25& A Review of the Cliaiader, ^c. of Sir Joseph Banks. 



have been from the operation of circumstances over which Sir 

 Joseph, his habits and propensities, had no controul. 



After the preceding enumeration of particulars, I may safely 

 ask. If the knowledge of pure mathematics have declined in Eng- 

 land during the last 40 years, who can help ascribing it to Sir 

 Joseph Banks ? If mixed mathematics, if practical mechanics, 

 if geology and mineralogy, if astronomy, nay, if chemistry, have 

 made anv considerable advances in England; or if any of them 

 have been enriched with noble inventions and brilliant discoveries, 

 who will venture to impute the least portion of those advances, 

 or the least valuable of those discoveries, to the fostering influence 

 of that celebrated individual ? The flatterers of Sir Joseph have 

 termed him the Solon, the Nestor, the Meccenas, of British 

 science ; and he must doubtless have laughed in his sleeve at 

 their simplicity or their folly, whenever he knew them so to 

 speak. The Mecenas truly! What tragedies did he compose? 

 What memoirs of distinguished men ? What classifications of 

 precious stones ? What was the name of the learned man whose 

 estates he redeemed, as Meca;nas did those of Virgil? What 

 poet or philosopher owed deliverance from Royal disgrace to hi.; 

 unsought intervention ? What real promoter of science did he o:; 

 his death-bed recommend to the especial patronage of his Prince, 

 as Mccsnas did Horace to Augustus? TheMiKJENAs! Into 

 what will flattery precipitate men ! Why not the Newton, at 

 once? and why not propose for his epitaph — 



Sibi jrratulcntur niortales. 

 Talc tanliiiiKiiic extitisse 

 Hiimani treneris dccus ! 



One remark more, and I have done. Much has been said of 

 Sir Joseph's hospitality; and there has been inferred from it tlic 

 necessity that his successor in tlie chair of the Royal Society 

 should be a man of opulence. This is very fallacious, and easily 

 exposed. Had Sir Joseph, instead of aspiring to honour aniorg 

 philosophers, contented himself with moving in the sphere of a 

 country gentleman, he would doubtless have given as many din- 

 ner parties to the neighbouring gentry, and placed before thcin 

 as s])lendid repasts, as he did to his philosophical associates. Antl 

 as to his tea-parlies, I know of nothing peculiar about them, 

 except it be that in order to show a i)hiiosophie indifference to 

 the ('hristian sabbath, they were for many years held on Sjinday 

 evenings. Several persons who have attended them frequently, 

 and who were, on the whole, pleased with the society they there 

 inct with, have always found it difticult to suppress a smile when 

 they have heard of the opulence necessary to continue the prar- 

 tice, and affirm that they would engage to defray the whole ex- 

 pense for much less than 150/. per annum. After 



