Il natural desiderio di sapere - Pontifical Academy of Sciences

ON THE NATURAL DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE 137their death, for the honor of the entire Academy and by obligation and specificirremovable constitution 93 shall be printed by their dear companions,with the same diligence as if they were living; or better, of the greater compositionswhich, because of their size itself or length of pictures or etchingsor because of the time of the preceding ones 94 come to be delayed, for moresecurity and to give them greater notice during the time of waiting, tables ofcontents, summaries and such like shall be printed, and works which due tothe death of their authors should remain incomplete, if they are reduced ina convenient state, shall be published and conserved faithfully in name andmemory of him in the common archive in accordance with the what theauthor shall dispose. Here then is the assurance of rapid, faithful and diligentpublication; whether the work is presented by the author in life or evenleft in death o simply left in the hands of his companions, nor prohibitingfrom him who should legitimately wish to have some of his own compositionsprinted on his own while living or so request of those among his companionsas should seem to him upon his death.How much honor and esteem can be acquired with such communicationof one’s own contemplations and how much one can make oneselfknown both by princes and other literati as well as by all civil people leadingto rewards not only of praise and honors but also of convenientoffices, appointments and positions, each can consider for himself.Moreover, if it seems that in the past scholars were commonly littleesteemed and honored, seeing as with how little order and ardor for themost part so few arrived at knowledge and to a notable degree of it, andthese disunited, scattered, hidden and with no correspondence, guidance,or counsel, or better, with no testimony of their doctrine, with the exceptionof that which fallacious fame or rather idle talk, generally born of theignorant common herd and always in favor of those who know how tomake good appearances, was want to offer, it can be well believed thatthis 95 was caused by these disorders. 96 Hence, these having been altogetherremoved and posited such a fine union and well regulated correspondenceand government of the literati, added the mutual aids and counselin the places where this Academy holds its meetings, both the elders indoctrine, already for their own deeds known as eminent, and the others93 Specific provision in the Academy charter.94 Read: because of the time necessary for publication of the preceding ones.95 This: the little esteem attributed to knowledge.96 By the defects and impediments which have just been described.