Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/21

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Academy, viz. a gold ring, whereon, inftead of a ftone, is a book open, and on the face thereof an eye ; on the other fide, the motto of the Academy, nunquam otiofus b . — [ a Gim- ma, ap. Bibl. Ital. Tom. 2. b V. Mem. de Trev. 1715. p. 2232. c Vockerodt. Introd. ad Notit. Societat. Literar. c. 2. §• 3- See Mem. de Trev. an. 1707. p. 1858. &. an. 1714. p. 1 1 12. "See Struv. loc. cit. §. 25. p. 882. ' Riidlin. Iter. Medic, p. 28. B V. Mem. deTrev. an. 1716. p. 1914. h See the hiftory, laws, &c. of this Academy, with the names of its members, and the titles of its pieces, in Ephem. Germ. dec. r. an. 1. & 2. Pref. and the continuation of the fame in the prefaces and appendixes to the enfuing volumes. See alfo Wedclii Salve Academicum, vel Judicia & Elogia fuper re- cens adornata Academia, Nat. Curiof. 1662. 4X0. & Ejufd. Progreflus Acad. N. C. Catal. Patron. & Colleg. Jen. 1680. 4to. For the literary hiftory of the Academy, or a notitia of the feveral pieces produced by the members of it, fee Valentin! Hift. Literar. Acad. Naturas Curioforum. in Ephem. Germ, dec. 3. an. 1. App. p. 147. & feq. Jour, de Scav. 1710. p. 396. See alfo Reimman. Introd. ad Hift. Liter. German. T. 5. p. 809. Vockerodt. lib. cit. fee. 2. c. 1. §. 23. Chirurgical Academies, as that lately inftituted by public authority at Paris ; the members of which are not only to publifh their own and correfpondents obfervations and im- provements, but to give an account of all that is publifhed in furgery, and to compofe a compleat hiftory of this art, by their extracts from all the authors, antient and modern, who have wrote on it. A queftion in furgery is to be pro- pofed by the Academy yearly ; and a prize of a gold medal of two hundred Iivres value to be given him, who furnifhes the moft fatisfactory anfwer. Medic. Eff. Edinb. T. 1 . p. 36 1 . Ecclefiajiical Academies, as that at Bologna, employed in the examination of the doctrine, difcipline, and hiftory of each age of the church. Giorn. de Letter, de Parm. an. 1687. p. 144. Cojmographical, as that of the Argonauts at Venice, inftituted at the follicitation of F. Coronelli, for the improvement of geo- graphy. The defign of the Accademia Cofmografica is to procure exact maps, both geographical, topographical, hy- drographical, and ichnographical, of the cteleftial as well as terreftrial globe, and the feveral regions and parts thereof, together with geographical, hiftorical, and aftromomical de- fcriptions accommodated thereto, to be made and publifhed : in order to which, the feveral members oblige themfelves, by their fubfeription, to take one or more copies of each piece, publifhed under the direction of the Academy ; and to advance the money, or part of it, in order to defray the charge of pub- lication. To this end, there are three focieties fettled, at Venice, Paris, and Rome; the firft under F. Moro, provin- cial of the Minorites of Hungary : the fecond, under the abbot Laurence au Rue Payenne au Marais ; the third, under F. Ant. Baldigiani, jefuit, profeffor of mathematics in the Roman col- lege j to whom thofe addrefs themfelves, who are willing to en- gage in this defign. The Argonauts number 196 members in the feveral countries of Europe : their device is the terraqueous globe, with the motto, plus ultra. At the expence of this Academy, all the globes, maps, and geographical writings of F. Coronelli have been publifh'd b . — [" V. Krauf. Nouv. Liter, an. 17 19. p. 18. " A3. Erud. Lipf. an. 1688. p. 524.] Naval Academies, as that at Peterfburgh; and another erected among us at Portfmouth, for the breeding up youth for the fea-fervice. V. Nouv. Mem. fur. l'Etat de la grande Ruffie. Mem de Trev. an. 1725. p. 1507. Academies of Sciences chiefly denote thofe erected for impro- ving natural and mathematical knowledge, otherwife called philofophical and phyfical Academies : fuch as the Academy Secretorum Natures, formed at Naples in the houfe of Baptifta Porta, about the year 1560, was the firft Academy of the phi- lofophical kind. It was fucceeded by

The Academy of Lyncei, founded at Rome by Prince Frederic Cefi, towards the clofe of the fame century ; feveral of whofe members rendered it famous by their difcoveries : the cele- brated Galileo Galilei was of the number. Divers other Academies contributed alfo to the advancement of thefe fciences ; but it was by fpeculations, rather than by repeated experiments on the phaenomena of nature : fuch were the Academy of Beffarian at Rome, and that of Laurence de Medicis at Florence, in the fifteenth century ; in the fixteenth that of Infiammati at Padua, of Vegna Juoli at Rome, ofOr- tolani at Placentia, and of Umidi at Florence. The firft of thefe ftudied fire and pyrotechnia, the fecond wine and vine- yards, the third gardens and pot-herbs, the fourth water and hydraulics. Add to thefe, that of Venice, called La Veneta, founded by Frederic Badoara, a noble Venetian ; another in the fame city, whereof Campegio, bilhop of Feltro, appears to have been the chief; and that of Cofenza, or la Confentina, whereof Bernadin Telefio, Sertorio Quatromanni, Paulus Aquinas, Julio Cavalcanti, and Fabio Cicali, celebrated phi- loiophers, were the chief members.

The compofitions of all thefe Academies of the fixteenth cen- tury were 'good in their kind, but none of them comparable to thofe of the Lyncei.

I he Academy Del Cimento made its appearance at Florence, fome years after the death of Torricelli, under the protection Ijuppl. Vol. I, •

of Prince Leopold, afterwards Cardinal de Medicis. Redi was one of its chief members. Count Laurence Magalotti, fecretaryof this Academy, publifhed a volume of curious expe- riments in 1667, under the title of Saggi di Natural! Efpe- rienze ; a copy of which being prefented to the Royal Society, was tranflated into Englifh by Mr. Waller, and publiflicd ac London, in 4to.

The Academy Degl'Inquieti at Bologna, incorporated after- wards into that Delia Traccia in the fame city, followed the example of that Del Cimento : their meetings were at the houfe of the abbot Antonio Sampieri. Here Geminiano Mon- tanari, one of the chief members, made excellent dircourfes on phyfical and mathematical fubjects, part whereof was pub- lifhed in 1667, under the title of Penfieri Fiftco Matematici. This Academy afterwards met in an apartment of Euftachio Manfredi ; and afterwards in that of Jacob Sandri, but ar- rived at a higher luftre, when its affemblies were held in the palace Marfilli.

The Academy of Rojfano, in the kingdom of Naples, called' La Societa Scientifica RoJJdnefe degl' Incuriofi, was founded about the year 1540, under the name of Naviganti, and re- newed under that of Spenfierati by Camillo Tofcano, about the year 1 600. It was transformed from an Academy of Belles Lettres into an Academy of Sciences, at the follicitation of the learned abbot Don Giacinto Gimma ; who being made prefi- dent, under the title of promoter-general thereof, in 1695, gave a new fet of regulations. He divided the academijls into feveral claffes, viz. grammarians, rhetoricians, poets, hifto- rians, philofophers, phyficians, mathematicians, lawyers, and divines, with a clafs apart for cardinals and perfons of quality. To be admitted a member, a man muft have degrees in fome faculty.^ The members are not allowed to take the title of academifi, in the beginning of their books, without a written permiffion from the prefident, which is not granted till the work has been examined by the cenfors of the Academy. This permiffion is the greateft honour the Academy can confer ; fince hereby they, as it were, adopt the work ; and are an- fwerable for it againft all critiques which may be made of it. The prefident or promoter himfelf is fubject to this law. Add, that no Academifi is allowed to publifh any thing againft the writings of another, without leave from the fociety \ There have been feveral other Academies of fciences in Italy, which have not fubfifted long, for want of being fupportcd by the princes. Such were at Naples that of the Jnveftiganti, founded about the year 1679, by the Marquis d' Arena, Don Andrea Concubletto : and that which met in 1698, in the palace of the Duke de Medina, Don Lewis della Cerda, vice- roy of Naples. At Rome, that of Fifico Matematici, which met in 1686, in the houfe of Sig. Ciampini : at Verona, that of Aletofili, founded the fame year by Sig. Jofeph Gazola, which met in the houfe of the Count Serenghi della Cucca : at Brefs, that of Filefotici, founded the fame year for the cul- tivation of phyfics and mathematics, and ended the year fol- lowing : that of F. Francifco Lana, a Jefuit of great (kill in thofe fciences : laftly, that of fifici Critid at Sienna, founded in 1691, by Sig. Peter Maria Gabrielli. Some other Academies ftill fubfifting in Italy, repair with ad- vantage the lofs of the former. One of the principal is the Academy of Filarmonici at Verona, fupported by the Marquis Scipio Maffei, one of the moft learned men in Italy. Tho' the members of this body apply themfelves to the Belles Let- tres, ^ they do not neglect the fciences. The Academy of Rico- vrati at Padua ftill fubfifts with reputation ; in it learned dif- courfes are held from time to time on phyfical fubjects ; fuch for inftance is that, which the celebrated Sig. Antonio Vallif- nieri, firft profeffor of phyfic in the univerfity of that city, delivered here on the origin of fprings ; fince printed. The like may be faid of the Academy of the Muti di Reggio, at Modena ; to which the fame Sig. Vallifnieri, a native of that city, prefented an excellent difcourfe on the fcale of created be- ings, fince infertedin his hiftory of the generation of man and animals ; printed at Venice in 172 1. In the number of thefe Academies may alfo be ranked the affembly of learned men, which of late years have met at Venice in the houfe of Sig. Criftino Martinelli, a noble Venetian, and great patron of learning.

Among the new Acadetnies, the firft place, after the inftitute of Bologna, is given to that of the countefs Donna Clelia Grillo Borromeo, one of the moft learned ladies of the age, to whom Sig. Gimma dedicates his literary hiftory of Italy. She had lately eftablifhed an Academy of experimental philofo- phy in her palace at Milan ; of which Sig. Vallifnieri was nominated prefident, and had already drawn up the regulations of it, tho' we do not find it has yet taken place b . F. Merfenne is faid to have given the firifc idea of a philofo- phical Academy in France, towards the beginning of the fe^ venteenth century, by the conferences of naturalifts and ma- thematicians, occafionally held at his lodgings ; at which Gaf- fendi, Des Cartes, Hobbs, Roberval, Pafcal, Blonde], and others affiftcd. F. Merfenne propofed to each, certain pro- blems to examine, or certain experiments to be made. Thefe private affemblies were fucceeded by more public ones, formed by Mr. Montmort and Mr. Thevenot, the celebrated tra- veller. The French example animated feveral Englishmen of I E dif-