ACA

12

ACA

meeting in July 1713, in the palace of its founder the duke d’Es'-calona. Their object was to cultivate and improve the nationallanguage; they weretobegiu with choosing carefully such words,andphrases, as have been used by the best Spanish writers; notingthe low, barbarous, or obsolete ones; and composing a dictionarywherein these may be distinguished from the former.

Academies of law, as that famous one at Beryta, and that ofthe SUientesat Bologna .

Medical Academies, as that of the Natural Curiosi, in Ger-many ; that founded at Palermo in 1645 ; at Venice in 1701, whichmeets weekly in a hall near the grand hospital; and that of Genevain 1715, in the house of M. Le Clerc. The colleges of physi-sians at London and Edinburgh are also, by some, ranked in thenumber of academies. The Academy of Natura: Curiosi,called by some also the Leofoldine Academy, was founded in1652, by Jo. Laur. Bauschius.

The Musical Academy at Paris , consists of the managersand directors of the opera.

Academies of Politics, as that at Paris , consisting of sixpersons, who met at the Louvre. But this academy proved oflittle service, as the kings of France were unwilling to trust anybut their ministers, with the inspection of foreign atlairs.

Academies of Sciences. These comprehend such as areerected for the purpose of improving natural and mathematicalknowledge. They are likewise often called

Philosophical and Physical Societes. ' The first of thesewas instituted at Naples about the year 1560, in the house of Bap-tista Porta. It was called Academia Secretorum Naturae;and was succeeded by the Academy of The Lyncei, founded; t Rome , by prince Frederic Cesi, towards the end of that century.Several members of this academy rendered it famous for their dis-coveries; among these was the celebrated Galileo.

The Academy del Cimento, made its appearance some yearsafter the death of Toricelli, under the protection of prince Leo-pold, afterwards cardinal lie Medicis. lledi was one of its chiefmembers; and the studies pursued bv the rest, may be collectedfrom those curious experiments published in 1667, by their secre-tary count Laurence Magulotti, under the title of Saggi di Na-t.urali Experience; a copy of which was presented to the RoyalSociety, translated into English by Mr. Waller, and published atLondon in quarto.

The Academy DEGL’lNauiETi.aftenvardsincorporatedintothatrtfDELLATRACiAinthesamecity.followedtheexampleofthatiofpelCimento. Some excellent discourses on physical and mathematicalsubjects, by Geminiano Monlenori, one of its chief members, werepublished in 1667, under the title of Pensieri Eisico-Matcmutici.

The Academy of Rossano, in the kingdom of Naples, wasoriginally an academy of Belles Leltres, founded in 1540, andtransformed into an academy of Sciences in 1605. Several otheracademies of Sciences have been founded in Italy ; but for wantof being supported by princes, did not continue long.

The Academy of Filarmonici at Verona; and of Rico-vatri at Padua , where a learned discourse on the origin of springswas delivered by Sig. Vallisnieri, first professor of physic in the uni-versity in 'hat city, and which was afterwards printed. To theAcademy of the Mun de Reggio, at Modena , the same Sig.Vallisnieri, presented an excellent discourse on the scale of createdbeings, since inserted in his history of the generation of men andanimals, printed at Venice in the year 1721.

F. Mersenne is said to have given the first idea of a Philoso-phical Academy in France , tow ards the beginning of the 17th.century, bv the conferences of naturalists and mathematicians oc-casionallv field at his lodgings; at which Gassendi , lies Cartes,Hobbes , Roberval, Pascal, Blondel and others assisted. F. Mer-senne proposed to each certain problems to examine, or certainexperiments to be made. These private assemblies were suc-ceeded by more public ones, formed by M. Montmort, and M.Thevenot the celebrated traveller. The French example animatedseveral Englishmen of distinction and learning, to erect a

Philosophical Academy at Oxford, towards the close ofOliver Cromwell ’s administration; which after the Restoration, was-erected into a Royal Society. See Society. The English example, in its turn, animated the French. Louis XIV. in 1666a'-si-ted by the counsels of M. Colbert, founded an academy ofsciencesat Paris , with a sufficient revenue to defray the charge ofexperiments, anil salaries to the members, under the title of

The Koyal Academy of Sciences. The French have alsoconsiderable academies in most of their great cities: as at Mont-pelier, an Academy of Sciences , outlie like footing as thatat Paris , beingas it were a counterpart thereof; at Tuoui.ouse, anacademy under the denomination of Lanternists; anil others atNismes, Arles, Lyons, Dijon , Bouvdeaux, ike.

The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin , was foundedin 1700, by Frederic I, king of Prussia, on the model of that ofEngland; excepting that, besides natural knowledge, it likewisecomprehends the Belles ladlres.

The Imperial Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh wasprojected by the Czar Peter the Great . The first transactions ofthis Academy were published in 1728, and entitled, CommentariiAcademia Scieniiarum Imperialis Petropolitamc ndan. 1726,with a dedication to Peter 11. The publication was continued underthis form, until the year 1747, w hen its transactions were calledNovi Commentat'ii Academia, &c. in 1777 the academy changed(lie title into Acta Academia Scientiarum Imperiatis Petropoli-tance., anil likewise made some alteration in the arrangement at:dplan of the work. It has a line library consisting ot 36,000 cu-rious books and manuscripts, and an extensive museum, in whichthe various branches of natural history are distributed in differentapartments. It is extremely ricli in native productions, havingbeen collected by Pallas, Gmelin, Guldenstaeitl, and other learnedprofessors, during their late expeditions through the Russiam em-pire. The stuffed animals and birds occupy one apartment. Thechamber of rarities, the cabinet of coins, Ac. contain innumerablearticles of the highest curiosity and value. The society Inis thismodest motto, Paulatim.

The Academy of Sciences at Bologna , called the Insti-tute of Bologna, was founded by Count Marsigli in 1712, forthe cultivation of physics, mathematics, medicine, chemistry, andnatural history. Its history is written by M. de Linders, frommemoirs furnished by the founder himself.

Tiie Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, or Royal Swe-dish Academy , owes its institution to six persons of distinguishedlearning, among whom was the celebrated Linnam?. The' disser-tations read at each meeting are collected and published four timesin the year; they are written in the Swedish language, andprinted in octavo, and the annual publications make a volume.The lirst 40 volumes, which were linished in 1779, are called theOld 'Transactions ; for in the following year, the title was changedinto that of N ew Transactions.

The Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen , owesits institution to the zeal of six literati, whom Christian V1. in 1742,ordered to arrange ids cabinet of medals. Tin: count of Ilolsteinwas the lirst president; and the six persons who first formed thedesign, were John (tram, Joachim Frederic Ramus, ChristianLogis Scldeil, Mark Woldickey, Eric Pontoppiilan, and BernardMoelman. This academy has published 15 volumes in the Danishlanguage, some of which have been translated into Latin .

The American Academy of Sciences , was established in1780, by the council and house of representatives, in the provinceof Massachusct’s Bav, for promoting the knowledge of the anti-quities of America , and of the natural history of the country; fordetermining the uses to which its various natural productions mightbe applied; for encouraging medicinal discoveries, mathematicaldisqui-itions, philosophical inquiries and experiments; astronomical,meteorological, anil geographical observations; and improvementsin agriculture, manufactures, and commerce; anil, in short, forcultivating every art and science, which may tend to advancethe interest, honour, dignity, and happiness, of a free, indepen-dent, and virtuous people. The number ot the members is neverto exceed 200, nor to be less than 40.

For a further account of similar public institutions, under othertitle.:, see Society.

Academy is also applied in a more restricted sense, to schoolsand private seminaries of learning.

The ancient Romans had a kind of military academies, esta-bli-bed in all the cities of Italy , under the titles ot Cumpi Murtii.And the Greeks, besides academies of this kind, had military pro-fessors called Tactici, who taught all the higher offices of v ar. Wehave three royal academies of this kind, a military academy atWoolwich, for teaching fortification, gunnery, &e. another atPortsmouth, which maybe stiled a naval or maritime academy,for navigation, drawing, &c. and another at Great Marlow, for

preparing