A C A
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£ Act. Erud. Lipf. an. 1727. p. l. feq. b V. firinV: Bi& Graec. T. 14. 1. 6. c. 12. p. 219- Where the act paO'ed on that account, is given, in Latin and Portuguefe, under the title of AJfento que Dire ft or c Cenfores da Accidentia Real da Hiftoria Portugueza tsmarao fobre Credito que deviano ter Alguns Authores. c Colleccam dos documentos Statutes & Memorias da Academia Real da Hiftoria Portugueza pelo Conte de Villarmajor, Lifboa 1721 — 1725* See an Extract hereof in Aft. Erud. Lipf. loc. cit. d Pref. State of Rep. Lett. T. 2. p. 459. c V. Krauf Nov. Literar. 1721. p. 168. feq- Where the office, ceconomy, ftatutes, members, &c. of this Academy are related at large. ]
Academies of Antiquities ■, ;.s
The Academy at Cortona, lately eftablifhed for the ftudy of the Hetrurian antiquities, and confequently, by right of con- queft, the antiquities of the whole world. Their head is called Lucumon, a name taken from the antient governors of Hetruria. One of their laws is, to give audience to poets only one day in the year : another is, to fix their fciHons and impofe a tax of a differtation on each member in his turn a . The Academy of Antiquities at Upfal, owes its rife to Queen Chriftina, but its eftablifhmcnt chiefly to Charles Guftavus her fucceflbr. Its defign is for illuftrating the northern lan- guages, and the antiquities of the country, as ftones, coins, and the like monuments ; in which notable difcoveries have been made by it. The more eminent of its members have been Verelius, Loccenius, Scheffer, Rudbecks, Keder, Pe- ringfkiold, Salin b , kc.
The Academy of Medals and Jnfer'iptions at Paris, was fct on foot by M. Colbert in 1663, for the ftudy and explanation of antient monuments, and perpetuating of great and memorable events, efpecially thofe of the French monarchy, by coins, relievo's, inferiptions, 5cc. The number of members at firft was confined to four or five, but in 1701 was incrcafed to forty ; whereof ten to be honoraries, ten penfionarics, ten aflbciates, and the lame number of novices or elcves. The king nominates their preftdent and vice-prefident yearly ; but their fecretary and treafurer are perpetual. The reft are chofen by the members thcmfelves, agreeably to the confti- tutions on that behalf given them c . Their chief work is a kind of metallic hiftory of the reign of Louis XIV d . Befides which we have feveral volumes of their eflays, under the title of memoirs ; and their hiftory, written and continued by their fecretaries c . — [ ;1 Bibl. Ital. T. 4. p. 130. b Struv. loc. cit. §. 23. p. 879. feq. See alfo Mem. de Trev. 1709. p. 161. c See Struv: Introd. ad Notit. Rei Literar. p. 871. feq. d See the Statutes of this Academy in Jour, des Scav. T. 30. p. 7. c V. Hift de l'Acad. Roy, des Infcrip. Paris 4to. & Amft. i2mo.
Academies of Belles Lettres, thofe wherein eloquence, and poetry are chiefly cultivated. Italy is full of thefe $ and France has its fliare ; fuch are
The Academy of XJmidi at Florence, called afterwards La Fiorentina, in honour of the grand duke Cofmo I. who de- clared himfelf its protector in 1549, is Uluftrious both for the works it has produced, and its members ; which for thefe two laft ages have included molt of the eminent men, not only in Tufcany, but in all Italy. Their chief attention is to the Italian poetry : and as the famous Dante and Petrarch were the great improvers of the fame, the Academy looks on thofe two as its fathers, or mafters ; fo that the imployment of a great part of their aflemblies, is in illuftrating and commenting on thofe two writers. This Academy has contributed greatly to the progrefs of the fciences, by the noble emulation of its members, in giving excellent Italian tranflations of the antient Greek and Latin hiftorians; at the fame time they applied thcmfelves to the polifhing their language, which gave occafion to the rife of the Academy La Crufca.
The Academy of Humovijls, XJmorifli, had its origin at Rome, from the marriage of Lorenzo Mancini, a Roman gentleman ; at which feveral perfons of condition were guefts ; and it being carnival-time, to give the ladies fome diverfion, they took themfelves to the reciting of verfes, fonnets, fpeeches, and co- medies, firft ex tempore, and afterwards premeditatedly ; which gave them the denomination of Belli humor i. After fome ex- perience, coming more and more into the tafte of thefe exer- cifes, they refolved to form an Academy of Belles Lettres % and changed the title Belli Human for that of Humori/li ; chufing for their device a cloud, which after being formed of the faline exhalations of the fea, returns in a gentle fweet fliower, with the motto from Lucretius, redit agmine dulci \ The Academy of Arcadi, was cftablifhed at Rome in 169O, for reviving the ftudy of poetry, and the Belles Lettres ; and com- prehends molt of the politer wits in Italy, of both fexes ; many princes, cardinals, and other ecclefiaftics : to avoid all difputes among whom, about prcheminence, 'tis wifely pro- vided, that all appear mafked, after the manner of fhepherds of Arcadia. Within ten years from its firft eftablifhment, the number of academijls amounted to fix hundred. They hold aflemblies feven times a year in a mead, or grove ; of late in the gardens of the duke of Salviati. Six of thefe meetings are employed in the recitation of poems, and verfes of the Arcadi rcfiding at Rome ; who read their own compofitions j except ladies, and cardinals, who are allowed to make ufe of other
1
fhepherds for this office. The feventh meeting is fet apart for the compofitions of foreign, or abfent members ; in which there is more entertainment than in all the relt ; by reafon of the pieces produced here, written in all the different ftyles, and dialects of Italy. The government of this Academy is wholly Democratical, allowing of no prince, or protector whatever, but only a cuftos, who reprefents the whole fo- ciety, chofen each olympiad, that is, every four years j with a power of electing twelve others yearly, to amft him in the adminiftration. Under thefe are two fubcuftodes, one vicar or procuftos, and four deputies, or fuperintendants annually chofen. There are five manners of electing members j the firft called Acclamation, ufed when fovereign princes, cardinals, and embaffadors of kings defire to be admitted ; in which cafe the votes are given viva voce : the fecond Anmtmeration, in- troduced in favour of ladies, and academical colonies ; where the votes are taken privately : the third Reprefentation, efta- blifhed in favour of colleges and univcriities, where the young gentry are bred ; who have each a privilege of recommending one, or two members privately to be balloted for : the fourth Surrogation, whereby new fhepherds are fubftituted in the room of thofe dead, or expelled : the laft Dejlination, whereby, when there is no vacancy of members, perfons of poetical merit have the title Arcadi conferred on them, till fuch time as a vacancy fliall happen. All the members of this body, at their admiffion, affume new paftoral names, in imitation of thofe of antient Ar- cadians. The Academy has divers colonies of Arcadi cftablifhed in other cities in Italy, all regulated after the fame manner. They have vice-cuftodes for their directors, and take different denominations either from the city where they are eftablilhed, or from fome other Academy nourifhing in the fame place ; fuch are the Forzata at Arezzo, Animofa at Venice, Ferrarian at Ferrara, Flfico Critica at Sienna, &c. The laws of the Ar- ' cadi are immutable, and bear a near refemblance to the antient model : Alphefibceus Carius being cuftos at the time of enact- ing them, addreffed the aflembly in this formula ; Velitis, ju- heath Arcades, ut qua; in his legibus ad nojlri communis regi- men compreheiifa, perfcriptaque funt, authoritate juffuque cam- munijujla, rata, firma perpetuo fieni, iifdem que pajl ores pojl- hac o?nnes perpetuo teneaniur, ut quicumque Arcadicum deinceps nomen adfumferit obflriftus H. L. veluti facramento ftet ; the anfwer is, Gcetus univerfus fcivit. Olympiad. DCXVIII, an. 3. ab Arcadia injlaurata. Olympiad. II. an. 2 b . The Royal Academy at Caen, was eftablifhed by letters-patent in 1705: it had its rife fifty years earlier in private confe- rences, held firft in the houfe of M. de Brieux. M. de Segrais retiring to this city to fpend the reft of his days, reftored and gave new luftre to their meetings. In 1707, M. Foucault, intendant of the generality of Caen, procured the king's letters-patent for erecting them into a perpetual Academy, of which M. Foucault to be protector for the time, and the choice afterwards left to the members, the number of whom was fixed to thirty, and the choice of them, for this time, left to M. Foucault. Befides the thirty, leave is given to add fome fupernumerary members, not exceeding fix, from the ecclefiaftical communities in that city c . An aflembly of men of letters at Lyons, are faid only to want letters- patent to form a royal Academy, inferior to few in France. It confifts of twenty academijls, with a director at their head, and a fecretary who is perpetual. F. Lombard, a jefuit, one of the members, here read a learned differtation on
infinity d [ a V. PeliJJ. Hift. Acad. Franc, p. 4. feq. ' b V.
Crefcemben. la Bellezza della Volgar Poefia, &c. Act. Erud. Lipf. Supp. T. 3. p. 460. feq. c V. Lettres Patentes avec les Statuts pour l'Academie des Belles Lettres etablie en la Ville de Caen : an Extract hereof is given in Journ. des Scav. T. 33. p. 610. d SeeNouv. Liter. T. 2. p. 82.] Academies of Languages, are called by fome, Grammatical Academies ; as
The Academy della Crufca at Florence, famous for its voca- bulary a of the Italian tongue, was formed in 1582, but fcarce heard of before the year 1584, when it became noted for a difpute between Tafib and feveral of its members. Many authors of note confound this with the Florentine Academy b . The difcourfes which Torricelli, the celebrated difciple of Galileo, delivered in the aflemblies concerning levity, the wind, the power of percuflion, mathematics, and military architecture, are a proof that thefe academijls applied them- felves to things, as well as words.
The Academy of Fruftiferi, had its rife in 1617, at an af- fembly of feveral princes and nobility of the country, who met with a defign to refine and perfect the German tongue. It flourifhed long under the direction of princes of the empire, who were always chofen prefidents. In 1668, the number of members arofe to upwards of nine hundred. It was prior in time to the French Academy, which only appeared in 1629, and was not eftablifhed into an Academy before the year 1635 c . Its hiftory is written in the German tongue, by George Neu- marck.
The French Academy had its rife in a private meeting of men of letters, in the houfe of Mr. Conrart d , in the year 1628 : Cardinal Richlieu, 1111635, at the inftance of Mr. Chapelain, erected it into an Academy for refining, and afcertaining the French language and ityle. ' The number of the members was
limited
