Note 518 — Chapter XVIII
Reading edition
"Laplace, a geometrician of the first rank, soon proved himself below mediocrity as a minister. On his very first essay, the consuls found that they had been mistaken; not a question did Laplace seize in its true point of view: he sought for subtleties in every thing; had none but problematical ideas, and carried the doctrine of infinite littleness into the business of administration."—Napoleon, Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 116.