OP ARTS AND SCIENCES. 297 



of his school as the dominant philosophy of England, that, according to 

 his own estimate, " we may still count in England twenty a priori or 

 spiritualist philosophers for every partisan of the doctrine of Experi- 

 ence." But it was for the practical applications of this doctrine in 

 politics and in morals, rather than for the theoretical recognition of it 

 in general, that he most earnestly strove ; and we should probably 

 find in England and America to-day a much larger proportion, among 

 those holding meditated and deliberate opinions on practical matters, 

 who are in these the disciples of Mill, than can be found among the 

 students of abstract philosophy. 



In the death of Charles Delaunay, the Academy has lost an 

 eminent name from its foreign list, and France one of her most profound 

 and accomplished astronomers. His " Theorie du Mouvement de la 

 Lune " will ever be regarded as a brilliant example of the masterly divi- 

 sion of a great problem of mathematical skill and admirable patience. 

 The object of this remai'kable work is " to determine, in an analytic 

 form, all the inequalities of the motion of the Moon about the Earth, 

 to quantities of the seventh order inclusive, regarding these two bodies 

 as simple material points, and taking account only of the perturbative 

 action of the Sun, of which the apparent motion round the P^arth is sup- 

 posed to be performed according to the laws of elliptic motion." In 

 carrying the determination to quantities of the seventh order, Delaunay 

 added two orders to those which had previously been considered by 

 Plana, and thereby increased the labor of his task to a vast extent. 

 The first volume of this work, containing about 900 quarto pages, was 

 published in 1860. A second volume was contemplated, but has not 

 yet appeared. 



In 1869, M. Delaunay was made director of the Observatory of 

 Paris, in place of M. Leverrier ; and he held that post at the time 

 of his death. 



Six hundred and fifty-ninth Meeting. 



June 10, 1873. — Adjourned Annual Meeting. 



The President in the chair. 



On opening the meeting, the President addressed the 

 Academy as follows : — 



Gentlemen of the Academy, — You have been pleased to con- 

 fer upon me the honor of presiding over your deliberations, for which 

 I pray you to accept my most earnest acknowledgments. 



VOL. I. ^8 



