286 PERSONAL PREPARATION FOR RESEARCH. 



he encouraged Einieri to bring to a conclusion the laborious 

 charge which he had undertaken of finding the consti- 

 tution of the Stelle Medicee ; but in 1647, when the latter 

 was giving daily information regarding Jupiter's satellites 

 and was on the point of publishing the tables, he suddenly 

 died, and his valuable papers were, alas ! very quickly 

 scattered. It was, indeed, a year of ill-omen, for in it 

 Kinieri, Torricelli, and Cavalieri descended, one after 

 another, into the tomb. But their works, the germs of 

 future disciples, outlived them. In fact, ten years after- 

 wards, we find ourselves face to face with a great event in 

 the annals of science, and one most auspicious for Italy 

 and particularly for Florence namely, the foundation 

 of the first scientific academy. We are chiefly indebted 

 to Prince Leopold for the great idea of establishing an 

 academy which should be destined expressly to the study 

 of experimental philosophy. That distinguished man, 

 who was accustomed to gather round him for useful con- 

 versation the most illustrious persons of his time, thought 

 that researches would be more systematically pursued, and 

 the gatherings of many men would benefit to a much 

 greater extent the progress of science, if meetings were 

 held regularly and some rules and regulations laid down. 

 Ferdinand joyfully agreed to his brother's proposal, and 

 showed the greatest generosity towards the new institution ; 

 he presented all his own valuable instruments to it, and 

 even endowed it with the results of his former experiments, 

 several of which have been regarded as the work of the 

 Academy, which was certainly not the case. On June 18, 

 1657, there was held in the Pitti Palace the first sitting 

 of the first scientific academy ; it justly chose to name 

 itself the "Accademia del Cimento" (attempt, trial, 

 essay), and it selected as its device the now celebrated 



