It may be appropriate in the progress of this 

 address to make a brief reference to the history of 

 the Society itself. When Benjamin FrankHn came to 

 the city of Philadelphia about the year 1727, he formed 

 that celebrated Junto which he has so admirably de- 

 scribed in his autobiography, an association of his 

 friends pledged to each other for mutual improvement, 

 for the study of the philosophy and science of that 

 day, and for disseminating their ideas by discussions 

 and essays that might appear in the public prints. 



It appears that for the forty years this Junto was in 

 existence, it was always in the thoughts of that eminent 

 and patriotic man, so urgent in the performance of his 

 duties, so apt to every exigency, that even after it had 

 existed for forty years he wrote to his friends in Phila- 

 delphia, calling their attention to the fact that the Junto 

 still existed, and urging upon them the propriety of 

 keeping up its meetings and further developing its 

 usefulness and prosperity. In 1743, on the 25th of 

 May — new style — Benjamin Franklin published a pros- 

 pectus for the establishment of an American Philo- 

 sophical Society. In that prospectus he described 

 with minute precision the objects that such a society 

 should have, the methods to prosecute them, the 

 means by which it might obtain success, and the 

 organization which seemed to him to be necessary to 

 bring about perfection to such an institution. With 

 keen foresight he saw that the chief labor of such a 

 society and such an organization would devolve upon 

 the active mind which had originated it, and with the 

 simplicity and adaptation of his great character he 

 proposed himself for the humble office of secretary in 

 the society, and for many years acted in that capacity ; 



