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Rh health, though it is easy to see that there were sufficient reasons of another character why a man of high spirit like himself should not be present. In the long and rather trite Latin oration by von Printzen, and in a second oration by Jabloniski, there was no mention of him, though the published reports give him credit for his services in founding and directing the academy. At this time the membership had increased to 38 or, if the honorary and acting presidents be counted, to 40.

The king died on February 25, 1712. The history of the academy under his successor, Frederick William I., is somewhat disappointing. Leibniz, though doing all in his power for the academy until his death in 1716, turned, in his later years, to other helpers than the king of Prussia for aid in his projects: to the king of Saxony; to the Czar, who met him cordially and made him many promises and to the government of Austria. Through these centers of learning and investigation he hoped to be able to direct and control scientific study on the continent of Europe.

Still the Berlin Academy was not without significance. Hoffmann the physicist was not idle. Work on a German dictionary was begun early in the new reign, but for reasons which do not appear it was given up in 1721. In 1712 it was decided to revise Luther's Bible and to begin with the New Testament, but, after working on this revision till 1743, it also was abandoned. Perhaps the failure of these great projects may suggest some of the reasons why the academy had failed during Leibniz's lifetime to realize the hopes he had cherished for it. In his day and for some years afterwards few scientific men of the first rank made Berlin their home. Moreover, the government of the academy was autocratic. Some of the best men in the city, men who ought to have been among its members, felt that they could do better work outside than within its ranks. There were some quacks in Berlin, like a certain Dr. Gundelsheim, who declined an election to the academy, characterizing it as a nuisance in the learned world, and useless, and so ridiculed and defamed its most prominent member, Hoffmann, as to compel him to leave the city. As Crown Prince, Frederick William had despised the academy. Penurious by nature, he cared little for any society or institution which sought merely to increase knowledge without regard to its utility. True, he continued the calendar monopoly, but cut off some other privileges the academy had enjoyed and commanded it to reduce expenses to the lowest point. He consented to preserve its life only on condition that it do something for medicine and technology. Leibniz saw the situation and did his best to persuade the academy to undertake a work which would gratify the king and secure his favor. For some reason it failed to heed his advice. Not till ten years later did Volume II. of the Berlin Miscellanies appear. Meanwhile the theater, which had been prepared for anatomical