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of that constitution under which we are here united for the Pursuit of 
Truth,—and, secondly, upon the progress that has been made, or that 
may hereafter be made, in that high object of our incorporation. It 
is of the fu¢ure that it is important to speak : the precept 
“Toe pesv omiow emsdaavOavopevos, To1s Ot seemgordsv tmexTesvopesvos 
holds good in the pursuit of knowledge, no less than in the advance in 
piety. But still our hopes of the Future, if they are to be more than 
dreamy visions, must be based upon the history of the Past. 
“The first thing that must strike every one, in considering the con- 
stitution of this Academy, is the comprehensiveness of its scheme, and 
the wide scope of its labours ; and we are inclined to ask, whether a con- 
stitution so large and so varied,—so opposed to modern precedent,—can 
be sound and healthful ?. When we look into the recent history of Asso- 
ciations for the advancement of knowledge, we see that each division of 
the wide domain of truth, as it has arisen into prominent view, by the 
labours of those engaged in its cultivation, has claimed for itself the 
concentrated energy, and the undivided resources, of an exclusive 
Society. In this manner the Royal Society of London, which included 
originally, and still includes, representatives from every department of 
Philosophy, has seen Society after Society spring up, manned by its 
own Members, and claiming to perform, in a more complete and 
effective manner, the separated portions of its work. 
“ Such a state of things is the natural result of increased acti- 
vity in any department, and of the consequent demand which it makes 
of a larger portion of time, and of the other appliances of labour, than can 
be devoted to itin a body of mixed constitution and more comprehensive 
plan. Nor can it be doubted that such a multiplication of the instru- 
ments, by which Intellectual Force is concentrated and applied, is 
attended with the many advantages which arise from the division of 
labour, or that it has actually tended, and in a very important degree, 
to push forward and to extend the boundary which divides the known 
from the unknown. 
“But perhaps these advantages, great as they are, have not been 
wholly unbalanced. Have we not reason to apprehend that Phi/oso- 
‘phy has suffered, while the portions of her mighty empire have asserted 
their independence, and erected themselves into separate kingdoms ? 
