A C A 
Several of the members of this academy rendered it fa¬ 
mous by their difcoveries; among thefe was the celebrated 
Galileo. Several other academies were inftituted about 
that time, which contributed greatly to the advancement 
of the fciences-; but none of them comparable to that of 
the Lyncei. 
Some years after the death of Toricelli, the Academy del 
Cimento made its appearance, under the protection of Prince 
Leopold, afterwards’Cardinal de Medicis. Rediwas one 
of its chief members; and the ftudies purfued by the reft, 
may be collected from thofe curious experiments publifhed 
in 1667, by their fecretary Count Laurence Magulotti, 
under the title of Saggi di Naturali Efperienze-, a copy of 
which was prefented to the Royal Society, tranflated into 
Englifh by Mr. Waller, and publifhed at London in 4to. 
the Academy degl'Inquidi, afterwards' incorporated into 
that of Della Tracia in the fame city, followed the exam¬ 
ple of that of Del Cimento. Some excellent difeourfes 
on phylical and mathematical fubjects, by Geminiano 
Montenari, one of the chief members, were publifhed in 
1667, under the title of Perjieri Fiftco Matematici. 
The Academy of Rofjano, in the kingdom of Naples, was 
originally an academy of Belles Lettres, founded in 1540, 
and transformed into an Academy of Sciences in 1695 at 
the felicitation of the learned abbot Don Giacinto Gim- 
ma; who, being made prelident, under the title of pro¬ 
moter general thereof, gave them a new fet of regulations. 
He divided the academifts into the following claffes: — 
Grammarians, Rhetoricians, Poets, Biftorians, Philofo- 
phers, Phyficians, Mathematicians, Lawyers, and Divines, 
with a clafs apart for cardinals, and perfons of quality. 
To be admitted a member, a man mull have fome degrees 
in the faculty. The members are not allowed to take the 
title of academifts in the beginning of their books, with¬ 
out a written permilfion from their prefident, which is not 
granted till the work has been examined by the cenfers of 
the academy; and the permillion is the greateft honour 
the academy can confer, as they thereby adopt the work, 
and are anfwerable for it againft all criticifms that may be 
made upon it. To this law the prefident or promoter 
himfelf is fubjeft; and no academift is allowed to pub- 
lifh any thing againft the writings of another without leave 
from the fociety. 
Several other Academies of Sciences have been founded 
in Italy; but, for want of being patronized, did not con¬ 
tinue long. The lofs of them, however, was abundantly 
repaired by the inftitution of others fti 11 fublifting; fuch 
as, the Academy of Filarmonici at Verona; of Ricovatri at 
Padua, where a learned difeourfe on the origin of fprings 
was delivered by Sig. Vallifnieri, firft profeffor of phylic 
in the univerfity of .that city, and which was afterwards 
printed. To the Academy of the Mud de Reggio, at Mode¬ 
na, the fame Sig. Vallifnieri prefented an excellent dif¬ 
eourfe on the fcale of created beings, fince inferred in his 
Hiftory of the Generation of Man and Animals, printed at r 
Venice in the year 1721. 
F. Merfenne is faid to have given the firft idea of a phi- 
lofophical academy in France, towards the beginning of 
the 17th century, by the conferences of naturalifts and 
mathematicians occafionally held at his lodgings; at which 
Gaffendi, DesCartes, Hobbes, Roberval, Pafcal, Blondel, 
and others, allifted. F. Merfenne propofed to each certain 
problems to examine, or certain experiments to be made. 
Thefe private affemblies were lucceeded by more public 
ones, formed by Mr. Montmort and Mr. Thevenot, the 
celebrated traveller. The French example animated fe- 
veral Engliftimen of diftindtion and learning to ereft a 
kind of philofophical academy at Oxford, towards the 
clofe of Oliver Cromwell’s adminiftration; which, after 
the reftoration, was eredted into a Royal Society. See So- 
cie-ty. The Englifh example, in its turn, animated the 
French. Louis XIV. in 1666, affifted by the counfels of 
M. Colbert,- founded an academy of fciences at Paris, 
with a fufficient revenue to defray the charge of experi¬ 
ments, and. falaries to the members. 
A C A 43 
Royal Academy of Sciences. After the peace of the Py¬ 
renees, Louis XIV. being defirous of eftabliftiing the 
Arts, Sciences, and Literature, upon a folid foun¬ 
dation, diredted M. Colbert to form a fociety of men of 
known abilities and experience in the different branches, 
who fhould meet together under the king’s proteftion, and 
communicate their refpeclive difeoveries. Accordingly' 
M. Colbert formed a fociety of Inch perfons as were con- 
verfant in natural philofophy and mathematics, joined to 
them other perfons fkilled in hiftory, and other branches 
of erudition, with thole who were entirely engaged in 
what are called the Belles Lettres, grammar, eloquence, and 
poetry. All the different claffes were ordered to meet to¬ 
gether upon the firft Thurlday of every month; and, by 
their refpedtive fecretaries, make a report of the pro¬ 
ceedings of the foregoing month. In a fliort time, how¬ 
ever, the claffes.of hiftory, belles lettres, See. were united 
to the French Academy, which was originally inftituted 
for the improvement and refining the French language ; 
fo that the Royal Academy contained only two claffes, viz. 
that of natural philofophy and mathematics. 
In the year 1696, the king, by a proclamation dated the 
26th of January, gave this academy a new form, and put 
it upon a more relpedlable footing.—It was now to be 
compofed of four kinds of members, viz. 'honorary, pen - 
fionary, ajfociates, and elives. Thefe laft were a kind of pu¬ 
pils, or fcholars, each of whom was attached to one of the 
penlionaries. The firft clafs to contain ten perfons, and 
each of the reft twenty. The honorary academifts to be all 
inhabitants of France; the penlionaries all to refideat Paris; 
eight of the aflociates allowed to be foreigners; and the 
eleves all to live at Paris. The officers to be, a prefident 
named by the king, out of the clafs of honorary acade¬ 
mifts; and a fecretary and treafurer to be perpetual. Of 
the penlionaries, three to be geometricians', three aftrono- 
mers, three mechanics,- three anatomifts, three chemifts, 
three botanifts, and the remaining two to be fecretary and 
treafurer. Of the twelve affociates, two to apply them- 
felves to geometry, two to botany, and two to chemiftry. 
The eleves to apply themfelves to the fame kind of fcience 
with the penfionaries they were attached to; and not to 
fpeak, except when called by the prefident. No regular 
or religious to be admitted, except into the clafs of hono¬ 
rary academifts; nor any perfon to be admitted either for 
affbeiate or penfionary, unlefs known by fome conliderable 
printed work, fome machine, or other difeovery. To en¬ 
courage the members to purfue their labours, the king 
engaged not only to pay the ordinary penfions, but even 
to give extraordinary gratifications, according to the merit 
of their refpeftive performances; furniflving withal the 
expence of the experiments and other inquiries neceffary to 
be made. If any member gave in a bill of charges of ex¬ 
periments he had made, the money was immediately paid 
by the king,. upon the prefideat’s allowing and figning the. 
faid bill. So, if an anatemift, for inftance, required live 
tortoifes, for making experiments on the heart, &c. as- 
many as he pleafed were brought him at the king’s charge.. 
Finally in the year 17S5 the king confirmed, by letters- 
patent, dated April 23, the eftabliftunent of the academy 
of fciences, making the following alterations, and adding; 
claffes of agriculture, natural hiftory, mineralogy, and 
phylics; incorporating the affociates and adjundts, and li¬ 
miting to fix the members of each clafs, namely, three 
penfioners and three affociates; by which the former re¬ 
ceive an increafe of falary, and the latter approach nearer 
to becoming penfioners. 
By the articles of this inftrument it is ordained, that the 
academy fiiall confift of eight claffes, namely, that of geo¬ 
metry, 2d aftrohomy, 3d mechanics, 4th general phyfics, 
5th anafomy, 6th chemiftry and metallurgy, 7th botany 
itnd agriculture, 8th natural hiftory and mineralogy. That 
each clafs Ihall remain irrevocably fixed at fix members; 
namely, three penfioners and three affociates, independent 
however of a perpetual fecretary and treafurer, of twelve 
free aflociates, and of eight affociate ftrangers or foreign- 
, . ers, 
