of

des Negres). In 1787, Condorcet published Voltaire's Life, a sort of sequel to the complete edition of Voltaire's works, which he had given to the world with notes and illustrations, and therein expressed the admiration which the versatility of talent and the zeal in the cause of humanity of this great man had awakened in him. Meanwhile his opinions of the rights of citizens and of men, estranged him from the duke of Rochefoucault, his former benefactor. His enemies have asserted that the refusal of the post of instructer to the dauphin induced him to join the popular party. The real cause was his enthusiasm for the great and good. He wrote, in favor of the popular cause, Sur les Assemblées provinciales, subsequently in the Bibliothèque de l'Homme public and the Feuille villageoise. Under a cold exterior, he possessed the most ardent passions. D'Alembert compared him to a volcano covered with snow. His Feuille villageoise, in which he simply stated the first principles of political economy, and of the relations of states, exerted considerable influence. On the intelligence of the flight of the king, he represented, in a speech which was highly admired, the royal dignity as an antisocial institution. The royal treasury, which he was appointed, in 1791, commissary, received, at his suggestion, the name of national treasury. He was finally elected a deputy of Paris to the legislative assembly, and very soon, though his bodily strength seemed inadequate for the office, he was chosen secretary of the assembly. In February, 1792, he was appointed president; composed the proclamation addressed to the French and to Europe, which announced the abolition of the royal dignity; spoke in the national convention, where he had a seat as deputy of the department of Aisne, for the most part, indeed, with the Girondists; but, on the trial of Louis, he was in favor of the severest sentence not capital; at the same time, he proposed to abolish capital punishments, except in case of crimes against the state. This participation in the proceedings against the king was the reason why his name was struck off from the list of members of the academies of Petersburg and Berlin. The revolution of May 31, 1793, prevented the constitution which Condorcet had drawn up from being accepted. The constitution then adopted he attacked without moderation or reserve, and was, in consequence, denounced at the bar (q v.), July 8. He was accused, Oct. 3, of being an accom

unfaithful to the severe studies which he had chosen. At the age of 21, he presented to the academy of sciences an Essai sur le Calcul Intégral, which caused Fontaine to observe, that he was jealous of the young man. His Mémoire sur le Problème des Trois Points appeared in 1767. Both works were afterwards united under the title of Essais d'Analyse. The merit of this work gained for him, in 1769, the distinction of a seat in the academy of sciences. With astonishing facility and versatility, Condorcet treated the most difficult problems in mathematics; but his genius inclined him rather to lay down beautiful formulas than to pursue them to useful applications. Condorcet also wrote academical eulogies, as Fontenelle's talents in this department were very much missed. Although his Éloges des Académiciens Morts avant 1699 (Paris, 1773) leave much to be desired, yet they were received with so much applause, that the place of secretary of the academy, in 1777, was not refused to him even by his rivals. This office imposed on him the necessity of investigating the various departments of the sciences (the most distinguished promoters of which he was obliged to eulogize), in order to be able to exhibit the latest discoveries; but he did not allow himself to be drawn away from his mathematical studies. His theory of comets gained, in 1777, the prize offered by the academy of Berlin, and he enriched the transactions of the learned societies of Petersburg, Berlin, Bologna, Turin and Paris with profound contributions in the department of the higher mathematics. The aversion of the minister Maurepas to Condorcet delayed his entrance into the French academy till 1782. His inaugural discourse was on the advantages which society may derive from the union of the physical and moral sciences. Being intimately connected with Turgot, he was led into a thorough examination of the system of the economists, and his acquaintance with D'Alembert made him take an active part in the Encyclopédie, for which he wrote many articles. He was the friend of most of the contributors to this great work. In all his writings, he displays an exalted view of human nature-a circumstance much to his honor, considering the character of those with whom he was associated. This feeling determined him in favor of the cause of the American colonies during their contest with England. He was also a friend of the enslaved Negroes, and was anxious for their restoration to freedom (Reflexions sur l'Esclavage

plice of Brissot. To save his life, he concealed himself, and was declared out of the protection of the law. Madame Verney, a woman of noble feelings, secreted him for eight months. She procured him the means of subsistence, and even wrote little poems to enliven his spirits. While in this retreat, without the assistance of others, and surrounded by all the horrors of his situation, Condorcet wrote his excellent Esquisse d'un Tableau historique des Progrès de l'Esprit humain, full of enthusiasm for that liberty, the degeneracy of which caused him so much suffering. In answer to the encouraging words of his protectress, he wrote the Epître d'un Polonais exilé en Sibérie à sa Femme, full of those noble sentiments which had been the rules of his life. He at last learned from the public papers, that death was denounced against all those who concealed a proscribed individual. In spite of the prayers of the generous woman who had given him refuge, he left her, and fled in disguise from Paris. He wandered about for a long time, until, driven by hunger, he entered a small inn at Clamar, where he was arrested, as a suspicious person, by a member of the revolutionary tribunal of Clamar, and thrown into prison, to undergo a more strict examination. On the following morning, March 28, 1794, he was found dead on the floor of his room, apparently having swallowed poison,which he always carried about him, and which nothing but his love for his wife and daughter had prevented him from using before. A collection of his numerous writings, complete with the exception of his mathematical works, appeared in Paris in 1804 (Euvres complètes, publiés par Garat et Cabanis, 21 vols.). An excellent historical notice of them is to be found in the Notice sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de Condorcet, par Antoine Diannyère, 1796. The Mémoires de Condorcet sur la Révolution Française is a poor work.

CONDOTTIERI (leaders); the captains of those bands of soldiers which were frequent in Italy towards the end of the middle ages, who sought for service in every war, and fought not for their country, but for pay and plunder, and offered their assistance to every party which could pay them. These bands originated in the endless wars and feuds of the Italian states and governments at that time, and the whole military power soon came into their hands. They consisted principally of men too ignorant or too indolent to obtain an honest livelihood, or who wished to escape the punishment of some crime.

They included, however, many people who had been deprived of their fortunes by these wars. As these men had not the slightest interest in those who hired them, but that of being paid, and of finding opportunities for plunder, wars terminated with very little bloodshed, sometimes with none; for when the bands of condottieri met, the smallest in number not unfrequently surrendered to the other. The most ambitious among them, however, had higher views. Such was Francesco Sforza, who, being chosen by the Milanese to command their army, made himself, in 1451, their duke and lord, and whose posterity continued to possess sovereign power. There is little difference between most of the condottieri and some of the nobler kinds of robbers. (See Captain.)

CONDUCTOR OF LIGHTNING is an instrument, by means of which either the electricity of the clouds the cause of lightning

is conducted, without explosion, into the earth, or the lightning itself is intercepted and conducted, in a particular way, into the earth or water, without injuring buildings, ships, &c. This invention belongs to doctor Franklin. While making experiments on electricity, he observed that a pointed metallic wire, if brought near an electrified body, gradually deprives the latter of its electricity in such a manner that no sparks appear. Therefore, as clouds are electrified, he thought that they might be deprived of their electricity (which is the cause of lightning and of its striking), if a pointed metallic rod were fastened upon the highest part of a building, and a wire carried down from this into the earth, so that the electricity of the cloud, attracted by the point, might be conducted into the ground. Franklin's conjecture proved to be well founded, and conductors were soon after introduced into many countries. They at first consisted of an iron rod, running down the sides of a building into the earth, while its point rose several feet above the building. Experience, thus far, shows the best construction of conductors to be this :-The conductor consists of a rod of iron, an inch thick, to the upper end of which is attached a tapering piece of copper, 8 or 9 inches in length, gilded, to prevent its rusting. This rod is fixed to the highest part of a building, in such a way as to rise at least 5 or 6 feet above it: to this are fastened strips of copper, 3 or 4 inches broad, and riveted together, which must reach to the earth, and be carried into it about a foot deep. The strips are to be

carefully nailed upon the roof and against the wall of the building. The first conductors in Europe were erected at Payneshill, in England, by doctor Watson, in 1762, and upon the steeple of St. James' church, at Hamburg, in Germany, in 1769. In modern times, conductors have been proposed to supersede those formerly in use. Among them is the cheap one of Nicolai, made of strips of tin, which has already been used; for instance, at Lohmen, near Pirna.

CONDUIT (French), in architecture; a long, narrow passage between two walls, or under ground, for secret communication between various apartments, of which many are to be found in old buildings; also a canal of pipes, for the conveyance of water; a sort of subterraneous or concealed aqueduct. The construction of conduits requires science and care. The ancient Romans excelled in them, and formed the lower parts, whereon the water ran, with cement of such an excellent quality, that it has become as hard as the stone itself, which it was employed to join. There are conduits of Roman aqueducts still remaining, of from five to six feet in height, and three feet in width. Conduits, in modern times, are generally pipes of wood, lead, iron, or pottery, for conveying the water from the main spring or reservoirs to the different houses and places where it is required.

CONE, in geometry; a solid figure having a circle for its base, and its top terminated in a point, or vertex. This definition, which is commonly given, is not, in mathematical strictness, correct; because no circle, however small, can become a mathematical point. But these deficiencies of mathematical strictness connected with constructive geometry, which is based on figures and diagrams, are avoided by analytical geometry, which operates without figures.-The word cone is derived from the Latin conus. The figure might be called the round pyramid, according to the definition of a pyramid. Cones are either perpendicular, if the axis, that is, the line from the vertex to the centre of the base, stands perpendicularly on the base; or oblique, or scalenous, if the axis does not form a right angle with the base. If a cone is cut parallel with its base, the section, of course, is a circle: if, however, the section is made obliquely, that is, nearer to the base at one end than at the other, a curve is obtained, which is called an ellipse. If the section be made parallel with the axis, perpendicularly from the vertex, or so as to make a greater angle

with the base than is made by the side of the cone, the curve obtained is called a hyperbola. Thirdly, the section may be made parallel with one side of the cone, in which case the curve is called a parabola. These three lines, figures and planes are called conic sections, and form one of the most important parts of mathematics, which is distinguished for elegance, demonstrating, with surprising simplicity and beauty, and in the most harmonious connexion, the different laws, according to which the Creator has made worlds to revolve, and the light to be received and reflected, as well as the ball thrown into the air by the playful boy, to describe its line, until it falls again to the earth. Few branches of mathematics delight a youthful mind so much as conic sections; and the emotion which the pupil manifests, when they unfold to him the great laws of the universe, might be called natural piety. Considering conic sections as opening the mind to the true grandeur and beauty of the mathematical world, whilst all the preceding study only teaches the alphabet of the science, we are of opinion that the study of them might be advantageously extended beyond the walls of colleges, into the higher seminaries for the education of females. The Greeks investigated the properties of the conic sections with admirable acuteness. A work on them is still extant, written by Apollonius of Perge. The English have done a great deal towards perfecting the theory of them. In teaching conic sections to young people, the descriptive method (resting on diagrams) ought always to be connected with the analytic method. CONFEDERATION, GERMAN. (See Ger

many.)

CONFEDERATION OF THE PRINCES (of Germany; in German, Fürstenbund). The occasion of the confederation of the German princes was the extinction of the male line of the family of the elector of Bavaria, by the death of the elector Maximilian Joseph, Dec. 30, 1777. After his death, his territories fell to the nearest collateral relation, Charles Theodore, elector of the Palatinate. This prince, being without children, had yielded to the propositions of the house of Austria, and obliged himself, by the convention of Vienna, Jan. 3, 1778, to renounce all claim to the inheritance. This convention was opposed by the presumptive heir of the Palatinate, the duke of Deux-Ponts, and also by the elector of Saxony, nephew to the deceased elector of Bavaria. Both princes sought the intercession of Frederic the Great of Prus

sia, who, after fruitless negotiations on the subject with Austria, took up arms. At the peace of Teschen, May 13, 1779, which ended this short war for the Bavarian succession, the convention of Vienna was annulled. Austria obtained of Bavaria merely the Innviertel, with Braunau, and Charles Theodore received possession of the rest of the territories. France and Russia, the allies of Prussia, guarantied the peace. Some years after, the emperor Joseph II again thought of enlarging and strengthening the Austrian monarchy by the addition of the state of Bavaria, and the empress of Russia proposed an exchange of the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria. The elector Charles Theodore was to have the Austrian Netherlands, with the exception of Luxemburg and Namur, with the title of king of Burgundy. The elector was induced to agree to this by the Austrian ambassador, Von Lehrbach; the duke of Deux-Ponts, the presumptive heir, by count Romanzoff, the Russian ambassador; and both were promised, in addition to what they received by exchange, the sum of 3000 florins from the Austrian coffers. At the same time, the duke was told that the consent of the elector had been secured, and that the exchange would take place, even without his concurrence. But the duke afterwards refused his consent to the exchange of the and of his forefathers, and again had recourse to Frederic. This monarch supported with zeal the remonstrance sent by the duke to the empress Catharine of Russia, and received a communication from the empress, that she thought the exchange advantageous to both parties, but that it ought not to take place without their mutual consent. Although Louis XVI, who had guarantied the peace of Teschen, and would not consent to the exchange, now caused the king of Prussia to be assured that Joseph II, his ally, had given up the plan, on account of the opposition of the duke of DeuxPonts, the court of Vienna still refused to make satisfactory arrangements. Frederic II therefore, in March, 1785, induced the electors of Saxony and Hanover to form a league, and, in spite of the opposition of Austria, the terms of union were signed in Berlin, July 23, 1785, by Brandenburg, Saxony and Hanover, for the support and defence of the German constitution, agreeably to the terms of the peace of Westphalia and the treaties which followed, of the electoral capitulations, and of the other laws of the empire. The measures to be taken against the exchange of Bavaria were provided for by a secret article. In a few

months, this league was joined by the elector of Mentz and his coadjutor, Dalberg the elector of Treves, the landgrave of HesseCassel, the margraves of Anspach and Baden, and the dukes of Deux-Ponts, of Brunswick, of Mecklenburg, of Weimar and Gotha, with the prince of Anhalt-Dessau. The views of Austria were frustrated by this open act of the king of Prussia, and both Austria and Russia entirely relinquished their project. (See Von Dohm, Ueber den deutschen Fürstenbund on the Confederation of the German Princes, Berlin, 1785; John Müller's Description of the Confederation of the German Princes; and Reuss's Deutsche Staatskanzlei, vol 13). This confederation is to be considered as one of the many proofs of the utter insufficiency of the German empire for the purposes of a general government.

CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE. In the war of 1805, which turned out so unfortunately for Austria, several of the princes of the south of Germany were obliged to ally themselves to France, or did it voluntarily. The peace of Presburg (Dec. 26, 1805) gave the first impulse to the entire dissolution of the German empire, by conferring crowns on the electors of Bavaria and Würtemberg, and on both, as well as on Baden, complete sovereignty, such as had been already exercised by the other great German states. Soon after (May 28, 1806), the first German elector, arch-chancellor of the empire, announced to the diet that he had appointed cardinal Fesch, uncle of Napoleon, his coadjutor and successor,-an act inconsistent with the constitution of the empire. Ultimately, 16 German princes made a formal declaration of their separation from the emperor and the empire, in the act of confederation signed at Paris, July 12, 1806, by the kings of Bavaria and Würtemberg, the elector arch-chancellor of the empire, the elector of Baden, the new duke of Cleves and Berg (Joachim Murat), the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, the princes of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and HohenzollernSigmaringen, of Salm-Salm and SalmKyrburg, the duke of Ahremberg, the princes of Isenburg-Birstein and of Liechtenstein, and the count Von der Leyen. This was communicated to the diet Aug. 1, 1806. They assigned, as the reason for this separation, the deficiencies of the constitution of the German empire, and invited the other members of the empire to join their confederation. The French ambassador, Bacher, announced, on the same day, that his sovereign would no

longer acknowledge a German empire. (See Germany.) The emperor Francis II resigned his dignity as head of the German empire Aug. 6, being induced to take this step, according to his declaration, by the demands contained in several articles of the peace of Presburg, and the new confederation of the German states, which he considered inconsistent with his rank as head of the empire. After the signing of the act of confederation, to which the name of the prince of Liechtenstein was attached without his knowledge, the elector arch-chancellor received the title of prince primate; the elector of Baden, the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and the duke of Berg, received each the title of grand-duke, with royal privileges and rights; Nassau-Usingen was raised to a duchy, and Von der Leyen to a principality. The emperor of France adopted the title of protector of the confederation of the Rhine. By the establishment of this confederation, the following states lost their political independence: the imperial free city of Nuremberg, which was ceded to Bavaria; Frankfort, to the prince-primate; the principality of Heitersheim, belonging to the order of the knights of St. John, which became subject to Baden; and the burggravate of Friedberg, to Hesse-Darmstadt. Furthermore, by mediatisation, the princes of Nassau and Orange-Fulda, of Hohenlohe, Schwarzenberg, and many others; the landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, the dukes of Corswarem-Looz and of Croy, many counts of the empire, and all the former knights of the empire, were subjected to the princes of the confederation of the Rhine. These mediatised members of the empire only kept possession of their patrimonial estates and private property, the jurisdiction in the first and second instances, the feudal rights, and mining privileges, &c.; but the power of legislation, essential to sovereignty, the supreme jurisdiction, the right of declaring war and peace, of forming alliances, of regulating the police, and taxation, &c., devolved on the princes of the confederation, to whom these mediatised princes became subject. The object of this confederation was to secure external and internal peace. France and the members of the confederation were to be closely allied, and, if one of them was threatened with war, or attacked, all the other confederates were to take up arms at the call of the protector, without further consultation, to assist the party threatened or attacked. Although, by the act of confederation, Napoleon was called protector of the confederation of the 36

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Rhine, he was not recognised as a chief to whom the rulers of the several states were to be subject. To deliberate on the mutual affairs of the confederates, a confederate diet was to be established at Frankfort on the Maine, with two divisions-the royal, in which the grand-dukes were likewise to have seats, and that of the princes. The prince-primate was to be general president of the diet, and particularly of the royal chamber; in that of the princes, the duke of Nassau was to preside. At the death of every prince-primate, his successor was to be appointed by the protector of the confederation of the Rhine. No member of the latter was to be allowed to enter the service of any state not included in the confederacy, or allied with the same, nor was any member to be allowed to cede his sovereignty in favor of any but a confederate. The disputes of the confederate princes were to be decided at the diets, and, for the sake of adjusting complaints against the members of the confederacy, two courts of justice were to be established. But neither these, nor the meeting of the confederacy, ever took place. Finally, Catholics and Protestants were to enjoy equal rights in all the confederated states. Thus, in the place of the German empire, which had existed nearly 1000 years, at least in name, a confederation was formed, which, transitory as it may seem in many respects, nevertheless brought about a total and lasting revolution in the political relations of the former German states of the empire and their subjects, and is erroneously judged, if it is considered as merely the offspring of foreign ambition, and not as the inevitable consequence of the internal dissolution of the ancient constitution of the empire. Sept. 25, 1806, the elector of Würtzburg joined the confederacy as a grand-duke. Prussia, on the other hand, to limit the increase of the power of France, by the further extension of this confederacy, had formed the project of a similar union, under her protection, to be composed of the northern German princes. But an end was put to this project by the war of 1806-7; and, during this war, the elector of Saxony, after having separated from Prussia, and assumed the title of king, at the peace concluded between Saxony and France, at Posen (Dec. 11, 1806) entered the confederacy. His example was followed (Dec. 15, 1806) by the five Saxon dukes; and, by the treaty signed at Warsaw, April 13, 1807, the two princes of Schwarzburg, the three dukes of the house of Anhalt, and many other smaller