CONDORCET, Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nico as-Ca-ritat, Marquis of, a French philosophical, political, and biographical writer, of distinguished eminence, descended from an ancient family in the principality of Orange, and born at Ribemont, in Picardy, in 1743. He received his education at the college of Navarre, where he was distinguished at an early period of life for his strong attachment to the study of physics and mathematics. On his entrance into public life, he established a friendly intercourse with Voltaire, D’Alembert, and other literary characters who professed opinions analogous to his own, and formed a very powerful party among the French literati, whose united efforts to propagate their ideas of religion and politics have been applauded or condemned according to the principles of their different judges. Condorcet first attracted the attention of the public as a mathematician, obtaining their approbation for his treatise on integral calculations, which he composed at the age of twenty-two. In the year 1767 his solution of the problem of the Three Bodies made its appearance, and in the following year the first part of his Essay on Analysis. In the year 1769 he was received as a member of the Academy of Sciences, the memoirs of which were greatly enriched by him with different papers on the most abstruse branches of mathematical science. His justly-merited reputation pointed him out as a fit person to co-operate with D’Alembert and Bossut, in assisting the celebrated minister and able financier Μ. Turgot with arithmetical calculations. In the mean time he laboured indefatigably in the study of politics and metaphysics, and defended, in an anonymous publication, the sect of philosophers to which he had attached himself, from an attack made upon them in the Trois Siècles; and replied to Μ. Necker’s essay on Corn Laws. He was appointed secretary to the Academy of Sciences in the year 1773, when he employed much of his time in writing eulogies on such of its deceased members as Fontenelle had passed over in silence. Condorcet having, like D’Alembert and some others, united in himself the characters of an elegant writer and a man of profound research, was admitted into the French academy in 1783, when he pronounced an oration on the influence of philosophy, which was ordered to be printed. From the time of D’Alembert’s death, which happened this year, he filled the situation of secretary to that academy, rendering his name conspicuous by the publication of eulo-< gies on different eminent characters. His panegyric on D’Alembert, to whom he was most sincerely attached, is a very elaborate performance, and is esteemed as a candid account of the genuine merits of that great philosopher. The encomium he bestowed on Euler furnished him with a favourable opportunity of giving a circumstantial account of the specific improvements and inventions conferred on a peculiar branch of science by the labours of that illustrious individual; a talent which Condorcet appears to have possessed in an eminent degree, and which is of the greatest importance to a biographical writer. His eulogy on the minister Turgot was read with avidity, and admired by all those who approved of Turgot’s plans of government and system of finance. In the year 1787 lie gave to the public his Life of Voltaire, which was highly elaborate, and replete with lofty panegyric, on the merits of which mankind were much divided, according to their sentiments respecting that author’s philosophy. The last of his biographical works was an eulogy on the celebrated Dr Franklin, published in 1790; but all of them will be read with some degree of prejudice by those who are inimical to the school of philosophy to which he belonged.

The memorable event of the French Revolution, which the writings of Condorcet and his associates unquestionably accelerated, naturally interested his feelings, and called forth his exertions; but the conduct of the political parties and their leaders, during this tumultuous period, is painted in colours so diametrically opposite, that a proper estimate of it is even yet scarcely possible. In this part of Condorcet’s life, therefore, we must confine ourselves to such facts as are universally acknowledged, leaving it to our readers to draw inferences for themselves.

At an early period he employed his talents to promote those reforms, for such they appeared to his mind, which were to pave the way to a new order of things. A work entitled La Bibliothèque de l’ Homme Public, intended to exhibit an analysis of the writings of the most eminent politicians, was chiefly conducted by him; as was also a newspaper called La Chronique de Paris, filled with declamation against royalty. He had likewise a share in the Journal de Paris, a paper conducted on similar principles. About the time when the king fled to Varennes, he proposed a paper called Le Républicain, the intention of which is clearly deducible from its title. He was an indefatigable member of the Jacobin club, and spoke frequently, though not forcibly, in that too famous association. He was chosen a representative for Paris when the constituent assembly was dissolved, and followed the general political course of the Brissotine party. A plan for public instruction now exercised his abilities, and he finished it in two elaborate memoirs on the subject, which are allowed to contain some exalted and enlarged ideas, but perhaps rather too extensive to be reduced to practice. He was likewise author of the manifesto addressed to the European powers by the people of France on the approach of a war. He wrote a letter of expostulation to the king while he was president of the assembly, which some have considered as by far too severe, and as destitute of that ceremony to which the sovereign was entitled. When the king was insulted by the populace at the Tuil-Ieries, in being offered the red cap, it is said that he vindicated their proceedings. We are also informed, that whilst he was degrading royalty in this manner, he was secretly soliciting the office of tutor to the Dauphin; a proposition which the king utterly rejected, on account of his avowed infidelity. Attempts have been made to fix upon his character the most abominable ingratitude, by making him accessory to the murder of the Due de la Rochefoucault, to whom he was under the strongest obli-gâtions, [7:7:209]and from whose family he had received a most accomplished wife with a large fortune; but it is believed that this calumny originated entirely from the malevolence of party spirit. When the trial of the king came to be agitated, Condorcet gave it as his opinion that he could not be brought to judgment in a legal manner; yet it must be confessed that bis conduct in regard to the sentence was rather of an ambiguous nature, and betrayed that timidity and want of resolution which formed the most prominent feature of his political career. The judgment of Madame Roland concerning the moral constitution of this wonderful man has the air of perfect impartiality. “The genius of Condorcet,” said that lady, “is equal to the comprehension of the greatest truths; but he has no other characteristic besides fear. It may be said of his understanding, combined with his person, that it is a fine essence absorbed in cotton. The timidity which forms the basis of his character, and which he displays even in company, does not result from his frame alone, but seems to be inherent in his soul, and his talents furnish him with no means of subduing it. Thus, after having deduced a principle or demonstrated a fact in the assembly, he would give a vote decidedly opposite, overawed by the thunder of the tribunes, armed with insults, and lavish of menaces. The properest place for him was the secretaryship of the academy. Such men should be employed to write, but never permitted to act.” After the execution of the king, the Girondin party employed him to frame a new constitution, the plan of which was presented to the convention, and obtained their approbation. It was not thus esteemed by the people at large; and it has, perhaps not without reason, been considered as a mass of metaphysical absurdities. During the violent struggle between the Girondin and Mountain parties, Condorcet took no decided part with either; which seems to have been owing to the native timidity of his mind, and his abhorrence of the state of public affairs. He was not comprehended among the number of those who were sacrificed with their leader Brissot; but having employed his pen against the victorious party, he fell under the invincible displeasure of that inhuman and blood-thirsty monster Robespierre, who issued a decree of accusation against him in July 1793. He, however, found means to effect his escape from the arrest, and during nine months concealed himself in Paris. But at length dreading that the tyrant would order a domiciliary visit for the purpose of discovering the place of his retreat, he passed through the barriers without being noticed, and went to the house of a person in whom he confided, on the plain of Mont-Rouge. Unfortunately for Condorcet, however, this friend was at that time in the metropolis; and he was in consequence under the necessity of passing two dreary nights in the open fields, a prey to hunger and to cold. On the third day he obtained an interview with his friend, who unhappily durst not venture to afford him shelter under his roof; so that he was once more compelled to wander in the fields. At length, worn out by hunger and fatigue, and life being no longer supportable without sustenance, he applied at a public house for an omelette, which, as soon as he obtained it, he devoured greedily. His cadaverous appearance and uncommonly keen appetite roused the suspicion of a municipal officer who happened to be present, and by whom he was interrogated; and the ambiguity and hesitation which characterized his answers made the officer conclude that it would be proper to apprehend him. He was accordingly consigned to a dungeon, to be next day conducted to Paris; but his melancholy fate rendered such a measure unnecessary. He was found dead in the morning; and as it was generally understood that he constantly carried with him a dose of poison, to this cause his melancholy exit was ascribed. Thus terminated the career of Condorcet, on the 28th of March 1794, who for many years sustained a brilliant and honourable reputation in the republic of letters. His manners were replete with urbanity, and he was as well qualified to please in company as could be expected in a man who was conceived, whether rightly or not, to be destitute of heart. “La bonté brillait dans ses yeux,” says Grimm, “et il aurait eu plus de tort qu’aucun autre de n’être pas honnête homme, parce qu’il aurait trompé davantage par sa physionomic, qui annonçait les qualités les plus paisibles et les plus douces.” His character, though not exempt from pride, was always peaceful and obliging. He appeared timid and embarrassed in a numerous circle; but, with his friends, he displayed a gaiety and liveliness quite fascinating, and never made any pretensions to superiority on account of the great extent of his knowledge. He had read a great deal, and his memory was prodigious. Soon after his death appeared his Sketch of an Historical Draught of the Progress of the Human Mind, a methodical performance, evincing profound research, in which he strongly recommends his favourite idea of gradually bringing human nature to a state of perfection by considering what man has been, now is, and may be. This treatise will no doubt be viewed by some as rather fanciful; but it is clearly the effort of a superior genius, and must be peculiarly interesting, when it is known that it was composed while its author was in circumstances of danger and distress. The idea of man’s progressive advancement towards perfection and happiness inspired him with consolation under his complicated misfortunes. Although he was an enemy to revealed religion, he was certainly a man of virtue and integrity; yet all his philosophy could never inspire him with that heroic fortitude and contempt of death in a just cause, for which the sincere votaries of Christianity have ever been conspicuous.

An uniform edition of the works of Condorcet was printed at Paris in 1804, and forms twenty-one volumes 8vo. For a complete list the reader is referred to the France Littéraire of Μ. Ersch. It will be sufficient here to notice the more remarkable, which are as follow :— 1. Essai d’Analyse, Paris, 1768, 4to; 2. Lettres d’un Théologien à [Auteur du Dictionnaire des Trois Siècles, Berlin, 1774, 8vo; 3. Eloges des Académiciens de I' Académie Royale des Sciences, morts depuis 1666 jusqu en 1699, Paris, 1775, 12mo; 4. Eloge et Pensées de Pascal, London, 1776, 8vo; 5. Essai sur l’application de ΐ Analyse à la probabilité des décisions rendues à Pluralité des Voix, Paris, 1785, 4to; 6. Vie de Μ. Turgot, London, 1786, 8vo; 7. Vie de Voltaire, Geneva, 1787, and London, 1790, 2 vols. 18mo; 8. Rapport sur l’ Instruction Publique, présenté à la Convention Nationale, Paris, 1792, 8vo; 9. Bibliothèque de [Homme Public, ou Analyse Raisonnée des principaux ouvrages Français et étrangers sur la Politique ¢n général, la Legislation, les Finances, etc. Paris, 1790, 1792; 10. Esquisse d’un Tableau Historique des progrès de l’Esprit Humain, ouvrage posthume, 1795, 8vo; 11. Moyen d’ apprendre à compter sûrement et avec facilité, Paris, 1799, 12mo; 12. A volume to notes to the Recherches sur la Nature et les Causes de la Richesse des Nations, translated from the English of Dr Adam Smith. Along with Lecroix he published a new edition of Euler’s Lettres à one Princesse d’Allemagne; and he contributed to the Journal Encyclopédique, the Chronique des Mois, the Républicain, the Journal d’Instruction Publique, and other periodicals. (See Notice sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de Condorcet, by Diannyère, 1796, 8vo; and Biographie Universelle.)