philosophy or religion (ex. gr. even under Charles X. he never concealed his dislike of the priests), drew himself up, and answered bluntly, 'Je n'avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-là.' Napoleon, greatly amused, told this reply to Lagrange, who exclaimed, 'Ah c'est une belle hypothèse; ça explique beaucoup de choses.'
It is commonly said that the last words of Laplace were 'Ce que nous connaissons est peu de chose; ce que nous ignorons est immense.' This looks like a parody on Newton's pebbles: the following is the true account it comes to me through one remove from Poisson. After the publication (in 1825) of the fifth volume of the Mécanique Céleste, Laplace became gradually weaker, and with it musing and abstracted. He thought much on the great problems of existence, and often muttered to himself Qu'est ce que c'est que tout cela! After many alternations, he appeared at last so permanently prostrated that his family applied to his favorite pupil, M. Poisson, to try to get a word from him. Poisson paid a visit, and after a few words of salutation, said 'J'ai une bonne nouvelle à vous annoncer: on a reçu au Bureau des Longitudes une lettre d'Allemagne annonçant que M. Bessel a vérifié par l'observation vos découvertes theoriques sur les satellites de Jupiter.' Laplace opened his eyes and answered with deep gravity, 'L'homme ne poursuit que des chimères.' He never spoke again. His death took place March 5, 1827.
The language used by the two great geometers illustrates what I have said: a supreme and guiding intelligence—apart from a blind rule called nature of things—was an hypothesis. The absolute denial of such a ruling power was not in the plan of the higher philosophers: it was left for the smaller fry. A round assertion of the non-existence of anything which stands in the way is the refuge of a certain class of minds: but it succeeds only with things subjective; the objective offers resistance. A philosopher of the appropriative class tried it upon the constable who appropriated him: I deny your existence, said he; Come along, all the same, said the unpsychological policeman.
Euler was a believer in God, downright and straightforward. The following story is told by Thiébault, in his Souvenirs de vingt ans de'séjour a Berlin, published in his old age, about 1804. This volume was fully received as trustworthy and Marshal Mollendorlf told the Due de Bassano in 1807 that it was the most veracious of books written by the most honest of men. Thiébault says that he has no personal knowledge of the truth of the story, but that it was believed throughout the whole of the
