ot! The following small Piece is perhaps the one, if there
be one, still worth resuscitating from the Inane Kingdoms. Appeared
in the BIBLIOTHEQUE RAISONNEE (mild-shining Quarterly Review of those
days), JULY-SEPTEMBER Number.

"ANSWER FROM [VERY PRIVATELY VOLTAIRE, CALLING HIMSELF] A BERLIN
ACADEMICIAN TO A PARIS ONE.

"BERLIN, 18th SEPTEMBER, 1752. This is the exact truth, in reply to
your inquiry. M. Moreau de Maupertuis in a Pamphlet entitled ESSAI DE
COSMOLOGIE, pretended that the only proof of the Existence of God is the
circumstance that AR+nRB is a Minimum. [ONLY proof:^??????^ (p.212
Book XVI) VOILA!] He asserts that in all possible cases, 'Action is a
Minimum,' what has been demonstrated false; and he says, 'He discovered
this Law of Minimum,' what is not less false.

"M. Konig, as well as other Mathematicians, wrote against this strange
assertion; and, among other things, M. Konig cited some sentences of a
Letter by Leibnitz, in which that great man says, He has observed 'that,
in the modifications of motion, the Action usually becomes either a
Maximum or else a Minimum.'

"M. Moreau de Maupertuis imagined that, by producing this Fragment,
it had been intended to snatch from him the glory of his pretended
discovery,--though Leibnitz says precisely the contrary of what he
advances. He forced some pensioned members of the Academy, who are
dependent on him, to summon M. Konig"--As we know too well; and
cannot bear to have repeated to us, even in the briefest and spiciest
form!"Sentence (JUGEMENT) on M. Konig, which declares him guilty of
having assaulted the glory of the Sieur Moreau Maupertuis by FORGING a
Leibnitz Letter.--Wrote then, and made write, to her Serene Highness the
Princess of Orange, who was indignant at so insolent"--... and in fine,

"Thus the Sieur Moreau Maupertuis has been convicted, in the face of
Scientific Europe, not only of plagiarism and blunder, but of having
abused his place to suppress free discussion, and to persecute an honest
man who had no crime but that of not being of his opinion. Several
members of our Academy have protested against so crying a procedure; and
would leave the Academy, were it not for fear of displeasing the
King, who is protector of it." [--OEuvres de Voltaire,--lxiii. 227
(in--Maupertuisiana,--No. xvi).]

King Friedrich's position, in the middle of all this, was becoming
uncomfortable. Of the controversy he understood, or cared to understand,
noth