A former Romanian scientific society: The Society of Physical sciences (1890-1910)

The Society of Physical sciences (phisycs, chemistry and mineralogy) has been an important Romanian scientiÞ c society since its establishment, in 1890 until the middle of the twentieth century. This paper seeks to provide an analysis of its activity in the Þ rst two decades of existence, a less studied period, namely how its enterprises contributed to the dissemination and spread of the latest scientiÞ c ideas within Romania’s culture. The society was founded at the initiative of some of the most proeminent Romanian scientists of that period and, until the end of the nineteenth century, it expanded its sphere of activity by including sections on mathemathics and natural history. Therefore, its activity, exempliÞ ed by public conferences, presentation of members’ personal scientiÞ c endeavors, intellectual debates or scientiÞ c missions, reß ected the general development of physical sciences in Romania in that epoch. This research is based mostly on a close scrutiny of society’s scientiÞ c journal.


Introduction
"The society of physical sciences (physics, chemistry, mineralogy)" was constituted in the year 1890, in the broader context of the relative scientiÞ c development of the Romanian Kingdom. Romania was set in a modernization process, that had begun in the middle of the nineteenth century. Consequently, the country was attempting to develop a scientiÞ c life according to the contemporary exigencies. The universities and the afÞ liated laboratories, but also the Romanian Academy were the main exponents of the scientiÞ c life. At another level, there were the scientiÞ c societies; these represented different forms in which the scientists could work together than those previously stated, but with no less importance. In this respect, the activity of "The society of physical sciences" was signiÞ cant: on one hand, it represented a model of scientiÞ c organization, which eased the cooperation of some of the most prominent Romanian scientists. From this point of view, we can consider the memoirs published in the society's scientiÞ c journal as representative for the level of scientiÞ c development of that epoch. On the other hand, the society was a medium which facilitated the transition of specialized scientiÞ c knowledge and abstract concepts from the academic milieu DOI: 10.15503/jecs20152.20.32 into the public space. Within this article, we shall analyze the society's activity, following these guidelines, in the Þ rst two decades of existence: . The society continued to function until 1949, but in an altered formula compared to the original one.

The organization
The society was founded at the initiative of some of the most prestigious Romanian scientists and university teachers. Many of them were important public Þ gures and some of them signiÞ cant politicians. The most eloquent example is represented by the chemist Constantin Istrati (1850Istrati ( -1918, the leader of the society in all this period. He was more than once a minister in the Romanian government. At his initiative, some of the greatest scientists of the country, among them the physicist Emanoil Bacaloglu (1831-1891) and the chemists Alexe Marin  and Alfons Oscar Saligny , organized the society in april 1890.
The aim of it was, from the very beginning, to build up a framework in which the Roumanian researchers could have the possibility of working together, of presenting their original work in front of their colleagues and of publishing their Þ ndings in the pages of an international scientiÞ c journal. These purposes were enunciated by Constantin Istrati in the inaugural meeting. Accordingly, he pointed out that the number of Romanian chemists trained in Berlin or Paris had increased in those years and, for that reason, they all must join a scientiÞ c society, where they could beneÞ t from their association. The objectives of the collaboration were dialogue, exchange of ideas and choice of subjects of study. Another aim was represented by the actualization of knowledge from the various scientiÞ c branches for the members themselves (Istrati, 1892a, p. 5). The number of chemists and physicists had attained, indeed, in the last decade of the nineteenth century a critical mass to enable their coagulation in a specialized institution. The same Constantin Istrati counted, in 1891, adjacent to the older science teachers: twelve graduates in physical sciences from universities in the country, sixteen graduates and twenty Þ ve science doctors from universities abroad, four graduates of polytechnic schools and other categories with a chemist's diploma or who worked as assistants in laboratories in the country (Istrati, 1892b, p. 87). Therefore there was a number of potential members for a scientiÞ c society who could publish original articles. However, their number increased in subsequent years.
Being thought of as a specialized society, whose aim was to gather the experts of the physical sciences, certain rules for accession to membership were established. In addition to the annual payment of a fee, the acceptance of a candidate had to be validated by a majority vote of the members. At the same time, the desiderata was to maintain a certain standard of the scientiÞ c activity. As a result, the most important decisions concerning the politics of society were taken by the society's committee. For this body were eligible only the society's members who had university diploma in physical, chemical, mathematical and natural sciences, diplomas issued by mining schools or polytechnics or those who had published original papers in the society's journal. Therefore the committee had the right to decide the communications to be published in the journal, research directions to be pursued by the society, the alteration of the statutes, or other administrative actions (Buletinul Societ ii, 1897a, pp. 13-16). As a result of these provisions, the society encompassed not only eminent scholars, scientists or academics, but also pharmacists, engineers, county teachers or students.
The biggest part of the society's activity was constituted from ordinary meetings. According to the regulation, there had to be held at least one meeting per month, but this provision was not always respected. At the meetings were presented original communications, followed by comments and discussions, essays that presented recent advances in sciences or presentations of the researches made by Romanian scientists abroad. As a norm of scientiÞ c conduct, the talking was permitted only on scientiÞ c issues discussed and at most twice on a topic, in a time frame of ten minutes (Buletinul Societ ii, 1892a, pp. 8-9). Consequently, interventions and the criticisms within the society meetings were brief and punctilious.
The organizational evolution of the society in the two decades studied reß ects the tortuous process of institutionalization of scientiÞ c disciplines in Romania. It also shows the distance that existed between the scientiÞ c organization projects of some scholars and the possibilities of their implementation. Initially, on its inception, the society's leaders wanted it to be specialized only in the physical sciences, such as physics, chemistry and mineralogy. There were voices which proposed a wider Þ eld of activity by adding of the natural sciences like botany, zoology and geology. The reasons were the potentially increased number of members and the possible richer activity, but this proposal was not accepted (Buletinul Societ ii, 1892b, p. 6). As a result, the Þ rst name of the society was "The society of physical sciences (physics, chemistry and mineralogy)". However, in the coming years, inconveniences of this limitation of the activity Þ eld emerged. It was found that the number of scientists who were able to constantly contribute with original researches in these areas was not enough. Therefore, the society enlarged its areas of activity and in 1897 merged with the "Societatea amicii tiin elor matematice" ("The society of mathematical partners"). This included leading representatives in Romanian mathematics. Also in that year the decision was taken to create a section of natural sciences, which incorporated researches in geology, botany, zoology and agronomy. As a result, it changed its name to the "Society of Sciences from Bucharest'' (Istrati, 1897a, p. 1). Although theoretically divided into sections, the meetings were united throughout the entire studied period. This shows that the full individualization and specialization of the scientiÞ c disciplines was not yet possible, because of the small number of professionals at that time. Achieving the goal of specialization and autonomization of society's scientiÞ c areas in independent sections with separate meetings would take place in 1915 and then in the interwar period. Another modiÞ cation of society's name occurred in 1902 when it changed it to "The Romanian Society of Sciences". This name reß ected, in the opinion of the society's leaders, the national importance and prestige earned by it at the beginning of the twentieth century.
One of the main reasons why the society was set up was the publication of a scientiÞ c journal which would contain original studies and the results of researches conducted in Romania. It had been published since 1892. It was sent to the learned societies worldwide, scientiÞ c journals and prestigious scientists, thus contributing to the integration of Romanian scientiÞ c life results in the international scientiÞ c circuit. For this reason, a large number of memoirs published in the journal had been written in foreign languages , such as French or German. In the Þ rst decade of existence, the majority of society's revenues, which were obtained mainly from membership fees, had been directed to the editing of the journal. But, with the growth of its prestige, the editing task was taken over by the Ministry of Public Instruction. So, starting from the year 1900, the government printed the journal in its own typography department, 1,000 copies for each edition (Angelescu, 1942, p. 30). Regarding the nature of the content, the society's leaders were aware that they could not edit a journal specialized in just one Þ eld of study, as were most of the scientiÞ c journals in the West. The reason was that, in Romania there was not a highly developed scientiÞ c press in which to publish high-level scientiÞ c studies from all areas of physical sciences (Buletinul Societ ii, 1892c, p.3). The content of the journal reß ected these ideas, and, as a result, it comprised studies of all Þ elds of sciences. Even under these conditions, in the early years of appearance, its content suffered because the number of those who could publish constantly original papers was not yet very high. In addition, there were researchers who were trying to publish their papers in foreign journals. For these reasons, in 1896 the editorial staff announced that all subscribers who passed their doctoral thesis in physical sciences or had made original research in these Þ elds, should send them to the journal in order to be published (Buletinul Societ ii, 1896, copert ). In 1897 it published a notice to all the persons dealing with the sciences in the country to stop sending their papers abroad. Rather, those works should be referred to the society's journal (Buletinul Societ ii, 1897b, p. 97). But, in time, the reputation of the journal advanced and the number of original studies published increased every year. As a result, an evaluation done in 1910 counted, on the 18 volumes previously published, 8162 pages which included 499 original works due to Romanian and foreign researchers. Also in that year, the journal was being sent to 122 scientiÞ c societies and foreign science journals (Istrati, 1910, pp. 240-242). The journal's pages were open to all original papers in the country. However, a mechanism existed, speciÞ c to all specialized scientiÞ c journals, through which was performed a selection of the memoirs that were to be published. Originally, the society's committee had this decision. After 1897, specialized editorial committees were established for every particular Þ eld: mathematics, physical sciences and natural sciences.

The activity
The society's scientiÞ c activity consisted in some collective enterprises and also, in the scientiÞ c memoirs published by its members. In the Þ rst category we can enumerate a program for the adoption of a uniform chemical terminology, zoological researches, or the attempt to change the ofÞ cial calendar of the country. The second category is composed of the great mass of specialized researches from mathematics, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, geology or zoology. All of these reß ected the conceptual, methodological and factual development of Romanian science of that epoch.
The society was organised at the initiative of some chemists, in particular, and consisted of chemists, in a large proportion. Accordingly chemistry occupied a central place in the society's activity. One of the Þ rst issues addressed at the society's meetings was the nomenclature that was used in organic chemistry. In order to create a rational and universal chemical nomenclature, international debates between chemists were organised from the middle of the nineteenth century (Bensaude-Vincent, 2008, p. 181). These meetings had multiplied at the end of it. The most important moments of this collective work were the International Conference of Chemistry held in Paris in 1889 and, especially the international conference on chemical nomenclature held in Geneva in 1892 (Bensaude-Vincent, 2008, pp. 186-187). This program of creating a standardized universal nomenclature was an example of international collaboration in science at that time. In this effort, chemists from Romania participated as well, by presence at congresses, meetings and writing of reports or working drafts.
Urged on by this international effervescence but also to meet a national urgency, the society's secretary, Constantin Istrati, proposed in 1890 the adoption of a Romanian chemical nomenclature, to serve as the norm in the society's publications (Istrati, 1892c, p. 25). In the committee appointed to decide the matter were named the chemists that had edited the Þ rst Romanian chemistry textbooks. So, they were familiarized with the terminological issues. Adopting a common Romanian chemical nomenclature was a necessity: many of the Romanian chemists had studied in Germany or in France and usually used different notations, speciÞ c to the academic standards adopted there. This, in turn, led to serious difÞ culties in the communication of results. Therefore, the aim was to adopt a common notation with which to publish all works of chemistry in the country (Buletinul Societ ii, 1982d, pp. 222-223). This program represented a Þ rst general effort to professionalize the work of the national community of chemists by imposing common standards of communication and realization of their activity. In the coming years it was adopted as the nomenclature proposed by the Congress of Geneva. The society's journal popularized this nomenclature by publishing in its pages the rules and examples that formulated it.
Another program initiated by the society was the inventory of the country's zoological species. The inclusion of the natural sciences within the society's interests had beneÞ cial effects for the enrichment of their content. An example in this respect was zoology. The core components of this science consisted in identifying species in a given area followed by their classiÞ cation. The effort invested in these activities was immense. New scientiÞ cally viable data could been obtained only after a collective collaboration, the kind that could take place in a scientiÞ c institution. Therefore, since 1897 efforts were made to identify and to collect the zoological wildlife, followed by its classiÞ cation. The studies conducted by the society were not the only zoological studies in Romania of that epoch. Nevertheless, very abundant material was gathered within its journal. The impetus for this action was given in 1897 by the French naturalist, elected member, Maurice Jaquet. He proposed a comprehensive program of study with the aim to edit as complete as possible ,,Romania's Fauna". In the proposal to the society's ofÞ ce, Jaquet noted that the Romania's fauna was little known and that apart from a few isolated works, nothing serious had been done (Jaquet, 1897, p. 120). The French naturalist wanted that his plan be deployed by Romanian society, the main reason being that at its realization it could also contribute other Romanian or foreign naturalists work. For the effective support of this action, the society ordered the allocation of Þ nancial funds to Jaquet (Buletinul Societ ii, 1898a, p. 219). In addition, some of the most important Roumanian biologists and zoologists of that period agreed to participate in this joint project. Some of them had already begun to do studies on this topic. They were: Grigore Antipa, director of the Museum of Natural History, Dimitrie Voinov, Nicolae Leon, Ion P. Licherdopol, Arnold-Lucien Montandon and Paul Bujor (Istrati, 1897b, p. 108). Another source of knowledge about the Romanian fauna was represented by studies that had classiÞ ed species harvested by members of ,,the naturalists society", one wich was consisted of professionals and also amateurs . It organized scientiÞ c trips after 1898 (Zottu, 1903, p. 140).
The content and nature of the vast majority of scientiÞ c studies conducted in the two decades may be placed in what Thomas Kuhn deÞ ned as ,,normal science" (Kuhn, 1996). The inventory of the natural elements (either rocks, plants or chemical elements), the analyses, the interpretations from the various scientiÞ c Þ elds pursued by the society, were made under the generally accepted theoretical models, the paradigms. Therefore, the scientists tried to Þ nd new facts, to make additions or to nuance them. They never proposed revolutionary theories or interpretations fundamentally different from those commonly shared at the time. In this respect the nature of the research could be characterized as cumulative.
Regarding physics, the classical mechanistic paradigm of the nineteenth century was not seriously questioned, although the period that we study coincided with what was retrospectively identiÞ ed as ,,a crisis of modern physics" (1895-1905) (Hobsbawm, 1989, pp.247-249). Rather, the tendency was to try to explain and integrate the new discoveries, such as X-rays, in the traditional theoretical patterns. Atomic theory was tacitly accepted, although it was recognized that the existence of atoms was not yet positively demonstrated. This conclusion was attained rather by inference, because the atom's existence was considered a necessity for the development of certain theories of physics. Among other characteristics, the atom, as the ultimate component of reality, was characterized by: impenetrability, indivisibility, immutability and eternity (Istrati, 1896, p. 81). It's existence, thus, underlied the materialistic scientiÞ c perspective of nature.
The activity in this area consisted of the publication of the results obtained in physics labs in the country on caloric, electromagnetic or optical phenomena. At the same time, scientiÞ c demonstrations took place within society meetings, which allowed the audience to better understand the abstract and specialized concepts. An example was the presentation of a device for measuring the speed of sound in liquids (Buletinul Societ ii, 1907, pp. 109-110). On this chapter, the contributions due to the physicist Dragomir Hurmuzescu must be highlighted. After the epochal discovery of X-rays in 1895, Hurmuzescu was the one who familiarized Romanian scientists with this discovery. He did this in a conference held at a meeting of the society in 1896 and in a series of scientiÞ c memoirs sent to the journal between 1896-1897. It also must be highlighted that his work consisted in original research in this Þ eld, and not in a popularization activity.
,,The earth sciences" like geology and the mineralogy were central Þ elds of investigation for Romanian researchers in that period. The reasons were both the intrinsic value of the information obtained in the investigations, and also their potential economic value.
Geological studies have generally followed the nineteenth century norms of this science: the research on the form and structure of the great associations of rocks that forms the earth's crust and the attempt to compose a picture of their transformation in space and time. By highlighting new layers of rocks and sediments a more detailed knowledge of the country's natural elements was pursued. The petrographic and comparative analysis was intended to insert this data into a broader theoretical model, in order to help understanding their evolution. Stratigraphy and paleontology were the basic tools of those enterprises.
Mineralogical research consisted in analyzing and classifying the previously collected mineralogical collections which were deposited in various museums or laboratories. The stimulant in this regard came from a member of the society, the geologist Vasile Bu ureanu. He published one of the Þ rst studies in the country which explained the method for classiÞ cation of minerals. His speciÞ c purpose was to help other researchers or enthusiasts to determine and classify the collections they owned (Bu ureanu, 1894, p. 271). Other research in these areas focused on presenting speciÞ c mineralogical species of Romania.
As regards the economic side of this science, the editorial staff wanted a special section about "petroleum" in the journal. They considered that this industry was a part of chemistry and that the scientiÞ c articles published could contribute to its development (Buletinul Societ ii, 1893b, pp. 184-185). As a result, over the years several analyses regarding the quality and location of petrol in Romania were published.
During this period, analytical studies on this subject had accumulated, giving the chance to some researchers to propose general explanations about the genesis of the oil. That problem had not been solved at that time. Therefore, the geologist Ludovic Mrazec presented the arguments for the theory of animal and vegetable origin of oil. Thus, he dismissed the theory of inorganic origin, supported by some foreign and Romanian scholars (Mrazec, 1905, pp. 254-257).
Another aspect of the society's activity was represented by its intention to study scientiÞ c issues of public interest or of those that were considered important for the country. At that time, scientists were trying to promote in the Romanian public sphere the link between science and industry and implicitly the link between science and economic development. For these reasons, areas of interest to them were the study of the country's natural resources or visitation of various factories, in order to streamline them (Buletinul Societ ii, 1893a, pp. 21-22).
In other memoirs, the scientiÞ c analysis expanded towards aspects of social life. Romanian scientists perceived their role in society as a civilizing and a pedagogical one. They considered themselves the owners of the absolute scientiÞ c method and of the knowledge with which to tackle all problems rationally. Therefore, they thought they could provide solutions even for the great social problems that had accompanied the modernization of Romania. So, they confronted some of the major social obsessions that existed in Romania at that time: alcoholism and the peasants' nourishment. For example, the chemist and the mineralogist Vasile Bu ureanu wanted to use the scientiÞ c method, in this case the chemical analysis, to study the quality of alcohol which existed in Romania. His aim was to discover "the true cause of alcoholism" in the country. The problem was stringent, since alcohol was the cause, in his opinion, for ,,the darkest poverty, mental and nervous sicknesses, pellagra, madness, suicide and even death". This assumption was reinforced by the conclusions of his study which showed that from the 282 samples of alcohol studied during the year 1893 only 33 had optimal consumption conditions (Bu ureanu, 1893, pp. 195-203). According to the historian Constantin B rbulescu, the image that the intellectual elite of that time had built about the peasants and their habits was not entirely consistent with reality. This image was the result, apart from direct observations, of the prejudices and the mental contortions due to the different cultural end educational backgrounds shared by the elite (B rbulescu, 2015). Of this mind was somewhat conscious the chemist Popovici-Lupa, who criticized the assertion that ,,the Romanian peasant feeds very bad". This allegation was shared as a dogma by the whole intellectual elite, including by the scientists, without making any effort to objectively discuss its scientiÞ c value. As a result, he believed that the problem could only be solved by experimental method. Therefore, he conducted a series of observations that measured the behavior of a subject fed with peasant's food and especially with corn. He concluded that ,,the vegetarian diet, based essentially on corn and bread, is sufÞ cient to meet the needs of the body". He thought accordingly that he had proven his colleagues wrong, due to his method (Popovici-Lupa, 1905, pp. 86-113). However, these issues, nutrition and alcoholism, were a reality in Romania at that epoch. But both belonged only to a little extent to the scientiÞ c registry, and in a much larger extent to a broader social one. The belief that any of them could be solved through scientiÞ c methods shows the growing prestige enjoyed by science at the time, and also the role that scientists had claimed in society.
As a scientiÞ c society comprised of individuals with prestige in Romanian culture, who wanted to inß uence the modernization and westernization of the country, it seriously debated and proposed the change of the Romanian calendar. It campaigned therefore to modify the Julian calendar with the Gregorian one. The issue of calendar modiÞ cation had began seriously to preoccupy Romanian society at the end of the nineteenth century. Then, some intellectuals and scientists had considered that the time gap could represent an obstacle to integration in Western civilization. Therefore adoption of the Gregorian calendar was seen as a symbolic step whereby Romania would synchronize with the West, leaving behind the Oriental legacy. On a more pragmatic level, this action was considered a necessity imposed by the requirements of modern life, in which international relations were becoming increasingly important. An obstacle for the achievement of this reform was represented by the conservative position of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The proposal for the change was Þ rst made public in a meeting held on 12/24 January 1898, when a committee was appointed to draft a bill to reform the calendar. The representative personalities of the committee were two of the Þ rst Romanian mathematicians who had obtained their doctoral degrees in the West, with theses of celestial mechanics: Spiru Haret, who was also an inß uential politician, and Nicolae Coculescu (Buletinul Societ ii, 1898b, p. 5). Due to their technical training, the society considered that it was entitled to claim a position of authority in this matter. Although the committee met and discussed, it did not made a decision for two years. At the end of 1899, the matter was again brought to the fore by the engineer and mathematician Ermil Pangrati. His main reason was that, with the turn of the century, the gap between the two calendars would increase from 12 to 13 days. He further demanded that any theological issue to be left out of this discussion and to focus on the beneÞ ts that this adjustment would bring in practical life, speciÞ cally in administration, communication, transport and economy (Buletinul Societ ii, 1900a, pp. 3-6). He also emphasized that the uniÞ cation of calendars was required by modern life demands, in which the standardization of measures and international trade started to have an increasingly higher role (Buletinul Societ ii, 1900b, pp. 13-19). Following these interventions, the responsible committee for studying the problem drafted a bill in the Þ rst month of 1900. The draft law was simple in reasoning and did not required complex calculations to substantiate it. The society's members renounced the idea, advanced by some researchers, of Þ nding a compromise between the two calendars by creating an entirely new one, to reß ect the exact astronomical reality. Thus, the enumeration of the great scientists' names as the law initiators, had more a symbolic role: to show the categorical option of the scientists. The draft law stipulated a simple conversion to the Gregorian calendar from that year, 1900. In the case of religious holidays it proposed that they would be celebrated on the days ordained by the Church (Buletinul Societ ii, 1900b, pp. 18-19). Despite the names and the reasons of those who proposed it, the law was not promulgated. The transition to the Gregorian calendar would be made only in the year 1919.

The philosophy
The conferences, the discourses and some of the scientiÞ c memoirs represented occasions for the Romanian scientists to develop their philosophical concepts and to argue the role of science in Romania. By these means, the society was a source of dissemination of the positivist ideas and of a rationalist attitude within Romania's culture.
The Romanian scientists considered that the spirit of time was characterized mainly by positive science. Due to its use, man had discovered and studied almost all of nature's secrets. Science had attained in the nineteenth century an unprecedented development, incomparable with that of the previous centuries. This development was more visible in the physical sciences and especially in chemistry. Its practitioners had even transformed, from mere observers of nature, to creators, because of the syntheses of organic chemistry (Istrati, 1901, pp. 3-13).
Constantin Istrati concluded after he analysed the atomic structure of the universe and the eternal transformation of its elements from simple to complex that "the main characteristic of life and thought is its continuous evolution for the better" (Istrati, 1896, p.80). He thus justiÞ ed the general optimism that characterized ,,La Belle Époque" in the laws of nature.
The philosopher and physicist tefan Mich ilescu pointed out that the basis of the natural philosophy at that time consisted of the mechanical theory of the universe, which was based on the laws of thermodynamics. The laws demonstrated that the cosmos was made only of matter and movement always in transformation. Knowledge of these laws, due to modern science, had enabled the scientists to manipulate the comprehensible properties of matter, and to put them, in this way, into the service of humanity (Mich ilescu, 1897, p. 495).
This conÞ dence in science and progress delineated a certain social philosophy. Its main element was the belief that the advancement of science makes people live an increasingly moral life (Istrati, 1901, p. 23). Accordingly, the scientist attained a special place in society: to be a moral guide. Scientists had even claimed that by the work they were doing, in the scientiÞ c research, which was conducted mainly for the public interest, that they had offered the example of the proper life of modern times. That was characterized by a moral, peaceful, useful and happy existence (Buletinul Societ ii, 1903, p. 175).
Regarding the relationship between science and religion, it was touched upon directly in a few discourses and memoirs. There were scientists who believed that religion and science, far from being excluded, were rather complementary activities. A proof of this belief was the proposal that the committee which debated the modiÞ cation of the calendar should include two professors from the faculty of theology, so that the chosen solution would satisfy the Church (Buletinul Societ ii, 1898c, pp. 117-118). However, most scientists adopted philosophical and scientiÞ c conceptions incompatible with Orthodox Christianity: the belief that the earth's age is a few million years, the evolution of species and of humans, explanation of the phenomena of nature only through transformation of matter, science as the foundation of morality.
Thus, the society was a center for the dissemination of new ideas and of a scientiÞ c spirit within Romanian culture. It proposed the image of a rational, mechanical and deterministic universe, and a representation of science as the driving force of progress, including for the Romanian civilization. Consequently, although the society was not aimed at popularizing science, it represented however a medium through which many of the ideas and concepts of academic science could enter the public space.

Conclusions
The evolution and activity of the ,,Society of Physical Sciences" was symptomatic for the level of organization and scientiÞ c life of Romania during 1890-1910. It was conceived as a specialized society, which gathered together in an institutional setting all practitioners of physical sciences, either consecrated scientists or novices. In time, it incorporated into its areas of activity mathematics and the natural sciences. By this means, all the physical and natural sciences could beneÞ t from the society's institutional support. The support consisted mainly in the ability to publish in the society's journal, one that was integrated into the international scientiÞ c circuit. The scientiÞ c activity consisted both in initiating certain research programs, such as the imposition of a uniform chemical nomenclature or the inventory of Romanian fauna, and also in scientiÞ c memoirs of its members. As a result, the large number of specialized studies in physics, chemistry, geology, mineralogy and biology reß ected the scientiÞ c norms of the era. On another level, the society's members, as representatives of a science that was at its prestigious peak at that epoch, wanted to address some of the country's social problems. Following the same logic, they also developed a public discourse on the importance of science for Romanian culture, and of the worldview that resulted from the great scientiÞ c discoveries. However, the society had been somewhat overshadowed in the public life of the country. The reason was that scientiÞ c activity did not have a special symbolic status in Romanian society, as culture, religion or the politics had. For this reason, it did not receive any special attention from historians.