Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/762

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INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
674
INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH.

emy, the name of the whole being changed at the san'ic time to Institut de France.

Each academy in the Institute has its inde- pendent government, and the free disposition of the funds allotted to it, while an agency and secretaries, the library, and the valuable collec- tions of the Institute are common to the five. The general fund is managed by a Committee of ten members, two from each academy, under the presidency of the Ministry of Public Instruction. The members, of whom there are in addition to the regular members, honorary members, corre- sponding members, and foreign associates, are all elected by ballot, and the election is confirmed by the public authorities. Each member receives an annual salary of 1500 francs, and the per- petual secretaries are given 6000 francs. An an- nual meeting is held on October 25th, when public announcements are made of the award of impor- tant prizes.

(1) The Acadiemie Francaise was founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635. It had its origin in a small group of literary men, who, as early as 1G30, were accustomed to meet at each other's homes for the purpose of exchanging their views on various topics in literature, art, and science. Richelieu, on becoming aware of the existence of this informal society, offered them the royal pro- tection if they would hold their meetings in public, and the society was thereupon constituted as the Acadamie Francaise (1635). The special function assigned to the organization was the im- provement and conservation of the French lan- guage. For this purpose work was begun on a dic- tionary of the French language, which, however, did not see the light till 1694. Within two years from the date of its formal authorization, the membership of the academy had risen to forty at which number it has since remained. From 1793 to 1810 the Acadamie Francaise. as suxh,did not exist (see above). The original purpose of the academy has not been forgotten: at the present day its chief business is still the revision of the Dictionnaire de l'Acadiamie Francaisie (1st ed. 1694; 7th ed. 1878) ; but as a matter of fact in the intellectual world of France the French Academy holds a much higher rank than that of a mere lexicographical bureau. From an early date admission to the French Academy was sought as an honor, and for more than a century an election to a seat among the forty 'immortals' has been considered as the crowning glory to a successful literary career. Nevertheless the Academy has laid itself open to reproach for a certain narrowness of spirit in shutting its doors on some of the greatest men in the history of French literature. Among these 'occupants of the forty-first chair,' as they have been called, were Descartes. Pascal, Moliere. Jean .Jacques Rousseau. Diderot. Dumas pere, Balzac, Alphonse Daudet, and Emile Zola. Among the more im- portant prizes which this academy has at its disposal is one of 2000 francs, awarded to the best poem or essav on a given subject; the Mon- tyon prize of 22,463 francs, given as a reward for the most heroic deed done by a native of France: and one of 21,040 francs, given to a native of France who has written and published a work having the most valuable application to the arts: the Gobert prize, for the most impor- tant work on the history of France, as well as a large number of other prizes, designated as prix litterires and prix de vertu. Its annual public meeting is held in November.

(2) The Academic des Inscriptions et Belles- Lcttres was founded in 1003, by Colbert, and has 40 ordinary, 10 honorary, and 50 corresponding members, and 8 foreign associates. It has for its principal objects the study of medals, inscrip- tions, monuments, antiquities, and ancient and Oriental languages. It has various prizes at its disposal, and publishes Memoires. Its annual public meeting is held in November.

(3) The Acadcmie des Sciences was founded in 1666, by Colliert, and ha.s 00 ordinary. 10 hon- orary, and 100 corresponding members, and 8 foreign associates. Its prizes include an annual sum of 3000 francs, given alternately, for the best discussion of a subject in mathematics and physics; the Montyon prizes, six in number. hav- ing an annual value of 44.845 francs: the Laland prize, given annually, for astronomical work; and several others." This Academy publishes Memoires. Its annual public meeting is held in December.

(4) The Acadamie des Beaux-Arts was founded by Mazarin in 1048. and the subjects of painting and sculpture, music, and architecture were added respectively in 1664, 1666, and 1671. It has 40 ordinary, 10 honorary, 10 foreign asso- ciates, and 61 corresponding members. Besides the prizes in painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving, and music, awarded to the pupils of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Conservatoire de Musique. it has under its charge the publica- tion of the Dictionnaire general des beaux-arts). It also conducts the cxamiiuition for the Prix de Rome in the various arts. Its annual public meeting is held in October.

(5) The Academiw des Sciences Morales et Politiques was restored in 1832. after having been suppressed in 1803. and has 40 ordinary. 10 honorary, and 45 corresponding members, and 6 foreign associates: it is divided into five sec- tions, and has for its chief purpose the discus- sion of mental philosophy, law and jurisprudence, political economy and statistics, general and philosophical history, and politics, administra- tion, and finance. It has the Baujour, Faucher, Halphen, Bordin. and other prizes at its dis- tribution. It publishes .Memories. and its an- nual public meeting is held in December.

The academies forming the Institute of France meet regularlv in the Mazarin Palace, which is on the left bank of the Seine, opposite the Louvre, and their meetings are attended with much ceremony. Consult De Franqucville, Le premier sicele de l'Instiuit de France (2 vols., Paris. 1895).

INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH, The. A cross- sectional split among the 150 sects in the United States has developed ritualistic and institutional tendencies in the churches. The ritualistic churches lay emphasis upon the efficacy of cer- tain beliefs, forms, sacraments, and a limita- tion of functions, and appeal to the economically superior classes. The Institutional Church. on the other hand, demands activity, apparent results, the amelioration of the outward as well as of the inward life of its members: it reaches out for the reclaimables in the social-debtor class, and it is identified with social rather than distinctly religious movements. The name 'Institutional Church' was first used by President Tucker, of Dartmouth College, and applied to Berkeley