(xiv) 



ization adopted bj this Society obviates this evil and se- 

 cures the devotion of almost every evening exclusively to 

 its legitimate purposes. For the government of men whose 

 object is the advance of truth^ but few rules are necessary, 

 and these, unlike the laws of the Medes and Persians — 

 expressed in inexorable codes — must consist of simple 

 principles, readily adaptable to all contingencies. 



In conclusion, I would say that with so many facilities 

 as exist in the city of Washington for the pursuit of sci- 

 ence, this Society would be derelict of duty did it fail to 

 materially aid, through communion of thought and con- 

 cert of action, the advancement of the great cause of human 

 improvement. I am happy, however, in cherishing the 

 opinion that the success of "The Philosophical Society of 

 Washington" is scarcely any longer problematical, and in 

 this I am sustained by the record of its transactions. 



