History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

by Henry Thomas Buckle

[1143] In 1779, it was remarked that ‘les séances publiques de l'Académie Française sont devenues une espèce de spectacle fort à la mode:’ and as this continued to increase, the throng became at length so great, that in 1785 it was found necessary to diminish the number of tickets of admission, and it was even proposed that ladies should be excluded, in consequence of some uproarious scenes which had happened. Grimm et Diderot, Correspond. Lit. vol. x. p. 341, vol. xiv. pp. 148, 149, 185, 251.

[1144] Goldsmith, who was in Paris in 1755, says with surprise, ‘I have seen as bright a circle of beauty at the chemical lectures of Rouelle, as gracing the court of Versailles.’ Prior's Life of Goldsmith, vol. i. p. 180; Forster's Life of Goldsmith, vol. i. p. 65. In the middle of the century, electricity was very popular among the Parisian ladies; and the interest felt in it was revived several years later by Franklin. Compare Grimm, Correspondance, vol. vii. p. 122, with Tucker's Life of Jefferson, vol. i. pp. 190, 191. Cuvier (Eloges, vol. i. p. 56) tells us that even the anatomical descriptions which Daubenton wrote for Buffon were to be found ‘sur la toilette des femmes.’ This change of taste is also noticed, though in a jeering spirit, in Mém. de Genlis, vol. vi. p. 32. Compare the account given by Townsend, who visited France in 1786, on his way to Spain: ‘A numerous society of gentlemen and ladies of the first fashion meet to hear lectures on the sciences, delivered by men of the highest rank in their profession…. I was much struck with the fluency and elegance of language with which the anatomical professor spoke, and not a little so with the deep attention of his auditors.’ Townsend's Journey through Spain, vol. i. p. 41: see also Smith's Tour on the Continent in 1786, vol. i. p. 117.

[1145] In a letter written in 1756, it is said, ‘Mais c'est peine perdue aujourd'hui que de plaisanter les érudits; il n'y en a plus en France.’ Grimm, Correspond. vol. ii. p. 15. In 1764, ‘Il est honteux et incroyable à quel point l'étude des anciens est négligée.’ vol. iv. p. 97. In 1768, ‘Une autre raison qui rendra les traductions des auteurs anciens de plus en plus rares en France, c'est que depuis long temps on n'y sait plus le Grec, et qu'on néglige l'étude du Latin tous les jours davantage.’ vol. vi. p. 140. Sherlock (New Letters from an English Traveller, London, 1781, p. 86) says, ‘It is very rare to meet a man in France that understands Greek.’ In 1785, Jefferson writes from Paris to Madison, ‘Greek and Roman authors are dearer here than, I believe, any where in the world; nobody here reads them, wherefore they are not reprinted.’ Jefferson's Correspond. vol. i. p. 301. See further, on this neglect of the ancients, a significant precursor of the Revolution, Mém. de Montbarey, vol. iii. p. 181; Villemain, Littérature au XVIII^e Siècle, vol. iii. pp. 243–248; Schlosser's Eighteenth Century, vol. i. p. 344.

[1146] For further evidence of the popularity of physical knowledge, and of its study, even by those who might have been expected to neglect it, see Mém. de Roland, vol. i. pp. 115, 268, 324, 343; Mém. de Morellet, vol. i. p. 16; Dupont de Nemours, Mém. sur Turgot, pp. 45, 52, 53, 411; Mém. de Brissot, vol. i. pp. 62, 151, 319, 336, 338, 357; Cuvier, Progrès des Sciences, vol. i. p. 89.

[1147] A celebrated writer has well said, though in a somewhat different point of view, ‘Il ne peut y avoir dans les sciences morales, pas plus que dans les sciences physiques, ni maîtres, ni esclaves, ni rois, ni sujets, ni citoyens, ni étrangers.’ Comte, Traité de Législation, vol. i. p. 43.

[1148] The remarks which Thomas made upon Descartes in 1765, in an éloge crowned by the Academy, illustrate the opinions which, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, were becoming rapidly diffused in France. See the passage beginning ‘O préjugés! ô ridicule fierté des places et du rang!’ &c. Œuvres de Descartes, vol. i. p. 74. Certainly no one would have used such language, on such an occasion, thirty years earlier. So, too, the Count de Ségur says of the younger nobles before the Revolution, ‘nous préférions un mot d'éloges de D'Alembert, de Diderot, à la faveur la plus signalée d'un prince.’ Mém. de Ségur, vol. i. p. 142: see also vol. ii. p. 46.

[1149] Among many other illustrations which might be given of this distinction of classes by dress, see Monteil, Hist. des divers Etats, vol. vii. pp. 7–10; and Tallemant des Réaux, Historiettes, vol. i. p. 36 note.

[1150] In August 1787, Jefferson writes from Paris (Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 224): ‘In society, the habit habillé is almost banished, and they begin to go even to great suppers in frock: the court and diplomatic corps, however, must always be excepted. They are too high to be reached by any improvement. They are the last refuge from which etiquette, formality, and folly will be driven. Take away these, and they would be on a level with other people.’ Jefferson was a statesman and a diplomatist, and was well acquainted with his profession. The change, however, which he noticed, had been coming on some years earlier. In a letter written in May 1786, it is said: ‘Il est rare aujourd'hui de rencontrer dans le monde des personnes qui soient ce qu'on appelle habillées. Lee femmes sont en chemise et en chapeau, les hommes en froc et en gilet.’ Grimm, Correspond. vol. xiv. p. 485; and on the increased simplicity of attire in 1780, see vol. xi. pp. 141, 142. Ségur, who witnessed these changes, and was much displeased by them, says of their advocates, ‘ils ne voyaient pas que les frocs, remplaçant les amples et imposans vêtemens de l'ancienne cour, présagaient un penchant général pour l'égalité.’ Mém. de Ségur, vol. i. p. 131. Soulavie (Règne de Louis XVI, vol. vi. p. 38) observes, that ‘les grands, vers les approches de la révolution, n'avoient plus que des habits simples et peu coûteux;’ and that ‘on ne distingua plus une duchesse d'une actrice,’ p. 43: see also an extract from Montjoye, in Alison's History, vol. i. pp. 352, 353. Compare Mém. sur Marie-Antoinette, vol. i. pp. 226, 372, vol. ii. p. 174, and Mém. de Madame au Hausset, introduc. p. 17.

[1151] ‘Les personnes du premier rang et même d'un âge mûr, qui avaient travaillé toute leur vie pour obtenir les ordres du roi, preuve de la plus haute faveur, s'habituèrent à en cacher les marques distinctives sous le froc le plus simple, qui leur permettait de courir à pied dans les rues et de se confondre dans la foule.’ Mém. de Montbarey, vol. iii. pp. 161, 162. Another alteration of the same tendency is worth recording. The Baroness d'Oberkirch, who revisited Paris in 1784, remarked, on her arrival, that ‘gentlemen began about this time to go about unarmed, and wore swords only in full dress…. And thus the French nobility laid aside a usage which the example of their fathers had consecrated through centuries.’ D'Oberkirch's Memoirs, Lond. 1852, vol. ii. p. 211.

[1152] A striking instance of which was, moreover, seen in the number of mésalliances, which first became frequent about the middle of the reign of Louis XV. Compare Mém. de Montbarey, vol. iii. pp. 116, 156, 157; Lacretelle, Dix-huitième Siècle, vol. iii. p. 220.