THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



;°9 



The Principal Library of the Royal Society. 



Academy, and the two societies were 

 unrivaled centers of scientific produc- 

 tivity, until the development of the 

 German universities in the nineteenth 

 century. It is remarkable how large a 

 proportion of the men, from Newton 

 to Darwin, who have originated new 

 movements and new epochs in science 

 have been members of the Eoyal So- 

 ciety. It is difficult to say to what ex- 

 tent the society has been responsible 

 for their performance. Shortly after 

 his election, Xewton wrote to the secre- 

 tary: "I desire that you will procure 

 that I may be put out from being any 

 longer Fellow of the Eoyal Society." 

 Later he was for many years president, 

 but at that time he was master of the 

 mint and engaged in writing on sub- 

 jects such as "The Prophecies of 



Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. 

 John. ' ' Darwin presented his paper 

 "On the Tendency of Species to form 

 Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of 

 Varieties and Species by Natural 

 Means of Selection" to the Linnean 

 Society, and but rarely attended the 

 meetings of the Royal Society. 



At the commemoration dinner, Mr. 

 Asquith, the prime minister, said: 

 "The society has not, I think, at any 

 time had any direct financial assistance 

 from the government. For this the 

 government may be criticized; but I 

 venture to think the society is to be 

 congratulated. It is not well that 

 science should be a mendicant for state 

 endowment. I do not forget the annual 

 grants for scientific research which 

 are administered by the society: but 



