Page:Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat.djvu/50

28 opposed than he to the traditional and the conventional. On his music-desk were seen only the compositions of Lully that he had studied, and the concerti of Viotti which he executed. On his table were seen only Pascal, Molière, or La Fontaine, and he knew his favorite books almost by heart. I call this direction original, because it was anterior to the artistic and literary movement which preceded the revolution of 1830. As to the sympathy of Sadi for the author of the Provinciales, it was due not only to the respect of the young mathematician for one of the masters of science, but his devoutly religious mind regarded with horror hypocrisy and hypocrites.

Appreciating the useful and the beautiful, Sadi frequented the museum of the Louvre and the Italian Theatre, as well as the Jardin des Plantes and the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. Music was almost a passion with him. He probably inherited this from our mother, who was an excellent pianist, to whom Dalayrac and especially Monsigny, her compatriot, had given instruction. Not content with being able to play well on the violin, Sadi carried to great length his theoretical studies.

His insatiable intellect, moreover, would not allow him to remain a stranger to any branch of