“Condorcet's elitist inclinations are evident in his theory that to prevent wasting time and effort, it was necessary to unite scientists under a common direction. This plan seems to make the scientists a very powerful authority fee of all controls. Frank Manuel states that Condorcet's plan was particularly evident in the 1804 edition of the Esquisse. Appended to this edition were extra sections on the scientific organization of society as well as Condorcet's commentary on Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, which concentrated on the need for scientific authority. Manuel asserts that Comte was deeply influenced by this edition. But Comte's library contains the 1797 edition, which was more concerned with the freedom of the individual than with scientific power.” ScienceFreedomAuthorityIndividualismEditionComteCondorcet Book:Auguste Comte: An Intellectual Biography, Volume I Source: Auguste Comte: An Intellectual Biography, Volume I
“I have observed, indeed, generally, that while in protestant countries the defections from the Platonic Christianity of the priests is to Deism, in catholic countries they are to Atheism. Diderot, D'Alembert, D’Holbach, Condorcet, are known to have been among the most virtuous of men. Their virtue, then, must have had some other foundation than the love of God. [Letter to Thomas Law, 13 June 1814]” AtheismPlatonicDeismProtestantDiderotBaron D HolbachCondorcetD HolbachDenis DiderotPaul Henri D HolbachD AlembertJean Le Rond D AlembertMarquis De CondorcetPlatonic Christianity Book:Letters of Thomas Jefferson Source: Letters of Thomas Jefferson