NATURE 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1902. 



THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF NATURAL 

 KNO W LEDGE. 



THE London Gazette announces that a petition for 

 incorporation has been presented to His Majesty on 

 behalf of a new body, " The British Academy for the 

 Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological 

 Studies.'' An explanation has been given that the object 

 of this institution is to do for the various departments of 

 " literary science" what the Royal Society has achieved 

 for "natural science." The causes which have led up to 

 this proposal maybe stated as follows. At a meeting of 

 the representatives of the chief European and American 

 academies held at Wiesbaden in October 1899, an Inter- 

 nationalAssociationof the principal Scientific and Literary 

 Academies of the world was decided upon. Most of the 

 academies represented are divided into two sections, a 

 section of natural science and a section of historico- 

 philosophical science. And on this ground the scheme 

 provided for the division of the new association into 

 two sections, "scientific" and "literary," the word 

 " literary " being used only as a short title to embrace 

 the sciences of language, history, philosophy, architology 

 and other subjects the proper study of which is based on 

 scientific methods. At the conference the representatives 

 of the Royal Society, not feeling themselves competent 

 to represent the United Kingdom in the philosophico- 

 historical section, were unofficially requested to take such 

 steps as might be possible to fill this gap in the future. 



The next steps taken may be gathered from the Report 

 of the Royal Society Council presented to the Society on 

 November 30, 1901. 



The secretaries, apparently in fulfilment of their under- 

 taking at Wiesbaden, wrote on the subject to the presi- 

 dent of the Society of Antiquaries, Viscount Dillon, on 

 November 21, 1899. .A meeting was called at which, 

 among others, several fellows of the Royal Society and of 

 the Society of Antiquaries were present. The conclusion 

 arrived at was that the idea of an academy to represent 

 the philosophico-historiral subjects formed by the simple 

 federation of existing societies was not one which appeared 

 to meet the views of those present. 



At the same time the late Prof Sidgwick drew up a 

 plan which was approved by several of those attending 

 the meeting and "of which the resolution passed at 

 that meeting might be considered a part." This plan 

 pointed out that the Royal Society might enlarge its 

 scope, and include a section correspondmg to the "philo- 

 sophico-historical" and "philological" division of the 

 German Royal Academies and Societies. 



The next step taken was the reference of the matter 

 to a special committee of the Royal Society 



The Committee point out that four possible ways of 

 dealing with the matter were submitted to them : — 



"(i) The creation of an organisation independent of 

 the Rcyal Society, though possibly in some way con- 

 nected with It, in which case they might both form parts 

 of some larger body, as, for instance, the French 

 Academies form parts of the Institute of France. 



"(2) The creation of two '.Academies' within the 



NO. 1683, VOL. 65] 



Royal Society, one of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, 

 theother of Philosophy- History, each Academy having 

 its own Council, Secretaries and President, and the 

 President of each being in turn President of the whole 

 Society. < f, • 



"(3) The creation of two or of three Sections of 

 the Royal Society, either A and B, corresponding to the 

 Academies just named ; or A, Mathematical and Physical 

 Sciences ; B, Biological Sciences ; C, Philosophico- 

 Historical Sciences. 



"(4) The election of some 25 to 50 Fellows repre- 

 senting the Philosophico-Historical subjects, to serve as 

 a nucleus, and the creation of three or four committees, 

 similar to those already existing, viz., one for Ethnography 

 and Arch;Eology, one for Philology, one for Statistics and 

 Political Economy, and one for Psychology, the Officers 

 and Council remaining, so far as statute and enactment 

 are concerned, precisely as they are at present." 



After these schemes had been formulated they were 

 discussed at an interview with a number of representa- 

 tives of the philosophico-historical sciences. Concern- 

 ing this interview we read : — 



"They all expressed themselves in favour of any effort 

 for the corporate representation of those sciences being 

 associated in some way or other with the Royal Society. 

 They seemed unanimous in feeling the great desirability 

 of the organisation and official representation of the 

 Philosophico-Historical subjects, both on the ground of 

 the general encouragement of their pursuit, and also, 

 and more especially, as a means of developing the more 

 scientific methods of treating those subjects. 



"The general opinion of these gentlemen upon the 

 practical courses discussed in the Report seemed to be in 

 favour of the plan numbered (3) in the Report, but, 

 recognising the practical difficulties in the way of carry- 

 ing out any such scheme immediately, they were gene- 

 rally in favour of an effort being made on the lines laid 

 down in plan numbered (4) as a beginning, in the 

 belief that should its adoption lead, as they believe it 

 would, to greater activity in this country in the studies 

 in question, there might ultimately develop out of it some 

 more formal organisation, such as is contemplated in the 

 other plans submitted." 



It is frankly stated that the Committee were much 

 impressed by the concurrence of opinion among the 

 gentlemen whom they consulted and by the high value 

 they set on the inclusion within the scope of the Royal 

 Society's action of the subjects they represented. 



.Vfter the Report of this Committee was sent in to the 

 Council, a special meeting of the Society was called for 

 May 9, 1901. Unfortunately there is no record of what 

 took place at it, but at the Council meeting in June the 

 following resolution was passed :— "That the Council, while 

 sympathising with the desire to secure corporate organi- 

 sation for the exact literary studies considered in the 

 Report, is of opinion that it is undesirable that the Royal 

 Society should itself initiate the establishment of a 

 British Academy." 



The Times now tells us that on June 28, 1901, a month 

 after this resolution was arrived at, those interested in 

 the proper representation of the "literary" subjects met 

 at the British Museum and 



"after long and careful deliberation resolved to promote 

 the establishment of a British Academy of Historical, 

 Philosophical and Philological Studies on conditions 

 which would satisfy the requirements of the International 

 Association of Academies. It was further decided that 

 the Academy should petition for incorporation by Royal 



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