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m/ho ftiafl liolcl Ills poU for life. Their meeting to be in t1i« 

 caftle called New Maillial ; one ckfs to meet every week in 

 their turns. The members of any of the claffes to have 

 free admiifion into the affemblies of any of the reft. The 

 great promoter of this inlUtution was the celebrated M. 

 Leibnitz, who accordingly was made the firft diretlor. The 

 academy has puljlilhed feveral voluines of its tranfaeiions in 

 Latin, under the title of Mifcellanea Berolincniia. The ill 

 volume war, publilhed in 1710; and, though undilliiiguiflied 

 by any peculiar tokens of royal favour, they continued to 

 publilh new volumes in 1723, 1727, 1734, 1737, and 1740. 

 At lall, however, viz. in 1743, Frederic III. gave new vi- 

 gour to this academy, by inviting foreigners of liteiaiy ine- 

 l-it to Berhn, encouraging the culture of fciencc among his 

 fubjefts, by fuitable rewanis, and conferring the honour of 

 preildent of the academy on M. Maupertuis. He alfo pro- 

 pofed new regulations for the academy, and alRimcd the 

 title of its proteftor. The members hold two public af- 

 femblies annually ; at the latter of which, viz. in May, is 

 given a gold medal, ot hfty ducats value, as a prize for a 

 diflertation, the fubjeift. of which fliall be fucccflively natu- 

 ral philofophy, matlieni:nics, metaphyfics, and general lite- 

 rature. Since 1743, ^'"^ academy has publilhed feveral vo- 

 lumes of its tranfadions in French, under the title of Hif- 

 toire de I'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres, 

 a Berlin. 



Some new arrangements relating to this academy were 

 propofed by his PrufTian Majefty, in the year 179S. The 

 reconomical commillion of the academy, which had fubfillcd 

 to this time, was abolilhed, and its place fupplied by a direc- 

 tory, which fhould be formed of a prefident, the four direc- 

 tors of the claffcs, and two members, to be chofen not from 

 the academy, but men of bufinefs, equally diftinguifhed by 

 their literaiy merit, and capable of prelei-ving the neceffary 

 order in the ceconomical ftate of the academy. The mem- 

 bers of the academy were to be either honoraiy or ordinary. 

 The latter members were divided as before, into four 

 clafles : and each clafs coir.pofed of a direftor and fix mem- 

 bers, fonning an aggregate of 24 academicians, befides the 

 members of the diretlory. It was propofed that this num- 

 ber (hould continue invariable, and that no new members 

 ifiould be admitted except in the cafe of vacancies. The 

 right of elefling members is preferved to the academy ; 

 ■whilft the king referves to himfelf the right of confirming 

 or rejefting. The large public library at Berlin, as well as 

 the collection of natural curiofities, are united to the aca- 

 demy, and entrufted to its direttion. The grand defign of 

 the new regulations is to direfl the attention of the acade- 

 my to objttls of real utility ; to humanife it, as the king 

 cxprefles himfelf in liis letter to the academy, by giving en- 

 couragement to efPorls that contribute to the happincls of 

 common life, to the improvement of evciy thing that con- 

 cerns its wants, and to its conveniences, by the conllant ap- 

 plication of the theoiy of the fciences to things ratlier than 

 to fpeculative meditations ; to excite the national iudulb y, 

 by furnilhing it with tiic principles fuited to that art, which 

 it exercifes ; to purify the different fyftems of moral and li- 

 terary education, from many vague and erroneous principles, 

 which falhion, and the imagination of fome enthufialUc pe- 

 dagogues, have introduced, and which muft degrade future 

 crenerations ; and to combat the prejudices and dehifions of 

 the people, as well as the licentious and deilruftive eFortS 

 of the falfe philofophers of the prcfent day. 



There are other academical inftitutions at Berhn, and 

 other parts of the north ; feveral of which have diftinguilli- 

 ed themfclves by their journals, ephemerides, 5cc. The rea- 

 der vnW tliid iome account of them under the article 

 Journal. 



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Ac>i.T)T.}.\v, /mpftlfJ, cf Slrienret, nt Prlrr/hiir:;, \nf pro- 

 jofted by czar, IVtcr the Great, who, durnig jiis travels m 

 I 7 1 7, having obferveJ the iitihly of iiillitiitionii of this kind, 

 determined to ellablifli a iiniiiar one in liis own countiy. 

 Wolf and Leibnitz were confulted as to tiie regiilationii 

 which were proper to be adopted. Tlie death of Pet.r, 

 however, prevented the execution of the plan which he had 

 drawn up and figncd in 1724. At the ciofe of 1725, hU 

 defign was liappily executed by the munificence of the cza- 

 rina, Catherine I., his wife and fucccdor, on the model nearly 

 of the academy of Paris, wliereof the czar was a number. 

 The academy held its lirft iMiblic meeting on the 27th of 

 December, r725, in the pretence of the duke of HoKlcin, 

 and a large appearance of perfons of diftinclion. Tlic 

 eniprefs lettled a fund of 49(12/. prr annum for its fupport ; 

 and ij members, eminent for their talents and learning, 

 were admitted and penlioned under tlie title of Profcdors, 

 in the various branches of literature and fcience ; amoiifj 

 whom were Nicholas and Daniel Bernouilli, the two De 

 Lifles, Bulfinger, and Wolf. The academy languil'ud un- 

 der Peter II., and was again revived by the emprefs Anne, 

 who added a feminary for the education of youth. At 

 the accellion of Elizabeth, the original plan was enlarged and 

 improved by letters patent in 1 747 ; whieii, befidts the acade- 

 my, cftabliihed in connexion with it an univcrfity, having re- 

 gular profefFors, who read leftures ; and the academy ac- 

 quired reputation and vigour by the influx of feveral learned 

 foreigners. The annual income was incrcafed to 10,^59/. 



The late emprefs took this fociety under her cnvn imme- 

 diate protedion ; corrcfted many of its abufes, and infnfed 

 a new fpirit into the refcarches of its members. In order 

 to encourage ingenious profeflors to vifit the variou» pro- 

 vinces of her dominions, (lie granted an extraordinary bcne- 

 faftion of 2000/., which (lie occafionally renewed. Tliefc 

 travellers were inftrucled by the academy, to profecutc 

 their inquiries into the different forts of foil and water, the 

 bell methods of cultivating barren and defart fpots, the lo- 

 cal diforders incident to men and animals, and the bed 

 means of reheving them, the breeding of cattkvand cfpeci- 

 ally of flieep, the rearing of bees and f'llk-worms, tiic pro- 

 per places for fifliing and hunting, the various minerals and 

 plants, and the arts and trades. They were alfo enjoined 

 to reftify the latitude and longitude of the chief towns, to 

 make ailronomical, geographical, and meteorological obfer- 

 vations, to trace the courfe of rivers, to take the moil cxaft 

 charts, and to obferve the manners and culloms of the dif- 

 ferent people, their drefs, language, antiquities, traditions, 

 hiftoi-v, and religion ; and, in a word, to obtain every infor- 

 mation which might lend to illuflratc the real flate of the 

 whole Ruffian empiri. Tliefe expeditions have pmduccd, 

 in the courfe of a few years, a great variety of excellent 

 publications on the feveral obieiTis above enumeratid. 



The firll tranfaftions of this I'ociely were publirtied in 

 172S, and intitled Commentarii Aeademix Scientiariim 

 Imperialis Petropolitam ad Ann. 172^). Tiie publication 

 was continued till the year 1747, when its traiifaftions 

 were called Novi Commentarii Academict, &c. In 1777, 

 the title was again changed into Nova Afta Academise 

 Scientiaruni Imperialis Pctropolitana:. Of (he commen- 

 taries 14 volumes were pubhibed. The full of the new 

 commentaries appeared in 1750, and the 2Cth in 1776. 

 About 30 volumes have been publilhed, and tw» arc 

 printed, in the Latin language, ever)- year, all of which 

 abound with important and ufeful difquifitiona upon 

 various parts of fcience, and natural liillory. This aca- 

 demy, from the mal-adminiUration of fotne of its direc. 

 tors, was, for feveral years, tom by internal diffinfions, 

 which retarded ibc laboure of the academicians, and put a 



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