CHAPTER II.

Origin of Royal Society involved in some obscurity-Wallis's Aecount-Oxford Philosophical Society-Their Regulations-Influential in promoting Establishment of Royal Society-Hooke's Answer to Cassini's Statement respecting the Society-Boyle's Account of the Invisible College-Sprat's description of Meetings at Gresham College-Interruption occasioned by Civil Wars -Evelyn's design for a Philosophical College-Cowley's Proposition for the establishment of a College-Sir William Petty's Scheme for a Gymnasium Mechanicum, or College of Tradesmen-Plan of building a Philosophical Institution at Vauxhall -Domestic troubles postpone the establishment of any Scientific or Literary Society.

THE

1645-55.

'HE origin of the Royal Society, in common with that of many other illustrious institutions, is involved in some obscurity; for though the year 1660 may be regarded as the date of its establishment, yet there is no doubt that a society of learned men were in the habit of assembling together, to discuss scientific subjects, for many years previously to the above time.

In the Publisher's Appendix to his Preface of Thomas Hearne's edition of Peter Langtoft's Chronicle, we find, under the head of "Dr. Wallis's account of some passages of his own life," written in January 1696, 7, the following interesting extract :

"About the year 1645, while I lived in London, (at a time when, by our civil wars, academical studies were much interrupted in both our Universities) beside the conversation of divers eminent divines, as to matters theological, I had the opportunity of being acquainted with divers worthy persons, inquisitive into natural philosophy, and other parts of human

learning; and particularly of what hath been called the New Philosophy, or Experimental Philosophy. We did by agreements, divers of us, meet weekly in London on a certain day, to treat and discourse of such affairs; of which number were Dr. John Wilkins (afterward Bishop of Chester), Dr. Jonathan Goddard, Dr. George Ent, Dr. Glisson, Dr. Merret (Drs. in Physick), Mr. Samuel Foster, then Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, Mr. Theodore Hank', (a German of the Palatinate, and then resident in London, who, I think, gave the first occasion, and first suggested those meetings), and many others.

"These meetings we held sometimes at Dr. Goddard's lodgings in Wood Street (or some convenient place near), on occasion of his keeping an operator in his house for grinding glasses for telescopes and microscopes; sometimes at a convenient place in Cheapside', and sometimes at Gresham College, or some place near adjoyning.

“Our business was (precluding matters of theology and state-affairs), to discourse and consider of Philosophical Enquiries, and such as related thereunto: as Physick, Anatomy, Geometry, Astronomy, Navigation, Staticks, Magneticks, Chymicks, Mechanicks, and natural Experiments; with the state of these studies, as then cultivated at home and abroad. then discoursed of the circulation of the blood, the calves in the veins, the vena lactea, the lymphatick ressels, the Copernican hypothesis, the nature of comets and new stars, the satellites of Jupiter, the oval

We

1 Doubtless Haak.

2 The convenient place to which Dr. Wallis refers was the BullHead Tavern, in Cheapside.

shape (as it then appeared) of Saturn, the spots in the sun, and its turning on its own axis, the inequalities and selenography of the Moon, the several phases of Venus and Mercury, the improvement of telescopes, and grinding of glasses for that purpose, the weight of air, the possibility, or impossibility of vacuities, and nature's abhorrence thereof, the Torricellian experiment in quicksilver, the descent of heary bodies, and the degrees of acceleration therein; and divers other things of like nature. Some of which were then but new discoveries, and others not so generally known and imbraced, as now they are, with other things appertaining to what hath been called The New Philosophy, which from the times of Galileo at Florence, and Sir Francis Bacon (Lord Verulam) in England, hath been much cultivated in Italy, France, Germany, and other parts abroad, as well as with us in England.

"About the year 1648, 1649, some of our company being removed to Oxford (first Dr. Wilkins3, then I, and soon after Dr. Goddard), our company divided. Those in London continued to meet there as before (and we with them, when we had occasion to be there), and those of us at Oxford; with

3

Aubrey in his lives of eminent men, states that Wilkins " was the principal reviver of experimental philosophy (secundem mentem Domini Baconi) at Oxford, where he had weekely an experimental philosophicall clubbe, which began 1649, and was the incunabile of the Royal Society. When he came to London, they met at the Bull's-Head Tavern, in Cheapside; e. g. 1659, 1660, and after, till it grew too big for a clubbe, and so they came to Gresham Colledge parlour." Vol. III. p. 583. And in his Life of Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, he says, "The beginning of philosophicall experiments was at Oxon (1649), by Dr. Wilkins, Seth Ward, Ralph Bathurst, &c. &c."

Dr. Ward (since Bishop of Salisbury), Dr. Ralph Bathurst (now President of Trinity College in Oxford), Dr. Petty (since Sir William Petty), Dr. Willis (then an eminent physician in Oxford), and divers others, continued such meetings in Oxford, and brought those studies into fashion there; meeting first at Dr. Petty's lodgings (in an apothecarie's house), because of the convenience of inspecting drugs, and the like, as there was occasion; and after his remove to Ireland (though not so constantly), at the lodgings of Dr. Wilkins, then Warden of Wadham College, and after his removal to Trinity College in Cambridge, at the lodgings of the Honourable Mr. Robert Boyle, then resident for divers years in Oxford."

The original Minutes of the Philosophical Society of Oxford are preserved in the Ashmolean Museum. At the commencement of the first volume the regulations are inserted, which will probably be perused with considerable interest'.

"1. That no man be admitted, but with the consent of the major part of the company.

"2. That the votes for admission (to the intent they may be free, and without prejudice,) be given in secret; affirmatives by blanks, negatives by printed papers put into the box.

"3. That every man's admission be concluded the next day after it is proposed; so as at the passing of it there be at the least eleven present.

The Council of the Royal Society, on my proposition, ordered a copy of these Minutes to be made, for preservation in the archives of the Society.

VOL. I.

D

"4. That every one pay for his admission an equal share to the money in stock, and two-third parts of it

for the instruments in stock, answerable to the number of the Company.

"5. If any of the Company (being resident in the University) do willingly absent himself from the weekly meeting, without speciall occasion, by the space of six weeks together, he shall be reputed to have left the Company, his name from thenceforth to be left out of the catalogue.

"6. That if any man doe not duly upon the day appoynted perform such exercise, or bring in such experiment as shall be appoynted for that day, or in case of necessity provide that the course be supplyed by another, he shall forfeit to the use of the company for his default 2s. 6d., and shall perform his task notwithstanding, within such reasonable time as the company shall appoint.

"7. That one man's fault shall not (as formerly) be any excuse for him that was to succeed the next day, but the course shall goe on.

"8. That the time of meeting be every Thursday, before two of the clock 5."

The Oxford Society was a powerful auxiliary to the Royal Society. When occupied at the Ashmolean Museum making researches for this work, I examined the Minute-books of the former Society, and found that frequent mention is made of the Royal Society. It was the custom mutually to communicate the principal labours of the respective Fellows to each society, by

5 Ashmolean MSS. No. 1810.