Sociable Knowledge. Elizabeth Yale

precisely because they were the virtues that the learned prince sought to display in encouraging scientific activity at his court.⁹⁷

      Lhuyd’s situation was like that of the client of an absolute ruler in that he had to find ways to align his interests with those of his patrons, that is, his subscribers and those who assisted him as he traveled. This is reflected in the way he framed his appeals to subscribers, both in the initial subscription proposals for his research and in the questionnaires he issued. However, with over two hundred subscribers, he was not beholden to any one individual. The dispersal of patronage thus set Lhuyd on a somewhat more equal footing with his patrons than, say, the average alchemist in the court of Hesse-Kassel. He was not free from the necessity of designing and promoting his research to appeal to the shared interests of his subscribers. But, because Lhuyd needed no one of his subscribers in particular, he was free not to tailor his research to any of their individual needs. If one gentleman would not give his shilling, within limits, Lhuyd could find another.