heat the source of which is not the sun, and which, if we may judge of
it by the rapid increase which observation indicates, ought to be
already sufficiently intense at the depth of only seven or eight leagues
to hold in fusion all known substances,--there arises the question, what
is its precise value at the surface of the earth; what weight are we to
attach to it in the determination of terrestrial temperatures; what part
does it play in the phenomena of life?
According to Mairan, Buffon, and Bailly, this part is immense. For
France, they estimate the heat which escapes from the interior of the
earth, at twenty-nine times in summer, and four hundred times in winter,
the heat which comes to us from the sun. Thus, contrary to general
opinion, the heat of the body which illuminates us would form only a
very small part of that whose propitious influence we feel.
This idea was developed with ability and great eloquence in the _Memoirs
of the Academy_, in the _Epoques sur la Nature_ of Buffon, in the
letters from Bailly to Voltaire _upon the Origin of the Sciences and
upon the Atlantide_. But the ingenious romance to which it has served as
a base, has vanished like a shadow before the torch of mathematical
science.
Fourier having discovered that the excess of the aggregate temperature
of the earth's surface above that which would result from the sole
action of the solar rays, has a determinate relation to the increase of
temperature at different depths, succeeded in deducing from the
experimental value of this increase a numerical determination of the
excess in question. This excess is the thermometric effect which the
solar heat produces at the surface; now, instead of the large numbers
adopted by Mairan, Bailly, and Buffon, what has our colleague found? _A
thirtieth_ of a degree, not more.
The surface of the earth, which originally was perhaps incandescent, has
cooled then in the course of ages, so as hardly to preserve any sensible
trace of its primitive heat. However, at great depths, the original heat
is still enormous. Time will alter sensibly the internal temperature;
but at the surface (and the phenomena of the surface can alone modify or
compromise the existence of living beings), all the changes are almost
accomplished. The frightful freezing of the earth, the epoch of which
Buffon fixed at the instant when the central heat would be totally
dissipated, is then a pure dream. At the surface, the earth is no longer
impregnated except by the solar heat. So long as the sun shall continue
to preserve the same brightness, mankind will find, from pole to pole,
under each latitude, the climates which have permitted them to live and
to establish their residence. These, Gentlemen, are great, magnificent
results. While recording them in the annals of science, historians will
not neglect to draw attention to this singular peculiarity: that the
geometer to whom we owe the first certain demonstration of the existence
of a heat independent of a solar influence in the interior of the earth,
has annihilated the immense part which this primitive heat was made to
play in the explanation of the phenomena of terrestrial temperature.
Besides divesting the theory of climates of an error which occupied a
prominent place in science, supported as it was by the imposing
authority of Mairan, of Bailly, and of Buffon, Fourier is entitled to
the merit of a still more striking achievement: he has introduced into
this theory a consideration which hitherto had been totally neglected;
he has pointed out the influence exercised by the _temperature of the
celestial regions_, amid which the hearth describes its immense orb
around the sun.
When we perceive, even under the equator, certain mountains covered with
eternal snow, upon observing the rapid diminution of temperature which
the strata of the atmosphere undergo during ascents in balloons,
meteorologists have supposed, that in the regions wherein the extreme
rarity of the air will always exclude the presence of mankind, and that
especially beyond the limits of the atmosphere, there ought to prevail a
prodigious intensity of cold. It was not merely by hundreds, it was by
thousands of degrees, that they had arbitrarily measured it. But, as
usual, the imagination (_cette folie de la maison_) had exceeded all
reasonable limits. The hundreds, the tens of thousands of degrees, have
dwindled down, after the rigorous researches of Fourier, to fifty or
sixty degrees only. Fifty or sixty degrees _beneath zero_, such is the
temperature which the radiation of heat from the stars has established
in the regions furrowed indefinitely by the planets of our system.
You recollect, Gentlemen, with what delight Fourier used to converse on
this subject. You know well that he thought himself sure of having
assigned the temperature of space within eight or ten degrees. By what
fatality has it happened that the memoir, wherein no doubt our colleague
had recorded all the elements of that important determination, is not to
be found? May that irreparable loss prove at least to so many observers,
that instead of pursuing obstinately an ideal perfection, which it is
not allotted to man to attain, they will act wisely in placing the
public, as soon as possible, in the confidence of their labours.
I should have yet a long course to pursue, if, after having pointed out
some of those problems of which the condition of science enabled our
learned colleague to give numerical solutions, I were to analyze all
those which, still enveloped in general formulæ, await merely the data
of experience to assume a place among the most curious acquisitions of
modern physics. Time, which is not at my disposal, precludes me from
dwelling upon such developments. I should be guilty, however, of an
unpardonable omission, if I did not state that, among the formulas of
Fourier, there is one which serves to assign the value of the secular
cooling of the earth, and in which there is involved the number of
centuries which have elapsed since the origin of this cooling. The
question of the antiquity of the earth, including even the period of
incandescence, which has been so keenly discussed, is thus reduced to a
thermometric determination. Unfortunately this point of theory is
subject to serious difficulties. Besides, the thermometric
determination, in consequence of its excessive smallness, must be
reserved for future ages.
RETURN OF NAPOLEON FROM ELBA.--FOURIER PREFECT OF THE RHONE.--HIS
NOMINATION TO THE OFFICE OF DIRECTOR OF THE BOARD OF STATISTICS OF THE
SEINE.
I have just exhibited to you the scientific fruits of the leisure hours
of the Prefect of l'Isère. Fourier still occupied this situation when
Napoleon arrived at Cannes. His conduct during this grave conjuncture
has been the object of a hundred false rumours. I shall then discharge a
duty by establishing the facts in all their truth, according to what I
have heard from our colleague's own mouth.
Upon the news of the Emperor having disembarked, the principal
authorities of Grenoble assembled at the residence of the Prefect. There
each individual explained ably, but especially, said Fourier, with much
detail, the difficulties which he perceived. As regards the means of
vanquishing them, the authorities seemed to be much less inventive.
Confidence in administrative eloquence was not yet worn out at that
epoch; it was resolved accordingly to have recourse to proclamations.
The commanding officer and the Prefect presented each a project. The
assembly was discussing minutely the terms of them, when an officer of
the gendarmes, an old soldier of the Imperial armies, exclaimed rudely,
"Gentlemen, be quick, otherwise all deliberation will become useless.
Believe me, I speak from experience; Napoleon always follows very
closely the couriers who announce his arrival." Napoleon was in fact
close at hand. After a short moment of hesitation, two companies of
sappers which had been dispatched to cut down a bridge, joined their
former commander. A battalion of infantry soon followed their example.
Finally, upon the very glacis of the fortress, in presence of the
numerous population which crowned the ramparts, the fifth regiment of
the line to a man assumed the tricolour cockade, substituted for the
white flag the eagle,--witness of twenty battles,--which it had
preserved, and departed with shouts of _Vive l'Empereur!_ After such a
commencement, to attempt to hold the country would have been an act of
folly. General Marchand caused accordingly the gates of the city to be
shut. He still hoped, notwithstanding the evidently hostile disposition
of the inhabitants, to sustain a siege with the sole assistance of the
third regiment of engineers, the fourth regiment of artillery, and some
weak detachments of infantry, which had not abandoned him.
From that moment, the civil authority had disappeared. Fourier thought
then that he might quit Grenoble, and repair to Lyons, where the princes
had assembled together. At the second restoration, this departure was
imputed to him as a crime. He was very near being brought before a court
of assizes, or even a provost's court. Certain personages pretended that
the presence of the Prefect of the chief place of l'Isère might have
conjured the storm; that the resistance might have been more animated,
better arranged. People forgot that nowhere, and at Grenoble even less
than anywhere else, was it possible to organize even a pretext of
resistance. Let us see then, finally, how this martial city,--the fall
of which Fourier might have prevented by his mere presence,--let us see
how it was taken. It is eight o'clock in the evening. The inhabitants
and the soldiers garrison the ramparts. Napoleon precedes his little
troop by some steps; he advances even to the gate; he knocks (be not
alarmed, Gentlemen, it is not a battle which I am about to describe,)
_he knocks with his snuff-box!_ "Who is there?" cried the officer of the
guard. "It is the Emperor! Open!"--"Sire, my duty forbids me."--"Open--I
tell you; I have no time to lose."--"But, sire, even though I should
open to you, I could not. The keys are in the possession of General
Marchand."--"Go, then, and fetch them."--"I am certain that he will
refuse them to me."--"If the General refuse them, _tell him that I will
dismiss him_."
These words petrified the soldiers. During the previous two days,
hundreds of proclamations designated Bonaparte as a wild beast which it
was necessary to seize without scruple; they ordered everybody to run
away from him, and yet this man threatened the general with deprivation
of his command! The single word _dismissal_, effaced the faint line of
demarcation which separated for an instant the old soldiers from the
young recruits; one word established the whole garrison in the interest
of the emperor.
The circumstances of the capture of Grenoble were not yet known when
Fourier arrived at Lyons. He brought thither the news of the rapid
advance of Napoleon; that of the revolt of two companies of sappers, of
a regiment of infantry, and of the regiment commanded by Labédoyère.
Moreover, he was a witness of the lively sympathy which the country
people along the whole route displayed in favour of the proscribed exile
of Elba.
The Count d'Artois gave a very cold reception to the Prefect and his
communications. He declared that the arrival of Napoleon at Grenoble was
impossible; that no alarm need be apprehended respecting the disposition
of the country people. "As regards the facts," said he to Fourier,
"which would seem to have occurred in your presence at the very gates of
the city, with respect to the tricoloured cockades substituted for the
cockade of Henry IV., with respect to the eagles which you say have
replaced the white flag, I do not suspect your good faith, but the
uneasy state of your mind must have dazzled your eyes. Prefect, return
then without delay to Grenoble; you will answer for the city with your
head."
You see, Gentlemen, after having so long proclaimed the necessity of
telling the truth to princes, moralists will act wisely by inviting
princes to be good enough to listen to its language.
Fourier obeyed the order which had just been given him. The wheels of
his carriage had made only a few revolutions in the direction of
Grenoble, when he was arrested by hussars, and conducted to the
head-quarters at Bourgoin. The Emperor, who was engaged in examining a
large chart with a pair of compasses, said, upon seeing him enter:
"Well, Prefect, you also have declared war against me?"--"Sire, my oath
of allegiance made it my duty to do so!"--"A duty you say? and do you
not see that in Dauphiny nobody is of the same mind? Do not imagine,
however, that your plan of the campaign will frighten me much. It only
grieved me to see among my enemies an _Egyptian_, a man who had eaten
along with me the bread of the bivouac, an old friend!"
It is painful to add that to those kind words succeeded these also:
"How, moreover, could you have forgotten, Monsieur Fourier, that I have
made you what you are?"
You will regret with me, Gentlemen, that a timidity, which circumstances
would otherwise easily explain, should have prevented our colleague from
at once emphatically protesting against this confusion, which the
powerful of the earth are constantly endeavouring to establish between
the perishable bounties of which they are the dispensers, and the noble
fruits of thought. Fourier was Prefect and Baron by the favour of the
Emperor; he was one of the glories of France by his own genius!
On the 9th of March, Napoleon, in a moment of anger, ordered Fourier, by
a mandate, dated from Grenoble, _to quit the territory of the seventh
military division within five days, under pain of being arrested and
treated as an enemy of the country!_ On the following day, our colleague
departed from the Conference of Bourgoin, with the appointment of
Prefect of the Rhone and the title of _Count_, for the Emperor after his
return from Elba was again at his old practices.
These unexpected proofs of favour and confidence afforded little
pleasure to our colleague, but he dared not refuse them, although he
perceived very distinctly the immense gravity of the events in which he
was led by the vicissitude of fortune to play a part.
"What do you think of my enterprise?" said the Emperor to him on the day
of his departure from Lyons. "Sire," replied Fourier, "I am of opinion
that you will fail. Let but a fanatic meet you on your way, and all is
at an end."--"Bah!" exclaimed Napoleon, "the Bourbons have nobody on
their side, not even a fanatic. In connection with this circumstance,
you have read in the journals that they have excluded me from the
protection of the law. I shall be more indulgent on my part; I shall
content myself with excluding them from the Tuileries."
Fourier held the appointment of Prefect of the Rhone only till the 1st
of May. It has been alleged that he was recalled, because he refused to
be accessory to the deeds of terrorism which the minister of the hundred
days enjoined him to execute. The Academy will always be pleased when I
collect together, and place on record, actions which, while honouring
its members, throw new lustre around the entire body. I even feel that,
in such a case, I may be disposed to be somewhat credulous. On the
present occasion, it was imperatively necessary to institute a most
rigorous examination. If Fourier honoured himself by refusing to obey
certain orders, what are we to think of the minister of the interior
from whom those orders emanated? Now this minister, it must not be
forgotten, was also an academician, illustrious by his military
services, distinguished by his mathematical works, esteemed and
cherished by all his colleagues. Well! I declare, Gentlemen, with a
satisfaction which you will all share, that a most scrupulous
investigation of all the acts of the hundred days has not disclosed a
trace of anything which might detract from the feelings of admiration
with which the memory of Carnot is associated in your minds.
Upon quitting the Prefecture of the Rhone, Fourier repaired to Paris.
The Emperor, who was then upon the eve of setting out to join the army,
perceiving him amid the crowd at the Tuileries, accosted him in a
friendly manner, informed him that Carnot would explain to him why his
displacement at Lyons had become indispensable, and promised to attend
to his interest as soon as military affairs would allow him some leisure
time. The second restoration found Fourier in the capital without
employment, and justly anxious with respect to the future. He, who,
during a period of fifteen years, administered the affairs of a great
department; who directed works of such an expensive nature; who, in the
affair of the marshes of Bourgoin, had to contract engagements for so
many millions, with private individuals, with the communes and with
public companies, had not _twenty thousand francs_ in his possession.
This honourable poverty, as well as the recollection of glorious and
important services, was little calculated to make an impression upon
ministers influenced by political passion, and subject to the capricious
interference of foreigners. A demand for a pension was accordingly
repelled with rudeness. Be reassured, however, France will not have to
blush for having left in poverty one of her principal ornaments. The
Prefect of Paris,--I have committed a mistake, Gentlemen, a proper name
will not be out of place here,--M. Chabrol, learns that his old
professor at the Polytechnic School, that the Perpetual Secretary of the
Institute of Egypt, that the author of the _Théorie Analytique de la
Chaleur_, was reduced, in order to obtain the means of living, to give
private lessons at the residences of his pupils. The idea of this
revolts him. He accordingly shows himself deaf to the clamours of party,
and Fourier receives from him the superior direction of the _Bureau de
la Statistique_ of the Seine, with a salary of 6,000 francs. It has
appeared to me, Gentlemen, that I ought not to suppress these details.
Science may show herself grateful towards all those who give her support
and protection, when there is some danger in doing so, without fearing
that the burden should ever become too heavy.
Fourier responded worthily to the confidence reposed in him by M. de
Chabrol. The memoirs with which he enriched the interesting volumes
published by the Prefecture of the Seine, will serve henceforth as a
guide to all those who have the good sense to see in statistics,
something else than an indigestible mass of figures and tables.
ENTRANCE OF FOURIER INTO THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.--HIS ELECTION TO THE
OFFICE OF PERPETUAL SECRETARY.--HIS ADMISSION TO THE FRENCH ACADEMY.
The Academy of Sciences seized the first occasion which offered itself
to attach Fourier to its interests. On the 27th of May, 1816, he was
nominated a free academician. This election was not confirmed. The
solicitations and influence of the Dauphin whom circumstances detained
at Paris, had almost disarmed the authorities, when a courtier exclaimed
that an amnesty was to be granted to _the civil Labédoyère!_[41] This
word,--for during many ages past the poor human race has been governed
by words,--decided the fate of our colleague. Thanks to political
intrigue, the ministers of Louis XVIII. decided that one of the most
learned men of France should not belong to the Academy; that a citizen
who enjoyed the friendship of all the most distinguished persons in the
metropolis, should be publicly stricken with disapprobation!
In our country, the reign of absurdity does not last long. Accordingly
in 1817, when the Academy, without being discouraged by the ill success
of its first attempt, unanimously nominated Fourier to the place which
had just been vacant in the section of physics, the royal confirmation
was accorded without difficulty. I ought to add that soon afterwards,
the ruling authorities whose repugnances were entirely dissipated,
frankly and unreservedly applauded the happy choice which you made of
the learned geometer to replace Delambre as perpetual secretary. They
even went so far as to offer him the Directorship of the Fine Arts; but
our colleague had the good sense to refuse the appointment.
Upon the death of Lémontey, the French Academy, where Laplace and Cuvier
already represented the sciences, called also Fourier into its bosom.
The literary titles of the most eloquent of the writers connected with
the work on Egypt were incontestable; they even were not contested, and
still this nomination excited violent discussions in the journals, which
profoundly grieved our colleague. And yet after all, was it not a fit
subject for discussion, whether, these double nominations are of any
real utility? Might it not be maintained, without incurring the reproach
of paradox, that it extinguishes in youth an emulation which we are
bound by every consideration to encourage? Besides, with double, triple,
and quadruple academicians, what would eventually become of the justly
boasted unity of the Institute? Without insisting further on these
remarks, the justness of which you will admit if I mistake not, I hasten
to repeat that the academic titles of Fourier did not form even the
subject of a doubt. The applause which was lavished upon the eloquent
éloges of Delambre, of Bréguet, of Charles, and of Herschel, would
sufficiently evince that, if their author had not been already one of
the most distinguished members of the Academy of Sciences, the public
would have invited him to assume a place among the judges of French
literature.
FOOTNOTE:
[41] In allusion to the _military_ traitor Colonel Labédoyère, who was
condemned to death for espousing the cause of Napoleon.--_Translator_.
CHARACTER OF FOURIER.--HIS DEATH.
Restored at length, after so many vicissitudes, to his favourite
pursuits, Fourier passed the last years of his life in retirement and
in the discharge of academic duties. _To converse_ had become the half
of his existence. Those who have been disposed to consider this the
subject of just reproach, have no doubt forgotten that constant
reflection is no less imperiously forbidden to man than the abuse of
physical powers. Repose, in every thing, recruits our frail machine;
but, Gentlemen, he who desires repose may not obtain it. Interrogate
your own recollections and say, if, when you are pursuing a new truth, a
walk, the intercourse of society, or even sleep, have the privilege of
distracting you from the object of your thoughts? The extremely
shattered state of Fourier's health enjoined the most careful attention.
After many attempts, he only found one means of escaping from the
contentions of mind which exhausted him: this consisted in speaking
aloud upon the events of his life; upon his scientific labours, which
were either in course of being planned, or which were already
terminated; upon the acts of injustice of which he had reason to
complain. Every person must have remarked, how insignificant was the
state which our gifted colleague assigned to those who were in the habit
of conversing with him; we are now acquainted with the cause of this.
Fourier had preserved, in old age, the grace, the urbanity, the varied
knowledge which, a quarter of a century previously, had imparted so
great a charm to his lectures at the Polytechnic School. There was a
pleasure in hearing him relate the anecdote which the listener already
knew by heart, even the events in which the individual had taken a
direct part. I happened to be a witness of the kind of _fascination_
which he exercised upon his audience, in connection with an incident
which deserves to be known, for it will prove that the word which I have
just employed is not in anywise exaggerated.