text:  That with all these advantages the French Academy is not free from faults we are far from asserting; that there is as much unseen man[oe]uvring and petty tyranny in this as in most other institutions is far from improbable;[23] but the effect upon the public and the zest and vitality which its proceedings give to science are undeniable and it is also undeniable that we have no scientific institution approaching to it in interest or value