and Proceedings of I he lale Pieudsni nf llie Royal Society. 163 



dent of a literary or a scientific society, will have an influence 

 upon its members, its proceedings, and its utility, bearing some 

 natural proportion to the interval during which he presides over 

 it. Consecinently, since the late Sir Joseph Banks occupied the 

 chair of the President in the Royal Society for more than forty 

 years, at an age of the world when science in almost every de- 

 jKirtment and in every country of Europe was making the most 

 rapid advances, it will become the duty of the impartial his- 

 torian of British science to ascertain what were the qualilita- 

 tions of thi.s gentleman to preside for so many years over that 

 illustrious i)ody, what wore the topics of inquiry which he most 

 encouraged, what were those which he uniformly repressed, and 

 what have been the conse(|ueiices with regard to certain sciences 

 of Britain, in comparison with the cultivation and augmentation 

 of the same in other parts of the world. 



The following pages may probably assist in this inquiry : and 

 1 would simply premise, that though I shall throughout employ 

 the language of frankness, as best calculated to elicit and exhibit 

 truth, yet 1 have not the remotest inclination to violate the laws 

 of propriety and decorum, or to lose sight of the solemn consi- 

 deration that the subject of animadversion is now alike indifferent 

 to human praise and blame. So far as my judgement and in- 

 formation u'ill enable me, I shall represent things as they were ; 

 so that while on the one hand I shnll " nothing extenuate," I 

 should be equally resolved " to set down nought in malice," even 

 (which however is not the case) if my personal intercourse with 

 Sir Joseph Iiad called into exercise that baneful passion. 



Several of the eulogists of the late President have fancied that 

 they could render his merits more prominent by placing them 

 in contrast with those of his immediate predecessor, Sir John 

 Pringle. I shall therefore be the more readily pardoned for 

 adopting a like proceeding in this review. 



Sir John Pringle was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 

 the year 17 15, and had even then a high reputation for medical 

 knovvledge and skill. Afterwards he wrote pretty copiously upon 

 many subjects connected with his profession, anil communicated 

 several interesting pa|)ers to the Transactions of the Royal So- 

 ciety ; in this manner, as well as in consequence of an extensive 

 j)ractice, becoming very eminent both as a practical phvsician, 

 an<i as a medical writer. But his reputation, exalted as it was 

 in these respects, was not confined to them. Mo Iiad a great 

 love for science generally, and he cultivated it with correspond- 

 itig ardour. Karly in life he had read the works of Bacon with 

 great attention, and his mind became in consccpience predis- 

 posed to the genuine mode of philosophizing by means of well 

 conducted experiniciits : he never suffered hinistlf to be seduced 

 .. X2 by 



