Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/52

Rh 40 Y K Y Other historic* are Bishop Sprat's (1667), which consists largely of a <U 'fence of the society against the attacks of a priori philosophers, and Dr Birch's (IT/ifi), which treats mainly of the society's bcicntiflc work. (II. R.*) ROYAN, a town of France, in the department of Charente Inferieure, is situated on the right bank of the (lironde, where it joins the ocean; a branch line of 5 miles connects it with Saujon, on the Seudre Railway, which joins the Bordeaux-Nantes line at Pons. Royan, which in 1881 had a population of only 4573 (5445 as a commune), is one of the most frequented bathing resorts on the Atlantic seaboard, the visitors numbering about 80,000 annually. Royan owes this popularity to its charming neighbourhood, pleasantly watered by brooks and shaded by fine trees down to the steep rocky shore. The coast is divided into a number of small bays or "conches," forming so many distinct beaches: to the east of the town is the " Grande Conche " ; to the south the "Conche de Foncillon," separated from the first-named by a quay which forms a fine terraced esplanade ; beyond the fort of Royan, which protects the entrance of the river, follow in succession the conches " du Chay" and " de Grand Robinson," and the most fashionable of all, that of Pontaillac. In the Avenue de Pontaillac stand a large new casino, a theatre, and a hydropathic establishment. Royan also has a race-course and a museum of natural history. Royan, whose inhabitants were Protestants, had to sustain in 1622 an eight days' siege by the troops of Louis XIII. As late as the eud of last century it was but a " bourg " of about one thousand inhabitants, noticeable only for its priory, where Brantome wrote a portion of his Chronicles. The prosperity of the place dates from the Restoration, when steamboat communication was established with Bordeaux. The question of making of Royau the seaport for Bordeaux has often oeen mooted, but as yet the harbour is still a merely tidal one and is dry at low water. The sardine, here known by the name of royan, is caught by the local fishermen. ROYER-COLLARD, PIERRE PAUL (1763-1 845), French statesman and philosopher, was born on the 21st June 1763 at Sompuis near Vitry-le-Franf the Revolution he took the popular side, and was elected to a seat in the municipal council of Paris. He was secretary to this body from 1790 to 1792, but separated himself from the later excesses of the Revolution. During the Reign of Terror he lived in retirement at Sompuis, and after vainly endeavouring in 1797, as member of the Council of Five Hundred, to bring about the restoration of the monarchy, he retired altogether from public life till the fall of Napoleon in 1814. During the interval he devoted himself mainly to philosophical studies. Animated by a profound distrust of the negative sensationalism and materialism which had characterized the French philo- sophy of the 18th century, he found a master whom he could follow in Thomas Reid. The study of Reid's fn'/niry, which he picked up on a book-stall, first gave a definite form and direction to his thinking. Royer-Collard may be said to have introduced Reid to France, and the works of the Scottish philosopher were translated not long afterwards by his pupil Jouffroy. In 1810 Royer-Collard became professor of philosophy, and taught with success in Paris, till the Restoration recalled him to political life. In 1815 he was elected to represent his native department of the Marne in the. chamber of deputies ; he was also made councillor of state and appointed president of the commission of public instruction. A royalist of moderate views, he helped to restrain the extreme members of his own party, opposing alike the reactionary laws against the press and the proposal to give the clergy control of public instruction. In 1827 he was so popular as to be elected in seven departments, and shortly afterwards he became a member of the French Academy ; in the following year he was made president of the chamber. In this capacity he had the unpleasant duty of presenting to Charles X. the address in which the majority of the chamber refused their further support to the Government (March 1830). Royer-Collard retained his position as deputy under the new regime of Louis Philippe, but no longer took a pro- minent part in public affairs. In 1842 he withdrew com- pletely from active life and spent most of his remaining time at his country seat of Chateauvieux near Sainte- Aignan. He died there on the 2d September 1845. As a philosopher, Royer-Collard is not distinguished either by originality or profundity ; but he possesses a certain importance as having transplanted to Franco the philosophy of common sense. He has Tiimseli left no philosophical writings except some frag- ments which appear in Jouil'roy's edition of Reid ; but by his example and teaching he founded the school which has been variously named the Scoto-French, the eclectic, the spiritualistic, or the psychological. Maine de Biran, Cousin to some extent, and Jouffroy in a closer way, as well as Janet and others at the present day, are the chief representatives of the school. The name " Spiritualisme, " which is perhaps the commonest designation, expresses the tenacity with which, in opposition to the dominant sensationalistic materialism of France, it upholds the doctrine of a spiritual Ego as a fact of consciousness. The title psychological, however, would be preferred by the philosophers themselves as describing their method, and the basis on which they claim to have erected their philosophy. Philosophy tends for them, as for Reid and Stewart, to become a classification of isolated facts of consciousness. Several biographies of Royer-Collard have been published. Barante, Vie politique de M. Royer-Collard, ses discours, et tes ecrits, 1861, is the fullest. Others are by Philippe and Lacombe. In addition may be mentioned Alemoiret sur Royer-Collard, by his nephew Genty de Bussy. ROYLE, JOHN FORBES (1800-1858), a distinguished botanist and teacher of materia medica. His reputation is especially founded upon the results of personal investi- gations in the Himalaya Mountains and in other parts of Hindustan. He was born in Cawnpore in 1800. His medical education was obtained in London, and on its completion he entered the service of the East India Com- pany, and was sent to India in 1822 in the grade of assistant surgeon. In this service he devoted himself to studying in the field the botany and geology of the regions within his reach, and made large collections among the Himalaya Mountains. He also made special investiga- tions of the medical properties of the plants of Hindustan and of the history of their uses among the native races. The results of these investigations appeared in 1837 in the form of a valuable work On the Antiquity of Hindoo Medicine. For nearly ten years he held the post of super- intendent of the East India Company's botanic garden in the Himalayas at Saharanpur. He returned to London on furlough in 1831, and in 1837 he was appointed to the professorship of materia medica in King's College, London, a position which he held till 1856. From 1838 onwards he conducted a special department of correspondence, relating to vegetable products, at the East India House, and at the time of his death he had just completed there the forma- tion and arrangement of an extensive and valuable museum of technical products from the East Indies. In 1851 he superintended the Indian department of the Great Ex- hibition. He died at Acton near London on 2d January 1858. The work on which his reputation chiefly rests is the Illustrations of the Botany and other branches of Natural History of the Himalaya Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere, in 2 vols. 4to, begun in 1839. It contains much information on the natural products of India, especially on such as are useful in the arts or as drugs. In addition to this work, however, he wrote several others of repute, viz., An Essay on the Productive Resources of India (1840), A Manual of Materia Medica (1845), An Essay on the Cultivation of Cotton (1857), and on The Cordage Plants and Vegetable Fibres of India (1855). He also published a number of papers, between 1832 and 1S55, upon subjects akin to those of his larger works, in scientific journals, for the most part published in India. Among these papers are included three on geological subjects. A list of the whole will be found in the Royal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers.