November 29, 1900] 



NA TURE 



119 



having given him "more comfort than anything for a long 

 while. I wish to Heaven," he says, "it had reached me six 

 months ago. It would have saved me a world of pain and 

 error." 



Huxley had two great objects in life as he has himself told us. 

 "There are," he said, "two things I really care about — one 

 is the progress of scientific thought, and the other is the better- 

 ing of the condition of the masses of the people by bettering 

 them in the way of lifting themselves out of the misery which 

 has hitherto been the lot of the majority of them. Posthumous 

 fame is not particularly attractive to me, but, if I am to be 

 remembered at all, I would rather it should be as ' a man who 

 did his best to help the people ' than by any other title." 



It is not only because we, many of us, loved him as a friend, 

 not only because we all of us recognise him as a great naturalist, 

 but also because he was a great example to us all, a man who 

 did his best to benefit the people, that we are here to do honour 

 to his memory to-day. 



THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF SCIENTIFIC 

 SOCIETIES} 



^N the present occasion I propose to say a few words on a 

 subject of little practical importance, so far as the needs of 

 everyday life are concerned, but still not without some general 

 interest, and not without a direct beating on the history of the 

 advancement of human knowledge — the "Origin, Development 

 and Aims of our Scientific Societies. " The subject is a large one, 

 and it will be impossible to enter into details with regard to its 

 almost innumerable ramifications. In justification of a consider- 

 a^)le degree of limitation, I may incidentally mention that the 

 "Official Year-book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of 

 Great Britain and Ireland," for the year 1900, extends over 

 upwards of 290 octavo pages. 



In England no learned society received a Royal Charter 

 before 1662, when the Royal Society was incorporated by 

 Charles II. It had, however, been instituted in 1660. So 

 early, moreover, as 1645 the lovers of experimental philosophy 

 formed a society which met weekly in London on a certain day 

 to treat and discourse of philosophical affaire, and many of its 

 members became subsequently the first Fellows of the Royal 

 Society. About the year 164S-1649, this little band of students 

 was divided into two — one part remaining in London and the 

 other migrating to Oxford, where a Philosophical Society of 

 Oxford was established that subsequently for some time worked 

 in concert with the Royal Society, and did not finally cease to 

 exist until 1690. 



About the year 1572, " divers gentlemen of London, studious 

 in antiquities, formed themselves into a College or Society of 

 Antiquaries" The honour of this foundation is "entirely due 

 to that munificent patron of letters and learned men. Archbishop 

 Parker. The members met near 20 years at the house of Sir 

 Robert Cotton, and, in 1^89. resolved to apply to the Queen for 

 a charter of incorporation, and for some public building, where 

 they might assemble and have a library." A petition was pre- 

 pared for presentation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth praying 

 for the incorporation of " An Academy for the Studye of Anti- 

 quity and History," the meetings of which were to be held in 

 the Savoy, or the dissolved PriOry of St. John of Jerusalem, or 

 elsewhere. It is uncertain whether this petition was ever pre- 

 sented, but the Queen seems to have given the society her coun- 

 tenance, and under the presidency of Archbishops Parker and 

 Whitgift successively it flourished, and a list of thirty-eight of its 

 members, comprising such well-known names as Camden, 

 Cotton, Erdeswicke, Lambarde, and Stow, is still extant. For 

 some cause or other Elizabeth's successor, James I., thought fit 

 to dissolve the society in 1604, and though attempts were made 

 to revive it in 161 7, and though there was an Antiquaries' feast 

 on July 2, 1659, tiie society remained in a dormant condition 

 until 1707. It then held weekly meetings at the " Bear Tavern " 

 in the Strand, and afterwards at the " Young Devil Tavern " in 

 Fleet Street, subsequently moving to the " Fountain Tavern." 

 In 1 7 18 the society was reconstituted, and in 1751 a Charter of 

 Incorporation was granted to it by George II., who declared 

 himself the founder and patron of the Society of Antiquaries of 

 London. 



Having traced the inception of the two oldest of our learned 



1 Abridgment of an .1 d ess delivered at the opening meeting of the 

 Society of Arts, November 21, by Sir John Evans, K.C. B., F.R.S. 



NO. 1622, VOL. 63] 



societies, which in their early stages partook more of the nature 

 of clubs than of what are now known as societies, I propose, 

 before considering their further developments, to say something 

 as to the proper aims and objects of a learned society, and the 

 means usually adopted for carrying them into effect. Such a 

 society is an association of persons united together by common 

 tastes and anxious to improve or extend some particular branch 

 of knowledge, or even the whole range of scientific inquiry. 

 With this object in view it becomes necessary to hold periodical 

 meetings for the discussion of subjects in which the society is 

 interested, and for taking such action in respect of them as may 

 seem desirable. The holding of such meetings involves an 

 organisation and the appointment of presidents to take the chair 

 at meetings, of secretaries to summon them, and of a treasurer 

 to receive those subscriptions without which an association of the 

 kind cannot exist. Moreover, for the determination of questions 

 of policy and finance, especially when the society issued publica- 

 tions, a council of some kind becomes a necessity. It is on this 

 organisation that the success or failure of a society mainly 

 depends, and the questions as to the length of period that presi- 

 dents and others should remain in office, what proportion of new 

 blood should be infused into the council each year, and how far 

 those in power are carrying out the views of the bulk of the 

 members of the society, have frequently been discussed with 

 more or less warmth. In [some instances the too conservative 

 apathy of the council has led to disruption and the foundation of 

 new societies, or to the society under their charge being reduced 

 to a state of inanimate slumber, while on the other hand too 

 rapid revolutionary measures have led to diminutions in numbers, 

 if not to absolute rebellion. Much, of course, of the welfare of 

 a society depends upon the character of its publications being 

 kept at a high level, and on their being brought out with scrupu- 

 lous regularity. 



There is one condition in the life of a scientific society which is 

 entirely beyond its control or that of its council, and this con- 

 dition may be superinduced by the activity of the society itself. 

 As researches proceed and knowledge extends, new branches of 

 inquiry are opened, which can only be investigated by those 

 who apply themselves specially to the subject. New publica- 

 tions are required, particular days have to be set apart for the 

 discussion of the new subject, and eventually it is found desir- 

 able to establish a separate branch of the old society, or to con- 

 stitute a new one. The latter course is the one that has been 

 most often adopted, especially in the case of biological science ; 

 and not infrequently the new society finds a home in the apart- 

 ments of the parent society, and under its fostering care. 



Let us now go back to the period when Charles II. granted 

 his second Charter to the Royal Society of London for improv- 

 ing natural knowledge. The Society of Antiquaries was in 

 abeyance, so that the Royal Society was practically the only 

 institution of the kind in Britain, and its aims were naturally 

 wide. On November 20, 1663, the society consisted of 131 

 Fellows, of whom 18 were noblemen, 22 baronets and knights, 

 47 esquires, 32 doctors, 2 bachelors of divinity, 2 masters of 

 arts, and 8 strangers or foreign members. With the exception 

 of the large proportion of physicians or doctors, it will be 

 observed that the society in the main was composed of noble- 

 men and gentlemen of independent position, and that the pro- 

 fessional element was to a very great extent wanting Great 

 attention was paid to experimental methods ; but " what the 

 learned and inquisitive are doing, or have done in physick, 

 mechanicks, opticks, astronomy, medicine, chymistry, anatomy, 

 both abroad and at home " were subjects on which they were 

 solicitous. Many of the branches of science diligen'ly pursued 

 at the present day were either unknown or in their infancy. The 

 variation of the compass had been observed, but magnetism and 

 electricity presented almost untrodden fields ; the steam engine 

 was in an embryonic stage ; visions of space with four or more 

 dimensions had not visited the poetical mathematical brain ; 

 microscopes and telescopes were in their infancy ; the family of 

 the planets was no more numerous than of old ; the circulation 

 of the blood had not met with universal acceptance, and the 

 existence of bacilli was but dimly conceived ; chemistry was of 

 the crudest, and the elements were earth, air, fire and water : 

 anatomy had already made notable advances, but Dermato- 

 logical, Laryngological, and Odontological societies were not 

 even dreamt of; geology was unborn, and palaeontology did 

 not exist, except in connection with Noah's Deluge. 



One of the results of this very wide scope of the Royal Society 

 was, that at its meeting the variety of subjects brought forward 



