A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume IDe Morgan, Augustus
Philosophy
A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I
De Morgan, Augustus
Circle-squaring; Perpetual motion; Science -- Miscellanea; Trisection of angle
In 1864, Mr. Grosart published his discovery that the Paradoxes are by
Herbert Palmer; that they were first published surreptitiously, and
immediately afterwards by himself, both in 1645; that the "Remains" of
Bacon did not appear until 1648; that from 1645 to 1708, thirteen editions
of the "Memorials" were published, all containing the Paradoxes. In spite
of this, the Paradoxes were introduced into Bacon's works in 1730, where
they have remained.
Herbert Palmer was of good descent, and educated as a Puritan. He was an
accomplished man, one of the few of his day who could speak French as well
as English. He went into the Church, and was beneficed by Laud,[307] in
spite of his puritanism; he sat in the Assembly of Divines, and was finally
President of Queens' College, Cambridge, in which post he died, August 13,
1647, in the 46th year of his age.
Mr. Grosart says, speaking of Bacon's "Remains," "All who have had occasion
to examine our early literature are aware that it was a common trick to
issue imperfect, false, and unauthorized writings under any recently
deceased name that might be expected to take. The Puritans, down to John
Bunyan, were perpetually expostulating and protesting against such
procedure." I have met with instances of all this; but I did not know that
there was so much of it: a good collection would be very useful. The work
of 1728, attributed to Newton, is likely enough to be one of the class.
{146}
Demonstration de l'immobilitez de la Terre.... Par M. de la
Jonchere,[308] Ingenieur Francais. Londres, 1728, 8vo.
A synopsis which is of a line of argument belonging to the beginning of the
preceding century.
TWO FORGOTTEN CIRCLE SQUARERS.
The Circle squared; together with the Ellipsis and several reflections
on it. The finding two geometrical mean proportionals, or doubling the
cube geometrically. By Richard Locke[309].... London, no date, probably
about 1730, 8vo.
According to Mr. Locke, the circumference is three diameters, three-fourths
the difference of the diameter and the side of the inscribed equilateral
triangle, and three-fourths the difference between seven-eighths of the
diameter and the side of the same triangle. This gives, he says, 3.18897.
There is an addition to this tract, being an appendix to a book on the
longitude.
The Circle squar'd. By Thos. Baxter, Crathorn, Cleaveland, Yorkshire.
London, 1732, 8vo.
Here [pi] = 3.0625. No proof is offered.[310]
The longitude discovered by the Eclipses, Occultations, and
Conjunctions of Jupiter's planets. By William Whiston. London, 1738.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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