Royal Society [ Institutions / Clubs & Societies ]
… arts.’ 1 The Royal Society was a voluntary organization described by John Evelyn as an ‘assembly of many honourable gentlemen’ and was funded by members’ dues. 2 Despite its royal charter, financial assistance from the crown was … aristocrats (up from 14% 1660-1699), 16% clerics and scholars, 16% physicians, 15% courtier and civil servants, and 15% gentlemen (Sorrenson 36). Election to the fellowship was a prestigious appointment and, as secretary, Henry Oldenburg … birth, wealth, and virtue were connected in the moral economy of scientific knowledge. Given their independent wealth, gentlemen were regarded as particularly trustworthy because they harboured no material or self-interest and therefore no …
Civility | Cosmopolitanism | Fellowship | France | Gentleman | Science
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