"
Quite as chivalrous, though in a very different field of action,
was the conduct of Laplace to the young philosopher Biot, when the
latter had read to the French Academy his paper, "SUR LES
EQUATIONS AUX DIFFERENCE MELEES." The assembled SAVANS, at its
close, felicitated the reader of the paper on his originality.
Monge was delighted at his success. Laplace also praised him for
the clearness of his demonstrations, and invited Biot to accompany
him home. Arrived there, Laplace took from a closet in his study
a paper, yellow with age, and handed it to the young philosopher.
To Biot's surprise, he found that it contained the solutions, all
worked out, for which he had just gained so much applause. With
rare magnanimity, Laplace withheld all knowledge of the
circumstance from Biot until the latter had initiated his
reputation before the Academy; moreover, he enjoined him to
silence; and the incident would have remained a secret had not
Biot himself published it, some fifty years afterwards.
An incident is related of a French artisan, exhibiting the same
characteristic of self-sacrifice in another form. In front of a
lofty house in course of erection at Paris was the usual scaffold,
loaded with men and materials. The scaffold, being too weak,
suddenly broke down, and the men upon it were precipitated to the
ground--all except two, a young man and a middle-aged one, who
hung on to a narrow ledge, which trembled under their weight, and
was evidently on the point of giving way.
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