l'ile d'Elbe"： I never saw any man， in any station in life， so personally active and so persistent in his activity. He seems to take pleasure in perpetual motion and in seeing those who accompany him completely tired out， which frequently happened in my case when Iaccompanied him. . . Yesterday， after having been on his legs from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon， visiting the frigates and transports， even to going down to the lower compartments among the horses， he rode on horseback for three hours， and， as he afterwards said to me， to rest himself."[51] The starting-point of the great discoveries of Darwin is the physical， detailed description he made in his study of animals and plants， as living； during the whole course of life， through so many difficulties and subject to a fierce competition. This study is wholly lacking in the ordinary zoologist or botanist， whose mind is busy only with anatomical preparations or collections of plants. In every science， the difficulty lies in describing in a nutshell， using significant examples， the real object， just as it exists before us， and its true history. Claude Bernard one day remarked to me， "We shall know physiology when we are able to follow step by step a molecule of carbon or azote in the body of a dog， give its history， and describe its passage from its entrance to its exit."[52] Thibaudeau， "Mémoires sur le Consulat，" 204. (Apropos of the tribunate)： "They consist of a dozen or fifteen metaphysicians who ought to be flung into the water； they crawl all over me like vermin.
[53] Madame de Rémusat， I.， 115： "He is really ignorant， having read very little and always hastily." - Stendhal， "Mémoires sur Napoleon"：
" His education was very defective. . . .He knew nothing of the great principles discovered within the past one hundred years，" and just those which concern man or society. "For example， he had not read Montesquieu as this writer ought to be read， that is to say， in a way to accept or decidedly reject each of the thirty-one books of the 'Esprit des lois.' He had not thus read Bayle's Dictionary nor the Essay on the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. This ignorance of the Emperor's was not perceptible in conversation， and first， because he led in conversation， and next because with Italian finesse no question put by him， or careless supposition thrown out， ever betrayed that ignorance." - Bourrienne. I.， 19， 21： At Brienne， "unfortunately for us， the monks to whom the education of youth was confided knew nothing， and were too poor to pay good foreign teachers. . . . It is inconceivable how any capable man ever graduated from this educational institution." - Yung， I.， 125 (Notes made by him on Bonaparte， when he left the Military Academy)： "Very fond of the abstract sciences， indifferent to others， well grounded in mathematics and geography."[54] Roederer， III.， 544 (March 6， 1809)， 26， 563 (Jan. 23， 1811， and Nov. 12， 1813).
[55] Mollien， I.， 348 (a short time before the rupture of the peace of Amiens)， III.， 16： "It was at the end of January， 1809， that he wanted a full report of the financial situation on the 31st of December， 1808. . . . This report was to be ready in two days." - III.， 34： "Acomplete balance sheet of the public treasury for the first six months of 1812 was under Napoleon's eyes at Witebsk， the 11th of August， eleven days after the close of these first six months. What is truly wonderful is， that amidst so many different occupations and preoccupations . . . . he could preserve such an accurate run of the proceedings and methods of the administrative branches about which he wanted to know at any moment. Nobody had any excuse for not answering him， for each was questioned in his own terms； it is that singular aptitude of the head of the State， and the technical precision of his questions， which alone explains how he could maintain such a remarkable ensemble in an administrative system of which the smallest threads centered in himself."[56] 200 years after the death of Napoleon Sir Alfred Ayer thus writes in "LANGUAGE， TRUTH AND LOGIC"： 'Actually， we shall see that the only test to which a form of scientific procedure which satisfies the necessary condition of self-consistency is subject， is the test of its success in practice. We are entitled to have faith in our procedure just so long as it does the work it is designed to do - that is， enables us to predict future experience， and so to control our environment."And on the Purpose of Inquiry：
'The traditional disputes of philosophers are， for the most part， as unwarranted as they are unfruitful. The surest way to end them is to establish beyond question what should be the purpose and the method of philosophical inquiry.' (SR.)[57] An expression of Mollien.
[58] Meneval， I.， 210， 213. - Roederer， III.， 537， 545 (February and March， 1889)： Words of Napoleon： "At this moment it was nearly midnight." - Ibid.， IV.， 55 (November， 1809). Read the admirable examination of Roederer by Napoleon on the Kingdom of Naples. His queries form a vast systematic and concise network， embracing the entire subject， leaving no physical or moral data， no useful circumstance not seized upon. - Ségur， II.， 231： M. De Ségur， ordered to inspect every part of the coast-line， had sent in his report： "'Ihave seen your reports，' said the First Consul to me， 'and they are exact. Nevertheless， you forgot at Osten two cannon out of the four.'