The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 883: Chapter 13 A New Era for France_2

You ask what the difference is between members of the French Academy and the Academy of Sciences? Haha, first of all, their numbers are different. The French Academy has 40 members, who serve for life. A position can only be filled after a member dies and a new one is elected by the current members. Because of this rule, many prominent figures have not been granted the title of an academician throughout their lives. For this reason, all members of the French Academy have a special title – the Immortal.

Secondly, members of the Academy of Sciences need only make a breakthrough in the study of Natural Philosophy to be elected. Most people who become members of the Academy of Sciences cannot be elected to the French Academy. However, those Natural Philosophers who are elected to the French Academy are invariably members of the Academy of Sciences.

Yes, you guessed it right. All scientists elected to the French Academy are the most outstanding figures among us in the Academy of Sciences, for example, Laplace and Fourier. The same principle applies to the Académie française, the Academy of Arts, and the Humanities Academy. Those elected to the French Academy from these academies are also the top ones, like Garnier, Racine, Voltaire, and Montesquieu.

What makes the French Academy so special is that since its establishment by Cardinal Richelieu, it has been endowed with a unique historical mission. The academicians of the French Academy strive to standardize and clarify the French language, making it a shared treasure for all French people and all who use the French language. Naturally, only the most outstanding individuals in their respective fields in the current era can be elected to the French Academy.

You say I might be elected to the French Academy in the future? Ah! Sir, I appreciate your kind blessings, but for me, this goal is simply too far to reach. After all, even Mr. Cauchy and Mr. Poisson have not been elected to the French Academy, and after them, there’s a queue longer than both our hands can count in the Academy of Sciences.

And that’s just the Academy of Sciences. If you add the geniuses from the Humanities Academy, the Arts Academy, and the Académie française, this queue could stretch from the Arts Bridge to the Louvre Museum. Where would it be my turn in that case? Oh, I almost forgot those politicians who also aspire to become the Immortal…

At this point, Ville suddenly stopped walking. He gently tugged on Arthur’s sleeve and, lowering his voice, said, “Sir, do you see that short gentleman in a tailcoat ahead?”

Arthur raised his head and quickly spotted the person Ville described.

Although in the 19th century, due to nutritional levels, people’s heights were generally not very tall, a thirty-something man being only 1.5 meters tall would still stand out in a crowd despite the average height being lower.

Moreover, for a country like France, those who know the ropes understand that short men in France are rarely simpletons.

Arthur slightly nodded and said, “Is this gentleman a significant figure?”

Ville said in a solemn voice, “I remember you mentioned that you studied history at the University of London, so you must have read the ‘History of the French Revolution’? This short gentleman is the author of the ‘History of the French Revolution’ and currently the President of the French Senate – Mr. Louis-Adolphe Thiers. He is currently one of the top candidates for the French Academy.”

Upon hearing this name, Arthur couldn’t help but twitch his eye.

He had of course read the ‘History of the French Revolution,’ even before his studies at the University of London, so he was quite familiar with whom Mr. Thiers was. However, compared to Thiers’ turbulent life and the ‘History of the French Revolution,’ what left the deepest impression on Arthur was another of Thiers’ works, ‘The History of the Consulate and the French Empire.’

In that book, Mr. Thiers vividly and vividly portrayed the image of Napoleon as a god of war and the unstoppable French Army.

However, perhaps due to Mr. Thiers’ mundane military knowledge and his professional disposition as a journalist, he brought the bad habit of exaggeration into his historical writings. As a result, he often confused the distinctions between a cavalry squadron and a company, leading to famous scenes such as when Mourel led ten thousand cavalrymen to charge at the critical moment, saving the entire army during the Battle of Eylau.

But aside from these minor flaws, at least Mr. Thiers had a rather good writing style and told wonderful stories. From the perspective of a historical writer, he was undoubtedly successful.

Of course, the most commendable thing about Thiers was not his talent in literary creation, but how he, as a son of a merchant seaman, managed to carve out a political career entirely on his own in the heavily stratified French society.

Even though figures like Hugo once vowed ‘to either become Chateaubriand or be nothing at all,’ attempting to transform from a romanticist writer into a major political figure like Chateaubriand was no easy feat.

However, Thiers achieved this target that even Hugo did not accomplish.

Arthur was thinking about these matters when he suddenly heard footsteps beside him.

When he raised his head, the short Mr. Thiers was already standing in front of him. This socially adept and lively gentleman took off his hat and politely greeted him, “You must be Sir Arthur Hastings, right?”