THE VIENNA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 417 



appointed and without exception had reported that they looked upon 

 the project of an academy with approval. Tired of waiting the move- 

 ments of the government, a private academy was organized in January, 

 1846. Its members favored an academy with two classes, historical 

 philosophical, and mathematical scientific, and did their work along 

 these lines. When the petition for the formation of an academy reached 

 the prime minister, Metternich, he simply said that it was unnecessary 

 as he had long since determined to found an academy and had secured 

 a plan for it. From its discussions he proposed to exclude theology, 

 literature, politics and ethics, and limit them to the subjects connected 

 with positive science. In presenting his plan to the emperor, which 

 received his approval, the minister said that the conservatism of the 

 academy would counteract prevailing disturbances in thought, espe- 

 cially in politics, and furnish a center around which monarchical ideas 

 would crystallize. It was decided that a prince of the reigning house 

 should be curator, that the president should be a nobleman, that there 

 should be 48 active members, as many corresponding members, and one 

 public meeting a year ; that the cost should be borne by the government, 

 but must be limited to 40,000 gulden annually; that for each of the 

 two classes a secretary should be chosen, to whom, with the dean and 

 the president, small salaries should be paid, but that ordinary members 

 should receive nothing, inasmuch as many of them, professors in the 

 university and in other offices, were already in the service of the gov- 

 ernment. Final and favorable action was taken in November, 1847, 

 though the formation of the academy had been officially announced 

 in May of that year. The Academy consisted of 40 active members, 

 18 of them resident in Vienna, the others representing various sections 

 of the realm. Many reasons prevented the curator, Archduke John, 

 from issuing a call for the meeting of the academy till February, 1848. 

 It had been agreed that in addition to the forty members named by the 

 emperor out of the lists furnished him, these forty should have the 

 privilege of choosing eight more members and, subject to the emperor's 

 approval, of electing its president, its secretaries and its dean. The 

 cost of printing the papers presented to the academy was to be met by 

 the government, but to the request that these papers be free from police 

 supervision a negative answer was returned. This was in the revo- 

 lutionary year 1848. The day after the request for freedom of publica- 

 tion had been denied a mob gathered in Vienna, the emperor sur- 

 rendered his absolute power and granted the academy the liberty it 

 desired. He also permitted the academy to increase its membership, 

 by 12 in each class, and to elect an equal number of corresponding 

 members. Though providing amply for the study of history and phi- 

 losophy, the first place was given to science. Hammer Purgstall was 

 chosen the first president. "An academy," said he, "is a union of 

 vol. Lxir. 27. 



