XLVI PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
library that of Congress must surpass all others in the country. 
These are advantages which make Washington an agreeable resi- 
dence for men of science and literature. 
I think also our society has a good plan of organization, thanks 
to the men who formed it. The general business can be safely con- 
fided to a committee, and in this way the meetings are made more 
interesting. This committee is so large that by a generous rotation 
in office most of the members may see and share, if they wish; the 
governing of the society. We have simple rules and they should 
always be enforced, since no society can afford to be overawed by 
any man, especially a society where we all meet as equals and where 
no favors are to be asked or granted. Our society has been estab- 
lished on a broad basis, to include all brances of learning, and as 
we have members from all the professions our meetings ought not 
to lack in variety of subjects. In such meetings the purpose of a 
paper should be to present the principal points clearly, and the 
author may generally trust to the intelligence of his audience to fill 
in the details. It is the failure to recognize this rule and the lack 
of arrangement that make some papers so long and tedious. 
Our society has its home in a beautiful city, and who’ that has 
seen its wonderful growth during recent years can doubt its future 
splendor and greatness? It is a city cosmopolitan in its character, 
Being the seat of political power, here will come the enterprising 
and adventurous from all parts of the country, with additions from 
other lands. Some of the brightest names in our scientific annals 
are those of foreigners who have made their homes with us. Letus 
welcome all earnest men, remembering that the principles of science 
are universal, and are not confined to any language or country. 
In respect of personal conduct we can have no better example 
than the noble man who was our first President, whose simple and 
devoted life was a model for every scientific man. If we need other 
inducements to devote ourselves to labors that may not give a great 
return of money, or lead to easy and luxurious lives, let us remem- 
ber that we live in a magnificent country, and one that has been 
dedicated as we hope to the liberty and welfare of the human race. 
Each one of us may do a little in adding to her scientific renown, 
which is now only beginning. Let us recall the words of the great 
Athenian: “I would have you day by day fix your.eyes upon the 
greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her; 
and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect 
