learned anything about them, having based
his opinion only on a notice received from Naples, sent on behalf of the
artisan Fontana, whence it happens he has made himself ridiculous to all
6 Theophraste Renaudot, editor of the Gazette from its foundation in
1631.
the scientists here. And it may be that in Italy Fontana has made some
good telescope, which makes Mars and Saturn appear almost as shown in
the notice. However, nothing of that has appeared sufficient, either to
Campanella, or in France. Meanwhile a gentleman who is a friend of mine
has begun to make spherical glasses, which, having a length of only three
feet, make Venus appear as large as the moon to the naked eye. And now
he is going to work on the hyperbolical and spherical glasses according to
Descartes, in which he will succeed or it will be impossible. I will let you
know the result.. , •. Mr. Gassend has just finished the life of the late Mr
Peiresc, Conseiller to the Parlement of Provence, an inimitable character;
there will be fine things in it. In addition to what you have mentioned, he
has written a book in my favor against Robert Fludd, about ten years ago,
in reply to a volume he had produced against me, as everyone advised me
not to reply to him myself. He has an admirable Philosophy according to
the principles of Epicurus, which is near completion. As for those who hide
themselves in working on Astronomy, I do not think that course the best,
for sometimes one thinks one can do better working in private, and then
afterwards, for Jack of conférences, one repents too late. We have here
several persons who observe the sky, and who see many things there, and
among them Mr Gassend and our Mr Morin, Royal Professor, working
steadily at his Gallican Astrology."6
Mersenne's letters would thus be a very considerable source
of news of continental affairs to Haak's circle of. friends;
their interest as a record of events is sufficiently indicated
by the fact that Pell preserved a lengthy series of copies
made by his friend, dealing not only with mathematics, but
with all the varied topics that captured the attention of the
virtuosi of those days. The letter of December 31, 1639,
offers details about several persons of importance in very
short space:
"There is a Jesuit at Rome named Antoine Kirker 7 who has produced the
first chapters of the Coptic or Egyptian language in a very fine type, and
6 Birch 4279, f. 106.

7 Mersenne undoubtedly refers to Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680) a
German Jesuit long resident in Rome, author of many books on the occult,
antiquity and the sciences.
who is publishing a whole volume on the Magnet, as I learn from a letter, as

also that the Father Benedetto, Mathematician to the Pope, is working on
the same subject, and that they daim they will make us change our philos
ophy, through the consideration of the universal soul which dwells in this
stone. We must wait for results before judging. Besicles, Father Cam
panella had made no experiments, he was content to speculate, and had
made many mistakes for Jack of experimentation. The gentleman who is
working on telescopes, and who at his first attempt has made one of two
feet in length which makes Venus appear as large as the moon, is having a
forge built in his house, and two hundred files for making an instrument for
observing the stars with his lenses. He is hiring two or three of the most
skilful workers he can find to help him. He desires to make ail kinds of
of telescopes of conic sections, but for himself only, or for a few of his more
intimate friends. He is a son of the late M. du Maurier who was Ambas
sador to Rolland. "s
The same letter mentions the recent work of Jean Rey on

the calcination of tin, and the presence in Paris of a sensi
tive plant from the West lndies. This last detail, as well as
an offer to procure a copy of the catalogue of the plants in
the Jardin Royal are directed to Haak' s friend, Plattes,
author of 'I'he Hidden 'I'reasure asked for in the first of these
letters.
An aspect of Mersenne which has been somewhat neglectèd
is the interest roused in him by problems of practical botany,
gardening and agriculture; in each of the first eight of these
lett'ers he finds some reason for mentioning Plattes, his
books, or things that will interest him. Haak sent two
works by Plattes to Mersenne, both of them in English, and
Mersenne remarks on the difficulty he had in finding a per
son to explain the subject matter to him. When at last he
found a means of attaining some acquaintance with the
subject matter, he was eager to know of Plattes' future pub
lications. He desires that both Haak and Plattes should . I
read Palissy; he sends a copy of one of the potter-enameler's
8 Birch 4279, f. r ro.
L -.J
books for them, commenting on the fact that one copy will
suffice, as it is no hardship to read it through in three or four
days, so great is its interest, 'although his French be some
what crude.' Mersenne notes a spiritual affinity between
Plattes and the French author: "Perhaps these two men,
who are neither of them learned and who proceed on a basis
of common sense, will have corne to the same conclusions in
several matters." (Birch 4279, f. 107) Plattes' Hidden
'I'reasure was much sought after on the continent; Leibniz
attempted to obtain a copy of it about 1678. A translation
was made by Hues O'Neil Sieur de Beaulieu for the Biblio
thèque du Roi about 1668.
Another topic frequently discussed in these letters is the
use and nature of the magnet; some of them offer many de
tails of the declination and clip of the needle in various parts
of the country, and of its variation over a period of years.
Mersenne expresses the desire to live ten years to see what its
behavior would be then. Haak had mentioned a clerical
friend, perhaps Samuel Ward of Sidney Sussex College, who
possessed a large and rather powerful lodestone, the de
scription of which so impressed Mersenne that he repeatedly
asks Haak to obtain a temporary loan of it for despatch to
Paris where Mersenne and his friends could study its quali
ties at leisure. Later letters indicate that Mersenne had
read Samuel Ward's book, Magnetis reductorium theologicum
tropologicum, printed in London, 1637, and that as he had
lost or lent his copy he wanted Haak to procure him another.
Once or twice after receiving the book, Mersenne sends mes
sages to be forwarded to Ward. We have already mentioned
the tract on magnetism written by Mersenne at the sug
gestion of Gabriel Naudé.
A book by the English scientist Gellibrand with some
observations on magnetism was also sent to Mersenne by
MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WlTH ENGLANO 51
Haak; recourse was had this time to their intermediary

Veglin for a translation of the English text. In Mersenne's
comments on the book he remarks that there are some in
Paris "who are seeking to augment the strength of magnets
by the transmission of spirits, and to produce the commu
nication of thoughts from a great distance by means of two
needles rubbed with the same lodestone and penetrated by
the same fluid. But as I have told them, they work in
vain." 9 Mersenne went no further in explaining why this
most primitive of wireless telegraphs was doomed to failure. 10
The letter of December 18, 1639, contains what was per
haps the first communication of the problem of the cycloid
to be sent into England, about eighteen years before Pascal's
challenges were sent to Wallis and others under the name of
Amos Dettonville:
"Here I shall put a fine problem, which you may pass on to Mr Pell, and
ifhe does not find its solution, I shall send it to him when he likes. Let there
be a circle or wheel ABCD and with the point A let it produce by rolling the
curved line AEFG equal to the circumference ABCD. It is desired to know
what is the relation of the area enclosed by the curved line AEFG and the
straight line AG to the circle ABCD. In this subject there are many other
difficulties which I shall add here, so that if there be anyone in London who
can resolve them we may be informed of it." (Ff. !08-9)
Other references to this problem occur in letters of March 4,

1640, and later; in the last of this series, undated, Mersenne
9 Letter ofDecember 18, 1639; Birch 4279, f. !08.
10 Early editions of G. B. della Porta's Magia Naturalis contain an expo
sition of the idea that two similar magnetic needles may be made to move
around their respective axes in sympathy, although widely separated from
each other, and that an effective telegraph could be made by placing an
alphabet in the place of the sailor's card. Later editions of this book omit
this suggestion, but the idea is repeated clown to the Spectator of December
6, 171 I. For completer references see Bulletino Bibliogra.fico e Storico delle
Scienzç Matematiche e Fisiche I, (1868), rno, 187; also III, 127.
~--- - - -
5'2 MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLANO
sends a demonstration of the result, that the area is three

time the circle.
Severa! English authors of some importance are mentioned
in these letters. On December 18, 1639, Mersenne offers
to purchase a copy of Democritus Junior de 'l'emperamento
Proglearius (?), doubtless Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy,
Haak, however, seems to have discouraged Mersenne from
further acquaintance with the book, for in a letter of Jan.
'20 the latter speaks of him with contempt as a persan "dont
je ne fais pas cas puisque ce n'est qu'un ramasseur." Edward
Brerewood, Professor of Mathematics at Gresham College,
had written an important book, Enquiries touching the
Diuersities of Languages and Religions, published posthu
mously in 1614; the translation by Jean de la Montagne came
into the hands of Mersenne on its appearance, and roused
his curiosity, for here was a book that fitted very closely
into the enlightened scepticism of the French thinker. In the
letter of December 18 above referred to he writes:
"The book of Languages and Religions written by an Englishman, and

translated into French has made me wish to know the name of this author,
who is certainly an able man, but I do not know whether he is dead or not;
if there were some way of translating the other books which he is said to
have written, it would be a good thing to do, and we would soon have them
printed here."
Mersenne then proceeds to suggest that Haak translate

these and other useful books, offering to take charge of the
correction of the style and the arrangements for publication.
His interest in Brerewood was not lost at once, for a letter of
Jan. 15, 1640, mentions this book once more:
"We have here seen the book Of Languages and Religions by Mr Brere
wood, Professor in London; he is a very judicious man, whom I have read
with great pleasure. I have been told that he has written still other books,
l.
but I do not know their subjects. , , . I believe that whatever may corne
from his hand will be excellent. "11
One of Mersenne's chief contacts with English men and

manners up to this time had been through the controversy
with Robert Fludd; his letters to Haak echo his interest in
this personage from J anuary of I 640 when he first asks for
details of the death and final illness of his antagonist. A few
days later he sent a little book written by a friend against
Fludd, the Effigies Contracta, printed in a very small edition
for private· circulation. He adds:
"If after having read it you consider that it is worth the trouble of a
proper publication, we would change the dedication, for he to whom it is
addresseci is dead; and instead of hiding the author's name I would have
him put at least three letters if not more. I would address the dedication
to Monsieur Candish, who is a learned and excellent Lord, if you consider
it proper, and even ask the author, who lives near him, to correct one with
his own hand, to send it to you ready for printing. I would be very glad
to know what the scholars among you think of the said Fludd."12
Music claims Mersenne as one of her own, for he was

interested not only in the theoretic aspects of sound and
resonance, but also in the practical use and invention of
instruments. These letters contain accounts of a large and
complicated lute with many strings, the Almeric, about which
a mathematical writer Le Maire was at this time finishing a
book; and also of a spinet which could produce sounds as
long and as steady as those of an organ by means of a wheel
whose turning set violin-like chords in vibration. A volume
in the British Museum, Harleian Ms. 6796, Philosophical
'l'racts collected by 'I'homas Hobbes, contains a French tract on
La Musique dlmerique, with a method of notation and
11 Birch 4279, f. II2.
12 Birch 4279, ( 115.
54 MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WlTH ENGLAND
instructions for playing. In 1664 the Royal Society of

London was entertained bv a concert on this instrument
"revived by my Lord Br�reton's care and expenses" as
Oldenburg informed Boyle in his letter of October 13, adding
the note that the invention had been communicated into
England by Father Mersenne.
Mersenne's interest in music went so far as to induce him
to ask Haak to obtain with the help of a mutual friend Bos
well some of the compositions of the English musician Ban
nius, which Mersenne will have sung for him by 1Jome of the
best singers of ltaly in the course of his forthcoming voyage.
He urges this composer to complete his treatise on music
which is to be dedicated to the Pope; if it were ready, Mer
senne would himself,carry it into ltaly for a formal pre
sentation. He has had word from Doni, secretary of the
Holy Consistory, that certain newly invented instruments
perform marvels in the ancient modes. He offers to lend the
English amateurs his copy of Doni's book with corrections
and additions by the author.
Mersenne asks particularly about various labor-saving
devices-pumps, mills, machines of various sorts; in the
last letter of this series he asks for details already promised
by Haak of "the excellent method used by this Mr Harrison
for making catalogues, indices, etc.;" and of that other de
vice "for writing clown whole sermons on hearing them pro
nounced, which you call Brachygraphy."
He sent numerous books into England; some have been
mentioned above, but of many the titles are not listed in the
letters. Among the early accessions of the Department of
Printed Books at the British Museum is a quarto volume of
special interest in the present connection. The author is
not certainly known, but the Bibliothèque Nationale at
tributes it with some reason to J.-A. Le Tenneur. Up to
very recently the British Museum listed it among the works
of Mersenne himself. Here is its title:
Traite des Quantitez / Incomensurables: / Ou sont decidées plu
sieurs/ belles Questions des Nombres / Rationaus & Irrationaus. / Les
Erreurs de Stevin/ refutées. / Et le Dizieme Livre d'Euclide/ illustré
de nouveles demonstrations plus / faciles & plus succinctes que les/ ordi
naires, & reduit à/ 62. Propositions. / Avec un Discours de la Maniere /
d'expliquer les Sciences en François, dédié à Messieurs de/ l'Academie
Françoise. / I. N. T. Q. L. / A Parisï De l'Imprimerie de I Dedin, rue
des Noyers au petit Escu. ( Et se vend/ Chez Louys Boulanger, ruë S,
laques à !'Image/ Saint Louys devant Saint Yves. / Et Chez Augustin
Courbe, Libraire & Imprimeur/ de Monseigneur frere unique du Roy, dans
la petite/ Sale du Palais, à la Palme. / M. DC. XL./ Avec Privilege du
Roy.ta
Bound with various mathematical tracts, most important of

which are several of the publications of Pascal under the
pseuddnym of Amos Dettonville, the volume was probably
one of those which came to the Museum with the Sloan col
lections. On the flyleaf Mersenne has written "Pour Mon
sieur Haac"-this reading is subject to correction, for the
inscription has been roughly obliterated in ink-and below
is a Latin inscription, "Manus et munus Marini Mersenni
authoris mense Sept. 1640." A letter from the amateur of
the sciences and correspondent on literary and erudite topics,
John Collins, to Pell ofOctober 23, 1668, found among Pell's
papers, Sloan 4278, f. 344, asks that the latter send up a
number of works on trade and "the Sieur d'Taneur (printed
at Paris 1650 in 4°) on the 10 ofEuclid et des quantitez irra
tionelles," for the use of Lord Brereton. To this Pell re
plies, (October 28): "You write for a book, written by Le
Sieur de Taneur, des quantitez irrationelles, Printed at Paris
in 4° 1650. I never saw it. Here is a book of about 40
u British Museum, 529. k. I (1)

sheets printed at Paris in 4to. 1640, with a privilege for 5

yeares: Its title is <J'raite des !fluantitez incommensurables et le
dizieme liure d'Euclide. The Author's name is not expressed.
When it first came forth, P Mersenne sent me a coppy,
but could not then learn the Author's name. Perhaps the
Author reprinted it, ten years later, and adjoined his name.
If so; it is likely that second edition was better than this of
1640; which I will send you if you desire it." Le Tenneur
was an amateur mathematician, and is as likely to have been
thè author of the book as any; he is listed among the members
of the circle of savants which included Boulliau and Mer
senne, and wrote at least three other books, none however of
exactly similar or parallel subject matter.
The most significant fact which arises from the considera
tion of these letters and their implications is that here one
of the most important figures in the history of organized
science in France is shown to be in close and friendly contact
with a group of learned Londoners, through the medium of
one who, according to the best authority, played a leading
part in the establishment of the Invisible College, parent of
the Royal Society. The letters do not permit us to say
that Mersenne was an active influence in the establishment
of the "learned club" which met in London in the years before
the Commonwealth: we must merely note the fact that a
close association with the amateurs of France and through
them with the scientists of Italy appears to have been of
mutual profit and advantage. We have no record of com
munications between Mersenne and Haak between 1641 and
1647: the letters to which we now turn indicate continued
cooperation and good feeling, although the vicissitudes of
travel hamper communièation.
Haak's five letters of 1647-48 are similar in nature to those
sent to him by Mersenne seven years before; they speak of the
interruption in their relations caused by voyages, Mersenne's
into Italy, Haak's into Germany, and of vain efforts to
communicate by means of friends whose movements might
produce contacts. In the oldest of these, May 24/June
3,1647, Haak asks for news of scientific work:
"We would be very glad to learn if there have been made among you or
in ltaly any new observations, magnetical, optical, mechanical, musical,
mathematical, to complete those of Mr Kircherus, your own, or those of
Monsieur Le Maire, Messieurs Grandamy, Gaffarelle, René François, and
others. I hope that in a short time I can send you some short treatises
de pede et denario Romano, likewise de Pyramidibus Egypti, of which the
author is Dr. Greaves, a gentleman well known to Monsieur Hardy. We
are still awaiting a gentleman from Ireland from whom we are told to expect
great things, as he has brought to a conclusion, so I am informed, the efforts
of more than twenty years of a certain very skilful man of that kingdom
(dead 3 or 4 years ago) to write in such a way that the message may be read
at once in all languages known or understood."U
This letter was received and answered by Mersenne, as was

another from Haak of August 6, printed in full in the Ap
pendix. It acknowledges briefly Haak's own over-credulity
in the matter of the chemical activities of a friend; its news
items reflect clearly the interests of the milieu.
The winter of 1647/8 brought a long gap in the relations
of Haak and Mersenne; a letter from Haak of March 24/
April 3, 1648, begins:
"Since my last, some eight months ago, I have had no news of you,
and no leisure nor yet much matter to discuss with you, the sterility of
letters and liberal curiosities being so great and growing daily in our islands.
We were told, Sir, further that you were sick and il!, even dead, which ar
rested my pen."
From this same letter one finds that Mersenne had ap
parently communicated the Torricellian experiment to the
14 Bibliothèque Nationale, Nouvelles Acquisitions Françaises 6206, f. 89,
58 MERSENNE'S RELATIONS WlTH ENGLAND
English scientists in his missing letter of midsummer 1647,

for Haak continues:
"We remain, Sir, very much indebted to you for the communication of
your experiment with the tubes and the mercury, for we have made two or
three trials of it, in the company of men of letters and rank, with much
pleasure and astonishment because of the various operations and also be
cause of the breaking of several glasses due to the rapid spurting of the
quicksilver: however they do not yet wish to declare that it is a true vacuum
in the glass beyond the mercury, but wish to see several more trials with ail
sorts of glasses. I shall attempt to encourage some of the best wits to make
some investigation of the basis of these observations. Wha� gives me
particular delight is to see a measure always so exact, which perhaps might
serve as a mie and measure for the whole world. That is why I ·should
like ail observers and demonstrators of this experiment to be as exact in it
as possible, and then to compare their calculations with each other."15
Apparently the last letter which Haak wrote to Mersenne

was that of 3/13 July 1648. Sent, as all the others of this
latest period, by a friend travelling into France, it probably
took some time to reach its destination, and may never have
been answered. I print it in full in the Appendix; it has a
melancholy interest in that it marks the end of one period of
Anglo-French intellectual relations, and in noting the dis
appearance from the scene of such figures as Torricelli, and
the English astrologer Warner; the reference to the Com
pagnie in which the experiment on the column of mercury
was repeated seems to mean the embryonic form of the
Royal Society of London, in which it should be remembered
that the young Robert Boyle was already active. Mersenne
was very sick during most of this summer; according to
Pineau and Coste he died on September 1.
Just as Mersenne was responsible for the transmission of
the news of books into England, so Haak served as a source
of information and news for the friends of Mersenne in
1s N. A. F. 6206, f. 91.
France. Thus in 1641, the Abbé de Chambon writes to
Mersenne to know "what books have reached you from Eng
land, and if you please to grant me some for what they cost, a
copy of each if you have several." 16 Toward the end of his
life such queries begin again; Martel writes from Bordeaux
in July of 1648, seeking news of "Hobs," and Auzout, in
Touraine, August 21, 1648, speaks of "your recent report of
this English book which teaches the dumb to speak and the
deaf to hear." 17
While his relations with Haak and Pell have left us the
largest number of the letters that passed between Mersenne
and the scientists of England, it is not to be forgotten that
Mersenne had friends of high rank there, Sir Kenelm Digby,
the Duke of Newcastle, his brother Sir Charles Cavendish;
and that among his acquaintances were others of low degree,
notably the young William Petty who perhaps best illustrates
the interests of the English middle-class scientists.
Digby had met Mersenne in the course of his numerous
visits to the continent; it is impossible to date their first
acquaintance. Letters of February and March 1639/40
in the Mersenne papers at the Nationale indicate that on his
return from a visit to France Digby was having certain re
search clone on Ramon Lull for Mersenne in the Bodleian
and in libraries at Cambridge; he had been purchasing books
for him, in exchange for French books to be sent to him;
and he comments on new publications, his own books in
progress, especially one on the immortality of the soul.
Quoting a comment of "Blaclo," the catholic scholar, Thomas
White of many pseudonyms, well known at this period,
Digby adds:
16 N. A. F. 6204, t. 143.
11 N. A. F. 6204, If. 176--7, 172.
"But the errors of men such as Galileo and Monsieur des Cartes, spring
ing from some infidelity to principles which are not perfectly understood,
are more estimable and more ingenious than ail the volumes of the common
modern philosophers who believe themselves very subtle and profound when
they build and spin cobwebs on terms which they do not understand and
which in fact mean nothing."IS
A curious comment from the "errant mountebank" of

Evelyn's diary and the "very authentick gentleman" of
Oldenburg's letter to Boyle, famous in his credulous age as a
teller of strange tales!
But for all his taste for the bizarre and the marvelous,
Digby was interested in Descartes, asked to borrow his
Méchanique and his Introduction à la Géométrie, and had
read the Introduction à l' Algèbre; he was prepared to dis
cuss the problems of percussion and gravity, and when he
came back to France a year or so later he was still respected
by Mersenne and Descartes. For many years he was re
garded as one of the most important of the English philoso
phers; men wrote from Rome that they had seen him there,
and followed his movements over Europe with a curiously
inappropriate awe. We shall see him again attending philo
sophical meetings in Montpellier, and taking part in the
early meetings of the Royal Society of London.
The last English friend of Mersenne to be described here
was a man of quite a different stamp: while Digby was
interested in a rather grandiose philosophy of occult powers
and magical sympathies, Petty was practical and materialist
to an extreme. Surveyor, political economist, statistician,
ship-builder, Sir William Petty came early under the in
fluence of the minorite father. The manner of his reaching
Paris is as curious as the rest of his career; born in 1623, the
son of a Hampshire draper, in 1638 he was marooned by
18 N. A. F. 6204, ff. I 50-152.
sailors on the Norman coast, where he earned money by

teaching English, entered the Jesuit college at Caen, and
became accomplished in the French language. We find
him next in the Royal Navy, then a student at Utrecht
and at Amsterdam, taking a degree in medicine at Leiden in
1644. Finally he goes to Paris, whence he writes this letter
to Pell, whom he had probably met in Holland:
Paris 8 November 1645.
Sir,
Father Mersen his desire to convey this enclosed to you serves me for an
happie occasion, to express my thankfulnes for ye good of that acquaintance
with Mr Robs, which your letters procured mee for by his means, My Lord
of Newcastle and your good friend Sr Charles Candish have been pleased,
to take notice of mee; and by his meanes also I became acquainted with
Father Mersen, (a man who seems to mee not in any meane degree to esteerne
you and your works, and who wishes your studies may ever succeede happily,
hoping (as others also doe) that ye world shall receive light and benefitt by
them.) Sr I desire you not to conceive that any neglect or forgetfulnes hath
caused my long silence, for ye often speech I have of you either with Sir
Charles, Mr Robs and Father Mersen (besicles ye Courtesy I receyved
from you) makes mee sufficiently to remember you."1 9
Petty returned to England in 1646, and for the next few

years was associated with Hartlib and his schemes for an
Office of Address for Communications, and with members
of the Invisible College. He became a Fellow of the Royal
Society early in its career, and spent much time and money
on experiments towards perfecting a double-bottomed sail
ing vessel. Towards the end of his life we find him in con
troversy with Auzout on the relative size of Paris and Lon
don, and assisting in the foundation of a Philosophical
Society in Ireland. A letter which Hartlib wrote to Boyle in
November of 1647 contains a description of him which the
passage of time did not deny:
19 Ralliwell, Letters on Scientific Subjects, p. 90.
" .•.• one Petty, of twenty four years of age, ...• a perfect Frenchman,
and a good linguist in other vulgar languages besicles Latin and Greek, a
most rare and exact anatomist, and excelling in all mathematicall and me
chanical learning; of a sweet natural disposition and moral comport
ment."20
Before leaving Mersenne and the activities of his circle,

we must not fail to mention the project for a great Pansophic
college which Comenius says the Cardinal de Richelieu was
meditating on his death bed. Influential persons both in
France and England urged Comenius to accept the invitation
extended to him by Rossignol, Richelieu's secretary, to corne
and organize the college, but neither the pressing solicita
tions of the Marquis de Saint Romain, French diplomatie
representative in Hamburg, nor the cordial encouragement
ofhis English friends, Selden, Hartlib and Archbishop Ussher,
could prevail on him. Comenius refused and his associate,
Joachim Hübner, was sent to discuss the matter and bring
the proposal back in an authoritative form. But Richelieu
was dying, the persons whom Hübner could see were in no
position to act, and although Mersenne and others in Paris
were willing to discuss Pansophy, nothing could be clone.
Hübner wrote back to Comenius that the French scientists
whom he had seen had all agreed that Paris was a better
site for the new foundation than London.
For various reasons the dream of a great and inclusive
educational institution dies without immediate offspring
about 1650. With others Comenius had hoped to see a
foundation that would rival the older un·iversities, a body
that would combine research into the natural world with the
production of a complete encyclopedia of knowledge and the
teaching of youth in the new disciplines of the mathematical
20 Boyle, Works, 1772, VI, 76.
1
MERSENNE S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND 63
and physical sciences. He had been invited to England as a

result of the earnest publicity clone for him by friends like
Hartlib; he met a number of important persons who had
been impressed to the extent of advocating his schemes in
various infl.uential circles; and after nine months he left,
with his programme hardly nearer realization. Hartlib
continued to agitate for an Office of Address, part of whose
programme sounds very like the programme of Renaudot's
Bureau d'Adresse which had been a feature of life in Paris
for ten years or more before. The programme of his Office
grew more complicated as time went on, and when at the end
of his life he saw the establishment of the Royal Society of
London he was too sick and too poor to take any part in it.
The Royal Society grew directly from the meetings of the
amateurs of the sciences who met in Gresham College; there
is no mention of the Comenian scheme, no sense that the
establishment of the society is the realization of anything
but the desire of a limited group of members of a sort of club
to organize to pursue common avocations. Only later, when
the club's activities are attacked, do they begin to philoso
phize and seek a urriversal basis for their work; and with the
writing of propaganda cornes the creation of myths. Those
who did listen to Comenius-Mersenne and the philosophers
of England-were in general quite satisfied to agree with
Descartes: "Beyond the things that appertain to philosophy
I go not; mine therefore is that only in part, whereof yours
is the whole."
CHAPTER IV
THE MoNTMOR AcADEMY BEGINS
The Académie Française was the name which finally came

to distinguish the group of men of letters whose activities
and meetings in the house of Valentin Conrart about 1629
suggested to the Cardinal de Richelieu the potential value
of a body of recognized authorities in matters of literature
and language in the work of centralizing French opinion.
Many of these men were young authors, very few of whom
had attained any intellectual eminence; their organizatioh
came in for much adverse comment, especially as they had
been suspected of being a tool of Richelieu in the matter of
the Sentiments sur le Cid. Criticism after the Cardinal's
death was likely to be even more bitter.
An excellent example of such criticism is found in one of
the letters which Ismael Boulliau wrote to the Dupuys from
Venice in the course of his visit of 1645. The pungent can
dor of his remarks is a refreshing change from the formai and
official version of historie events. Dated October 14, 1645,
it refers to events recorded in the last Boulliau had received
from Paris:
"I should have liked to see these Moustachios you speak of around those
manuscripts, for I would have given them a piece of my mind. This stupid
rabble with its reformed dictionary aims to judge things it does not under
stand. You will see that this Academy will be a hot-bed of barbarisms,
and so far as it can, it will stifle the knowledge of languages and letters, the
more so because few men today will take the trouble to study. The learn
ing and capacity of a wit will consist in rounding out a period and making a
rondeau, the transformation of an eye, or some other trifle that may be
produced in three weeks or a month and paraded through the salons of the
coquettes of Paris, who give credit according to their fancy. If the leader
of this famous assembly, (Chancellor Séguier) had been well advised, he
64
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGINS
would have broken it up, and he would be justified, roused by a proper in
dignation, after having willingly made this outlay, and having sent a serv
ant especially to bring back books that may be of more use to the public
than anything that has ever corne from the hands of these wits. But ail
this is the under the seal of confession, and I make exception of our friends
of the Cabinet. I don't want them to see what I write you, and I would be
especially sorry that Monsieur de la Mothe (Je Vayer) whom I esteem, who
is intelligent and who knows what literature is should see this part of my
letter. It is not of him, nor of the Abbé de Chambon, nor of d'Ablancourt
that I speak."l
From his ridicule Boulliau excepts La Mothe le Vayer, mem

ber of the Académie Française as well as of the Cabinet, the
Abbé de Chambon, an associate of Mersenne as well as a
friend of the Dupuys, and the translator Perrot d' Ablan
court, each of them a man not to be entirely satisfied by the
meetings of the Académie in the house of Séguier, with their
1 "Je voudrais avoir veu des Moustaches, dont vous me parlés, autour
de ces MSS, je leur aurais dict un petit mot de galanterie. Cette sotte
canaille avec son dictionnaire reformé pretend de juger des choses qu'elle
n'entend pas. Vous verrez que cette Academie sera un seminaire de Bar
barie, et qu'autant qu'elle pourra elle estouffera la cognoissance des langues
et de bonnes lettres, et ce d'autant plus qu'il y a aujourdhuy peu de per
sonnes qui veuillent prendre la peine d'estudier. La science et capacité
d'un bel esprit consistera à bien arrondir une periode et à faire un rondeau,
une metamorphose d'yeux etc ou quelque autre badinerie qui se fera en
trois semaines ou un mois, et puis sera promenée par les ruelles des coquettes
de Paris, qui donneront credit a un homme selon leur caprice. Si le chef
de cette celebre compagnie eust bien faict, il l'aurait dissipée, et il aurait
raison poussé d'une juste indignation, après avoir voulu faire la despense et
envoier expres un homme pour luy rapporter des livres qui peuvent servir
au public plus que tout ce qui est jamais sorti des mains de ces beaux esprits.
Mais tout ce que je vous dis-la c'est soubs le sceau de confession, et j'en ex
cepte les amis du cabinet. Je ne veux pas qu'ils voyent ce que je vous escris,
sur tout je serais fasché que Mr. de la Mothe que j'estime et qui est intel
ligent et qui sçait ce que c'est des bonnes lettres, eust veu cet endroit de ma
lettre. Ce n'est pas de luy ny de Mr !'Abbé de Chambon ny d'Ablancourt
que jentens parler." Fonds Dupuy 18, f. 21
66 THE MONTMOR ACAOEMY BEGINS
formal italianate discourses and readings of verse. The feel

ing that this body was inadequate to represent erudition in
France was widespread among those who frequented the
numerous circles of amateurs of antiquity and the sciences.
A leader among the dissidents was the wealthy Henri
Louis Habert de Montmor, Maître des Requêtes, and mem
ber of an important Parisian family. Montmor was born
about the beginning of the century, and died in 1679; he was
a member of the Académie Française from very early in its
public career, and was the author of a discourse, now lost,
De l' Utilité des Conférences, read in the academy March 3,
1635, and of the poem Le Perce-neige contributed to the
Guirlande de Julie. Costar, in his Mémoire des Gens de
Lettres célèbres de France, compiled about 1652, says that
Montmor had an income of a hundred thousand livres. 2 In
1637 he married Marie-Henriette de Buade de Frontenac,
daughter of the Comte de Palluau, and sister of the Comte
de Frontenac, later Governor of Canada. Two members of
his family took rather more interest in the Académie Fran
çaise than he did himself, Pierre Habert, Abbe de Cérisy,
and Germain, who succeeded Pierre in his charge, and who
figures as a minor poet in the literature of the day. Like
all patrons of letters and learning, Montmor was the recip
ient of most extravagant praise; his bounty and hospitality
brought him a flood of meaningless compliment and eulogy.
There are, however, a few descriptions of his character which
are more candid.
The first of these, taken from a list of the maîtres des requétes
drawn up in 1663, would scarcely seem to describe a great
patron of the controversial arts: "He has a taste for letters,
expresses himself with difficulty, is slow, timid, and cares
2 Costar's Mémoire was published by Desmolets, Continuation des Mém
oires de Littérature et d'Histoire, II, ii, Paris, 1726, p. 323.

little for his duties."� Another, from a confidential report

made by Chapelain on the leading men of letters for the
private information of Colbert, is more circumstantial, and
has a broader basis for its conclusions:
"He has plenty of wit, and has shown it to better advantage in a number
of Latin epigrams than in anything else; his love for literature and for men
of letters is very ardent, and sometimes generous. Because of subtleties
and affectations of system in his arguments he falls into vagueness and un
certainty. We have seen nothing of his in print, although it is said he has
many things begun of a philosophie nature. He professes Cartesian doc
trine; and rumor has it that he has set up an academy in his house only to
establish this novelty, and to destroy the doctrine of Aristotle, in which he
has found serious contradictions."4
The Abbé Gallois, in his Discours de Réception de l'abbé de

Lavau, mentions Montmor as one "the delicacy of whose wit,
and whose special care for the advancement of letters will al
ways place in the ranks of the illustrious of this age." Speak
ing of him among the associates of the Chancellor Séguier,
René Kerviler says that he was to the Académie des Sciences
what Conrart had been to the Académie Française; 5 this is
the rôle in which he interests us here.
Montmor offered Descartes the full use of a valuable
country-house at Mesnil-Saint-Denis not far from Chevreuse
and the Jansenist Port-Royal as a retreat from the troubles
and disturbances of life in the capital; this offer was not
accepted, but it appears that he saw much of the philosopher
in the course of the last visits of the latter to Paris. He is
very probably the "Monsieur Habert" who called on Pascal
in the company of Descartes, Roberval, and others on Sep
tember 23, 1647, according to a letter of Jacqueline. He is
3 Depping, Correspondance Administrative, cited by Kerviler.
• Desmolets, Mémoires, II, 32.

6 Kerviler, Le Chancelier Pierre Séguier, Paris, Didier, 1874, p. 510.
68 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGINS
mentioned by Gui Patin, Marolles, and others as a great

collector of books and curiosities; the sale of his library was
remarked as one of the most notable of the years 1679-1681,
when many very large private collections were broken up,
includjng those of the De Thous, the translator Briot, and
the Protestant J ustel.
Like many of the amateurs of science in the middle of the
century, Montmor moved with ease in the assemblies of the
curieux, the salons of the précieux, and the meetings of the
Cabinet. A friend of Chapelain and Ménage, at first to
gether, later-after their famous quarrel-alternately, he
was associated with such disparate figures as Guez de Balzac,
Peiresc, Hobbes, and Mersenne. We have seen his generous
gesture towards Descartes; later he repeated it to Gassendi,
Royal Professor of Mathematics, following it with an invita
tion conveyed by Chapelain and Neuré, suggesting that the
ill health and difficult circumstances in which the philosopher
found himself might be overcome by his taking up residence
in Montmor's town-house in the rue Sainte-Avoye. Mont
mor's reputation as a Cartesian made this step appear strange
to his friends, but he seems to have taken great pains for
Gassendi's happiness and comfort, lavishing care on him
while alive, and spending much money in his honor after his
death.
The few details we have of the sojourn of Gassendi in the
house of Montmor indicate the friendly intimacy which
existed there. The Norman poet Segrais knew Gassendi
very well, having lived in the same house with him some
months in Provence; of his life in Paris he writes:
"I saw him frequently in Paris, in the house of M. de Montmor, who had
a special welcome for men of letters at his table. Gassendi was gentle and
amiable, and played with little children; he would take those of M. de
Montmor walking in the garden, or dandle them on his knee. He did not
know what it was to get angry, and would do everything one could ask."6
Another witness of this period of his life was Gui Patin, dean
of the Faculty of Medicine; in a letter to his friend Spon of
January 30, 1654, he writes:
"Today I dined with M.Gassendi in the house of Monsieur H.de Mont
mor, maître des Requêtes.....He showed me his books, which are very
fine and numerous; he made me promise that I visit him once a week, but I
have not said it will be for dinner, one !oses tao much time in such ceremo
nies. He says he wants to corne and see my books; I think he would like
me to be his physician, but I do not know that we should agree very well,
for he Jikes chemical remedies, he is not yet entirely undeceived about anti
mony, which is here much fallen away and decried. His wife even, who
has a taste for the curious, versatur in ea haeresi. She favors the Jesuit
powder (quinine) of which I have seen no good effect in Paris." 7
Patin does not specify why Montmor requested his weekly

presence in his house; it seems clear that it was not for the
practice of medicine. Were there more or Jess regular aca
demic assemblies "chez Monsieur de Montmor" even before
the death of Gassendi? Bigourdan thinks it probable; he
cites Marolles, who was present at an unspecified time in
Gassendi's room, where he found another haunter of confer
ences, the learned Lefèvre Chantereau. 8 Certainly Gas
sendi receivedhis friends in the house of the rue Sainte-Avoye;
just as certainly, even if no regular day were set, no constitu
tion drawn up, no officers chosen, the men who were accus
tomed to the meetings of the Académie Française, to the
cooperative activities of the house of Peiresc, to the profitable
conversation of Mersenne, and the regular assemblies of the
G Segrais, Oeuvres, Amsterdam, 1723, I, 43-44.
7 Réveillé-Parise, Lettres de Gui Patin, CCLIV, Vol. II, rn7.
s Marolles, Memoires, II, I 14.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGlNS
Cabinet, would gather for similar purposes in such a house.

It may be an assumption, but it seems justifiable, that the
mathematicians and physicists, Boulliau, Pascal, Roberval,
Desargues, Carcavi, and others, left without their unofficial
moderators by the successive deaths of Mersenne, the Abbé
Picot, and Le Pailleur, should so meet around Gassendi; ail
the indications seem to point to the conclusion that from the
beginning of 1654 Montmor's house served as one of the
resting-places of the academy in embryo that was one day
to be transformed into the official creation recognized by the
King and "established" by Colbert.
Patin continued to frequent the house of Montmor; he
wrote Spon, October 19, 1655:
"In M. Gassendi's room, with M. H. de Montmor his hast, I met today a
man from your city of Lyons, named M. de Monconys, brother of your
lieutenant criminel. I told him that I had had the honor of seeing here in
1653 his brother, Monsieur de Liergues."g
This new acquaintance was the traveler, Balthazar de Mon

conys, who, at first an amateur of the occult and magical,
soon became one of the most significant figures in the move
ment which brought the sciences from the laboratories of
the alchemists into the periodical press and the discussions
of the intelligent public. The journal of his voyages over
most of Europe and the Levant records the development of
an alert and industrious, if not exceptionally critical, mind;
without offering the spark of eccentric genius of a Digby, he
has many of the same interests, the taste for strange and
remarkable dishes, for cures that verge on the miraculous,
and for calculations that are at least original. He seems to
have dwelt in Paris from about 1655 until nearly the end of
1658, and to have traveled extensively from then until about
g Lettres, ed. Réveillé-Parise, II, 21 r.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGINS 71
the end of his life, returning to Paris for a short time after
1660. We shall have occasion to refer to his presence in
London in 1663.
Monconys offers another hint that the formal opening of
the Montmor Academy was preceded by a period of irregu
lar meetings which seem to have resembled the assemblies of
the later years. Two letters to his mathematical friend Reg
nault of Lyons, the first not dated, the second of August 4,
1656, refer specifically to an academy meeting in Montmor's
house, at which the celebrated glass drops were discussed. 10
According to the undated letter, Montmor obtained for
Monconys the permission to be present in the academy,
"where these gentlemen had the kindness to suffer me as an
altogether exceptional favor, no person ever having entered
there who was not a member of this assembly." Here a
glass drop was produced by de la Chambre, who had had it
from Chanut, resident of the King of France at the court of
Sweden; Monconys was permitted to examine it at leisure
before the fine point of the drop was broken off by Montmor,
reducing the glass to a fine powder. Monconys was asked
for his opinion of the cause, and assigned this mysterious
result to the activities of "la crainte du vuide," the horror
vacui of scholastic physics. He expects that Regnault will
be able to find a better reason, and requests that Messieurs de
Servière, Guillemin, and Tornier, as well as "les Pères de S.
Rigaud et Bertet," be asked for their opinions.
The other letter is obviously later; Monconys mentions
briefly some
"physical discussions which took place on Tuesday in the house of M.
de Montmor on the subject of these glass drops I wrote you about, in the
presence of Father Vattier the Jesuit who teaches mathematics, of three
10 Monconys, Journal des Voyages, Paris, 1695, II, ii, 323 and 328.
72 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGlNS
others of his order, of MM. l'abbe Tallemant, Maridat, Sorbière,· Petit,

Pecquet, Diodati, who came at the close of operations, and myself also."
The previous experiment was repeated, and the views of

Vattier, Sorbière, and Pecquet, were expounded. As these
letters were printed from the papers left by Monconys at his
death in 1665, there seems no doubt that they refer to real
occurrences in Paris at the date mentioned. It is curious
that the events here described form a logical prelude to the
constitution of December 1657, and yet have remained un
remarked by the historians of the scientific activity of the
period.
Two events that precede the constitution of the academy
at the end of 1657 seem to explain the motives behind its
formulation. First, perhaps only an indirect influence, was
the establishment of the Tuscan Accademia del Cimento by
Prince Leopold in June of that year, a body strictly limited
in numbers, designed to promote the physical sciences by
the prosecution of experimental research in close collabora
tion. The second was the beginning of the effort made by
Hedelin, Abbé d'Aubignac, famous principally for his dra
matic theories, to obtain a royal privilege for a second acad
emy in Paris, to occupy itself with many of the topics that
already interested the Académie Française.
According to Le Maire, Paris Ancien et Nouveau11 Hedelin's
meetings grew from the very successful conferences held by
de Launay, Conseiller du Roy, and Historiographe de
France, begun in 1656 to support the modern philosophy of
Gassendi against the principles of the common philosophy of
Aristotle and the opinions of the Cartesians. With subjects
of scientific interest, Launay used to introduce discussions of
current history and politics. Le Maire notes that there were
11 Edition of 1684, III, 444.

THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGlNS 73
no public conferences in Paris that attracted a greater num

ber of persons of quality; princes, prelates, and ladies of the
court used to be present from time to time. From this
beginning came d'Aubignac's Académie du Dauphin, in which
Eloquence and Experiments in Physics divided the program;
a monthly discourse in the Hôtel de Matignon, and Saturday
meetings in Launay's rooms comprised the programme. As
the Dauphin was born in November of 1661, the Academy
which bore his name and rose from the combined efforts of
Hedelin and Launay must date from shortly before the publi
cation of the Discours addressed to the king in which argu
ments for a second academy are presented.
ln spite of repeated appeals, the Abbé d'Aubignac was
refused Royal letters-patent, but, "un esprit tout de feu, qui
se jette à tout, et qui se tire de tout," as Chapelain describes
him,12 he was not discouraged, and continued his meetings.
His discourse was privileged for publication on January 15,
1656, but does not seem to have been printed before 1664;
however, the repercussion of the agitation for a second
approved learned society must have been felt among the
Montmor group. A prominent feature of d'Aubignac's final
proposai was the suggestion of the establishment of chairs for
public professors in ail branches of learning, the incumbents
to be neither stubbornly attached to the opinions of the
ancients nor so modern that they would burden the language
with new words. Not very well-defined nor influentially
supported, the project was doomed to defeat, but it helped
to prepare public opinion for the various groups whose work
had the seal of official approval-the Petite Académie of 1663,
the Académie des Sciences of 1666, and the attempted acad
emy of history and oriental languages of 1667.
12 Mémoire de quelques Gens de lettres vivans en MDCLXII, in Mémoires,
(Desmolets), II, 32.
In his life of Sorbière, prefixed to the Sorberiana, Graverol

tells us that Samuel Sorbière was the permanent secretary
of the Montmor Academy, and that he was charged with the
making and preservation of the records; unfortunately they
appear to have been lost. The constitution of 1657 was
drawn up by him in collaboration with du Prat, and has been
preserved for us only in the form of a long letter to Thomas
Hobbes of February, 1658. 13 From the point of view of
formai history, we may admit that the academy began in
December of 1657; but as we have seen in the case of practi
cally every group of amateurs of a science or an art, the formai
inauguration of activities is preceded by a more or less lengthy
period of association in which the membership, the form, the
object, and the general character of the society is gradually
established. It would be a very temporary foundation if it
were not so; few constitutions can be set up without some
sanction in human habits already existing. Later writers,
Chapelain, Sorbière himself,-both of whom were in a posi
tion to know the real history of the meetings in the house of
Montmor-and, following them, Cassini, Fontenelle, and
the students of various aspects of seventeenth-century life
clown to M. Ch. H. Boudhors in an article of the Revue de
l' Histoire Littéraire de la France in 1929, have always referred
the beginnings to this date. The evidence and the proba
bilities seem to show that a period of more or less casual
association and tentative elaboration of a program must have
preceded the official opening.
Sorbière had been in association with Hobbes since about
1640, when he had arranged for publication of the De Cive
by the Elzevirs at Amsterdam; he had published in Bolland
13 Printed in Sorbière's Lettres et Discours de Monsieur de Sorbière Sur
diuerses matières curieuses, 1660, p. 631. Reprinted, Huygens, Oeuures

Complètes, IV, 513.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGIN$ 75
a translation of the same work, and seems to have kept up
his relations with the English philosopher just as he con
tinued his associations with anyone whose position, wealth,
or intellectual attainments, could ever be of use to him.
Like most of his letters, that of February r, 1658, is so care
fully prepared for publication that ail its charm and spon
taneity-if ever it had any-are lost; the remainder is the
barest and most general of statements:
"I have told you in my previous letters, that M. de Montmor having
clone me the honor of communicating to me his project of receiving into his
house a certain number of men chosen to discuss Natural Questions, or
experiments and inventions, he gave me the task of drawing up a plan of the
way in which one might form conferences which should contribute to public
usefulness as well as to the enjoyment of those who might enter into the
proposai. I drew up with Monsieur du Prat several articles which were
presented at the first meeting, consisting of a large number of curious per
sans. There they were examined, with some discussion on the part of those
who were to become members. I forward them to you since you ask me
for them, and I should be very happy were they to be seen by everyone,
because they testify our good intentions, and will perhaps not be useless to
those who would apply themselves to the same investigations as we have
set before ourselves."
After rhetorical flourishes about the glory of the age and the
great merit of the new academicians, he turns to the real
substance of the letter, the terms of the constitution:
I. The purpose of the conferences shall not be the vain exercise of the
mind on useless subtleties, but the company shall set before itself always
the clearer knowledge of the works of God, and the improvement of the
conveniences of life, in the Arts and Sciences which seek to establish them.
Il. The President will set, upon advice of the Company, the question
for the next meeting, and request by name two persans whom he will think
best informed, to report their opinion, leaving to the rest the liberty of
expressing their own thoughts on the subject.
III. These opinions shall be read and produced in writing, in concise
and reasoned terms, without amplification or citation of authorities.
L
THE MONTMOR ACAOEMY BEGINS
IV. They shall be read without interruption, the two selected speakers
having read theirs first.
V. After the readings, each one shall say in order and briefly the objec
tions or confirmations to what has been read; and after the response he
shall insist no longer without the express permission of the President.
VI. Members are permitted to send their opinions in writing when they
cannot corne in person.
VII. The Assembly will request those who may have opportunity to
maintain correspondence with the scholars of France and foreign countries,
so as to learn from them what is in preparation, or already published or
discovered in the Arts and Sciences; of which the Assembly shall be informed
at the close of the meetings.
VIII. The Assembly being formed, no person shall be admitted who does
not request it, and then only on the consent of two-thirds of the Company
present when the proposai shall be mac.lé.
IX. No person not a member of the Assembly shall be admitted into the
place of conference, which shall be entirely composed of persans curious
about natural things, medicine, mathematics, the liberal arts, and mechan
ics, unless permission to introduce some person of rnerit has previously been
requested.
Such was the programme of the Montmor Academy: a

dual purpose, the knowledge of the natural world and the
advancements of the comforts of life, to be attained through
directed curiosity, periodical discourses, and systematic
correspondence with scientists out of Paris. The curiosity
may often have been misguided, the discourses more about
words than things, the correspondence unsystematic and
footling, but the academy had an expressed and useful pur
pose, and numbered among its adherents two or three men
of real ability. Out of its misdeeds and mistakes grew the·
conception of the Académie des Sciences.
The circumstances did not permit the complete avoidance
of the "vain exercise of the mind on useless su btleties." The
difficulty with which experimentation could be carried out
in the household of Montmor, situated in a thickly settled
and fashionable part of the city, made the meetings degen-
erate with unfortunate frequency into acrimonious discus
sions about untested theories and conflicting authorities.
The prayers that Sorbière expressed in his letter to Hobbes,
that the modesty, the gentle and peaceful spirit of Gassendi
might reign in the meetings, and that something of the dili
gence and unselfishness of Mersenne might inspire their work,
were not entirely unfulfilled, however, for the society met
for about six years after this formalizing of its existence. In
its sessions many topics of importance were discussed, many
recent developments in various sciences reported.
The earliest accounts of the organized academy are offered
in the letter by Sorbière above quoted, in one of Ismael
Boulliau to Heinsius of February, 1658, and in another of
Chapelain. Each of them regards the new foundation as an
occasion for optimism about the future of science in France;
in each letter the individual temperament may be detected.
Sorbière affords no details of the early activities of the acad
emy beyond a statement that "on this basis we have begun
to build our Conferences, and already we have treated with
method and perfect accuracy a number of important ques
tions."
Boulliau, on the other hand, throws a good deal of light
on the circumstances and background of the meetings; being
in close touch with most of the aspects of intellectual life in
Paris, a friend of Chapelain, an associate of Montmor in the
Cabinet of the brothers Dupuy, a practised hand at observing
and recording fact for the benefit of his numerous correspond
ents, his account of the early stages of this body is a welcome
contrast to the vague and imprecise accounts of literary
personages.
This letter exists in the original at Leiden, in Boulliau's
draft in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and was printed by
Burmann in his Sylloges Epistolarum, (V. 592) in the eight-
eenth century. He begins with an account of the extreme

cold suffered in Paris, a cold so great that ink froze in the ink
pots and that fingers could not be persuaded to write letters,
and goes on to comment on the two newly founded acad
emies. The first is in the house of the Venetian Resident,
organized on the Italian model, and frequented by young and
charming people; here the dust of libraries and ancient books
does not penetrate, and "Questions" are proposed for dis
cussion, taken from mythology and antique lore, such as the
metal which composed the chain that bound the winds, or
the motive power of Charon's boat on the Styx. 14 The sec
ond academy is that of Montmor:
"Another Academy of a plan very different from the Venetian the Illus
trious M. de Montmor has set up in his house. In it there is discussion only
of mathematical and physical matters..•..Upon them (the Venetians) a
certain Petit, said to be a military engineer, has made a violent attack; it
was he who opened the academic discussion by the delivery of an inaugural
discourse. In neither am I enrolled; not in the first, because the charm and
elegance suited to the ears and eyes of this age are entirely lacking to me,
accustomed to other studies more serious and austere. Nor yet in the
second, in which I can not participate because the house of the illustrious M.
de Thou15 is separated by a very great distance from that of Montmor;
because also those Academicians meet on Friday, on which day by necessity
I must compose several letters, From certain persans I have learned that
the Venetians are more agreeable, more polite, more urbane, and use com
plimentary words in discussion. The Montmorians are sharper, and dis
pute with vehemence, since they quarre! about the pursuit of truth; some
times they are eager to rail at each other, and jealously deny a truth, since
each one, although professing to inquire and investigate, would like to be
14 According to Thorpe's Catalogue of Southwell Manuscripts, p. 524, in a

Diary during Sir Robert Southwell's 'fravels in France, 1659, he noted that
"at the Italian meeting at Paris, they discourse on such themes, whether
tickling to death or dying for love be the greatest pain." The reference is
doubtless to this same academy.
15 In which Boulliau was living at the time.
the sole author of the truth when discovered. And if anyone in the course
ofhis hunting find that truth, the others will not in the end share in the spoils
of their own free will and pleasure, because each one considers that his own
fame and glory has lost something if he grant even a blade of grass to the
victor and acknowledge him as the real discoverer." 16
Chapelain's account of the academy is contained in a letter

to Christiaan Huygens of February 27, 1658, printed in the
Oeuvres complètes de Christiaan Huygens.11 Huygens (1629-
95) was a young Dutch astronomer, mathematician, and
physicist, son of the widely known Constantyn Huygens,
Heer van Zuylichem, secretary to the Stadthouders of the
United Provinces; he had exchanged letters on scientific
matters with Mersenne, and had visited Boulliau and Gas
sendi in Paris in the summer of 1655. His work up to this
16 Aliam diversi longe a Veneta illa instituti Academiam I11mu, Dominus
Mommorius Libellorum supplicum magister apud se etiam instituit. ln

ea namque de rebus Mathematicis et Physicis tantum modo disseritur ....
inque eos (Venetos) invectus est quidam Petitus dictus militaris Architectus,
qui ludum Academicum habita apud Mommorium oratione inaugurali
aperuit. Neutri sum adscriptus, non priori quia lepor & ornatus illi ad
aures et oculos saeculi accommodati me prorsus deficiunt, aliis studiis
severis magis ac austeris assuetum. Non etiam alteri, cui interesse mihi
non licet, quod longissimo itineri I11mi Thuani aedes a Mommorianis dissitae
sint; cum etiam die Veneris, quo plures mihi epistolae necessario exarandae
sunt, Academici illi conveniant. A quibusdam intellexi Venetos suaviores,
magis expolitos, urbanioresque esse, interque colloquendum officiosis verbis
•
uti. Mommoriani acriores sunt, atque vehementius, utpote qui de veritate
adsequenda decertant, inter se disserunt: quandoque etiam sese libentius
carpunt, ac invidiose reprehendunt, veritatem quippe omnes cum se quaerere
ac investigare profiteantur, singuli inventae authores esse volunt; nec in
partem praedae, si quis illam veritatem venatus comprehenderit, sponte
libent(i)que animo caeteri venerint: cum famae suae ac gloriae detractum
unusquisque putet, si victori cuipiam herbam dederit, inventoremque a�
noverit." Fonds Français, 13027, f. 119. Dated by Bou!liau "Scrib.
Lutetia Parisior. Kal. v. Febr. 1658."
11 II, 14 .
3
s '
time had been largely inspired by discoveries and inventions

of Galileo; he had perfected a device for attaching a swing
ing pendulum to a mechanism for telling the passage of time,
and he had, by means of an improved telescope, discovered a
satellite of the planet Saturn, and was in a fair way to solving
the problems of the very strange appearances of that body
in the primitive telescopes of the day. Since his visit to
Paris he had kept up a correspondence with ChapeJain on
matters of common interest; the eider man-Chapelain was
born in l 595-was an important influence in the career of the
young scientist. He stimulated him to the publication of
his discoveries on the planet Saturn, read his communications
before such bodies as the Académie Française and the con-
férence chez Ménage in 1656, and the Montmor Academy in
1658, presented him in various circles of influence in Paris,
and helped to procure Huygens the award of a royal gratuity
in 1663, which led to the invitation to corne and assist in the
establishment of the Academy of Sciences in 1665-6. Chap
elain is best known for his work in literary fields, including
the failure of his epic on Joan of Arc; however, his interest
in philosophie matters was already old, dating from certain
conversations he had had with Gassendi twenty years before.
At that time his questions had been intelligent enough to
cause the philosopher to turn from his Epicurus while he
wrote the lives of the astronomers Purbach and Regiomon
tanus; and in the course of conversations the atomistic hy
pothesis and way of thinking had so impressed itself upon
Chapelain that he could never be quite happy in Cartesian
circles.
Early in 1656 Chapelain had communicated to Montmor
Huygens' newly published pamphlet announcing the dis
covery of the satellite of Saturn; in February of 1658 Huy
gens had new findings to report. The minute of a letter to
Chapelain among the manuscripts at Leiden indicates the

point from which Chapelain's letter starts:
"That I had not received his letter, I sent the two figures of Saturn, de
scribe Hodierna's system, excuse the delay of mine on the dock etc. Of the
new academy in the house of Montmor."18
From this it would appear that it was not Chapelain who had
informed Huygens of the new organization in Paris; it may
have been Boulliau.
To this lost letter Chapelain's is an answer, and worth
quoting at some length:
" .... You will know that the same day that M. Tassin19 gave me your
last letter, although I was badly bruised by a fall I had taken on our ice,
I went to show it in our academy in the house ot M. de Montmor to ail the
illustrious in both mathematical and philosophical learning of Paris, and I
can assure you that you received great applause for it from everyone and
that I was begged on ail sicles to encourage you in the taste for this study
which has made you produce results so precious and so useful to the public.
Severa! among them had heard of this clock which you mention to me, and
urged me to obtain a description from you which would show how wonderful
it was, especially Messieurs de Montmor and Thevenot., ... If you will
grant each of these requests, I shall act as befits your reputation and will
send a faithful account to you." 20
Huygens' letter of February 14 with the figures that

accompanied it were handed by Chapelain to Montmor, who
showed them to the Duc de Luynes, an amateur and patron
of the arts and sciences then living in his country house near
Port-Royal. In response, Montmor wrote a note for Huy
gens, expressing the hope that his researches would be con
tinued, both in the matter of the docks and of Saturn, and
assuring him that he need fear no infringement of his rights
1s February 14, 1658, Oeuv. compl., II, 133.
19 Agent of the Huygens family in Paris.
20 Oeuvres Complètes, II, 143.
82 THE MONTMOR ACAOEMY BEGINS
if he chose to communicate the results to his friends in Paris.

On March 28 Huygens sent a long and elaborate account of
both these investigations to Chapelain; fully confident of
the latter's discretion, he explains briefly the meaning of the
anagram he had published in 1656 concealing his supposition
of a thin fiat ring surrounding the planet, and elaborates
his own view of the real nature of Saturn. He accounted
for earlier opinions of the cause of the appearances of that
planet as either based on inadequate observation or defective
lenses. The latter part of the letter discussed the pendulum
dock, referring especially to one recently installed at Scheven
ingen, and a postscript suggested that perhaps the letter is
too crude to aspire to be presen ted to the Duc d'Orléans, uncle
of Louis XIV, a noted amateur of the sciences living in
retirement at Blois. (Oeuv. Compl., II, 157)
Chapelain was highly delighted with the system of Saturn,
particularly as Roberval had committed himself to the hy
pothesis of a belt of vapors some two weeks previously in a
forma! discourse before the academy; when shown Huygens'
first letter, Roberval had claimed that obviously the theories
therein expressed were based on what Huygens had picked
up in conversation with him on the occasion of his visit to
Paris in 1655. Chapelain's reply ends with a discreet sug
gestion that publicity might not improperly be sought at
once:
"Now sir, although I was much tempted to show your excellent letter
to our assembly for your good fame tomorrow, as I see you are doubtful
whether it be suitable yet to publish the system of Saturn, I have not dared
to risk it without your permission, not wishing to be Jess discreet than M.
Boulliau who said to me quite six months ago that you had justified your
hypothesis to him, but without telling me anything more for fear of failing
in his secret to you."21
21 Qçuprçs Complètes, II, 166.

If the hypothesis were really sound, it would be to Huygens'

advantage to publish at once, if only to prevent someone
else making the same discovery and seizing the credit with
or without the benefit of Huygens' calculations.
The result was a brief note of April 18 authorizing Chape
lain to announce the system concerning Saturn in the acad
emy, withholding only the part of his communication which
dealt with the pendulum docks. Huygens was naturally sur
prised at Roberval's daims in the matter of the ring; surely
the publication of the anagram in the spring of 1656 was
conclusive proof of the priority of his own hypothesis? His
own efforts of that year to obtain a statement in writing of
Roberval's opinions had had no result before August 4, 1656,
when he received one that bore little resemblance to the
theory he had worked out.
The answer he received from Chapelain, dated May 10,
1658, is a document of a type all too rare in the history of
human associations before the journalist and the cameraman
made their way into the semi-private affairs of the race. lt
is an account of perhaps the most important event in the
history of the academy of Montmor, from the pen of one of
the best-known figures of the day, the centre of the scene
which he describes:
"I shall enter at once and without preface into the reply which I owe
to your last of April 18, which has confirmed me in my ancient resolu
tion to proceed very slowly when it is a question of the interests of my
friends, and to give them the time necessary to make decisions and take
the measures most useful for their good. If I had communicated the secret
of your dock, as you had permitted me, you would no longer be in a
position to dispose of it to your own advantage and to put off its pub
lication when you could not suifer any interference with your plans. My
restraint has preserved you in the liberty in which you were in this affair
before you broached it to me, and even M. de Montmor, to whom espe
çially I was to have communicated this has had no word of it because I
could not show him the dock without also showing him the system of Sat
urn, which you declare that you do not wish to exhibit just yet. The devo
tions of Easter which have interrupted the assembly in his house have given
me an excuse to show him neither one nor the other, and the means of
awaiting your final orders for my guidance in this affair. Your instructions
came the day before the meeting, and having made up my mind what I had
to show and what to suppress, I have acquitted myself of it as you may have
hoped, with ail possible success.....The Assembly was large, and num
bered more than forty persons, among them were two Cordons Bleus,'12. the
Marquis de Sourdis and Monsieur de Plessis Guénégaud, both secretaries
of State, several Abbés of the nobility, several Maîtres des Requêtes,
Conseillers du Parlement, Officers of the Chambre des Comptes, Doctors of
the Sorbonne, several noble amateurs, doctors of repute, many mathema
ticians and numerous men of letters..... When M. de Montmor, whom I
had spoken to privately, had asked for a hearing for what I had to read,
and because I wished to prepare my reading by the account of the moon you
discovered near Saturn four years ago and announced on my advice more
than two, M.the Marquis de Sourdis urged me cordially to read further the
pamphlet which he had brought in case of need. So I read it before the
letter, and obtained a very favorable hearing; then I read in a loud clear
voice your exposition of the system which those who were beside me followed
on the paper, the more distant having more trouble in understanding because
they could not see the figures at the same time, except M. de Roberval who
confessed to me afterwards that in proportion as I read what you had written
he had conceived it as clearly as if he had had his eyes on the paper itself.
For the others, the ablest and those most touched by celestial speculations
took the letter to see it at their ease, and to verify the hypothesis on the
figures traced at the necessary places in your letter. And I can say to you
in ail sincerity, that although everyone did not entirely agree with your con
clusions as a quite certain truth, the majority nevertheless deemed it very
probable and infinitely praised your sagacity and judgment in a matter so
far removed from the evidence of the senses, and rejoiced to see you so per
spicacious and so philosophie at an age as young as yours, promising so
much for other mathematical discoveries in the future. M. de Roberval,
whose approval is of great weight, agreed heartily with this sentiment and
paid a high compliment to the excellence of your genius."23
22 The Cordon bleu was the insignia of the Order of the Holy Ghost
(Saint Esprit) founded by Henri III in I 578.
2a Oeuvres Complètes, II, 173.
Noting that Roberval had frankly admitted that Huygens

had taken nothing from him, but that he had criticized the
theory as inadequate and too artificial for a good explanation,
Chapelain closes with a request that Huygens publish the
complete system as soon as possible, not only to satisfy the
curiosity of the learned world, but also to consolidate the
position his past achievements and present activity have
acquired for him. Huygens' reply of June 6 notes his grati
tude and satisfaction at Chapelain's actions in his interests.
Meanwhile others had been making discourses at the
Montmor Academy; we have mentioned Roberval's exposi
tion of his own theory of the appearances of Saturn. Another
provider of philosophie entertainment was the secretary,
Sorbière; a volume of Lettres et Discours, published in Paris
in 1660, contains a Discours sur le mouvement, read at the
session of May 3; a Discours physique sur la raréfaction et la
condensation, of June 7, and an argument, f?lue le peu de con
naissance que nous avons des choses naturelles ne doit pas nous
détourner de leur étude, of June 14. The same volume con
tains three more discourses of 1659; on February II he spoke
du Froid des Fièvres intermittentes, on August 19 and 26,
De la Vérité de nos connaissances naturelles, and De la Source
des diverses Opinions sur une mesme matière.
On July 13 of this year (1658) the Cartesian Clerselier read
a feigned letter from Descartes to himself containing argu
ments designed to reply to Roberval's repeated attacks on
the system of Descartes. To this year must be assigned the
discussions of the problems of capillarity mentioned in a
letter of November II, 1658, from Gio. Alfonso Borelli
to Prince Leopold of Tuscany, printed by A. Fabroni, Lettere
Inedite, (1773; I, II5), in which Thevenot is said to have
listed the rising of liquids in tubes of srnall calibre as
arnong the subjects studied in Paris. The original letter of
the French writer is lost, and the sole record of his statement
seems to be in the above mentioned communication, which is
the basis for a discussion in Tiraboschi, (1833, IV, 467); but
among the writings of Monconys in the 'Journal des Voyages,
is a Discours sur l'Ascension de l'eau sur son niveau, en un
tuyau étroit: récité par Mr de Monconys chez Mr de Mommor,
where, after a series of Observations and Considerations, the
comments of Roberval, "Ro" (Rohault), "Ausout," "Pe
quet," and "Mommor" are listed.
Among those who had been active in the prosecution of
experiments in the circle surrounding Mersenne was Pierre
Petit, a native of Montluçon, Intendant des Fortifications de
Normandie, an amateur astronomer and mathematician of
some ability. He had been associated with Pascal in the
experiments on the column of mercury in Rouen in 1648; and
it seems that he had been a member of the circle of Parisian
mathematicians and physicists through its various vicissi
tudes between the death of Mersenne and 1657, when accord
ing to Boulliau he delivered the inaugural oration of the
Montmor academy. Five years later, he was described by
Chapelain as
"a passable physicist among the best, and in mechanical observations,
for in ail experiments on natural things, in the art of war and fortifications,
one sees no one more ardent nor more enthusiastic than he."24
In October of 1658, Ismael Boulliau sent Huygens a letter

from Petit, full of comments on Huygens' new dock, praise
of his views on the appearances of Saturn, and disgusted
criticism of the average Parisian amateur, more eager to
discuss than to work for the improvement of inventions.
With his usual candor, Boulliau describes Petit as a person
who can ask more questions than anyone else can answer,
2' Desmolets, Mémoires, II, 32.
adding that Huygens may reply if he likes. The correspond

ence thus begun lasted until Huygens' visit to Paris in 1660-
1661.
In October of 1658 Chapelain sent a copy of Huygens' new
book, the Horologium, to the Montmor Academy, where a
group, small because of the vacations of Parlement, but in
cluding Petit and Auzout, discussed the novelty with in
terest; Petit, described in Chapelain's letter as a man "very
skilled in mechanics, especially interested by this sort of
mechanical device, and who always has workmen by him,
busy at such things," was particularly struck by Huygens'
efforts to eliminate error caused by clamp or excessive dryness.
December of 1658 saw an event which came near to end
ing the year-old Académie de chez Montmor, the famous
clash of persona! dignity between Montmor and Roberval.
In such a tale Boulliau is at his best:
"As for M. de Roberval, he has done a very stupid thing in the house of
M. de Montmor who is as you know a man of honor and position; he was so
uncivil as to say to him in his own house, having taken offense at an opinion
of M. des Cartes which M. de Montmor approved, that he had more wit than
he, and that he was Jess only in worldly goods and the office of Maître des
Requêtes, and that if he were Maître des Requêtes he would be worth a
hundred times more. Monsieur de Montmor, who is very circumspect, said
to him that he could and should behave more civilly than to quarre! with
him and treat him with contempt in his own house. The whole company
found the boorishness and pedantry of M. de Roberval very strange.
"As for the dock which he daims to have invented in his mind, I doubt
very much that the invention is worth anything, for he is very sterile in
discoveries, and up to the present we have seen nothing of the productions of
his mind which is worth very much."25
On January 17, 1659, Boulliau notes that Roberval has not

returned to the assembly; it seems that he never again took
any part in the meetings.
25 Dece�ber 6, 1658, Huygens, II, 287.
This occurrence seems to have cast a shadow on the Mont

morians, and shown very clearly on what small things the
success of a privately supported academy may turn. Hap
pily for the story of organized science in France, it was fol
lowed almost at once by another more or less similar occur
rence in a body of public standing.
Early in 1659 Gilles Boileau, elder brother of the satirist
Nicolas, presented himself for the chair in the Académie
Française vacated by the death of Colletet. He had the
support of Montmor, Chapelain, and others; but opposed to
him were the protestant Pellisson, at this time a secretary of
the Surintendant Foucquet, and Ménage, probably best
remembered for his appearance as Vadius in Les Femmes Sa
vantes, who combined a somewhat acrid temperament with
a monumental erudition. The controversy was warm, and
the court took sicles; Boileau had written a satire on Ménage,
the opening of a paper war, and two weeks postponement
did not suffice to cool the heat of the animosities roused.
At the meeting of March 31 the decision to exclude Boileau
was upheld; Montmor burst out in a violent attack upon
Pellisson, and with friends to the number of nine, left the
assembly in anger, vowing never to return. Not an affair of
great importance in itself, it shows the violence with which
persona! prejudice could work towards the destruction of the
prestige of such an academy, and indirectly encouraged the
movement towards the establishment of the semi-private
bodies which are so prominent in French scientific affairs
between 1660 and 1680. For science it was a clear gain, for
it turned Montmor's interest and energy back towards his
own academy, where the unfortunate clash with Roberval
was to result in a concentration on experiment and the ex
pressed desire of several members to get away from the ex-
L_ -
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY BEGlNS
position of doctrine towards the study of nature and inven

tions.
In this year 1659 telescopes are very popular in Paris; the
Paris astronomers write to Huygens to know how he mounts
his long focus lens; Petit writes that he has assemblies of
astronomers using a seven foot tube on the uneven surface
of the moon, and that he wants to mount his twehty-five
foot and forty foot lenses. Smaller instruments for terres
tial uses begin to be common; towards 1665 we hear of
makers of optical instruments setting up establishments in
the Faubourg Saint-Antoine where friends and relatives of
prisoners cou1d rent or purchase glasses to assist them in
communicating with their friends across the ditch of the
Bastille. In the years immediately preceding or following
we read of telescopes and observations in ail parts of the
city; at Ampiou's house in the Ile Saint-Louis, at Theve
not's country house at Issy, in the palais du Petit Luxem
bourg, at Justel's house on the Fossés de Monsieur le Prince,
on the Butte Montmartre, in the collège de Clermont, and
elsewhere. The seventeenth century astronomical tele
scope was not as yet the compact reflector of Isaac Newton;
at best it was a long and cumbersome affair, reaching to
nearly two hundred feet before the improved Newtonian
instrument finally replaced it. Contemporary illustrations
show us that several men and a tall mast with block and
tackle were necessary to handle the larger sort. Tubes of
twenty to thirty-five feet were fairly common, and many
houses must at times have been adorned with tubes of ten
or twelve feet, projecting like deadly weapons from the roofs
of peaceful citizens. Such women as Mesdames de Bonne
veau and de Guèdreville already offer a fair butt for the tirade
of Molière's Chrysale in Les Femmes Savantes:
Vous devriez brtiler tout ce meuble inutile,

Et laisser la science flux docteurs de la ville;
M'ôter, pour faire bien, du grénier de céans
Cette longue lunette à faire peur aux gens,
Et cent brimborions dont l'aspect m'importune;
Ne point aller chercher ce qu'on fait dans la lune,
Et vous mêler un peu de ce qu'on fait chez vous,
Où nous voyons aller tout sens dessus dessous.
CHAPTER V
THE MoNTMOR AcADEMY AND ENGLAND
Many of the historians of intellectual and scientific affairs

in seventeenth century France and England have repeated a
vague tradition to the effect that the Académie de chez Mont
mor was the original and source of the Royal Society. In its
most general form, such a statement may be indefinite enough
to pass as true, especially as the Society itself acknowledged
the value and presence of the similar bodies existing else
where. A study of particular names and dates, however,
will reveal the inaccuracy of the statements claiming that the
Royal Society was modeled on any specific academy in
France.
Taking the most widely accepted source for early scientific
history in France, Fontenelle, we find he is not guilty of dog
matism in the matter; in his Histoire de l'Académie des Sci
ences, he says:
"Perhaps these assemblies in Paris gave rise to the beginnings of several
other academies in the rest of Europe. I t is at least certain that the English
gentlemen who laid the first foundations of the Royal Society of London had
traveled in France and had met in the houses ofMontmor and ofThevenot."1
His principal error in this passage, which occurs in the midst

of a paragraph full of vague and misleading statements, is
that he regards the English visitors to the Montmor group
as the founders of the Royal Society; it is perfectly clear
from Birch, History of the Royal Society, which is taken from
the manuscript J ournals of the Society itself, that the earliest
recorded English visitors to the parent of the Académie des
1 Fontenelle, Oeuvres Complètes, Changuion, Amsterdam, 1764, X, p. 4;
Ed. par Salmon, Paris, 1825, I, p. 4-5.
91
h.
92 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
Sciences were invited to participate in the English body only

after its organization.
Fontenelle was not old enough to be a credible observer of
the events his history records; his sources are not mentioned,
but presumably he drew on such books as the Recueil de
Plusieurs Discours of Cassini, where the history of the pri
vate academies of Paris is told as follows:
"As early as 1638 Father Mersenne began to hold conferences of this
sort, later continued by MM. de Montmor and Thevenot. Numerous
learned men used to take pleasure in coming there to discuss astronomical
observations, problems of analysis, experiments of physics, and new dis
r coveries in anatomy, chemistry, and botany. One often saw in attendance

there MM. Gassendi, Descartes, Fermat, Desargues, Hobbes, Roberval,
Bouillaud,2 Frenicle, Petit, Pecquet, Auzout, Blondel, Pascal the father as
well as the son, and many others known for their writings, which it would
take too long to enumerate. Severa! foreigners were seen there also, and
among others, Mr. Oldenburg, who having since gone into England and
having inspired the English to form similar conferences, was the occasion of
the foundation of the Royal Society." 3
Perhaps the best way to characterize Cassini's statements is

to say that they are the work of a writer who cares more for
an effect to be produced than for the accuracy of his detail;
if it were not that the writings of both Fontenelle and Cassini
have been generally accepted as authoritative accounts of
the detail of the history of seventeenth century science, one
could afford to pass over their testimony as negligible. Un
fortunately their statements have been commonly repeated
r in the literature referring to the subject, and only those who
have dipped into books based on the documents of the period
have reckoned with the fact that the Royal Society was well
established before Oldenburg became active in it, that its
2 The most frequently found form of the name of him who called himself
Boulliau.
3 Cassini, Recueil, Paris, 1693, p. 26; 1736, p. 31.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND 93
traditions go back to a period contemporaneous with Mer
senne, and do not seem to derive even from his assemblies
and influence.
Perhaps the prime source of this erroneous tradition lies
in a passage in a little book by Melchisedech Thevenot pub
lished in 1681, Recueil de Voyages; appearing under a general
privilege for twenty years dated 1662, the volume contains
several separately paged tracts on various subjects, of which
the third is a Discours sur la Navigation. Thevenot reviews
here the grounds which in his mind justify the existence of
amateur scientific societies in France, and recounts the story
of the two years in which some at least of the Montmorians
had met under his leadership. He writes in some detail of a
levelling instrument which he had devised, and which had
been described in 1663 before the Montmor Academy; the
observations, he notes, were sent in 1663 to the members of
the Cimento in Florence, as well as to "Messieurs de Rawne
ley4 and Oldenburg, who after having visited our Assemblies
several times had established in England the one which still
survives under the name of the Royal Society." 5
4 Sic far Ranelagh.
6 It will be noticed that not one of these writers on the history of scientific
affairs betrays the slightest acquaintance with the translation of Sprat's

History of the Royal Society which appeared in Geneva in 1669 and in Paris
in 1670. In this book, at the beginning of Book II, Sprat places "the first
meetings ....which laid the foundation of ail this that followed" at a
period "some space after the end of the Civil Wars at Oxford, in Dr. Wil
kins his Lodgings, in Wadham College, which was then the place of Resort
for Vertuous and Learned Men." (Edn. London 1702, p. 53) A copy of
the Paris edition from the library of P.-D. Huet is in the Bibliotheque Na
tionale, and from the correspondence of the day we may be sure that this
book was widely read. It may be recalled at this point that Sprat's ver
sion of the founding of the English society is contradicted by Wallis (see
our Chapter III); wherever the truth lies, Fontenelle, Cassini, and Thevenot
are still in error.
Whether there are printed versions of this story preceding

those quoted I do not know; one finds that even as early as
November 9, 1662, Chapelain had written to François Ber
nier, the Angevin doctor of the Emperor Aurung-Zebe, that:
"In England, physical studies flourish, I mean practical physics. Our
assembly in the house of M. de Montmor in Paris has produced, through
emulation, another in London, in which are entered numerous Digbys,
Morays,6 and other able milords, and which the king himself supports with
his authority and maintains by his subsidies, for the making of experiments
which help to discover the natural world and better to know the heavens.
M. Huygens, the modern Archimedes, is often in controversy with them,
and from their discussions rise excellent truths which serve to advance this
sort of study."7
From which one may see that the mere existence of the Royal
Society could be regarded as the result of the successful
example in Paris.
The daim of the French was answered by Hooke almost
at the time when it was put forward officially by Cassini;
the manner of the refutation may be disliked for its sharp
ness, but the truth of the main contention can scarcely be
denied. With a rude and perfect flatness he contradicts:
"M. Cassini is in error concerning the beginning and original of the Royal
Society. Concerning which he might have been much better informed if
he had taken notice of what has been said concerning it, but that, it seems,
did not suit so well to his design of making the French to be the first. He
makes Mr. Oldenburg to have been the instrument who inspired the English
with a desire to imitate the French in having philosophical clubs, or meetings,
and that this was the occasion of founding the Royal Society, and making
the French the first. I will not say that Mr. Oldenburg did rather inspire
the French to follow the English, or, at least, did help them, and hinder us.
6 Chapelain wrote d'lgbis, and probably Moraeus, which Tamizey de

Laroque read Moraens and did not succeed in finding in the biographical
dictionaries he consulted.
7 Chapelain, Lettres, ed. by T. de Laroque, Paris, 1880-83, T. Il, 264-267.
But it is well known who were the principal men that began and promoted
that design, both in London and Oxford; and that a long while before Mr.
Oldenburg came into England: and not only these philosophical meetings
were before Mr. Oldenburg came from Paris; but the Society itself was be
gun before he came hither; and those who then knew Mr. Oldenburg, under
stood well enough how little he himself knew of philosophick matters. " 8
So blunt a statement somewhat mars a history which on

the whole is characterized by generous cooperation and good
fellowship; if it were not that Hooke's statements contain,
in addition to much that is inaccurate, a kernel of demonstra
ble truth, one could ignore his contention with its absurd re
flections on the aims and intelligence of Oldenburg.
Thus we see that the statement has been made by Chape
lain, and after him by Thevenot, Cassini, and Fontenelle,
that the Royal Society owes its foundation to the reports
made in England by certain persons who had visited the
meetings of the Montmor academy. Usually the carrier
of the suggestion is Oldenburg; sometimes the name is left
unspecified, whence cornes the suggestion that the idea of the
Society was brought home by one or more of the exiled
Royalist nobility; recent books repeat the vague statement
to that effect, and usually add the traditional remark that
the success of the society was due to the encouragement and
continued interest of the king. The Royal Society owed
really very little to France, and that after it was in existence;
to Charles II it owed nothing but the grant of its name and
the mace. The second debt does not concern us here.
The only persons connected with the early history of the
Royal Society who had had persona! experience of the
meetings in Montmor's house were Oldenburg and Richard
Jones, later Viscount Ranelagh. None of the literature
B dnswer to some particular daims of M. Cassini, cited by Weld, History
of the Royal Society, I, 37-38.
which I have seen mentions any other visitor to the Mont

mor Academy from England before 1661, nor do any of the
letters published or unpublished which I have been able to
see suggest that the French amateurs offered example or
advice to the circle of English scientists whose meetings at
Gresham College and elsewhere in London and Oxford had
existed for several years, and which formed the nucleus
around which gathered the "d'Igbis, Moraeus, et autres
habiles milords." Oldenburg, and Oldenburg only, had
seen enough of the Paris meetings to desire their imitation
in London, and Oldenburg was only a private tutor in the
family of the Earl of Cork, his pupil being a youth whose
scientific interests were of the most superficial, and whose
career was bound up with Irish politics. Although Jones,
Viscount Ranelagh, became a Fellow of the Royal Society,
he was not at all actively connected with its programme.
Henry Oldenburg, barn in Bremen about 1615, and a resi
dent ofEngland from about 1640-48, 1653-57, and from 1660
to the end of his life in 1677, was the direct heir of the
Comenius-Hartlib tradition in England, through his personal
acquaintance with John Dury. He was apparently asso
ciated with the group that met in Oxford during the years
when Petty and Boyle were experimenting there (1654-6).
Of a commercial family and training, he seems to have
made himself useful in various circles both governmental
and private, for he is known to have been connected with
Milton, Cromwell's secretary of state, with the Honywoods,
a wealthy Kentish family active in public affairs during the
commonwealth and, from about 1656, with the family of the
Earl of Cork.
Our information about Oldenburg's career prior to his
association with the Royal Society has been rather scanty;
in the eighteenth century Birch included in the collected
L_
works of Robert Boyle a certain number of letters which

Oldenburg wrote from Saumur and from Paris, found among
the Miles Collection of the Boyle papers. From these it
has long been known that he accompanied Richard Jones,
Boyle's nephew, and grandson of the Earl of Cork, on the
usual grand tour of the courts and universities of Europe;
from these letters, and the persistent tradition that exists in
France, it had been surmised that he had visited the Mont
mor Academy. Certainty and detail there was little; no
extended life of Oldenburg exists, and except for the article
in the Dictionary of National Biography, and the sources
therein quoted, very little careful research has been pub
lished on him. The visit to France, apparently of vital
importance to the early stages of official Anglo-French scien
tific relations, was unknown except in the broadest and
vaguest outlines. And the "Commonplaée Book" listed by
an early cataloguer of the Royal Society manuscripts as of
the slightest importance, seemed to have already been
explored and used by the various secretaries of the Society
whose attention had been specially drawn to the earlier part
of the career of the most illustrious of their predecessors.
An examination of it was, however, indicated, for the
detail of the relations of French and English scientists seems
not to have interested those who have used the precious col
lections that are preserved in the Archives of the Royal
Society; it might well be that the old vellum-covered quarto
which accompanied Oldenburg from about 1655 to 1663
would have a name or two which would mean more in the
present context than in another. The quotations and de
scriptions which follow show just how little interest previous
investigators have taken in this aspect of seventeenth cen
tury history.
ln the first place, it is quite erroneously named a "corn-
L---~~
monplace book;" Oldenburg's title on the first flyleaf is

"Liber Epistolaris," and by far the most interesting section
of the book is devoted to an account, often in verbatim copies,
of many of the letters sent to his numerous correspondents.
There are some two hundred numbered folios, about twenty
of which are devoted to the period preceding his journey to
France of the summer of 1657, and about forty-five to the
period of the continental trip, 1657-60. These last are of
prime interest in our present study, for they offer an abun
dant account of Oldenburg's movements and acquaintances
in France and Germany. The balance of the book has copies
of letters of the later period (1660-63), many blank pages,
and several extracts from books which interested its owner.
Oldenburg entered the service of the family of the Earl
of Cork early in 1656; in the autumn of that year he went to
Oxford with Richard Jones. ln the summer of 1657 he
left with his pupil for Saumur, where they spent a year at the
Protestant Academy. During this time his relations with
Boyle seem to grow more intimate, the scientist apparently
finding that Oldenburg's travel and the acquaintances he
made provided interesting news. The travelers spent the
summer of 1658 in Switzerland and Germany, where they
witnessed the Imperial Coronation, and met many persons
interested in the operations of alchemy. The winter saw
them visiting several cities in the south of France; letters
to Pradilles of Montpellier, and others, indicate that Paris
was reached about the middle ofMarch, 1659.
Information about intellectual activity in Paris is for the
most part contained in letters to Boyle, and to the Protestant
Saporta of Castres, almost certainly the man of this name
who was an active member of the small literary academy
that thrived for a few years there; minutes of letters to
other friends, notably the young Robert Southwell, who
passed through Paris on his way south in the summer of 1659,

add minor details to the facts contained in the first men
tioned. Fortunately the earlier letters written in Paris
are recorded in full; later, the number of correspondents
whom Oldenburg had to keep informed of events both politi
cal and philosophical necessitated the reduction of his rec
ord to a brief abstract of topics discussed. I shall record
here the extracts that deal especially with the academy of
Montmor, leaving aside other phases of life in Paris.
In a letter to Saporta of May 6, 1659, he records that up
to that time they had met chiefly mathematicians, Carcavy,
Pascal, Roberval, Milon, and Clerselier, and a few ama
teurs of spagyrical medicine, Du Clos, De la Noue, Laubery,
Le Fevre, and others; the travelers hope later to seek out
Montmor, Du Prat, Petit, Rohault, and others. 9
In the cou rse of the next few weeks his letters reflect
much conversation on matters of chemistry, astronomy, and
such topics; the first time the Montmor Academy 1s men
tioned occurs in a letter to Saporta of June 28:
In our Assemblies at the house of M.de Montmor there was discussed a
short time aga the important question of the generation of animais com
monly believed to be spontaneous; the majority of speakers concluded that
there is no production of animais of any species which does not occur either
from a seed fermented in the usual matrix, or by something equivalent to it
thrown into some matrix as suitably arranged as the usual one. And this
opinion was founded chiefly on the fact that experience shows that even in
9 This and the following quotations from the Liber Epistolaris are printed
by kind permission of the Council of the Royal Society of London.

"Jusques icy nous n'avons presque fait d'autre connaissance, qu'avec
des mathematiciens, comme sont Mrs Carchavy, Pascal, Roberval, Millon,
Clerselier, et quelques amateurs de la medicine spagyrique corne Mrs du
Clos, De la Nouë, Laubery, Le Févre, etc. Tout aussitost que nous pour
rons .... nous chercherons l'honeur de l'amitie de Mr Monmor, du Prat,
Petit, Rual, et d'autres." F. 47.
IOO THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
cases of reproduction considered uncertain or spontaneous, it happens that

the same insects are formed always in the same substance, which seems to
show that there is some determined seminal spirit, which produces only these
without ever producing others. The chief difficulty lay in that certain worms
are engendered in the entrails of animais, in fruits, and in vinegar, and lice
in the body of man, whence cornes the pediculary affection of the skin. To
this it was replied that the air, impregnated with a vivifying spirit, being
inhaled or received in a matter exposed in a suitable place, performs the same
effect as the seed in a matrix. Sorne were so bold as to advance that, as in
the beginning, ail animais without exception had been produced from the
earth, so could they be once more, were it not that their very multitude
prevented it, and that the land suitable for the purpose was ploughed, di
verting, in their view, this terrestrial generation. The next time, I believe,
we shall examine this element which examines ail things, I mean fire, the
great analyst and the right hand of Nature, whose operations vary greatly,
according to the different degrees of its intensity, the manner of its applica
tion, and the diffhent conditions of the bodies on which it is made to act."IO
10 "Dans nos assemblées chez M r de Monmor on a depuis peu traité cette

belle question de la generation des Animaux vulgairemt crue spontanée, et
la plupart des opinans a conclu, qu'il n'y a pas aucune production d'animaux
quels qu'ils soient, qui ne s'engendrent ou par semence fermentée dans la
matrice ordinaire ou par quelque chose equipotente a elle jettée dans quelque
matrice aussi bien disposée que l'ordinaire. Et on a fondee principalement
cette opinion sur ce que !'exp•• temoigne que mesmes dans les generations
estimees equivoques et spontanees, il se trouve, que les mesmes insectes
s'engendrent tousjours dans la mesme matiere, ce qui semble demonstrer
qu'il y ait quelque esprit seminal determiné, qui ne produit que tels, sans
jamais produire d'autres. La plus grande difficulté se trouva en ce que des
vers s'engendrent dans les entrailles des animaux, dans des fruits, et le
vinaigre, et des poux dans le corps de !'home d'ou est le mal pediculaire. A
quoy on respondit que l'air, qui est empreigné d'un esprit vivifique, estant
inspiré ou receu dans une matiere disposée en lieu convenable, fait le mesme
effet que la semence dans la matrice. Quelques-uns avaient la hardiesse
d'advancer, que, comme au comencement, tous animaux sans exception
avaient este produits de la terre, ainsi le pourraient-ils encore, ne fut-il que
leur multitude mesme ne l'empeschat, et que les terres propres pr cela ne
fussent labourées, ce qui divertit a leur advis cette generation terrestre.
La prochaine fois, je crois, on y examinera cet element qui examine toutes
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND IOI
A letter to Boyle of August 2, copied on folio 56 (verso)

mentions that:
"We have several meetings here of philosophers and statists wch I carry
yr nevew to, for to study men as well as books; though ye French naturalists
are more discursive than active or experimenta!. ln the meantime the
ltalian proverb is true: Le parole sonofemine, lifattj maschij."11
The reference here is not only to the academy of Montmor,

but also to the conferences of Rohault and the meetings of
the Cabinet, also visited about this time.
Another letter to Saporta of August 27 serves to carry on
our account of the Montmor Academy:
"As for the discourse on Fire, of which I spoke to you previously, I cannot
yet give you any report, because the regularity of these conversations has
been interrupted for some weeks, and we have spent the time in speaking of
current topics and in discoursing of the changes in affairs of state, and of
other news of present importance. We have not neglected, however to
retain the former order of this assembly, and to renew its first laws, espe
cially the one by which each of the members of the company is obliged to
treat a certain topic, either physical, medical, or mechanical. Among these
topics are several very fine and remarkable, such as The Source of the
Variety of Popular Opinions, The Explanation of the Opinions of Des
cartes, The lnsufficiency of Movement and Figure to explain the Phenom
ena of Nature (undertaken to be proven by an Aristotelian). Then of
the Brain, of Nutrition, of the Use of the Liver and Spleen, of Memory, of
Fire, of the Influence of the Stars, If the Fixed Stars are Suns, If the Earth
is animated, of the Generation of Gold, If ail our Knowledge Springs from
the Senses, and several others, which I do not at this moment remember." 12
choses, je veux dire le feu, ce grand analyste et la main droite de la Nature,

les operations duquel sont grandemt differentes, selon les divers degres de
son intension, la maniere de son application, et les diverses conditions des
corps sur lesquels on le fait agir." (F. 54)
11 Words are feminine, facts masculine.
12 "Pr le discours du Feu, dont je vous parlay cydevant, je ne vous en
scaurois pas encore dire des nouvelles, parceque ces entretiens ont esté pr
From about this time the letters sent by Oldenburg are

listed by date and topics discussed only, so that not much
detail is given of the activity of the Montmor Academy. On
J anuary 4, 1660, he notes that he wrote Saporta, among
other things, of "our conferences on connate ideas, and on
the subject of M. Chapelain in general," a letter whose
loss one cannot but regret. On the same day another letter
to Robert Southwell notes a discourse on Chyle ducts by
Pecquet, perhaps read in the house of Montmor, while a
further note of February 29 speaks of "the doctrine of
Gravity, and of the Discourse on Fixed Stars, and on the
Liver, and on the Lung, and of the manner of making the
glass drops," each of them a subject known to have inter-
ested the Montmorians. 13
Oldenburg's return to England probably occurred in
April of 1660; the rush of events accompanying the return
of the Stuarts caused a neglect of his correspondence, and
quelques semaines interrompus quant a leur regularité, et on a passé le

temps a parler des choses occasionelles et a discourir des changemens d'Estat
et d'autres nouvelles assez importantes a présent. On n'a pas laissé pour
tant de mettre l'ancien ordre de cete assemblée, et d'en renouveller les
premieres loix: la ou chacun des membres de la compagnie s'est obligé de
traiter d'une certaine matiere ou physique ou medicinale ou mechanique.
Parmy ces matieres se trouvent quelquesuns qui sont fort belles et consider
ables, comme la source de la varieté des opinions qui sont en vogue; l'expli
cation des principes de Descartes; L'insuffisance du mouvement et de la
figure pr expliquer les phenomenes de la nature (entrepris à prouver par un
Aristotelien). Apres du Cerveau, De la Nutrition, De l'usage du foye et de
la rate, De la memoire, Du feu, De l'influence des astres, Si les estoiles fixes
sont des soleils, Si la Terre est animée, De la generation de l'or, Si toutes nos
connoissances sont dependantes des sens, Et plusieurs autres, dont il ne me
souvient pas asteure. Si nous continuons notre demeure icy l'hyver pro
chain, je pourrai, Mons', continuer vous importuner des remarques, qu'on
fera sur toutes ces matieres-là." (F. 57, verso).
13 Ff. 61, verso; 62, recto and verso.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND lOJ
the line that is drawn across the recto of folio 64 of the

Liber Epistolaris, and the letter to Montmor which follows
it, are in a different ink from the foregoing. A new period
of life for Oldenburg, as for the government and the science
of England, is opening, and it begins quite properly with
acknowledgments to the past. For Jones, as for himself,
Oldenburg expresses gratitude for the favors and kindness
received in their admission to the conferences; he remarks
on the miraculous change in the complexion of English
politics, so notable that almost every individual fortune is
profoundly affected by it, and closes with the communica
tion of some details concerning roses requested by Montmor.
As an address for future exchanges he mentions Samuel
Hartlib in Axe Yard, who had had charge of all communica
tions to and from the travelers since they had left England
in 1657.
During Oldenburg's absence on the continent the question
of an organization to promote natural philosophy had been
much discussed in England. Severa! persons had seen the
useful fonction a college of trades and agriculture could
perform; Hartlib's Antilian society, the projects of Evelyn
and Cowley, the concrete proposals of Boyle, had reached
various stages of actuality. In addition to the authors of
such schemes there was a numerous circle of squires and
clergy who were anxious to further England's prosperity by
cooperation in the conquest of nature. To most of these the
advancement of science was a matter of improved agricul
ture and trade through the perfection of mechanical aids
to the efforts of man; very few had much appreciation of the
mathematical and physical aspects of the new philosophy.
Distinct from these were the two groups of scientists, one
centring in Oxford around Wilkins, Boyle, and their friends,
and the other in London at Gresham College, where the
L - - --
a
I >UJU.j "!
public lecturers Rooke and the young Christopher Wren were

the leading spirits in the discussion of matters of science.
A brief letter from the Pell papers, printed by Halliwell in
1841, gives us the names of the principal figures in this
group: 14
Mr Pell,-There is this day a meeting to bee in the Moore Feilds of
some mathematicall freinds (as you know the custome hath beene) there
will bee Mr Rook and Mr Wrenn, my Lord Brunkerd, Sir Pauel Neale,
Dr Goddard, Dr. Scarburow, &c. I had notice the last night of your being
in towne from some of the gentellmen now named, and of their desire to
injoy your company; their will bee no such number as you usually have
seene at such meetinges; 12 is the number invited. Sir, I hope you will ex
cuse the short warning, for it was shorte to mee.
Yours to serve you,
Anthony Thompson
To Mr. Pell these Present.
Inquire for Mr. Hartlib his house.
Each of the men mentioned by Thompson is important

in the early years of the Royal Society; Wren, Rooke,
Brouncker, and Neile are mentioned with numerous others,
including Sir William Brereton, John Evelyn, and Dr.
George Ent, as meeting during 1659 at Gresham. Although
the first steps towards forming a regular academy were
taken November 28, 1660, Oldenburg was not mentioned
for membership until the third list of candidates was drawn
up, nor Jones until February 6, 1661. A letter from Olden
burg to Borelli of December 13, noted in the Liber Episto
laris, folio 109, mentions the new "Academia Anglicana,"
of which Wilkins has been elected president. Wilkins had
until September 1659 been Warden of Wadham College at
Oxford, and from that time till August, 1660, Master of
14 Anthony Thompson to John Pell, November 22, 1658. Birch 4279,
f. 259.
Trinity College at Cambridge; in both universities he had

been active in establishing and encouraging philosophical
clubs. Since August he had been in London, and it seems
that his influence was chiefly responsible for the constitution
drawn up in December. Oldenburg lists among the mem
bers Sir Robert Moray, Boyle, Seth Ward, and Dr. John
Wallis, in addition to those mentioned above, making a
total of twenty in all, each of them, "in mathesi et physi
ologia experimentali egregie versatus."
Of the early members, several had had experience of the
academies of the continent; Digby had visited academies
in Italy and the south of France, and the conferences of
Mersenne and others in Paris: Evelyn records in his Diary
that he had been present at "operations" (in alchemy) in
1648-51, and at an anatomy in Moulin's house, both in
Paris. Moray and Brouncker had moved in philosophical
circles in Paris, Petty had visited Mersenne, Pell had seen
similar activities in Rolland. There were probably others
who had joined in such things in the course of visits to the
continent; but it seems that not one had been associated
with the Montmor Academy, and that there was little need
of drawing on any specific experience of the assemblies of
Paris.
It must therefore be doubted whether Oldenburg's visit
to the Montmor Academy was of vital importance to the
development of science in England. The nature of the
Royal Society responded very closely to the English tem
perament and the circumstances of 1660. Its common repu
tation is most pithily expressed by John Hoskyns, later
President of the Society, in a letter from Venice of July
10/20, 1661, to his friend the antiquarian Aubrey of Ox
ford: "I wonder you tell mee nothing of the famous Academy
of our philosophicall scepticks that believe nothing not

tryed." 15 Their scepticism was little more than a rejection
of argument, and a concentration on experiment and Baco
nian enumeration of cases. This, with their effort to set up a
register of discoveries, expressed very clearly the desires of a
group of men who were chiefly interested in the perfection
of instruments for observation and research. The common
criticism of the work of the French scientists was that their
discussion of methods and materials could lead to no progress
so long as they neglected experimental trial, and that their
discourses had the effect of clouding the issue, not clarifying
it. The dominant mood in England seems to have been a
feeling that a period of hard work among the realities of
nature was the necessary preliminary to the advancement
of philosophy.
What was characteristic of the English programme found
an almost immediate echo in Paris. Oldenburg remained
in correspondence with such members of the Montmor
group as Martel, Petit, and Thevenot. In a letter to Beale
of September 4, 166o, he referred to information from France
that Prince Leopold of Tuscany had been experimenting
with the question of fire in a vacuum; and he noted, on
September 13, 1660, that he had written a long and detailed
letter to Martel, full of varions news, of which the most im
portant, perhaps, is the last topic, referring to Boyle's work
with the air-pump recently invented by Otto von Guericke of
Magdeburg and perfected by Boyle with the aid of Robert
Hooke, and to the newly printed Nova Experimenta Physico
Mechanica de vi aeris efastica:
"Of pneumatic experiments, which contribute very much to knowing the
nature of air and the activity of bodies out of the air; that the author does
15 Bodleian Ms. Aubrey, 12, f. 190.

not decide the question of the vacuum; that /lame can exist in the vacuum,
which is useful; that he makes warm water boil in his machine." 16
Oldenburg's reference to Boyle's book, followed by the dis

tribution of copies among the amateurs of Paris, led to much
discussion of the theme in correspondence and academy, as
is shown by references in the letter of Pierre Petit printed
in the Appendix. Another result was the publication of an
anonymous account of Boyle's findings at the end of the
posthumous volume of Pascal's 'I'raitez de l' Equilibre des
Liqueurs, in 1663, and the building of similar pumps by
Christiaan Huygens and for Habert de Montmor.
Two other centres of scientific activity associate themselves
with the Royal Society in directing the French amateurs
towards experimentation. Most important of these was
undoubtedly the Accademia del Cimento, where the Galilean
and Torricellian principles of test by trial continued to pro
duce excellent results, communicated into France by way
of the correspondents of Thevenot and Boulliau. Second
might be placed the laboratory of Christiaan Huygens at
the Hague, where work on new methods of polishing lenses,
the perfection of the pendulum dock, and observations in
astronomy were progressing simultaneously. His principal
correspondents were Boulliau, Pierre Petit, and Jean Chape
lain, through whom his ideas and discoveries became widely
known in France; he must be regarded as a major influence
in the formation of the Académie des Sciences.
From his correspondence we can draw a fairly complete
picture of the Montmor Academy during these years; in
16 Liber Epistolaris, f. 71, verso: "Des experiences pneumatiques, qui
contribuent beaucoup à conoitre la nature de l'air et les operations des corps

hors de l'air: que l'autheur ne decide point le vacuum; qu'il fait flamme dans
le vacuum, ce qui est utile; qu'il fait bouillonner l'eau eschauffée dans sa
machine."
addition to what has been published from his papers, there

exists in Leiden a manuscript journal of his visit to Paris of
the end of 166o and the beginning of 1661. From this a
few selections only have been printed with the purpose of
illustrating a part of the correspondence, and explaining
certain phases of the development of 'his scientific work.
There remains in it, however, enough to enable us to list
the subjects of discussion during Huygens' visit, and offer
some general light on personalities and conditions in Paris.
A letter from Chapelain to Huygens of August 20, 1659,
describes the academy in the summer of the year preceding
Huygens' visit:
"The Academy which met in his house (chez Montmor) has languished
somewhat since the outburst which occurred between him and M. de Rob
erval. However, in the last week it has taken heart again, and resolved to
work in quest of Nature with more ardor than ever, and the most capable
persans are those who are most enthusiastic. We shall see what this new
zest will produce. The M. Guisoni about whom you ask to be informed is
not particularly known to me. I know only that he came from Provence,
and that his is a genius suited to physical speculations. He delivered one
day in the academy a discourse on vegetation after some others, which was
much liked, and seemed very sensible. Since then, not having returned to
the Assembly, there has been much adverse comment. This experiment
which you tell me he did in your presence, was performed and discussed in
our Company, and I recall that having attributed this rising of the water
in the small tube higher than in the larger one to the greater pressure of the
column of air on the large one, this opinion had many defenders, although
it was contradicted."17
• · As a member of a family prominent in Dutch officialdom,

Christiaan Huygens was sent to accompany the ambassa
dors who bore congratulations from the Dutch state to
Louis XIV on the successful outcome of the negotiations
17 Oeuvres Com lètes de Hu
p ygens, II, 468. This letter is dated August
18 in the MS Sainte-Beuve, according to T. de Laroque.
leading to the marriage with Maria Theresa of Austria and

Spain. His arrivai was eagerly awaited by the Mont
morians, and by the Cartesian circle of the Duc de Luynes,
to whom his work had been communicated by Carcavy.
He left Rolland on October 12, and reached Paris about two
weeks later. The diary, called by the editors of the Oeuvres
Complètes the Reysverhael, describes succinctly the principal
events of each day, the men and women he met, the subjects
of conversation, the entertainment enjoyed, and the places
visited. Altogether it offers a vivid picture of the impres
sions made by the varied aspects of Parisian life on a keen
and lively mind, the absence of descriptive passages and
literary form being recompensed by the variety and number
of the people who are glimpsed in its pages, and the impor
tance of the circles in which its author moved.
On two occasions he was entertained socially by Montmor,
and each time he notes the interest of his host's collections.
He dined there in company with Chapelain on November 2,
and remarks the fine pictures that adorn the room; the
visit of J anuary I 5 was for dinner in the company of Theve
not and Chapelain. On this occasion he notes in particular:
"Paintings, mathematical instruments from Alleaume. Lodestones.

Engravings by Albrecht Durer. Plaything of little pieces of wood tied with
ribbons. Hanging needle turning every direction. Small bottles in water
which rise and fall without one's seeing how."18
18 "Disnè chez Montmor avec Chapelain et Thevenot. vu son cabinet.

Tableaux, instruments de mathem. venus d'Aleaume. Pierres d'aimant.
Figures d'Albert Durer. jouet de petites planches liees avec des rubans.
Esguille suspendu tournant a tous sens. petites bouteilles dans l'eau qui
montent et descendent sans qu'on s'en apperçoive."
Jacques Alleaume, a Protestant astronomer and mathematician, had
lived until his death in 1627 in the Galerie du Louvre; he had a large collec-
I IO THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
At the academy, November 9, he met Auzout, Frenicle,

Desargues, Pecquet, and Rohault; the meeting was memora
ble for a discourse by Desargues and a ridiculously vehe
ment contradiction by Antoine de la Poterie. At the end
Sorbière read a letter from Prince Leopold of Tuscany de
scribing the use of cloth for making the tubes of telescopes.
Desargues' discourse, "Whether the mathematical point
really exists," and its furious antagonist were the subject of a
letter to Christiaan's brother Constantyn, who comments
on the unfavorable impression such occurrences .create in
comparison with the discretion and effectiveness of the
meetings of the Florentines. 19
At the meeting of the sixteenth he met Thevenot and
Neuré; he makes no record of the topic of discussion. A
week later he was presented to the Marquis de Sourdis,
noted that he had the "cordon bleu" of the order of the
Saint-Esprit, and that Neuré read a discourse on the cause
of thunder, which was followed by discussion. On Decem
ber 7 he was,
tian of manuscripts and instruments of mathematics. See Correspondance

de Mersenne, I, passim, esp. 616-617.
The little bottles which rise and fall in the water are controlled by the
pressure of a finger at the top of the containing tube. For a further de
scription see a letter of Christiaan to his brother Lodewijk, Oeuvres Complètes,
VI, 344, January 11, 1669. This device is one of many that were invented
to show various aspects of the new information about atmospheric pressure
obtained as a result of the work of Torricelli, Pascal, Boyle, etc.
19 Reysverhael: "Estè a l'assemblée chez M. de Montmor ou j'appris a
connoistre Mrs Auzout, Frenicle, desargues, Pequet, Rohaut. Desargues
fit un discours, si le point mathematique estait une chose reellement exist
ente, auquel M. de la Poterie s'opposa avec une vehemence merveilleuse et
ridicule. M. Sorbière !eut la lettre du Pr. Leopold a Mr Bouiliaut par laquelle
il luy envoya la fabrique du telescope de toile. Commença Sigr Ismael."
The letter to Constantyn Jr. seems to be lost; the two letters of the latter
have been published in the Oeuvres Complètes.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND lll
"At the Assembly in the house of Montmor. Skeleton of ...• in which

one could see ail the nerves, veins, arteries, the heart, the eyes made of
brass wire covered with silk. Rohault read the experiments of the water
which rises in the little tubes. La Poterie. Pecquet's system that the
food of the body is distributed through the nerves."30
On December 14 he noted the presence of Petit, Picot,

and Bourdelot; Rohault continued his explanation of the
behavior of liquids in small tubes. In a letter to Lodewijk
of December 18 he says that the Tuesday meetings in Mont
mor's house are usually attended by "twenty or thirty no
tables, among whom are some Maîtres des Requêtes and
some Cordons Bleus." There seems to have been no meet
ing on December 21, for part of the afternoon was spent at
Rohault's where experiments on mercury and with the small
tubes were performed; then he called at Montmor's, where
Roberval was discussed. At the last meeting of the year,
December 28, 1660, he notes:
"At Montmor's, dispute between Rohault and Auzout. Abbé Bourde
lot promised his discourse on the gout. Lent Thevenot my papers from
Florence."21
The first two meetings of January, 1661, were devoted to

hearing Bourdelot's discourse on the gout; at one of these his
views were furiously disputed by Pecquet. Both of the
20 Reysverhael: "a l'assemblée chez Montmor. Scelete de .... (*) ou
l'on voyoit tous les nerfs, veines, arteres, le coeur, les yeux, fait de fil d'ar
chal couvert de soye. Rohaut lut les experiences de l'eau qui monte dans
les petits tuyaux. la Poterie. Systeme de Pecquet que la nourriture du corps
est distribue par les nerfs. Du Laurens m'avoit demandé."
* Blank in the ms.
21 Reysverhael: "28. Vu M. Petit, ses lampes à miroir. Moulin en
modelle. Chez Montmor, dispute de Rohaut et Auzout. Abbé Bourdelot
promettait son discours de la goutte. Prestè a Tevenot mes papiers de
Florence."
II2 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
meetings were characterized by more general discussion,

that of J anuary 4 by the communication of political news by
Montmor, and the telling of an anecdote by Guedreville.
On January 18 he brought the Dutch ambassador van Beu
ningen to the Montmor academy; the 'visitor returned very
frequently thereafter. After skipping a meeting or two
because of a bereavement in the family of Montmor, he
notes on February 8 that La Poterie spoke "du Feu ele
mentaire sous le ciel de la lune;" and on the same day he
asked Rohault for the exact height of the mercury in his
barometric tube. A week later Bourdelot spoke once more
on the gout, "et fort bien" Huygens adds. The last two
meetings he attended at the house of Montmor were held on
March 8 and 17; there seems to have been no meeting on the
I 5. At the first he notes that Pecquet spoke on the genera
tion of the chick in the egg and was hissed; he adds that
Sorbière announced the arriva! of Monconys in Paris, and
that he would arrange a meeting. On the seventeenth Ro
hault tried an experiment with a glass drop and gave Huy
gens the height of the column of mercury. At eleven in the
morning of the nineteenth of March he set out for England,
where he arrived at Dover on the evening of the thirtieth.
The young Dutch scientist seems to have enjoyed himself
in Paris, although the absence of the first-rate astronomers
rather damped his enthusiasm for French science. A letter
he wrote on November 28, 166o, expressed his feelings with
some justness; he comments there on the absence of Boulliau,
gone on a visit to Hevelius in Danzig, and on the conduct and
interests of the Montmorians, who examined once more the
system of Saturn and to whom Huygens had shown some
of the papers received from the Florentine academicians. 22
22 Oeuvres Complètes, III, r97; to Prince Leopold.

THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND I IJ
A few days later he notes that there are few good telescopes
over eleven or twelve feet in length to be seen in Paris; he
adds further that exact observation is not popular.
The meetings of the Montmor academy were not the only
scientific gatherings attended by Huygens; he visited the
Cartesian conferences of Rohault, one of the most skilful
operators of the day, whose demonstrations and lectures were
for years a very popular source of instruction and amuse
ment for old and young, and numerous salons, among them
those of Menage, and of the Cartesian blue-stocking Ma
dame de Bonneveau. In addition there were countless
meetings of the amateurs, Thevenot, Petit, Auzout, the
Abbé Charles de Bryas, where lenses, observations, inven
tions, natural laws, and problems of mechanics and mathe
matics were discussed in almost daily sessions, and a number
of less scientific, more philosophie discussions with the Duc
de Roannes, Pascal, the Chevalier de Méré, and Miton, the
last two of whom are described as "esprits forts." With
these we gather from the Reysverhael that religious problems
were discussed. Taken as a whole, Huygens enjoyed his
visit to Paris; he had been entertained in the best houses
and had met the best brains of the city; life had smiled on
him, and he was hailed as the Archimedes of his age. The
prospect of a visit to gloomy London, with its strange lan
guage and stranger customs, its proud and cold nobility, its
fog and smoke and strange food and drink, could not make
much appeal to him; he found however that there he would
at least meet men whose astronomy went the length of pur
chasing good lenses and setting up a thirty-five foot telescope
in the gardens of Whitehall.
As might be surmised, Huygens was agreeably undeceived
by his experiences in England. Space lacks to detail the
men he met, the places he visited, the hospitality he en-
l 14 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
joyed; the Reysverhael continues its daily entries until

about the beginning of May, then lists impressions, events
of social and scientific interest, comments on personalities,
without order or date. We note mentions of three or four
assemblies for experiments at Gresham College; at these
were discussed the glass drops (April 6), Dr. Goddard's
curious effects produced by the mixing of liquids (April II),
the experiments for timing the recoil of guns (April 18), the
capillarity of tubes (April 20). In one of the sessions of the
Royal Soci,ety a committee was set up to consult with Huy
gens about the grinding of lenses; the group met in Huygens'
room one Saturday, April 23, and had a long discussion of
the subject, in the course of which the visitor told them the
manner in which he had made his own very successful tele
scope. On two or three occasions evenings were spent in .
Whitehall gardens, observing the Moon and the planets;
Huygens notes the presence of the Duke and Duchess of
York at one of these sessions. The most remarkable of the
phenomena observed was a transit of Mercury seen the
third of May, a day which had unfortunately been chosen
by the newly restored monarch for his coronation; Huygens'
trip to England had been arranged with the object of per
mitting him to see the ceremony, and his neglect of earthly
grandeur for the phenomena of the heavens was a great
shock to his father. By May 27 he had returned to the
Hague.
Among the notes at the end of the Reysverhael, Huygens
had noted the fact that he had frequently been regaled by
Sir Robert Moray in his room on "kaecks, bottelai!, et vin,"
and that he had there met Dr. Wilkins, author of a book on
the possibilities that the moon is a world and the earth a
planet, now working on a universal language, Mr. "Iveling"
(John Evelyn), writing a book de Horticu/tura, and M.
THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND II 5
"Tuc," newly returned from Paris where he had visited M.

de Montmor. This last personage would be Colonel Tuke,
later Sir Samuel Tuke, who had been sent by Charles II as a
persona! representative at the funeral of Mazarin, whose
death occurred in the night of March 8-9. A cousin of John
Evelyn, a poet and amateur dramatist, and a lover of the
arts, Tuke was one of the numerous gentlemen included by
the Royal Society in their newly enlarged membership. He
had been requested by the Society to inquire into the activi
ties of the amateur scientists of Paris, and to report on his
return.
According to his own account preserved by the Royal
· Society, Tuke had "sought out an old acquaintance of mine,
one M. de Roberval, a learned and judicious gentlemen, who
possesses the chair of the king's professor of the mathema
tics in Paris, from whom I received this account." There
were several assemblies of learned men in Paris,
"of which the most considerable was the French Academy, formerly in
stituted by Cardinal de Richelieu, and since protected by M. de Séguier,
Chancellor of France, at whose house they did use to meet, but were now
very much declined by the barrenness of the subject of their entertainru" 't,
which is only the embellishment of their style and polishing of verse; but
especially by a new institution of an assembly of learned men, whose busi
ness is to advance the knowledge of nature by conferences and experiments;
into which society many that were formerly of the French Academy, are
now entered."23
Accompanied by the Comte d' Al bonne, Tuke went to the

house of Montmor and was "very civilly welcomed." He
sa� the pictures and medals, and the garden of flowers, and
then the meeting began. After the discussion of an experi
ment, Tuke was requested to give an account of the Royal
Society, which was received with much satisfaction, and
13 ,Birch, History of the Royal Society, I, 27-28.
l I6 THE MONTMOR ACADEMY AND ENGLAND
Montmor mentioned that the work of such men as Gilbert,

Bacon, Harvey, Hobbes, Digby, Glisson, and Charleton
proved that the English scientists were of the sort to make
many advances. He deplored the circumstances which were
forcing the French nobility into profitable pursuits and left
them no occasion or leisure for education and the develop
ment of science. Tuke praised the fortunate prosperity of
England and the promise of the restored King Charles as a
patron of the sciences and of philosophy; his optimism was
approved by all present. The meeting closed with mutual
promises of a continuous connection by correspondence.
A letter of August 26 from Sorbière to Tuke explains why
the exchange of letters was not begun at once. Like most
of Sorbière's letters, it is long and ornate, but explains that
the Montmor Academy has not been meeting for four months
on account of sickness and death in the family. The reputa
tion of the Royal Society has given him the desire to see
England, "whence you scatter over other nations an infinity
of important inventions for the convenience of life." He
proceeds to ask, "If chance and the zeal of a few private
persons has advanced our arts and sciences to the point
we have attained, what will not be achieved by the skilful
guidance of so many able men, the outlay of numerous peers,
public authority, and the magnificence of a powerful and
wise monarch?" 24 The example of England had gone home;
from now on the scientists of Paris were working for a royal
establishment.
24 Royal Society, Letter-Book, I (Copy), p. 7. The larger part of this
letter, its fulsome eulogy only slightly toned down, was reprinted as part
of the text of Sorbière's Relation d'un voyage en Angleterre in 1664. (Edition
of Cologne, 1666, pp. 89-92)
CHAPTER VI
THE ENo OF THE MoNTMOR AcADEMY
It is usual to regard the Académie des Sciences as the more

or less direct successor of the Montmor academy, which for
reasons unspecified left the house of Montmor in 1664, was
received for a short time by Thevenot, and finally became
the body whose existence was formally recognized by Col
bert. Closer inspection of the list of the members of the
Académie at its foundation reveals the fact that most of the
men who had been most active in writing and publishing in
favor of the idea of a great and inclusive body for the ad
vancement of science were not among those finally admitted
to the sessions in the royal library. Neither Petit, Sorbière,
Montmor, Chapelain, Thevenot, the Abbé Charles, nor
Boulliau were admitted; Auzout became a member only
to be forced into retirement almost at once. Of the members
active after 1668 when Auzout began his long sojourn in
Italy, only four are certainly known to have figured in the
meetings at Montmor's-Huygens, Roberval, Frenicle, and
Pecquet; to these may perhaps be added Carcavy and Cureau
de la Chambre. Many of the more important members,
Cassini, Picard, Perrault, Bourdelin, and the secretary,
J.-B. Duhamel, had not been associated with the older body
at all.
Thus it would seem to be a mistake to regard Colbert's
creation as merely a continuance of the traditions of the
past; the late Paul Tannery pointed out in 1892 the incon
sistencies of such a view. 1 The truth lies in this case with
1 Tanner , P.-A propos de la correspondance de Huygens, in Bulletin des
y
Sciences Mathématiques, XXVI (2e Sér. xvi), p. 247, and 254.
117
II8 THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY
Voltaire; as we shall see, the story in its simplest form may

be told in his words:
"In 1666, M. Colbert, envious of this new glory (of the Royal Society),
wished that the French should share it; and, at the request of a few scientists,
he obtained from Louis XIV the approval of an academy of sciences ....
Colbert attracted Cassini from ltaly, Huygens from Rolland, and Roemer
from Denmark by generous pensions. "2
Voltaire moves too easily over the period of groping and

private endeavor for our modern taste; his interest is very
clearly with the results, rather than in the means by which
they were conceived. It must be conceded, I think, that
he has placed the emphasis where it belongs, in speaking of
the "quelques savants" who developed, elaborated, and
propagated the idea of the great project. There is a shade
of tragedy in the reflection that those who had highest hopes
for a French rival to the English society had very small part
in its fulfilment, the academicians of 1666 being picked by
Colbert and his advisors from the whole field of European
science.
The Montmor Academy we have seen to be composed of a
group of amateurs whose meetings were largely for the pri
vate satisfaction of cultivating their own interests and
hobbies. It was in part the continuation of the assembly of
mathematicians who appear to have carried the conferences
of Mersenne through the years of the Fronde. For many
of them the composition of their group and the place it
occupied was quite satisfactory; they sought no publicity,
and were not interested in the pedagogic activity which at-
2 Siècle de Louis XIV, chapter 31. The whole passage is to be remarked
as an example of Voltaire's very notable faculty of finding and telling the
true story; he contradicts the errors of Fontenelle, Cassini, and Thevenot
discussed in the previous chapter on the relations of the Montmor Academy
to the foundation of the Royal Society.
THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY II9
tracted so many of the amateurs of science of the time. For

others the academy of Montmor was a stepping stone to a
larger organization, the realization of the broadly based
ideal of the new philosophers best expressed in Bacon's New
Atlantis as Solomon's House; as time went on, and its career
was threatened by the dissensions that arose first over Des
cartes and later over the place to be assigned to experimen
tation, various efforts to revise the constitution were made.
Keen observers among the physicists, however, came to see
that the academy as set up in 1657 could not last: progress
in the execution of their designs could only be made by sepa
ration of the social and discursive element from the experi
mental program, and the concentration of each party on its
particular interests.
The years from 1661 to the end of the academy in 1664
were characterized by an intense and apparently general
taste for experimentation and astronomical observations.
The sciences had the enthusiasm of the specialists; they
gained popularity from the reports received from England
that the Royal Society was attracting the attention of lords
and ladies of the land, and that its work was favored by royal
approval and the cooperation of officiais and ministers of
state. The accounts sent by Christiaan Huygens lent the
authority of a neutral observer to the statements in Olden
burg's letters to Thevenot and Martel. He had told of the
influence of Sir Robert Moray with the King, and the enthu
siasm with which he sought a firm financial basis for the
work of the Society. He had described the active and pro
ductive members, Digby, Boyle, Neale, Wallis, Brouncker,
and Wilkins, listing their books and special lines of investi
gation. Their work on new and larger telescopes, the model
of the moon being made by Wren for the King, the scale
drawings of the smallest insects visible in the new micro-
C Fl .. --
120 THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY
scopes, the work of the committee of mathematicians and

practical men for the improvement of navigation-each of
these separately would have impressed the amateurs of
philosophy in Paris; together their effect was immense.
For these amateurs Huygens' letter of July 14, 1661, was
more than a communication of news from England; it was a
program for the advancement of science in France. All
the dreams of public benefits to be derived from the establish
ment of a college of the experimental arts seemed to be com
ing true in London. Nothing was impossible to a company
that had the approval of its government and the aid of the
king and the richer nobility. France was wealthier, the
king and his ministers more powerful, public opinion would
favor a body set up in such a way for such a purpose, espe
cially when its work would immediately improve so many
of the conditions under which people were living and work
ing at the time.
A number of letters written by French scientists and ama
teurs during 1661 indicate the strength with which the new
movement was beginning to flow. In May Huygens had
received letters from Chapelain and Thevenot; Thevenot's
reflects the news communicated into France by Oldenburg,
asking information about the English sea trade to the East
Indies, in which the English ships are said to make better
speed than the Dutch and Portuguese. He knows of the
work of the experimenters at Gresham College, for he men
tions Wallis, Wren, Willis, and "L'auteur des pneumatiques
nommé Boyle" who is said to have a further publication on
fluidity ready to appear, as also on the elements; for more
news of such work he and his associates are very eager. (Oeuv.
Compl. III, 269.)
The letter from Chapelain of May 30 is much more
general, complains that there has been no word from Huy-
THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY 121
gens in the Academy of Montmor, that the expectation is

that he will have much to say on the subject of English
science. He adds:
"They tell us here that the learned men of London have great plans for
the advancement of natural learning. It seems that our Academy becomes
more zealous because of the emulation they give it, and that there they
desire to apply themselves to experiment rather than to any other study in
which only the mind is active." 3
Much more outspoken in his comments on the situation in

Paris was Ismael Boulliau, still in Poland and making ob
servations with Hevelius. From the English foundation he
expected great results, especially in the matter of telescopes,
but, he writes,
"If our Messieurs of Paris, who are rich, curious for novelties of note, and
env1ous of an immortal fame, could be persuaded, then we might hope for
something. But they wish to get the finest and best for themselves with
out more trouble than is necessary for making fine speeches and philoso
phizing in the air, and without efl;ort and expense. You have seen it by
experience, and I shall say no more in writing."4
Concrete evidence of progress in France is indicated in

the reply sent by Chapelain to Huygens' letter of July 14, the
dispatch we have described as a programme for science in
France. ln this letter of July 20, sent by Lodewijk Huy
gens, at that moment leaving for Rolland, Chapelain re
marks on the situation in the Montmor Academy and de
scribes the disappointment of mutual friends at receiving no
news.
"Messieurs de Montmor, Ampiou, Petit, Auzout, among others, would
not believe that you had written me nothing, and thought that I was en-
3 III, 272.
4 III, 293.
joying this good fortune alone and in secret .... But I shall make them
much better satisfied next Tuesday when I show them your dispatch of the
14th of this month which I have just received ....The Company continues
its meetings with warmth, and what you send me about that of England
will serve as a great stimulus to turn them towards experiments on which
one may found a natural science with a certainty quite different from that of
speculation and conjecture. In the last conference on the Memoires of M.
de Monconys, to justify the play of the subtle matter of Descartes, some
one declared that a small piece of wood cut from another larger piece would
suffer the same effects of attraction and repulsion as a piece eut from the
main body of a lodestone, just as you saw in the conferences of M.Rohault.
On trial, however, the conjecture proved false, to the great discredit of this
doctrine of M. Descartes, which should be proved as easily in a piece of
wood as in a divided lodestone, the subtle matter necessarily forming and
following the pores of one no Jess than the other. We have just been dis
cussing, your brother and I, the cause which breaks these glass drops accord
ing to your English friends, and I have told him my opinion on that ques
tion, which he will explain to you at your leisure."6
The letter closes with assurance of the gratitude of Chapelain

and his friends for the news sent from England.
In the autumn of 1661, Thevenot and Petit were pursuing
their work with greater zeal than ever, studying the vacuum,
developing new forms and uses for the siphon, and continu
ing their investigations in astronomy, seeking stronger lenses,
and especially ways of mounting them so that the observa
tions they would permit would have the desired reliability.
Letters which Huygens received at the end of the year from
his brother Lodewijk indicated that the revived meetings
in the house of Montmor had not been much changed either
by foreign example or by domestic inspiration. The old
guard of speechmakers, of whom Antoine de la Poterie seems
to have been the chief, still takes up hours of time and pre
vents the achievement of useful results.
The principal figures in the meetings at this time include,
• Huygens, Oeuvres Complètes, III, 299.
THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY l2J
in addition to Montmor and the permanent secretary Sor

bière, Clerselier, Ampiou, Auzout, Chapelain, the Marquis
de Sourdis, Petit, Thevenot, and the Abbé Charles de Bryas.
Visitors not regularly admitted as members were the Dutch
ambassador, van Beuningen, and the two Huygens, the
elder Constantyn and Lodewijk. Correspondence seems
to have been maintained with London, and to a lesser degree
with Fermat in Toulouse, and with the scientists in Florence.
From the point of view of the forms of organization the
year 1662 is not important, although there is no doubt that
much discussion was done with a view to improving the
conditions of science in Paris. A letter from Petit to Huy
gens shows very clearly one of the obstacles which would have
to be overcome before the scientists of Paris could work in
open competition with those of England. He complains
as usual of the shortage of experimentalists, but adds that
the difficulty of getting good glass prevents their making
advances in the matter of lenses and the provision of tubes
and jars for their experiments with the air-pump and on the
column of mercury and capillarity.
During the summer meetings for the comparison of tele
scopes were held in Paris, apparently in the house of Petit;
the various amateurs found insuperable difficulties in mount
ing glasses of over ten or twelve feet focal length, and Huy
gens repeatedly suggested devices to simplify their task.
About this time they began to compare lens with lens by
means of cards bearing letters of various sizes, and fastened
to church towers. So absorbing became the trial of new
lenses from Italy and Bordeaux or made according to vari
ous formulae from the inferior glass available in Paris, that
the serious observation of the heavens was completely
interrupted.
In November Petit wrote Huygens that the Montmorians
were meeting in the house of the Marquis de Sourdis, and

that he was urging them to devote their time to physical
experiments.
Early in 1663 steps were taken towards the reorganization
of the Montmor Academy. At the beginning of April Huy
gens arrived on a business trip, and was visited by Montmor,
the Abbé Charles, and Sorbière, who invited him to attend a
meeting of the academy at which new laws and regulations
would be read. His coming was just too late for an inau
gural meeting at which Sorbière had read a discourse that
summarizes very well the situation of the academy at this
time.
Sorbière's discourse is found in the Cinq Cents de Colbert,
volume 485, folio 441, in the Bibliothèque Nationale at
Paris; it is a printed quarto of eight pages, and with it is a
letter sent to Colbert asking protection and encouragement
for the design of an inclusive body for the advancement of
science. The Discours is without doubt a production of the
leading spirits of the academy; its careful adaptation to the
minds and aims of the body as a whole, and its outspoken
criticism of certain features of the academy as then existing
seem rather more than an expression of Sorbière's own feel
ings. He refers to the renewal of the laws and constitution
of the company, and the need of a careful definition of its
potential use to the members and to society at large. He
daims for it priority over all the others which at that time
were a feature of scientific activity in Europe:
I "This Assembly is the Mother of ail those which have been formed since
I
its foundation in this Kingdom, in England, and in the Netherlands, and
~ which have the same desire as we to advance the science of natural things
and to improve the liberal arts and Mechanics. I t is on the plan that was
drawn up here in 1657, or on a part of it, that work is clone today elsewhere;
it is certain that our illustrious Moderator was the first in Paris to encourage
THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY I25
the studies which we cultivate, the curiosity to know more intimately the
works of God, and the desire to carry to a higher point the industry of men,
two sorts of things, that many men of wit, most men of letters, and almost
ail men of rank had until then neglected."6
Sorbière is quite specific in his references to the program

for a large and inclusive academy:
"The King is young; he has a great soul, and he has already begun to
favor some of our artisans, the painters and the architects, who form a con
siderable part of the craftsmen on whom the physicists must have an eye,
and whom the General Academy of which we have here made a project,
embraces in the great field it proposes for itself."
He goes on to declare that the chief objective sought in the

framing of the constitution had been to set up a body which
would be useful, agreeable to its members, and long-lived.
To this end, the maximum of freedom was allowed to each
member for the pursuit of his own ends and interests. The
encouragement of experimentation was limited only on the
ground that the private purse should not be robbed for the
benefit of the public at large. Discourses based on experi
ments were preferred to all others, and in the periods when
original research did not supply sufficient subject matter,
news of science from other cities was read, and the company
entertained "by discourses, polite, learned, and well-argued,
on physical matters, which alone entered our purview."
As long as the academy followed these laws it had achiev�d
excellent results, for worth-while discourses and discussion
had attracted the attention of the leaders of science in foreign
countries. There were many visitors, and "certain person-
6 Sorbière's Discours was found and reprinted by G. Bigourdan, Les
premiers Sociétés scientifiques de Paris au xviie siècle, in the Comptes-rendus
de l'Académie des Sciences, T. 163, p. 937, and T. 164, pp. 129, 159, 216
(1916-1917), reprinted as a brochure in 1919. The Discours may be found
in the third and fourth of these articles, and on pp. 14-19 of the brochure.
I'.26 THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY
ages very powerful at that time aspired to the fame of taking

us in their protection, and providing the expenses of our
experiments." 7 The good days did not last; certain men,
"who deemed themselves to be above the laws we had set
up," took up whole meetings with speeches in very bad
taste, depriving the company of the thoughts of others of
greater ability. These, with the group of flatterers who
sought advancement by approving the opinions of the men
of wealth and power, brought the academy to very low level
of attainment.
Sorbière's discussion of the experimentalists must be no
ticed especially for its careful statement of the issue. He
says:
"There was another group of men, who in the general disruption of this
assembly, tried to rally and take control, under a very specious pretext, but
with a plan whose execution is impossible to us. They preached experi
ments only, and sought to have us meet only to make them, requiring that
discourses should be ex tempore. They said that care should be taken only
to act well, and that there was no need to argue on any matter before some
trial of it had been made, which would furnish basis enough for sound dis
course, without other philosophizing."
Since it is natural for each to seek his own ends in an acad

emy of this sort, the writer will desire written discourses,
and the man who loves talk will prefer much conversation.
In this way the members who are "accustomed to mechan
ics, and who have made a few experiments" will desire
nothing else, just as if they had an endless supply of demon
strations to deliver. As a matter of fact, says Sorbière, the
academy has always welcomed the experimentalist:
7 Was one of these "personnages alors très puissants" the unfortunate
Surintendant Foucquet? Carcavy had been his librarian, Pecquet had
his laboratory at Saint-Mandé, Sorbière and Cureau de la Chambre had
received his generosity. See U. V. Chatelain, Le Surintendant Nicolas
Foucquet, Paris, Perrin, 1905, pp. 299-329, etc.
"We have even seen with pleasure M. Rohault bring ail his apparatus of
lodestones, and M. Pecquet put on the garb of his profession, to proceed
according to his method in the making of dissections; M. Petit has made his
artillery work with both gunpowder and aurum fulminans; M. Thevenot has
exhibited his tube made expressly for the examination of the rising of water
above its own level; M. de Monconys has brought in a horse which the
devil combed, according to the ostlers, and which he had bought to show the
falsity of the opinion in our presence .... M. de Montmor is so kind as to
offer us the use of an infinity of machines and instruments, with which he
has exercised his curiosity for thirty years; and he will permit us to take
some means to provide what is lacking, and is within our reach."
Sorbière fears only that experimentation will produce the

same disorder that unlimited discourse had, for there are
people who seek nothing but novelty from scientific experi
mentation.
Then he turns to the chief need of the age, a place for
scientific research on a scale adequate to produce authori
tative results:
"Besicles, to imagine that we might erect in this house, a Shop, a Forge,
and a Laboratory, or to put it in a word, build an Arsenal of machines to
perform ail sorts of experiments, is not possible at ail, and is not the proper
undertaking of a few private persans, although there are some very powerful
in this Company. Imagine what space would be needed just for a place
set aside for the observation of the stars, and of what size the machines
would be to utilize a telescope of forty feet, if even we knew of one that
avoided ail the inconveniences which render telescopes of this length almost
useless. Was it not necessary for Tycho Brahe to build long aga his Urani
burg, a castle serving not so much to lodge him as for the making of his
celestial observations?
"Truly, Messieurs, only Kings and wealthy Sovereigns, or a few wise and
prosperous Republics, can undertake to set up a physical academy, where
everything would pass in continuai experiments. Places must be built to
order; there must be numerous hired craftsmen; there must be a considerable
fond for expenses; and something must be found to animate this brute mat
ter, for a soul would be added to this. body only under the guidance of rare
spirits such as we see in this assembly; and I do not doubt that if they acted
in concert very great advantage for the public might corne from it.
- - - - ___ _J
"But until, Messieurs, the public is happy enough to meet Princes who
have a taste for Science, and for the perfection of the Arts in use among us,
or for the discovery of those which are lacking, our mechanics will remain
imperfect as they are, our medicine will be blind, and our sciences will teach
us only that there is an infinity of things that we do not know, and, what is
more annoying still, an infinity of things our ignorance of which makes us
pass our life sometimes with great discomfort."
Sorbière has here given ample justice to the desires of the

physicists; one feels that they must have been reasonably
satisfied with his statement of the case, even if not with the
conclusion that they must be content to hear more dis
courses when there were no experiments to be performed.
The discourse was printed, and a copy sent to Colbert with a
letter from Sorbière himself, who seeks to have the hints of
his discourse acted upon. There would not seem to be
much reason to doubt that the Compagnie des Sciences et des
Arts was already a tangible ideal before the members of the
Montmor Academy.
Meanwhile the scientific work of the amateurs went on.
Huygens mentions an "Assemblée Générale de Lunetterie"
of April 20, 1663, where D'Espagnet of Bordeaux brought his
thirty-two foot telescope, Huygens his of twenty-two feet,
Petit and Auzout theirs, and Monconys his of five lenses
bought from Divini. Placards with large and small letters
had been set up on the tower of the old Church of St. Paul, on
the rue Saint-Paul, not far from the rue Saint-Antoine; this
tower stood rn8o French feet from the house of the lawyer
Ampiou on the Ile Saint-Louis where the telescopes were
set up. By this means it was possible to arrive at some
method of comparison of individual lenses, but the number
of spectators who wanted to see and discuss each glass, and
the number of glasses good and bad which had to be com
pared prevented much progress being made. About May l
there was another trial; Auzout, who lived in Ampiou's

house, Huygens, and D'Espagnet, made some attempt to
corne to a conclusion about the comparative value of their
respective lenses. Huygens describes Auzout on this occa
sion as very communicative and free with his knowledge and
his instruments.
In the summer of this year three of the Montmorians
made a visit to England. Monconys left Paris on May 5,
arriving in London with the Duc de Chevreuse some ten
days later. He spent about five weeks in that city, calling
frequently on Oldenburg, visiting the Royal Society five
times, and seeing much of Boyle, Moray, Wren, and the
chen:iist Le Fèvre, who had been brought over and set up in a
fine new laboratory by Charles II. While there he wrote out
a "Îraitté pour connaitre le poids des liqueurs which is pre
served in the collections of the Royal Society. Sorbière
joined him in England about the middle of June, and they
spent much time in each other's company, strolling and con
versing; Sorbière mentions in the account he published of his
trip that he found Monconys "enfoncé dans le commerce des
Physiciens, et ne respirant que machines et que nouvelles
expériences." The opportunity to see the famous Royal
Society in action was not wasted by Sorbière; his Relation
d'un Voyage en Angleterre (1664), gave one of the first ac
counts of that body to appear in French.
Huygens and his father also visited England in June, and
they too were received by the Royal Society. A letter which
Oldenburg wrote to Boyle, June 10/20, 1663, tells how no
fewer than four foreigners, the two "Zulichems" (Huygens)
and the two Frenchmen, were present at a meeting of the
Society, and how the "experiments and occasional observa
tions discoursed of promiscuously" pleased everybody.
About the end of June Monconys left for Rolland, with letters
from Huygens for his brother, who is to show him the pump,
the dock, the curios of their father, the library, and the
concave mirror. Oldenburg gave him letters to Borri at
Amsterdam, and to a learned friend, Ankelu or Angel in
Augsburg; both of these letters are mentioned in the Liber
Epistolaris.
Sorbière was admitted to the Royal Society at the meeting
of June 17/27, 1663, an honor which was extended to Huy
gens the same day and, in the course of the next few years,
to Auzout, Petit, Boulliau, and other French amateurs of the
natural sciences. He went from England to Rolland, and
thence into Germany, returning to France in the autumn,
where he published his Relation early in 1664. With. the
scanda! caused by this book we have little to do; it suffices
to point out that after the temporary relegation of Sorbière
to Nantes he had little to do with the history of scientific
affairs in Paris.
In October of 1663, however, Oldenburg received a letter
from Petit, who had been requested by the French scientists
to inquire into the relations Sorbière had had with the Royal
Society and " ....whether he had pretended to be by the
said academy deputed to establish a stricter correspondence."
He further observed, " ....that M. de Sorbière had no
orders from the academy, having gone to England without
acquainting any person, except M. de Montmor, with his
intended journey thither; and that the academy would not
have been guilty of so great an incivility, as sending him
without a letter of the society and the president, if they had
any intention of deputing M.de Sorbière for the establishing
a nearer correspondence: nor was the academy pleased with
his printing a discourse after he had promised not to do it."
The account of the episode, as recorded in Birch, History of
the Royal Society, (l, 317), proceeds to record that the So-
THE END OF THE MONTMOR ACADEMY I JI
ciety declared that "Sorbière had pretended to no such depu

tation, nor transacted anything with them in the name of the
Parisian academy;" and asked that the secretary should
write an answer to Petit to this effect.
Oldenburg's answer, as paraphrased by Birch, "observed,
that M. de Sorbière had, at the meetings of the society,
behaved himself with ail possible civility, and in his private
conversation with the members, only testified his zeal for the
advancement of solid and useful science; on which account,
as well as being of the Parisian academy, he had been ad
mitted into the Royal Society the same day with Mr. Huy
gens. Mr. Oldenburg added, with regard to a stricter cor
respondence between the society and the academy, that it
did not appear to him to want the being enforced by formal
deputations; since the nature of the thing required it, the
object of science being of so vast an extent, that it demanded
the united genius of more than one nation to exhaust the
subject."
Sorbière wrote direct to Oldenburg when he heard of the
charge against him; he asked for justification, expressed his
appreciation at being elected, and asked for a copy of the
statutes with an account of the institution of the Society,
to be used in the account he was drawing up of his trip into
England. Oldenburg sent him in reply the substance of the
letter he had written to Petit, told him of the new books by
Boyle and Willis, and "excused himself from anticipating the
history of the establishment of the Royal Society, which was
ready to be committed to the press by one of their friends;
and was undoubtedly that four years after published by Mr.
Sprat."
Sorbière's unfortunate treatment of the Lord Chancellor of
England in his Relation led to his complete Joss of credit in
that country. The author of the History of the Royal So-
ciety, Thomas Sprat, searched his book for errors of fact and
taste, and, with the help of John Evelyn, published a refuta
tion of it which erred only in being too eager to find fault.
Sorbière �as deemed to have so seriously insulted the English
that after Sprat's book was published, the council and fellows
of the Royal Society seriously considered omitting his name
from the rolls. By a vote of fourteen to eight he was con
tinued as a member, on November 14/24, 1666, and the
affair was closed. One might add that the Royal Society
possesses an inscribed copy of his Relations, Lettres et Dis
cours of 166o, and that Birch prints an account of him as an
obituary at the end of the year 1668-9.
To return to France in 1663. During Huygens' absence
from Paris the first recipients of the royal gratuities were
announced; the list was commented on for the number of
men of letters who were honored, and for the comparative
neglect of scientists and philosophers, although Huygens,
Hevelius, and de la Chambre had been included. Scientific
work is proceeding, however, and we find a reflection of its
activities in the pages of the Oeuvres Complètes. In July
Petit writes that Thevenot's country house at Issy is being
used for astronomical observation, and that he has spent
several nights there studying Saturn in company with
Boulliau, Frenicle, and Auzout. Huygens returned to
Paris, spent some time with Perrault at Viry, received the
first of his royal gratuities, tried a tubeless telescope at Issy,
and attended the meetings of the revived Montmor Academy.
The air-pump which had been built for Montmor according
to his suggestions in the spring was much used during this
winter, and exhibited to various dignitaries and social
leaders in Paris. Following English examples, the French
scientists are beginning to perform frequent dissections; a
note from Auzout to Huygens speaks of removing the spleen
_from a <log as already performed in England by Dr. Walter

Charleton, and of the dissection of the salivary glands and
the eye of an ox. The Dutch scientist is now moving in a
number of circles in Paris, and among other entertainments
we find him dining with the Marquis de Guénégaud, where
he exhibited Montmor's pump, and with the Abbé Bour
delot in company with Petit and his wife and daughter.
In March of 1664 Huygens wrote Moray that
"There is a great desire to make some more solid and regular establish
ment for this Academy than it has had up to this time, and for some time
various consultations to this end have been held; with ail that, however, we
make little progress, so that even the most zealous begin to despair of suc
cess. That shows very clearly that you have clone something in England
that it is not easy to imitate anywhere else." 8
On June 12. he wrote further that the Montmor Academy had

ended its career for ever:
"ln Paris there was nothing new in scientific affairs, except that the
Montmor Academy had ended forever; however it seems that from the
wreckage of this one another may be born, for I left some of those gentlemen
with very good intentions." 9
There is little need for speculation about what finally dis

couraged Montmor; the story of the academy was marred
by petty squabbles about personal dignity and disagreement
over points of doctrine which rapidly led to insults and offen
sive behavior. It was impossible to keep such persons as
De la Poterie and Huygens in one company, and there was
little chance of the patience of such men as Petit and Theve
not enduring the vacuities of Sorbière. Montmor himself
had not lost interest in the sciences of nature, but he must
have felt that a renewed academy would stand a better
s Oeuvres Complètes, V, 41.
9 Oeuvres Complètes, V, 70.
chance of success if it could make a break with the past and

its somewhat motley traditions.
To the rest of his own career we have a few references
which will enable us to leave him out of our remaining chap
ters. On June 29, 1667, Henry Justel wrote P. D. Huet that
Montmor was present at the magnificent service in the old
church of Sainte-Geneviève in memory of Descartes, and
that amateurs of science had begun to assemble in his house
as formerly. 10 Of these meetings we can only say that they
seem to have resembled their predecessors. We find that
he had devised a support for the medium-length telescopes,
and was employing Jean-Baptiste Denis and one Emerez to
perform a number of trials of the famous experiment of the
transfusion of the blood. When these trials failed, and the
subject-or victim-died, only the credit of Montmor could
save the experimenters from the rigors of the law. We
leave him making Latin epigrams and collecting scientific
books. Juste! imported Hooke's Micrographia for him,
and records that he owned the first copy of the Saggi del!' Es
perienze Naturali Jatte nell' Accademia del Cimento to corne to
Paris.
10 Copy in Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds Français, 15189, f. 145. See
chapter VIII.
CHAPTER VII
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
A leader in the group of Montmorians who sought the

establishment of a body devoted to the experimental sciences
was the traveler Melchisédec Thevenot. An important
personage in France, he had seen much of Europe, and the
confidence of Mazarin had given him a diplomatie mission in
Rome in 1652-54. About 1658 he became a friend and
correspondent of Count Magalotti, librarian and secretary
of Prince Leopold of Tuscany, patron of the Accademia del
Cimento, to whom he wrote reports of the advancement of
scientific matters in France. One of the few men of his
day who read English, his chief literary productions were
translations from the English travelers. His career brought
him back to the service of the king when Colbert made him
librarian in succession to Carcavy and the Abbé Gallois in
1684. He became a member of the Académie des Sciences
in 1685, and died in 1692..
Two years after his death, the Parisian bookseller Delaulne
published a catalogue of his library, Bibliotheca 'Theveno
tiana sive Catalogus Impressorum et Manuscriptorum viri ....
M. 'Thevenot, (1694, 12.mo) with a short autobiography pre
fixed. From this we can extract the few details available
concerning the academy which he set up in his house some
time before the establishment of the Académie des Sciences.
The papers describing this group of amateurs are lost from
the collections which house what is left of his library, and
much of what we would like to know must remain in the
realm of hypothesis.
After describing the various episodes in his career up to
about 166'2, he goes on to the academy:
1 35
,
It "
136 LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
"On my return to Paris, I gathered around me a company of men known

to be very able, of whom MM. Frenicle and Steno were lodged in my house.
In a house joined to mine I maintained another person for experiments of
chemistry, but the cost of these experiments, observations, and anatomies
greatly exceeding my revenue, after having borne it during two years, I
suggested to M. Colbert that it be given a more lasting form under the ap
proval of the king. I gave him the list of persans who composed it, and
showed him the program. The late M. Hotman1 was present two or three
times by his order, and that was the first beginning of the Academy of
Sciences of today. The works which those of this company produced in
those days show what could be expected from the future. Men will always
talk of the anatomical discoveries of those academicians, and of their celes
tial observations. Each one of them had set his task and his occupation.
Mine was to put together and give in French the best of what other nations
have in the field of the arts. In those days I discovered an air-level, . ,,"
We know that this company existed in 1664, as Petit men

tions dissections by Steno in November of that year; the
end of the academy must be placed about 1665, preceding
Thevenot's retirement from Paris, and the taking of the
fi.rst steps towards the Académie des Sciences. Closer than
this we cannot corne at present, for documents are com
pletely lacking. From correspondence of the day we can
collect the names of a few of the members.
Frenicle de Bessy, mentioned by Thevenot himself, was a
geometrician, and later became a member of the Académie
des Sciences; he does not figure largely in these pages.
Steno, sometimes known in France as Stenon, although his
Danish name seems to have been Stensen, was an anatomist
of considerable ability; he spent two years in Paris before
going to the south of France, where he performed dissections
for the Earl of Ailesbury at Montpellier, and to the scientific
1 Vincent Hotman de Fontenay, Conseiller au Grand Conseil, Maître
des Requêtes, Intendant de province, Intendant de Finances in 1669, died
in 1683, had married a relative of Colbart; he was favored by Colbert from
1656.
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS 137
centres of ltaly. The third, the chemist who lived next

door, mentioned by Thevenot as the remaining operator in
his investigations, we do not know; he was very probably
one of the chemists of the Académie.
The letters which Oldenburg sent to Boyle during the
years 1663-64 consistently group Auzout, Petit, and Martel
with Thevenot as the persons in France most appreciative
of the advances being made in England. We have seen
these men associated in various activities in the Montmor
Academy. ln opposition to the doctrinaire Cartesianism
around them, these four stand for the Gassendist spirit of
careful and honest observation of nature at work, and for
the promotion of such observation by the improvement of
instruments. Each of them had been associated with the
brilliant group around Mersenne; Petit and Auzout had
cooperated with Pascal, Petit in the first trial of the Torri
cellian experiment in France, Auzout in the affaire Saint
dnge and the experiments of the vide dans le vide at Rouen.
Pierre Petit (1594 or 1598-1677) was a curious figure even
in this age of characters. Born in Montluçon, but a resi
dent of Paris from about 1633, he has frequently appeared
in this story, and seems to have been acquainted with every
person who has crossed its pages. He had many acquaint
ances, but apparently few real friends. Though he was an
ingenious student of mechanics and the devices of trades,
he seems never to have grasped the principles of Huygens'
docks and his method of mounting the long telescopes. His
fertile minci could invent questions and suggest theories
faster than he could find ways and means of testing his sug
gestions. On one occasion Huygens described him as a
"comical fellow, who thinks he knows everything, without
ever wishing to admit he can learn anything from anybody,
just as now he will not say he approves the method I sent
lJ8 LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
you for making the tubes of telescopes, but that he invented

it as well." 2 Petit was one of the first in France to read
the Pseudodoxia Epidemica of Sir Thomas Browne; in 1660
he asked Oldenburg whether there were a Latin translation
of it3 and in September of 1665 told the author's son, Dr.
Edward Browne, that he had it translated half into Latin
and half into French, for he understood no English. Ed
ward's letter to his father adds that Petit "hath divers fine
instruments, glasses, and other inventions in his chamber." 4
ln spite of a long record of service to French science, he was
not included in the Académie des Sciences, a severe blow to
his pride. Of his grief, Boulliau wrote to Hevelius, Novem
ber 26, 1666, "Clariss. Petitus, quod in Academiam illam
non sit allectus, aegerrime fert, doloremque suum dissimu
lare nequit." 5 The election to the Royal Society of London
which soon followed he regarded as a justification in the eyes
of France.
Adrien Auzout (1622-1691) is less well known; having
published little of permanent value, and left few manuscripts
to find their way to the great collections of Paris, he has
remained in a comparative obscurity. The biographical
dictionaries have almost nothing to say about him, and his
publications are found only in the larger and older libraries.
According to the Lantiniana, a manuscript collection from
the papers of a lawyer of Dijon,
"Monsieur Auzout was the son of a clerk of the court in Rouen. He had
an excellent mind, he was a great mathematician and philosopher. He was
one of the chief members of the Académie des Sciences, and it was he who
had drawn up the first plans of it. But his hastiness involved him in a
2 Oeuvres Complètes, IV, 241.

3 See letter in Appendix.
4 Sloan Ms. in British Museum, 1868, f. 94.
6 Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds Français 13026, f. 154.

LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS IJ9
dispute with M. Perrault the physician, who had the support of M. Colbert,
Minister of State. He made an exact criticism of Perrault's translation of
Vitruvius, noticing more than three hundred errors in it. He communicated
a number of his remarks to me, which I found very good. He left the
Académie des Sciences, which gave him an opportunity to distinguish him
self and to live more comfortably, in order to live more freely and with greater
independence, and to retire to ltaly where he died. By his will he left me a
part of his writings, but I have not received them, and I do not know into
whose hands they have fallen.
"M. Auzout had been a very close friend of M. d'Elbene, and he had so
greatly increased the revenue of one of his estate that M. d'Elbene gave
him 20000 francs in testimony of his gratitude."6
According to the supplement to the Menagiana, in the

same manuscript from the collections of Lantin, Auzout was
an underdeacon and left a son; and he is supposed to have
drawn the first plans of the Observatoire de Paris, a supposi
tion which is not at all improbable in view of the mystery
that surrounds the earliest months of its history and the
fact that Auzout sent a sketch of the building to Oldenburg
6
"Mr Auzout estoit fils d'un Greffier de Rouen. Il avoit l'esprit excel
lent: il estoit tres grand Mathematicien et tres grand philosophe. Il
estoit l'un des principaux membres de l'Academie des Sciences et c'estoit
lui qui en avoit dressé les premiers plans. Mais sa trop grande vivacité le
brouilla avec Mr Perrault le Medecin, qui avoit l'appui de Mr Colbert
ministre d'Etat. Il fit une Critique exacte de la traduction que Mr Perrault
a faite de Vitruve. Il y remarqua plus de trois cent fautes. Il m'a com
muniqué quelques unes de ses censures, que j'ai trouvées fort bonnes. Il
quitta l'Academie des Sciences, qui lui donnoit des occasions de se dis
tinguer et de vivre plus commodement pour faire une vie plus libre et plus
independante et se retirer en Italie où il est mort. Il m'avoit laissé par
son testament une partie de ses ecrits. Mais je ne les ai point receus, et
je ne scais pas entre les mains de qui ils sont tombez.
"Mr Auzout avoit esté fort ami de Mr d'Elbene, et il avoit si fort aug
menté le revenu de l'une de ses Terres, que Mr d'Elbene lui donna vingt
mille francs pour lui en temoigner sa reconnoissance."-Fonds Français,
23254, p. 218. Lantiniana, number 355.
at least six weeks before the wooden model was made, and the
official plan was sent by Carcavy to England. 7
We have mentioned Auzout's early association with Pascal
and Mersenne; about 1652 he is listed among the members
of the Cabinet of the Brothers Dupuy, and somewhat later
among the associates of the members of the Académie Mont
mor. He is listed by Bigourdan as the member of a group
that observed the eclipse of the sun of April 7, 1652 in Petit's
observatory in the company of Le Tenneur, Buot, Petit,
and the Cardinal de Retz, and by Monconys as a regular
observer of the phenomena of the heavens in 1655. In
1664-66 he published several pamphlets on astronomical
subjects, and worked with Picard on the micrometer. In
July of 1668 a very obscure quarrel in the Académie des
Sciences drove him from France to Italy; on his way through
the Alps he tried the Torricellian experiment on the Mont
Cenis. A letter written by Count Magalotti recommends
him to the attention of Prince Leopold as a likely subject
for a vacancy in the circle of the Cimento. 8 He returned to
France after some years in Rome and Tuscany, and in 1682
paid a visit of some months to England, where he spent much
time with his friend Justel, visiting the Royal Society, as
well as Oxford, where the ale of Magdalen College so pleased
him that he asked Justel especially to fi.nd how it was made. 9
At the end of his life he returned to Italy, keeping up his
correspondence with friends in France and England. During
his stay there he wrote the letters to the Abbé Claude Ni-
7 See letters of Justel to Oldenburg in Royal Society Guard-Books; espe
cially numbers 88 and 47 (undated, but before mid-July, and August 31,
1668, respectively).
s Fabroni, Lettere lnedite di Uomini lllustri, I, 309.
9 Letters of Juste! to Thomas Smith, June-July 1684. Bodleian Ms.
Smith 46, pp. 395, ff. (Copies by courtesy of M. Bardin).
caise of the years 1686-89 which Caillemer attributed to

" une personne inconnue" in his volume, Lettres de divers
savants à l'abbé Claude Nicaise, (Lyon, 1885), in addition to a
group of letters to Cabart de Villermont which are to be
seen in the latter's correspondence in the Bibliothèque
Nationale. At the end of his life he was engaged in contro
versy with Petty over the respective sizes of Paris and Lon
don, and with Isaac Vossius over an inscription he had found
in Rome.
ln October of 1664 Auzout had written a Lettre à Monsieur
l'abbé Charles sur le Ragguaglio di due nuove osservationi, &c.
da Giuseppe Campani où il est parlé des nouvelles découvertes
dans Saturne et dans 'Jupiter, et de plusieurs choses curieuses
touchant les grandes lunettes, which was at first circulated in
manuscript, and printed early in 1665 by Jean Cusson. The
Abbé Charles is frequently mentioned in scientific discussions
in Paris at this time; Huygens had met him soon after arriv
ing in Paris in the autumn of 1660 in the shop of the instru
ment maker Ménard, and described him to his brother
Lodewijk as "le meilleur homme et le plus candide que j'aie
jamais vu et que j'aime tout à fait." (March 8, 1662.) He
was a member of the Montmor Academy towards the end
of its career, and a great collector of optical instruments.
Born Charles de Bryas, he became a Carmelite, took the
name Charles de l'Assomption, attained important rank, and
died in the house of his order at Douai.
Martel was another who had seen the conferences of Fa
ther Mersenne. A doctor of medicine from Bordèaux, and a
protestant, he was an amateur of science, a great admirer of
Robert Boyle, and appears to have taken little part in the
actual investigations performed, although he wrote a treatise
on heat which was sent from Paris to the English scientists.
These were the men who seem to have led a revoit against
many of the habits and methods of the Montmor Academy.

Much of the story of the time is probably lost for ever with
the manuscripts of Thevenot; enough remains to show that
the conflict between the factions in the academy was bitter
and often sharp enough to wreck it. At first the struggle
was between the Cartesians and the mathematicians; after
the Cartesians, Rohault, Clerselier, and Montmor himself,
succeeded in getting rid of Roberval, dissension arase be
tween the group that preferred to talk and those who sought
to experiment. The evolution in England and to a smaller
degree that in ltaly justified the arguments of the latter,
but the difficulty of finding the place and the means defeated
any plan to turn the academy into a large and effective
experimental society. Not only physical arguments were
against such a programme; the mood and temper of the
world in which the larger number and the more important
members of the group moved prevented any rush of recruits
to the experimental party.
The quandary that faced the Montmorians in 1663 was
thus conditioned by several circumstances. To what extent
could merchants and courtiers, teachers and members of the
clergy, artisans, doctors, lawyers, and scientists, be per
suaded to collaborate to the extent of supporting by per
sona! interest and the payment of fees a body which promised
little but intellectual satisfaction, which offered the excite
ment of novelty in its dissections and experiments, but which
in normal circumstances could not present an exciting novelty
every week? That very collaboration had been proved pos
sible in England; classes were broken clown, wealth such as
Boyle's or Moray's profited by the faithful service of an
Oldenburg and the sharp intelligence of a Hooke; men of the
lowest origin, Petty and Graunt for example, were accepted
and took part with peers of the realm and the landed gentry
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS I 4j
on an equal footing. Granted that a large, inclusive, and

self-supporting body like the English was impossible in
France, what then, could be set up in Paris to push forward
the work of the sciences?
The examples that sprang to mind were none of them to
the point. The large and inclusive pedagogic programme
of Renaudot had had its successors in the conferences of
Richesource, de Launay, and others, and would have another
almost immediately in those of Bourdelot; not satisfactory
to the experimentalist who sought a small company where
he could get on with his problems, it was still Jess so to the
man of leisure whose literary and scientific ideal was based
on the genteel life of the salons. Montmor's Academy,
closely paralleling in its structure and its working the meet
ings of the Cabinet of the Brothers Dupuy, was not satis
factory, for it was full of dissensions rising from the very
discussion it was intended to promote. Several of the
members were opposed to the rigidly experimental pro
gramme which the more actively scientific group favored.
Half-way measures could hardly have been attended with
success, for the experimentalists were rapidly finding their
way to mee�ings outside whose interest and importance
would quickly destroy the value of the regular assemblies
in the house of Montmor. The programmes offered else
where-in the conférences of Rohault, the salon of Madame
de Bonneveau, the mercuriales of Ménage, the Académie
Française-were for one reason or another unsatisfactory.
The final decision was for another type of body, not repre
sented in France at all at the time, although old enough in
the scientific tradition, the small and hand-picked group of
professional scientists who work together under a moderator
and the patronage of a prince or minister.
The more far-sighted séientists of the day sought not only
a publicly recognized academy, but considered further that

such a body could not exist without a suitable place for the
numerous experiments its work would entail. The diffi
culty of setting up a telescope in the Parisian house of r66o
had hampered Petit and Boulliau, and prevented their
keeping abreast of observations made elsewhere. Condi
tions for chemical and physical research were very unfavor
able; room at the colleges was not to be had, and in private
houses the apparatus of science seemed strangely out of
place. Only at the Jardin des Plantes was it possible to find
facilities and freedom for work, and there the activity was
restricted to certain useful studies.
The need of a properly equipped public observatory was
expressed with special vigor by Auzout in a letter of dedica-·
tion to Louis XIV printed with his Ephéméride du Comète de
I664; here he shows what he had been able to achieve with
"des filets, des règles, des équerres et des bâtons," and indi
cates what might be clone in a suitable place with the great
instruments which alone gave accurate readings for calcu
lating the height of the pole.
"If I had had a more suitable place, and the great instruments necessary
for the making of exact observations, I should have made them, and I do not
doubt that they would have aided me to succeed better than I have. But,
Sire, it is a misfortune that there is not one in Paris, nor so far as I know in
ail your Kingdom to which I would trust myself to take exactly the height
of the pole; perhaps that is the reason why there is no kingdom in Europe
of which the geographical maps are so faulty and the situation of places so
uncertain. There is no Frenchman who can read without some confusion
the complaints made on this subject by a very learned Italian (Riccioli,
Almageste, III, 1. 7, c. r8) and not wish that what private citizens possess so
magnificently in other countries should not be lacking to the most powerful
monarch in Europe, so that if there should be at another time new things
to observe in the heavens, the French should not yield in that to men of
other nations, since your Majesty does not intend them to yield in any other
thing, and so that they may contribute as do other nations, by the most ex-
act observations that may be desired, to determine laws long sought by

the curiosity of learned men. It is a question, Sire, of Your Majesty's own
fame, and of the reputation of France, and that is what makes us hope that
your Majesty will command some place for making ail sorts of celestial
observations, and cause it to be furnished with ail the instruments neces
sary for this end. This is one of the chief purposes of the Company for the
Sciences and the Arts, which awaits only the protection of Your Majesty to
work mightily for the perfection of ail the sciences and ail the useful arts.
Its Project is so great, and may be so glorious for the state, and so use!ul for
the public, if it is executed in ail its details, that it is impossible not to be
persuaded that Your Majesty, who has designs so vast and so magnificent,
should not approve and favor it; and I can declare that ail the neighboring
nations have been for some time in an incredible expectation of so great an
establishment."
Auzout's reference to a Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts

ready to begin its work at the Royal word of command indi
cates almost certainly the group whose nucleus consisted of
Thevenot, Petit, and himself, and whose constitution is that
found among the Huygens papers at Leiden, 10 described as a
Project de la Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts, and to which a
note is added in Huygens' hand, "Fait par les Messieurs qui
s'assembloient en particulier." The date of the document
is not certain; that Huygens received it early in 1665, about
the time of the publication of the Ephéméride, seems prob
able from the minute of a letter to his father of February 5,
in which he thanks him for the "3 Journaux (des Savants)
et du Projet" and remarks on the difficulty of finding a
capital to yield 20 or 30 thousand escus income.11 Thus the
evidence available points to the conclusion that the docu
ment now to be considered was elaborated during the years
10 Printed in the Oeuures Complètes, IV, 325. Dr. J. A. Vollgraff, editor
of this publication, assures me that the handwriting does not seem to be
Auzout's, Petit's, nor yet that of Thevenot; it is very likely a copy by a
hired secretary.
11 Oeuures Complètes, V, 221-222.
1663-64, and circulated among the former members of the

Montmor Academy and others interested about the end of
1664.
Sorne of the twenty-six clauses of this Projet are of consid
erable interest in the present context. The purpose of the
Company was what we have become accustomed to since
1657, "the perfection of the sciences and the arts, and the
search in general for everything which can bring utility or
convenience to the human race, and especially to France."
This end was to be achieved by the use of experiment and
observation of nature by means of telescopes, microscopes
and all other necessary instruments; and by the continuation
of the use of chemistry, anatomy, and medicine, to complete
our knowledge of the human body, and control conditions
of health and disease. The invention of new machines
would be encouraged, the improvement of the old sought
actively, and the secrets of trades and commerce would be
discovered and published for the general human good. Spe
cial attention was to be paid to the testing of methods and
devices advertised and sold in the public markets, and the
members would further, "strive to disabuse the Human
Race of all the Vulgar Errors which have so long passed as
truths, for want of the necessary experiments being made to
test them and discover their falseness." (Clause 6) An
attempt would be made to learn and record the practices of
artisans in France and elsewhere, so that principles of phys
ics and chemistry might be applied to the improvement of
the trade and the conditions under which it was carried on.
ln addition to these fonctions, the Company would seek to
perfect the art of navigation in order to discover sources of
wealth in unknown lands; it would encourage the exchange
of the devices of civilization with other nations, improve
a�riculture 1 communications between the provinces of
France, control floods, and rectify the maps of the country.

In cooperation with other learned societies, it would try to
complete our knowledge of meteorology, astronomy, and the
great Natural History which was part of the scientific pro
gram of the age. Religion and politics are to be left outside;
metaphysics, ethics, history, and grammar, will be discussed
only so far as they are necessary for the advancement of
Physics or the commerce of men. The constitution closes
with an outline of the proposed membership, to be sought
among all the sciences and the fine and useful arts, with the
addition of travelers, and linguists for the translation and
reading of foreign books; there is also a scheme, in very
general form, of the officers and committees, with their
duties.
Such a programme recalls the work of the Royal Society.
With the necessary substitutions and equivalents, one would
be justified in deeming the French programme a transplanta
tion of the spirit of the English scientists to foreign soi!. A
faith in the power of the human mind in cooperative research
assisted by the latest instruments to fathom the deepest
mysteries of nature; an articulate desire to create a wealthy
and prosperous nation on a basis of perfected means of com
munication and transport: clearly here is a new note in the
literature of seventeenth century France. The dream was
suitable to the moment; a young monarch, with an honest
and patriotic minister, a unified people, with half Europe at
its feet-together they could reach any height.
But like the other dreams for the advancement of science
of the age, it was a chimera. To set such ,a body up and
allow it to work would be to affront a dozen other groups
firmly established in public life-the J esuits, with their
tightening hold on education; the Sorbonne, with its control
of the press; the Faculty of Medicine, with its ideas about
the improvement of remedies by the use of chemistry and its

conservative views of physiology; even the Académie Fran
çaise, with its monopoly of matters of letters and language.
ln addition to affronts to such major interests, the effort to
learn and publish the secrets of trades would bring the cor
porations and guilds of the city in endless delegations to
seek the limitation of the powers of the Compagnie.
Such considerations of policy doubtless had their weight
with Colbert, who could not afford to offend. the vested
interests of Paris for any new foundation to benefit the
kingdom. The Fronde was still too close, and another large
self-governing body, in conflict with other ancient institu
tions, would lead to much wasted money and energy, and
the loss of credit for his own ministry. The trouble which
even the "innocent inventions" of Théophraste Renaudot
had caused in the last years of the ministry of Richelieu was
perhaps a warning for caution.
From 1664 to the end of 1666, when the establishment of
the new Academy was accomplished, the ambitious scheme
of the Montmorians suffered very considerable modifications.
The educational and broadly utilitarian aspects of the pro
jected company were reduced, if not quite removed; the
emphasis was placed more and more on the sciences not
already recognized as the special field of such bodies as the
Faculty of Medicine. The general tendency of the revi
sions suggested by the more cautious advisers of Colbert
is clearly indicated in the Note written by Charles Perrault
about 1665-66, and reprinted by P. Clément, in his Instruc
tions et Mémoires de Colbert. 12 Here the future academicians
are grouped in four sections: the first, those excelling in
grammar, eloquence, and poetry, represent and presumably
would continue the Académie Française; the second, histo-
12 Paris, 1868, T.v., 512.
rians, chronologists, and geographers, foreshadowing an

abortive effort of 1667; and the last two groups meeting
jointly would make up the Académie des Sciences as finally
organized. Perrault <livides the scientists into two bodies;
philosophes, who specialize in chemistry, simples, anatomy,
and experimental physics, and mathématiciens, whose studies
include geometry, astronomy, and algebra. This distinction
endured into the eighteenth century at least, and still holds
goocl in many places. Perrault notes further that "it is to
be desired that each scientist should know ail parts of the
branch he professes, but that he must excel and make a
special study of the branch he chooses, in which he will be
expected to make ail the investigations required of him, and
to reply to difficulties brought to his attention." This last
feature is a definite innovation, and takes us at once far from
the free inclusiveness of the English model.
If an example were necessary to Colbert, perhaps it should
be sought in Florence, where the members of the Accademia
del Cimento worked in close and active cooperation under
their leader and patron, Prince Leopold of Tuscany. Much
thought and discussion undoubtedly went on behind the
scenes, and unfortunately the records are few. We know
that the chief counsellors of Colbert seem to have been Per
rault, cited above, Huygens, whose note "Pour l'Assemblée
de Physique" appears among the papers of Boulliau, 13
Chapelain, a note by whom was printed by Clément with
that by Perrault, and probably Carcavy and Auzout. The
result was a prudent compromise between the ambitious
desires of the amateurs, who had asked much, and the
circumstances of Paris in 1666, which could grant but little;
and it bears but slight resemblance to foreign models, either
Italian or English.
13 Fonds Français 13029, f. 206, printed in Oeuvres Complètes.
1 50 LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
Through the year 1665 more articulate agitation for a

royal foundation made decisive steps necessary. The
example of the Royal Society was becoming better known
in France, through the channels of diplomatie correspond
ence as well as through the accounts of such travelers as
Sorbière and Monconys, and the correspondence which was
beginning to pass with such regularity between Oldenburg
and Henry Justel.14 The foundation in somewhat obscure
circumstances of the 'Journal des Savants in 1665 was suc
ceeded immediately by the publication of the Philosophical
'l'ransactions by Henry Oldenburg, and the value of the
Royal Society to the life and learning of England became
very noticeable.15 Amid contrary counsel, the course to be
followed by Colbert was not found at once; documents of the
day indicate with some precision the stages through which
the great design passed.
A letter which Jean Chapelain wrote Huet on July 29,
1665, shows some of the interest the learned world of Paris
was taking in the matter:
"The English have taken physical matters doser to heart. They work
at such things in a body; they have the support and the purse of the king,
and there is a fine emulation among them. We have not reached that point
yet. What we do can only be called good intentions, and shows what we
can achieve when the right wind blows. Other things, more urgent, occupy
the prudence of our prince, and this will have its season."16
Toward the end of the year, the French program became

known in England; at the end of November Sir Robert
Moray wrote Oldenburg that "Colbert intends to sett up a
Society lyke ours and make Hugens Director of the de
signe."17
14 See Chapter VIII.
15 See Chapter IX, Science and the Press.
16 Pellissier, Lettres Inédites, 34.
17 Royal Society, Guard-books, M1, 21. (Nov. 27)
About the middle of 1666 Colbert's plans began to take

more definite shape. On May 26, Justel wrote Oldenburg
that,
"Steps are being taken here towards the establishment of some academy
to be composed of men selected from ail sorts of professions. We do not
yet know the details of it, for that is only sketched. If the idea is taken to
heart, some considerable establishment will result, and there is reason to
hope it will succeed. Do not speak of it very definitely until it is further
advanced. M.Huygens will be a member, and M. Auzout also, with other
capable men."1 8
On June 8, after the receipt of a letter now missing from the

files of the Royal Society, Oldenburg wrote Boyle still fur
ther details; Auzout, he says,
"I find from my last from Paris, is nominated for one of the choice per
sons that are to constitute their academy, some of the rest that are pitched
upon being M. Roberval, M. Carchavy, M. Frenicle, M. Picard, M. Huy
gens, ail very able men, appointed to meet and consider of the best way of
framing a philosophical society, and the best method of carrying on its de
sign. I perceive they will chiefly pursue mechanical and chemical experi
ments, they having already in their eye a couple of good chemists, and some
able mechanics that shall work by their directions. On fera faire (saith
my author) tout ce qu'il faudra pour travailler utilement. On a desia
commence de s'assembler pour faire quelques reglemens. C'est un grand et
beau dessein, qui ne peut estre qu'utile et glorieux a la France. He adds,
on pourrait faire aussi quelquechose en Denmark, parcequ'il s'y trouve des
sujets capables et tres intelligens ....I hope our Society will in time
ferment ail Europe at least: I wish only we had a little more zeal, and a
18 Royal Society, Guard-books: "On travaille icy a l'establissement de

quelque Academie qui doit estre composee de personnes choisies de toutes
sortes de professions. On n'en scait pas encore le particulier, parce que
cela n'est qu'ébauché. Si on prend la chose a coeur on fera quelque etab
lissement considerable et il y lieu d'esperer qu'il reussira. N'en parlez
point encore bien positivement que cela ne soit plus avance. Monsieur
Huggens en sera et Mr Auzout aussi avec quelques autres personnes capa
bles." (This and other quotations from the Juste! correspondence are
printed by permission of the Council of the Royal Society).
I 52 LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
great deal more assistance, to do our work thoroughly, as I am apt to be

lieve the French will study to do theirs (they being like to be endowed)
were it but out of emulation. So good be clone to our generation, and a
ground laid to do the like to posterity, no great matter what passions do
concur for the performance."19
The next reports received in England were from the hand

of Auzout; accompanying his formal letter of thanks for
election to the Royal Society, he sent a letter to Oldenburg
with the following information:
"But we have at present every reason .to hope that France is going to
apply itself as well as England to the advancement of the sciences and arts,
if the plan which has been announced is executed. I shall not say anything
more particular about it just now, for things go very slowly; but we are made
to hope, that if anything is lacking it will be only persans able enough to
work at a project so vast and so difficult."20
Before the end of the year the academy was almost com
plete; on October 13 Justel reports to Oldenburg that
"Severa! men have been named for the Academy, among others M. de
la Chambre, M. Perrault, an Apothecary, M. du Clos, and M. Gayant for
anatomy. ln time there will be others; nevertheless they are not working
yet as they should. M. Huygens is sick, you know he is lodged with M.
Carcavy, the Royal librarian, the King's Jibrary having been transferred."21
19 Boyle, Works, 1772, VI, 250

20 By permission of the Royal Society: "Mais nous avons presentement
tout sujet d'esperer que la France va s'apliquer aussi bien que l'Angleterre a
l'avancement des sciences et des arts, si le dessein qu'on a publié s'execute.
ie ne vous en diray encore rien de particulier, parceque les choses vont lente
ment; mais on fait esperer, que s'il manque quelquechose, ce ne sera que
d'asses habiles sujets pour travailler a un dessein si vaste et si dificile."
Guard-books, A, r6; July r6, 1666.
21 Royal Society Guard-books, 1 , ij/ 6: "On a nommé quelques personnes
1
pour estre de l'Academie, entre autres Monsieur de la Chambre, M. Per-
However, Auzout, more intimately associated with the

march of events, was able to present a more detailed pro
gram in a letter of December 28, 1666:
"I must give you some details of the design we have here of which you
show you wish to hear something. Although I have had the honor of being
named by the King to be a member of the section for mathematics and
physics, I can tell you nothing more detailed than is known by everybody,
because the plans for the future have not been entirely explained to us and
events are not yet where we were led to hope they would be, for it is prom
ised that a fine observatory will be built, furnished with ail sorts of great
instruments, and a laboratory where we may make ail sorts of experiments;
ail kinds of dissections are to be made, and in general, ail sorts of observa
tions, heavenly as well terrestrial, and when that is established, there will be
a means of maintaining correspondence with you, and for us to inspire each
other and assist in the discovery of new things; there is reason to hope that
the summer will not pass before most of these things will be put to execution.
However, as matters were not yet settled, we have clone nothing very im
portant this summer, and in the Jack of instruments and everything neces
sary, the continuai hope of having them has caused private persons even
to omit to do what they would have clone for themselves at another time."22
reau, un Apoticaire Monsieur du Clos, et M' Gayen pour l'A e* Avec

le temps il y en aura d'autres: �eantmoins on ne travaille pas encore comme
il faudrait. Monsieur Huggens est malade, vous scavez qu'il est logé avec
Monsieur Carcavi bibliothecaire du Roy, la bibliotheque royale ayant este
transferee."
* page torn.
22 Royal Society, Guard-book A, jl;/ 17: "Il faut que je vous dise un mot
du dessein que l'on a icy, dont vous temoignez souhaiter d'aprendre quel
quechose. Quoyque j'aye eu l'honneur <lavoir eté nommé par le Roy pour
etre des mathematiques et de la physique, je ne puis vous en rien dire de
plus particulier, que ce que tout le monde en scait, parcequ'on ne s'est pas
encore expliqué entierement avec nous et que les choses ne sont pas au point
qu'on nous les fait esperer, car on nous promet de faire batir un bel observa
toire que l'on garnira de toutes sortes de grands Instruments, et un labora
toire ou l'on pourra faire toutes sortes d'experiences; Ion doit faire toutes
sortes d'Anatomies, et generalement toutes sortes d'observations tant celes
tes que terrestres et quand cela sera etably, il y aura moien d'entretenir
To the members mentioned in the letters quoted, Bourdelin,

Pecquet, Marchand, and a secretary, J.-B. du Hamel,
should be added. Meetings began with regularity in
December, 1666.
The detailed history of the Académie des Sciences hardly
falls in the field of this book. Maindron, Maury, and others
have compiled into connected form much of what is available
in Fontenelle, in the Latin History by Du Hamel, and else
where, and there are numerous other books which introduce
material concerning various members of the body and their
joint or individual activities. There remains, perhaps, a
place for an elaborate study of the position of the academy
in relation to its background, of the meaning of its work for
society in France, and a definition of its influence on the
advancement of ideas. Most of what has been written has
very properly stressed the great positive contributions of the
scientists who worked under its auspices; anecdotes and ana
have yielded a modicum of gossip to relieve the dryness of a
record of research. Between the two tendencies there may
be room for a reconstruction of the body as it appeared to its
contemporaries in France and England, with an estimate
of what its activities meant to the ordinary man and his
ideas. Documents on which such a book could be written
are abundant; in the Manuscript division of the Bibliothèque
correspondance avec vous et de s'entrexciter mutuellement et s'entr'aider à

decouvrir des choses nouvelles et il y a a esperer que l'ete ne se passe pas que
la pluspart de ces choses ne se mettent a s'executer. Cependant comme les
choses n'étaient pas encore reglées, nous n'avons rien fait de considerable
cet ete, et manquant d'Instruments et de tout ce qui etoit nécessaire, l'es
perance continuelle d'en avoir a fait que les particuliers mesme ont obmis
de faire ce qu'ils auraient fait pour eux dans un autre temps." This letter
was copied into the letter-books, circulated among the Fellows of the Royal
Society, and translated for their use.
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS I 55
Nationale, in the large collection of printed tracts available

in the department of printed books at that library, in the
Archives of the observatory, and elsewhere in Paris, in the
British Museum, the Royal Society, among the Leibniz
papers in Hanover, and in the Huygens papers as published
in the Oeuvres Complètes, and elsewhere, the materials will be
found in plenty.
Here we can only offer some account of the way it im
pressed a few of its contemporaries, to complete the picture
we are attempting to present of certain aspects of seventeenth
century Paris.
On the foundation of the academy, Oldenburg had written
to Carcavy that he was convinced,
"that the Societies newly established here, in France, and in Italy, will
act as a leaven to ferment in a few years ail the other nations of Europe to
embrace the same studies, and to oblige them to forsake entirely the quod
libetical learning of the Schools, as something which serves only to embar
rass the mind and to maintain disputes, not only useless, but often very
pernicious. "73
Carcavy's reply in similar vein is printed in the appendix.

From the beginning of regular meetings in the Royal
Library, Juste! kept Oldenburg informed of the somewhat
meager details that were allowed to escape from the circle
of members of the academy. The Royal Society has but
five letters from Juste! of this year; Oldenburg spent some
weeks in the Tower on a suspicion of treasonable communi
cations, and much of his foreign correspondence was seized
by agents of the government. We find, however, May 30,
that our philosophers are expected soon to publish some
thing, not, however, to be regarded as very considerable,
for "new discoveries are difficult to make." A few days
23 2/12 January, 1667/8. Royal Society Letter-book, II, 123.

l 56 LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
later, Juste! promises to send a description of the device used

by Picard and Auzout for measuring the diameters of the
sun and other heavenly bodies.24 In November, "nos
messieurs" are very impatient to see the History of the
Royal Society, then newly published; the academy has drawn
up a list of things to be clone in the course of the next year
(November 16). The royal subventions have begun, and
the assembly has been visited by Colbert, "pour les exciter
à bien faire."
Letters for the year 1668 are very much more plentiful;
from the end of February there are numerous, though brief,
mentions of the work of the academy. Information seems
to have been kept back at first, for fear of ·public satire
(February 25). The royal subsidies are large and generous
(March 27). In a letter of May 2, the obstacles to progress
are pointed out:
"Our Academy has its mind set on something very considerable, so I

am told. It must, of necessity, make and produce some invention worthy
of it. It will not fail, certainly, but before everything is arranged to
act effectively and in concert, much time is needed."15
Through the letters of this year, one feels a desire to excuse

the slow progress of the new academy. On July 14, 1668,
Justel writes again about the royal subsidies:
"Besicles, the King refuses nothing to the Academy. If it does nothing,
it will not be for Jack of aid. Models of ail sorts of machines are being made,
24 Letter no. 50, undated, but probably of early June, 1667.

25 Guard-books, L, ïj/ 26: "Nostre Academie propose quelque chose de
considerable a ce qu'on me vient d'asseurer. Il faut de necessite qu'elle
faict et qu'elle produise quelque invention digne d'elle. Elle n'y manquera
pas asseurement, mais devant qu'on soit dispose a bien faire et qu'on agisse
de concert il faut bien du temps."
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS I 57
so that it may be seen if something may be added to them. There is noth
ing better made, nor liner, than these models." 28
In spite of slow progress in publishing new inventions,

some activity went on, of which Juste! seems to have ob
tained a little news. On March 28 he reports that Marchand
is engraving the plants of the collection of the late Duc
d'Orléans, in preparation for a large publication to appear
some years later; on April 18 there is word of some of the
first dissections that were performed, animals which <lied
in captivity, and a young woman who <lied in Versailles;
the last case was widely discussed in Paris, being rather a
novelty for the age. In June, Juste! writes that they are
discussing the means of making correct maps of France.
Most interesting of all was some news of the observatory
whose construction was already under way:
"lt is true that the observatory will serve for many purposes. There
will be winter gardens, a laboratory, and several other things suitable for
making ail sorts of experiments. They work on it every day. In two
years it may be finished .... Besicles the Academy will do something in
time, at least it should, and if it does not, it will not be the fault of M.Col
bert who takes great care of it, and who gives everything that could be
desired."27
26 Guard-books, 11, # 41: "Au reste, le Roy ne refuse rien a l'Academie.

Si elle ne faict rien ce ne sera pas faute d'estre aidée. On faict faire des
modelles de toutes sortes de machines, afin qu'on puisse voir si on y pourroit
adjouter quelque chose. Il n'y a rien de mieux faict ny de plus joli que ces
modeles la."
27 "Il est vray que l'observatoire servira a bien des choses. Il y aura des
Jardins d'hyver, un laboratoire et plusieurs autres choses propres pour faire
toutes sortes d'experiences. On y travaille tous les jours. Dans deux ans
il pourra estre achevé ....L'Academie outre cela fera quelque chose avec
le temps au moins elle le doit, et si elle ne le fait pas ce ne sera pas la faute de
Mons' Colbert qui y prend grand soin et qui donne tout ce que l'on peut
souhaitter." Guard-books, 11, # 43, July 29, 1668.
The impatience of the general public was reflected in one

of the last letters of 1668:
"Our Society is still meeting, but it has produced nothing as yet, which
makes people talk who imagine that great discoveries are made while
sleeping, and without taking thought. However, the humor of our nation
is so hasty, that it !oses taste if it does see some effect of what it expected." 28
The year 1669 was the first in which the Académie des
Sciences took its due place as the leading body in the prose
cution of science in France. The English scientists had
their chief reports in this year from the pen of Francis
Vernon, a secretary in the embassy of Montagu who had
introductions from Oldenburg to several of the leaders of
Paris thought, among them Juste!, Huygens and Carcavy.
From his letters we can draw an authentic picture of the
Académie in its earliest period. Vernon arrived in Paris
on March 2.5, 1669, and among the first acquaintances he
made was the Italian astronomer Cassini, newly brought to
France to direct the astronomical work at the Observatory.
On May 11 he wrote Oldenburg that Cassini
" ....told me that the Royal Academie are not as ours in England a
great Assembly of Gentlemen, but only a few persons who are eminent and
not in number above thirteen or fourteen, to whose conferences none are
admitted of what quality soever who are not of their own body, and these
have likewise a pension from the King of r 500 livres per annum by virtue of
that membership. For the King will not only have a Titular but an effec
tuai influence upon his royal academie. They meet twice a week Wednes
days and Fridays. One <lay is deputed for Physical, the other for Mathe
matical exercises. For the Physical Academie, though they do not strictly
28 Guard-books li, fi, 62, December 8, 1668: "Nostre Société s'assemble
toujours; mais elle ne produit encore rien, ce qui faict parler quantité de
gens qui s'imaginent que les grandes decouvertes se font en dormant et sans
y penser. Cependant l'humeur de nostre nation est si prompte, qu elle se
rebutte si elle ne voit quelque effect de ce qu'elle esperoit."
LA COMPAGNIE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS l 59
bind themselves to one theme, yet at present they are examining the doctrine
of Coagulation. In the Mathematical Academie they are stating the Force
of Air and Water as to bodies they can bear, their weight and such like
enquiries."
A few days later he had another conversation with Cassini,

which he reports on May 14:
"He saith, the new observatory he orders and adds what he judgeth con
venient (or Monsr Huygens, who is his great friend and intimate and for
whom I perceive he hath a very entire respect) though the first Mode! and
design which it seems was Monsieur Auzout's, and the King bids them not
spare as to charge, for he will be wanting in no expense, and he saith it will
cost about 100000 livres .... Monsieur Carcavy and Monsieur Huygens,
to whom I was yesterday, told me at the Royal Academie they did not make
enquiry into any one subject in particular but every one took unto his exam
ination what suited best with his own fancy and genius."29
Vernon remained in Paris until 1672, seeing much of the

various amateurs of science. His letters to Oldenburg give
a clear picture of the life of the time, with its primitive
efforts toward · research. He was able to see dissections in
the Royal Library, and had frequent conversations with
Juste!, Huygens, Cassini, and Picard. Oldenburg ex
changed letters with the secretaries of the Académie des
Sciences, with the Abbé Gallois who took the place of J. B.
Du Hamel while he was in England, and later with Du
Hamel himself. In general his exchanges with these men
were rather non-committal, forma! notes, lacking the keen
sense of the realities of human affairs which pervades the
letters of Vernon and Justel.
It is hardly necessary to dwell on the very profound differ
ences which existed between the learned societies of England
and France. The Royal Society of London grew directly
from the habits of its members, and obtained royal recogni-
29 Royal Society, Guard-books, V, fi, 5, 6.
tion only when its work and fonctions were already well
defined. It did not succeed in obtaining assistance from the
public treasury, and flourished only so far as its programme
appealed to the individual. Many of the fields its work
touched could be called scientific only by courtesy; the <living
bell at Deptford, the simple remedies and monstrous births,
the occasional concert on old or newly invented instruments,
the study of ancient burials and tombs, the attempt to
adapt unfamiliar plants and animals to human service
these associate the Royal Society very closely to the life
of the gentry who provided the bulk of its membership and
fonds. The foundation at Paris on the other hand seems
more like a branch of the French civil service than a free
company of investigators; the veil of secrecy and the carefol
supervision under which they worked, the exclusion of
doctrine, whether Cartesian or Jesuit, and the royal fonds
which provided salaries and expenses, speak of the high
degree of regimentation and control which a successfol
public academy for the sciences demanded in Paris. Paral
lel with it rose a number of private bodies which offer the
true equivalent of the Royal Society in France; the story of
these is the necessary complement to this chapter, for it is in
them that the reflection of the popular taste for the sciences
must be sought.
CHAPTER VIII
THE CoNFERENCES OF HENRY JusTEL
We have seen that the history of organizations for the dis-.
cussion and advancement of science cannot easily be dis
tinguished from the story of the literary academies, the
political clubs, the cabinets of erudition, and the conferences
where popular teaching was carried on. Not only were the
scientific bodies formed on models similar to the literary
academies; their very membership was drawn from much the
same social strata, their guiding spirits were frequently in
spired by the same ideals as the leaders in the other types of
organization. News spread very rapidly through all of these
bodies; a war in the Académie Française, the suppression of
the salon of Madame d' Auchy, the "sottise" of Roberval in
the académie de M. de Montmor, the latest discussions of the
Cabinet des Frères Dupuy-these were the common talk of
Paris, for a member of one or another was sure to be found
,in any circle in the city. Their membership overlapped to a
very remarkable degree; Mersenne, Boulliau, Gassendi,
Huygens, Descartes, Chapelain, Montmor, Pascal, Auzout,
Ménage, Bourdelot, Pierre Petit, all moved freely in Paris
society, mingling history, classical lore, the natural sciences,
literature, and philology in their interests. It cannot seri
ously be maintained that the chief figures in intelligent circles
in seventeenth century Paris made the sharp distinction
between the fields of literature and science that we like to
make today.
A characteristic mingling of the taste for scientific dis
cussion with a lively and intelligent attention to matters of
erudition and literature is to be found in Henry Justel
161
162 THE CONFERENCES OF HENRY JUSTEL
(1620-1693). His father was the protestant Christofle or

Christophe Justel, Intendant des Affaires du duc de Bouillon,
Secrétaire du Roi, an historian, and a friend of the Dupuys.
Henry was born into a world of books and learning on the
margin of state affairs, and at the end of his father's life he
acquired the post of Secrétaire du Roi, in which one duty was
the licensing of publications. He inherited a large and
varied library, and a collection of manuscripts and medals.
The post and the library seem to have taken most of his
attention until about 1660, when he cornes to our notice in
the Reysverhael of Christiaan Huygens., He is mentioned on
slender authority as a member of the Montmor Academy and
is known to have been in association with Chapelain in 1662,
in correspondence with Huet in 1663, and an acquaintance of
Petit, Auzout and Thevenot in 1664.
In the middle of 1664 Henry Oldenburg was offered a new
correspondence by a persan of quality living in Paris, who
proposed an exchange of ne,ws of Science, current events and
books, with a further suggestion of assistance in obtaining
books for the Royal Society in Paris in exchange for similar
services in England. Oldenburg wrote Boyle that he was
much inclined to accept this offer, for it would not fail to
further the work of the Royal Society, although he felt that
it was hard to find the time and energy which such an exten
sion of his duties would entail. The new correspondent was
Henry Justel; the exchange of news and books and informa
tion lasted the rest of Oldenburg's life, and ended only with
Justel's death in 1693. The benefit which the work of the
Royal Society received from the exchanges between Justel
and its successive secretaries is almost beyond calculation;
what Justel did directly and indirectly for the dissemination
of English books, news and science over the continent of
THE CONFERENCES OF HENRY JUSTEL 163
Europe is not equalled before the eighteenth century, and

only occasionally surpassed then. 1
The information which Juste) received from his English
correspondents, such as Oldenburg and his successors at the
Royal Society, Henry Compton, Bishop of London, and
Thomas Smith of Magdalen College, Oxford, he spread
abroad in two ways; through the circles of his intimates at
his famous conferences, and through the wide-spread corre
spondence he maintained with the erudite of France, Italy,
Rolland, and Germany. His conferences seem to have been
an approximation to the better-known meetings around
Marin Mersenne; there foreigners-merchants, secretaries of
embassies, students of law, medicine, or the arts, young gen
tlemen on the Grand Tour-mingled with the scholars and
1 A variety of circumstances have prevented Henry Justel from being a�
well known as his influence in some circles of seventeenth century society
deserves. He was treated at some length by Ancillon in his Mémoires
concernant les vies et les ouvrages de plusieurs modernes célèbres dans la Répub
lique. des Lettres, (Amsterdam, 1709) and by Chauffepied. On these two are
based articles in Haag and Bordier, La France Protestante, and in Agnew,
Protestant Exiles, II, 149. His acquaintance with Saint-Evremond after his
arrivai in England in 1681, and the interest which Leibniz and P.-D. Huet
took in his affairs, have drawn attention to him in recent years. Monsieur
René Ternois promises us articles on Justel's knowledge of England, includ
ing the publication of the short account of that country which is foun<l
among his papers in the British Museum, and on his religious views, partic
ularly in relation to the effort that was made to find a path between Ultra.
montanism and Protestantism, which might be laid clown as the doctrine of
the Gallican Church; these will probably appear in the Revue de la Littérature
comparée and the Bulletin de la Société de !'Histoire du Protestantisme français.
See also Ph. Dally, in the same Bulletin, 1929, p. 24, and 1930, p. 9, ar.
ticles on Christophe Justel and his son, respecti vely; and my own article,
Un Cosmopolite du grand Siècle, Henri 'Juste!, ibid., 1933, pp. 187-201.
These references do not, however, exhaust the interest of Juste! and his
circle, and I have in preparation further studies of his significance for cos
mopolitanism in his age.
scientists of Paris, with gentlemen from the French provinces,

with members of the lesser nobility, of the professions, of the
clergy of either confession. As at most of the conferences
of the century, the reading of news l- etters from correspond
ents abroad was an important attraction for the guests. In
the Entretien servant de Préjace which Le Gallois wrote for
his Conversations del' Académie de Monsieurl' Abbé Bourdelot,
(Paris, 1672) Justel is described as "famous ....for the
intercourse he has with all the great mincis of Europe, espe-
cially with those of London.....There are assemblies in his
house several times a week ....these assemblies are com-
posed of the most illustrious and learned men of Paris, who
go to converse agreeably of everything which the occasion
may offer."
Circumstantial evidence points to the year 1664 as the
time of their beginning, for it was about then that Thevenot
left Paris for his country house at Issy, abandoning the regu
lar conversations on scientific subjects in which Petit, Au
zout, Frenicle, and others had taken part under his auspices.
At this period we find Justel acting as intermediary for the
letters which passed between Monconys and the Royal
Society of London; from early in 1665 he is the recognized
means by which an ever-widening circle of men of letters and
science of at first Paris and later France and Germany enters
into and maintains relations with the science and erudition of
England.
Justel's circle in Paris included a very diversified group of
men of learning and position. We can name Ismael Boul
liau, the astronomer and librarian who has been an assiduous
frequenter of conferences and academies from the beginning
of our story; Thevenot, Petit, and Auzout, the three who
seem to have hatched the scheme for the Compagnie des
Sciences et des Arts; A.-F. Payen, a lawyer whose taste for
astronomy led him to write and publish accounts of his ob

servations; Louis Billaine, a wealthy bookseller and pub
lisher;2 Pierre Daniel Huet, the Norman scholar whose taste
for the natural sciences was so strong that he set up an acad
emy for their study in Caen in 1662; the maker of micro
scopes and telescopes, Ménard; the Abbé Charles; Denis de
Salo, Jean Gallois, and the Abbé de la Roque, editors of the
'Journal des Savants; Jean Baptiste Denis, the surgeon and
Cartesian conferencier who so nearly lost reputation and
standing over the transfusion case; Christiaan Huygens,
whose father had known Christophe Justel many years
before; Comiers, writer on mathematics for the 'Journal des
Savants; the Oratorian father, Richard Simon, author of the
Critique de la Bible which caused such a stir about 1678;
Jean de Launoy, "dénicheur de saints;" the Abbé Bourdelot,
famous for his public lectures on all sorts of subjects, and
2 The size and importance of Justel's library, recognized by Le Gallois

by a special mention in his 'l'raité des plus belles Bibliothèques, (1680) p. 128,
made its disappearance as a unit regretted by his friends. No catalogue
of his library as such as been found; may it not be possible that the series of
catalogues published by Billaine in 1681, containing many books which
Juste! is known to have possessed, and totalling over 5300 titles, is in truth a
catalogue of his collection? It will be recalled that Juste! had long been a
business associate of Billaine, who had published his Recueil de divers
Voyages (licensed 1669, published 1674), that Juste! had given Billaine
letters to personages in England when the bookseller had made his voyage
there in 1679, and that Billaine is frequently mentioned in the letters of
Juste!. The library was sold, according to a letter to T. de Mazaugues of
October, 1680, for 7000 livres "à des libraires;" Juste! had previously com
plained that he could not get 30 sous apiece for his books, which would indi
cate a collection of some five thousand volumes.
Justel as a well known Protestant could not, in 1680, sell open!y any
large portion of his property; his purpose of leaving the country would be
suspected, and his actions prevented. His native prudence would account
for the complete absence of any owner's name in the catalogues of Billaine.
medical officer of the large and varied family connection of

the Prince de Condé; Du Vernay, the surgeon whose lec
tures at the Jardin des Plantes were a feature of Paris about
1680; these, at various times and under varying circum
stances, corne at one time or another into the circle of the
afternoons in the fine old house "sur les Fossés de Monsieur
le Prince."
Into this group came a large number of Englishmen of rank
and importance. Most of them had letters from Oldenburg;
many others had introductions from Henry Compton, the
cleric whose career brought him to be Bishop of London and
to officiate at the coronation of William III, or from others
of Justel's widening circle of acquaintance in the British
Isles. A list of those who are known to have made a visit
to the Conferences will perhaps best indicate the extent of
his influence both in England and in France. In 1665 he
was visited by Compton and Christopher Wren; between
that year and 1670 by Dr. William Croune, formerly a sec
retary of the Royal Society; by the Earl of Ailesbury who
had been living for some years in Montpellier; by Francis
Roberts or Robartes, later F. R. S.; by Francis Vernon, the
secretary in the embassy of Montagu; by Samuel Pepys,
Secretary of the Navy, whose diary stops some weeks too
soon for us; and by others whose names are unimportant or
not specified in the correspondence. In the last ten years of
his residence in France, Justel was visited by a still larger
and, if anything, more distinguished group; Charles Somer
set, Lord Herbert, son of the Duke of Beaufort and grand
son of the Marquess of Worcester, with his tutor, Dr. Ed
ward Chamberlayne, author of the Angliae Notifia; the Earl
of Clarendon, brother-in-law of the Duke of York; Algernon
Sidney, the English Republican, son of the Earl of Leicester;
John Locke, the philosopher; Dr. Thomas Smith and Dr.

George Hickes of Oxford; John Covell, Chaplain of the
Levant Company, who was on his way home from the East;
Edmond Halley, the astronomer; to these names must be
added those of countless others who passed through Paris,
and have left small trace in the records.
Two letters of an Oxford student, George Tullie, who
visited Paris in 1677, indicate something of the temper and
spirit of these assemblies. He is writing to Arthur Charlett,
then a fellow-student at Trinity, and seeks news from one
who was famous for his gossip; the first letter is of July 4:
"I am an inconsiderable member here of a conference of virtuoso's or what
else you'll call 'em, some of which are of our Royal Society, as Mr. Juste!,
Bullialdus ye great Mathematician (whom I had ye honour to have in my
chamber ye other day) and in this circumstance you'll please to honour me
with a line or two. You cannot more oblige me than by sending me some
newes out of England, that may either respect ye State or learning, that I
may have something new to communicate."
The second letter indicates the common tenor of the conver

sation in the cabinet of Justel; it is dated "Sept ye 18th" and
from the news of new books it contains, we can supply the
year, 1677.
"Descartes and Gassend have each Proselites enough, each publick Assem
blies where their Hypotheses are maintained by Ingenious persans, where
anybody that looks not like a Beggar or a rogue enters and has ye liberty of
discoursing, objecting, &c: a course extremely commendable and to be
wisht in our Universities, tho these Assemblies are in ye Citie, for they are
both equally exploded by ye Jesuites & ye University here, who are as
tenacious of old Aristotle as Mr Troughere himself though elsewhere I
think ye odds goes on Descartes his sicle, & one of our Conference ye other
day told us of a book lately printed at Venice th'1t explained ail of ye Bible
according to Descartes, & proved that Moses was a Cartesian." (Bodleian,
Tanner 39, ff. 43-46.)
Of course, the "publick assemblies" are those of such as

Regis, Denis, or Bourdelot; the topics there discussed would
be meat for talk at Justel's.
In addition to the English, there were numerous represent
atives of other nations: Count Magalotti and Falconieri in
1668; Christophe Daniel Findekeller of Dresden, sent to
him in 1668 by Oldenburg; Leibniz, on his visit to Paris in
1672-4; Puffendorf, Resident of the King of Sweden; Lo
renzo Panciatichi, a young Florentine, in 1670; and many
others, Dutch, Swiss, Scandinavians, and Germans. His
friends from the provinces were numerous also, and among
the most important were: Lantin, Conseiller au Parlement
de Dijon; Hauteserre from Toulouse; Emeric Bigot of
Rouen; Thomassin de Mazaugues of Aix; Samuel Fermat,
the jurist at Toulouse; Nicolas Thoynard of Orleans. With
these he kept up acquaintance by correspondence.
In his letters Juste! does not speak very frequently of the
topics discussed in the conversations in his house. We know
that political events furnished much of the comment and
opinion expressed, and in this way, his conferences were
like those of the Cabinet of the brothers Du Puy. Infor
mation about new books, published, printing, planned, or
partly written was also very welcome; from the number of
productive literary people among his friends, there can have
been no shortage of this kind of news. Juste! came to have a
reputation for his practical knowledge of the ways of the
Paris publishers; Huet sought his help with his edition of
Origen in 1663, as did the younger Fermat about twelve
years later when he tried to find an editor and publisher for
some of the work of his father, Pierre the mathematician.
There were many times that Justel's expert assistance was
gratefully accepted by friends out of Paris.
News for the seventeenth century man included informa-
tion about the latest discoveries and inventions quite as

much as about the movement of armies and the policies of
statesmen. The principle that a nation's progress and
prosperity depended largely on its power to place well
equipped armies in the field and send properly provisioned
expeditions abroad for colonies and new trading territory was
already an accepted part of the practical man's philosophy.
The extension of the principle to daily life, whether in large
cities like Paris and London, or in rural communities and
on private estates, was soon achieved, and we find that
much of Justel's correspondence is devoted to the dissemina
tion of news and views of the comforts of life. We shall
see that a good share of the time in his conferences was spent
in the trial and appraisal of these very commodités or conven
iences which he collected with so much labor from his
correspondents and from the books of travel which were
his especial delight. Such talk was on the edge of the realm
of the sciences; Justel himself was no scientist, as he was the
first to admit, but he felt that life was becoming more and
more dependent on the adaptation of the laws of nature to
the ends of man, and that science advances, as the sceptical
current of conferenciers from Renaudot and Mersenne to his
own day had maintained, by the free opposition of contrary
opinions and the controlled test of theories in practice. To
this end his house was thrown open to the scientists and the
amateurs of the practical arts; his library was devoted more
and more to the collection of the works of the modern scien
tists, Boyle and the Philosophical 'Îransactions, Mariotte,
Hevelius, Regnier de Graaf, and others.
In addition to current events and news of the arts and
scientists, Justel had a taste for literature, the nove!, drama,
and poetry. From his letters we conclude that the new
books whose appearance were so many events in the Republic
r
of Letters were discussed and criticized in these conferences.

Many important productions of the day pass unheeded in
his letters, but La Princesse de Clèves, the Arrêt Burlesque,
the court productions of Molière, the critical writings of
Père Bouhours, are ail mentioned with approbation. Juste]
did not set himself up as a judge of literary merit; his taste,
while enlightened, does not go beyond the approval of works
whose excellence is to be expected from the talent and repu
tation of their writers. A comment on two plays of 1670 is
fairly typical of all his criticism; in a letter to Findekeller
(undated) he writes:
"M. de Corneille has written a play entitled Berenice, in which there are
many things which are unconvincing. Besicles that, there is tao much
morality and politics, which is boring, in place of amusing. M. Racine has
worked on the same theme with greater success; but in spite of that, there
are many defects, and broken rules. There is little variety and no plot; it
begins badly, and ends the same way. The verses are fine, and rather
touching. This is ail there is in the way of novelty or curiosity here, and
makes the subject of our conversation." 3
Even a cursory examination of the scientific literature of

this period produces the impression that at least two thirds
of the writers who venture to discuss physics, chemistry,
and inventions, were cranks and victims of the most absurd
hallucinations about the action of the laws of nature. Sym
pathetic cures, magical devices for the healing of simple or
a Bibliothèque de !'Histoire du Protestantisme français, Ms. 8II, il! 39:
"Monsieur de Corneille a faict une Comedie intitulée la Berenice ou il y a
bien des choses contre la vraisemblance. Outre cela il y a trop de morale et
de politique ce qui ennuye au lieu de divertir. M• Racine a travaillé sur
le mesme sujet un peu plus heureusement: mais avec tout cela il y a bien des
fautes et des choses contre les regles. Il y a peu de variete et point d'in
trigue. Elle commance mal et finit de mesme. les vers en sont beaux et
assez touchans. Cest ce que nous avons de nouveau et de curieux ici et qui
faict le sujet de la conversation "
L
complicated ailments, mathematical calculations which

demonstrate little beyond the incapacity of their author and
the gullibility of his public-the quarto pamphlets of the
day are full of learned folly. It is a tragic spectacle, but it
is still more tragic to contemplate the stimulus which the
foundation of learned societies by progressive ministers of the
day gave to such inventions. From all sicles the Royal
Society and the Académie des Sciences were inundated with
projects for transmutation of metals, perpetual motion
machines, and strange tales of monstrous growths and re
mote lands. Their programme of trying all things prevented
their rejection of all such devices unheard, but soon it be
came difficult for anything from a humble source to have a
fair trial by a society of competent judges.
Not only were many of the inventors of nostrums and new
machines treated with scant courtesy by the great societies;
the secrets of trades which had been set clown both in the
Royal Society and the Projet de la Compagnie des Sciences
et des Arts as objects to be sought and recorded for the bene
fit of mankind as a whole, were to a considerable extent
neglected by the scientists whose work was the particular
pride of such bodies; only men of a singularly practical turn
of mind, John Evelyn, William Petty, Marin Mersenne, ex
hibited a keen interest in the affairs of the artisan whose
prosperity and efficiency was the basis of the comforts of
life. To these practical people we must add Henry Juste!,
whose conferences had a definite program of investigation of
inventions and projects for the good of man.
This part of his work is.perhaps most clearly expressed in a
letter he wrote to Leibniz on July 30, 1677:
"Many people make fine suggestions, but few are seen to bring them to
execution. Most aim only to deceive, still I believe that they must not
be rejected, for it may happen that among a thousand men, one will happen
to find something rare and exceptional. When one desires to investigate

what is said and appears curious, one finds nothing. I listen to everything
and believe nothing I have not seen, and there are several who do as I do,
for men are deceitful or credulous about what they are told, without exam
ining things; that is the reason for popular errors, which would not be so
plentiful if people reflected and took the trouble to experiment, without
accepting other men's assertions."4
The sceptical spirit of the seventeenth century recurs

throughout the letters of Justel; constantly he returns to the
prevalence of "les erreurs vulgaires" and the necessity of
undeceiving credulous humanity. The anxious way in which
he asks for news of the health of Sir Thomas Browne, and
the recurrence of the phrases "erreurs vulgaires", "erreurs
populaires," and the like, in his letters would lead us to
believe he had read and discussed the Pseudodoxia Epidemica
with Pierre Petit, who had a manuscript translation of it.
Whether there is a definite influence of Browne on Justel and
his circle or not, there is at least a similarity in their atti
tudes to many consecrated misconceptions.
An example of the keen and intelligent interest he took
in simple devices is found in the manner in which he and his
friends discussed and tested the Tuba Stenterophonica in
vented by Sir Samuel Morland. In February of 1672 he
wrote Fermat that he had been able to hear words spoken
at four thousand paces; in April he said that he was proceed
ing to
"a formai trial of the horn in which we shall have ail the things needed
for knowing exactly its elfect, such as a pace measurer, a cord, and persans
set out from place to place at certain distances."•
4 Leibniz, Siimtliche Schriften und Briefe, I Reihe, ii band, 284-288.

6 Bibliothèque de Toulouse, Ms. 846, f. rr2: "Nous devons f(aire) une
experience solennelle de la trompe ou on aura toutes les choses necessaires
pour en scavoir l'elfect exactement, comme des compte-pas, un cordeau, et
des personnes disposées d'espace en espace."
Newton's telescope was another invention which impressed

him; the polish of the reflecting mirror, the inversion of the
image, the extent of its field, the clarity of the object-all
these points are commented on in his letters with the enthu
siasm of the amateur astronomer.
Something of the spirit in which Justel regarded the de
vices which were deemed to have a special power to pene
trate the secrets of nature may be seen in one of his letters
to Fermat, of August 18, 1674, in which he discusses the di
vining rod:
"I have often heard of the effects of the !ittle divining rad, but I have
not seen that it has ever been used with success. To be sure of that experi
ment one must take the trouble to go with the man who thinks he can suc
ceed, and lead him into a place he will not have heard of. A number of
curious men have no better opinion than I of this method. It should be
tried and tested several times with ail needed precautions, for in matters
of experiment one must see with his own eyes, and not believe tao easily
what is reported, most men being skilful in self-deception, and much tao
credulous, which brings the vulgar errors which fill our books into the world.
If one doubted everything, and took the trouble to examine things, one
would be disabused of many things believed without foundation. Laziness,
in addition to antiquity and authority, contribute very much to the propa
gation of errors. "6
6 Toulouse, Ms. 846, ff 69-70: "J'ay oui parler souvent des effets du
petit baston de coudrier: mais je n'ai point veu qu'on s'en soit servi utile
ment. Il faudrait pour estre asseuré de ceste experience la prendre la peine
d'aller avec la personne qui croit pouvoir reussir et le mener dans un lieu
dont on ne luy aurait point parlé. Plusieurs curieux n'ont pas meilleure
opinion que moy de ceste épreuve. Cela merite d'estre examiné et epreuvé
plusieurs fois avec toutes les precautions necessaires, parcequ'en matiere
d'experiences il faut voir par ses yeux propres et ne pas croire legerement Ce
qu'on dit, la plupart des hommes estant ingenieux a se tromper et par trop
credules, ce qui introduit dans le monde les erreurs populaires dont les
livres sont remplis. Si on doutait de tout et qu'on prist la peine d'examiner
les choses, on se detromperoit de beaucoup de choses qui sont cruës sans
17 4 THE CONFERENCES OF HENRY JUSTEL
It is clear that the scepticism of Justel was thorough and

deep-rooted; his religious beliefs are never very clearly ex
pressed in his letters, but his behavior leads one to believe
that his views were much infl.uenced by thè current then
taking expression in England and elsewhere towards a
polite deism, not at all impious or irreverent, but philosophie
and profound. His circle regretted the steps which were
being taken in France to draw a sharper line between Pro
testant and Catholic; Justel himself seems to have seen the
disastrous effects the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
would have, and to have withdrawn in recognition of the
fact that he had as many and as infl.uential friends in Eng
land as in Paris, and that he could be more comfortable
with them than in a land where he and his circle would be
subject to constant surveillance.
While his scepticism in matters of faith needs more defi
nition than we can give it here, we can see the constructive
aspects of his attitude towards the practical affairs of life
in his work for the projected book on the "commodités de
la vie." Leibniz spoke of this at some length in a letter to
Ancillon when the latter was collecting material for his
article on Justel in his Mémoires concernant les vies . ...de
plusieurs modernes. Saying that he had known and fre
quented the company of Justel in Paris, he goes on,
"He was contemplating a very useful work on the conveniences of life,

and had collected numerous excellent observations and useful practices for
the household, gardening, building, travel, and other occasions. I recollect
fondement. la paresse outre l'antiquité et l'authorité contribuent beau

coup a l'avancement des erreurs. Vous nous obligerez infiniment de vou
loir nous donner la figure des deux petits bastons dont on se sert, afin que
nous en facions l'experience. Je croy que cela n'est pas bien seur; mais il
faut attendre ce qui en arrivera."
THE CONFERENCES OF HENRY JUSTEL 1 75
that I sent him the description of a coach invented by the late· M. Erhard
Weigel, which could be changed into a boat or a tent, as was shown by
experiment; it is to be seen now at Wolfenbuttel. lt is to be hoped that
someone would find out what has become of the notes for his collections, and
communicate them to the public."6•
Justel speaks of this book first in a letter to P.-D. Huet of

February 2, 1667:
"If there is anything in your province, or in the countries where you have
been, which is convenient, or which can contribute to the comforts of Jife, I
beg of you to let me know of it. I am making a collection of everything that
can be found in each country, and which does not exist in any other. There
are few convenient things in France, but many in ltaly, and in Turkey."7
Huet evidently replied to Justel's request for suggestions,

for in a letter of July 29, 1667, we read:
"1 shall put the wicker baskets of the American (Indians) among the
conveniences of life. As for the Hammocks, they are there already. I am
obliged to you for the care that you have taken to give me notice of what
you believe convenient for life. I am to be shown a new type of syringe
suitable for giving oneself enemas without the aid of anyone, and which is
made quite dilferently from that of Madame de Saumaise, of which I have a
mode! also."8
6aAncillon, Mémoires, p. xxix, Dec. 5, 1707.

7 Copy in Fonds Français 15189, f. 141: "S'il y a quelque chose dans
votre province, ou dans les pays où vous avez été, qui soit commode et qui
puisse contribuer aux aises de la vie je vous prie de m'en faire part. Je fais
un recueil de tout ce qui se trouve en chaque pays et qui n'existe point dans
un autre. Il y a peu de choses commodes en France, mais beaucoup en
Italie et en Turquie."
8 Photostat from the Laurentian Library, Florence: "Je mettrai les
Clayes des Ameriquains entre les commoditez de la vie. Pource qui est des
Amacs ils y sont deja. Je vous suis obligè du soin que vous avez de me
donner avis de ce que vous croyez commode po(ur) la vie. On me doit
faire voir une seringue d'une nouvelle invention qui est propre po(ur) se
donner des lavemens sans laide de personne et qui est faicte tout autrement
que celle de Madame de Saumaise dont j'ay aussi un modele."
The syringe mentioned must be the new and improved mode!

then being demonstrated in Paris by the Dutch physiologist
Regnier de Graaf.
During the spring of this year he mentioned his projected
work to Oldenburg, for in a letter of May 30, 1667, he says:
he has sent a sample of the "conveniences of life," so that
his meaning would be understood; he points out that he is
anxious to include all devices found in one country and not
in another. The Guard-books in the possession of the
Royal Society contain two documents, of which either may
have been referred to here, one a short and unsystematic
list of unrelated conveniences, the other six pages of items
listed according to their countries of origin. The smaller
list gives as good a sample as is needed; the larger we shall
draw on for the items of English origin only.
"I put among the conveniences of life the armed lackeys of Rome, the
thrift of the Italians, the police in the towns of Italy, the fact that there is
only one boy in the family who marries, that their women are shut up, the
divorce and the baths of Turkey, their way of rendering justice, the art of
curing the pox, and cutting for the Stone as clone in France, the relays of
carriages in Germany, the fireplaces in Sweden which give more heat than
stoves, a cart of the invention of Michel Angelo with which one can carry
as many things with one horse as with four, your Bills of Mortality, the
fact that the soldiers of Italy do not bear arms in time of peace, the saucers of
Italy in which there is water and wine, their iron beds which protect them
from bedbugs, the Rusma of Turkey, the varnish of China, the peat of
Bolland, your coal, the slaves of the Levant and the boots ofTurkey should
not be forgotten. The exactness which the Italians observe to prevent the
spread and progress of the plague is to be imitated. The bank of Amsterdam
is a very convenient thing, as well as the boats and coaches which leave every
hour, the liberty enjoyed by the people of England is a thing to be desired,
and the way of living in Paris which is not constrained, any more than that
of writing. There is in Provence a lamp which cooks a pot in which there is
beef and mutton, and that in four hours, the theriac of Venice, and a thou
sand other things.
"If you please, tell me if there is in England anything like this, which
might contribute to my plan. The hooks of our porters, and the hoop of our
water carriers are convenient, although that seems to be nothing very much,
but they are not found elsewhere, so I am told.
"There are many other things, but this is enough to show you what is
wanted."1
The second document is apparently of later date; many

of the above items are repeated in longer form, and one is
struck by the presence of a number of additional devices
from Germany. Most interesting are the comments on
London; England is not listed separately.
9 Royal Society, Guard-books, L, '//, 84: "Je mets entre les commodités
de la vie les estafiers de Rome, la parsimonie des Italiens, la police des villes
d'Italie, de ce qu'il n'y a qu'un garçon dans une famille qui se marie, de ce
que leurs femmes sont enfermées, le divorce et les bains de Turquie, leur
maniere de rendre la Justice, l'art de guerir la verole, et de tailler la pierre
comme en France, les chariots de relais d'allem. les cheminees de Suede qui
eschauffe plus que les poesles, un chariot de l'invention de Michel Ange avec
lequel on porte autant de choses avec un cheval qu'avec quatre, vos billets
de mortalité, de ce que les soldats en Turquie ne portent point d'armes en
temps de paix, les soucoupes d'Italie ou il y a de l'eau et du vin, leurs
licts de fer pour se garantir des punaises, le Rusma de Turquie, le vernis de
la Chine, les tourbes de Hollande, votre charbon de terre, les esclaves du
levant et les bottes de Turquie, ne doivent pas estre oubliées. L'exacti
tude que les Italiens observent pour empescher que la peste ne gagne et ne
fasse progres est a imiter. La banque d'Amstredam est une chose fort
commode aussi bien que les batteaux et les chariots qui partent toutes les
heures, la liberté dont le peuple d'angleterre jouit est une chose a souhaitter
et la maniere de vivre a Paris qui n'est point contrainte, non plus que celle
d'ecrire. Il y a en Provence une lampe qui faict cuire un pot ou il y du boeuf
et du mouton et cela en quatre heures, la theriaque de Venise et mille
autres choses.
"Vous me manderez s'il vous plaist s'il y a en Angleterre quelque chose
de semblable et qui puisse contribuer a mon dessein. Les crochets de nos
crocheteurs et le cerceau de nos porteurs d'eau sont commodes, quoyque cela
ne paroisse rien et ils ne se trouvent pas ailleurs à ce qu'on m'a dit.
"Il y en a bien d'autres: mais cela suffit pour faire voir ce qu'on desire
scavoir."
LONDON
"The police is very good there, and one may go ail night without fear of
thieves. The carriages one finds at the street-corners when needed are very
convenient. Crime is always punished there. The people are free, and
are not burdened with taxes. There are no wolves in that country. Their
lawns of turf are very pleasant. It is only in England that they print the
bills of mortality, and where they use the way of writing as fast as one
speaks which they call Tachygraphy. They use a tobacco-syringe made
in a special way. The English carve wood well, so they say here. There
are few poor, and they are not a nuisance in the streets. The tin, coal, wool,
and cloth of England, are praised and much used."10
Across the bottom of the last page of this document Olden

burg has written about forty suggestions for other "com
modités," perhaps a draft to be sent to Justel.
It is evident from the correspondence of Leibniz that he
regarded this projected book with interest, and encouraged
Justel to complete it. In a letter of 4/14 February, 1678, he
elaborated the theme:
"I have the highest regard for this work on the conveniences, which is
truly worthy of you and your age. But I beg you not to spare us some-
10 Royal Society, Guard-books, I,, fi 90:
"Londres
"La police y est belle et on va toute la nuict sans craindre les voleurs. les
carosses qu'on trouve aux coins des rues quand on en a besoin sont tres
commodes. les crimes y sont punis seuremt. les peuples y sont libres et ne
sont point charges d'imposts. Il ny a point de loups en ce pays la. leurs
parterres de gazon sont fort agreables. Il ny a qu'en Angleterre ou on
imprime des billets de mortalitè, et ou on pratique la maniere d'écrire aussi
viste comme on parle qu'on nomme Tachygraphie. Ils se servent d'une
seringue a Tabac faicte d'une maniere particuliere. les Anglais travaillent
bien en bois a ce qu'on dit ici. Il y a peu de pauvres qui ne sont pas in
commodes dans les rues. L'estain, le charbon de terre, la laine et les draps
d'angleterre sont estimez et de grand usage."
times useful and curious digressions on an infinity of rare things which

have corne to your knowledge. For a long time I have wished that an able
man should undertake to do for our age what Pliny did on the origin of the
arts, on the conveniences of life which men used in those times, and even
touching the vices introduced by too great a delicacy, knowledge of which
would still be useful. There are numerous things which would have been
lost without Pliny. That is why I would wish that a capable person would
leave to posterity a faithful picture of our time, with regard to manners,
customs, discoveries, money, commerce, arts, and manufactures; luxury,
expenditures, vices, corruptions, reigning maladies, and their remedies. He
would neglect what might be learnt from history, and he would attach
himself only to what is forgotten easily, and deserves not to be, more per
haps than what is usually noticed. But for this purpose a man of experience
is needed, a connaisseur in many things. In a word I know only you and
Monsieur Thevenot capable of producing it. If so many other great proj
ects prevent you thinking of it, you will still be able to bring into your work
on the conveniences a number of things useful to this end. If we had once
such a Pliny of our age, posterity would follow our example, and the con
tinuation of these works would give us a true history of the world."11
As Leibniz did not see the collections which Justel made

for the book, it is probable that he over-estimated his friend's
ability to :arry his work to a successful conclusion. Justel's
literary powers were of the slightest; with the utmost rarity
do his letters carry a theme beyond ten or twelve lines.
Their value lies in the mass of dissociated facts and opinions
they conveyed, rather than in any coherent account of the
tapies of his interest. Justel's usefulness to the Republic ot
Letters is shown more in the care he took to communicate
regular and complete budgets of news than in the persever
ance necessary for the completion of su-ch a book as he had
planned.
There is little doubt that the practical and sceptical as
pects of his work were induced in him by his constant asso
ciation with such men as Petit, Auzout, and Thevenot.
li Leibniz, Samtliche Schriften und Briefe, I, ii, 317.
I80 THE CONFERENCES OF HENRY JUSTEL
Just as circumstances had thrown Mersenne into a position

where mathematics and science began to take up a predomi
nant share of his time and energy, so with Justel. If, as
seems probable, he took up his work as correspondent of the
Royal Society and opened his house to the amateurs of Paris
at the time when he was deprived, with other Protestants,
of his principal duties as Secretaire du Roi,12 then an addi
tional influence is perceptible to turn him from the ex
change of political and literary news alone towards the newer
and more difficult field of scientific correspondence. In this
new avocation, as Mersenne had found, the persona! satis
factions were very great, and the opportunities for service
to humanity almost without bound. A brief summary of
some of the conditions obtaining in the sphere of erudite cor
respondence will perhaps not be unnecessary.
The efforts that had been made to establish formai rela
tions between the academies of Paris and London were
productive of very little advantage for the programs and
activities of the bodies concerned. The requirements of
dignity and polite behavior had limited the letters exchanged
to ineffectual assurances of mutual esteem and expressions
of a desire to cooperate in a common activity. Letters had
passed from Montmor and Sorbiere to Tuke and the Royal
Society, but on the whole they were stilted and cold and
served no purpose beyond that of a formai opening of commu
nications. So also with the letters between Oldenburg and
Carcavy; as secretary writing to moderator, circumspection
and the necessity of tactful formalities reduced the news
value of the letters to almost nothing. For real news the
societies of the seventeenth century had to have recourse to
informa! channels, to professional correspondents or to
12 In 1664, according to Dr. Ph. Dally, Bulletin cited, 1930, (lxxix), p. lQ,
amateurs whose interests had led them to provide the kind

of news required. From the secretaries of the foreign aca
demies Oldenburg received practically nothing he could use
in the Philosophical 'l'ransactions; his foreign news came
rather from Englishmen abroad, or from his regular cor
respondents, in Paris, chiefly, but also in ltaly, Germany
and the Low Countries.
The chief source of news from the continent for Oldenburg
was undoubtedly Juste!; the letters in the collections of the
Royal Society sent from foreign scientists to London seem
to have passed almost entirely through his hands. Special
mention of his services occurs in letters of Monconys, Car
cavy, Charas the pharmacist, Lantin of Dijon, Boulliau,
Petit, Pardies, to mention but a few at random. At first
Justel's news is limited to what he has heard in Paris, but
gradually his circle widens, and before long he is in receipt
of letters and news from all over Europe. Much of the
expansion of his correspondence grew directly from his work
for the Royal Society.
ln 1667 some of the Fellows of the Royal Society had
asked Oldenburg to obtain certain publications of the mathe
matician Lalovera or La Loubère-the name is variously
spelt-of Toulouse; to this end Juste! was requested to in
quire in the south of France, and to ask also for information
concerning the manuscripts of Pierre de Fermat. Other
means failing, Juste! or a friend wrote directly to Samuel de
Fermat, son of the mathematician, early in 1668; and on
July 14 Justel was able to inform Oldenburg that the desired
books were being sent from Toulouse, and that the manu
scripts of the mathematician were being prepared for publica
tion by his son. Justel adds that Fermat
"would be very happy to be able to serve the Royal Society, for which he
has much esteem, and especially for yourself. He has declared to one of
my friends that he would be very happy to be informed of what this illus

trious society is doing in matters of curiosity at present, as much in physics
as in mathematics, because that gives new points of view, and makes one
think of things otherwise unnoticed. He is convinced that the intercourse
which one maintains with able men serves and contributes very greatly to
the advancement of the sciences and arts, each one trying to discover some
thing new."13
About this time Justel himself wrote to Fermat, receiving a

reply in August, with the books which the Royal Society
had requested; he wrote Oldenburg at the end of August
suggesting that the Royal Society might be served by direct
communication, and from this period began an exchange of
letters between Fermat and Oldenburg. The relations be
gun by the inquiry of the Royal Society lasted several years;
for Justel the effects were still more lasting, for the Biblio
thèque de Toulouse possesses a small volume of seventy-three
letters from him, dating from J anuary 20, 1669, to October 21,
1679. Justel communicates a great deal of news of England,
but as time goes on political news and discussion of literary
and publishing topics are found.
In a letter to Oldenburg of November 10, 1668, Justel
expresses his thanks that the former has sent him a new
13 Royal Society, Guard-books, L, '# 41: "Monsieur Fermat nous a
ecrit et nous a mandé qu'il a dessein de faire imprimer les traittez dont il est
parle dans le Journal ou on a faict l'eloge de Monsieur son pere. Il envoye
le traitte de Cycloide du pere Lalouere avec celuy de Monsr son pere de
linearum curvarum cum lineis rectis comparatione qu'il vous prie d'accepter.
Il auroit bien de la joie de pouvoir servir la Societe Royale pour qui il a
beaucoup d'estime et pour vous en particulier. Il a temoigné a un de mes
amis qu'il seroit bien aise d'estre informé de ce que ceste illustre Societe
faict de curieux depuis peu, tant en physique qu'en mathematique parceque
cela donne des visées et faict penser a des choses ausquelles on ne penserait
point du tout. Il est persuade que le commerce qu'on entretient avec les
personnes habiles sert et contribue extremement a l'avancement des sciences
et des arts, chacun s'efforçant de trouver quelquechose de nouveau ..... "
acquaintance, a German of Dresden, newly corne from a

visit to Poland. 14 This is without doubt the Saxon diplo
matie agent Christophe Daniel Findekeller, traveler, and
amateur of letters and science, who seems to have served
the Baron von Reiffenberg and the King of France at the
same time without difficulty, and with whom Justel kept
up a correspondence until 1682 at least. His letters to this
personage are preserved by the Bibliothèque de la Société de
l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français, and number about
sixty in all. Their content is, like all the other Justel letters,
very mixed; news of books, plants, war, politics, and per
sona! matters are mingled with some discussion of the
"commodités de la vie." Once more the connection with
the Royal Society and Oldenburg has an influence in the
affairs of Justel.
In addition to the three extended series of letters whose
inception we owe directly to Justel's work for the Royal
Society, there are other groups, those to Huet being without
doubt the most significant of all. The latter, to the number
of one hundred and thirty-four, are preserved in the Ash
burnham Codices in the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana in
Florence. Huet was keenly interested in matters of science,
and seems on the whole to have appreciated Justel's own
peculiar brand of quiet scepticism; we shall return to his
work in a later chapter, when we relate the story of the
Académie de Caen.
The Cabinet of Henry Justel is an integral part of our
story, and cannot be neglected in any account of the erudite
circles of 17th century France. It is important for its
immediate influence on learning in Paris, as well as for its
14 Royal Society Guard-books, I,, ;,, 6o: "Au reste je vous ai bien de
l'obligcition de la connaissance que vous m'avez donnee d'un Allemand qui
est de Dresde qui a esté en Pologne dont il m'a appris bien des choses."
..... w:;
two-way transmission of information across the English

Channel. In the work of Justel much of the 18th century
lies latent; after the gap of the military conflicts of 1689-
1715, the Costes and Des Maizeaux of a succeeding genera
tion find it an easy matter to reach public opinion with
news of La Grande Bretagne. Not only that, but he had a
real contribution to make to the confused symphony of the
classic age; his own work was in more than one sense the
heir of the Mersennes of the first half of the century, cer
tainly not least in its systematic and persevering scepticism.
To that strain he adds the modern note of creature comforts
and praise of the useful arts, and is the direct herald of a
Diderot.
CHAPTER IX
SCIENCE AND THE PRESS
After Christiaan Huygens left London and the circle of the

Royal Society in the summer of 1661, he had been regularly
informed of scientific affairs in England by the temporary
president, Sir Robert Moray. The principal correspondent
of the Society in the first months of its existence, Moray
found this part of his duties a very considerable drain on his
time and energy, and soon was forced to seek a division of
his labors. In a letter of September 6, 1661, to Huygens, he
expresses the need of some aid to the work he does, and adds
that he thinks,
"that from time to time we shall print what passes among ourselves, at
least everything that may be published. Then you shall have copies
among the first, and if there is something withheld from publication, it will
be much easier for me to communicate it to you, than to have to send you
word of everything by letter.''1
The place for the learned periodical was ready; it remained

only to see who should first bring it to realization.
Two or three influences coincided to produce the journal
at this moment. We have seen that Paris had a number of
centres in which men of taste and learning met to discuss
the most recent events in the world of letters and erudition,
centres in which the latest reports of political affairs were
presented as well as matters of philosophical importance.
These assemblies were largely supported by the work of
unofficial secretaries, Ismael Boulliau, for example, whose
connections with men of similar tastes and activities in
Venice, Rome, Florence, the Hague, and elsewhere would
1 Huygens, Oeuvres Complètes, III, 317.
185
186 SCIENCE AND THE PRESS
provide both the members in Paris and friends abroad with

news of the sort desired. It quickly became apparent to
any one who undertook such work that he spent much time
in needless copying of the same news and views for his widely
scattered correspondents. To this defect in the system
by which he was forced to work, the answer was clear; the
printing press had already rendered the making of books in
quantity a simple matter; the printing press would save
labor by multiplying his letters endlessly.
Other devices to help the correspondent were talked of
and used in this age of invention and discovery: Petty's
system of double and multiple writing; a means of printing
without a press in which Huygens was later interested;
perhaps most radical of all, the numerous systems of short
hand invented in England, which could be used not only
to steal plays in the theatre and sermons in church, but to
speed up the process of writing reports for friends abroad.
The century saw a notable purification of spelling and the
printed form of words; increased communication by letter had
the effect of simplifying the handwriting of the Renaissance,
so that by the middle of the century most of the letter
writers were using a limited number of abbreviations and a
still more drastically reduced number of alternative letters.
But what the secretarial correspondent had been able to
do in his own field of hand-writing was still not enough; he
sought a wider public, a public that the hand-written letter
could not reach. The models he had were limited; in addi
tion to the Gazette, already a European institution, and
his own letter, there was the quarto pamphlet of opinion or
erudit;ion, such as the recent Lettres écrites à un Provincial par
un de ses amis, published at intervals, sometimes weekly, by
Blaise Pascal.
In 1663 the historian Mézeray took out letters-patent for a
Journal Général de Littérature, its program including news

and critici&m in most of the fields that interested the cul
tured man of the day; sciences, arts, trades, industries, ar
cheology, and literature. His project was not realized, but
for us it marks the first concrete proposa! in France to seek
the logical conclusion of the modernists' arguments in a
device to enable the scholar and scientist to keep abreast of
his times. The emphasis which the new sciences had placed
on the new meant that the learned journal was inevitable,
sooner or later. 2
In the following year we find another scheme in process of
realization. On July 26, Pierre Perrier, Marquis de Crenan,
the Breton nobleman who had been associated with Pascal
in the launching of the Carrosses de cinq sous, wrote to
Huygens that
"M. de Sallo, Conseiller de la Cour de Parlement, desires to have cor
respondence throughout Europe in order to learn of new events, as much in
matters of State as in matters ot Science. He has asked me to write to you
asking your approval for an exchange of news with you to this end; he is a
persan of merit and consideration. "3
This request was followed on August 8 by the signing of a

privilege for a Journal des Savants at Fontainebleau, and by
the announcement of its publication in various circles in and
2 Weld, History of the Royal Society, I, 148, cites a manuscript paper by
Hooke in the British Museum, outlining a projected publication by the

Royal Society, and dates it, without apparent reason, from this year 1663.
The document in question, Sloan IOJ9, f. II2, (not additional 4441, as
quoted by Weld) is one of a series of folio sheets from an old book, many of
which are dated 1679, 1682, etc.; the Assistant Librarian at the Royal
Society agrees with me that it should more justly be attributed to the years
after the death of Oldenburg, when the question of a periodical publication
was before the society as a result of the discontinuance of the Philosophical
'l'ransactions.
3 Huygens, Oeuv1·es Complètes, V, 92.
out of Paris, at Rouen, in England, and elsewhere. De

Sallo's privilege was registered on December 30, 1664, and
the first number of the 'Journal was published on January 5,
1665, by a recently established bookseller, Jean Cusson, "a
l'Image de S. Jean Baptiste, vis a vis les Mathurins, rue S.
Iacques."
The learned journal, with its reviews of books, news of
inventions and discovery, and expressions of critical opinion,
was welcomed by most. In it Parisians hoped to find an
adjunct to their correspondence that would offer an easy
means of sending a budget of valued news. To the foreigner
it would be equally valuable, for it brought him in brief but
convenient form the news that was hardest to get, the com
ment of the salons and academies on the latest books. As
the history of the 'Journal des Savants has recently been re
told on the basis of considerable research4 there is little need
to enter into detail; perhaps we can combine the exposition
of the necessary facts with some account of the impression it
made on the public by quoting from the letters of Emeric
Bigot of Rouen to the philologist N. Heinsius, preserved in
copies at the University of Leiden:
"At the beginning of this year, a new sort of Gazette began to be printed,
published every week in Paris, and entitled the Journal des Sauants. The
purpose of the author is to speak of the various books printed in Europe, to
tell of what they treat, and what is of special interest in them. In the second
place, to take notice of the famous authors who may die, and give a cata
logue of their works. Thirdly, to communicate to the public the physical
experiments which may be performed, such as the invention of machines, as
tronornical observations, and medical rnatters, etc. I do not know whether
they will be reprinted in Holland. If they are, I advise you to have them
4 Betty Trebell Morgan, Histoire du Journal des Scauans, I665-I700,
Paris, 1929 (thesis). See also, Graham, Beginnings of English Literary

Periodicals, 1926.
sent to you; they contain only a half-sheet and a half in large type, and
in the type of the Courantes of Rolland would not take more than half a
sheet. In the six I have seen there are discussed the works of Victor of
Utica ... , ."
After seven pages of extracts from the contents, he continues,
"I do not know whether I have not bored you to enumerate ail these
books. You see that I had sent you from time to time something of those
which I thought you might like to know about. If Journals of this kind are
not reprinted in Rolland, or are not sent to you from somewhere else, I
shall make similar extracts if you like. Perhaps there will be found some
times some notes to be added which the author does not dare print. He
calls himself M. Roussel de Hedouville. I have written to Paris to know
whence he cornes, what his profession is, and what he does in Paris; when I
find out I will let you know."6
6 Leiden, Burmann Q 18, f. 103; letter of February ro, 1665: "Au com
mencement de cette année on a commencé a imprimer une sorte de Gazete
nouvelle qui s'imprime a Paris toutes les semaines, et est intitulée Le journal
des Sauans. Le dessein de l'Autheur est de parler de divers livres qui
s'impriment par l'Europe, dire de quoi ils traitent et ce qu'il y a de plus
particulier. 2. de faire des eloges des Autheurs celebres qui mourront, et
donner le catalogue de leurs ouvrages. 3. de faire part au Public des
experiences Physiques qu'il aura connaissance qui se seront faites, comme
inventions de machines, observations Astronomiques, ou de Medecine etc.
Je ne sai si elles ne se rimprimeront point en Hollande. Si elles se rim
priment je vous conseille de vous les faire envoier, elles ne contiennent
qu'une demi-feuille et demie en gros caractere, et de caractere des courantes
de Hollande n'en tiendraient pas plus d'une demifeuille. Dans les six que
j'en ai veu il est parlé des ouvrages de Victor Uticentis .....
"Je ne sai si je ne vous ai point importuné a vous fair.e le denombrement
de tous ces livres. Vous voiez que je vous en avais mandé de temps en
temps quelque chose de ceux que je croiois que vous pouviez desirer avoir
connaissance. Si ces sortes de Journaux ne se rimpriment en Hollande, ou
qu'on ne vous en envoie point dailleurs, je vous en ferai de semblables ex
traits si vous le souhaitez. Peutestre qu'il se trouvera quelquefois quelques
petites choses a ajouster que l'Autheur de ces Journaux n'osera peutestre
faire imprimer. Je ne le connoi point. Il se dit Mr. Roussel de Hedou-
Bigot's letters show that he continued to send news from

the Journal to Heinsius in Sweden; in a letter of March 18,
he notes that Elzevir was interested, and had asked his
brother in Paris to bring some of them to Rolland, to see
whether they would be attractive to the public there. He
adds that "ils se lisent avec plaisir." (Ibid., f. 112, verso.)
Jean Loret, author of the weekly Muze Historique, in
his number of March 14, 1665, offers another instructive
commentary on the Journal. Not an unmixed credit to his
subject, nor yet a prompt response to its appearance, his
lines have not been quoted in this connection; coming from
the milieu of the salons, not so far productive much useful
comment, we cite them here:
Dans mes Vers qui courent la France,
Je donnais, jadis, connaissance
Des nouveaux Livres imprimez,
Les plus dignes d'être estimez;
Mais à l'avenir quoy qu'on fasse,
Les Livres n'auront plus de place
Dedans mes ouvrages suivans,
Puisque le Journal des Sçavans,
Par une invention nouvelle
Qui part d'une bonne Cervelle,
Et dans un stile non commun
Les indique au gré d'un chacun,
Bien mieux que je ne sçaurois faire
Dans mon Epître hebdomadaire,
Du moins on me l'a dit ainsy;
Car, en vérité, jusqu'icy,
le n'ay fait aucune lecture
Des discours de cette nature:
Mais moyennant cinq sols tournois,
C'est à dire vingt sols par mois,
ville. J'ai escrit a Paris afin de savoir de quel pais il est, et de quelle pro
fession et ce qu'il fait a Paris, quand je le saurai je vous l'escrirai."
SCIENCE AND THE PRESS IgI
(Qui ne sont pas grande monoye)

le veux m'en donner au coeur joye
Car j'ay toute ma vie êté
Curieux de la nouveauté:
Mais surtout des chozes écrites
Par des Gens remplis de mérites,
Qui s'y prennent du bon biais,
Et non pas des Autheurs niais,
le dis exprés cecy, Princesse,
Car je sçay bien que Vôtre Altesse
Estimant les livres nouveaux
Quand ils viennent de bons cerveaux,
Le susdit JOURNAL et sa suite
Vous en rendra bien mieux instruite
Que non pas Messieurs vos Valets
Qui les vont chercher au Palais. 6
Loret quotes the price of the Journal as five sous tournois,

a sum also mentioned by the young English medical student
Martin Lister, who visited Paris in 1666, and who recorded
in his notebook that in March and April he bought, with the
Mémoires de Bassompierre, Redi's Osservationi delle Vipere,
and the Histoire dmoureuse des Gaules, the "Journal des
6 "In my verses, which run through France, I used to give information of
new-printed books, the most worthy of notice; but in future books will
have no more place in my works, for the Journal des Savants, by a new in
vention from a good brain, and in an uncommon style, indicates them to
everyman's taste, much better than I can do in my weekly epistle, at least
so I have been told, for in truth, up to the present I have made no reading
of discourses of this kind; but by means of five sous tournois, that is to say
twenty sous a month, not a very large sum, I shall rejoice my heart with
them, for ail my life I have been curious for novelty, but especially for
things written by worthy men, who set out in the right way, and are not
merely frivolous.
"This I say deliberately, Princess, for I know that your Highness, prizing
new books, when they corne from good brains, the aforesaid JOURNAL and
its sequels will make you much more learned than Messieurs your very
humble servants who go seek them at the Palais (de Justice)."
Scavants les 27 premiers a 5s. les 13 de Hedouville et les

14 de l'annee suivante." 7
Further evidence of the utility and reputation of the
Journal is contained in a letter written by J. Daillé, Pastor
of the Protestant church at Charenton, to his friend Leonard
Holzhalb of Zurich, August 25, 166(6):
"l have not much to tell you about the books which your Curators desire
to add to their famous library; scarcely anything new is clone in this city
in the mathematics and philosophy, and it seems that today these noble
sciences have crossed the seas to establish themselves in England where
ti1ey are cultivated with great care. But to be informed exactly of what is
newly printed here and in that country I believe your friends would do well
to see our Journal des Savants which continues every week and of which we
have already the thirty-fourth number." 8
Most of those whose books had suffered from the freedom

which the Journalists used in their criticism were inclined to
regard the publication with dislike. With most of the
quarrels we have little to do; we must however cite the
statement made by Gui Patin in a letter to his friend Falconet
of March 20, 1665, in which his animus is the result of a
needlessly sharp comment on a book on medals and coins
7 Bodleian Library, Ms Lister 19, Euery Man's Companion: or, an Useful
Pocket-book, 1663, f. 44. This small note book contains rough notes of
Lister's visit to France and Italy between 1663 and 1666; see also Chapter
X.
8 Library of the French Hospital, London; Ott Collection of MSS, etc.,
p. 493: "Je n'ai pas grande chose à vous faire savoir touchant les livres
dont M" vos Curateurs veulent accroitre leur fameuse Bibliothèque; il ne se
fait guère rien de nouveau en cette ville pour ce qui regarde les Mathéma
tiques ou la Philosophie, et il semble qu'aujourd'hui ces nobles sciences
aient passé la mer pour aller s'établir en Angleterre où on les cultive avec
beaucoup de soin. Mais pour etre informé exactement de ce qui s'imprime
de nouveau et en ce pays-là je crois que vos Messieurs feraient bien de voir
notre Journal des Sçauans qui continue toutes les semaines, et dont nous
avons déjà le 34 cmc ••••• "
recently written by his son Charles. Patin's statement has

been very often accepted as unquestionable authority in
the search for the names of the editors; without definitely
denying his attribution, we can at least point out that the
question is still open. After an angry comment on the
treatment accorded his son's book, he says:
"The truth is that M. Colbert is protecting the authors of the Jou,:nal,
which is attributed to M. de Sallo, Conseiller au Parlement, to M. the Abbé
de Bourzeis, to M. de Gomberville, to M. Chapelain, etc."9
Those who have accepted the statement that the 'Journal was
edited by a committee consisting of the four mentioned by
Patin have no other basis for their attribution; although
Chapelain seem� to have assisted de Sallo with some of the
work, no evidence that can be unconditionally accepted has
been produced for either Gomberville or Bourzeis since
Camusat found this quotation in an early edition of Patin's
letters in the eighteenth century. To be quite fair, it should
be stated that Camusat accepted it only with reservation, as
coming from one who was obviously not in a position to
know the truth of the matter.
Ail authorities are agreed that chief responsibility for the
publication in its first year was assumed by Denis de Sallo, a
learned lawyer originally from Poitou, and a writer on his
torical subjects. He had certain associates, of whom we
may name Chapelain, who procured articles and wrote
letters for him, and very probably the Abbé Gallois, who
was given control in the following year, after the reorganiza
tion. Evidence to justify the inclusion of Bourzejs is
9 Lettres de Patin, ed. Réveillé-Parise, III, 518: "La vérité est que M.
Colbert prend en sa protection les auteurs de ce journal, que l'on attribue à
M. de Sallo, conseiller au Parlement, à M. l'abbe de Bourzé, à M. de Gom
berville, à M. Chapelain, etc."
circumstantial only; he was a Gallican, very outspoken, and

he was sent on a mission to Portugal in 1666. Evidence for
Gomberville to corroborate Patin is entirely lacking; careful
reading of all the printed sources and of as much of the
manuscript material as I have been able to see has not shown
his name mentioned in any connection with the 'Journal at
ail; as he was living in retirement among Jansenists at this
time he may justly be omitted from present consideration.
Letters announcing the appearance of the 'Journal were
sent to Oldenburg by Justel, to Huygens in Rolland by the
Marquis de Crenan, and to Bigot in Rouen by, according to
Vigneul-Marville, an ecclesiastic named the Abbé Hauteville.
In each case cooperation was sought, both in supplying news
and books for discussion; however, only Oldenburg had a
contribution in time for the first number. This took the
characteristic form of a description of a monstrous birth
which had occurred near Salisbury; the attribution to Olden
burg is scarcely doubtful on comparison of the text as printed
with the details contained in Oldenburg's letter to Boyle on
the subject, of November 3, 1664, and Boyle's communica
tion to the Secretary of the Royal Society, read November
9 (Birch, I, 485). Further contributions by Oldenburg
would include the extract of a letter from London in the
third 'Journal, January 19, describing the ship with two
hulls built by Sir William Petty, and the letter relating the
results of Captain Holmes' trial of Huygens' pendulum
docks at sea. Juste! had begun to write to Oldenburg at
least as early as the summer of 1664; although many of his
early letters are lacking, we know that he spoke frequently
of Gallois and de Sallo in 1667-8-9, and thus it is with con
siderable confidence that Oldenburg is placed among the
contributors to the 'Journal des Savants.
For a variety of reasons the early career of the 'Journal was
stormy; in three months it made enemies in the Faculty of

Medicine, in the literary circles, and especially among the
Jesuits. The quarrels with the first two could hardly injure
the periodical from the point of view of circulation; but the
other was more serious. From time to time the Gallicanism
of the editors was made very apparent:
"The Court of Rome always having its own ends, it is not tao safe to
take its censures seriously. That is why this decree should not prevent
our esteeming as much as ever the book on the liberties of the Gallican
church composed by the late M. de Marca. In fact, it contains nothing
but very firmly based maxims, which may pass for the fondamental laws of
this monarchy." (Jan. 12, 1665).
"This censure (of the Congregation of the Index) will not prevent M. de
Launoy's book receiving universal approval; for it is known that it has been
censured only because it defends tao well the rights of the ordinary clergy
against the pretended privileges and exemptions of the Religious Orders."
(Ibid.)
"There are in this criticism some very curious things. Besides, one
should not find it strange that this good father speaks so badly in this criti
cism of heterodox authors, even in matters where it is not a question of
faith, because he writes at Rome, where it is a crime to approve the book of
a heretic." (Jan. 19)
Thus the tone of the 'Journal was in general critical of ultra

montanism and the policies of the Company of Jesus. While
some of the comments were hardly worthy of serious consid
eration, much less formai condemnation, the matter reached a
climax at the end of March, and the 'Journal stopped appear
ing for the time being.
Two letters written by Chapelain to Isaac Vossius indi
cate the sentiments of some of the men of letters of Paris.
They are to be found in the edition made by T. de Laroque
from the Manuscript Sainte-Beuve; we shall quote them
however, from the copies of the original documents made by
Burmann in the eighteenth century:
"The complaints of Rome on our 'Journal des Savants have caused its
suspension; it is to be feared that M. de Salo, who was the soul of it, has
rather preferred to abandon its care than to submit to the censorship, to
which the powers desired him to consent before printing. However it is
believed nevertheless that some one will pick up the enterprise, although
it will not be executed with the nobility and style of the past." 10
In a further letter of June (May 31, in the manuscript 111
Paris) he writes:
"This suppression of the 'Journal of M. de Salo displeases ail the men of
learning, and we have even certain curious Princesses who regret it almost
as much as you. It had been suggested that it be continued with certain
reserves, but to render it agreeable it should be without reserves, except to
permit that it be contradicted by the interested parties if they daim to have
been unfairly judged. This would have been the way to revive the talera.
tians of the Censor, and to illuminate by dispute many dark and doubtful
subjects, for the benefit of learning."11
In June Bigot wrote Heinsius to much the same effect:

"The catalogue of newly printed books with criticism has been prohibited.
The author of these reflections had given his free judgment touching the
history of the Council of Trent by the Cardinal Pallavicini, which very
10 Leiden, Burmann II, ii, f. 275: "Les plaintes de Rome sur nostre
Journal des Scavans en a fait suspendre la continuation et il est a craindre
que M. de Salo qui en estait l'ame en a plustost voulu abandonner le soin
que de se sousmettre a la censure, a laquelle avant l'impression les Puis
sances desiroient qu'on l'assujetist. On croit neantmoins que quelqu'un
relevera !'Entreprise qui ne laissera pas d'estre profitable bien quelle ne
soit pas executée avec la noblesse et le stile du passé." (April 24, 1665)
11 Ibid., f. 311, verso: "Cette suppression du 'Journal de Monsieur de
Salo desplaist a tous les bons Lettrés, et nous avons mesme des Princesses
curieuses qui le regrettent presque autant que nous. On avait propose de le
continuer avec de certaines reserves; mais pour le rendre agreable il le
faudrait sans reserve, sauf a permettre de le contredire aux Interessés s'ils
disaient avoir este iniquement jugés. Ceust este le moyen de ranimer la
licence du censeur, et d'eclaircir par la contestation bien des matieres ab.
scures et douteuses, a l'avancement du beau scavoir."
much annoys ail the curious here, and which will not increase, I think, the
affection which may be felt for the Jesuits in foreign countries for having
deprived them of this satisfaction, for it has been seen by the translation
which was made into Italian, German, and English, that this project was
very well received."12
ln spite of a certain number of injured feelings, the Journal

was well thought of in the Republic of Letters. The 1iver
sity and importance of the contents, and the care with which
the editors had prepared the way for its reception by use of
the connections of the savants of Paris with the outside
world, assured a hearing even though some of the books
discussed were without much value to scholars, and some of
the comments written with a certain amount of prejudice.
An equivalent of the successful Philosophical '.transactions
was demanded by national pride, and a slight modification
of the staff-the replacement by the ecclesiastic Gallois of
the editor de Sallo, who was retained as a consultant
and occasional writer, and the sending of Bourzeis on a
mission to Portugal-made the continued existence of the
Journal acceptable to the J esuits. ln future Jansenist and
Gallican proclivities would be kept in check; there would be
no more criticism of affairs of Church and State, and the
emasculated Journal would pursue a path of careful medio
crity, approved by all the powerful, and useful if not partic
ularly attractive to the rest.
12 Leiden, Burmann Q 18, f. IIJ: "On a defendu de continuer le Cata
logue des livres qui s'imprime de nouveau avec l'examen des ouvrages.
L'Autheur de ces reflexions avait dit librement son jugement touchant l'his
toire du Cardinal Pallavicini du Concile de Trente, ce qui a offensé les
Jesuites, et ont fait faire defense a l'Autheur de continuer, ce qui fasche
fort tous les curieux et ce qui je pense n'augmentera pas l'affection qu'on
peut avoir pour les Jesuites aux pais estrangers de les avoir privez de cette
satisfaction, car on a veu par la traduction qui s'en faisait en Italien, Alle
mand et Anglais que ce dessein a esté fort bien receu ..... De Rouen, ce
25e Juin 1665." (Copy)
Once its novelty wore off, and the scant value that the
notices printed therein had for the average Parisian scholar
became apparent, the 'Journal disappears from the correspon
dence, except for an occasional reference in the case of a new
and controversial book. Justel's letters to Oldenburg show
that he was the regular agent for the purchase of the periodi
cal and its transmission to the Royal Society. The more
illuminating of the occasions on which he refers to the
periodical may perhaps be quoted here:
January 27, 1666: "Since you wish me to send you the Journal, I will
do so ..... I shall give those I have not sent you to Mr. Wren whom I see
almost every day with numerous of your English gentlemen...•.I will
show your letter to the author of the Journal who will write to you. You
will oblige me by sending your 'Transactions to me every month, we shall
have them explained to us and translated as best we can.....Those who
work at our Journal are rather Historians than Philosophers, that is why
you see nothing in it concerning Physics. ln time perhaps they will devote
themselves to it. Monsieur Salo will write you very soon. He is very well
and still curious."
A year later, January 7, 1667: ''You will see in the Journal how the
ecclesiastics have their way, but we may say nothing to that."
November 16, 1667: "One must confess that the author of our Journal
has believed tao readily those who told him that Transfusion (of the blood)
was discovered in France rather than in England. I said to him that he
should inform himself with more care than he did. Ali good men are of
your opinion."
July 14, 1668: "I send you the Journal in which you will see what Mr.
Huygens has produced against the theory of the hyperbola. Our Journal
is going to begin again, and we shall have a number every two weeks at
least, M. Colbert having so ordered M.Gallois, who is its author."
October 24, 1668: "Our philosophers do nothing worthy notice. I send
you the Journal which, to tell the truth, is not very good. The author
hopes to publish it every two weeks. We do not expect it at ail any more."
November 28, 1668: "1 send you the latest Journal. lt seems that
Monsieur Galois wishes to begin to give it to us as usual again. lt is not
as good as it was, and it is almost impossible that an ecclesiastic should do
anything notable because he is obliged to be circumspect and <lare say noth
ing which shocks the Roman religion or the court of Rome."
In a letter to Fermat, September 20, 1670: "The author of the 'Journal

is no longer here, he has gone with the bishop of Luçon. We cannot expect
that he continue to publish it, for he is secretary of the Academie, and has
no leisure. "13
The year 1668 marks the end of the first period of the
Journal; begun with enthusiasm, welcomed by the erudite,
read with interest by Frenchman and foreigner, the periodical
review from its commencement had made enemies more
powerful than its friends, and been forced to a policy of
cautious flatness. Scholars abroad had liked it for its news
of publications, but to the Parisian it lacked the color and
interest of life. Without literary merit or liberty of ex
pression, and rapidly losing the continuity which justifies
periodical publication, it soon was a very poor second to its
foreign rivals and imitations. Gallois was left alone by the
death of de Sallo in the middle of 1669, and his growing
attachment to the service of Colbert and his duties in the
Académie des Sciences left him little time for journalism.
The various circumstances were reflected in the increasing
irregularity with which the Journal appeared; from a full
quota in 1666, through sixteen numbers in 1667, and thir
teen in 1668, its numbers became so rare that from the be
ginning of 1669 to 1674 only seventeen in all are found.
With justice we can regard the periodical as dormant in
these years.
From the beginning the Journal des Savants had been sent
to Oldenburg by his correspondents in Paris; a copy was
produced and discussed in the Royal Society. In February
a similar production was discussed by the officers of that
13 Royal Society, Guard-books, I1, 1,, 4, 7, 10, 41, 56, 61. Also Toulouse,
Ms 846, f. 142. Justel's original French is of so slight intrinsic interest that
I have ven tured to omit it here.
body, and on March 6 the first number of the Philosophical

'transactions was for sale by the official publishers, Martin
and Allestry. In contrast with the strictly practical style
of the introduction of the French publication, the Intro
duction which Oldenburg wrote for his monthly is ornate
and elaborate, full of an evangelical fervor for the "Grand
Design of improving Natural Knowledge, and perfecting all
Philosophical Arts, and Sciences. All for the Glory of God,
the Honor and Advantage of these Kingdoms, and the
Universal Good of Mankind."
Of the ten items in the first number, three came from the
'Journal des Savants, including notes on Optick Glasses, Pen
dulum Watches and Longitudes, and the Character of
Fermat. The seven others came from varied sources; a note
on Boyle's Experimental History of Cold, a monstrous calf,
lead-ore from Germany, Whale fishing in the Bermudas, and
a summary of Auzout's writing on the cornet. The second
number, of April 3, contained six articles, more discussions
of the cornet, a letter from Venice by Dr. Walter Pope to
the dean of Ripon, Wilkins, a note on silk worms from the
"Ingenious Mr. Edward Digges" to "that known Vertuoso,
Mr. Dudley Palmer," and an account of one of the most
important books of the age, Hooke's Micrographia. None
of these were from the 'Journal; only those on the cornet from
Auzout, and perhaps Cassini, were of foreign origin.
The Philosophical 'transactions remained much as Olden
burg had begun them as long as he lived. From time to
time a number was devoted to the discussion of one topic, as
occurred during the transfusion controversy, but usually
the contents were distributed among a variety of the sciences,
as in the first two numbers; numbers such as those seem to
have made a wide appeal among the amateurs of the sciences
in England and abroad. We shall quote a few opinions
SCIENCE AND THE PRESS 201
which seem representative of the way in which the French

public reacted to the English innovations.
The last number of the 'Journal des Savants before the
suppression of 1665 had told of the appearance of the English
periodical, and of the efforts that were being made to render
its contents available for the French public. M. Ascoli has
devoted a page to the general impression created by the
work of the Society, and the quotations from the Philo
sophical 'l'ransactions which occur in the 'Journal des Savants. 14
Here we shall draw from sources not used by him, manuscript
and other, indicating that in the circles which have a special
interest for us the English publication was even better
known than M. Ascoli suggests.
A comment by Moray on the 'Journal des Savants in a
letter to Huygens of 3/13 February 1665 indicates some of
the feeling which had prompted the English periodical:
"As for the Gazette des Savants, we have seen a sample of it, but already
we have found things to criticize in it. You say very well that the thing
can be useful provided it be not spoilt. Mr. Oldenburg has shown us a
sample of similar plan, much more philosophical, and we hope to get him to
begin it, if it can be done. He will not interfere with legal or theological
matters, but in addition to philosophical matters which corne from abroad,
he will publish the experiments, at least the most important, performed
here. But it will be only once a month in English and once in three months
in Latin. "15
With the sentiments of the English scientists, Huygens was

in hearty agreement; on March 6 he wrote that he approved
Oldenburg's plan, especially his concentration on matters of
"philosophy," which would mark an improvement over the
practice of the editors of the 'Journal.
In January of 1666 Juste! had asked Oldenburg to send
14 Op. cit. II, 41-45.
16 Huygens, Oeuvres Complètes, V, 234.
the 'fransactions every month; the French editors-there is

no doubt that Justel was already coêiperating with the men
who produced the 'Journal des Savants-would translate
them as best they could. A letter from Auzout to Justel of
January 27, 1666, an extract from which was forwarded to
Oldenburg, had asked that copies of all the 'fransactions be
sent to him, for he had found that he was mentioned in al
most every number so far printed. The request was re
peated in a letter from Auzout to Oldenburg of February 12,
and only the rarity of communications during 1666 pre
vented the periodical being forwarded before the end of the
year; a letter of December 28 acknowledges their receipt,
with books by Boyle. Auzout does not comment on the
value of the periodical; his anxiously repeated request is
sufE.cient evidence of the value he attached to it.
It was not only in Paris that the amateurs of science wel
comed the new publication. A list of books which the
Dijonnais Lantin asked Juste! to procure from Oldenburg for
him in 1668, includes "Toutes les Transactions," as well as
Sprat's History of the Royal Society, Osborne's Instructions
to a son, "Morly of Musick," History of the Manual Arts,
(1661), books of mathematics, Dugdale's Origines 'Judiciales,
etc. ln Caen the active scientific circle did even better; a
translation was made of several of the early numbers, March,
April, July, November, December of 1665, and May 1666,
by some person not named. These are found among the
papers of Huet, in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds latin,
n451, ff. 152-193, where they are mingled with a large and
varied collection of papers of scientific interest.
The letters of Justel to Oldenburg, to Huet and to Fermat
reflect the esteem and value which the French attached to the
English publication. More than anything perhaps, it
summed up for him the English character, with its ingenuity,
versatility, and skill in devising new means of approaching

given situations. Every new number, with its usual budget
of experiment and invention roused comments on the facility
which the British seemed to exhibit in the invention of solu
tions to problems old and new. In various ways he man
aged to overcome the difficulty he had with the language,
but there were not many in Paris who could read English
Thevenot, Briot the translator, Auzout, perhaps Gallois,
and a few professional interpreters who found ample work
in the provision of books and documents for the Parisian
booksellers and journalists. The Latin version of the 'l'rans
actions promised by Moray had not been forthcoming; as
the publication was entirely left to the initiative and responsi
bility of Oldenburg, and as Martin and Allestry, the Society's
printers, were handling the periodical as a business proposi
tion, the further expansion of the programme was to wait
for a day of prosperity which never came. Justel does not
seem to have thought oflearning English; his case was typical
of the French scientist faced by one of the books of Boyle
or Hooke in the vernacular which they used for forceful
express10n.
Part of the general programme of Colbert for the assist
ance of learning included the staffing of the Bibliothèque
du Roi with translators from the chief languages not com
monly understood by the erudite. A letter from Juste! to
Oldenburg, of February 18, 1668, describes their activities:
"Il y a dans la Bibliothèque quatre personnes sous Monsieur
Carcavy, un pour )'Hébreu, l'autre pour l'Arabe, un Alle
mand pour traduire les bons livres qui sont en cette langue-là,
et un Anglais pour traduire l'anglais." The probability is
that this Englishman was the Hues O'Neil Sieur de Beaulieu
who appears in the Comptes des Bâtiments from 1666 to 1670
for gratuities averaging 1200 livres per annum, usually for
translations from the English. His work seems to have

consisted mainly of the rendering of books of travel and
history, but there is little doubt that the translation of the
Philosophical 'I'ransactions which appears in the Nouvelles
Acquisitions Françaises 21740-41 in the Bibliothèque Na
tionale under the noncommittal title of Nouvelles Scientifiques
de l' Angleterre, containing the numbers of February, 1668 to
September, 1671, was clone by him at the same time. Most
of this translation was rather roughly clone on small folio
pages; the first month has, however, been copied neatly on
larger paper, and inscribed on the back, A M. Carcavy. A
note on the verso of f. 201 of the first volume reads:
"As these Philosophical 'l'ransactions, or Journals of England, are filled
with various matters, as there are a number of topics concerning the arts
and sciences, as the expressions are often obscure in the origjnal itself,
whether by reason of the subject matter or as a result of the liberty which
the author gives himself, in imitation of other English authors of this age, to
introduce new words into the language; and as it is not too easy to find ail
the names and proper terms for so many things, and to render a polished
translation in the short time available for these works, the translator begs
Messieurs of the Royal Academy to have the goodness to make allowance
for the defects they may discover, and if there is some passage they desire
to have explained in comparison with the original, he will always be ready
to give them this satisfaction, and to pay them his very humble respects." 16
16 Loc. cit.: "Comme ces 'l'ransactions Philosophiques, ou Journaux d'An

gleterre, sont remplis de diverses matières, qu'il y a plusieurs questions qui
regardent les Arts et les Sciences, que les Expressions en sont souvent ob
scures dans !'Original même, soit par la qualité de la matière, soit par la
liberté que l'auteur se donne à l'imitation des autres Ecrivains Anglois de ce
siècle, d'introduire de nouveaux mots dans la langue, et que ce n'est pas
une chose trop aisée de trouver tous les noms et les termes propres de tant
de choses, et de rendre une Traduction achevée dans le peu de temps qu'on
a pour traduire ces Ouvrages-là, le Traducteur supplie Messieurs de l' Aca
démie Royale, d'avoir la bonté de suppleer aux manquements qu'ils y
trouveront; et s'il y a quelque endroit qu'ils veulent lui faire l'honneur de
vouloir éclaircir sur l'original, il sera toujours disposé a leur donner cette
satisfaction, et leur rendre ses très humbles respects."
Henry Juste! as the chief authority on English affairs in

France, and as a recipient of one of the royal gratuities,
seems to have had some part in the supervision of this trans
lation. We notice that in a letter to Oldenburg of February
15, 1668, he writes that he will have certain omissions made
according to Oldenburg's suggestions, and consult him in
case of unforeseen difficulty.
The influence of the Royal Society in France may thus be
observed to act through two channels: the direct contacts
of French and English travelers, in London and Paris, re
spectively, prolonged in letters of news and opinion, the
normal means by which one culture made contact with
another in those days; and the importation and translation
of books, whether these translations were printed, as the
Geneva and Paris edition of the History of the Royal Society
by Sprat, or left unpublished in a public depository, such
as the translation of the 'l'ransactions clone for Carcavy in the
Bibliothèque du Roi. It is not perhaps incorrect to see
the influence of the Royal Society in the ambitious Projet de
la Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts, and in one or two of the
private academies which are a feature of life in Paris from
about 1670 on. Certainly some of the publications of that
time resemble the mode! set by the Phi/osophical 'l'rans
actions rather than the form of the Journal des Savants.
The irregularity with which the editors produced the
Journal during the early years of its existence was a great
annoyance to the scholars and scientists who looked for its
appearance with some eagerness. In 1672, the Cartesian
conférencier and surgeon Jean-Baptiste Denis began to
publish a series of Mémoires et Conférences sur les Arts et les
Sciences, most of the material for which was taken from the
letters received by him and his friends and read at his public
assemblies. His daim to supplement the Journal des Sa-
vants was not admitted by Gallois, who quoted his privilege

and managed to have Denis retract. Denis' publication
was a quarto pamphlet like the Journal and the Philosophical
'l'ransactions, but he followed the latter in emphasizing ex
periments and discoveries at the expense of literary and his
torical erudition. Fourteen numbers were published before
February of 1674, about which time Denis was called to
England as surgeon to Charles II. In 1683 he published a
ftuinzième Conférence ....touchant une Fontaine ....avec
quelques réflexions sur le Remède dnglois, sur le Remède des
Pauvres, et sur la Saignée, evidently in an effort to continue
the old series, and enter into competition with the medical
publications of the Abbé de la Roque and Nicolas de Blégny.
In addition to the direct imitations of the English mode!
which are found in the publications of Denis, the years from
about 166o to the end of the century are characterized by
the appearance of an incredible number of pamphlets on
scientific and philosophical subjects. Many of these are
quite valueless from any point of view, but show that topics
of mechanical or natural interest were very popular. From
the time of the closing of the Montmor Academy and the
appearance of the cornets of 1664-5 until the last years of the
century, there is little doubt that such publications out
numbered the productions of the regularly constituted
periodicals.
One of the most active printers of these pamphlets was the
publisher of the Journal des Savants, Jean Cusson of the rue
Saint-Jacques. Camusat, the eighteenth century author of
the Histoire Critique des Journaux, says that there are those
who place the origin of the Journal in the" ....dé5"·r de
procurer quelque profit au sieur Cusson, qui s'établissait
alors, et qui avait été au service de M. de Sallo." (p. 19)
However that may be, one is impressed by the regularity
with which the name of this bookseller is found on the pub

lications of Auzout, Petit, A.-F. Payen, Mariotte, and others
of those who were interested in the projected Compagnie
des Sciences et des Arts. The scientists of the more con
servative type, Jesuits such as Grandamy, usually brought
their publications out through Cramoisy, while Billaine,
Moëtte, and others also sold such tracts. The names of a
few of thé publications of Cusson are printed as an appendix
to this chapter.
The close relation which existed between the periodical
and the academy or conference extends to this field of litera
ture. Discourses from the Montmor Academy were printed
from about 1663, and from the conferences of Denis from
about 1667. In many of the publications referred to above
the organizations of the day are mentioned either by name
or by implication, and authority for the observations re
corded is given by reference to the scientists and amateurs
who were present. In some the dialogue is used as a method
of recapturing the flavor of conversational exposition, some
times recalling the assemblies of the time. The use of the
pamphlet in controversy was of course not new; scientific
controversies, such as those which were roused by the various
aspects, humanitarian, legal, philosophie, and scientific, of
the transfusion case, produced a collection of writings in
France, England, and Italy, which rivais most political or
religious disputes in fury and violence. The volume Te 13 .42
in the Bibliothèque Nationale contains more than twenty of
these documents from Paris alone, and those are not ail
which were written in the heat of the quarrel.
CHAPTER X
THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES

The effiorescence of interest in the sciences which cor
responds roughly with the end of the rule of Mazarin does
not fail to fi.nd a response in the circles of country doctors,
curés, and pastors who made philosophical, political and
literary discussion an excellent excuse for mild conviviality.
Groups of amateurs in al! parts of France, north and south,
in Languedoc and Poitou and Normandy, not discovering
very much perhaps that èould be called new, keep alive
the traditions of liberal investigation which attain some
thing like maturity with the naturism of a Rousseau and the
ideology of the Revolution. Description of this aspect of
life in seventeenth century France is difficult; documents are
rare and scattered, and do not lend themselves to the creation
of a unifi.ed picture.
We have seen that Peiresc was the centre of a circle of
experimentalists in Aix-en-Provence, in the earliest years of
the century; Mersenne had mentioned the most famous of the
workers of Saintonge, Palissy. In 1645 Balthazar de Mon
conys made his famous voyage across the middle of France,
from Lyons his home to La Rochelle by way of Blois, Tours
and Angers-a journey punctuated by conversations with
amateurs and adepts. In Blois he met Florimond de Beaune,
mathematician and friend of Mersenne. Later Blois was a
still more famous centre of scientifi.c studies, for it was here
that Gaston d'Orléans retired, setting up a "Cabinet" of
scientists and an observatory. The Comte de Pagan is one
of the most famous of his astronomers; the English botanist
Robert Morison (1620-1683) began his illustrions career as
steward of the prince's gardens here. The passage of the
208
THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES 209
author and astronomer Edward Sherbourn is recorded in a

letter in the appendix.
We have already drawn upon the Liber Epistolaris of
Henry Oldenburg, the manuscript book in which he kept a
record of the letters he sent to friends during and after his
trip through France in 1657-9. From it we can find certain
details of the centres in which his hope of finding a Peireskius
was partly realized.
In Saumur Oldenburg was not able to enjoy much philo
sophic discourse; he tells Boyle that the air is good, the country
beautiful, the people "humain et debonnaire." On October
2, 1657 he writes that he hopes to meet more pleasing com
pany in Montpellier and Marseilles. In the course of their
trip through Germany they met many operators in alchemy
and astronomy, among them van Helmont, "an excellent
physitian at Dresda," and Dr. Michaelis at Leipzig.
Their return to France was by way of Geneva and the
south. In Montpellier they were entertained by the circle
of friends whose leader seems to have been a Monsieur Pra
dilles, and by him were presented to an amateur of philosophy
and medicine named Bonpar, who lived some distance to the
west, near Mèze. Chappuzeau, in a passage we shall quote,
mentions that the academy of Montpellier was formed on
that of Castres; on their way north, Oldenburg and Jones
seem to have been entertained by the amateurs there, and
one may assume that this was the result of an introduction
arranged by Pradilles.
Montpellier was in the seventeenth century a favorite
resort of Englishmen seeking relief from cold, fog, and smoke;
we shall see that in these years numerous English amateurs
of science are welcomed to the social and philosophie groups
of the city. In his summary of the academies of provincial
210 THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES
France in the first part of Europe Vivante (Paris, 1667, pp.

327-9) Chappuzeau mentions
"Another society which exists no more because of the fickleness of some
of its members, and which made some noise in the Republic of Letters while
it was active. This was the famous Academy of Montpellier, composed of
twenty-four scholars of ail orders, churchmen, Conseillers des Cours Sou
verains (sic) Jurisconsults, doctors, mathematicians, and the curious. M.
du Roure, Lieutenant du Roi in the province of Languedoc, desired to be a
member of their body, and to preside in his turn; he signed his name in
the book which contained their statutes, similar to those of the Academy
of Castres, from which they were borrowed. The Illustrious Knight Digby,
Chancellor of the Queen of England, also wished to be a member, and was
present at three meetings with mutual satisfaction, as I have discovered
from one of my friends. In the first, to which he was brought by M. Bonel,
secretary of the company and one of the great mathematicians of the age,
M. de Pradilles, one of the able men of the company, was Moderator, and
they examined the possibility of the philosopher's stone. In the second, the
subject was, If the world has existed from ail eternity, and in the third, this
Illustrious Chancellor delivered the learned discourse which has been printed
on the Powder of Sympathy, and which shows the great capacity of his
mind."
Digby's discourse was read far and wide, and brought

much fame to the Celebrated Assembly in which it was de
livered; it heralded a succession of English visitors of note
to the metropolis of the south; some came for the good corn.
pany of the French nobility who made their homes there,
others for the famed and ancient medical school, still others
for the mild and curative climate, and perhaps for the re
markable variety of fine foods over which young Lord Her
bert grows rhapsodie in his diary.
In 1659 the scientist Boyle sent Robert Southwell of
Kinsale, Ireland, to Oldenburg in Paris for advice about
what he should see and where he should go on his travels.
With Pradilles in mind, Oldenburg advised Montpellier, and
gave Southwell a letter, which was duly delivered. South-
THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES 21 l
well stayed the winter, and seems to have enjoyed himself

mightily. His letters from this period speak of meeting de
Liergues, the brother of Monconys, at Lyons, who showed
him a number of curiosities; he also met one of the most fa
mous inventors of mechanical" ingenuities in France, Mon
sieur Cervier or Servières. Southwell found much to satisfy
his taste for ingenious devices in France; one of the most
interesting was shown him by an Englishman he met on the
boat for Avignon who was taking a mechanical stocking
weaver to introduce the industry into Provence, thus spoiling
an English trade, much to Southwell's disgust.
In the course of a stay in France from 1663 to 1666 Martin
Lister spent most of his time in Languedoc, much of it in
Montpellier, where he met the Earl of Ailesbury, who seems
to have dwelt there for several years. Lister's somewhat
fragmentary record of his stay in the city is preserved in the
Bodleian, Lister MS. 5. On folio 224, verso, he notes:
"I had ye honour to assist att an Anatomie Lecteur on some particular dis
sections and demonstrations made by Mr Steno ye Dane himself in my
Lord of Ailesburys cabinet. the demonstrations were neat and clever
much
wherem. I { } admire
. d ye rngenmtte
. . . and great modestie . of ye person
most
and which appeared the rather by reason of ye great impertinence of a French
Doctour and professour that assisted also at the Assembee (sic)."
On folio 225 he adds:

"Afterwards I visited Mr Steno whom I found infinitely taking and agree
able in Conversation and I observed in him very much ye Galant and honest
man as ye french say, as well as of ye schollar."
The details of these and other conversations which Lister

records indicate the importance of the amateur and patron
of the sciences in this period of uncertainty and change. The
place which the Earl of Ailesbury occupied in the cultivated
society of the south was a credit to his nation; Lister says of

him and of one or two other English inhabitants of the town:
"I am witnesse that they were never ye subject of an Entertien amongst ye
French where I assisted but they did admire the English nation for their
sakes."
Montpellier must not be left without mentioning the Car

tesian conferences which Pierre-Sylvain Regis maintained
there from about 1671 when the Marquis de Vardes, Gover
nor of Languedoc, brought him from Toulouse and Aigues
Mortes, and the winter which John Locke spent there a few
years later still.
Oldenburg seems to have found good intellectual com
pany at Toulouse, Castres, and La Rochelle. In Castres he
and Jones were entertained by the Académie, a protestant
group whose activities are recorded in a volume in the Ar
chives of the city, and described by L. Barbaza in a little
brochure, L'Académie de Castres et la Société de Mademoiselle
de Scudery, published in 1890. This society seems to have
been largely literary, but in Saporta and in Baltazar Olden
burg met two men to his taste, one who was working on a
book of protestant doctrine, the other, Saporta, who had an
interest in science and the arts.
Another traveler who has left us an account of the virtuosi
of the French provinces is the precocious Lord Herbert, who
began an extended tour of the French provinces at the age of
twelve, in the company of the learned Dr. Edward Chamber
layne. An account of Herbert's travels exists in the British
Museum, and the meagre attention which he there pays to
personalities can be elaborated to some extent from the letters
which he and his tutor wrote to the Royal Society. Their
chief contribution to the account of the curiosities of France
is an account of the cabinet of M. Cervier of Lyons:
"In our passage from Aix we saw at Lyons the most curious closets of Mon
sieur Cervier which for Mathematicall Inventions and Machines (ail his
own handy worke) are the most surprising and astonishing (as I believe)
in the world. His many pretended Perpetuall Motions, Hydraulic Dials,
various Clockes and Hourglasses, his engines of Sympathy & Antipathy,
but above ail, his device to discover the most predominant quality in every
spectator, are past my comprehension and conception. These and a hun
dred other things here, might be well worthy a journey in this long Vacation
for one of your Experimentators, for though this Gentleman be very chagrin
to persans of the highest quality, yet to those that will patiently hear him
and understandingly admire him he is very civil and communicative."
(Royal Society, Guard-Book Ha, 1,/ 26.)
We get a vivid glimpse into the life of Toulouse from the

hints which are scattered in the correspondence which passed
between Fermat, the Royal Society and Juste!. In his
first letter to Oldenburg, October 1, 1668, Fermat speaks of
the growing reputation of the Royal Society, and notes that
the inductive natural history of which Bacon had spoken as
one of the desiderata is not very different from that body's
purpose, nor is the litera/a experientia discussed in Book V,
chapter ii of the De Augmentis Scientiarum1 to be distin
guished from the means adopted by the English scientists to
that end. Fermat goes on:
"I do not doubt that your discoveries will go beyond the wishes of that
great man and that they will add very much to his discoveries. I should
very much like to know some of the fine subjects that have been examined
in your conferences; what are the most notable observations you have
made, and what are the principles on which your Physics is founded. The
principles of M. Descartes are beginning to be introduced into these regions,
they are expounded in assemblies which take place in the house of a persan
of rank. Here are performed also with very great care the experiments
necessary for their proper understanding; if from those clone there or in the
houses of certain other Virtuosi of my acquaintance, something is dis
covered which we judge worthy of you, you will soon have news of it; news
1 Bohn edition, pp. 183ff.
..,J
2I4 THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES
of your progress in the investigation of nature will always be very pleasant

ta me, and I await it with great impatience,"2
Another letter, of July 15, 1669, speaks at greater length

of the works of the amateurs, mentioning especially the
activity and writings of François Bayle on a machine he has
invented. "His learning and worth are already well known
in this city," he says; "He lodges with M. de Nolet, in whose
house there are conferences every Tuesday to explain the
philosophy of Descartes."
Fermat undoubtedly refers here to the conferences of
Regis, which lasted from 1665 to about 1670. A pupil of
Rohault, he was one of the most popular conférenciers of the
age; of his sojourn in Toulouse Fontenelle relates in his
Eloge that the Capitouls gave him a pension on the Hotel de
Ville, "an event almost incredible in our civilization, and
which seems to belong to ancient Greece." In 1680 Regis
began to give a series of conferences on Descartes in Paris;
unfortunately they coincided with an attack on Cartesianism
as irreconcilable with dogma, and had to be discontinued on
request of the Archbishop.
2 By permission of the Council of the Royal Society; Letter-book, II
(Copy) p. 325: "Je ne doubte pas, que vos lumieres ne puissent aller au
dela des souhaicts de ce grand homme et qu'elles n'adjoustent beaucoup a
ses decouvertes. Je desirerois bien scavoir quelques-unes de ces belles
choses qui ont esté examinées dans vos Conferences: Quelles sont les plus
considerables Observations, que vous y aves faictes, et quels sont les prin
cipes sur lesquels vostre Physique est fondée; ceux de M. Descartes com
mencent à s'introduire en ce pais; et on les y explique dans des Assemblees,
qui se font ches une personne de qualité; on y faict mesme asses exactement
les experiences necessaires pour le(s) bien entendre, si par celles qui se
fairont là, ou ches quelques autres curieux de ma cognoissance, on des
couvre quelque chose, qu'on juge digne de vous, vous en scaures bientost
des nouvelles; celles de vostre progres dans la Contemplation de la Nature
me seront tousjours très agreables, et je les attends avec beaucoup d'im
patience....."
THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES 2I 5
The few examples cited will perhaps convey some idea of

the ferment that was working in many parts of France, as in
Europe generally, to lead men of taste towards active re
search among the ways of nature. Details could be added
to show that scientific work was clone in Clermont-Ferrand
in the circle of the Premier President Ribeyre, at Rouen in
the house of Emeric Bigot, in Lyons, in Orleans, at Dijon, and
in many of the cities where the J esuits had educational insti
tutions. The late Professer Bigourdan, writing in the
Comptes-rendus of the Académie des Sciences in 1916-17,
compiled a list of some fifty places in France where exact
astronomical observations were made in this century, in
addition to the centres where work of that sort was carried
on consistently, such as Blois, Arles, Avignon, Aix, La
Flèche, etc.; while some of these were performed by ob
servers of or for the Académie, many were the work of en
lightened amateurs of the locality. Frequently the interest
of the amateur was directed in other paths; conférences, pub
lic or private, experimentation, the collection of rare plants
or animais, dissections such as those performed under Peiresc.
Everywhere there seem to have been small groups of scientists
and philosophers; their timid steps towards the naturalistic
attitude prepared the way for the Montesquieus and Rous
seaus of a succeeding age.
A large book could be written on the cooperative activities
of the amateurs of the provinces in this period. The indica
tions are that the movement was wide-spread, and occa
sionally intensely active; further investigation might show
that the work in Paris clone by such provincials as Petit,
Pascal, Auzout, Monconys, Mersenne, Desargues, Boulliau,
Gassendi, and Descartes, was a prolongation of a rural tradi
tion. Conclusions, however, can only be reached only after
much more research, in the libraries of Paris, the depart-
2.I6 THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES
mental archives, and very possibly in some of the larger

libraries in England, Holland, and Italy.
For our present purpose, however, the chief centre of ex
perimental work was the old Norman city of Caen, the seat
of a university founded during the Hundred Years' War by
the English Duke of Bedford, and the home of an erudite and
cultured society, in which wealthy bourgeois and noble,
Protestant and Catholic, moved with freedom. The links
between the city and England were close; English monarchs,
William the Conqueror, and after him Henry V, had loved
the town, trade with England was regular and profitable,
for Caen stone built churches and palaces in London, and
the neighboring iron mines competed with England's own.
Answering an inquiry by Boyle, Oldenburg described this
city in glowing terms:
"I shall only add that Caen, by the relation of everybody I have spoken with,
wanteth neither good air, nor pleasantness of situation, nor good and rea
sonable accommodation for meat and lodging (at the rate of 12 crowns a
months at the most) good eider abounding there, nor good converse with
able physicians, among whom Mons' Gaudin is the most famous for a Gal
enist and Mr Mallet for a reasonable good Chymist. Sir, I <lare not com
mend the place as much as I hear it deserveth, for fear you should think me
to use Hyperbole, for to quicken your coming into France." 3
Such was the reputation of the city, and in this pleasant

situation and among these "able physicians" Pierre-Daniel
Huet established the most important of the academies of
science out of Paris.
Just as the rise of the scientific assemblies of Paris had
followed the establishment of bodies for the exchange of
opinions on matters of politics and literature, so the experi
mental group in Caen was the consequence of the establish
ment of an academy of literature and erudition by the prot-
3 Liber Epistolaris, f. 46. April 21, 1659.
estant Jacques Moisant de Brieux in 1652. The various

phases of this history are best told in the writings of Huet
himself, especially in his Commentarii de Rebus ad eum Per
tinentibus, a Latin autobiography which was published
shortly after his death, and which we shall quote in the ver
sion made by Aiken early in the nineteenth century.
Born in 1630, Huet had been reared by an aunt who was
the wife of the astronomer and mathematician Gilles Macé;
educated by the Jesuits, he was interested in classical litera
ture, philosophy, and mathematics. At the same time, and
unknown to his formal teachers, he was under the influence
of the erudite pastor Samuel Bochart, with whom he went to
Paris in 1650. A year or so later, Bochart was called to
Sweden by Queen Christina, and took Huet with him; as
the queen was tiring temporarily of learning, the travelers
were disappointed, and Huet soon returned, by way of Paris,
to Caen. He had had some experience of the Cabinet of the
brothers Dupuy, and of the meetings of the scholars m
Stockholm; of the meetings in Brieux's house he writes:
"From Paris, after a short delay, we returned to Caen. We then first
learned that during our absence there had been instituted in this city a
society of some ingenious and learned persans, of whom from an early age,
Caen may boast (if I may venture to say so) to have produced a number be
yond that of most European cities. This assembly was decorated, according
to the received custom, with the title of an Academy. Its meetings were held
on stated days at the house of James Moisant de Brieux, formerly a coun
sellor in the Parliament of Metz, then a diligent votary of the Muses, who
possessed a splendid mansion conveniently situated in the middle of the
town. The heads of the academy, besicles Brieux, were Nicholas Monstier
de Mottée, then mayor of Caen; James Paulmier .de Grentemesnil, dis
tinguished by his multifarious learning, especially in the Greek language;
James Graindorge de Prémont, whose virtues, suavity of manners, genius
and acuteness I have attested in another work; James Savary ...., An
toine Hallé ...., Philip Sudré de Petitville, of the Parliament of Rouen;
Antoine Garabi de la Luzerne, , .., Louis Touroudè, ...., Jean Regnault
de Segrais, who obtained great reputation by his French poetry, •...

Gilles-André de la Roque, .... Jacques de Callières, governor of Cher
bourg... ..
"A few days after my return to Caen, Brieux called upon me and after
some discourse respecting this new institution, and the merits of those who
had been associated to it, signified to me that my name and that of Bochart
were inscribed in their list." 4
Huet's account of the foundation of the second academy

may also be quoted:
"At that period I frequently went and came between Paris and Caen,
which last was my habitation, and the tranquil seat of my studies. Thither
was carefully sent to me whatever novelty of the Literary kind was pro
duced in France, England, or Holbnd; especially those appertaining to
physical and mathematical science. For these pursuits were peculiarly
active; and a few years before, both at Paris and at London, illustrious acad
emies had been formed for the propagation of these branches of knowledge.
Of ail that was passing at the Royal Society of London, I was informed by
Henry Oldenburg, who was employed to commit to writing ail the trans
actions of that body. As to the academy which had been institutecl at
Caen by Brieux, it confined itself within the limits of polite literature; and
if I communicatecl to it anything of another kind which had been sent me, or
which I had written, it was hearcl casually, and receivecl with little faveur.
I was not pleased to see that the nobler sciences were clespised by persans
in other respects men of sense; and my dissatisfaction was partaken by
Graindorge, who had long and assiduously exercised himself in physical
pursuits. Neither of us, however, on this account, thought fit to remit our
philosophical studies; and Graindorge proposed to me that we shou]cl ap
point a fixed day in every week, in which we two, with any others we might
choose to associate, should meet at my house, to discuss subjects of natural
philosophy. To this I readily assented, on the condition that he would
take upon himself to make a selection of those whom he knew to be prac
tised in enquiries of this kind.....
In 1662, therefore, a new academy was formed at Caen, which, from
small beginnings, was brought by continuai accessions to a parity with
·those of more splendeur. As there had been sent me from London some
• Aikin, I, 207-210.
very accurate observations made by the members of the Royal Society, in

which the fabric of the human body was demonstrated by repeated dissec
tions, we determined to join our labours in this part of physics. And as the
public hospital of the city was in the vicinity of my house, and the same
surgeon whom we employed in our academical services attended the pa
tients in it, I commissioned him, that when anyone should die of an unknown
malady, before the burial of the corpse, he should give me a summons,
that we might ascertain the disease and the cause of death by dissection.
Nor did we employ our industry on the human body alone, but carried our
researches into those of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, serpents, and insects, as
well alive as dead. In this course, it is incredible how many new and singu
lar objects, well worthy of remark, came under our observation, ail of which
I carefully recorded. And although we were not wanting in skilful artists,
of whose assistance we availed ourselves in our exercitations, yet we some
times employed our own hands when peculiar accuracy of experiment was
requisite. For myself, not being sharp-sighted but of the number of those
whom Aristotle terms myopes, I called in art to my aid. It was particularly
my study to obtain ocular demonstration of the fabric of the eye; and I can
safely affirm that with my own hand I have dissected more than three
hundred eyes taken from the heads of animais of every species. And that I
might more clearly understand what it was that chiefly conduced to acute
ness of vision, I compared the eyes of those animais which are thought to
enjoy the quickest sight, as hawks, with those whose sight is supposed to be
weak and dull, as owls."5
According to the Memoirs, the members made astronomical

observations, using the Tychonic instruments of Gilles Macé
to observe the cornet of 1664; they studied chemistry, worked
at practical problems-the sweetening of sea-water, the
removal of rocks from the bed of the Orne, the making of
large mirrors of copper. With Graindorge and Huet, the
members included the physicist and chemist, Hauton; Jean
Gosselin Villon, Nicolas Cromar or Croixmare de Lasson,
and Pierre Cally, royal professor of eloquence and philosophy
in the University of Caen, who was so taken by the Cartesian
system that it influenced his theology to the great scandai
s Aikin, II, 19-22.
£..Z
of the church. Huet adds that the work of the academy

became so famous that the Duc de Saint-Aignan wished to
become a member.6
In 1661 Huet delivered a discourse on the glass drops at
the Montmor academy; of this an early copy is preserved
in the Recueil Conrart at the Arsenal (Ms. 5423, p. 1113)
dated 1661. Huet's papers in the Bibliothèque Nationale,
Fonds latin 11453, f. 61, have another copy of the same,
kept and annotated by him over a period of years, for on
the verso of folio 64 he notes that the discourse having been
composed in "1662," he learned from the glass-makers of
Rouen that the drops were made in the way he had suggested,
by throwing the melted glass into cold water, and also that
the material they are made of is very coarse. This will be
the discourse Huet mentions having delivered there in his
Memoirs; without dating the events, he tells us that he was
introduced to this company by Chapelain, visited it fre
quently and sometimes "presented discourses of my own
for their judgment."
In the course of the years immediately following his re
ception among the Montmorians, Huet's scientific interests
became broader and deeper; he attained some skill as an
operator in dissections and in the use of the microscope and
the telescope. He turned for a time away from the book
learning and theorizing that had produced the glass-drops
discourse, towards a more concrete investigation by way of
observation and experiment. His papers in the Fonds Latin
contain a great miscellany of observations on matters of
6 The Duc de Saint-Aignan is the subject of a recent Harvard thesis,
(1930), by P. F. Saintonge, who notes that "Music, opera, dancing, poetry,
in short ail the arts tempted him." See Harvard University .... Summa.
ries of <J'heses, I930. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1931, pp. 242-246, for a
sketch of Mr. Saintonge's findings.
science, many of them merely notes from his reading, lists

of references to books, extracts, etc. A few, however, indi
cate conversations with men of similar interests ,some dated,
which ]end a little light to this unexplored part of his life
and activities. Thus we find on folio 47 of Fonds Latin n453
several notes of scientific interests, the name of Redi, an
Italian author of a widely read book on snakes; a note en
titled De natura goni gravis et acuti, and on the verso, several
others, two of which show that in 1666 he was interested in
the problems of the little tubes and capillarity, and the
characteristics of crystals. 7
From the beginning of 1667 Huet was in regular commu
nication with Justel; the letters he received consist largely
of news of science with much information from England.
Justel was seeking copies of books for Huet: Monconys'
Voyages, newly published in Lyons, and an Archimedes.
Apparently he had been commissioned to find a microscope,
for he reports the price of the best available in Paris, Reeves'
English instruments which cost five or six louis, much more
expensive than Ménard's made in Paris at eighteen francs.
A letter of March 30 in the appendix indicates with some
precision the interests of the two correspondents.
7 "Vacuum
"2 avril 1666. Un tuyau de verre fort mince, et fort long environ d'un
pied et demi, estant ouvert par les deux bouts un des bouts mis en l'eau,
monte a la hauteur environ d'un pouce. Dans un tuyau de pareille grosseur,
mais plus court de moitie, l'eau monta a la moitie moins.
"Cry stallus
"Mr de Mommor me monstra Le 3•. 9h••. 1666 du crystal en l'etat que la
nature la produit. Trois ou quatre branches sortirent d'une tige et d'autres
branches de ces branches. Les plus grosses presque grosses comme le
poignet, Longues de deux ou trois doigts les plus petites grosses comme le
petit doigt, et beaucoup plus courtes. Elles etaient toutes de la figure d'un
prisme hexagone, non pas d'un hexagone parfait et aboutissant en pointe
de diamant a six faces triangulaires."
The taste for dissections which was the beginning of Huet' s

science led to appreciative praise of his work from the ama
teurs of Paris and London. The letters of Justel to Olden
burg contain a number of accounts of the dissections which
were performed at Caen; beginning early in 1667, the princi
pal operations seem to have been upon the eyes of an owl, a
bat, an eagle, a hawk, and a mole; in addition there are
accounts of the sturgeon, a porcupine, and a lobster which
was carefully compared with a beetle. The English were
greatly interested in the work of the Caen academy on the
sweetening of sea-water; on January 7, 1667, Justel writes:
"They have not wished to tell me their success in sweetening sea-water.
This experiment was performed before the Intendant of the province, and
the magistrates of the city. For very little one may sweeten a hundred pots
of salt water every day, just as I wrote you. It has been given to animais
to drink to find if it is healthy. There is a man who offers to drink it. We
shall soon know its effects."8
A year later, J anuary 4, 1668, he writes that:

"Our gentlemen of Caen declare that they can sweeten sea-water very
inexpensively, and supply a hundred pots of it per day. This water has a
fou! taste which they hope to rectify. There are only ten in that society;
the number is small to enable them to perform great things. They have a
very convenient observatory, and a laboratory for chemical experiments.
There are two mathematicians among them, and two good (natural)
philosophers."9
8 Royal Society Guard-books, L, #7: "On ne m'a pas voulu dire le
succes d'adoucir l'eau de la mer. Ceste experience a este faicte devant

l'intendant de la Province et les Magistrats de la Ville. Pour peu de chose
on addoucira cent pots d'eau salée tous les jours comme je vous l'ai mandé.
On en a donné à boire a des bestes pour voir si elle sera saine. Il y a un
homme qui offre d'en boire. Nous en scaurions bientost l'effet."
9 Royal Society Guard-books, I,, il,i r r: "Nos Messieurs de Caen sou
tiennent qu'ils peuvent addoucir l'eau de mer avec peu de frais, et en fournir
cent pots par jour. Cette eau a un gout de fumier qu'on espere de corriger.
THE. ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCE.$ 113
The renewed work on sea-water gave good results, for Justel

wrote Oldenburg on February 25, 1668, that the water had
been found good and healthy, and that they hoped to purify
the foulest and filthiest water that could be found.
In the first months of 1668 Colbert had promised financial
support for the Academy of Caen. Letters of July and
August from Juste! informed Oldenburg that the amateurs
had orders from Colbert to work on the dissection of fishes,
an occupation suitable to a society in a seaport, and that
they had received a sum of money to build a laboratory and
an observatory. 10 When Huet left the city in 1668, the
academy, having been meeting in his house, lost some of its
enthusiasm; a letter from Juste! to Oldenburg of November
14 describes the conditions:
"I have just seen M.Huet who pays you his respects. The Academy of
Caen does not succeed; it is breaking up. To philosophize one must be
idle and have no business, a state which is very rare in France, where life
is tumultuous and full of annoyances. In short we must no longer count
on that academy, nor expect anything from it.''11
Ils ne sont que dix dans cette societe là: le nombre est petit pour pouvoir
faire de grandes choses. Ils ont un observatoire fort commode, et un
laboratoire pour faire des experiences de chymie. Il y a deux mathemati
ciens entre eux, et deux bons philosophes.''
10 In the Comptes des Bâtiments (Guiffrey, I, 476) under the year 1670, we
find the following record: "1•• Mars: au S• Grindorge, pour employer, sca
voir: 1000 livres a la construction d'un laboratoire et achapt de vases et
ustancilles pour l'Académie de Caen, et 1500 livres pour l'entretenement
dud. laboratoire et la despence que fera lad. Académie pendant lad. année
presente ...................... , ................... 250011.''
11 Royal Society Guard-books, I , '# 59: "Je viens de voir Monsieur Huet
1
qui vous baise les mains. l'Academie de Caen ne reussit pas. Elle se
dissipe. Pour philosopher il faut estre oisif et n'avoir point d'affaires ce
qui est fort rare en France ou la vie est tumultueuse et pleine d'embarras,
enfin il ne faut plus compter ceste Academie la ny rien attendre d'elle."
Through Justel, correspondence between Huet and Olden

burg began in 1668; in February Justel announces that his
as yet unnamed friend in Caen will write to the English
society, giving details of the work they are doing there. The
first letter from Huet arrived in May, and was promptly
answered by Oldenburg; at the end of the year, Huet began a
visit of some months in Paris, and in June of 1669, Oldenburg
directed a relative of his, whom he calls the "Chevalier
Wroth" to Huet for help in choosing a school in Caen. Hu
et's answer, of July 24, 1669, preserved in the Royal Society
Guard-books, and copied in the Letter-books, contains
valuable information concerning the Academy of Caen:
"The Academicians of Caen still continue their meetings with success,
and apply themselves assiduously to the study of nature in general, in
particular to anatomy, and the perfection of the most useful arts. One of
them, M. Hauton, wrote me recently that he has found a sure and simple
secret for taking the sait from sea-water, and rendering it potable and
healthful, and furnishing each day enough for a crew of any size. He has
made several trials of it which have succeeded; he uses first precipitation,
then distillation, and lastly filtration.12
"Another person came here about a year ago, to boast of the same dis
covery, but the test did not correspond to his promises.
"M. le Chevalier de Villons of the Academy of Caen made this dock of
which you have heard. It has far fewer wheels than the usual docks, and
in place of an escapement it has a small wheel which turns in a liquid. Its
movement will continue several months without needing to be wound, anrl
it is always equal and accurate, because of the uniformity of the liquid in
which the small wheel turns. He has brought this dock here, and has shown
it to the most competent who approved of it highly.....
"l have heard that someone in your country has published the history
12 Guiffrey, Comptes des Bâtiments, I, 388:
"14 janv. 1670: au S• Hauton, médecin à Caen, par gratification, en con

sideration du secret qu'il a trouvé et donné au Roy de dessaler l'eau de la
mer avec une méthode meilleure qu'aucune autre qui ait esté jusques ici
proposée....................................................r 2oc11 ."
of the silk-worm, Mr Morison a new botany, and Mr Lower a treatise on

the heart. I do not know whether these works have yet left your island;
I have not been able to find them among our booksellers. It is to be wished
that ail the curious works written by those of your nation were in Latin, for
the English language being known by few foreigners, those who use it in
their writings deprive themselves of a large share of the fame they deserve.
"If anything new in physics, and even in the other sciences should be
achieved among you, you will oblige me by sending me word. By address
ing your letters in care of M. Cramoisy, bookseller of this town, living in the
rue Saint-Jacques, or to M. Juste!, they will be faithfully delivered to me,
wherever I may be."13
13 Royal Society Guard-books, H1, '# 97: "Les Academiciens de Caen

continuent toujours leurs exercices avec succez, et s'appliquent soigneuse
ment à la connoissance de la Nature en general, et en particulier à !'Anato
mie, et a perfectionner les Arts les plus utiles. L'un d'eux, nomme Mons'
Hauton, m'a mandé depuis peu qu'il a trouvé un secret seur et facile pour
desaler l'eau de mer, et la rendre potable et salubre, et en fournir assez
chaque jour pour desalterer un Equipage quelque grand qu'il soit. Il en a
fait plusieurs operations qui ont reussi. Il se sert premierement de la Pre
cipitation, et ensuite de la Distillation, et enfin de la Filtration.
"Un autre vint icy il y a apres d'un an, se vanter de la mesme decouverte:
mais l'espreuve ne respondit pas a ses promesses.
"Mons' le Chevalier de Villons de l'Academie de Caen a fait cette horloge,
dont on vous a parlé. Elle a beaucoup moins de Rouës que les ordinaires,
et au lieu de Balancier elle a un Moulinet qui tourne dans un Liquide. Son
mouvement peut durer plusieurs mois, sans qu'il soit besoin de la remonter;
et il est tojours (sic) egal et juste, a cause de l'uniformité du Liquide dans
lequel tourne ce Moulinet. Il a apporté ici cette montre, et l'a fait voir
aux plus entendus qui l'ont fort approuvée.•..•
"J'ay appris que quelqu'un de votre Pays a donné au public l'histoire du
ver a soye, Mr Morison une nouvelle Botanique, et Mr Lower un traitté du
Coeur. Je ne scay si ces ouvrages sont encore sortis de votre Isle; je ne les
ay pu trouver chez nos libraires. Il seroit à desirer que tous les ouvrages
curieux que composent ceux de votre Nation fussent ecrits en Latin, car la
langue Angloise etant connue de peu d'estrangers, ceux qui s'en servent
dans leurs escrits se privent d'une grande partie de la gloire qu'ils meritent.
Sil se fait parmi vous quelque chose de nouveau dans la Physique et mesme
dans les autres Sciences, vous m'obligerez fort de m'en donner avis. En
addressant vos lettres chez M. Cramoisy, Libraire de cette Ville, demeurant
226 THE ACADEMJES OF THE PROVINCES
In 1670 Huet accepted the post of Sous-precepteur du

Dauphin, under Bossuet, and moved his library and family
to Saint-Germain-en-Laye; a letter to Oldenburg of October
30, 1670, announces that he has given up the academy which
had met in his house for eight years, leaving it to one of the
members, Graindorge, to direct and support. Although
Huet's curiosity in matters of science remained strong for
some years after this, the busy life he was forced to lead,
often remote from facilities for research and study, pre
vented the application of his interests, and he drops out of
the picture at this point. The letters of 1674 and 1676
which are preserved by the Royal Society ask for news of
Boyle's new books, express the hope that the works of
Boyle and the 'I'ransactions will soon be translated into
French, and request that Oldenburg should remind the book
seller Scot that he had promised Huet a copy of a Welsh
dictionary.
The last word of the Académie de Caen which we can
quote here is from a letter of a youthful doctor of that city,
Esaie Bourgeois by name, who had spent part of 1671 in
England, where he met Oldenburg and exchanged letters and
books with him. The Royal Society has two letters by
Bourgeois, one a very frank and unsympathetic picture of
the social life of Chatham, where he had spent part of his
time, the other a letter of June 6, 1672, offering some ac
count of scientific activities in Caen. In the second he
notes that times do not favor experimentation:
"lt is some time since these gentlemen have performed any experiments,
because our Intendant, who takes charge of the expenses and outlay, has
had business rising from the war, in addition to his regular duties.
à la rue St Jacques, ou a M. Juste!, elles me seront fidellement rendues en

quelque lieu que je soie."
"We have a gentleman here who has found the secret of a dock which
will go for a prodigious time, some say almost a hundred years. He is in
Paris to announce it; if he succeeds, it will be very fine, for this invention is
important.....
"Doubtless you will have seen a little treatise of Father Pardies concern
ing the intelligence of animais; this father in the first half of his book puts
the ideas of Descartes in the best light in the world, and so as to show that
he agrees with this opinion, and in the other half, where he talks of refuta
tion, you would say he means only to jest. In short, you will see very
clearly that it is father Pardies who speaks at first, and at the end it is the
Jesuit."14
The net product of the Academy of Caen is not perhaps

very great. With the departure of Huet it lost the contact
which his various friendships gave it with the outside world,
and became just another provincial assembly. lts founda
tion and career, as Huet himself saw when writing his mem
oirs long af terwards, reflected the fashion for the experi-
14 Royal Society Guard-books, B 2, fi, 13: "Il y a quelque temps que ces
Messieurs n'ont fait d'experience, parce que notre Intendant, qui donne
ordre aux frais et a la dépense, a eu des affaires pour cette guerre outre ses
ordinaires.
"Nous avons un Gentilhomme qui a trouvé le Secret d'une horloge qui
marchera une espace de temps prodigieuse, quelques unes disent Jusques a
pres de Cent ans. Il est a Paris pour le Communiquer s'il reussit cela fera
beau et cette Invention est de Consequence.....
"Sans doute que vous aurez veû un petit traitté du pere Pardies touchant
la Conessance des bestes, ce pere dans la premiere moitie de son livre met
les sentiments de Descartes dans le plus beau Jour du monde, et d'une
maniere a faire voir qu'il donne dans ce sentiment; et dans l'autre moitié, ou
il parle de refuter, vous diriez qu'il n'a dessein que de badiner. Enfin vous
verrez bi'en que cest le pere Pardies q�i parle dans le Commencement et
dans la fin le Jesuite.
"Un Professeur en Philosophie appellé Mr Cally se dispose a nous donner
des theses, ou Il prouve la doctrine de Descartes par l'autorité de l'ecriture
des Peres et d'Aristote; ce qu'il fit a la fin du Cours precedent par la seule
raison. J'estime asses ces theses la pour vous envoyer a la premiere
occasion."
_j
mental sciences which seized certain parts of French society

between 1650 and 1675. Our knowledge of it is derived to a
very great degree from the letters about its work which exist
in the Royal Society of London; few, if any, of the discourses
of its members have been preserved, and so far as I can find,
there are no publications which can be regarded as issuing
from this Academy.
From one of its members came, however, a document which
is almost unique in the serious annals of science in seventeenth
century France--a burlesque so excellent of the astrologers
and pedants, that the article in like vein which it drew in
the 'Journal des Savants of March 30, 1665, deceived the
sober Huygens. There he read of a new book,
"so filled with erudition that no matter how clever may be those who read
it, they are assured that they will there meet subjects of meditation capable
of occupying them during several days, for it is there spoken of a Tricomet
observed with a parallactical instrument of recent invention, set up accord
ing to the doctrine of the ancient Chaldees and Arabs."
But cornets were no jesting matter for Huygens, and, dis

illusioned perhaps by many conversations with amateurs,
he writes to his father on April 2, 1665:
"He of the Tricomet seems to me to speak seriously, and therefore to be
mad."
The document in question is the tract written, so says

Barbier, by the Norman Croixmare de Lasson, Le Courrier
de 'l'raverse, ou le 'l'ricomète observé à Oxford en Angleterre
depuis le 22.Novembre iusqu'au 28Ianvier mil six cens soixante
cinq. 'l'raduit de l'anglais de M. Vort.fischer. (Paris, Bouil
lerot, 1665, 4to. Bibliothèque Nationale, Imprimés, Vz. 994)
It seems to have remained unknown to most seekers, be
cause the 'Journal des Savants attributed it to one Fortfischer,
under whose name it cannot, of course be found.
Taking the text "Il n'est rien de nouveau sous le soleil,

et peu de nouvelles découvertes dans les sciences," the
author satirizes the anglomania already apparent among
certain of his countrymen by making an Englishman attack
his compatriots for their ignorance:
"It is not that we desire to remove the glory of Invention from our age,
and especially from our Nation, in whose favor we may say that 'the spirit
of the Lord moves on the Waters,' but it must not be believed that Nature
and the Heavens being a book open to the whole world, and reason being
common to ail men, there are those today who have discovered things which
those who preceded them have been unable to discover, especially the great
geniuses who lived in the first ages, when human nature, being nearer its
source and so to speak Jess worn, had keener senses, stronger faculties, and
the mind as well as the body Jess weakened by ail the depravities that ig
norance and disease have brought us."
If one sought to attach such a production to schools of

thought, one might see here a manifesto on the side of the
Ancients in the famous Quarrel of the Ancients and Modems,
a foreshadowing of Rousseau, and a satire on the petty star
gazers who turn every defect in their instruments into ani
mais in the moon.
"Vortfischer" does not stop to describe the Tricomète;
all the opinions on it have been expressed by Seneca, Pto
lemy, "Lokon l'Indien, et les Ghoadalbes des Babyloniens,"
who enveloped their science in hieroglyphic terms; as an
example he quotes the following:
"Le Paon qui a la tête lumineuse et la queue obscure, est, comme disent les
enfants de l'Ur-thiarim, une perturbation regulière des Scataelets, Camae
lets, et Zadkielets, et une descension rétrograde du Primordial, par le moyen
de cercles mêlés avec le quadrangulaire."16
16 The purpose of our translations from the French being to cast light on
what might otherwise be obscure, we feel that "Vortfischer" may safely be
left in his own idiom.
2JO THE ACADEMIES OF THE PROVINCES
The author's business is rather with the long words and the
essential vacuity of much of the disputation of the amateurs;
they promise treatises on ancient algebra, and a 'fheiophy
sique, discourse of analogies in alchemy, and experiments in
their Cabinet Palingénétique. Finally he quotes eight mystic
alexandrines, "traduit du troisième livre des Nauzolindes de
Baczaplas, écrit en vers Arabes":
"L'extrait primordial, qui le monde decore,
Mis sur la cuisse d'or du divin Pythagore,
Cause tous les produits qui sont dans l'Univers.
A qui le tient enclos tous les cieux sont ouverts;
Il quitte le petit et monte au grande sphérique,
Faisant mouvoir au tout l'esprit en harmonique,
Qui se detache en bas, puis en haut se reprend.
Heureux qui le contemple, et plus qui le comprend."
,. I t;L_
CHAPTER XI
THE AcADEMY OF THE ABBÉ BouRDELOT
We have shown that the Montmor Academy ended in

circumstances of some obscurity about the middle of 1664,
its last year of existence being characterized by uncertainty of
purpose and a certain amount of dissension among the
members. Although meetings were held with some regu
larity in the house of Montmor, there had been a noticeable
tendency for the members to seek expression for their scien
tific interests and curiosity outside the regular weekly as
semblies. Such were the meetings of the academy itself in
the house of the Marquis de Sourdis; but more disruptive of
the continuity of the work clone by the Montmor group were
those which Thevenot began about the end of 1662, and
the numerous assemblies for the trial and comparison of
telescopes which went on without interruption from early
in 1663 until the Académie des Sciences was established.
The attempted revival of the academy in 1663, signalized
by the discourse of Sorbière and the visit of three members
to London, had apparently the effect of renewing old antag
onisms and made a completely changed programme more
necessary than ever.
While the small group of uncompromising amateurs were
trying to organize the Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts,
another personage who had long been active in the meetings
of scientists in Paris, Pierre Michon, known as the Abbé
Bourdelot, was opening the sessions of an academy which
was to attain a popular fame which no other body of the
sort had yet reached.
Bourdelot was born in 1610, son of Maximilien Michon, a
surgeon of Sens, and Anne Bourdelot, sister of two learned
231
232 THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT
brothers, Jean and Edmé, and a relative of Théodore de

Bèze. Pierre Michon as he was called, was adopted by his
uncles about 1634, and was recognized as their successor in
return for his taking their name. Through them he made
his entrance into important affairs in Paris, going to Rome in
1635 with the Comte de Noailles, and becoming attached to
the service of the Prince de Condé; for a short time at the
end of the reign of Louis XIII he was Médecin du Roi. It
is known that even in these early days he arranged confer
ences of scholars and scientists in the Hôtel de Condé for his
princely masters.
In 1651 Saumaise advised Queen Christina of Sweden to
invite Bourdelot to her service in Stockholm; as the Prince
de Condé-Le Grand Condé, this time-was under a cloud,
and too busy with the Fronde to give time to erudition, he
accepted, and made himself very comfortable where Des
cartes had caught his death of cold. Huet and Bochart came
to Stockholm in 1652, and found that he had effectively per
suaded the queen to give up her projects for the protection
and support of learned men; Huet's memoirs note that
Bourdelot was "dépourvu de toute espèce d'érudition."
Bourdelot himself did not stay long in the north; he came
back to France, where Queen Christina had obtained for
him a smalt charge near Bourges at Massay. Here he
seems to have lived for a few years, coming back to Paris
in 1659, when the Grand Condé returned after the signing
of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Again attached to the for
tunes of the house of Bourbon, he followed his master to
Chantilly, where he seems to have spent a good part of the
next ten years; on his frequent visits to Paris he organized
the meetings of scholars and scientists which so much de
lighted his master. Huygens met him at the Montmor
Academy in 1661, and again in 1663 he records dining at
THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT 233
Bourdelot's with Petit and his wife and daughter, whose

company he said was as good as a comedy. Of the academy
of Bourdelot we have no word of exact knowledge before
1664.
The earliest mention of this body we have found is in a
letter of the Danish alchemist Olaus Borrichius to Boyle, of
March 30, 1664, preserved in the Miles Collection of Boyle
Papers at the Royal Society of London (Letter A-B, ff.
88-9); he speaks of a "conventus Eruditorum apud Dn.
Abbatem Bourdelot" of which he is a member, at which one
Du Locques spoke on extracting mercury from other metals.
On April 26, Huygens wrote his brother Lodewijk that
Dutch surgeon Bruynsteen had been dissecting a <log there.
Finally, the Sloan Manuscripts of the British Museum in
clude a 'Journal while traveling abroad, made by Dr. John
Downes of London in 1664 which speaks of the academy:
la Conference tous les lundis
ches Monsr. !'Abbe Burdeleau
aux fauxbourgs St Michel
de vegetatione disputabant
et de motu sanguinis
cum ego ibi fueram
Monsr de Sorbieres qui escrit le

voiage d'Angleterre
Mr le Comte de Saint-Mesme escuier
de Madame la duchesse d'Orleans
le Compte de Baradac qui a
contrefait le lys d'Or.
(Sloan 179A, f. 48, verso)
Downes' notebook is a difficult source to use, but careful

study of the order of the leaves suggests that the note re
produced above was written some time between July 12
and August 18 of 1664, and some acquaintance with Downes'
2J4 THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT
habits of note-making leads one to believe that Sorbière, the

Comte de Saint-Mesme, and the Comte de Baradac were
present at the time that Downes was.
On October 17 the engineer Pierre Petit wrote Huygens
that "nous continuons nos petites assemblées les mardis et
faisons toujours quelque chose quoique petite"; his letter
mentions the presence of Auzout, Thevenot, and Borrichius,
and the absence of Bourdelot, then at Bourbon. Whether
this is not a reference to the continuation of the meetings
of the experimentalists from the Montmor Academy rather
than to the Académie Bourdelot proper is a question; their
meeting on Tuesdays would suggest it was. If so, Bourde
lot may be considered to have been at this time one of the
associates of the "Company of Sciences and Arts."
The year 1665, crucial in so many ways for the advance
ment of science, saw the establishment of the Academy Bour
delot in the form in which it was to be known for so long.
In June Oldenburg writes Boyle that his Paris correspondent
(Justel) tells him that "On a fait saigner un homme chez
Monsieur Bourdelot." Christopher Wren went to Paris in
the summer of that year, and notes that "Abbe Burdelo
keeps an academy at his house for philosophy every Montlay
afternoon."
More details are available from Oldenburg, who had them
from Juste!. On August 25, 1665, he wrote Boyle:
"Dr. Wren is well received at Paris, and conducted to some of their meetings,
and made acquainted with Messieurs Auzout, Petit, and Thevenot. My
Correspondent tells me this: 'Je l'ai mené chez Monsieur Bourdelot, ou ce
jour-là on dit quantité de belles choses. Il approuva fort ce qu'on y dit,
mais il souhaitait qu'on y fît des expériences.' (This is like a member of
the Royal Society.) 'Le médecin de la Reyne de Pologne y expliqua la
nature d'une maladie, nomme plica, à laquelle les Polonais et les Cosaques
seuls sont sujets. On y parla d'un sourd et muet, qui danse en cadence, et
de plusieurs autres choses, qui lui plurent assez. Nous l'avons aussi mené
chez le grand architecte, le Chevalier Bernini.' "1
In this year, too, the Dutch anatomist, Regnier de Graaf

came to Paris and expounded his views on the pancreatic
juice in the Academy of Bourdelot, as well as in the house
of Montmor, and the conferences of Denis.
In the years immediately following, the chief subject of
conversation was transfusion of the blood. Having begun
with the injection of cathartics and other liquids into the
veins of animals, and proceeded with the transfer of the
blood of mastiffs into spaniels, and from mangy to sound
dogs and vice versa, the scientists had reached the point in
which the next trial would be the transfusion of blood from a
sheep or other animal to a human being. The trials made
of this in Gresham College and in Paris had led to contro
versy on the grand scale; those who saw a place for the
experiment in the advancement of medicine were attacked
by the conservatives, and very soon the appearance of a
French monk who claimed that he had spoken on the subject
in the Montmor academy in 1658 led to a bitter conflict
between the French and the English. The death of the
poor madman of Paris on whom Montmor had tried the
experiment out of pity led to a trial in which the operators
Denis and Emmerez had much trouble winning even a partial
success; the upshot was that the operation was forbidden in
Paris, and the controversies <lied for want of food.
All these events led to much discussion in the meetings in
Bourdelot's house in the rue de Tournon. The abbé him
self was inclined to favor the theories of Denis, who was the
most progressive of the French doctors. Denis' first pam
phlet, of J anuary 12, 1668, read and discussed in the academy,
1 Boyle, Works, 1772, vi, p. 191.

related the experiments performed on Saint-Amant in Decem

ber of 1667, some of them in the presence of Bourdelot.
This gave rise to pamphlets by La Martinière and others,
all of which were read and argued in the conferences of the
academy. Severa!, including discourses by Gadroys and
La Martinière, "opérateur du Roy," were dedicated to
Bourdelot.
At first medical interests predominated in the academy.
As time went on, however, Bourdelot seems to have estab
lished a faculty of conférenciers who attracted larger and
larger audiences to listen to discussions on subjects including
most of the sciences and useful arts. These developments
can be traced in documents of the period 1667-1672.
In October of 1667 Juste! wrote Oldenburg that:
"Monsieur Bourdelot has had an ostrich dissected, which I saw in part. lt
had at least eight sous in liards in its guts and crop, not to mention a hundred
nails and a quantity of pieces of glass. There were several liards on which
the imprint no longer showed, others which were very much worn and very
thin, the result of time. I am convinced that a liard put in the body of a
man would react in the same way, and that he would digest iron as well as an
ostrich, if that change may be called digestion. Ali the parts (of the OS
trich) have been noticed with exactness, and the principal have been
sketched. "2
It is apparent that similar interests were present in Bour

delot's mind when he wrote to Oldenburg requesting cor-
2 Royal Society Guard-books, L, l'i/ 9: "Monsieur Bourdelot a faict
faire l'anatomie d'une Autruche que j'ay veue en partie. Elle avait pour le
moins huit sols en liards dans ses boyaux ou dans son jabot sans compter
plus de cent clous et autres fers et une quantité de morceaux de verre. Il y
avait plusieurs liars ou la marque ne paroissoit plus, d'autres qui estoyent
fort usés et fort minces ce qui estait arrivé avec le temps. Je suis persuadé
qu'un liard mis dans le corps d'un homme deviendrait tout de mesme, et
qu'il digereroit le fer aussi bien qu'un Autruche si ce changement-la se doit
appeller digestion. On en a remarqué avec exactitude toutes les parties
dont les principales ont esté dessignées."
THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT 2 37
respondence in March of 1668. This letter, occasioned by

the journey of a medical friend into England, is apparently
the only contact between Bourdelot and the scientists of that
country; it is still preserved in the Guard-books. It does
not appear that Oldenburg found time to include an ex
change of letters with Bourdelot in his numerous activities;
news from Paris was supplied in quantity and with accuracy
by Justel, and Bourdelot was not the man to have inventions
and discoveries to interest the amateurs of London.
The Academy of Bourdelot became a public institution,
however, about 1670, when the appearance of publications
and affiches attracted the attention of Paris to the assemblies.
Bourdelot came into favor on the train of Condé's return to
grace. He capitalized his achievements through a judicious
mixture of the appeal to erudition and science with sim
plicity and novelty flattering to the amateur intelligence,
and the added prestige of what aristocratie interest he could
rouse.
From 1669 we see him leaving the somewhat narrow path
of dissection and medicine. We quote from Francis Ver
non, a letter to Oldenburg of May 11, 1669:
"At Abbat Bourdelott's Academy the last thing that was discussed was
about Judiciary Astrology, where an Italian the Physician to the Venetian
Ambassador read a thesis to demonstrate the efficacy and value of it.
There were several who opposed him as Daulné, Monconis, Rho (sic). The
Abbat himself, Monsr Marchan and one Borotti a good ingenious gentleman
and a fine chemist seemed to argue for him all that can be said. He ex
plained the dominion of the stars over human bodies in a more sensible and
physical manner than generally those fortune tellers, (who have nothing
but old Arabian rules) use to do." (R. S. Guard-books, V, 1/, 5)
Early in 1671 Bourdelot seems to have contemplated the

extension of the work of his academy by a series of publica
tions; on April 20 d'Alencé signed at Saint-Germain a priv
ilege for "Les Recherches et Observations Physiques en un seul
2J8 THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT
volume ou en plusieurs autres" granted to Bourdelot him

self, and by him turned over to Thomas Moette of the rue de
la Harpe. The privilege was registered by the Commu
nauté des Marchands Libraires et Imprimeurs on April 2
of the next year, 1672; apparently the book was prepared for
the press, and then appeared under a new title because of
the publication of two other books with titles so similar as to
cause confusion.
The first of these was a volume entitled Recherches et Ob
servations Curieuses sur la nature du Corail blanc & rouge,
vray de Dioscoride. Et sur la sangsue qui se trouve attachée
au Poisson Xiphias, avec son Anatomie, et autres choses fort
rares. Proposées et examinées a diverses fois dans l' dccadémie
de Mr. l'abbé Bourdelot. Par Mr. Boccone, Sicilien. Chez
Claude Barbin, au Palais, sur les second Perron de la sainte
Chapelle. MDCLXXI. Containing five letters on the
subjects listed, four by Boccone to Guisoni of Avignon, Pro
fessors Marchetti and Laurens Bellini of Pisa, and J.-B.
Denis Conseiller et Médecin du Roi, and the fifth from Gui
soni to Boccone himself, the book is not remarkable, except
as its author's first presentation to the literary world of Paris.
We shall let Vernon introduce him with the verbal felicity
with which Boccone liked to make his appearances. The
letter was written to Oldenburg on December 24, 1670; its
handwriting is large and neater than Vernon usually achieves,
and the phrasing suggests that he had a copy in front of him
to reproduce. Did Boccone dictate the letter? Vernon does
not say.
"Paris, December 24, 1670.

uSir,
Here is an Italian here in town, a native of Sicily, called Sig. Paolo
Boccone. He was Herborist to the Duke of Florence. He has corne to
Paris to satisfy his curiosity in the view of those plants which this country
produceth. He is recommended from Florence as a person very understand

ing in what he professeth. Sign'" Giornia the Grand Duk�'s physician,
Vincenzo Viviani, Carlo Dati, and several others of the Vertuoses there
have given a very handsome testimony concerning him, and recommended
him to several persans of note here, as Monsieur Vallot, Carcavi, Thevenot,
and others of consideration in this place, where they speak of him as one
very deserving and knowing in plants, of which he hath brought a collection
dried and pasted in a book, many of which he saith are rare and undescribed
by Authors, which he hath got together in his travels ail Italy throughout
and Sicily, wherein he hath been more than ordinarily exact and indeed his
whole genius lies to Botaniques, wherein indeed I think he is very skilled.
Now that which he proposeth is he saith he hath spent most of his life in
the search of Plants, to which his inclination wholly carries him, and now
he is growing towards forty he would be glad to be assisted in his expense
and if he found any encouragement he would go in to England where if he
had a reasonable provision made for him he offers first to present that col
lection of plants he hath made, with the description and discourses he hath
annexed to them, to the Royal Society, to be printed or disposed of as they
please..... "-(R. S. Guard-book, V, 1J 16)
Vernon's letter gives us the due to the activities of Boc

cone; the Italians, "not very curious after Sciences and very
penurious and loath to make any expense for the encouraging
of them," had not offered him a living for his knowledge of
plants, and he came to Paris and later to London seeking it.
In Paris he set up conferences of the sort sufficiently de
scribed in the affiche whose text is reproduced in an appendix;
he printed his two volumes, Recherches et Observations Curi
euses, and the Recherches et Observations Naturelles, in the
hope of gaining an ear and money for his work. The second
of these volumes offers a further diversity in its contents;
its title is perhaps sufficient indication: Recherches et Obser
vations Naturelles sur la Production de plusieurs Pierres,
principalement de celles qui sont de figure de Coquille, et de celles
qu'on nomme Corne d'Amman. Sur la Pétrification de
quelques Parties d'Animaux. Sur les Principes des Glosso
pètres. Sur la Pierre étoilée, et sur !'Embrasement du Mont
Gibel ou Etna arrivé en l'an I669 . Par Mr Boccone Sicilien,

qui en afait à diversesfois le discours et les demonstrations dans
l'Académie de Mr l'Abbé Bourdelot. A Paris, chez Claude
Barbin .....MDCLXXI. A note from the publisher on
behalf of the author points out that the numerous dried
plants and other curiosities can be seen in Paris, and that
some "Grand Seigneur" should procure them for his cabinet.
The sixth letter, on the eruption of Etna, appears in two
different forms in this publication; at first dedicated to the
Médecin de Monseigneur le Prince (de Condé), Bouillet,
copies of an apparently later printing have had these pages
reset, with a rewritten letter dedicated to Bourdelot himself.
After the six discourses, this volume contains an Entretien
d'un Seigneur de la Cour de France, avec Mr Boccone, in which
the latter uses a dialogue to expound the manner in which he
conducts his conferences and the reasons for his journey into
France. The substance of his Avis aux Personnes d'Esprit
et aux Curieux is repeated, with a list of thirty or more
natural abjects examined in his assemblies. The discourse
ends with a short account of the persans Boccone has seen,
the steps he has taken to place the seeds and curious abjects
he had brought, and the lack of success that has attended
his efforts. The two volumes of Recherches et Observations
are usually found bound together; with them is a Reponse de
M. l'Abbé Bourdelot à la lettre de Mr Boccone, Gentilhomme
Sicilien, sur l'embrasement du Mont Etna. This last item,
with Boccone's original letter, the large plate illustrating the
eruption, and some other material, were reprinted in 1673
and sold by Henault of the rue Saint-Jacques.
The tone of Bourdelot's letter to Boccone makes it clear
that the Abbé did not feel injured by the use of a title so
like his own as privileged. Bourdelot himself gained by
the publicity which the several publications of Boccone pro-
duced; the variety and character of the subjects discussed

was sufficiently indicated by the title-pages of the duodeci
mos. Le Gallois, who seems to have acted as a secretary
reporter for the Academy of Bourdelot, was in no hurry to
publish the forty or more conferences he had ready for the
press, and when a few of them did corne out, they bore quite
another title, and were rather more ambitiously prepared.
Le Gallois, not to be confused with Gallois, editor of the
Journal des Savants and secretary of the Académie des
Sciences, is described in the Fureteriana as, "more learned
than he seemed, and less favored by Fortune than he should
have been; but the Court of Letters is the one where there
are the poorest judges. He was loved by all who knew him,
because he was a worthy man....." His career is obscure,
and wrapped up in the study and making of books; in 1680
he published a 'l'raité des plus Belles Bibliothèques which is
still worth consulting on the great collections.
In 1672 he published the book for which Bourdelot had
received the above-mentioned privilege of April 20, 1671:
Conversations de l'Académie de Monsieur l'Abbé Bourdelot,
contenant diverses Recherches, Observations, Expériences, et
Raisonnements de Physique, Médecine, Chymie, et Mathéma
tique. Le tout recueil/y par le Sr le Gallois. Et le Parallèle de
la Physique d'Aristote et de celle de Mons. Des Cartes, leu
dans ladie Académie. A Paris, Chez 'l'homas Moette, au bas
de la rue de la Harpe, à Saint Alexis. MDCLXXII. Avec
Privilège du Roy. Dedicated to Monsieur le Duc (d'En
ghien) the volume is notable for a long Entretien servant de
Prejace, separately paged, in which the origin, fonction, and
utility of academies are discussed, and a list of the academies
of Paris is given. Bourdelot's own establishment is de
scribed at length in eulogistic terms.
The main substance of the book is headed Recherches et
THE ACADEMY OF ABBE BOURDELOT
Observations Physiques, Livre Premier; the six conversations

occupy pages 1-257. On pages 258-9 the running title is
"Rech•. & Observa 0 •.Physiques, Livre Second." Pages
258-9 contain a Lettre escrite à l'autheur par Monsieur B.
Docteur en Médecine, et /eue dans la conjérence de Monsieur
!'Abbé Bourdelot, sur le sujet de l'app arition des Esprits; they
are followed by the Parallèle des Principes de la Physique
d'Aristote et de celle de Monsieur des Cartes, announced on the
title page.
The entretien is worthy some attention. Eudoxe and
Pamphile are awaiting in the garden of Agenor the arrivai of
Oronte, who has visited London, and is now going to tell
them what he had seen of Paris. Meanwhile, Agenor asks
Pamphile to tell them what Oronte had said about London in
their last conversation.
"He described to us the most curious things he had seen in London,"
replied Pamphile. "He told us the story of ail the scientists he had known
there, especially those who compose the Royal Society, and give such worth
to their learned works. He spoke to us of these works, of the matters they
discuss, of what rare and remarkable contents they have; and he gave us an
account of ail the experiments and ail the discoveries that these great men
have made since the establishment of their Society."
A general discussion of the value of academies and the

conversational method of learning the sciences is led by
Eudoxe, who maintains that the pleasure of conversation
1mprints the things said on the mind, that the "Honnête
liberté" of the conferences produces a number of expressed
1deas that ordinary intercourse does not encourage, that
emulation makes each member of the academy seek to dis
play his learning, and lastly that the diversity of opinions
expressed makes a man very learned in very little time.
Then they pass to history, discussing the Greek Academies,
their imitation in modern Italy, where the system of limited
THE ACADEMY OF ABl3É BOURDELOT 243
numbers, regular meetings, and offices of moderator and

secretary were created, and where the number of academies
is so great.
The entrance of Orçmte breaks the Entretien; the first
part dealt with academies in general, the second introduces
those of Paris in particular, after a page or two devoted to
Caen, where both academies are mentioned, and many com
pliments paid to Huet and Graindorge. Paris is noteworthy
for the number of such bodies; the two royal foundations,
the various private bodies, those of Lamoignon, Launay and
d'Aubignac, and the smaller conferences of Ménage, Juste!,
de Thou, de Brach, the three of scientific interest, Launay,
Rohault, and Denis, where philosophy is taught by doctrines,
Cartesian or Gassendist.
Finally he cornes to the Académie de Bourdelot. After a
description of Bourdelot himself and his prowess in anatomy
and medicine, he tells how thirty-five years ago the Prince
de Condé had ordered Bourdelot to bring together in his
rooms the most learned men of Paris to discuss science and
erudition with the Princes. "On y vit MM. Gassendi, la
Mothe le Vayer, Montmor, Pascal, le Pailleur, Petit, Rober
val, Hullon, Despagnet père et fils, Verdus, et autres esprits
sublimes." Of the academy at present he lists three classes
of supporters: the listeners; those who speak rarely; the
conferenciers, who form the academy proper. These latter
include Lantin of Dijon, Despagnet of Bordeaux, three
Jesuits-Talon, Bertet, Pardies; Conrad, Physician to the
King of Poland; Graindorge, Dodart, Denis, and several
other celebrated doctors; Gallois, Auzout, Pecguet, Borelli,
Mariotte, Roberval of the Académie des Sciences; Juste!, de
Launay, Rohault, Cordemoy, Glazer, Gadroys, Steno,
Gayen, and many others. No limitations prevent any doc
trine being heard; Aristotle and Lull, Hobbes and Descartes,
all are quoted. The personality of Bourdelot holds the

academy together; his universal interest and his great per
sona] charm draw the best each person has to offer, making
foreigners feel perfectly at home.
Such was the Academy of the Abbé Bourdelot in its
prime; a free college of all the talents, an entertainment as
well as a means of acquiring and displaying a facile erudition.
Bourdelot was regarded with contempt by most of the serious
people of his day, but they could not deny that he knew a
good way to success. Lantin, listed as one of the conféren
ciers, knew his man when he called him credulous:
"M. Bourdelot believed that the teeth grew after death like the hair.
He showed me a tooth that a young man had pulled, and which had then
rnultiplied, so he said, so that there had corne frorn it two or three others.
I told hirn I very rnuch doubted this multiplication. M. Bourdelot be
lieved a little tao easily. A little rascal having made hirn believe that he
excreted Stones by way of the rectum and other orifices whence they do not
usually corne, M. Bourdelot made a discourse thereupon, which he pub
lished, and has not suppressed, although the deceit of this boy has since
been recognized. It is very important, in rnatters of physics and rnedicine,
to be sure of the facts before arguing." 3
From this time to the end of his life, the story of the acad
emy is told by Bourdelot himself in his regular news-letters
to the Prince de Condé. Most of this time the Prince was
3 Lantiniana, jl,! 146, pp. 136-137: "M. Bourdelot croyait que les dents
croissaient aprez la mort comme les cheveux. Il m'a montré une dent qu'un
jeune homme s'estoit fait arracher, et qui s'estoit ensuite multipliée a ce
qu'il disoit, de rnaniere qu'il en estait sorti deux ou trois autres. Je lui dis,
que je doutais fort de cette multiplication. M. Bourdelot croyoit un peu
trop legerernent. Un petit fripon lui ayant fait accroire qu'il jettoit des
pierres par le fondement et par d'autres endroits, d'où elles n'ont pas coil
turne de sortir M. Bourdelot fit une conference là dessus, qu'il a même fait
imprimer et qu'il n'a pas suprirnée, quoique depuis la fourberie de ce jeune
garçon ait esté reconnuë. Il importe beaucoup en rnatiere de physique,
et de rnedicine d'estre certain des faits avant que de raisonner."
THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT
living in retirement at Chantilly; Bourdelot was charged

with the writing and dispatch of letters conveying news of
war and peace, the family health, and persona! matters.
These letters are at Chantilly in the hundreds of volumes
which the Duc d' Aumale had bound and arranged in the
Archives of the family; from the originals, by permission
of the Conservateur, Monsieur Henri Malo, I present here
the unpublished comments which bring the breath of life to a
theme long dead.
On June 27, 1674, he writes:
"Yesterday there was a very notable meeting of the Academy here, where
among other things was discussed a sort of anchor which can stop vessels
in the open sea. I send the device to your Serene Highness. It was said
also that the Imperia! forces having crossed the Meuse are expecting to
make themselves masters of Liege..... I saw there also the Sieur Le
Gallois who is publishing a volume of our conferences; for three months
he has been hiding from me. I believe he wishes to dedicate this volume to
M. Huet who is in the suite of Monsieur le Dauphin. I cannot prevent
him for it is he who made the bargain with the bookseller, unknown to me.
I shall give instructions in this a/fair in the future, and I shall be master."4
Two months later, August I 5, he writes that there were more

than 400 persons present, that philosophy was impossible
for speaking of the recent fighting of the army under Condé
in Flanders.
Four years later; the case here described is similar to that
4 Archives, Serie P, lx, fi' 26: " •••. hier il y etit accademye chez moy
fort celebre ou entre autres il fut parlé d'une sorte d'ancre qui peut arrester
les vaisseaux en pleine mer.ien envoye la maniere a V.A. S. II fut dit la
que les Imperiaux qui ont passé la meuse songent a se rendre maistresse
(sic) de Liege.•..•
"J'y vis le sieur le galois qui fait imprimer un volume de nos conferences,
il y a trois moys qui! se cache de moy ie croy qui! veut dedier ce volume a
M• Huet qui est a M• le Dauphin, ie ne pourray pas l'en empêcher car c'est
luy qui a fait marché avec le libraire a mon Insceu. J'y donneray ordre a
!'advenir et i'en seray le maitre."
mentioned by Lantin. In spite of the charge of credulity

levelled at him by the latter, Bourdelot's programme is
singularly like that of Henry Justel, as expressed in a letter
to Leibniz already guoted. The following letter is of No
vember 4, 1678:
"I have received the letter which your Serene Highness has clone me the
honor to write me, and the accountjoined to it of the stones or calculi which
are excreted from the eyes of a little girl in Gascony. I shall show them to
our Academicians when they reassemble after Martinmas, since your High
ness commands. I shall learn their opinions, they are men who are always
distrustful of extraordinary propositions and phenomena, believing that
they are things invented at pleasure. This has the appearance of having
been found to puzzle the curious; this is my considered opinion, as I am
quite convinced that it is impossible that it should happen as it is related....
"Our purpose is to obtain information of everything, chiefly with the
purpose of destroying errors and badly founded judgments of things; this
draws upon us the hatred of several persans, for every one desires to be
flattered in his passions and his prejudices. I shall not fail to communicate
the relation to our physicists when they reassemble, but if your Serene
Highness is not content with my reply, I shall send you their sentiments."5
5 Archives, Serie P, lxxi, fi, 225: ''J'ay receu la lettre que V. A. S• m'a
fait l'honneur de m'escrire, et la relation qui y estoitjointe sur les pierres ou

cailloux qui sortent des yeux d'une petite fille de Gascogne. le les feroy
voir a Nos Academiciens quand ils se rassembleront après la St Martin,
puisque V. A. S• le commande. Je scauray leurs sentiments, ce sont des
gens se deflîans touiours des propositions et phainomenes extraordinaires,
croyans que ce sont des choses inventées a plaisir, cellecy a la mine d'avoir
esté trouuée pour bailler de l'exercice aux curieux, c'est le jugement que
j'en ay fait, estant tres persuadé qu'il est impossible que la Chose arrive
comme elle est racontee, le caillou que j'ay veu n'est pas d'une nature a
estre formé dans !'oeil. Il est trop dur, s'il avait esté engendré sous les
tuniques ou pousse dehors, Il laisserait une ouverture ou ulcere, on n'a
jamais veu des pierres de cette dureté la dans le corps humain.•...
"....nostre Etablissement est, d'avoir connaissance de tout principale
ment pour destruire les faussetes, et preventions mal fondées, ce qui nous
attire la haine de plusieurs persanes; car tout le monde veut estre flatté dans
A few notes scattered through the letters offer further

topics which we can be sure were discussed in the academy.
On December 29, 1681, he notes that the discussion had
turned on the bell recently cast for Notre Dame, and that
de Launay is proposing to discuss the arguments for the
existence of God. Three years later, 6 Monsieur Leger, phy
sician of the Hotel de Soissons, discussed two books by Borelli
on the movements of animals to the great admiration of the
assembly. A week later, Bourdelot himself discussed the
medical aspects of a burst blood-vessel, and the rest of the
meeting was devoted to further discussion of the animal
movements.
The end of the Bourdelot Academy extends somewhat be
yond the limits found convenient for this book, but perhaps a
few details of the final stages through which it passed will
indicate a general weakening of the strength of the current
we have followed through the century. Le Maire, in his
Paris dncien et Nouveau, a guide-book of 1685, refers to the
recent death of the Abbé as marking the end of his academy,
and describes with some regret the conviviality of the
meetings:
"Although this conference was set up only for Physics and Medicine,
yet ail sorts of men of letters came there, Poets, Orators, Historians, as well
as many physicians, chemists, anatomists, and travelers. And because the
spirit of the Abbé Bourdelot was gay, and his mind well balanced, having
no love for quarrels nor for scholastic and contentions arguments which
never uncover the truth but always end in invective, he began the assembly
with a pleasant concert of vocal or instrumental music, and the erudite were
welcome to dine that day, when there was discourse at table of the most
charming simplicity."7
ses passions et dans ses faux prejugés, je ne laisseray pas de communiquer

la relation a Nos Physiciens quand ils seront assemblés, mais si V. A. S e. n'est
contente de mes reponces je lui envoiray leurs sentimens."
6
P, xciv, /1,t 173, 12 January, 1684.
7 Le Maire, III, 442.
Whether the convivial part of the program began with the

academy, or whether it was a late addition, we do not
know, for our records are incomplete. Bourdelot's letters to
Condé begin to mention the festive part of the meetings
only at the end of 1681, when the first of a number of ship
ments of game from Chantilly is acknowledged with suit
able thanks. On December 22 he received a quarter of beer
and six rabbits; he says, "La santé de votre Altesse y sera
bue en toute langue." On February 27, 1682, he ac
knowledges "un beau pasté pour Paques, affin d'en regaler
mes Deipnosophistes ou mangeurs de Conférences." Over a
year later, having received a deer, he writes, May 13, 1683:
"Voila pour traitter longtemps les Academiciens, cette
venaison m'attire quantite de Chalands et convives, qui
prennent part a l'obligation que j'ay a V• A• Serm• de ses
beaux presens."
Becoming more rhapsodie with the passing of time, Bour
delot writes on January 3, 1684:
"I have received a quarter of deer from your Serene Highness, the great
est and fattest and freshest that ever was in the forest of Chantilly; by good
luck it arrived two days before a meeting. I shall make of it a pie of im
mense size, where there will be guests of rank, and the name of your High
ness will be magnified. I shall make a résumé of what is said there, and
shall not fail to send it to you."S
s P, xciv: "J'ay receu un quartier de cerf de la part de vostre A• S•, le

plus grand, le plus gras, et le plus frais qui soit dans la forest de Chantilly,
par bonheur il est arrivé la surveille d'une conference. J'en feray un pâté
d'une Immense grandeur ou il y aura des convives d'importance et ou le
nom de vostre A• S• sera magnifié. Je feray un extrait de ce qui s'y dira
et ne manqueray pas de l'envoyer a Vostre A• S•. J'ay de la peine a en
courager M. Denis pour faire des dialogues avec moy Imprimez qui se
verront tous les mois, ceux qui aiment le quart d'escus de la pratique et qui
picquent le Mulet sont plus pour le gain journalier que pour la gloire,
Mais il me serait fort commode."
A glimpse of a Paris winter before central heating is to

be caught from the letters of this same January; on the six
teenth he writes:
"I believe that minds are freezing with bodies. I don't know whether
anyone will corne to our Academy on Tuesday, nobody is paying visits in
Paris any more because of the cold..... (The cold) is beginning to upset
our philosophers who believe that because my brother-in-law is a wood
merchant I am bound to keep them warm. I would make the outlay if
they would speak when their feet are warm. But their lungs are gripped
by the cold, and their stomachs frozen, that is what is the matter with them,
and I cannot cure everything. M.the Premier President has sent me some
rabbits and M. Hervé some muscat wine; these will be restoratives for
them. Madame the Princess Palatine has given me some wine from Na
varre which was given to her by Monsieur. I give them venison, boiled,
roasted, smoked, salted, they are very fond of it. I shall feed them in this
way until Lent. For myself, I make my veal soup a Iittle more nourishing,
and the water I drink is almost boiling. I have three or four braziers around
me, and in this way I defend myself from the rigors of winter." 9
Three letters of the autumn of 1684 gives us our last pic

ture of the Abbé Bourdelot, nouvelliste to the Grand Condé,
and the guiding spirit of one of the liveliest of the Paris acad-
• P, xciv, ll/214: "Je croy que les esprits gelent comme les corps, je ne
scay sil viendra quelqu'un Mardy dans nostre Academie, on ne rend plus de
visites a Paris a cause du froid..... (La mortalite) commence a renverser
nos Philosophes qui croyent a cause que Jay un beau-frere marchand de
bois que je suis tenu de les chauffer Jen ferais la depense s'ils parlaient
quand ils ont les pieds chauds. Mais ils ont les poulmons transys et l'esto
mach glace, cest leur grand mal, Je ne puis remedier à tout. Monsieur le
Premier President ma envoyé des lapins et M'hervé du vin muscat ce sera
pour eux des restorans. Madame la Princesse Palatine ma donné du vin
qui vient de Navarre que Monsieur luy a donné, je leur fais manger du Cerf
bouilly rosty fumé salé, Ils en sont bien friands. Je les alimenteray ainsy
jusqu'au Caresme, pour moy Je fais mes bouillons de Veau un peu plus
nourrissans, et l'eau que je bois est presque bouillante, J'ay trois ou quatre
Chauffrettes qui m'environnent. Je me deffend ainsy des rigueurs de
l'hyver."
THE ACADEMY OF ABBE BOURDELOT
'
emies. ln the first, of September, the date not specified, he

writes that he has seen Regis, whom he describes as a "grand
Hobiste," who is going to seek patronage from Condé. Ac
cording to the next, he has seen Father Couplet, "an old
Flemish Jesuit, just home from China, where he has lived a
very long time. He had a Chinaman with him whom I saw
also. I was with MM. Auzout, Thevenot, and Varignon." 10
China was at this time rather fashionable in erudite circles.
One need not dwell on the coïncidence which brings the last
two members of the Compagnie des Sciences et des drts to
gether with the last of the great conférenciers, and the rislng
star of eighteenth century mathematics in the persan of
Varignon.
On October 14 Bourdelot acknowledges the receipt of a
quarter of a boar "pour une ouverture de conférence mag
nifique." He is thinking of introducing a new feature in
the conferences:
"I am thinking of introducing famous and witty nouvellistes. Up to the

present, I have excluded all news, but now it will be related at table or at
the end of the meeting." 11
His letter closes w.ith the note that he is sending a budget of

scientific news from England; the amateur academy runs
true to form· to the very end. On Bourdelot its life had
depended, however, and it <lied with him in February of
1685.
Bourdelot's academy had given rise to the usual number of
discourses and pamphlets on the various controversial as-
1o P, xcvii, jl;i 144, 3 October, 1684. The letter contains other details of
China; medicine, language, etc.
11 P, xcvii, jl;i 258: "Je suis d'avis d'y introduire des nouvelistes fameux
et precieux, jusqu'icy j'avais donné l'exclusion a touttes nouvelles, mais on

en dira a la table ou sur la fin de la conference."
pects of the science of the century. We have cited above a

letter from Bourdelot to Condé in which he mentions the
trouble he had with Le Gallois over the second series of
conferences; these appeared in 1674, Conversations Acadé
miques tirées de l'Académie de Monsieur !'Abbé Bourdelot.
Par le Sieur le Gallois, in two small volumes, from the house
of Guignard. Dedicated to Huet, "Conseiller du Roy en ses
conseils, et Sous-precepteur de Monseigneur le Dauphin,"
the volume contains a brief preface in defense of his pre
vious publication, and expands the view that Bourdelot is a
great discoverer in Medicine.
A tract published in 1677, Lettre de Monsieur de Castelet à
Monsieur !'Abbé Bourdelot, dans laquelle il démontre que les
raisons que Monsieur Descartes a données du Flux et Reflux de
la mer sont fausses, contributes further evidence to support
the view that the Bourdelot academy was unattached to
any school of philosophers:
"Those who best know what is clone there, are aware that minds are not
allowed to be enchained under the authority of a philosopher, and that each
one tries to see and understand things for himself.•... We esteem Des
cartes more than any other of the authors of systems, because certainly he
went further than any other in the knowledge of physics; but it would be
ridiculous to be wedded to any man in things where reason alone must act
as guide."
Most important of the publications, however, was the

medical journal which Nicolas de Blégny produced in 1679,
and which ran for about two years. Bourdelot seems to have
provided Blégny with much of his material, and to have
supported him in various ways. While the relations of the
Journal and the Academy were undefined, the letters leave
no doubt that they were complementary. In June, 1680,
Bourdelot sent Condé,
b. • ,
"A little brochure of the Journals which the Sieur Blegny has published,
with a collection of some new discoveries. There are in this collection the
letter by M.Fagon and others of my own...•.Hereafter I will send your
Serene Highness whatever he prints; however, he has begun to find strong
opposition, the Sieur de la Roque (editor of the Journal des Savants) having
obtained papers forbidding him to continue his publication. He came to
me to intervene for him, which I shall do willingly." 12
On June 29 he sent another "Journal by Blegny the

surgeon" to whom de la Reynie, the chief of police had
granted permission to continue publication, on Bourdelot's
request.
Blegny's Journal had been announced to his English
friends by Henry Justel in April of 1679, and a small hand
bill sent with an announcement of its contents. Its career
was short; Blegny left France for Bolland, where another
journalistic venture of his was so unsatisfactory that Pierre
Bayle began his Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, be
cause he saw, first of the liberal journalists, the place open
to a thoughtful writer who would set himself the task of
keeping up with current developments, and build a reputa-
12 P, lxxix, '# 156: ".... un petit cahier des Journaux que le Sr Blegny a
fait imprimer et un recueil de quelques nouvelles decou.vertes. Il y a dans

ce Recueil la lettre de M.Fagon et les miennes.....J'envoiray doresnavant
a V.A. S• ce qu'il imprimera mais il commence a trouver de fortes opposi
tions, le Sr de la Roche luy avoit fait faire deffence de continuer des Im
pressions. Il m'est venu prier de soliciter pour luy, ce que je feray
volontiers."
Blegny's Journal was published in Paris in duodecimo under the following
tities:
Les Nouvelles Découvertes sur toutes le parties de la Médecine, recueillies en
l'année I679 par Nicolas de Blegny.
Le Temple d'Esculape, ou le Dépositaire des nouvelles découvertes ...•
dans la médecine, 1680.
Journal des nouvelles découvertes concernant les sciences et les arts qui font
partie de la médecine. 1681-83.
THE ACADEMY OF ABBÉ BOURDELOT 25J
tion on continued excellence rather than a feverish search for

novelty.
What shall be said of the work of Bourdelot? He was not
a serious thinker, and contributed little to the advancement
of his art or of philosophy in general. His work was among
the "honnêtes gens" who have been in the background of this
book from the very first. To them he was something more
than the chief doctor of the House of Condé; he was a patron
of learning, a man of skill and tact, to whom one turned
habitually for the wisest opinion on current developments in
science. In his house the best lecturers and teachers of the
day could be heard in popular exposition of their ideas and
doctrines. Experiments and dissections could be wit
nessed, curios, monstrosities and new inventions were ex
hibited and discussed with much show of learning. Bourde
lot had had Gassendi, and Pascal and the Jesuit Grandamy
to lecture in the days of "Feu Monseigneur le Prince," and
the bourgeois who loved vulgarized learning saw in the
professional conférenciers of the A.cadémie the great teachers
of a later day, and in himself the heir of the great patrons of
1640.
.. _-
CHAPTER XII
FLUCTUAT NEC MERGITURl
The scope of this book has not permitted much excursion

into the reflection of the scientific movement in contemporary
literature and opinion. Molière has not been ransacked for
apposite commentary, the plays of Boursault and Thomas
Corneille, the writings of Furetière, and the popular period
ical press-the Mercure, the Muze Historique, and the pub
lications of Colletet-have all been left for some other
parallel study. To some extent such work has been clone
for the field in England by Mr. Carson S. Duncan in his
book '.the New Sciences and English Litera/ure. Using the
manuscript sources more liberally, the same theme might
be extended to include public opinion of particular bodies,
not only as crystallized in plays and formal criticism, but as
found spontaneously expressed in letters and diaries by
outsiders. Such was Hoskyns' remark about "the academy
of philosophical sceptics who believe nothing not tried";
such would be the comments of the popular press. Most
interesting of all would be the sentiments of leaders of rival
circles, some of whom regarded the new foundations with
varying degrees of interest or dismay.
'vVe have seen in France a certain amount of criticism di
rected against the Académie Française because of its limited
programme and its devotion to ends not regarded as useful
or valuable by its opponents. Boulliau was an outspoken
critic of the body; the members of the Montmor Academy,
with the exception of Chapelain, seem to have had some
contempt for the older public institution. The Academies
of the scientific movement were ridiculed by the thoughtless
1 Motto of the City of Paris.
FLUCTUAT NEC MERGITUR
for their attachment to interests that bore no communicable

sense to ordinary men, but apart from rigidly conservative
ecclesiastical circles, they met with singularly little criticism
of a philosophical nature. Most of the opposition stirred
up by the scientific bodies was jealousy of a low order-a
local or institutional pride. This is particularly true of the
Royal Society of London; the favorable auspices under which
it began were themselves the best reason for its enemies in
certain quarters.
Much has been made of the attacks on the Royal Society
by a limited number of the clergy of the Church of England,
and by a group of pamphleteers, of whom Dr. Henry Stubbs
is perhaps the chief. The arguments made against the
Society and the movement which it represents are usually
rather futile, consisting of accusations of atheism, popery,
disloyalty, disingenuity, disservice to the best interests of
England, an attempt on the Society's part to displace the
Universities as teaching bodi-es, to promote revolutionary
ideas and destroy the ideals which were most necessary for
national prosperity and pride.
It is probable that we do not know more than a very small
share of the real motives which involved the Royal Society
in such a storm of criticism. Research into such problems
has in the past been largely devoted to the printed pamphlets
and the evaluation of arguments pro and con, with much
time and energy spent in calculating the relative amount of
truth in writings whose purpose, to put it bluntly, was de
ception. But the attack on the Royal Society rose only to a
very limited degree from philosophie or even patriotic
grounds; it seems, indeed, that many of the most ardent
pamphleteers had persona! axes to grind. There is good
evidence that the chief of the antagonists was hired by one
of the leading benefactors of an older professional society,
who feared the rise of a body whose programme infringed on

its own.
The College of Physicians was founded in London in the
sixteenth century, and had served a good purpose by bringing
the doctors of London together for coêiperation and the
improvement of conditions in their profession. In the seven
teenth century one of the most important figures in its ranks
was the celebrated and wealthy Dr. Baldwin Hamey, of
Flemish extraction, a talented physician, a lover of books,
and a generous patron of the College, the promotion and
endowment of which he made his especial task. Of his
life the College preserves a manuscript account made by his
nephew which has been drawn on for the article in the Dic
tionary of National Biography. In this Hamey appears in a
very favorable light, as a man of means and taste, by whose
bounty the college and the community could not but benefit.
The account of Hamey's life seems truthful enough, eulogis
tic and perhaps rather general in much of its statement;
written by a doctor for the good of his profession, the episode
here quoted is not likely to be false, for it is clear that
Hamey's action was regarded as quite creditable by the
author.
"But there was an occurrence, ex Adverso, that befell his darling scheme
of this College after ye year r66o, which must not be omitted in these sheets,
viz. the Rise of the Royal Society, whose fame and power was likely to be so
great that he had reason to be very jealous of it, conscious that secula
Phanices nul/a tulisse duas, yet no man was a greater Promoter of Science in
ail ye points where lngenuity and Learning were concern'd, than himself:
yet here it griev'd him to foresee a Rival Society treading close upon ye
heels of the Aesculapians, whose vortex would be so great as to compre
hend everything, as indeed it came to pass; whereas al! matters within ye
sphaere of Medicine, Anatomy and Surgery most properly should belong
to ye Royal College of Physicians, whilst ye larger purlieus of Natural
Philosophy and Mathematicks, exclusive of ye former, might have found ye
Societists Employment and Enquiry enough. What to doe in this case,
where Power appeared on one sicle, infinitely superior to that on ye other

Dr.Hamey knew not ....yet something he resolved should be sayd, that
so impending a fate might not corne on sub silentio.
"Dr. Hamey therefore found out a person of his own Profession but a
Country Practiser, one Dr.Henry Stubbs, a Man of as much Acrimony as
Wit, with as knowing a head, as he had an able hand, and that wanted no
ill nature to compleat ye Satirist in him, and this man he generously re
tayn'd for his Champion against ye Royal Society: Stubbs then drew his
Pen with great virulence, and layd about him most furiously indeed, and
was well gratified by Dr. Hamey for it, who meant onely to keep this Le
viathan in its proper Element, if he coud have clone it, and tho ye attempt
was vain and to no purpose it may be sayd of Stubbs,
Magnis !amen excedit ausis.

Dr.Hamey's death soon after hapning and ye College Embroils quickly
ensuing ye Joss of him, The Royal Society flourished without Controul,
lnvaded entirely ye Busyness of Physick, Anatomy, Surgery, and Botany,
as to their Theory and History, and left the College no transactions to
make em famous in print, but what are indigene and private within their
own Walls....."-(Ms in Library of the Royal College of Physicians, note
bound in at page 90, in the same hand as the rest of the manuscript; quoted
by permission.)
If this account be true, and there seems no reason to suspect

it is not, the view that the Royal Society was attacked as
impious and atheistic by men who had spiritual reasons at
heart is in need of revision, and Stubbs becomes a pamphlet
eer of no consequence, hired by a jealous supporter of an
older institution.
While the conflict between the Royal Society and its
critics lasted for many years after the death of Dr. Hamey,
and continued under a variety of forms into the eighteenth
century, still it never roused the society to such a strenuous
defense of its principles as was made in answer to Stubbs by
Joseph Glanvill.
The justification of the Royal Society in the eyes of the
English public occurs just at the moment where our story
FLUCTUAT NEC MERGlTUR
ends. A variety of circumstances, too many and too com

plicated to be elaborated here, but of which the principal
seem to be the economic difficulties of France precipitated by
the extravagance of the king, the defeat of many of the poli
cies of Colbert, and the growing intolerence of religious and
philosophie dissent, have the effect of taking much of the
life out of the movement we have described. The particular
institutions we have studied, the activity of Justel, the
Academy of Bourdelot, and the active scientific and philo
sophical exchange between France and England, end for the
most part between 1680 and 1685. Justel departed for
England in the autumn of 1681, and while he continued his
interest in science, and kept up his correspondence with
France, he cannot be said to have retained the influence on
the life of Paris he once enjoyed. He was at once proposed
for membership in the Royal Society by the President, Sir
Christopher Wren, and is frequently mentioned in the jour
nals of the next few years as communicating information of
the sort dear to the Society.
Of the projected book sur les Commodités de la Vie, we
read very little after Justel's establishment in London. In a
letter to Huet of September 26, 1686, he says he has given up
his curiosité:
"In my present state I no longer think of the things of this world, and
give up my curiosity. I have abandoned the plan I had to make a collec
tion of the conveniences of life, which I could have enlarged here, because
there are many of them, and very well devised. In the countries where
there is intelligence and money there is no lack of them. The English have
plenty of imagination and carry out very well what they have invented.
I have sent to M. Villermont something of what I have se.en here."2
2 Biblioteca Mediceo-Laurenziana, Co!lezione Ashburnham-Libri. From

a copy, by courtesy of Monsieur J. Bardin:
"Dans l'estat ou je suis je ne pense plus aux choses de ce monde et je
FLUCTUAT NEC MERGlTUR 2.59
But the story of the conveniences of life is not complete

without a quotation from Martin Lister's Journey to Paris
in the year I698, where he notes that:
"Yet after ail many Utensils and Conveniencies are wanting here, which
we in England have: This makes me remember what Monsieur Justell, a
Parisian formerly, told me here, that he had made a Catalogue of near
Threescore things of this Nature which they wanted in Paris." (pp. 9-10)
Other letters,-to Smith, to Southwell, and his brief

notes of 1686-1693 to the Secretaries of the Royal Society,
reflect the spiritual isolation in which he spent much of the
latter part of his life. He had many friends: Compton,
Bishop of London, an ardent supporter of William III;
Robert Southwell, President of the Royal Society and a
man ·of great influence in many circles; Isaac Vossius, in the
royal service at Windsor; Thomas Smith of Oxford, John
Covell of Cambridge, Sir William Petty; John Evelyn, the
diarist, and others; but although he was naturalized, and
became librarian of St. James's Palace, he remained some
thing of a stranger to the end.
His friend, Adrien Auzout, having left active participation
in the Academy of Sciences for an extended visit to Italy
in 1668, returned to Paris for a short time in the years before
Justel's departure for England, and after a short visit to
London and Oxford, appears to have gone about 1685 to
Italy, where the rest of his life was spent in mathematics and
archaeology. Petit had <lied in 1674; Thevenot had been
renonce a la curiositè. J'ay abandonnè le dessein que j'avais de faire un

recueil des commodites de la vie que j'aurais pu augmenter ici parcequ'il y
en a quantité et qui sont bien imaginées. Dans les pays ou il y a de l'esprit
et de l'argent on n'en manque pas. Les anglais ont beaucoup d'imagination
et executent fort bien ce qu'ils ont pensè. J'ay mandé a M•. de Villermont
une partie de ce que j'ai veu ici."
260 FLUCTUAT NEC MERGlTUR
in retirement most of the time after he left Paris in 1665; he

had visited Holland about 1670, whence came the contacts
with Swammerdam and the anonymous letter on insects
which we reproduce from the Recueil Conrart at the Arsenal.
Ismael Boulliau was old and inactive; Justel kept up some
contact with him, but not continued nor important from
the point of view of scientific relations.
The conflict between England and France which began
about 1688 and lasted without interruption until the peace of
Utrecht was signed in 1713 had the effect of reducing inter
course of ideas between these two countries to almost noth
ing. The visit to Paris of Martin Lister in 1698, as
physician in the embassy of the Duke of Portland, is notable
for the almost complete lack of information he found in
Paris about England and English things. The published
form of his book varies slightly from the notes which he took
in Paris as preserved in the Bodleian; as these have the
documentary value of first-hand observation without prepa
ration for publication, we quote an extract. He sought out
all those who could inform him about intellectual matters in
Paris, among them the mathematician, the Marquis d'Hôpi
tal, member of the Académie des Sciences, who told him
" ....it was scarce possible for them to continue their monthlie memoires,
as they had clone for two years onlie, because they were but verie few in
number that made the bodie of the Academie Royale des Sciences; and had
verie little correspondence."3
Corroboration for this statement is to be found in many

places; we quote a letter from J. Bignon to Nicaise of 1695:
"The misfortune is that it is difficult to have books from foreign countries
because of the interruption of commerce; it is still worse for the books printed
a Bodleian, Ms. Lister 22, f. 47.

FLUCTUAT NEC MERGlTUR 261
in England, whence there corne very few, or perhaps I should say, none
at all."4
Lister apparently moved freely in Paris, a city he had

corne to know well on previous visits. Here he met Michael
Butterfield, "a right hearty honest Englishman, who has
resided in France 35 years, ....a very excellent Artist in
making all sorts of Mathematical Instruments, (who) works
for the King and ail the Princes of the Blood ...." 5 and who
had almost forgotten his native tangue. Butterfield's instru
ments were famous for their quality and delicacy; Picard and
others prized them, and they commanded good prices in their
day. Among the frequent mentions of his name for such
work in the Comptes des Bâtiments may be noted 80 livres for
a level to be used at Versailles, and two payments of 600
livres each for a planisphere (Dec. IO, 1679; Oct.20, 1679,
28 April, 1680).
Although he met many scientists, and visited in many
intellectual circles in Paris, Lister does not indicate the
existence of even one group of active amateurs such as we
have seen through the whole century previously. For a
Fellow of the Royal Society, habitué of dissections and con
ferences, having the best of entrées, a good knowledge of the
language and social ways, the complete absence of academic
activities is extraordinary, and indicates very clearly the
extent of the decline of curiosity.
Perhaps this interregnum of dullness which Lister's
Journal of a Visit to Paris records in 1698 is the explanation
of much that has quite unjustly been said about the seven-
4 Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds Français 9361, f. 44: "Le malheur est
qu'il est difficile d'avoir des livres des pays étrangers a cause de la cessation
du commerce, c'est encore pis pour les livres qui s'impriment en Angleterre
cl'où il en vient très peu, ou pour mieux dire point du tout."
5 Lister, 'Journe ta Paris, 1699, p. 80.
y
teenth century from the beginning of the eighteenth to the

present day. What survived the period of emptiness which
coïncides with the last years of the reign of Louis XIV was a
tradition of literary form, the great works of the dramatists,
Racine, Corneille, and Molière, the writings of Bossuet and
Larochefoucauld and Descartes, the memory of a great era of
which the secret had been lost. What did not survive was
the work which needs constant renewal to maintain its life,
the work of the amateurs, a Justel, a Bourdelot, an Auzout,
and all the scientific pamphleteering which accompanied the
Journal des Savants. When the life went out of the acad
emies the habit of experimentation in public was lost, and
when in the years 1730---50 the encyclopedic current was
taking form there was no one to remember a past that had
had its influence in Paris and in England. The experi
menters usually pay slight attention to the history of science,
their business is with the present and the future; the case of
the encyclopedists is much the same. The scientific activity
which stirs France in the eighteenth century had a history
which neither the "philosophes" nor many others have
suspected, and whose break in the years 1690---1710 has led
to some strange misconceptions on the part of modern his
torians of French literature.
M. Lanson, writing in the Revue des Cours et Conférences
in 1909-10, (p. 740) labors the point, which I incline to think
quite mistaken, that in France the experimental movement
had practically no hold before the very end of the seventeenth
century; that while Roberval and Pascal had tried to forward
experimental physics, the general run of savants, Descartes
and Gassendi and Malebranche, had placed science on a
level below systematic philosophy. Whether the latter
part of this thesis is true or not I do not profess to say; but I
am inclined to think that it is more true of the Cartesians
than of Descartes, and that it is very doubtful if it is true at

ail of Gassendi. When M. Lanson goes on to see in Bayle
and Fontenelle the first men in the age to recognize the
"force probante" of facts, the error of his conclusions is
perfectly clear. The work of Justel, Huet, and Mersenne,
the indications of the existence of a public that read and
followed the advancement of science and accepted the meth
ods of scientific proof to reject the vulgar errors of the
credulous, lead us to see in the movement of the "philoso
phes" a prolongation of a current already active. To the
traditions already acknowledged as vital to the understand
ing of the seventeenth century in France-Cartesianism,
classicism, libertinism, Christianity, and the rest-we must
add the movement which characterizes the period in the
other nations of Europe, the experimentalism of Bacon and
Galileo. This movement found expression in much real
work among furnaces, microscopes, and telescopes, sought
to establish itself on a permanent and public basis, attracted
men of letters, among them Chapelain, Montmor, Sorbière,
Justel, Huet, and others, and was destined to long periods of
disappointment while the vested forces of tradition, the
Sorbonne, the Jesuits, and the Faculty of Medicine, con
trolled the organs of opinion.
The experimentalist movement in France grows with cer
tain other features of the life of the century. We have seen
the first formally established academy for the sciences
adopt the forms and conduct of bodies whose purpose was
quite different. There is little doubt that the Cabinet of
the Dupuys and the Académie Française were in the minds
of Sorbi ère and du Prat when they framed the constitution of
the Académie de M. de Montmor. The doser contact with
English life which followed 1660 brought about a concen
tration on experiments which in the end disrupted the acad-
FLUCTUAT NEC MERGlTUR
emy and led to the movement towards the establishment of

the Académie des Sciences and the continued collaboration
of amateurs in the circles of Juste!, Huet, and others. Bene
fiting by the Cartesian movement, although often at odds
with it over points of doctrine and interpretation; in close
association with the periodical press and the publishers of
Paris; sometimes profiting by the movements of ambassadors
and special envoys; adapting its scepticism to the useful
end of the purifying of the practical arts and popular beliefs,
and finding justification in the furthering and improvement
of the comforts and conveniences of life, by 167 5 the essential
features of scientific encyclopedism had reached almost
complete realization.
This book is an exploration rather than a chart of the
scientific activity of the seventeenth century in France. I
have omitted, quite deliberately, many aspects of the general
story, many by-ways, even some of the more active of the
conferences and academies. Rohault, most important of the
teachers of Cartesianism, and his disciple Regis, have been
left aside .with other popular teachers of the mysteries of
science; the academies of numismatists and antiquaries
have not fallen within my scope, although there is little
doubt that in their way each of these contributed something
to the expansion of the methods of historical and factual
criticism. Here we have been content to follow a movement
which reached Paris about 1615, gradually involving an
ever-greater number of Parisians, perpetuating itself in
the natural way by the force of persona! associations, until a
change in national interests, fashion, popular mentality,
drives it to another course about 1685.
Perhaps the net result of this voyage of exploration is
that we have found in seventeenth-century France the char
acteristics of the other nations of Europe of that time,-
Bacon's devotion to the laborious collection of facts and

methods of research, Leibniz' faith in the progressive building
of civilization under the protection of the state, Huygens'
resignation of the powers of the individual reason to the
realities of the natural world. At least we have had a glimpse
of the France of Mersenne, Pascal, and Juste!, not the France
of Court historians, learned ladies, and princely generals,
but a nation whose erudition was the envy of Europe, whose
architecture and gardens set the fashion for a hundred years,
whose philosophers brought us from the middle ages, in
short the France which perhaps best merits the admiration
of the modern world.
APPENDICES
Note: The following letters and documents, as also the extracts from
unpublished documents in the text and footnotes, are here printed with a
minimum of modernization, the use of j and j, u and v as in modern French,
and the establishment of most abbreviated forms being the chief alterations
permitted.
Ali extracts from the collections of the Royal Society are printed by the
kind permission of the Council of the Society, to whom I desire to express
once more my thanks.
The Summary of Manuscript Sources and the Bibliography are not offered
as complete lists of the books and papers used in the preparation of this
study. In most cases they indicate the volumes and documents actually
drawn upon; in the second section of the Bibliography a few hints for further
reading are offered. It will be noticed that many volumes not here listed
are described in full in the body of the book.
APPENDIX A
Letters of Scientific Interest
I. Theodore Haak to Marin Mersenne. Aug. 6, 1647. Bibliothèque
Nationale, Nouv. Acq. Françaises, 6206, f. 167.
2. Haak to Mersenne. July 3/r3, 1648. Bibliothèque Nationale, Nouv.
Acq. Françaises. 6206, f. 64.
3. Edward Sherbourne to Elias Ashmole. Mar. 14/24, 1655/6. Bod
leian Library, MS Ashmole, 423, f. 292.
4. Pierre Petit to Henry Oldenburg, Oct. 23, 1660. R. S. Guard-Books,
P1, fi! 1.
5. Carcavy to Oldenburg, Feb. 20, 1668. R. S. Guard-Books, C1, fi/ 46.
6. Oldenburg to the Abbé Gallois, July 18, 1668. R. S. Guard-Books,
Vol. 01, fl/75.
7. Henry Juste! to P. D. Huet, Mar. 30, 1667. Bibliotcca Laurenziana,
Florence. (By photostat)
8. Juste! to Windekeller. May 17, 1680. Bib. Soc. Hist. Prot. Fs. MS.
8II, fi/ 5I.
9. Lettre Anonyme. Amsterdam, Oct. 24, 1669. Arsenal, MS 5420, p.
147.
10. Pierre Bayle to Robert Boyle. June 6, 1686. R. S. Miles Coll. of
Boyle Papers. Vol. A-B, f. 39.
I. Two letters from Theodore Haak to Mersenne, August 6, 1647.

(Bibliothèque Nationale, Nouv. acq.
françaises, 6206, f. 167)
"Monsieur et Reverend Pere,
J'ay trèsbien receu celle qui! vous a pieu m'envoyer sous la bonne con
duitte du pacquet de mon Treshonoré amy Monsieur Augier. Vous avez
raison de n'admettre pas toute sorte de nouvelles des experiments, sans
quelque modeste mesfiance: le monde n'est que trop abusé, et mesme nos
propres observations, quoyqu'attentives, se trouvent souvantes fois trom
pées, soit à cause de nos sens hebetez ou pour l'amour de la subtilité des
oeuvres et merveilles de la nature. Le Chymiste dont j'avais fait mention,
n'est pas de ceux qui pretendent absolument le lapis; mais il est sans con
troverse excellent en plusieurs operations, tant pour la medicine, que pour
la Curiosité, et n'en vente plus qu'il ne parfait; autrement il ne pourrait pas
gaigner sa vie, ainsi qu'il fait, et en vendant ces choses, et en les apprenant
a d'autres pour assez de l'argent. Pour le 0 et (C diaphane, il m'asseure
268
APPENDICES
en bonne foy, qu'il en a fait cy devant; mais de pouvoir faire le verre mal
leable, il s'en macque des entrepreneurs, à cause que tout verre est materia
ultima desja, comme ils l'appellent.
Je tascheray, s'il est possible, d'apprendre la Construction de cet hor
loge avec une roue, et le pouvant recouvrir, ne failleray, de vous en faire
communication deslors. Quel but peut Monsieur le Maire avoir, d'estre si
chiche de ses inventions au bien public. A qui ou a quoy sert le Talent dans
le mouchoir? II faut mieux d'avoir et de sçavoir moins, que d'en manquer la
vraye jouissance, qui gist en la communication, en faisant le bien du mien,
aux autres, et participant à ce contentement, que Dieu mesme poursuit, en
maniere de dire, avec tant d'ardeur, et sans se lasser aucunement, de bien
faire, voire au plus ingrat du monde.
Puisque pour le present, Je n'ay pas d'autres nouvelles, Je vous envoye
icy un petit catalogue de ces livres et traittez, que Monsieur Greaves nous a
apporté d'Orient. II serait du mesme avis avec vous, de publier les ma
tieres en Latin seulement, s'il ne visait plus outre, ascavoir de donner toute
la satisfaction possible aux doctes, en matiere de telle consequence, et de
faire en sorte, que l'Estude d'une si docte langue et d'une telle estendue se
recomendast de plus en plus a tous les beaux esprits, pour pouvoir penetrer
plus avant tousiours en ses riches tresors qui s'y trouvent.
J'espere que quand Monsieur Bullialdus sera de retour du Constanti
nople vous nous en baillerez les nouvelles, et quels seront les fruits que la
Republique litteraire s'en doibt promettre. Asçavoir si ce sera en la plus
particuliere observation qu'il y aura fait en Astronomie; ou mesme en la
collection de plusieurs bons autheurs Arabiques avec intention d'en faire
plus de profit au public, que n'ont pas fait plusieurs autres. On se promet
des grandes choses de ce brave esprit.
Monsieur Hubnerus suit a present la Cour de S. A•. de Brandeburg; sans,
pourtant, que je sçache, qu'il y soit encor engagé par quelque office ou
charge particuliere; je luy ay fait sçavoir votre bonne souvenance, laquelle
ne luy pourra estre que tres agreable. C'est en ceste Cour-là ou se tient
l'inventeur de la viole de pouce, le premier Musicien de la dite Altesse
Electorale, Anglais de nation, et nommé M• Roe, et c'estoit le feu Roy
Jacques, d'heureuse memoire, qui bailla ce nom de Viole de pouce, audit
lnstrumt., a la premiere veue d'iceluy.-la prattique en est bien rare.
Monsieur Oughtred a donné son clavis Mathematica ou Algebraique en
Anglais, la seconde Edition latine est encor chez !'Imprimeur, qui la retient
de peur qu'il n'en pourra tirer tant de profit qu'il s'estoit imaginé; puisqu'il
n'y a que peu de gens qui se meslent de ces livres, et le grand prix qu'ils
APPENDICES
demandent descourage le reste. l'Anglois est in 12 °. de quelque 14 feuilles

seulemt., et il faut payer 5 shillings Anglois.
Je vous envoye encor quelques pourtraicts de M'. Huniades, et puis un
petit discours Latin, imprimé icy l'autre jour sur quelques passages de la
Ste Ecriture, qui semblent avoir de l'obscurité. Je n'ay pas escrit par
l'addresse à Monsieur Augier, à cause que le Gentilhomme mon amy, du
quel j'avois les vostres s'en est allé aux champs pour quelques sepmaines.
Ces gentilshomes escoliers qui vous bailleront les presentes, sont de mes amis,
l'un de Zurich en Suisse, l'autre, d'icy, mais ayants ensemble estudié quelque
temps es Academies des provinces unies. Au reste priant Dieu pour votre
santé et prosperité continuelle, je demeure,
Monsieur et Reverend Pere
Vre treshumble et tres affectioné
Theodore Haak
A Londres ce 6 d'Aoust
1647.
(N. A. F. 6206, f. 64.)

à Londres, ce 3/13• Juillet, 1648.
Monsieur et Reverend Pere,
La Votre tresagreable du Juin le 12• me fut bien rendue, et j'espere que
bientost apres vous eustes aussi ma derniere, par ou je vous envoyay quel
ques grains de bled, qu'on nous veut asseurer icy estre tombe avec la pluye en
une grande tempeste, depuis quelque temps au pais ou conté de Yorkshire;
sur laquelle chose et le reste du contenu de cette lettre, ie serois bien aise
d'avoir l'honneur de vos sentimens et instructions. Pour les Microscopes à
la façon de notre Drebbel, ils se vendent icy a 30 à 40 shellings Sterlin. la
paire ou piece, etje ne scay qu'un ouvrier icy, qui les accommode lequel de
puis peu est allé au pais bas avec un bel horloge pour une table à cent Jaco
bus. Aussi tost qu'il sera de retour,je tascheray de vous procurer une bonne
paire, et de la vous envoyer par quelque amy: Cependt Je vous envoye par
cestuy-cy, le presenter de ces lettres, un Gentilhomme Allemand, nomme
Monsieur Freher, voyageant avec un jeune Seigneur d'icy, un petit joly
traitté Anglois, appelle Philocophus, ou l'amy des sourds et muets, ou l'Au
theur montre, qu'il n'est pas impossible à un tel, quoy que né tel, d'appren
dre à parler parfaitement et de respondre exactement à tout ce qu'il vous
voit dire, n'oyant goutte. L'Example qu'il nous donne est fort notable,
et vient de l'observation du Chevalier Kenelme Digby, laquelle il fit en
APPENDICES 271
Espagne. Je ne doubte pas, Monsr vous aurez assez de moyen, pour vous le
faire entendre du livre mesme, c'est pourquoy je le vous ay voulu presenter,
et en attendray votre Jugement.
Il y a quelques jours passés, que nous fismes icy un autre essay de votre
bel experiment du !;l Monseigneur le Prince Electr Palatin, et Monseig r
Herbert, votre grand amy, honorants la Compagnie, et tous trouvans beau
coup de contentement dans la chose, combien qu'ils ne soient pas si promts à
prononcer là dessus, mais bien desireux d'y penser et chercher avec plus de
diligence. Monseigneur Herbert nous dit, Que vous semble Messieurs de la
Philosophie de Chinois, qui nient l'air estre un Element, croyants, que tout
cet espace, que nous jugeons estre rempli d'aire, ne soit autre chose, qu'un
espace vuide, mais successivemt et diversemt rempli des exhalations de la
Terre, laquelle comme la Mere de tous les vivants, les allaicte par ainsi
continuellemt et que c'est in medium vacuum là ou les vertus et influences
tant d'en haut que d'enbas se communiquent l'une à l'autre et a l'homme.
Nous avons aussi essay de mesler de l'eau avec le !;l dans le tuyau, et en
trouvons des diversités notables, qui nous obligent d'estre cyapres plus
curieux, et exacts en nos observations. Je voudrois bien apprendre com
ment vous gouvernez vos experiments pour ne gaster et perdre quantité
de Mercure; et si vous vous servez des verres exactes ou à l'aventure. Aussi
ne scay je pas bien encore entendre la façon de faire pour votre dernier ex
periment, d'un tuyau dans l'autre qui doit vuider tout, l'essay nous n'ayant
pas encore reussi. Vous m'excuserez Monsieur de la fascherie que je vous
donne pour m'apprendre. J'ay attendu Monsieur Oughtred icy, mais
puisqu'il tarde d'arriver, je luy escriray, pour voir s'il a et s'il veut publier
quelque chose digne de lumiere, comme je n'en doute pas; combien qu'il
y ait plusieurs, qui le chargent de beaucoup d'obscurité, et cependt ceux-ci
nous ne donnent rien de tout. Mons' Warnerus est mort. On m'asseure,
que Monsr Pell a recouvré quasi touts ces papiers, et c'est de luy qu'il nous
faut attendre la communication. Vous ferez bien, Monsieur, de l'y pousser.
Monsieur Selden est apres a nous donner bientost un docte livre de
Syned(re?). Il vient d'apprendre que le lunetier d'Ausbourg avec ses rares
lunettes de longue et large veüe est arrivé à Amsterdam et qu'il demande la
paire cent livres sterlings. Si elles sont si bonnes, j'espere estant arrivées
en ce pais-là, l'industrie de ces gens les nous rendra bien tost bien meilleur
marché. Je suis marry, que Monsieur Torricellus est decedé. Vous seau
rez s'il a laissé quelque chose d'extraordinaire, pour nous soulager de sa
perte. Si Monsieur Baratin eust une fois achevé ses postilles volantes nous
hr -·
272 APPENDICES
nous pourrions plus souvent et plus promtement entrevoir et entretenir

mais cela n'empesche pas que je ne soys à toute heure et moment,
Monsieur et Reverend Pere,
Votre tres-humble
& tresobeissant serviteur
Theodore Haak.
à Londres
Ce 3/13 de Juillet 1648.
(Verso) A Monsieur,
Monsieur Mersenne
&c
à Paris.
Par Amy que
Dieu Conduise; avec un petit livre
Anglois nome Philocophus.
3. Edward Sherbourne to (Elias Ashmole), 14/24 Mar. 1655/56. Bod

leian Library, MS. Ashmole 423, Fol. 292.
Sr.
You may think it strange to be saluted by me at such a Distance. But
having an opportunity given me, I ventured the hazard of being censured
importunate, rather than I would give myself Leave to doubt your Civility
and readiness to oblige me in a particular I am bold to desire of you. I was
lately by Monsieur the Duke of Orlèans his Professor of Mathematicks in
this Towne invited to the observation that was by him made before his
Highnesse of the Solar Eclipse which hapned in February last which having
presented to the Duke, he was very desirous to see how the Observations of
other places agreed with his, two from Paris have been sent him, one from
Bulialdus, the other from Morinus, and a letter sent to Dantzick to Heve
lius to desire his, and I have been earnestly desired to write into England for
such observations as I could get from thence made by Persons of Knowledge,
amongst which I could not fixe upon any more deserving than yourself, or
who could better performe or would sooner Excuse such a Request; which if
graunted will extreamly oblige me, and be a present very grateful to the
Duke, who in his Retirements is much affected with these Studdies. You
may please Likewise to communicate this to my old friend Capt. Wharton
of whose willingnesse to oblige me herein I cannot doubt. ln Re turne of this
desired favour I shall send you the Observation here ·made the Skeme being
now printing, and if you desire it that of Bulialdus, or what else you shall
APPENDICES 2 73
desire of him or Morinus; Sir I have not more to add but to desire you to
excuse this lmportunity in a Matter which to you may seem but meane, but
being it may be acceptable here, for the Reasons I have given you, I per
suade myselfe you will not think fit to deny it to
Sr. Your assured friend and humble Servant.
Edw. Sherbourne
Blois
March 14/24 55/56
Sr. if you send your letter to Mr. Gregory's Scrivener in St. John's Street
near the Sessions Bouse London it will be surely conveyed to me.
This letter was answered by Ashmole from London, April 22, 1656. The
weather had been too cloudy to permit observation of the eclipse; Captain
Wharton, who had been a prisoner at Windsor from June to Christmas,
1655, "is now at my house in Berkeshire."
4. Pierre Petit to Henry Oldenburg, October 23, 166o. Royal Society,

Guard Books, P1, fi, 1.
A Paris le 23 Octob. 1660
Monsieur:
Trois choses m'ont empesché de Respondre Plustost a la lettre que vous ma
vez fait l'honneur de mescrire en m'ennvoyant la figure de la Machine de
Monsieur Boyle. La premiere quejavois dessein de faire le Voyage d'An
gleterre avec nos messieurs et d'y accompagner Monsieur le Comte de Sois
sons. ce qui a esté empesché par des affaires domestiques,-La deuxieme
est le desir que j'avais dejoindre a ma lettre les experiences quejay fait de
la Veritable variation de layman en Cette annee presente 1660 a Paris les
quellesje nay pu achever parfaittement que depuis huitjours acause queje
navois point classes grandes aiguilles aymantées bien justes et bien prep
arees. Et la troisiesme parceque ayant fait voir et preste vostre lettre et la
figure de la machine a Monsieur Tevenot !un de nos plus curieux et meilleurs
philosophes Il sen est aile a la Campagne sans me la rendre ainsi Je ny pou
vois respondre etje l'attends encores dejour a autre avec tout le reste de la
troupe philosophante qui despuis fort longtemps ne sest point assemblee
reglement mais en petit nombre et comme par occasion acause des Vacations
du Parlement lesquelles finissant a la St. Martin chacun recommencera ses
exercices. Je ne laisseray pas pourtant de vous escrire a present par la
Commodité dun de mes Amys, et de vous Remercier de vos nouvelles,jen ay
bien fait part a tous nos scavans qui les ont fort estimées pour le stile auquel
r--
2 74 APPENDICES
vous me les avez escrittes pour n'estre point un naturel françois ce qu'ils
ne pouvoient croire. J'en attends avec grande impatience l'instruction plus
particuliere par la traduction latine que vous mavez fait la faveur de me pro
mettre Nous navons pas continue le dessein den faire sur le feu et la fumee
(in vacuo pretendu) apres avoir veu toutes Celles que vous nous avez mande
de Mons' Boyle qui n'a rien obmis pour l'exactitude, outre que nayans point
de verrerie dans paris ny fort proche nous ne pouvons pas faire faire les
vaisseaux Commodes et necessaires mais il sen faudra rapporter a celles de
mondict Sieur Boyle qui seront comme je croy aussi fidellement rapportees
comme elles auront esté diligemment faites. Je les attends donc avec plai
sir comme aussi je vous prie de vous informer si Ion traduit en latin le livre
intitule pseudodoxia epidemica de Brown et sil est imprimé ou sil y a esper
ence qu'il le sera. Vous mobligerez encores de me mander si les opuscules
postumes de bacon je veux dire Celles qu'on a imprimé in 4 ° et in 8 ° des
puis quelques annees et qui ne sont pas dans le infolio imprimé il y a long
temps sont aparu dans un infolio Ce sont les Traitiez de Raro et denso, Sylva
Sylvarum et autres que jay veu en petits volumes mais comme jay tout le reste
en grand volume infolio je serois bien ayse aussi davoir ces derniers ouvrages
de mesme sils ont este imprimes de la sorte sinon Je vous supplye de mes les
achepter toutes en quelque maniere que ce soit et de me les envoyer comme
aussi la Philosophie de Hobbes et tout ce qu'il a fait outre la politique et de
homine que jay. Mais pour la philosophie je ne lay pas ny le leviatan sil est
en latin. Il y a encores deux autres livres que je vous prie de me chercher
qui sont Circulum proportionis en latin qui est l'usage de la spirale ou Roue
logarithmique autresfois compose en anglois. Et Astroscopus fosteri et
instrumenta planetaria cum figuris on madit qu'on les trouveroit chez un
nomme Tompson vous mobligerez infiniment de les chercher et de me les
envoyer par la voye de Monsieur Fouquet frere de Monsieur le surintendant
qui sen va accompagner Monsieur le Comte de Soissons et voir sa Mate
Britannique. Il ma promis de vous faire Rendre Cette lettre par quelqu'un
de ses gens avec une pistole pour l'achapt des susdits livres si elle suffit.
Sinon quand vous maurez fait la faveur de les achepter et de les luy porter
il ma promis de vous donner le surplus a quoy Je masseure qu'il ne manquera
pas me faisant fort l'honneur de M'aymer et de me tenir pour son tres humble
serviteur. Vous apprendrez facilement son logis a la Cour ou il sera tou
jours et jespere qu'il vous rendra toutes sortes de civilitez si vous luy faites
l'honneur de I aller saluer. Il a mesme quelque Commission de faire achep
ter des livres pour la bibliotheque de Monsieur le Surintendant, et peutestre
que vous l'obligerez en cela. Mais tousjours je vous prie de songer aux miens
APPENDICES 2 75
et de dire a Monsieur de Ranala que l'Amour ne luy doit point faire oublier
ses Amys ny ses protestations qui! leur a fait de les Aymer tousjours. Je
l'en vays solliciter par un mot d'escrit que je vays promptement brocher
estant bien ayse de le presenter pour I obliger a m'escrire et a me faire part
de ses nouvelles et de ses Contentements, qui ne seront jamais si grands que
j/e les* luy souhaitte. Et pour vous je vous prie de me continuer aussi la
faveur de vostre Amitie et des nouvelles de vos scavans d'Angleterre aus
quels vous pourrez faire part de mes observations de l'Aymant. Cepandant
je suis.••. ,
Petit.
5. Pierre Carcavy to Henry Oldenburg, February 18, 1668.

Royal Society Guard-Books, Vol. C1, Ili 46.
de Paris le 18• fevrier 1668.
Monsieur
Je ne pouvois estre plus sensiblement obligé a Mr. Juste! que par l'honneur
qu'il m'a procuré d'estre connu d'une personne de vostre merite, et comme
le livre qu'il vous a plu m'envoyer, et les lettres que vous avez pris la peyne
de m'escrire sont des effets d'une civilité extraordinaire je tascheray de les
reconnoistre par touts les services dont vous me jugerez capable, Usez de
Moy Monsieur comme vous pouvez, et pour marque non seulement de ma
reconnoissance mais encore de la confiance entiere que je prends en tout ce
que vous avez eu la bonté de me mander, agreez, s'il vous plaist que je vous
supplie tres humblement de vouloir continuer a m'indiquer tout ce qui se
trouvera a achetter en vos quartiers non seulement en ce qui regarde les
livres, mais aussi pour des medailles antiques de toute sorte de metaux, et de
toutes les grandeurs; La charge qu'il a plu au Roy* me donner de sa Biblio
theque et de son cabinet de medailles, qu'il a bien voulu joindre ensemble,
me donnent la liberté de vous faire cette tres humble priere, Je n'ay point
de plus grande passion que de contribuer touts mes soings au dessein qua sa
maiesté de l'augmenter et d'en faire un ouvrage digne de sa grandeur,
lorqu'il plaist a Dieu donner des Roys comme nous les avons qui considerent
davantage le bien de leurs suiets que l'esclat de leur maiesté, l'on ne doit pas,
ce me semble, leur rendre simplement l'obeissance, l'amour et la fidelité
qu'on est obligé, mais il faut que ceux qui ont le bien de les approcher mes
nagent autant qu'ils peuvent touts les moments d'un regne si heureux, pour
* paper torn.
* "de" erased by Carcavy.
APPENDICES
ne se pas rendre coupable envers la posterité de ne luy avoir pas procuré les
avantages d'une rencontre si favorable, c'est a quoy Monsieur Vous et les
autres messieurs de vostre Societé vous employez si dignement, c'est a quoy
nous travaillons aussy dans nostre academie et taschant de contribuer par
nos soings et par nostre diligence a ce que demande de nous la generosité
et la munificence du plus grand du plus juste et du meilleur Roy que nous
ayons eu, nous esperons que toute l'Europe en verra bientost les effets, et
comme vos travaux et les nostres ne tendent qu'a l'utilité publique, et que
le secours mutuel que nous pourrions nous rendre serviroit beaucoup a
l'augmenter nous establirons toute la correspondance que vous jugerez a
propos, et en votre particulier Monsieur s'il vous plaist que ie vous donne
part de ce que nous ferons ce me sera une joye singuliere de pouvoir vous
assurer par mes respects de l'estime que ie faits de vostre vertu, et qu'il n'y a
personne qui soit plus que moy,
Monsieur Vostre tres humble et tres obeissant
serviteur,
De Carcavy. *
6. Oldenburg to the Abbé Gallois. July 18, 1668. [Draft].

Royal Society, Guard Books, 01, # 75.
A Monsieur
Monsr Galloys Secretaire de l'Academie Royale a Paris.
Monsr.
J'embrasse de bon coeur l'avantage de vostre amitié et correspondence,
qu'il vous a plû m'offrir par vostre lettre, et tascheray de la cultiver de la
meilleure facon qu'il me sera possible. Je regarde ces deux Academies de
France et d'Angleterre, fondées par deux Grands Roys pour l'avancement
* Birch, History of the Royal Society, II, 250, February 20, 1667/8: "Mr.
Oldenburg procured a letter written to him from Paris February 18, 1668
(N. S.) by Monsr Carcavy chief keeper to the French king's library and cab
inet of medals, and one of the principal philosophers of the R. Academy of
Sciences in that city; in which letter M. Carcavy offered a correspondence.
It was ordered, that since this letter seemed not to be written in the name of
that academy to the society, but only by a single member thereof, expressing
his desire to correspond; Mr. Oldenburg should only as from himself thank
him for his offer, and entertain a correspondence with him upon philosophical
matters." Cf. also, Oldenburg to Boyle, 25 February, 1667/8, in Boyle,
Works, (1772) VI, 270.
APPENDICES 2 77
des sciences utiles, comme un levain pour fermenter tout le reste du monde
civilizé, à suivre leur exemple; et puisque nous avons l'honneur, vous et
nous de manier les plumes de ces deux corps illustres, ie suis de vostre advis,
qu'il pourra estre de l'interest des sciences, que nous entretenions une bonne
correspondence ensemble, et que nous employions la plume principalement
à reveiller les Esprits, à unir leur forces, et à travailler en sorte qu'ils s'en
treaident mutuellement en matiere de faire des experiences et descouvertes
touchant la Nature et les Arts. Monsieur ie suis prest de recevoir vos
ordres pour vous servir icy au possible, et quand vous aurez entamé l'affaire,
vous verrez ma promptitude de suivre vostre Example, et de vous faire
sçavoir ce que i'attends de vostre bonté, estant avec sincerité,
Monsieur, vostre tres h. et tres aff. serviteur
Oldenburg
juillet 18, 1668.
7. Henry Juste! to Pierre-Daniel Huet, Paris, March 30, 1667.

Photostat from Biblioteca Laurenziana, Florence.
Je vous suis bien obligé de la bonté que vous avez eüe de me faire la
description des cheminees de Suede qui sont fort commodes. Si jamais je
bastis j'en ferai faire deux ou trois, estant persuadé quelles sont bonnes et
propres pour nous garantir du froid. Je trouve qu'on ne prend pas ici assez
de precautions contre le chaud et contre le froid et qu'on n'a pas assez de
soin de conserver la santé.
Monsieur Petit a deux microscopes d'angl. Il s'en defera dun volon
tiers. Je luy en ai offert deux pistoles. Il me la laisse a trois. Si vous en
avez envie je vous ferai preferer a tout autre. Je le trouve encore trop cher
pour moy. Un de mes amis a menè Menard chez une personne qui en a
un d'angleterre fort bon. Il la fort consideré et a trouvé que le verre estoit
presque aussi rond qu'une boule, qu'outre cela il y a trois lentilles dont on se
sert selon le jour, ce qui grossit extremement et une fois autant et davant
age que ceux de Menard qui nous promet d'en faire d'aussi bons que ceux la.
Il faut avouer que les Anglois jusques a ceste heure ont le dessus sur tous
les scavans de l'Europe, ayans le don de trouver les choses. Nous imitons
assez bien en France et mesme nous perfectionnons ce que les autres ont
trouvé mais nous n'avons pas le don d'inventer.
On a fort bien faict ici l'experience de la transfusion du sang d'un animal
dans l'autre que j'ay veu faire par Emerez dont il est parlé dans le Journal.
On l'a doit faire au College de Clermont demain. Il y a une femme dans le
faubourg St. Germain qui a accouché de quatre enfans trois garçons et une
APPENDICES
fille qui ont tous vescu et eu baptesme. Bien des gens les ont esté voir.
Ce n'est pas une chose tout a faict extraordinaire y en ayant plusieurs ex
emples. Nous avons ici un traittè des fiebvres continues par un Anglois et
de la petite verole, dont on faict cas. L'autheur se nomme Sydenham. La
Societe Royale d'angleterre n'a rien faict depuis l'incendie de Londres, tous
ses membres au moins une bonne partie s'estant retireè a la Campagne.
Elle a besoin de la paix pour faire quelque chose qui soit digne delle. J'ay
veu un Suedois qui m'a parlé dun Jardin Souterrain ou il y a des fleurs en
hyver que Mr de Rudebec a faict. Cest un medecin assez habile et tres
curieux.
J'attends les relations de Mr de Monconis que ie donnerai a M• de Segrais.
Je n'ai pas encore pli venir a bout de M• de Salo que je ne veux point presser,
depeur qu'il ne croye que vous ne vouliez avoir le Castelvetro a quelque prix
que ce soit et qu'a cause de cela il ne face le difficile. Il me la deja laissé
pour un livre de vingt francs. Je luy ai dit que cestoit trop et que je luy en
donnerois un de quinze francs quand ie devrois garder le livre.
Je quitte les livres pour vous dire qu'on ne desespere pas encore de la
paix. Le Roy dangl. pourra bien consentir qu'on traitte a Cantorbery parce
que la peste est a Douvre. On travaille fort negligemment en ce pays la aux
vaisseaux du premier et du second ordre la flotte de Hollande sera plus
considerable que celles des annees passees et sera en estat de sortir a la fin
d'avril. Les Anglais ont perdu l'Isle de Bombay dans les Indes Orientales
que les Hollandais ont prise. Madame du Buat a eu permission de se retirer
en France. On luy a faict dire qu'elle ne revinst pas dans les Provinces de
Hollande, Zelande et Utrect sans le consentement de l estat ce qui est un
bannissement perpetuel en termes civils.
Il ya a quelque petite division entre les Provinces mais on raccommodera
cela. Cest ce qui a donnè lesperance aux Anglais qui n'ont pour but que de
separer les Provinces Unies d'avec la France.
On croit que le Roy ira au Parlement lundy qui vient: n<!antmoins on en
doute encore. Il y portera plusieurs Edicts et le Code Louis.
Le Courrier qui estait aile a Marderd en est revenu mais on ne scait pas
ce qu'il a apportè.
Deux de nos Bancquiers ont faict bancqueroute un nomme Varenne et un
autre. Ils ne seront pas seuls, estans tous presses par leurs creanciers.
Vous scavez qu'il y a une Academie pour les langues Orientales dont
Mr labbe de Bourzè est le chef. Monsieur de Launay en est et un nomme
Capelain, le Coutelier, la Croix, Mr Derbelot et plusieurs autres. Ils
pretendent travailler sur la Bible, ce qui est assez difficile. L'ouverture
APPENDICES 2 79
de ceste Societe la a estè deja faicte. On a excitè les Mathematiciens et

philosophes a faire quelque chose, n'ayant faict que raisonner jusques a
ceste heure et n'ayant rien produit. Si je scavois des nouvelles plus agreables
je ne vous entretiendrois pas de tant de bagatelles. Je suis tout a vous.
M• de Segrais vous aura mandé que Mr Colbert sera de l'Academie
Francoise.
8. Justel to Findekeller.
BSHPF, MS. Su, '/151.
le 17 may 1680
Vous auez bien de la bontè Monsieur de vous souvenir de moy et linquietude
que vous temoignez avoir de mon silence est bien obligeante. Je mestonne
que vous nayez pas receu mes lettres que jay donnees a Mr Orguelin et au
correspondent de Mr Carpzou de liepsick que jay supplié de vouloir vous
faire tenir la lettre que je vous ecrivois. Je vous ai rendu compte de toutes
choses que je ne repeterai pas de peur destre ennuyeux. Mr. Orguelin vous
donnera des verres pour votre ami qui observe de la façon de Mr borelli qui
a donne a !observatoire une lunette de soixante et dix pieds qui est ,excel
lente et par le moyen de laquelle on espere de decouvrir plusieurs choses
quon na pli remarquer jusques a ceste heure. Nous avons trois petits livres
nouveaux de la machine des animaux, des sons, et de la circulation du suc
des plantes quon dit estre curieux Mr perreau en est lautheur. il y (a) aussi
un miroir ardent de la facon de Mr Vilete de lyon qui a trois pieds huict
pouces de diametre et de foyer trois pieds six pouces. il na rien faict sur le
cristal. on doit faire f. plusieurs experiences sur !aimant la pierre de touche
la poudre de diamant et autres matieres dures. Un Mr Trochus y a faict
fondre du verre qui paroissoit blanc, lequel sest change en un beau rouge, en
distillant goute a goute.
Le secret damollir les os sera bientost publiè. on le doit imprimer au
premier jour sil ne lest deja. les Anglois ont faict un globe fixe dont je ne
vous puis expliquer la maniere parce que je nentends pas langlois. on me
la envoyè grauè. le laboratoire doxfort sauance aussi bien que !'Histoire
des plantes de Mr Morison. le premier volume de leur Atlas sera bien tost
publié. le globe dont ie vous ai parlè est aussi utile a ce quon pretend que
le mobile et peut servir pour le celeste et le terrestre Au reste iay appris
qui! y auoit un patissier a Dijon qui auoit le secret damollir les arrestes ou
ossa piscium, mesme ceux de la teste. On en fera manger a Mr Auzout
quand il ira en bourgogne. Jecrirai au Secre. de la Societe Royale pour
scauoir si la Compagnie desire continuer son commerce ordinaire avec Mr.
Mis H -
280 APPENDICES
baudoin. Vous navez qua menvoyer un petit mot pour Mr Gale a qui je
le ferai tenir. Je ne doute point que ces Messrs ne soyent bien aises den
tretenir une correspondance qui ne peut que leur estre avantageuse. Nous
auons un petit homme ici aussi bien que vous. Cest un barometre cachè.
Je trouue la machine pour imprimer sans presse bien iolie parce quelle
est utile et quelle couste peu. Il y a un Allemand qui pretend pouuoir
imprimer une feuille des deux costes en mesme temps, ce qui paroist difficile
et peu utile parce que de !impression a !ordinaire nest pas de grand coust.
Un autre a trouuè le secret de fondre toutes les lettres de !alphabet sans les
lever et tout a la fois. Vos gens sont industrieux. Je leur souhaitte une
bonne et longue paix: mais ie crains bien quils nen jouissent pas long temps.
Dieu sur tout.
9. "Lettre Anonyme" October 24, 1669.

Bibliotheque de !'Arsenal, MS. 5420, p. 147. [Copy).
"A Amsterdam, ce 24 Octobre 1669.
"Une personne de l'assemblée qui se tenait chez moy, s'est engagée, à ma
persuasion, de donner au jour beaucoup d'experiences quelle avoit fait veoir
dans cette assemblée mais avant que de commencer l'impression, et d'entre
prendre d'ecrire l'histoire naturelle des insectes, elle voulut s'éclaircir par
ses propres sens sur la generation des Abeilles, qui est demeurée la plus
obscure, quoy quelle soit celle a laquelle les Anciens ont le plus travaillé.
Je vis avec luy, que la naissance de ces insectes est la mesme que de tous les
autres animaux, quelles viennent d'un oeuf; car ayant fait ouvrir diverses
ruches, nous trouvâmes plusieurs de ces oeufs piquez au fond des petites
celules qu'on void dans les fani, ou pains de miel, mais ce qui me surprit le
plus fut, qu'ayant fait, ave·c une addresse qui luy est toute particuliere,
l'anatomie d'un Roy des abeilles, il trouva dans son corps un grand nombre
de ces oeufs, et nous decouvrimes par-là que ce que l'on appele communemt.
le Roy des Abeilles, en est la mére, et la seule fémelle de tout ce peuple que
l'on void dans une Ruche, plus peuplée, à proportion de sa grandeur,
qu'aucune ville de l'Europe. Il continua a faire la dissection des Abeilles
ordinaires; elle nous fit connoistre qu'elles sont les masles, car elles ont les
parties de ce sexe fort visibles, et mesme avec assez de rapport à celles de
l'homme. Ainsi ce que ces graves et Anciens Auteurs nous ont dit de leur
chasteté et de leurs autres vertus, se trouve renversé, et il parait que dans
cet estat tout s'y fait par amour et non par autorité. Comme le gouverne
ment des fourmis approche fort de celuy des Abeilles, aussi s'y passe-t-il
quelque chose de semblable; car il y a parmy elles peu de masles, beaucoup
APPENDICES 281
plus de femelles, et une troisième espece où l'on ne trouve point de marques

du sexe des masles, ni des femelles; celles-cy sont comme les esclaves des
autres, et ont le soin d'élever leurs petis, aprés qu'ils sont esclos. Sur cela,
il me fit remarquer, que ces fourmis de la 3 m• espèce, destinées a faire toutes
les corvées de ce petit estat, commencoient le travail auquel elles sont
destinées, aussitost qu'elles sont écloses. Mais celle de ses découvertes
qu'il estime le plus, est de faire voir comment se passent les changemens si
surprenans qui arrivent aux insectes, et comment une Chenille (par ex
emple) qui se traine sur une feuille peut devenir Papillon, qui vole le jour,
ou la nuit. Il le fait voir par une expérience sensible, et dans les Chenilles
mesmes il trouve le Papillon avec ses oeufs, s'il en doit sortit une femelle;
si bien que, selon sa pensée, la nature agit de mesme dans toutes les pro
ductions des animaux, ou l'on peut dire qu'il ne se fait aucune generation,
tout ce qui paroist engendré ayant esté en effet dans l'animal qui le produit;
dans la rose, par exemple, il paroist, d'abord, un bouton, qui vient à s'ouvrir,
et à pousser ses feüilles; on void, en suite, la graine, et de la graine, mise en
terre, il en vient un rosier. Ainsi des oeufs viennent les chenilles qui apres
deviennent en crysalis ou cocque, et en suite en Papillon, qui fait les oeufs
dont les Chenilles sont venuës. Il rapporte plusieurs de ces changemens;
mais il n'y en a point de plus admirable que ceux d'un qu'Aristote a nommé
Ephemeris; car apres qu'il a demeuré longtemps dans les eaux, sort, vers le
mois de Juin, de cet animal aquatique, un autre animal avec des ailes,
lequel, en quatre heures et demye de temps, se depoüille deux fois d'une peau
extremement subtile, qui couvre tout son corps, fait des oeufs en grand
nombre, et meurt apres ce temps; ce peu de momens de vie sont encore
souvent abregez par les oyseaux qui leurs donnent la chasse, ou par les
poissons qui les attendent lors qu'ils volent proche la surface de l'eau. Il a
fait une infinité d'autres découvertes sur l'histoire des animaux. Je ne luy
ay point donné de rel.khe qu'il ne se soit engagé dans l'impression. La
première partie en est déjà presque achevée ..... Ces découvertes
paroissent de grandes choses à mon Philosophe d'Amsterdam. Il croit en
tirer beaucoup de connoissances pour le reste de la nature. Pour moy,
Monsieur, j'en profiteray déja beaucoup, si le récit de ces petites choses vous
donne quelque sujet de divertissement."
A letter from H. Juste! to Fermat of 12 decembre, 1669 (Toulouse 846,

f. 146) discusses this discovery in such a way as to make one think the
above letter is by Melchisedec Thevenot, and concerns the investigations of
Swammerdam. Perhaps this is a copy of the letter which Thevenot wrote
Juste!?
APPENDICES
10. Pierre Bayle to Robert Boyle. June 6, 1686.

Royal Society of London. Boyle Letters, Vol. A-B, f. 39.
Monsieur,
Je suis tout a fait inexcusable de n'avoir pas eu encore l'honneur de vous
écrire apres tant de marques que j'ai recues de votre genereuse honte. Vous
m'avez tait present d'un de vos livres sur les eaux minerales d'Angleterre,
dont i'ai eu le malheur de ne pouvoir profiter à cause que ie n'entends pas
l'Anglois, et que nous n'avons dans cette ville aucun Traducteur capable de
bien rendre les expressions philosophiques. Mr de Coninghame m'a aparté
un autre present de votre part, savoir un phosphore, et m'a asseuré de votre
precieuse amitié, et cependant Monsieur, ie demeure iusques à aujourd'hui
dans le silence; i'avoue que c'est se rendre tres criminel d'ingratitude, mais
i'espere que votre bonté viendra a mon secours quand vous saurez Monsieur
que je n'ai pas laissé d'avoir dans l'ame et de les dire dans toutes rencontres
les sentiments de la plus haute veneration pour votre personne. On ne sait
qu'admirer le plus en vous Monsieur, ou la profonde connaissance de la
nature, ou la piete singuliere, ou la generosite; la douceur, l'humilité; tout
cela fait un assemblage de merite qu'on ne trouve presque qu'en vous; pres
que partout ailleurs il est dispersé les uns en possedant une partie, les autres
l'autre. II m'est bien doux qu'etant tel vous daigniez ietter les yeux sur
moi et m'honorer de votre amitié et de votre consideration: Je ferai tout
mon possible pour en meriter la continuation par une parfaite reconnaissance
et par un respect continuel, comme aussi pour profiter des belles lumieres que
vous repandez comme un soleil par tout le monde. Dieu veuille vous faire
la grace Monsieur, de le faire longtems. Votre tres-illustre Société m'a
honoré d'une marque de son affection en m'envoiant le beau present du
livre de piscibus qu'elle a fait imprimer à Oxford, ce qui a ete accompagné
d'une lettre des plus obligeantres de Monsieur le Secretaire. Je me suis
donné l'honneur d'y repondre et de temoigner le mieux que i'ai pu ma recon
naissance et mon profond respect, mais aidez moi ie vous en prie a tesmoigner
tout cela a votre tres-illustre Societe Royale. Ce sera une nouvelle ob
ligation que ie vous aurai avec tant d'autres qui m'engagent à etre toute ma
vie, Monsieur, etc.
Bayle.
J'ai veu avec l'impatience de voir tout l'ouvrage les titres de votre projet sur
l'air. Cela sera beau et digne des autres ouvrages dont vous avez enrichi
le public.
A Rotterdam le 6. de Juin, 1686.

APPENDIX B
AVIS AVX PERSONNES D'ESPRI'l', E<J' AVX CVRIEVX

PAUL BOCCONE Herboriste du feu grand Duc de Toscane, est arriué
depuis peu à Paris auec tous ses recueils & remarques Botaniques, attiré par
la reputation qui est épanduë de toutes parts, que le Roy de France est le
plus curieux, & tout ensemble le plus genereux Prince du monde.
Et comme la rigueur de l'Hyver passé fut préjudiciable à une infinité
de Plantes dans tous les iardins de France, ledit Boccone ayant grande
quantité de semences de Plantes curieuses, pourra tres-auantageusement Il ve11,dra les sem
e1ues des Pla11,tes
reparer cette perte: Sur tout puis que les semences qu'il a apportées auec soy les plus curieuses
qu'il a apportèes
sont telles, qu'il croit qu'on ne les sçauroit rencontrer dans Paris, ny en d'Italie.
quelqu'autre endroit de la France que ce soit, ayant fait des voyages expres,
dans l'Italie, la Sicile, & l'Isle de Malthe, pour y rechercher tout ce qu'il y
auoit de plus curieux & de plus rare, & pour l'apporter en France.
Il a connaissance de toutes les pierres dures, & s'est sur tout attaché a
chercher en Sicile toutes les sortes de !aspes qui s'y rencontrent; & si on en
Si le Roy desire
voulait dans Paris de toutes les especes, mesmes des plus rares, il sçait les quelques Iaspes
lieux où on les pourrait trouuer, & les ferait venir à peu de frais, les mines les & autres pierres
rares de Sicile, il
plus rares & les plus belles de ces !aspes se sont perduës par la negligence de luy e,i peut faire
avoir tel nombre
ceux du pays; & ledit Boccone qui a long-temps voyagé en Sicile, a fait sa qu'il luy plaira en
principale estude à les rechercher & à les découurir, & peut mesme assurer peu de temps.
qu'il y a réüssi.
La Botanique ou connaissance des Plantes ayant tousiours esté beaucoup
estimée en France; & de fraische memoire ayant esté cultiuée par vne per
sonne de la premiere qualité; comme ie me suis aussi appliqué à cette estude
auec passion depuis vingt années, ie me suis seruy de cette affiche pour
donner auis au public, & faire sçauoir que si entre tant de doctes Medecins,
& d'honnestes gens, il s'en trouue plusieurs qui soient bien aises de conferer
pour esclaircir & verifier les especes les plus douteuses des Plantes, & aster la
contusion qui se rencontre chez les Autheurs qui en ont escrit; ledit Boccone
offre de faire deux fois le mois des conferences dans sa maison expressement
sur ce sujet.
L'entrée en sera libre à tous les curieux & intelligens dans l'estude de la
Botanique. Chacun pourra apporter iusques à demie douzaine de Plantes
La Conjerence se
ou fraisches ou seiches pour les examiner. Elles doiuent estre choisies, & fera deux fois le
des plus curieuses & des plus rares; les communes ne vallant pas la peine de mois.
les rechercher.
APPENDICES
Et parce que le temps ne permettra pas d'examiner dans vne Conference

toutes celles qu'on pourroit apporter, & que chacun voudroit qu'on exami
nast les siennes. On tïrera au billet pour sçauoir celles qui seront les
premieres examinées, puis on viendra au second & au troisieme ensuitte,
comme marquera le sort du billet. Il y aura huit places pour le cercle,
esquelles on conferera & determinera auec la plume à la main; & ceux qui
seront autour ou écouteront simplement, ou s'occuperont à chercher les
passages des Liures dont on aura besoin.
l'auray deux Liures de papier blanc pour le seruice de la Conference,
dans l'vn desquels on écrira toutes les opinions, & tous les noms donnez aux
Plantes; & dans l'autre on mettra la Plante mesme dans le naturel, & cela
Les Reg/es de ta
Conference. pour pouuoir confronter le nom du premier Liure auec la Plante du second;
& la peine que nous y prendrons sera vtile pour tout le temps de l'Assemblée.
Pour empescher qu'il n'y ait de l'embaras dans la Conference, & éuiter la
confusion dans les voix de l'assemblée, il y aura huit plumes, desquelles cha
cun pourra se seruir pour mettre son sentiment par écrit; & quand la chose
sera establie & enregistrée, on effacera les écrits particuliers d'un chacun,
parce que nostre dessein ne tend qu'a esclaircir les Plantes obscures ou in
connuës, & non pas à taxer d'ignorance les personnes d'estude qui pourront
s'y trouuer.
On y parlera auec modestie da la maniere suiuante: Cette plante me
paroist estre nommée N. par un tel autheur, toutesfois ie n'en suis pas
asseuré, ie vous prie, Messieurs, d'examiner ma coniecture; ou bien, i'ay ex
aminé cette plante, & i'estime absolument que c'est N. décrite par un tel
autheur; cependant chacun peut escrire ou asseurément ou auec doute son
opinion, sans craindre d'estre repris.
On trouuera dans ma chambre des liures de Botanique, pour confronter
la plante auec la figure ou description d'icelles, & puis on establira ce qu'il y a
de certain, le tout auec honeur & respect les vns enuers les autres, & le
plus de modestie que faire se pourra. Si quelque critique dit que nous
fassions des conferences & questions de nom; à cela ie réponds que nous
taschons de sçauoir le veritable nom de la plante pour n'y estre pas trompés,
parce que tous les iours on fait des équiuoques, prenant l'vne pour l'autre, &
il me souuient qu'en Sicile ils tiennent comme article de foy que l'Abrotonum
odoratum humile Dodonaei, est l'Absynthium Pontificum ojficinarum, dont ie
les ay auertis; & si nous considerons ce qui se passe aux autres pays, nous
trouuerons qu'on s'abuse souuent en pareilles occasions, & qu'il se fait des
quiproquo parmy ceux qui negligent cette estude.
Comme donc plusieurs plantes ont esté, ou negligées, ou mal nommées, ou
APPENDICES
encore plus mal descrites, & que quantité d'autres ne l'ont point esté du
tout; adioustez que la culture & la diuersité des climats les rend tout a fait
méconnaissables; i'estime que leur examen fait par plusieurs personnes sera
fort vtile. Vn homme quelque versé qu'il puisse estre dans cette pro
fession, fait milles fautes, s'il ne communique auec les autres; parce que six
personnes ont fait plus de voyages & plus veu de plantes qu'un seul.
Les plantes communes & que l'on reconnaist aisément, seront aussi tost
determinées, & on passera à d'autres.
S'il arriuoit que quelqu'un presentast quelque Plante nouuelle, ou d'un
pays esloigné comme des Indes, en ce cas on proposera le nom le plus ap
prochant, on en remarquera le difference, & on consultera soigneusement
les liures qui traittent des plantes de ces pays-là, comme Christophle à
Costa, Hernandés, Tulpius, Piso, Margraue, &c. Que s'il veut faire la
description de ces plantes nouuelles pour sa satisfaction & son estude parti
culiere, il pourra faire voir son trauail dans la conference; mais pour n'em
pescher pas les exercices ordinaires, on choisira vne ou deux personnes
pour examiner cette description, auec le pouuoir de corriger & d'adiouster
les remarques qu'on y aurait obmises, & le tout se fera hors de la conference.
Auant que d'en sortir, chacun doit prendre vne liste des plantes qui y
auront esté examinées & determinées, & on donne la liberté de proposer ses
doutes là-dessus dans la suiuante conference.
Si les estudians en Medecine, & les ieunes Apoticaires desirent de luy une
repetition particuliere sur le suiet des plantes, pourueu qu'ils en apportent Il monstre à con
noistre les Plantes
auec eux vne ou plusieurs, il leur dira le nom de la plante, & l'autheur qui en en particulier à
qui que ce soit, en
parle, & leur en fera confronter la description dans les liures, & il leur mon peude tems.
trera ce qu'il sçait. Ils pourront commencer dés à present, & on leur ap
prendra autant de plante qu'ils en apporteront auec eux.
I'auertis icy que pour paruenir à vne connaissance mediocre des plantes,
il faut voyager, chercher, feuilleter quantité de liures de Botanique, & faire
des conferences; & à chacune de ces choses, il faut assigner quelque heure
particuliere dans le iour, & ce faisant on apprendra en deux mois ce qu'on
n'aurait pû autrement apprendre qu'en vn an.
Cette profession est si agreable, si curieuse & si diuertissante, que les
Dames elles-mesmes ne font point de difficulté de s'y adonner, comme on dit
qu'en Angleterre, elles-y sont fort affectionnées, & ie croy que la France ne Les Dames aussi
sont imûtèes d
cede rien en cela, à la curiosité des Dames d'Angleterre. A Lyon il a en co,inoistre les
plantes.
seigné deux Dames de condition, appellées l'vne Mademoiselle Ricou, &
l'autre Mademoiselle Moulceaux, lesquelles en trois mois de temps connu
rent presques toutes les plantes qui naissent dans cette contrée.
2.86 APPENDICES
En Italie il a enseigné quelques Gentilshommes de la premiere qualité.

Voila ce que vous peut montrer selon sa capacité ce curieux Sicilien, tant
dans la connoissance particuliere des plantes, que dans l'estude des choses
naturelles.
Si le Roy veut en
voyer dans les Si le Roy vouloit faire venir des plantes estrangeres & curieuses de pays
pays tloignez esloignez, ledit Boccone s'offre d'entreprendre quelque voyage que ce soit
pour rec!tercher
les plantes curi pour le seruice de sa Maiesté.
euses, il s'offre de Le mesme Boccone a vn grand ramas fort curieux de Pierres, Plantes,
le sert1ir dans ce
dessein. productions marines, pour la satisfaction des Sçauans; & partant ceux qui
On inuite les Me
decins, A poti se sont appliquez à la Medecine, à la Physique, & à la Pharmacie, y trouue
caires, Phisiciens, ront de tres-belles obseruations naturelles, lesquelles on void décrites dans
&c.
Gesnerus, Imperatus, & Aldrouandus. II demeure à l'entrée de la ruë de
Seine chez un Maistre Bourlier, à !'Enseigne de l'Autruche, vis-à-vis de la
botte Royale, au Fauxbourg S. Germain, à la deuxiéme Chambre.
La Conference se fera le Ieudy à une heure apres midy, tous les quinze
iours une fois. II commencera le deuxiéme Ieudy d'Avril, et con
tinuëra selon que la Compagnie le trouuera bon.
(British Museum, Dept. of Printed Books, 444.i.12. This poster or
handbill, printed on a folio sheet, 18 by r 5 inches, may also be seen
in the Recueil '!'ra/age, Bibliothèque Mazarine, A r 5396, i!i r 5.)
4i
APPENDIX C
Summary of Manuscript Sources !i/_,uoted
I. France:
Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale.
Fonds Français 9361 Letter of Bignon Ch. XII
13042, 13050, etc Boulliau papers Ch. I, VII
15189, Huet correspondence Ch. VI, VII, VIII.
23254, Lantiniana Ch. VII, XI.
Nouvelles Acquisitions Françaises
6204-5-6, Mersenne Correspondence Ch.III
21740-1, Nouvelles Scientifiques de l'Angle
terre Ch. IX.
Fonds Latin 11451, Huet papers, Ch. IX
Cinq Cents Colbert 48 5, Sorbière letter and
discourse, Ch. VI
Fonds Dupuy 18, 669, 675, Ch. I, IV.
Bibliothèque de !'Arsenal, Ms. 5423, Huet on

Glass drops, Ch. X.
Bibliothèque de la Société de !'Histoire du
Protestantisme français, Ms. Su, Juste!
correspondence Ch. VIII.
Toulouse: Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. 846,
Justel Letters, Ch.VIII.
Chantilly: Archives du Musée Condé, Série P, lx,

lxiii, lxxi, xciv, etc., etc., Ch.XI
II. Italy:
Florence: Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Ash
burnham collection, Justel letters,
By photostat, Ch. VIII.
By copies in possession of Monsieur J. Bardin Ch. XII.
III. Ho/land:
Leiden: University Library,
Collection Huygens, Reysverhael, Ch. V.
B. P. L., IV, 286, Rivetiana Ch. II.
Burman Q 18, Bigot letters Ch. IX.
Burman II, ii, Chapelain letters Ch. IX.
287
r
288 APPENDICES
IV. England:
London: British Museum,
Sloan 4278, Pell papers Ch.III.
1868, Letter of Edward Browne Ch. VII.
179A, Downes' Journal Ch.XI.
Harleian 6796, La Musique Almérique Ch.III
Royal College of Physicians, Ms. Life of Dr.
Baldwin Hamey Ch.XII
Library of the French Hospital, Ott Collection,
Letter of J. Daillé Ch. IX.
Royal Society. (Ali quotations by permission
of the Council of the Society)
Guard-books, A, B, F, H, I, M, S, V, Letters
cited in Ch.VI-XI, incl.
Letter-book, II, Oldenburg Ch. VII
Oldenburg's Common-place book, (Liber
Epistolaris) Ch.I, V, X.
Miles Collection of Boyle Papers, Letters
A-B, Borrichius Ch. XI.
Oxford: Bodleian.
Ms.Tanner 39, Charlett letters, Ch. VIII.
Ms.Aubrey 12, Letter of J.Hoskyns Ch. V.
Ms.Lister 5, 19, 22, Note-books, Ch.IX, X, XII.
Ms. Smith 46, Juste! letter, Ch. VII.
BIBLIOGRAPHT
A. General:
Ascoli, G.-La Grande-Bretagne devant !'Opinion française au xviie
siècle, Paris, 1930, 2v.
Bastide, C.-Anglais et Français du xviie siècle,Paris, 1912.
Bigourdan, G.-L'Astronomie, évolution des idées et des méthodes,
Paris, 191 I.
-Les premières Sociétés savantes de Paris au xviie siècle,articles in the
Comptes-rendus of the Académie des Sciences, 1916-17, Tomes
163, 164; reprinted as a brochure, 1919.
Boyle, R.-Works,ed. by T. Birch, London, 1744, 5v.,1772, 6v.
Brett, G. S.-History of Psychology, London, 1921, Vol. II.
Burman, P.-Sylloges Epistolarum . . . . a viris illustribus scripta
rum . . . . (s.l.) 1724, 5v; 1727, 5v.
Bussell,-Religious 'l'hought and Heresy in the Middle Ages, London
Chapelain,-Lettres, ed. by T. de Laroque, in Collection des docu-
ments inédits, Serie V, #9, 2v. 1880-1883.
Charbonnel, R.-La pensée italienne au xvie siècle,Paris, 1917.
Cohen, G.-Les Ecrivains français en Hollande ....Paris, 1920.
Collas, G.-'Jean Chapelain,Paris, 191I.
Conradi, E.-Societies and Academies in early limes, article in Psy
chological Seminar,XII, 1905, p. 384-426. Extensive bibliography,
mostly German.
Crane, T. F.-Italian Social Customs of the Sixteenth Century, and
their Influence on the Litera/ure of Europe. New Haven, Yale U.
Press, 1920
Duncan, C. S.-'l'he New Sciences and English Litera/ure, Menasha,
Wis., 1913
Damiron,-La Philosophie au xviie siècle,1858-64.
Denis, J.-Sceptiques et Libertins de la première moitié du xviie siècle,
Caen, 1884.
Evelyn, John -Diary,ed. by W. Bray.
Flourens,-Fontenelle.
Fabroni, A.-Lettere inedite di Uomini Illustri,Florence, 1773-75, 2v.
Gui/Frey,-Comptes des Bdtiments du Roi, Coll. des Documents in.
edits, VI, 18.
Halliwell, J. 0.-Collection of Letters Illustrative of the Progress of
Science in England from the Reign of Elizabeth to the Reign of Charles
II,London, 1841,
APPENDICES
Huygens, Christiaan,-Oeuvres Complètes, Correspondence, I-X, La

Haye, Nijhoff, 1881 ff.
Lanson, G.-Les Origines de l'esprit philosophique, in La Revue des
Cours et Conférences, 1908-1910.
Le Maire,-Paris Ancien et Nouveau, 1685, 3v.
Locke, John-Lettres inédites à <J'hoynard, Ed by Ollion, Paris, 1908,
enlarged, La Haye, 1912.
Marolles, Michel de-Mémoires, Amsterdam, 1755.
Masson, F.-L'Académie Française, 1629-1793, Paris, 1912.
Maupin, G.-Opinions et Curiosités touchant la mathématique d'après
les ouvrages français des xvie, xviie, et xviiie siècles, Paris, 1898-1902,
2V.
Maury,-Les Académies d'autrefois, 2v.
Monconys, B. de-'Journal des Voyages, Lyon, 1665-66, 3v.; Paris,
1677; Lyon, 1678; Paris, 1695, 5v.
Moreri,-Grand Dictionnaire Historique, 1674, 1688, 1694, 1699,
1718.
Mornet, D.-Les Sciences de la Nature au xviiie siècle.
Ornstein, M.-Rôle of the Scientific Societies in the Seventeenth Century,
New York, 1913; Chicago, 1924.
Patin, Gui-Lettres, ed. Réveillé-Parise, Paris, 1846, 3v.
Pelisson et d'Olivet-Histoire de l'Académie Française, ed. Livet,
Paris, 1858, 2v.
Piobert,-Relations des savants entre eux avant la création de l'Académie
des Sciences en I666, article in Comptes-rendus of the Académie des
Sciences, 1 mars 1862.
Renan, E.-Ave"oes et l'ave"oisme, Paris, 1852.
Reynier, G.-La Science des Dames au temps de Molière, in Revue des
Deux Mondes, 15 mai, 1929, p. 436.
Rigaud, S. P.-Co"espondence of scientific men of the Seventeenth
century . . . . printed /rom originals in the collection of • • . • the Earl
of Macclesfidd, Oxford, 1841, 2v.
Rodocanachi,-La réforme en Italie, Paris, 1920, 2v.
Steeves, H. R.-Learned Societies and English Literary Scholarship,
New York, 1913
Stimson, Dorothy,-<J'he graduai Acceptance of the Copernican <J'heory
of the Universe, Hanover, N. H., 1917
Strowski, F.-Pascal et son temps, Paris, 3v.
"Vigneul-Marville" (Bonaventure d'Argonne) Mélanges, Rotterdam,
1700---02, 3v.
APPENDICES
B. By Chapters:
1. Humbert, P.-Un amateur, Peiresc, I580-I637; Paris, 1932. Am
ple bibliography, with catalogue of the publications of T. de
Laroque from the Correspondence.
For the Cabinet of the Dupuys, see Uri, Nicaise, as indicated in the
text. The Fonds Dupuy and the papers of Boulliau are the
chief sources of this chapter; the printed catalogue of the former
may be consulted, and a manuscript inventory of the latter is
kept for workers' use at the desk in the Bibliotheque Nationale.
These are inadequate as catalogues, but offer some guidance to
the material.
See also, Rigault, Vila Petri Puteani, Paris, 1652; Sorel, C., Discours
sur l'Académie française, 1655; the <îestament ou Conseilsfidelles
d'un bon père (1648) of Fortin de la Hoguette, and his Lettres
inédites ed. by T. de Laroque, La Rochelle, 1888.
Also Fremy, E., L'Académie des derniers Valois, Paris, 1887.
II and III. Baillet, A.-Vie de Descartes, 1691.

For Theophraste Renaudot see biographical studies by Forgue,
Ratin, Gilles de la Tourette, Roubaud, and the studies by ten
journalists in the series Vies des Hommes Illustres, Paris, Gal
limard, 1929; cf. also, Hatin, Histoire de la Presse française, and
Sirven, 'Journaux et journalistes.
The conferences of the Bureau of Address have been the subject
of studies as adjuncts of Renaudot's work as a whole, and in
separate studies such as that by L. M. Richardson in Modern
Language Notes, May, 1933, p. 312, <îhe Conférences of <î. Re
naudot, an Episode in the fluarrel of the Ancients and Moderns.
The various editions of the conferences have not been collated for
differences of text and impression; they were published in quarto
sheets, then collected, 1636-55; reprints of Lyon, 1666, Paris,
1667, 1669, probably others, are known. A partial reprint of
1673 is noted in the text, as also English translations.
For the use of French in science, see Brunot, Histoire de la Langue
française; also, Maupin, op. cit. Also Cureau de la Chambre,
Recueil des Epistres, Paris, 1664; Le Laboureur, Avantages de la
Langue française, Paris, 1669; and Le Tenneur, as mentioned in
text.
For Mersenne, see: Hilarion de Coste, Vie du R. P. Marin Mer
senne, Paris, 1649; repr. by T. de Laroque, in Revue Hist. et
APPENDICES
Arch. du Maine, T. 32, 1892, p. 18. Also, Haureau, Histoire

littéraire du Maine, Paris, 1876, viii, 112.
Tannery et de Waard, Correspondance du P. Marin Mersenne, l,
(1617-27) Paris, G. Beauchesne et ses fils, 1933.
See also, A. Favaro, Amici e corrispondenti di Galileo, xxxviii,
Mersenne, in Atti del R. Istituto veneto di Scienze, lettere ed arti,
LXXVI, 1917, 2e part. pp. 35-92.
Mersenne: La Verité des Sciences, 1626. fi(_,uestions théologiques,
physiques, morales, et mathematiques, 1634. Etc.
Books of mathematical recreations:
Bachet, C.-G., Sieur de Mexeriat or Meziriac, 1581-1638-
Problèmes plaisans et delectables qui se font par les nombres,
Lyon, 1612, 1624; in part, Paris, 1874.
Leurechon, Jean (1591-1670)-"Van Etten"-Recréations math
ématiques, Paris, 1624; Rouen, 1628; Etc. Compiled from
Bachet, and from Cardan, De Subtilitate
Mydorge, C.-Examen du liure des recréations mathématiques,
Paris, 1630, with notes by Henrion; Rouen, 1639; Lyon, 1642;
Paris, 1661, etc.
"Henry van Etten"-Mathematicall Recreations, or a collection
of many problems, with the Description and Use of the Horolog
icall Ring, inuented by W. Oughtred, 1653, 1674.
The title, Recréations mathématiques, was frequently taken up
in later times, by Ozanam, 1740; by Guyot, 1769-72; and
by Julia-Fontenelle, 1826, etc.
IV. Boudhors, Ch.-H., Pascal: l'Académie Parisienne et la crise de

I654, in Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France, avril-juin, 1929.
Kerviler, Habert de Montmor, article in Le Bibliophile français,
1872, p. 198
-Le Chancelier Pierre Seguier, Paris, 1874.
Sorbière,-Sorberiana, with a Vie by Graverol, 1693, 1694, etc.
Lettres et Discours sur diverses matières curieuses, Relations
Lettres et Discours, both of 1660.
V. 'l'he History of the Royal Society is the title of books by T. Sprat,

1667, 1702, 1722, 1734; by Thomson, 1812; by Weld, 1848 (2v.)
and especially Birch, 1756, 4v., who reprints the Journal-books,
with some commentary and notes, as far as 1687. The Record
APPENDICES
I)
of the Royal Society, 1912, is useful. An article by G. Sarton in
Revue générale des Sciences, 1912, may be consulted. Articles in
the Dictionary of National Biography are useful, especially on
Oldenburg, Wilkins, Boyle, etc. For details of the Fellows, the
manuscript notes of Dr. Bulloch at the Royal Society itself are
invaluable.
Statements of the Society's purposes may be found in Sprat, in
Hooke's Micrographia, in Glanvill's Plus Ultra, in Oldenburg's
prefaces to various volumes of the 'Transactions
Sprat, History., was translated into French, and published in
Geneva (1669) and Paris (1670); a better translation, according
to Oldenburg, was made by Du Moulin in London, but does not
seem to have been published.
A recent book, R. F. Young, Comenius in England, London, 1932,
seeks to attach the foundation of the Royal Society to the com
prehensive projects for educational reform advocated by the
Czech author and his disciples in England, Hartlib, Petty, and
others. For Hartlib's Antilian schemes see the diary and cor
respondence of John Worthington, as published by the Chetham
Society, 1847-86, 3v., and the papers of John Beale in the British
Museum.
VI. Sorbière's Relation d'un voyage en Angleterre, Paris, 1664, Cologne,

1666, 1667, has been frequently studied; see Ascoli, op. cit., and
articles by A. Morize, esp. in Zeitsschrift fur Franzosische Sprache
u. Literatur, 1908, pp. 214-265, and in Revue de /'Histoire Lit
téraire, 1907, 231; also Guilloton, Autour de la Relation du voyage
de Sorbière, in Smith College Studies in Modern Languages, 1930.
See also Sprat's Observations on M. de Sorbier's Voyage into
England, London, 1665, 1668; with a translation of the Relation,
1709.
VII. Bigourdan, G.-Auzout is the subject of a note in Comptes-rendus

of the Académie des Sciences, 27 novembre 1916, Tome 163,
p. 642.
Caillemer, Lettres inédites à Nicaise, Lyon, 188 5.
Clement, P.-Lettres, Instructions et Mémoires de Colbert, Paris,
1868, Tome V.
APPENDICES
Duhamel, J.-B.-Regiae Scientiarum Academiae Historia .... 1699.

Henry, C.-Pierre de Carcavy, Bulletino Bibliografico e storico d.
Scienze Mat. e. Fis., xvii, 317, 879.
Pellissier, Lettres Inédites de Chapelain à Huet, Nogent-le-Rotrou,
1894
Rougier, L.-L'Ajfaire Pascal et la méthode littéraire de M. Brun
schvicg, in Mercure de France, 1 novembre 1931, pp. 513-553.
(Details on Auzout's relations with Pascal).
IX. Studies of the history of the learned periodical:

1684 Bayle,-Avis, Nouvelles de la République des Lettres
1689 Wolfius-De Photio Ephemeridum Inventore. Wittem
berg.
1692 Juncker.-Ephemerides Eruditorum, Lipsiae.
Renaudot, E.-De Diariis, B. N., N. A.Fr. 7484, f 209.
1710 Zeno, A.-Giornale de' Letterati, Introduzione.
1712 'Journal de 'l'revoux, Fevrier, pp 217 ff, (Repr.in 'Journal
des Savants)
1718 L'Abbé Raguet,-in L'Europe Sçavante.
1723 Preface to reprint edition of the 'Journal des Savants.
1734 Camusat, D.-F.,-Histoire Critique des 'Journaux. Amst.
1753 Claustre.-'l'able Generale des matières . . . . (du) 'JdS
avec un article ....Paris, 10v. 4to.
(1760) Yvon, article 'Journaux in Encyclopédie. (Summarized
from many of the foregoing)
1859 Daremberg, in 'Journal des Débats, 20 avril.
186o Cocheris, H.-'l'able I8I6-6o. Notice sur le 'Journal
depuis sa fondation.
1859-6o Hatin,-Histoire de la Presse en France. 8 vol.
1866 Hatin,-Bibliographie de la presse périodique.
1883 Dugast-Matifeux,-Debuts du journalisme litteraire en
France, Denis de Sallo,fondateur du 'JdS, in Ann. Dep. de la
Société d'émulation de la Vendée (Most complete account of
De Salle)
1903 Paris, G.Le 'Journal des Savants in JdS, janvier.
1910 Funck-Brentano. Les Nouvellistes.
1926 Graham-Beginnings of Engl. Literary periodicals.
1929 Morgan, B.T.Histoire du 'Journal des Sçavans.
APPENDICES
Publications of Jean Cusson:

Auzout, A.-Lettre à Monsieur /'Abbé Charles, sur le Ragguaglio di
due nuove osservazioni, &c. da G. Campani, avec des Remarques
ou il est parlé des nouvelles découvertes dans Saturne et dans
Jupiter . . . . 1665.
-Réponse de Monsieur Hook aux Considérations de Monsieur Au
zout contenue dans une lettre écrite à l'auteur des Philosophical
<J'ransactions. Et quelques lettres de part et d'autre sur les
grandes lunettes . . . . 1665.
-L'Ephémèride du nouveau Comète (By Auzout?) 1665.
-Extrait d'une lettre de Mr Auzout du 28 Dec. I666. à Mr
Oldembourg Secr de la Société Roy. d'Angleterre, touchant la
manière de prendre les diamètres des planètes . . . . 1667.
(Payen, A.-F.)-Selenelion ou l'apparition Luni-Solaire en
l'Isle de Gorgone. Observé par ordre du Serenissime Prince
Leopold de Florence, le xvi juin MDCLXVI. Avec /'Eclipse
Horizontale de Lune du xi Decembre prochaine qui paroistra en
son lever, eclipsée de deux doigts . . . . A Paris, Chez L. Bi/
laine et J. Cusson . . . . (Dedicated to Carcavy) 1666.
Petit, P.-Lettre de Monsieur Petit Intendant des Fortifications
touchant le jour auquel on doit célèbrer la Feste de Pasques . • . .
1666.
-?-Relation d'une observation faite à la Bibliothèque du Roy, à
Paris, le I2 May I667 sur les neuf heures du matin, d'un Halo
ou Couronne à l'entour du Soleil; avec un discours de la cause de
ces Météores, et de celle des Parelies. 1667. (An account of
Huygens' explanation of Parhelia)
Denis, ].-Lettre de Mr Denis Professeur de Philosophie et de
Mathématiques, A M. de Montmor premier Maistre des Re
questes, touchant deux expériences de la transfusionfaites sur des
hommes. 1667.
-Lettre écrite à Monsieur Sorbière Docteur en Médecine Par Jean
Denis aussi Docteur en Médecine, <J'ouchant /'Origine de la
<J'ransfusion du Sang, et la Manière de la pratiquer sur les
hommes . . . . 1668..
-Discours sur /'Astrologie Judiciaire et sur les Horoscopes Pro
noncé par J. Denis Conseiller et Médecin Ordinaire du Roi.
Dans une des Conférences publiques, qui sefont chez luy tous les
samedis. 1668.
APPENDICES
Sorbière, S.-Discours de Monsieur de Sorbière touchant diuerses

expériences de la transfusion du sang. 1668.
Huet, (?P. D. ?)-Lettre touchant les expériences de l'eau purgée
décrite dans le 'Journal des Sçavans, à M. Chouet, . . . . (Signed
"Huet") 1673.
Mariotte-Seconde Lettre de M. Mariotte à M. Pecquet pour
montrer que la Choroide est le Principal organe de la ueue. 1671.
Mallemant de Messange.-Nouueau système du Monde . . . . s. d.
(1679?)
Castelet-Lettre de Monsieur de Castelet à Monsieur Mallemant
de Messange sur les deux nouueaux systhèmes qu'ils ont inuentés
• • • • S. d. (1679/)
Mallemant de Messange-Dissertation sur les Comètes. 1681,
Hubin-Machines nouuellement executees et en partie inuentees
par le Sieur Hubin, Emailleur ordinaire du Roi. 1673.
X. Huet, Pierre-Daniel-Commentarius de rebus ad eum pertinentibus,

Published by Sallengre, La Haye, 1718. English translation
by Aikin, 1817, 2v. French translation by Nisard, 1853.
See D'Avenel, ].-Histoire de la Vie el des ouurages de Daniel Huet,
éuêque d'Auranches, Mortain, 1853. Brief account of the scien
tific activities of 1662-1670, based on Commentarius.
XI. Bourdelot.
Lemoine et Lichtenberger, 'l'rois Familiers du Grand Condé,
Paris, 1908.
Denichou, R.-J.,-Un médecin du grand siècle, /'Abbé Bourdelot,
Thèse de médecine, Paris, 1929.
Bourdelot published with F. Bayle of Toulouse in 1684, De
I'Expérience el de la Raison.
Petit, P.-Dissertations Académiques sur la nature du froid et du
chaud . . . . Auec un Discours sur la construction et l'usage d'un
cylindre Arithmétique . . . . Paris, Varennes, 1671, in-12, is
perhaps a discourse from Bourdelot's academy.
Boccone republished his Recherches et Obseruations in 1674 in
Amsterdam, much enlarged, and with several discourses ad
dressed to Fellows of the Royal Society whom he had met in
England. Among the MSS. of the Institut de France, '# 3499 of
the Ancien Fonds, is a Herbarium formed by him from plants
APPENDICES
from the Bois de Saint-Cloud, and presented to Monsieur, bro

ther of Louis XIV.
XII. Greenslet, 'Joseph Glanvill, and D'Israeli, dmenities of Literature,

discuss the question of the criticism directed at the Royal So
ciety. Stubbs' chief productions are listed by Greenslet; we
note his Censure upon certain passages ....in the History of the
Royal Society, and Specimen of some animadversions upon the
Plus Ultra of Mr Glanvill.
··········-···----···--·-· ··--�-------.
INDEX
Ablancourt, Perrot d', 65. 202-203, 207, 215, 234, 243,250,
Académie de Montmor, 69-I34, 135, 259, 262, 279, 293, 294, 295.
137, 140-143, 161, 162, 206, 207,
231, 232, 234-235, 254, 263. Bachet de Méziriac, 39, 292.
Académie des Sciences, xvii, 2, 67, Bacon, Francis, 8, II6, I19, 213,
73, 76, 80, 107, II7, I24, 135-140, 263, 265, 274.
I48-I60, 171, 199, 204, 215, 231, Baillet, 17.
243, 26o, 264, 276, 279. Baltazar, 212.
Académie du Dauphin, 72. Balzac, Guez de, 9, 17, 68.
Académie du Palais, 6. Bannius, 54.
Académie Française, 17, 26, 31, Bayle, François, 214, 296.
32, 64, 65, 66, 67, 80, 88, II 5, 143, Bayle, Pierre, 252, 263, 282, 294.
148, 161, 254, 263, 279. Beale, 106, 293.
Académie pour les Langues orien- Beaune, Florimond de, 17, 208.
tales, 73, 149, 278. Bernier, F., 94.
Académie, La petite, 73. Bertet, 71, 243.
Academies, xi-xiii, 241-243. Bignon, 260, 287.
Academies, Italian, 1-3. Bigot, Eméric, 12, 168, 188-190,
Academy, Venetian, in Paris, 78. 194, 196-197, 287.
Accademia del Cimenta, 72, 93, 107, Billaine, 165, 207, 295.
IIo, 134, 135, 140, 149. "Blaclo," 59.
Ailesbury, Earl of, 136, 166, 2II- Blégny, 206, 251-252.
212. Blois, 82, 208, 272-273.
Alleaume, 109. Blondel, I2, 92.
Ampiou, 89, 121, 123, 128, 129. Boccone, 26, 238-240, 283-286, 296.
Ancillon, 163, 174. Bochart, 217, 218, 232.
Anne of Austria, 30. Boileau, 88.
Aristotle, 67, 243. Bane! (sic,for Borel, Pierre?), 210.
Ashmole, 272-273. Bonneveau, 89, II3, 143.
Aubignac, Abbé d', 72, 73, 243. Bonpar, 209.
Aubrey, 105. Borelli, 85, 104, 243, 247, 279.
Auzout, xvii, 59, 61, 86, 87, 92, IIo, Barri, 130.
III, II3, II7, 121, 123, 128-30, Borrichius, 233, 234.
132, IJ7-I4I, 144-145, 149, 151, Boswell, 54.
156, 159, 161, 162, 164, 179, 200, Botany, 49, 239, 283-286.
299
300 INDEX
Bouillet,240. Carcavy, de, 70, 99, 109, 117, 126,

Boulliau,Bouillaud,Bullialdus,xvii, 135, 140, 149, 151-153, 155,
ro, II, 12, 14, 15, 20, 38, 56, 64, 158-159, 180, 181, 203-205, 275-
65, 70, 77-79, 81, 82, 86, 87, 107, 276,294.
IIo, 112, 117, 121,130,132, 138, Cartesianism, 67, 85, 137, 142, 16o,
144, 149, 161, 164, 167, 181, 185, 167, 219, 227, 262, 263.
215,254,260,269,272. Cassiano da! Pozzo,41.
Bourdelin,117,r54. Cassini, 74,92, 93, 94,95, 117, II8,
Bourdelot, II, 26, III, 112, 133, 158, 159, 200.
143, 161, 165, 168, 231-253, 258, Castelet, 251,296.
262,296. Castres, 98,209,210,212.
Bourgeois, 226-227. Cavallieri,4I.
Bourzeis,193,278. Cavendish,41,42,59, 61.
Boyle, 14, 38, 54, 58, 61, 96, 97, Cervier, see Servières.
98, 101, 103, 105, 106, 107, II9, Chamberlayne,166,212.
120, 129, 131, 141, 142, 162,169, Chambon, 59, 65.
194, 200, 202, 203, 209, 210, 216, Chanut, 71.
226,233,234,273,274,282. Chapelain, 9, 12, 67, 68, 73, 74, 77,
Brach,de,243. 79, 80-88, 94, 95, 102, 107-109,
Brereton,54,55, 104. 117, !20-123, 149, I50, 162, 193,
Brerewood,52. 195-196, 220, 254, 263.
Brieux,217-218. Chappuzeau, 209-210.
Briot,68,203. Charas,18r.
Brouncker,104,105. Charles Il,95, II5, II6,206.
Browne, Sir Thomas, 138, 172, 274. Charles, Abbé, r13, 117, 123, 124,
Bryas,Abbé Charles de,see Charles. 141, 165.
Buat,140. Charleton,II6, 133.
Bureau d 'Addresse, 18-30,39. Christina of Sweden, 217, 232.
Burton,52. Clarendon, Earl of,166.
Butterfield,261. Clerselier,85, 99,123,142.
Colbert, 67, 117, II8, 124, 128, 135,
Cabinet, 6-16, 17, 20, 65, 68, 77, 136, 139, 148-151, 156, 157, 193,
101, 140, 143, 161, 168, 217, 263, 198,199,223,279.
291. Collins,J.,55.
Caen, 6r, 165, 202, 2I6-230, 243. Comenius, 30, 42, 43, 45, 47, 62,
Cally,219,227. 63, 96, 293.
Campanella, 17,47,48. Comiers, 165.
Camusat,193,206, 294. Commodités de la Vie, 169, I74-I79,
Capillarity, 85, 86, III, II4, 221. 258-259.
..
I
INDEX 301
Compagnie des Sciences et des Arts, Diderot, 184.

128, r44-r50, 164, 171, 205, 207, Digby, 41, 59, 60, 94, 105, u6, u9,
234, 250. 210, 270.
Compton, 163, 166, 259. Divini, 128.
Condé, 12, 166, 232, 237, 240, 243, Dodart, 243.
244, 245, 246, 248-249, 250, 251, Doni, 41, 54.
253· Downes, 233.
Conférences du Bureau d'Adresse, Drebbel, 270.
18-30, 32, 291. Duclos, 99, 152.
Conrart, 17, 64, 67. Du Hamel, 117, 154, 159.
Copernican hypothesis, 37. Du Prat, 74, 99, 263.
Cordemoy, 243. Dupuys, 4, 6-r4, 17, 64, 65, 162;
Cork, Earl of, 96. see also, Cabinet.
Corneille, 170, 262. Du Vernay, 166.
Costar, 66.
Coste, Hilarion de, 33, 41, 42, 58.
Eclipse, 5, 140, 272-273.
Coste, 184.
Elzevir, 41, 74, 190.
Couplet, 250.
Emerez, 134, 235, 277.
Covell, 167, 259.
Ent, 104.
Cowley, 103.
Epicurus, 48, 80.
Cromare or Croixmare de Lasson,
Errors, Popular or "Vulgar," 146,
219, 228 ff. 172, 173, 246.
Croune, 166.
Evelyn, 5, 103-105, l 14-1 l 5, 132,
Cureau de la Chambre, 31, 71, u7,
171, 259.
126, 132, 15'.2.
Cusson, 141, 188, 206-207, 295.
Cycloid, 51-52. Faculty of Medicine, 20, 24, 30,
69, 147, 148, 195, 263.
Daillé, 12, 192. Falconieri, 168.
Della Porta, 4, 5 r. Fermat, Pierre de, 32, 92, 123, 168,
Denis, J.-B., 27, 134, 165, 168, 205- 172-173, 181-182.
207, 235, 238, 243, 248, 295. Fermat, Samuel de, 168, 181-182,
Desargues, 32, 70, 92, IIo, 215. 202, 213, 214, 281.
Descartes, 17, 25, 31, 32, 33, 39, Findekeller or Windekeller, 168, 170,
45, 47, 6o, 63, 67, 85, 92, 119, 183, 279-280.
122, 134, 161, 167, 213, 214, 215, Fléchier, 27.
232, 243, 262, 263. Florimond, see Beaune.
Des Maizeaux, 184. Fludd, 32, 48, 53.
Despagnet, 128, 243. Fontana, 47.
J
1L. .. :A,
r 2[2-'A''-.!ii
302 INDEX
Fontenelle, 74, 91, 92, 93, 118, 154, Gresham College, 43, 96, rn3, !04,
214, 263. 114, 120, 235.
Fortfischer see Vortfischer. Grotius, 12, 41.
Fortin de la Hoguette, 7, 8, 9. Guèdreville, 89, 11 '.l..
Foucquet, 27, 88, 126, 274. Guénégaud, 84, 133.
French Language, 29-31, 291. Guericke, Otto von, 106.
Frenicle de Bessy, 92, 110, 117, 132, Guisoni, rn8, 238.
136, 151, 164.
Guyet, 7, 9, 1 J.
Furetière, 18-19, 241, 254.
Gadroys, 236, 243. Haak, 41-59, 268-272.

Gaffarel, 57. Hall, 42.
Galileo, 4, 32, 33, 35, 39, 60, 80, 263. Halley, 167.
Gallicanism, 195. Hamey, 256, 288.
Gallois, 21, 67, 135, 159, 165, 193, Hardy, 17, 39, 57·
194, 198, 199, 203, 206, 241, 243, Hartlib, 29, 43, 61, 62, 63, 96, !03,
276. 293·
Gassendi, 4, 5, 9, II, 32, 38, 39, Harvey, II6.
41, 47, 48, 68, 69, 70, 72, 79, 80, Hauteserre, 168.
92,161,167,215,243,253,262,263. Hauteville, 194.
Gaston d'Orléans, 82, 157, 208, 272. Hauto11, 219, 224.
Gaudin, 216. Havers, 28.
Gayant, 152, 243. Hedelin, see Aubignac.
Gellibrand, 50. Heinsius, 77, 188, 190, 196.
Gilbert, 116. Herbert, Lord, of Cherbury, 271.
Glanvill, 257, 293, 297. Herbert, Lord, (Charles Somerset),
Glass drops, 71, 102, 112, 114, 122, 166, 2!0, 212-213.
220. Hevelius, 41, 112, 121, 132, 138, 169,
Glazer, 243. 272.
Glisson, 116. Hickes, 167.
Goddard, 43, 104. Hobbes, 41, 53, 59, 61, 68, 74, 92,
Golius, 41, 46. 116, 243, 274.
Gomberville, 193, 194. Holmes, 194.
Graaf, Régnier de, 169, 176, 235. Hooke, 94, 95, rn6, 134, 142, 187,
Graindorge, 217, 218, 219, 223, 226, 200, 293, 295.
243. Hôpital, Marquis de l', 26o.
Grandamy, 57, 207, 253. Hoskyns, 105, 254, 282.
Graunt, 142. Hotman, 136.
Greaves, 57, 269. Hübner, 44, 62, 269.
INDEX 3°3
Huet, 12, 15, 93, 134, 150, 162, 163, La Chambre, see Cureau de la
165, 168, 175, 183, 202, 2I6-227, Chambre.
232, 243, 245, 251, 258, 263, 264, La Loubère, La Louère, Lalovera,
277, 287, 296. etc., 181-182.
Hullon, II, 243. La Martinière, 236.
Huygens, Christiaan, 33, 79-87, Lamoignon, 243.
89, 94, 107-u4, n7-124, 128- La Montagne, 52.
133, 137, I4I, 145, 149-153, I58, La Mothe le Vayer, 65, 243.
159, 161, 162, 165, 185-187, 194, Language, 29-31, 57, 203-205, 225,
198, 201, 228, 232-234, 265, 295. 282, 291.
Huygens, Reysverhael, 108-II 5, 162. La Noue, 99.
Huygens, Constantyn, Senior, 33, Lanson, 262-263.
41, 79, 123, 129, 145. Lantin, Lentin, 138-139, 168, 181,
Huygens, Constantyn, Junior, I10. 202, 243, 244.
Huygens, Lodewijk, no, 1I 1, 121, La Poterie, no, III, 112, 122, 133.
123, 141, 233. La Reynie, 252.
La Rivière, 11, 13, 14.
La Roque, 165, 206, 252.
Innes, 29.
Laubéry, 99.
Invisible College, 42, 56, 61.
Launoy, 12, 72, 143, 165, 243, 247,
278.
Jesuits, 31, 147, 160, 195, 197, 207, Le Fèvre Chantereau, 69.
215, 217, 263. Le Fèvre, 99, 129.
Jones, 14, 95-<J9, 104, 209, 212, 275. Le Gallois, 26, 164, 165, 241, 245,
Journal des Savants, 21, 27, 145, 251.
150, 165, 181, !82, I87-I99,200- Leibniz, 50, 163, 168, 171, 174, 178-
202, 205-206, 228, 241, 262. 179, 246, 265.
Journalism, 21, I85-207, 251-252, Le Laboureur, 31.
294. Le Maire, 53, 57, 269.
Juste!, xiv, xv, xvii, 15, 68, 89, 140, Leopold ofTuscany,72,85,110, 135,
150, 155, 158, 159, I6I-I84, 194, 140, 149.
198, 201-203, 205, 213, 221-225, Le Pailleur, 32, 70, 243.
234, 236, 237, 243, 246, 252, 258- Le Tenneur, 31, 54, 55, 56, 140.
260, 262-265, 275, 281, 287-288. Liergues, 70, 2II.
Juste!, quoted, 134, 151-153, 156- Lister, Martin, 191, 192, 21I, 259,
158, 170, 171-179, 181-183, 198- 260-261.
199, 222-223, 258-259, 277-280. Locke, 167, 212.
Loret's Muze Historique, 190-191,
Kircher, Athanasius, 48, 57. 254.
INDEX
Louis XIII, 2,24, 30, 32, 232. Montmor, 12, 14, 32, 66-7I, 73,
Louis XIV,108,144-145,276. 74,75,77,78,80-88,92,99,103,
Lull,Ramon,59, 243. 107, 109, n5,u6, 117, 121, 123,
Luynes,Duc de,81,109. 124, 127, 130, 132-134, 142-143,
161,180,221,235,243,263,295.
Macé,217,219. Montpellier, 20, 6o, 136, 209-212,
Magalotti,135,140,168. Moray, 94, 96, 105, II4, 119, 129,
Magnets and magnetism, 47, 49, 133,142, 150, 185, 201, 203.
50, 51,273. Morin,17,39, 48,272.
Marchand,154,157,237. Morison,208,225,279.
Mariotte,169,207,243,296. Marland,172.
Marolles,12,17,68,69. Music,46,53, 54.
Martel,59, 106,II9,137,141. Mylon,99.
Mathematics,46,55.
Mazarin, l 1,30,l 15,135,208. Naudé,4,9,20,50.
Mazaugues,165,168. Neile,104,119.
Ménage,II,12, i 5, 68,80,88,IIJ, Neuré,68, uo,III.
139,143,161,243. Newcastle,42,59, 61.
Ménard,141,165,221,277. Newton,89,173.
Méré,Chevalier de,IIJ. Nicaise,14,140-141,260.
Mersenne, xvii, 4, II, JI-63, 65, Nolet,214.
68,70,79,92,105,II8,140,141, Nouvelles Scientifiques de l'Angle
161, 163, 169, 171,180,184,208, terre, 204-205.
215,263,265,268-272,287, 291-
292. Observatory,(Paris),xvii,139,144-
Mersenne, �pestions Théologiques, 145,153, l 57, l 58, l 59, 279.
34-38. Oldenburg,14,21,54,92-Io7,II9,
Mesmes,J. P de,31. 129-131, 139, 142, 150-153, 155,
Mézeray,186-187. 158-159, 162-163, 168, 176, 180,
Michon,see Bourdelot. 181,182,183,187,194,198,19c,
Milton,96. 203, 205, 209,210,212,213,218,
Miton,Mitton,IIJ, 222-226,234, 236, 237, 273-277,
Moisant de Brieux,see Brieux. 288,293.
Molière,89,90,170,254,262. Oldenburg, Liber Epistolaris, 14,
Monconys,Balthazar de,70,71,72, 97-IOJ,104,106-107,IJO,209.
86, l 12, 122, 127, lJO, 140, 150, O'Neil,Hues,Sieur de Beaulieu,50,
164,181,208,211,215,221,278. 203.
Montagu,158,166. Orléans,Duc d',see Gaston.
Montaigne,1,20, Oughtred,269,271.
INDEX
Pagan, Comte de,208, ( 272). Racine,170,262.

Palissy,49,50, 208. Ranelagh,93,95-"99, 104,209, 275.
Panciatichi,168. Redi,19 1 ,221.
Pardies,181,2 27,243. Régis,212,214,250, 264.
Pascal, 32, 39, 51 , 55, 67, 70, 92, Régnault,7 1 .
99, 107, IIO, II3, 137, 140, 161, Renaudot, I()-JI, 47, 63, 1 43, 1 48,
186, 187, 215, 243, 253, 262, 265, 169.
294· Retz,140.
Patin, 20, 68, 69, 70, 192, 1 93. Rey,35, 49·
Payen,164,207,295. Richelieu, 17, 24, 30, 6 2, 64, II5,
Pecquet, 72, 86, 92, 102, IIo, 1II, 148.
II2, II7, 126, 127, 1 54, 243, 296. Richesource,20,27,143·
Peiresc,3-9,33, 37,48,68,208,291. Rivet,36,37.
Pellisson,12,88. Roannès,II3.
Pell,43,45, 51, 55, 56, 59, 61, 104, Roberts,166.
105,271. Roberval, 32, 67, 70, 82-87, 92, 99,
Pepys,166. 1II, II5, II7, 142, 15 1 , 161, 243,
Perrault, II7, 139, 148-149, l52, 26 2.
279· Roemer,118.
Perrier, Marquis de Crenan, 187, Rohault, 86, 99, 101 , II0-II3, 122,
194· 127, 142, 143, 214, 243, 264.
Petit,xvii,39,72,78,86-87,89,92, Rooke,104.
99, 106, 107, l11, 11 3,II7, 121- Royal College of Physicians, 256-
1 23, 127, 128, 130-33, IJ7-38, 257,288.
144, 145, 161, 162, 164, 17 2, 179, Royal Society of London, xviii-xix,
181, 207, 21 5,233,234,243, 259, 6, 1 4, 42, 43, 44, 54, 56, 58, 6o,
273-275, 277, 295, 296. 61, 63, 91-"97, 103-107, 1l4-II6,
Petty, 60, 61, 62, 96, 105, 141, 142, II8-119, 129-132, 138, 140, 142,
171, 186, 194, 259. 147, 149-152, l S4-l56, l 58-160,
Philosophical 'l'ransactions, 150,169, 162-164, 166, 171, 176, 180-183,
18 1 , 1 97,198,I99-206, 226. 1 85, 1 87, 194, 198, 199-205, 213,
Picard,II7,140,151,156,159. 214, 218, 2 22,2 24, 226, 228, 236-
Picot,17,32,70,11 1 . 237, 24 2, 255- 259, 261, 267, 276,

Pineau,36,58. 277, 278, 279, 280, 282, 288, 292-
Plattes,43,47,49,50. 293, 297·
Pléiade,6.
Pradilles,98,209,21 0. Saint-Aignan,220.
Puffendorf,168. Saint-Evremond,163.
Sallo,Salo,20,21,165,I87-I99,206,
�uestions, 38-39,78. 278.
INDEX
Saporta,98-102,212. Thoynard,12,168.
Saturn,47,80,82-85, 112,132. Torricelli,33, 41,58, uo,271.
Saumur,98,209. Torricellian Experiment, 43, 57, 58,
Scarborough, Dr.,I04. 140,271.
Segrais,68,218,278,279. Toulouse,181,212-214.
Séguier,64,65, 67. Transfusion,134,198,200,235, 277.
Selden,41,62,271. 295-296.
Servière,71,211,212-213. <fricomète, 228-230.
Sherbourne,209,272. Tuke, u5-116,180.
Shorthand,54,178. Tullie,167.
Sidney,166.
Simon, 165. Uri,7,9,10,14,I 5.
Smith,140,163,167,259. Ussher,62.
Soissons,Comte de,273.
Sorbière, 41, 72, 74-77, 8 5, 110, Van Beuningen,112,123.
116, 117, 123-133, 150, 180, 231, Van Helmont,209.
233,263,293,295,296. Varignon,250.
Sorel,6,17,18-19,20. Vattier,71.
Sourdis, Marquis de, 84, 110, 123, Veglin,Veguelin, 51.
124,231. Vernon,I58-159, 166,237,238-239.
Southwell, 78, 98, I02, 210-21 r, Villermont,Cabart de,141,258-259.
259· Villon,Villons,219,224.
Sprat,93,131-132,202, 205, 293. Voltaire,II8.
Stensen, Steno, Sténon, 136, 2II, "Vortfischer",228.
243. Vossius,141,195,259.
Stubbs, 255-257, 297.
Swammerdam, 260, (280). Wallis, 42, 43, 51, rn5, 119, 120.
Sydenham, 278. Ward, Samuel,43,50.
Ward,Seth, rn5.
Tallemant des Réaux,18-19 Warner,58, 271.
Tannery,33, 45,117. White, 59.
Telescopes,4,47-48,49,89-90,113, Wicquefort, rn, r r,13.
II4, 123, 127, 134, I4l, I44, 173, Wilkins, 43, 93, rn3, I04, I 14, u9,
228/f,271,279. 200.
Thévenot, xvii, 81, 85, 89, 92, I06, Willis,120,131.
107, 109, IIO, III, 113, II7-120, Wren, 104, u9, 120, 129, 166, 198,
122, 123, 127-129, 132, 133, 135- 234,258.
137, 142, 145, 162, 164, 179, 203, Wroth,224.
231,234,250,259, 273,281.
Thou, de, 6, r r, 12, 13,68,78, 243. York,Duke of,114.

Brown Scientific Organizations in Seventeenth Century France (1620-1680)

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Scientific Organizations

Seventeenth Century France

Published in the United States of America

Published March, 1934

COMPOSED AND PRINTED AT THE

In presenting a history of some of the private assemblies

The books which this study seeks to supplement, however,

The modern connotation of the word Academy takes us

sophical school near Athens. Organized as a thiasos for the

power of uncontrolled associations. At last, under Louis

It has seemed to me that the emphasis on doctrine in the

gone into the detail of the warfare of ideas without clearing

yond recogmtion. The reader of this book may imagine

This is a study, then, of a few of the more interesting and

I hope further that my rather copious citations will f!avor

This study owes more than I can hope to express to the

Henry W. Robinson, the Consultant Librarian, Mr. A. H.

Access to the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France was

express my thanks to my teachers at the University of

the University of Edinburgh; by the late Dr. P. S. Allen,

debted. It is to be hoped that I have profited by the warn­

PEIRESC AND THE CABINET OF THE BROTHERS DUPUY

eslancent les miennes: la jalousie, la gloire, la contention, me poulsent

An account of scientific activity in the society of seven­

with the founding of an academy at Florence under the

architecture of Rome, and the physicists della Porta in

associates itself with the last phase of the English Renais­

in manuscript or in print, under the title of Discours Acadé­

of war and politics was appreciated by the company; we shall

Wicquefort was in a position to know; he had spent thirty­

2Edition of Cologne, 1676, p. 430.

A letter of Ménage in the Hohendorf collection in Vienna,

Marville, Rotterdam, 1702, III, 214.

Drawing from the numerous letters of the years 1655-1660,

day to day, there are more than fifty in regular attendance,

tioned, approached it from a limited point of view, and to

regular meetings after he had retired to the J esuits'; al­

None of the numerous private academies and assemblies

philosophie matters at the house of the Papal Nuntio, he

portunity of transgression. For twenty years he had not missed a single

Sorel is much more kind, and rather more precise in his

Tallemant des Réaux makes the lower-class nature of the

For the low esteem in which contemporaries seem to have

meet prospective customers, Renaudot set up an inclusive

To the collected edition of the Conferences published in

Already one sees the opposition to scholastic logic based

A further description of Renaudot's purpose in establish­

The conferences began, as we have said, some time before

Slavery, the education of women, the reading of novels, the

reprints. A complete bibliography is needed, but cannot

L'Academie/des/ Beaux Esprits,/contenant/ Ce qu'il y a de plus beau

There is a table of contents headed "De l'Accademie des

6 Professor Strowski informs me that he has seen this edition in Bordeaux.

Perhaps it exists elsewhere.

and from Denis's Assemblée as a supplement to the 'Journal

Roy, dans son Académie des Philosophes Orateurs," in his

"Being one of those Questions handled in the weekly Conferences of

The tapies are, (1) Whether there be nothing new; (2.)

tially delivered, and yet with exceeding Elegancy and per­

To this preface is added a translation of Eusèbe Renaudot's

Comenian scheme for a pansophic college into a project for a

beyond the program of the poets, the invention of an exact

The history of the movement which is noticeable through­

from err.or. This is clearly shown in such a book as his

debted. It is to be hoped that I have profited by the warn

An account of scientific activity in the society of seven

associates itself with the last phase of the English Renais

in manuscript or in print, under the title of Discours Acadé

Wicquefort was in a position to know; he had spent thirty

regular meetings after he had retired to the J esuits'; al

A further description of Renaudot's purpose in establish

tially delivered, and yet with exceeding Elegancy and per

The history of the movement which is noticeable through

resc, Gassendi, Boulliau, and others, who feel that contro

cent literature, to the gifts and sayings of friends, to experi

Royal Society of London in the meetings held for the dis

From his ridicule Boulliau excepts La Mothe le Vayer, mem

formal italianate discourses and readings of verse. The feel

This new acquaintance was the traveler, Balthazar de Mon

no public conferences in Paris that attracted a greater num