THE PRUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 423 



health, though it is easy to see that there were sufficient reasons of an- 

 other character why a man of high spirit like himself should not be 

 present. In the long and rather trite Latin oration by von Printzen, 

 and in a second oration by Jabloniski, there was no mention of him, 

 though the published reports give him credit for his services in founding 

 and directing the academy. At this time the membership had increased 

 to 38 or, if the honorary and acting presidents be counted, to 40. 



The king died on February 25, 1712. The history of the academy 

 under his successor, Frederick William I., is somewhat disappointing. 

 Leibniz, though doing all in his power for the academy until his death 

 in 1716, turned, in his later years, to other helpers than the king of 

 Prussia for aid in his projects: to the king of Saxony; to the Czar, 

 who met him cordially and made him many promises and to the gov- 

 ernment of Austria. Through these centers of learning and investiga- 

 tion he hoped to be able to direct and control scientific study on the 

 continent of Europe. 



Still the Berlin Academy was not without significance. Hoffmann 

 the physicist was not idle. Work on a German dictionary was begun 

 early in the new reign, but for reasons which do not appear it was 

 given up in 1721. In 1712 it was decided to revise Luther's Bible and 

 to begin with the New Testament, but, after working on this revision 

 till 1743, it also was abandoned. Perhaps the failure of these great 

 projects may suggest some of the reasons why the academy had failed 

 during Leibniz's lifetime to realize the hopes he had cherished for it. 

 In his day and for some years afterwards few scientific men of the first 

 rank made Berlin their home. Moreover, the government of the 

 academy was autocratic. Some of the best men in the city, men who 

 ought to have been among its members, felt that they could do better 

 work outside than within its ranks. There were some quacks in Berlin, 

 like a certain Dr. Gundelsheim, who declined an election to the acad- 

 emy, characterizing it as a nuisance in the learned world, and useless, 

 and so ridiculed and defamed its most prominent member, Hoffmann, 

 as to compel him to leave the city. As Crown Prince, Frederick Will- 

 iam had despised the academy. Penurious by nature, he cared little 

 for any society or institution which sought merely to increase knowl- 

 edge without regard to its utility. True, he continued the calendar 

 monopoly, but cut off some other privileges the academy had enjoyed 

 and commanded it to reduce expenses to the lowest point. He con- 

 sented to preserve its life only on condition that it do something for 

 medicine and technology. Leibniz saw the situation and did his best 

 to persuade the academy to undertake a work which would gratify the 

 king and secure his favor. For some reason it failed to heed his advice. 

 Not till ten years later did Volume II. of the Berlin Miscellanies ap- 

 pear. Meanwhile the theater, which had been prepared for anatomical 



