THE NEW SCIENCE AND COMEDY 77 



use of Gunpowder There is now a Great Monarch who has 



Armies in several Countries of the Moon ; which we found out be 

 cause the Colours, which we see, are all alike. There are a great 

 many States, which we take to be Confederacies against him. He is 

 an ambitious Prince, and aims at universal Monarchy, but the rest 

 will be too hard for him". 37 The force of nature can hardly go 

 further than this. 



A servant interrupts the Virtuoso's discourse on insects, by 

 entering to announce, "Sir, the Gentleman that's going for Lap 

 land, Russia, and those parts, is come for your Letters and Queries, 

 which you are to send thither". "Sir Nicholas; I'll wait on him. 

 I keep a constant correspondence with all Virtuoso's in the North 

 and North East Parts. There are rare Phenomena's in those 

 countries. I am beholden to Lapland, Finland, and Russia for a 

 great part of my Philosophy. I send my queries there." 38 



This custom was actually followed by the members of the Royal 

 Society. In the first place the entire company was divided into 

 committees, and a definite field of inquiry was assigned to each. 

 Then, in order that they could keep in touch with scientific ac 

 tivities in other parts of the world, a system of correspondence was 

 kept up. Oldenburg, the first secretary, complained because he 

 was heavily burdened with the correspondence he was obliged to 

 carry on. Letters poured in upon him from Italy, Spain, France, 

 America, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, 

 China, Persia, and Turkey. From time to time long lists of queries 

 were sent out by travellers to be answered either by themselves or 

 by some scientific friend in the foreign parts. Visiting foreigners 

 were formally invited to the meetings, and were often asked to ad 

 dress the Society. 



Such a custom was destined to have a note-worthy effect. So 

 far from being the correct material for satire, it deserved high 

 praise. Of course it had its weakness; many of the reports re 

 ceived were of the most fabulous character, yet they were repre 

 sented to the Society and recorded in their minutes. This laid them 

 open to satiric attack. The idea of such a system of international 

 communication originated with Lord Bacon's New Atlantis. The 



87 Ibid. 



88 Ibid. 



