30 ON SOME ASPECTS OF THE 



formed themselves into groups for pursuing this study, 

 and among such groups two were conspicuous. One of 

 these was a small society meeting in Gresham College, 

 London, the other an Oxford society which met from 

 1649 onwards in the lodgings first of Dr. Petty of Christ 

 Church, and later in those of Dr. Wilkins, Warden of 

 Wadham College. 1 These two private societies were 

 in active correspondence, and constituted together what 

 Robert Boyle termed ' the Invisible College ' ; from these 

 sprang in 1661 the Royal Society, the object of which, as 

 set forth by its original members, was as follows : The 

 Society was to be a collection of ' divers worthy persons 

 inquisitive into natural philosophy and other parts of 

 human learning, and particularly of what hath been called 

 the New Philosophy or Experimental Philosophy, which, 

 from the times of Galileo at Florence and Sir Francis 

 Bacon in England, hath been much cultivated in Italy, 

 France, Germany, and other parts abroad as well as with 

 us in England '. 



At the meetings of the Society discussions were to be 

 held on a large variety of the above subjects, and 

 demonstrations were to be given of natural phenomena, 

 with special reference to their causation. The New 

 Philosophy had for its aim the expression of causation 

 and its instrument was the scientific method. 



The Royal Society, with this aim and method, was 

 regarded at first as a mere eccentricity, but soon it was 



1 Dr. Petty, afterwards Sir William Petty, is referred to by Wallis 

 who wrote A Defence of the Royal Society, published in 1678. In the 

 account given by Wallis of the 'first ground and foundation of the 

 Royal Society' it is stated that the Oxford Society comprised Dr. 

 Wilkins, Dr. Wallis, Dr. Goddard, Dr. Ward, Dr. Bathurst, Dr. Petty, 

 Dr. Willis and divers others, who ' brought these studies into fashion 

 there ; meeting first at Dr. Petty's lodgings (in an apothecarie's house) 

 because of the convenience of inspecting drugs, and the like '. 



