Chapter 434: France's Small Contribution
In the heart of downtown Paris, on the north bank of the Seine, lies a magnificent building that was built in 1204.
The guy who built it was the French king, the ‘Fox’ Philip the Great, who fought Saladin in Jerusalem for more than a year during the Third Crusade, and then defeated Richard the Lionheart, the most valiant and warlike king in England’s history, and John the Landless, who was ambitious but incompetent.
Although Philip the Great originally intended to build this castle as a fortress to guard the north bank of Paris, after hundreds of years of changes, this building called the ‘Louvre’ has now been added with many gorgeous towers and unique rooms.
During the reigns of François I and Henry II, these two art-loving kings added many Italian and French-style buildings according to their own preferences, and also spent a lot of money to purchase various art treasures to collect in the Louvre, the most famous of which is the world-renowned painting - "Mona Lisa's Smile".
During the reign of King Henry IV of France, it took another 14 years to build a 300-meter-long gallery in the Louvre. He planted trees here, raised birds and dogs, and even rode horses to chase foxes in the corridor.
When the "Sun King" Louis XIV came to power, this French king who had been king since he was 5 years old and reigned for a total of 72 years took great pains to renovate the Louvre. The gallery was further expanded, and the works of famous artists such as Kashde and Rembrandt continued to enrich it.
As for the famous French inventor Louis XVI, his work in the Louvre was also very outstanding. His most well-known contribution here was that he had set up a guillotine in the "Arena" courtyard of the Louvre.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution, the National Assembly announced that the palace occupied by the royal family for six centuries would belong to all French citizens and it would be open to everyone as an art museum.
But this situation did not last long, because Napoleon moved in here six years later.
Napoleon was also a person who loved art, but he usually did not buy art with money, but with cannonballs that were heavier than gold coins. Perhaps because the weight of the cannonballs was too heavy, Napoleon's art acquisition plan was better than that of previous French kings, and his artistic taste was more extensive than that of all kings.
In order to build Paris into the "New Rome" in his mind, this dwarf from Corsica built the arch of the Louvre with the carvings on St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, moved the Rosetta Stone, the national treasure of Egypt, and even moved the broken walls, base gates, and mummies of the ancient Egyptian temple back with him.
Not only that, the states in the regions such as Spain, Prussia, Italy, and the Netherlands that he occupied at the time were also forced to hand over thousands of tons of precious artworks to him.
If Napoleon did not need the Pope to provide legal basis for his coronation as king, it is hard not to wonder whether he would rush into the Vatican and move the Pope's throne and the bronze canopy used by the Pope to the Louvre.
Napoleon's behavior of buying art for free naturally angered the countries where these artworks came from. So after he was completely defeated in the Battle of Waterloo, one of the important demands made by representatives of various countries in the peace talks was that the French return their national treasures immediately.
However, although the French returned about 5,000 looted artworks, there were still many left.
But unfortunately, not everyone has the blessing to see them, because now it is no longer a museum open to the public, but has become the exclusive property of the French royal family again.
Arthur got off the carriage, looked at the Louvre not far away and the French soldiers stationed in front of the palace, and shook his head with regret.
However, although he could not enter the Louvre today, he could still appreciate the magnificent buildings opposite the Louvre.
Behind him is the location of the French Society, the highest academic authority in France.
Although the history of these buildings is not as long as that of the Louvre, they are still old buildings built in 1688.
The French Society was established later than these buildings. As a unified official administrative and academic institution, the French Society has only a history of more than 30 years.
However, although the French Society was established later, its management is much more standardized than the Royal Society of Britain.
When the French Society was established, it merged many older organizations, and after more than 30 years of development, it currently has five institutes.
These include:
The French Academy, which is mainly responsible for the French language and was established in 1635.
The French Academy of Letters, which specializes in literature and was founded in 1663.
The French Academy of Sciences, which specializes in natural philosophy and was founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1666.
The French Academy of Arts, which was established not long ago and is full of vitality and was founded in 1816.
And the French Academy of Humanities, which was founded in 1795, was closed in 1803, and was re-established in 1832, and is responsible for morality and politics.
Needless to say, the purpose of Arthur's trip was to visit the French Academy of Sciences, which he had always been reluctant to visit.
Just as Britain is currently experiencing an era of scientific explosion, the scientific community in France is also currently experiencing a brilliant golden age.
Although Britain across the Channel is far ahead of her enemy France in practical technology, unfortunately, since the death of Sir Isaac Newton, Britain has not produced a mathematician who can be influential in Europe for a long time. Home.
In the field of mathematics, especially in the past half century, the French mathematical community, led by Euler, Fourier, Laplace, Lagrange, Legendre and others, has overwhelmed the entire Europe. Breathlessly, their superiority in mathematics was even more appalling than Napoleon's superiority in military matters.
Just when Britain thought that after the death of the older generation of French mathematicians such as Euler and Fourier, they could finally jump out to compete with their old rivals, they unfortunately discovered that Cauchy and Poisson et al.
France's strong strength in mathematics has naturally enabled them to make rapid progress in fields such as astronomy and mechanics that are closely related to mathematics.
French astronomers and engineers have always been the best, and this is no false compliment.
On the one hand, the Royal Society sadly realized that there was already a thick barrier between Britain and France in terms of mathematics. On the other hand, the group of scientific researchers in Britain were also very fortunate to have achieved such brilliant achievements on the other side of the strait.
After all, the Royal Society is no longer the period when Sir Isaac Newton was in power, so most of the academic committee members are not so petty, nor are they interested in engaging in partisan disputes (Newton vs. Hooke), or posting big-character posters everywhere. Go help the president fight for the honor of being the discoverer of calculus.
The Royal Society, led by Faraday and others, has a relatively tolerant academic environment and an inclusive mind. If their French counterparts achieve breakthrough success, they will be happy to invite them to become foreign members of the Royal Society, and they will not hesitate to award them the Royal Society. The society's highest honor - the Copley Medal.
And this is also the purpose of Arthur's visit to the Royal Society today - on behalf of the Royal Society, he will award Mr. Augustin-Louis Cauchy, professor of mechanics at the University of Paris, academician of the French Academy of Sciences, and member of the Department of Astronomy and Mathematics, the highest praise in the British scientific community.
Arthur stepped out of the taxi, and under the warm spring sunshine, everyone finally got a clear look at this elegant gentleman from Britain.
In order to show his solemnity, Arthur was dressed very elegantly today.
A well-tailored black tuxedo, every seam of the garment reveals the craftsman’s exquisite craftsmanship. An exquisite brooch is pinned to the neckline of the tuxedo, shining with a low-key and luxurious light.
His shirt was made of fine linen, immaculately white, with exquisite lace embroidery on the collar and cuffs, trying to demonstrate Britain's meticulous academic attitude to his French colleagues.
Around his neck, there is also a silk tie. The tie is complicated and exquisite. Every fold is carefully arranged according to Mr. Disraeli's recommendation. Every knot reveals elegance and confidence. attitude towards life.
His breeches were dark gray and matched perfectly with his tuxedo. The legs were straight and slender, showing an upright posture, just like when he served at Scotland Yard.
Under his feet was a pair of polished leather boots. The leather was soft and shiny, making a crisp sound with every step he took. On top of the leather boots, he wore a pair of exquisite stockings, the color of which matched the trousers, and the details showed his taste.
His hair was neatly styled with a side parting that was popular at the time, and was meticulously combed with wax. He always has a gentle smile on his face, and his eyes reveal wisdom and calmness. He holds an exquisite cane with a gold button inlaid on the top. It is both a walking aid and a symbol of status.
Arthur took two steps and looked up at the sun in the sky, then took out his gold pocket watch to see if the time agreed with the other party had arrived.
Under the sunlight, the shiny watch chain passed through the pocket of the vest, hanging slightly, swaying gently with his steps. Wearing a silver ring inlaid with emeralds on his finger, the gems sparkled in the sun, adding a bit of mystery and nobility.
Not long after Arthur got out of the car and left, someone at the French Academy of Sciences spotted this gentleman with a unique temperament. Maybe it's because of sympathy, or maybe it's because of similar odors. In short, the French have always mastered the knack of finding an Englishman among a bunch of people.
The French gentleman who had been waiting for a long time came forward and asked: "Excuse me, are you Sir Arthur Hastings? Are you sent here by the Royal Society?"
Arthur raised his head and took a look at the gentleman in front of him who still had a childish look on his face. He nodded slightly. He stretched out his hand and said, "Yes, I came here under the commission of the Royal Society. Mr. Cauchy's research He has been unanimously praised by the British scientific community, and we believe that he deserves to be awarded this year's Copley Medal. I have asked the Chinese Embassy in France to send someone to inform your court about this matter yesterday. I wonder if you are willing to take advantage of your busy schedule. Can you take me to see Mr. Cauchy if you have time? I assure you that the awarding of the medal will not take too long and will not disturb Mr. Cauchy's research."
The gentleman opposite was flattered to see that the British lord actually lowered his attitude so much. But he never thought that Arthur was not being polite. He just didn't want to stay too long with a bunch of guys who could provide various definitions and formulas for "Advanced Mathematics".
Or, to put it more bluntly, the former assistant superintendent of the Royal Metropolitan Police was afraid of showing his weakness.
"No, no, Sir Hastings, if Mr. Cauchy was here, it would be a piece of cake for me to take you to see him. But..."
Arthur was surprised when he heard this: "You mean, Mr. Cauchy is not in the Academy of Sciences? I remember he should be only in his forties, right? Does he want to retire early and enjoy life?"
The gentleman shook his head awkwardly and said: "No, no, you misunderstood. Mr. Cauchy's heart is still full of love for natural philosophy research, and now he still spends a lot of time on this every day. He... Well, I'll put it bluntly, he just doesn't want to work in the Academy of Sciences anymore."
Arthur Frowning, he asked, "Why? Do you dislike the low salary here?"
The gentleman shook his head and said, "No, the salary we give to Mr. Cosey is not low, and for people at his level, money is no longer the main problem. The main reason why Mr. Cosey left here was due to the July Revolution of 1830. Uh... To be precise, he is a royalist, a staunch supporter of the Bourbon dynasty and an absolute diehard. He is unwilling to do any research work for our new king, and he is even unwilling to stay in France."
When Arthur heard this, he was relieved on the one hand, but on the other hand, he felt that things seemed to be getting more and more troublesome.
He asked, "In that case, do you know where Mr. Cauchy is now?"
"Um..."
The gentleman replied, "As far as I know, after leaving France at the beginning of last year, Mr. Cauchy first went to the Apennines. He served as a professor of mathematics and physics at the University of Turin for a period of time. Later, I heard that the exiled Bourbon dynasty hired him as the teacher of the 'crown prince' Duke of Bordeaux, so Mr. Cauchy went to Prague without hesitation. In order to commend Mr. Cauchy's loyalty to the Bourbon, the Bourbon people seemed to have conferred Mr. Cauchy as a baron of the French Bourbon dynasty. Uh, but you know, this title is currently illegal in France."
Hearing this, Arthur held his forehead and said, "Oh my God! Do I have to go to Prague again?"
"Um... That's not necessary." The gentleman bowed slightly and said, "If you don't mind, I can take you to visit the scenery of the Academy of Sciences first, and when our academicians come, we will have a meeting together to discuss how to solve this problem."