_To the Right Honourable_

_JOHN_

Lord Somers

_of Evesham_

Lord _High-Chancellor_ of England,

and _President_ of the _Royal-Society_.

* * * * *


_My Lord_,

The _Idea_ and _Plan_ of the _Royal-Society_ having been first conceiv'd
and delineated by a _Great_ and _Learned Chancellor_, which High Office
your Lordship deservedly bears; not as an Acquisition of Fortune, but
your Intellectual Endowments; Conspicuous (among other Excellencies) by
the Inclination Your Lordship discovers to promote _Natural Knowledge_:
As it justifies the Discernment of that _Assembly_, to pitch upon Your
Lordship for their _President_, so does it no less discover the Candor,
yea, I presume to say, the Sublimity of your Mind, in so generously
honoring them with your _Acceptance_ of the _Choice_ they have made.