42 A C A 
republic. It was here that Plato taught his philofophy; 
and hence it was that all public places, deftined for the 
affemblies of the learned and ingenious, have been iince 
called academies. Sylla facrificed the delicious walks and 
groves of the academy, which had been planted by Ci- 
raon, to the ravages of war; and employed thofe very 
trees in conftrudling machines to batter the walls of the 
city which they had adorned.—Cicero too had a villa or 
country retirement, near Puzzuoli, which he called by the 
fame name, Academia. Here he ufed to entertain his phi¬ 
losophical friends; and here it was that he compofed his 
Academical Queftions, and his, books De Natura Deorum. 
Academy, among the moderns, denotes a regular So¬ 
ciety or company of learned perfons, inftituted under the 
protection of fome prince, or other public authority, for 
the cultivation and improvement of arts or fciences. 
Some authors confound academy with univerllty; but, 
though much the fame in Latin, they are very different 
things in Englifh. An univerfity is properly a body com¬ 
pofed of graduates in the feveral faculties ; of profeffors, 
who teach in the public fchools; of regents or tutors, and 
Undents who learn under them, and afpire likewife to de¬ 
grees. Whereas an academy is not intended to teach, or 
profefs any art or fcience, but to improve it: it is not for 
novices to be infitrudled in, but for thofe that are more 
knowing; for perfons of learning to confer in, and com¬ 
municate their lights and difcoveries to each other, for 
their mutual benefit and improvement. 
The firfl modern academy we read of, was eftablifhed by 
Charlemagne, by the advice of Alcuin, an Englifli monk: 
it was compofed of the chief geniufes of the court, the 
emperor himfelf being a member. In their academical 
conferences, every perfon was to give fome account of the 
ancient authors he had read; and each one affumed the 
name of fome ancient author, that pleafed him mod, or 
fome celebrated perfon of antiquity. Alcuin, from whole 
letters we learn thefe particulars, took that of Flaccus, the 
furname of Horace; a young lord named Augilbert, took 
that of Homer; Adelard bifliop of Corbie, was called 
Auguftin; Reclufe bifliop of Mentz, was Dametas; and 
the king himfelf David. 
Since the revival of learning in Europe, academies have 
multiplied greatly, mod nations being furnifned with fe¬ 
veral, and from their communications'the chief improve¬ 
ments have been made in the arts and fciences, and in cul¬ 
tivating natural knowledge. There are now academies for 
almoft every art, or fpecies of knowledge ; in giving an 
account of which, it feems mod: proper to arrange them 
according to their fubjedts. 
I. Medical Academies, as that of the Naturae C'u- 
riofi in Germany; that founded at Palermo in 164.5 ; ano¬ 
ther at Venice in 1701, which meets weekly in a hall near 
the grand hofpital; another at Geneva in 1715, in the 
hoafe of M. le Clerc. The colleges of phylicians at 
London and Edinburgh are alfo, by fome, ranked in the 
number of Academies. 
Tke Academy 0/Naturae Curiofi, called alfo the Leopoldine 
Academy, was founded in 1652 by jo. Laur. Baufchius, 
a phylician; who, in imitation of the Englifh, publifhed 
an invitation to all phylicians to communicate their extra¬ 
ordinary cafes; and, meeting with fuccefs, was defied 
prefident. Their works were at firfl publifhed feparately; 
but in 1670 a new fcheme was laid for publifhing a vo¬ 
lume of obfervations every year. The firfl volume ap¬ 
peared in 1684, under the title of Ephemerides, and the 
work has been continued with fome interruptions and va¬ 
riations of the title, See. In 1687, the emperor Leopold 
took the fociety under his protection, granting the mem¬ 
bers feveral privileges, particularly that their prefidents 
fhould be counts palatine of the holy Roman empire. 
This academy has no fixed refidence, nor regular aflem- 
blies : inllead of thefe, there is a kind of bureau, or office, 
firfl eftablifhed. at Breflau, and afterwards removed to Nu¬ 
remberg, where letters, obfervations, &c. from correfpon- 
dents or members are taken in. The academy confifts of a 
A C A 
prefident, two adjuncts or fecretaries, and colleagues or 
members without reftriflion. The colleagues, at their ad- 
miffion, oblige themfelves to two things : firfl, to choofe 
fome fubjeft out of the animal, vegetable, or mineral, 
kingdom, to handle, provided it had not been treated of by 
any colleague before; the fecond, to apply themfelves to 
furnifh materials for the Annual Ephemerides. Each 
member to bear a fymbol of the academy, viz. a gold ring; 
whereon, inflead, of a flone, is a book open, and on the 
face thereof, an eye; on the other fide the motto of the 
academy, Nunquavi otiefus. 
II. Chirurgical Academies ; as that inftituted fome 
years ago, by public authority, at Paris: the members of 
which were not only to publifh their own and correfpon- 
dents obfervations and improvements; but to give an ac¬ 
count of all that is publifhed on forgery, and to compofe a 
complete hiftory of the art, by their extracts from all the 
authors ancient and modern who have wrote on it. A 
queftion in furgery is annually propofed by the academy, 
and a gold medal of 200 livres value given to him who fur- 
nifhes the mod fatisfadlory anfwer. 
Academy of Surgery at Vienna, was inftituted fome years 
ago, by order of the emperor, under the direction of the 
celebrated Brambilla. 1 n this there were at firfl only two 
profeffors; and to their charge the inftrudlion of 130 young 
men was committed, 30 of whom had formerly been fur- 
geons in the army. But of late the number both of the 
teachers and pupils has been confiderably increafed. Ga¬ 
brieli was appointed to teach pathology and pradlice; 
Boecking, anatomy, phyfiology, and phyfics; Streit, me¬ 
dical and pharmaceutical furgery; Hunczowfky, furgical 
operations, midwifery, and the chirurgia forenfis; and 
Plenk, chemiftry and botany. To thefe alfo was added, 
Beindl, as profedlor and extraordinary profeffor of furgery 
and anatomy. A large and fplendid edifice is erected in 
Vienna for this fociety, which affords habitation both 
for the teachers, the Undents, pregnant women, patients 
for clinical ledlures, and fervants. The emperor alfo pur- 
chafed, for the ufe of this academy a medical library; a 
complete fet of chirurgical inftruments; an apparatus for 
experiments in natural philofophy; a collection of natural 
hiftory; a number of anatomical and pathological prepa¬ 
rations; a collection of preparations in wax brought from 
Florence; and a variety of other ufeful articles. Ad¬ 
joining to the building alfo there is a good botanical garden. 
III. Ecclesiastical Academies; asthatofBologna 
in Italy, inftituted in 1687, employed in the examination 
of the doClrine, difeipline, and hiftory, of each age of the 
church. 
IV. Cosmog raphical Academies ; as that at Ve¬ 
nice, called the Argonauts. This was inftituted at the fo- 
licitation of F. Coronelli, for the improvement of geo¬ 
graphical knowledge. Its defign was to publifh exact 
maps, both ceieftial and terreftrial, as well particular a$ 
general, together with geographical, hiftorical, and aftro- 
nomical, deferiptions. Each member, in order to defray 
the expence of Inch a publication, was to fubferibe a pro¬ 
portional fum, for which they were to receive one or more 
copies of each piece publifhed. For this end three focie- 
ties are fettled ; one under F. Moro, provincial of the 
Minorities in Hungary; another undertheAbbotI.au- 
rance an Ruy Payenne an Marais; the third under F. 
Baldigiani, Jefuit, profeffor of mathematics in the Roman 
college. The device of this academy is the terraqueous 
globe, with the motto Plus ultra ; and at its expence all 
the globes, maps, and geographical writings, of F. Coro¬ 
nelli have been publifhed. 
V. Academies of Sciences. Thefe comprehend 
fuch as are erected for improving natural and mathema¬ 
tical knowledge. They are otherwife called Philofophical 
and Phyjical academies. The firfl of thefe was inftituted 
at Naples about the year 1560, in the houfe of Baptifla 
Porta. It was called the Academy Secrclorum Naturae ; and 
was fucceeded by the Academy of Lyncei , founded at Rome 
by Prince Frederic Celi, towards the end of that century. 
Several 
