Royal Society a compliment to Lord Brouncker, a peer and the first President of the Royal Society. The society's motto, "Nullius in verba", is Latin for "Take nobody's word for it". It was adopted to signify the fellows' determination to establish facts via experiments and comes from Horace's "Epistles", where he compares himself to a gladiator who, having retired, is free from control. The society's core members are the fellows: scientists and engineers from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth selected based on having made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science". Fellows
Res nullius since a thing completely lost or abandoned is "res nullius", and therefore belonged to the first taker. Specific legislation may be made, e.g. for beachcombing. In English common law, for example, forest laws and game laws have specified which animals are "res nullius" and when they become someone's property. Wild animals are regarded as "res nullius", and as not being the subject of private property until reduced into possession by being killed or captured (see, e.g. "Pierson v. Post"). A bird in the hand is owned; a bird in the bush is not. Even bees do not become property until