The Ruins | Page 9

so that the philosopher obtained the
only recompense he could expect from his sincerity--he was accused by
the Corsicans of heresy.
To prove that he had not merited this reproach, he published soon after
a short treatise entitled: The Law of Nature, or Physical Principles of
Morality.
He was soon exposed to a much more dangerous charge, and this, it
must be confessed, he did merit. This philosopher, this worthy citizen,
who in our first National assembly had seconded with his wishes and

his talents the establishment of an order of things which he considered
favorable to the happiness of his country, was accused of not being
sincerely attached to that liberty for which he had contended; that is to
say, of being averse to anarchy. An imprisonment of ten months, which
only ended after the 9th of Thermidor, was a new trial reserved for his
courage.
The moment at which he recovered his liberty, was when the horror
inspired by criminal excesses had recalled men to those noble
sentiments which fortunately are one of the first necessaries of civilized
life. They sought for consolations in study and literature after so many
misfortunes, and organized a plan of public instruction.
It was in the first place necessary to insure the aptitude of those to
whom education should be confided; but as the systems were various,
the best methods and a unity of doctrine were to be determined. It was
not enough to interrogate the masters, they were to be formed, new
ones were to be created, and for that purpose a school was opened in
1794, wherein the celebrity of the professors promised new instruction
even to the best informed. This was not, as was objected, beginning the
edifice at the roof, but creating architects, who were to superintend all
the arts requisite for constructing the building.
The more difficult their functions were, the greater care was to be taken
in the choice of the professors; but France, though then accused of
being plunged in barbarism, possessed men of transcendent talents,
already enjoying the esteem of all Europe, and we may be bold to say,
that by their labors, our literary glory had likewise extended its
conquests. Their names were proclaimed by the public voice, and
Volney's was associated with those of the men most illustrious in
science and in literature.*
* Lagrange, Laplace, Berthollet, Garat, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre,
Daubenton, Hauy, Volney, Sicard, Monge, Thouin, La Harpe, Buache
Mentelle.
This institution, however, did not answer the expectations that had been
formed of it, because the two thousand students that assembled from all
parts of France were not equally prepared to receive these transcendent
lessons, and because it had not been sufficiently ascertained how far the
theory of education should be kept distinct from education itself.
Volney's Lectures on History, which were attended by an immense

concourse of auditors, became one of his chief claims to literary glory.
When forced to interrupt them, by the suppression of the Normal
school, he might have reasonably expected to enjoy in his retirement
that consideration which his recent functions had added to his name.
But, disgusted with the scenes he had witnessed in his native land, he
felt that passion revive within him which, in his youth, had led him to
visit Africa and Asia. America, civilized within a century, and free only
within a few years, fixed his attention. There every thing was new,--the
inhabitants, the constitution, the earth itself. These were objects worthy
of his observation. When embarking for this voyage, however, he felt
emotions very different from those which formerly accompanied him
into Turkey. Then in the prime of life, he joyfully bid adieu to a land
where peace and plenty reigned, to travel amongst barbarians; now,
mature in years, but dismayed at the spectacle and experience of
injustice and persecution, it was with diffidence, as we learn from
himself, that he went to implore from a free people an asylum for a
sincere friend of that liberty that had been so profaned.
Our traveller had gone to seek for repose beyond the seas. He there
found himself exposed to aggression from a celebrated philosopher, Dr.
Priestley. Although the subject of this discussion was confined to the
investigation of some speculative opinions, published by the French
writer in his work entitled The Ruins, the naturalist in this attack
employed a degree of violence which added nothing to the force of his
arguments, and an acrimony of expression not to be expected from a
philosopher. M. Volney, though accused of Hottentotism and ignorance,
preserved in his defence, all the advantages that the scurrility of his
adversary gave over him. He replied in English, and Priestley's
countrymen could only recognize the Frenchman in the refinement and
politeness of his answer.
Whilst M. Volney was travelling