178 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN.

Condorcet was the friend of Turgot, a minister whose virtues and genius attached to him all the moreenlightened men of the day. His ministry, however,was stormy, since he was among the first who en-deavoured to bring a remedy to the ruined finances ofFrance , without being permitted to strike at the root ofthe evil — unequal taxation and extravagant expen-diture. His edict touching the sale of corn excitedpopular commotions, and was attacked hy Necker.Gondorcet undertook to answer Necker’s book, but wason the unpopular side, and therefore not read. He wrotea series of laudatory biographical essays on variousacademicians, and men of science and celebrity, Euler ,Franklin, D’Alembert. , and others. In these he,at the same time, developed his scientific knowledgeand his theory of the perfectibility of the humanspecies. Every useful and liberal cause found himits partisan. He was one among the opponents ofnegro slavery; and, feeling that diatribes against thecruelty and wickedness of the slave trade would notavail with those who regarded it as advantageous tothe country, he argued to prove its political andcommercial inexpediency. He was a laborious andprolific writer , urged on hy a strong sense of duty;for, firmly believing that the wisdom of philosopherswas of vast influence in improving the moral conditionof mankind, he believed it to be the primal duty ofthinking men to propagate their opinions. In his lifeof Turgot he details his theories of the perfectibility ofhis species, which the minister had also entertained.He undertook an edition of the works of Voltaire ,and wrote the life of that great wit, one of the bestand most elegant of his works. T o escape persecution,or to give greater force to his writings, he publishedseveral of his writings under fictitious names. In thismanner, he brought out his “ Reflections on NegroSlavery ” under the name of Swartz, a pastor of Bienne .A biographer observes on this work, that “ the sim-plicity, elegance, and precision of the style; the forciblearguments, respect for misfortune, and indignation at