THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND THE STATE 



annum. Sir William Petty, in a document preserved in 

 the archives of the Society, estimates the value of the 

 lands granted by the King to the Society, but not received 

 by them, " as a great matter, but I know not what." 



It is on record that the non-fulfilment of the King's 

 generous intentions towards the Society did not damp 

 the philosophic ardour of the Fellows ; indeed, it is a 

 question on which opinions may widely differ whether 

 the rich endowment of the Society, almost from its very 

 birth, would have increased its scientific success. We 

 must not forget that, in the case of institutions as well 

 as of individuals, a powerful and healthy stimulus to the 

 exertion needful for success arises from the necessity of 

 coping with and overcoming difficulties, whether of a 

 monetary or other kind. In no small degree was due to 

 the personal favour with which Charles n. regarded the 

 Society the exceptional position it early took up, and 

 which it still holds to-day, of a private institution supported 

 and controlled from within, which at the same time is 

 acknowledged by the State as the authoritative national 

 representative of science in this country, and from time 

 to time consulted as such. 



The first royal act which distinctly gave this repre- 

 sentative character to the newly chartered Society appears 

 to have been the King's declaring his pleasure, on the 

 15 th October 1662, " that no patent should pass for any 

 philosophical or mechnical invention until examined by 



the Society." This personal recognition by the King of 



67 



