CONDORCET

From Agepedia

CONDORCET, Marie Jean Nicolas Carital, marquis de; born Sept. 17, 1743, at Ribemont, near St. Quentin, of one of the oldest families in Dauphiny. By the assistance of his uncle Jacques Marie de Condorcet, bishop of Lisieux, he was educated in the college of Navarre, at Paris. At a public examination, which was attended by D'Alembert, Clairaut and Fontaine, the manner in which he solved a mathematical proposition gained their applause, and the youth of 16 was so much excited by their praises, that, from that time, he resolved to devote himself entirely to the exact sciences. The duke of Rochefoucault was his patron, and introduced him into the world at the age of 19. But its allurements could not render him unfaithful to the severe studies which he had chosen. At the age of 21, he presented to the academy of sciences an Es~ mi sur It Calcul Integral, which caused Fontaine to observe, that he was jealous of the young man. His Mimoire sur h Probleme des Trois Points appeared in 1767. Both works were afterwards united under the title of Essais d?Analyse. The merit of this work gained for him, in 1769, the distinction of a seat in the academy of sciences. With astonishing facility and versatility, Condorcet treated the most difficult problems in mathematics; but his genius inclined him rather to lay down beautiful formulas than to pursue them to useful applications. Condorcet also wrote academical eulogies, as Fontenelle's tal. ents in this department were very much missed. Although his Eloges des Acade1-miciens Morts avant 1699 (Paris, 1773) leave much to be desired, yet they were received with so much applause, that the place of secretary of the academy, in 1777, was not refused to him even by his rivals. This office imposed on him the necessity of investigating the various departments of the sciences (the most distinguished promoters of which he was obliged to eulogize), in order to be able to exhibit the latest discoveries; but he did not allow himself to be drawn away from his mathematical studies. His theory of comets gained, in 1777, the prize offered by the academy of Berlin, and he enriched the transactions of the learned societies of Petersburg, Berlin, Bologna, Turin and Paris with profound contributions in the department of the higher mathematics. The aversion of the minister Maurepas to Condorcet delayed his entrance into the French academy till 1782. His inaugural discourse was on the advantages which society may derive from the union of the physical and moral sciences. Being intimately connected with Turgot, he was led into a thorough examination of the system of the economists, and his acquaintance with D'Alembert made him take an active part in the Encyclopedic, for which he wrote many articles. He was the friend of most of the contributors to this great work. In all his writings, he displays an exalted view of human naturea circumstance much to his honor, considering the character of those with whom he was associated. This feeling determined him in favor of the cause of the American colonies during their contest with England. He was also a friend of the enslaved Negroes, and was anxious for their restoration to freedom (Reflexions sur VEsclavage des Mgres). In 1787, Condorcet published Voltaire's Life, a sort of sequel to the complete edition of Voltaire's works, which he had given to the world with notes and illustrations, and therein expressed the admiration which the versatility of talent and the zeal in the cause of humanity of this great man had awakened in him. Meanwhile his opinions of the rights of citizens and of men, estranged him from the duke of Rochefoucault, his former benefactor. His enemies have asserted that the refusal of the post of instructer to the dauphin induced him to join the popular party. The real cause was his enthusiasm for the great and good. He wrote, in favor of the popular cause, Sur les Assemblees provinciates, subsequently in the Bibliothequc de VHomme public and the FeuUle mltageoise. Under a cold exterior, he possessed the most ardent passions. D'Alembert compared him to a volcano covered with snow. His Feuille villageoise, in which he simply stated the first principles of political economy, and of the relations of states, exerted considerable influence. On the intelligence of the flight of the king, he represented, in a speech which was highly admired, the royal dignity as an antisocial institution. The royal treasury, of which he was appointed, in 1791, commissary, received, at his suggestion, the name of national treasury. He was finally elected a deputy of Paris to the legislative assembly, and very soon, though his bodily strength seemed inadequate for the office, he was chosen secretary of the assembly. In February, 1792, he was appointed president; composed the proclamation addressed to the French and to Europe, which announced the abolition of the royal dignity; spoke in the national convention, where he had a seat as deputy of the department of Aisne, for the most part, indeed, with the Girondists; but, on the trial of Louis, he was in favor of the severest sentence not capital; at the same time, he proposed to abolish capital punishments, except in case of crimes against the state. This participation in the proceedings against the king was the reason why his name was struck off from the list of members of the academies of Petersburg and Berlin. The revolution of May 31, 1793, prevented the constitution which Condorcet had drawn up from being accepted. The constitution then adopted he attacked witLout moderation or reserve, and was, in consequence, denounced at the bar (q v.), July 8. He was accused, Oct. 3, of being an accoirh plice of Brissot. To save his life, he concealed himself, and was declared out of the protection of the law. Madame Verney, a woman of noble feelings, secreted him for eight months. She procured him the means of subsistence, and even wrote little poems to enliven his spirits. While in this retreat, without the assistance of others, and surrounded by all the horrors of his situation, Condorcet wrote his excellent Esquisse d'un Tableau historique des Progr&s de VEsprit humain, full of enthusiasm for that liberty, the degeneracy of which caused him so much suffering. In answer to the encouraging words of his protectress, he wrote the Epitre oVun Polonais exile en Sibirie a sa Femme, full of those noble sentiments which had been the rules of his life. He at last learned from the public papers, that death was denounced against all those who concealed a proscribed individual. In spite of the prayers of the generous woman who had given him refuge, he left her, and fled in disguise from Paris. He wandered about for a long time, until, driven by hunger, he entered a small inn at Clamar, where he was arrested, as a suspicious person, by a member of the revolutionary tribunal of Clamar, and thrown into prison, to undergo a more strict examination. On the following morning, March 28, 1794, he was found dead on the floor of his room, apparently having swallowed poison,which he always carried about him, and which nothing but his love for his wife and daughter had prevented him from using before. A collection of his numerous writings, complete with the exception of his mathematical works, appeared in Paris in 1804 ((Euvres completes, publics par Garat tt Cabanis, 21 vols.). An excellent historical notice of them is to be found in the Notice sur la Vie el les Ouvrages de Condorcetj par Antoine Diannyere, 1796. The Mbrwires de Condorcet sur la Revolution Frangaise is a poor work.