_Demonville._--A Frenchman's Christian name is his own secret, unless there
be two of the surname. M. Demonville is a very good instance of the
difference between a {292} French and English discoverer. In England there
is a public to listen to discoveries in mathematical subjects made without
mathematics: a public which will hear, and wonder, and think it possible
that the pretensions of the discoverer have some foundation. The unnoticed
man may possibly be right: and the old country-town reputation which I once
heard of, attaching to a man who "had written a book about the signs of the
zodiac which all the philosophers in London could not answer," is fame as
far as it goes. Accordingly, we have plenty of discoverers who, even in
astronomy, pronounce the learned in error because of mathematics. In
France, beyond the sphere of influence of the Academy of Sciences, there is
no one to cast a thought upon the matter: all who take the least interest
repose entire faith in the Institute. Hence the French discoverer turns all
his thoughts to the Institute, and looks for his only hearing in that
quarter. He therefore throws no slur upon the means of knowledge, but would
say, with M. Demonville: "A l'egard de M. Poisson,[632] j'envie loyalement
la millieme partie de ses connaissances mathematiques, pour prouver mon
systeme d'astronomie aux plus incredules."[633] This system is that the
only bodies of our system are the earth, the sun, and the moon; all the
others being illusions, caused by reflection of the sun and moon from the
ice of the polar regions. In mathematics, addition and subtraction are for
men; multiplication and division, which are in truth creation and
destruction, are prerogatives of deity. But _nothing_ multiplied by
_nothing_ is _one_. M. Demonville obtained an introduction to William the
Fourth, who desired the opinion of the Royal Society upon his system: the
{293} answer was very brief. The King was quite right; so was the Society:
the fault lay with those who advised His Majesty on a matter they knew
nothing about. The writings of M. Demonville in my possession are as
follows.[634] The dates--which were only on covers torn off in
binding--were about 1831-34:
_Petit cours d'astronomie_[635] followed by _Sur l'unite
mathematique._--_Principes de la physique de la creation implicitement
admis dans la notice sur le tonnerre par M. Arago._--_Question de longitude
sur mer._[636]--_Vrai systeme du monde_[637] (pp. 92). Same title, four
pages, small type. Same title, four pages, addressed to the British
Association. Same title, four pages, addressed to M. Mathieu. Same title,
four pages, on M. Bouvard's report.--_Resume de la physique de la creation;
troisieme partie du vrai systeme du monde._[638]