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232 MAUPERTUIS’s MEMOIR ON THE MEASURE OF
peated as often as there are intermediate degrees, would make together a fum too con-
fiderable to efcape the obfervers.
M. Le Compte de Mauripas who is attached to the fciences, and who is defirous of
rendering them ferviceable to the {tate, found united in this undertaking, an advantage
to navigation, and to the academy, and the profpect of its being of utility to the public,
infured the attention of the Cardinal de Fleury, in the midft of war. The fciences
found in him that protection, and affiftance, which could fearcely be expected in time of
the moft profound peace. M. Le Compte de Mauripas quickly after fent to the
academy the orders of his Majefty, to have the queftion decided refpecting the figure
of the earth; the academy received them with joy, and haftened by feveral of its
members to put them in execution ; fome were deftined to the equator, to meafure the
firft degree of the meridian, and fet off a year before us, the others for the north to
meafure a degree as near to the pole as poffible. The fame zeal actuated thofe who
went to expofe themfelves to the fun under the torrid zone, as them who were to
experience the horrors of winter in the frozen regions ; either had but one aim, that
of rendering themfelves ufeful to their country.
The party defigned for the north was compofed of four academicians, Meffrs.
Clairaut, Camus, Le Monnier, and myfelf, and of Mr. L? Abbé Outhier, accom-
panied by M. Celfius, the celebrated profeflor of aflronomy at Upfal, who aflifted us
in allour labours, and whofe information and advice were very ufeful to us. Were it
permitted me to fpeak of my other companions, of their firmnefs, and their talents, it
would be vifible, that however difficult the work we undertook, with their concurrence it
muft have been eafy.
A long time has elapfed fince we heard laft from thofe gone to the ‘equator : little
more of that expedition is known befide the trouble it has met with ; and our experience
has taught us to feel for thofe engaged in it, we have been more fortunate, and are
returned to bring to the academy the fruits of our toil.
The veflel that bore us having arrived at Stockholm, we haftened to fet out towards
the bottom of the gulph of Bothnia, where we could choofe better than by trufting to
charts, which of the two coafts of the gulph would be moft fuitable to our operations.
The perils with which they threatened us at Stockholm did not deter us ; nor the kind-
nefs of his Majefty, who, in fpite of the orders that he iflued for us, ceafed not from
teftifying his concern at feeing us depart on fo dangerous an adventure.
We arrived at Torneo in time to fee the fun fhine without fetting for feveral days; as
is ufwal in thofe climates about the fummer folftice ; an admirable fight to an inhabitant
of the temperate zones, notwith{tanding his knowledge of {uch being the cafe at the
polar circle.
It perhaps will not be ufelefs here to give an idea of the work we had laid down, and
the means we had to take in meafuring a degree of the meridian.
Nobody is ignorant that as one advances towards the north, the ftars placed towards
the equator appear to fink ; and on the contrary thofe fituated towards the pole, to rife :
it is very probable that the obfervance of this phenomenon afforded the firft proof of
the roundnefs of the earth. This difference in the meridian height of a {tar, which
we perceive in tracing an arc of the meridian, I call the amplitude of that arc ; it is this
which is the meafurement of its curve, or in other words, it is the number of minutes
and feconds which it contains.
Were the earth entirely fpherical, this difference of the height of a ftar, (this ampli-
tude) would always be in proportion to the arc of the meridian pafled over. If in
order to fee a ftar change its elevation one degree, it might be neceflary at Paris to pafs
: over
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