STATE OF OUR LEARNED SOCIETIES. 303 
can be bought for money, becomes, of course, an 
intimation only of wealth, while its unlimited ex- 
tension will soon render it insignificant. In pro- 
portion to the largeness of the subscription, will be 
the exclusion of those men whose names would add 
dignity to the list; for it has been truly observed, 
that “ very few, indeed, of the cultivators of science 
rank amongst the wealthy classes;” while, in an 
inverse ratio, will be the admission of the titled and 
the untitled aristocracy. We cannot be persuaded 
that these predictions are exaggerated; because 
they are, from our personal knowledge, already in 
operation. Were it necessary to prove this, we could 
mention three or four names, whose fame has spread 
over the civilised world; but who, for the very 
reasons above mentioned, decline to become mem- 
bers of these aristocratic societies. Professor Bab- 
bage, in alluding to this subject, has given us a 
table of the admission fees payable to thirteen of the 
principal societies in Great Britain, with the ap- 
pended letters, or “ tail-pieces,” attached to the names 
of the purchasers. “ Thus,” he continues, “ those 
who are ambitious of scientific distinction, may, 
according to their fancy, render their name a kind 
of comet, carrying with it a tail of upwards of forty 
letters, at the average cost of 10/. 9s. 94d. per letter.” 
(210.) Let us not, however, be misunderstood 
on this matter. It is far from our purpose, while 
we venture to point out the defects of these asso- 
ciations, to withhold the admission of their great 
usefulness. If perfection cannot be attained by an 
individual, how much less can it be expected ina 
corporate body? The only truths we wish to im- 
