THE BRITISH ACADEMY.
Proceedings of the British Academy (1903-1904). (Published for the British Academy by Henry Frowde. 21s. net.)—This tall
and decorous volume describes the birth of the British Academy,
and contains in eztenso some of the papers read before the Academy and summaries of the others. The reasons that led to the formation of the Academy must be briefly stated. At a meeting of the representatives of the chief European and American Academies at Wiesbaden in October, 1899, it was pro- posed to organise an Association of Scientific and Literary Academies, divided into a section for natural science and a section for literary science (the term "literary" being used to indicate the sciences of language, history, philosophy, and antiquities). While the Royal Society could represent natural science, there was no institution that represented literary science on the part of England. The Council of the Royal Society busied itself in the efforts to secure the formation of such an institution. The whole body of the Fellows met to discuss the subject on May 9th, 1901, and it was generally felt and decided that it was not within the province of the Society to initiate the establishment of a British Academy. Certain of those who had been moving in the matter called a meeting at the British Museum on June 28th, 1901, formed themselves into a Provisional General Committee, and appointed a sub-committee to report on the general position. After many meetings, it reported on November 19th, 1901, and the General Committee decided to invite certain persons to become the first members of a new body to be called "The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical, and Philological Studies." The distinction of the persons so invited negatived the possible inference that the Society had been formed without proper public, discussion. A good many names, however, were omitted that should have been included,—men of the first rank in literary science. At a meeting on December 17th, 1901, the Crown was petitioned for a Charter, and this petition was followed by a petition to the same effect by the Royal Society. This Charter was granted on August 8th, 1902, and the by-laws of the Academy were allowed by Order in Council of February 5th, 1901 These by-laws limit the number of Ordinary Fellows to one hundred, and provide for the formation of Sectional Com- mittees representing the different branches of study which it is the object of the Academy to promote. A Fellow mist satisfy the Council by the reading or submission of papers, or otherwise, that "he is actively engaged in work tending to the advancement of some one or more of the branches of study" dealt with by the Sectional Committees. The by-laws also provide for the appoint- ment of Corresponding Fellows, being persons not resident in the United. Kingdom who have attained distinction in one or more of the special branches of study. The first President was Lord Reay, who gave the address at the first annual general meeting, held on June 26th, 1903. His office was continued for a second year, and he presided at the second annual meeting, when Sir Richard Jobb read his remarkable paper on Bacchylides, printed in the Proceedings. We have no space in which to deal at length with the extremely valuable papers here printed. The essay entitled "Studies in Early Irish History," by Mr. John Rhys, forms a highly technical, but most illuminating, paper. Dr. M. E. Sadler's paper on "The Ferment in Education on the Continent and in America" will perhaps convince some that our educational confusion is not without merit. America, Germany, and France are feeling the results of over-organisation. The philosophical papers are all most useful, and the many admirers of the style and lucidity of the Master of Balliol will turn to his monograph on "Idealism and the Theory of Knowledge." Sir Frederick Pollock's essay on Locke's theory of the State is a careful contribution to this branch of thought. Perhaps the most delight- ful literary production in the volume is the paper by Baron de Bildt (the late Swedish and Norwegian Minister) entitled "The Conclave of Clement X. (1670)." The writer's minute knowledge of the period recalls Lord Acton, and the reader almost feels that he is a spectator of the amusing and scandalous intriguing which continued for nearly five months, and resulted in the election, by way of compromise, of an almost unknown priest to the vacant seat of St. Peter. Mr. Kenyon's admirable paper on "The Evidence of Greek Papyri with Regard to Textual Criticism.' gives us two broad and interesting results. These very early manuscripts show that the classical texts were as little modified by the work of Alexandrian critics as they have been by the emendations of modern scholars.
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