Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-04-27
Academies. Their Place in System Of
Education.
ny rev. II T. FULLER,
PRINCIPAL OF THE ST. JoHEsBuRY ACADEMY.

The word A cademy was originally the
name Of pleasure ground 10 the suburbs Of
Athens. In the fifth century before Christ
this portion Of the land about tho Attic cap
ital was owned by Oimou, the leader Of the
Athenian aristccrats. Cimon adorned the
grounds in the most beautiful manner, gave
free admission to them to tho public, and at
his death bequoathod them as legacy to his
fellow citizens. The place soon became
common resort, especially for the
better class Of people. Hther came the
young men Of leisure aud Of political aud
literary aspiration, and here Socrates strolled
and argued with these youth. Here, also,
Plato, tho chief disciple of Socrates,
taught and finally established in one Of its
groves that celebrated school of philosophy
called both Patonic from the name Of its
founder, and Academic from tho name Of its
first location. Hence the followers Of Plato
we're called Academists and wherever else
any one Of them established school he called
it an Academy. Therefore, 10 the course OF
time the term was used to designate various
places and plans for higher instruction.
In Europe the word is applied to a society
Of learned mon, who thus unite for mutual
improvement in the arts, sciences, or litera-
ture. In Italy, the Florentine Academy
has for its object the purifying and emo
bling of the Italian language; the Acea-
demia del Ciu,ento, or Academy Of Expert
ment, was organized for prosecuting inquiries
in physical science, aud the Academy Of Ar
cadians at Rome admits only poets to mem.
bership and publishes monthly collection Of
ita original papers and the fruits Of its ar
Genealogical inquiries. There are similar
academies in Spain, Portugal, Germany and
Scandinavia, but the most celebrated and
most select OF all these European academies
is the French Academy, instituted in 1885
by Cardinal Richeieu, for the Improvement
and regulation of the national tongue; at first
restricted to forty members, but now COM
posed of two hundred and seventeen, divided
into i've divisions, viz, (1) Of rhetoric and
poetry, (2) Of inscriptions and bellies let
tres, 81 Of science, (4) of arts, (5) Of
MORALS aud politics. Each section has fixed
number Of members varying from thirty in
the fifth, to sixty.6ve in the third. Its head.
quarters are, Of course, at Paris. Its mem
bers have an annual salary Of three hundred
dollars each. Prizes are offered each year
for valuable papers, discoveries and inven-
tions. The revenues are derived, partly from
bequeathed funds, and partly from grants Of
the French government. The sections meet,
each once or twice weekly, and the whole
academy once year. Besides the regular
members, there are forty-three honorary
academicians, and thirty-three foreign asso-
ciates. Any connection with the French
academy is esteemed great honor, and il
affords great stimulus to study and investi.
cation. Corresponding to these academies
on the continent, though holding session;
less frequently, are, in England, the British
Association for the Advancement Of Science
the Royal Geographical Society, aud others
and in this country, the American Philologi-
cal Association which is devoted to resear-
ches in language, the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, the New
York Historical Society, etc., none Of these
are schools, but rather the organizations OIL
mature and talented scholars aud savans FOL
division Of labor and comparison and criti
cism of the results of their private studies
Sometimes under the auspices of these as
sociations or societies great enterprises arr
undertaken. Thus the Royal Geographical
Society of England sent Livingston to AT
RIGA aud supported him for nearly score o
years, and Arctic exploration has beer
largely encouraged and substantially aideC
by this and similar societies in Europe anC
America.