Orontius[49] squared the circle out of all comprehension; but he was killed by a feather from his own wing. His {51} former pupil, John Buteo,[50] the same who--I believe for the first time--calculated the question of Noah's ark, as to its power to hold all the animals and stores, unsquared him completely. Orontius was the author of very many works, and died in 1555. Among the laudatory verses which, as was usual, precede this work, there is one of a rare character: a congratulatory ode to the wife of the author. The French now call this writer Oronce Finee; but there is much difficulty about delatinization. Is this more correct than Oronce Fine, which the translator of De Thou uses? Or than Horonce Phine, which older writers give? I cannot understand why M. de Viette[51] should be called Viete, because his Latin name is Vieta. It is difficult to restore Buteo; for not only now is _butor_ a blockhead as well as a bird, but we really cannot know what kind of bird Buteo stood for. We may be sure that Madame Fine was Denise Blanche; for Dionysia Candida can mean nothing else. Let her shade rejoice in the fame which Hubertus Sussannaeus has given her. I ought to add that the quadrature of Orontius, and solutions of all the other difficulties, were first published in _De Rebus Mathematicis Hactenus Desideratis_,[52] of which I have not the date. {52} DUCHESNE, AND A DISQUISITION ON ETYMOLOGY. Nicolai Raymari Ursi Dithmarsi Fundamentum Astronomicum, id est, nova doctrina sinuum et triangulorum.... Strasburg, 1588, 4to.[53] People choose the name of this astronomer for themselves: I take _Ursus_, because he _was_ a bear. This book gave the quadrature of Simon Duchesne,[54] or a Quercu, which excited Peter Metius,[55] as presently noticed. It also gave that unintelligible reference to Justus Byrgius which has been used in the discussion about the invention of logarithms.[56] The real name of Duchesne is Van der Eycke. I have met with a tract in Dutch, _Letterkundige Aanteekeningen_, upon Van Eycke, Van Ceulen,[57] etc., by J. J. Dodt van Flensburg,[58] which I make out to be since 1841 in date. I should {53} much like a translation of this tract to be printed, say in the _Phil. Mag._ Dutch would be clear English if it were properly spelt. For example, _learn-master_ would be seen at once to be _teacher_; but they will spell it _leermeester_. _Of these_ they write as _van deze_; _widow_ they make _weduwe_. All this is plain to me, who never saw a Dutch dictionary in my life; but many of their misspellings are quite unconquerable. FALCO'S RARE TRACT. Jacobus Falco Valentinus, miles Ordinis Montesiani, hanc circuli quadraturam invenit. Antwerp, 1589, 4to.[59] The attempt is more than commonly worthless; but as Montucla and others have referred to the verses at the end, and as the tract is of the rarest, I will quote them: