L'autorit6 a cess6 d'avolr plus de poids que la raison.'" Preface de l'Histoire de l'Acad6mie des Sciences depuis 1666.
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657-1757) was considered by French literary critics a witty, elegant writer, an influential philosopher, and an excellent popularizer of science. His reputation is based primarily on works that were published before 1700.1 Among his later works, ~loges des Acad~rniciens has been highly praised. However, the importance of his Histoire de l'Acaddrnie Royale des Sciences. 2 seems to have been ignored or very little written about, and yet it might be the most important source for us to find out about Fontenelle's scientific ideas.
FonteneUe, under the influence of his two uncles, Pierre and Thomas Corneille, tried his hand at writing, but failed as a poet and dramatist. He then turned to science, and his main contribution before 1700 was to popularize the scientific achievements of the seventeenth century. In his famous dialogue, entitled "The Plurality of Worlds," he made the discoveries of physical science clear, intelligible, and amusing to the general public. In many respects this book could stand as a model for modern scientific popularization.
However, Fontenelle did not merely popularize the scientific I, Bernard de Fontenelle's most important philosophical works are