I<54 Roman National Iiijl'ttute. 



drawn from the hiftory of the ancient Greek and Roman 



republics r" 



The fociety require the anfwer to this queftion to be 

 tranfmitted in the like manner before the firft of April 1799, 

 that the adjudication of the prize may be made alfo on the 

 firft of November, 



ROME. 



IN confequence of the 368th article of the Conftitution of 

 the new Roman Republic, the citizens who are to compofe 

 the members of the National Inftitute were nominated in 

 April laft by the French general. It is divided into two 

 clafTes :-*— that of the fciences, mathematics and phyfic •, and 

 that of philofophy, the belles lettres, and the fine arts. The 

 firft is fubdivided into fix feclions— 'The mathematics, che- 

 miftry, anatomy, phyfics, natural hiftory, and agriculture ; 

 and the fecond into fix fe£tions alfo, viz. philofophy, hif- 

 tory and antiquities, poetry and mufic j the political fcU 

 ences, grammar and eloquence \ the art of defign, 



ASTRONOMY. 



Mr. Herschel has lately difcovered four new fatellites. 

 to his planet ; fo that there are now fix. This difcovery was 

 made by a telefcope of 30 feet, which he had conftrudted 

 for the Obfervatory of Madrid. The firft notice that La- 

 lande had of this difcovery was from Gotha, the Prince of 

 which is fond of aitronomy : he laments, in a fhort notice 

 which he publifhed upon this fubje£t, that for fome years 

 he has not received from Mr. Herfchel any account of his. 

 difcoveries in the heavens. 



Paris, 30 Pluviofe, (Feb. 18.) 



Mercury and Venus have been obferved to pafs over the 



Sun's diflc, under the form of black fpots ; but no perfon ever 



before faw a comet tri the like fituaticn. Citizen Dangos, 



, an able aftronorncr of Tarbes, on the 18th of January laft 



made 



