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gxiefe Bijlory at LifVion, wliich was inflituted by king John 

 V. ill 1720, as appears by a medal Itnick by the academy, 

 on the front whcreot is that prince's effigy, with tlie in- 

 fcription Johannes V. LuJ'iianorum Rex ; and on the re- 

 verie, the fame prince Jlandiiig is reprcfented fupporting 

 aid laifing Hiftory, almoll prolliate before him, with the 

 legend H'ljlorij Rtj'urges : underneath arc the following 

 wnvtl;! in abbi-CYiatnre, REGia ACAIIcmia HISTorix 

 LUSITanK INSTITuta VI. Idns Decembris MDCCXX. 

 This academy coniifls of a director, four ccnfors, a fe- 

 cretaiy, and (ifly members ; to each of whom is afhgned 

 fome part either of the ecclefuiftieal, or civil hiilorv of the 

 nation ; which he is to treat either in Latin, or Portuguefe. 



Academy of Suab'un H'ljiory, at Tubingen, was eihi- 

 blithed by fome learned men, for publifhing the bell 

 hillorical writings, the lives of the chief hillovians, and 

 compiling new memoirs, on the fcveral points and periods 

 thereof. 



Academies ofLatigunge,?Lre called by fome, Gramnuilical 

 Academies : as the Aeademy della Cnifca, Aciidemla furfuralo- 

 rum, or the Bran Academy, alUiding probably to the end of 

 their inilitution, which is to lift out and rejedl as hullis or 

 bran, all Italian words that are not good Tufcan, is famous 

 for its vocabulary of the Italian tongue, and was formed at 

 riorenoe, in 15S2, but fcarce heard of before the year 15S4, 

 when it became noted fur a difpute between Taffo and feveral 

 of its members. Many authors of note confound this with 

 the Florentine academy. The famous Torricelh delivered 

 many of his philofophicul difcourfes in this academy. This 

 academy is now united with two others, viz. the Fiorentina, 

 and the Apatiili, under the name of Reale Accadem'ia Fioren- 

 tina. 



Academy of FruSifert had its rife in 1617, at an affem- 

 bly of feveral princes and nobility of the country, who met 

 ■with a defign to refine and perfect the German tongue. 

 It flourifhed long under the direction of princes of the em- 

 pire, who were always chofcn prefidents. In 1668, the 

 number of members arofe to upwards of nine hundred. The 

 hiftory of this academy is written in the German tongue by 

 George Neumarck. 



Academy, French, had its rife in a private meeting of 

 men of letters in the houfe of M. Conrart, in the year 

 1628. Cardinal Richelieu, in 1635, at the inftance of M. 

 Cliapelain, erefted it into an academy for refining and af- 

 certaining the French language and ftyle. The number of 

 the members was limited to forty, out of whom a direftor, 

 a chancellor, and fecretary, are to be chofen ; the two for- 

 mer hold their poft for two months, the fecretary is per- 

 petual. Several privileges and immunities were conferred 

 on the new academy, particiJarly the droll de commllllmiis, 

 or a privilege of not appearing to anfwer before any court, 

 but that of the king's houlhold. Their firft alTemblies were 

 held in the cardinal's apartment ; after his death, in that of 

 the chancellor Seguier. At lall an apartment was given 

 them in the Louvre, now called I'Academle Frantplfe. They 

 meet three times a week in the Louvre ; at breaking up, forty 

 filver medals are diftributed among them, having on one fide 

 the king of France's head, and on the reverfc, proleBeur de 

 r academic, with a laurel and this motto, a I'lmmortallte, By 

 this diibibution, the attention of the academills is fecurcd : 

 thofe who are prefent receiving the furplus, otherwife in- 

 tended for the abfent. 



As to the employments of the academy : its defign being 

 not only to give rules but examples of good writing ; they 

 began with making fpeeches on fubjefts taken at pleafure, 

 each member in his turn ; twenty of thefe have been printed. 

 Their next work was a critique of the Cid of M. Corncille, 



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a talk enjoined them by the cardinal. They next fet about 

 a dictionary of the French tongue, which after about fifty 

 years fpent in it, in order to fittlc tlic words and phtafes tii 

 be ufed in writing, &c. was publilhcd in xfx}^; having in 

 the mean while given oecafion to fome fniart tlifpntcs with M. 

 I'Aljbc Fureticre, one of their own members. 



Their hiilory is written with great elegance to tlie year 

 1652, by M. IVlilfon ; improved and continued to tlie year 

 1700, by M. I'Abbe d'Olivet : the fame is given rhetorical- 

 ly, by F. le Camus. 



A fimilar Acad:my was founded at Petcrfluirg by the 

 late Emprefs, upon a plan propofed by the princifs Dalhkof, 

 and a fund provided for its ellablilhment and fuppurt. It is 

 to confill of do members. 



The royal Siveiii/h Academy was formed on the plan of the 

 French academy by Guftavus III., who attached a pcnfion 

 to fome of its members. Its objciit is the improvement of 

 tlie Swedilh language, poetry, and eloquence. 



Academy, Royal Spanl/h, is an academy for cultivating 

 the Callilian tongue, ellablilhed at Madr'd, on thf model of 

 the French academy. — The defign of this was laid by the 

 duke d'Efcalona, and approved of by the king in 1714, who 

 declared himfelf protestor thereof. — It cunlills of twenty- 

 four academills ; including the direftor and fecretary. Its 

 device is a crucible on the fire, with this motto, /impia, fja, 

 y da efplendor : i. e. it purifies, fixes, and gives brightnefs ; 

 which fome have criticifcd. Their objeiFl, as marked out 

 by the royal declaration, is to cultivate and improve the 

 national language : in order to which, they are to begin 

 with choofing carefully fuch words and phrafes, as have 

 been ufed by the bell Spanilh writers : noting the low, 

 barbarous, or obfolete ones, and compofing a dictionary, 

 wherein thefe may be diftinguidied from tiie fonner, &c. by 

 which means, adds that prince, it will clearly appear, that 

 the Caftilian tongue is inferior to none of thofe mod elleem- 

 ed in the world ; and may be employed with ^advantage 

 either in teaching the arts and fciences, or in exprelTmg the 

 mod perfe<5l Latin or Greek originals in exatl trandations. 

 The academy is to have its own printer ; yet not to put any 

 thing to prels without the permiinon of the council. For 

 farther encouragement all privileges and immunities enjoyed 

 by the domeftic officers, aftually in the king's fervice, and 

 the royal palace, are granted the academills. 



Academies of Law : as that famous one at Ber)ta, and 

 that of the Sitientes at Bologna. 



Academy of Medals and InfcripUons at Paris, was fet on 

 foot by M. Colbert in 1663, and diftingiiilhed by its pre- 

 fent appellation, in 1691, for the lludy and explanation 

 of ancient monuments, and perpetuating great and me- 

 morable events, efpecially thofe of the French monarchy, by 

 coins, relievos, infcriptions, &c. The number of members 

 at firll was confined to four or five, but in 1 701 was in- 

 creafed to forty ; whereof ten were to be honoraries, ten pen- 

 fioners, ten altoclates, and the fame number of novices or 

 eleves, which has been fince annexed to the clafs of eleves. 

 The king nominates their prefident and vice-prefident year- 

 ly ; but their fecretary and treafurer are perpetual. The 

 red are chofen by the members themfcUes, agreeably to the 

 conllitutions given them on that behalf. Their chief work 

 is a kind of rnedallic hiftor)- of the reign of Louis XIV. 

 which, after fome interruptions, was continued to the ad- 

 vancement of the duke of Anjou to tlie crown of Spain. 

 Befide which we have feveral volumes of their cdays, under 

 the title of memoirs : and their hiilory, written and conti- 

 nued by their fccretaries. Their motto is vetal morl. 



Academies, Aledlial, as that of the Naturx Curiofi in 

 Gennany : that founded at Pidcrmo, in 1645; another at 



Venice,. 



