The Abbe shared the illusion of many that government is omnipotent and can bestow happiness on men.

The imperfections of governments were, he was convinced, chiefly due to the fact that hitherto the ablest intellects had not been dedicated to the study of the science of governing.

The most essential part of his project was the formation of a Political Academy which should do for politics what the Academy of Sciences did for the study of nature, and should act as an advisory body to ministers of state on all questions of the public welfare.

If this proposal and some others were adopted, he believed that the golden age would not long be delayed.

These observations--hardly more than obiter dicta--show that Saint-Pierre's general view of the world was moulded by a conception of civilisation progressing towards a goal of human happiness.