204 Britain's Heritage of Science 



Society begins with that date. Twenty-one members were 

 named in the charter to constitute the first Council. Ninety- 

 four additional Fellows were selected by that body shortly 

 afterwards, of whom comparatively few are known by their 

 scientific work. Men of general culture sympathetic to the 

 revival of learning, statesmen, and even poets, were freely 

 included. It was not only science that benefited by this 

 liberal interpretation of the functions of the Society, for, 

 quoting Professor Oliver Elton, 1 " The activities of the 

 newly founded Royal Society told directly upon literature, 

 and counted powerfully in the organization of a clear uniform 

 prose the close, naked, natural way of speaking, which the 

 historian of the Society, Sprat, cites as part of its programme." 

 The meetings of the Royal Society, at first, served mainly to 

 promote friendly intercourse between its Fellows; experi- 

 ments were shown by a specially appointed " curator," 

 subjects were proposed for investigation, and sometimes 

 Fellows were asked to undertake particular researches. 

 The publication of results did not originally form any 

 prominent part of the work, and only gradually gained 

 importance. 



The preceding pages have been full of examples illus- 

 trating the discoveries made by Fellows of the Society; 

 we are here concerned with the influence which the Society 

 exerted in its corporate capacity. From the beginning it 

 acted as adviser to the Government in scientific matters, 

 and interested itself in the general welfare of the country. 

 During the first year of its existence, the King expressed the 

 wish that " no patent should be passed for any physical or 

 mechanical invention, until examined by the Society." In 

 the same year a report was presented and approved by the 

 Society " to plant potatoes, and to persuade their friends 

 to do the same, in order to alleviate the distress that would 

 accompany a scarcity of food." In 1732 it took measures 

 to promote the practice of inoculation. In 1750, its assistance 

 was invoked for the purpose of improving the distressing 

 state of ventilation of prisons, which was the cause of the 

 high death rate due to "jail fever." Sir John Pringle and 



1 ** Encyclopaedia Britannica," Article on English Literature. 



