Three Immortals

In Paris, the august body of the Academie Franc,aise met to elect successors to fill the chairs made vacant by the deaths of Frededric Masson, Pierre Loti, Charles de Freycinet.*

Balloting resulted in the election of : Emile Picard, member of the Academy of Science and professor of mathematics at the Sorbonne; Albert Besnard, Director of the Academie des Beaux Arts, best known artist in France; Georges Lecomte, journalist, author, playwright, historian, critic -- literary handy man. The latter's political biography of ex-Premier Georges Clemenceau is said to be the best of its kind.

In 1629, Valentin Conrart, secretary to Louis XIII, received each week in his house eight of the literary lights of the period. It was not long before Cardinal Richelieu heard of the meetings and, wishing to control the litterateurs as he controlled everybody else, he offered his protection and promised a royal charter to the society. Most of the habitues of Conrart's garret would have preferred to remain free; but it was dangerous to oppose the Cardinal, so they reluctantly were forced to accept the offer of His Eminence. In 1635, letters patent were granted by the King, and the Academie Franc,aise came into being.

The object of the Academy, according to Article 24 of its charter, is stated thus: "The principal function of the Academy shall be to labor with all care and diligence and give certain rules to our language, and to render it pure, eloquent and capable of treating the Arts and Sciences." And, in the famed Letter of the Academy to Cardinal Richelieu, the members proposed "to cleanse the language from the impurities it has contracted in the mouths of the common people, from the jargon of the lawyers, from the misusages of ignorant courtiers and the abuses of the pulpit."

In 1793, the Academy perished, like the other academies of the ancien regime, in the Revolution. In 1795, the Convention stated that "there is, for all the Republic, but one National Institute, designed to gather discoveries and to perfect the Arts and the Sciences." From 1796 on, the Academy became a part of the Institut de France--the most important part. It was still confined to 40 members, called Immortals, and continued to be the guardian of the French language designed to encourage Literature and foster genius. In every other respect, it was changed.

Today, including the above elections, there are 37 members, among the most important of whom are: Litterateurs: Joseph Bedier, Paul Bourget, Marcel Prevost, Henri de Regnier; Statesmen: Louis Barthou, Georges Clemenceau, Raymond Poincare, Jules Cambon; Soldiers: Les Marechals Ferdinand Foch, Joseph Joffre, Louis Lyautey; Artists: Albert Besnard (the only one) ; Journalist: Georges Lecomte; Educator: Emile Picard.

*Three seats are still vacant--those of Anatole France, Maurice Barres, Comte d'Haussonville.