Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794), was a mathematician, a farseeing social and educational reformer, a champion of women's and minority rights, and the last of the illustrious line of philosophes who graced eighteenth century France and enriched the world with the message of "enlightenment." Following the French Revolution, Condorcet was entrusted with drafting a constitution for France. But a dispute with the French National Convention forced Condorcet to flee for his life. While in hiding, he wrote the Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of...