186 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN.

Also, like all the French politicians of that day, hewished to treat mankind like puppets, and fancied thatit was only necessary to pull particular strings to drawthem w'ithin the circle of order and reason. Wenone of us know the laws of our nature; and therecan he little doubt that, if philosophers like Con-dorcet did educate their fellows into some approxi-mation to their rule of right, the ardent feelings andburning imaginations of man would create somethingnow unthought of, but not less different from theresults he expected, than the series of sin and sorrowwhich now desolates the world. It is not for this thatwe would throw a slur over the upright endeavours ofthe pious and the good to improve their fellows ; butwe do over any endeavour of government to bind theintellect in chains. It was, therefore, in some degree,for the best, that his views were not followed out.When his plan for national education and a nationalsociety of arts and sciences, charged with the duty ofoverlooking and directing ■ public instruction,—for thepurpose not only of enlightening the present gener-ation, but of preparing the human species for an inde-finite advance in wisdom and virtue, — when this planwas presented by the chief Girondists to the court, afriend of Condorcet , struck with dismay at the degreeof power that would accrue to the rulers, said, “ Ifthey adopt your plan, our freedom is destroyed.”“Fear nothing,” replied Condorcet , “ignorance andvanity will make them reject it.” Unfortunately, thetreaty carried on by the Girondists with the court onthis occasion injured their popularity. The French were at a crisis that demanded that their rulers shouldthink only of measures and acts adapted to it. The moun-tain party felt this, and acted for the day, and thus suc-ceeded in overthrowing their rivals, who philosophicallyand calmly legislated for future generations, whiletheir single obiect ought to have been to save theliving one from the foreign foe and their own evilpassions.