theorist,
he soon arrived at the high post of intendant of Limousin, where he
developed a remarkable talent for administration, and a sympathy with
the people. He introduced the potato into that province. But he
continued to employ his pen, especially on questions of political
economy, which he treated as a master. On the accession of Louis XVI. he
was called to the cabinet as Minister of the Marine, and shortly
afterwards he gave up this place to be the head of the finances. Here he
began a system of rigid economy, founded on a curtailment of expenses
and an enlargement of resources. The latter was obtained especially by a
removal of disabilities from trade, whether at home or abroad, and the
substitution of a single tax on land for a complex multiplicity of
taxes. The enemies of progress were too strong at that time, and the
king dismissed the reformer. Good men in France became anxious for the
future; Voltaire, in his distant retreat, gave a shriek of despair, and
addressed to Turgot some remarkable verses entitled _Epitre a un Homme_.
Worse still, the good edicts of the minister were rescinded, and society
was put back.

The discarded minister gave himself to science, literature, and
friendship. He welcomed Franklin to France and to immortality in a Latin
verse of marvellous felicity. He was already the companion of the
liberal spirits who were doing so much for knowledge and for reform. By
writing and by conversation he exercised a constant influence. His
"ideas" seem to illumine the time. We may be content to follow him in
saying, "The glory of arms cannot compare with the happiness of living
in peace." He anticipated our definition of a republic, when he said "it
was formed upon the _equality of all the citizens_,"--good words, not
yet practically verified in all our States. Such a government he, living
under a monarchy, bravely pronounced the best of all; but he added that
he "had never known a constitution truly republican." This was in 1778.
With similar plainness he announced that "the destruction of the Ottoman
empire would be a real good for all the nations of Europe," and--he
added still further--for humanity also, because it would involve the
abolition of negro slavery, and because to strip "our oppressors is not
to attack, but to vindicate, the common rights of humanity." With such
thoughts and aspirations, the prophet died.

But I have no purpose of writing a biography, or even a character. All
that I