قراءة كتاب A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II

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A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II

A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II

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easily and certainly, to fold the paper into three, and you will be a real benefactor to society.

Early in the century there was a Turkish trisector of the angle, Hussein Effendi, who published two methods. He was the father of Ameen Bey, who was well known in England thirty years ago as a most amiable and cultivated gentleman and an excellent mathematician. He was then a student at Cambridge; and he died, years ago, in command of the army in Syria. Hussein Effendi was instructed in mathematics by Ingliz Selim Effendi, who translated a work

of Bonnycastle[37] into Turkish.[38] This Englishman was Richard Baily, brother of Francis Baily[39] the astronomer, who emigrated to Turkey in his youth, and adopted the manners of the Turks, but whether their religion also I never heard, though I should suppose he did.

I now give the letters from the agricultural laborer and his friend, described on page 12, Vol. I. They are curiosities; and the history of the quadrature can never be well written without some specimens of this kind:

"Doctor Morgan, Sir. Permit me to address you

"Brute Creation may perhaps enjoy the faculty of beholding visible things with a more penitrating eye than ourselves. But Spiritual objects are as far out of their reach as though they had no being

"Nearest therefore to the brute Creation are those men who Suppose themselves to be so far governed by external objects as to believe nothing but what they See and feel And Can accomedate to their Shallow understanding and Imaginations

"My Dear Sir Let us all Consult ourselves by the wise proverb.

"I believe that evry mans merit & ability aught to be appreciated and valued In proportion to its worth & utility

"In whatever State or Circumstances they may fortunately or unfortunately be placed

"And happy it is for evry man to know his worth and place

"When a Gentleman of your Standing in Society Clad with those honors Can not understand or Solve a problem That is explicitly explained by words and Letters and

mathematically operated by figuers He had best consult the wise proverd

"Do that which thou Canst understand and Comprehend for thy good.

"I would recommend that Such Gentleman Change his business

"And appropriate his time and attention to a Sunday School to Learn what he Could and keep the Litle Children form durting their Close

"With Sincere feelings of Gratitude for your weakness and Inability I am

"Sir your Superior in Mathematics ——"

"1849 June th29."

 

"Dor Morgin Sir

"I wrote and Sent my work to Professor —— of —— State of —— United States

"I am now in the possession of the facts that he highly approves of my work. And Says he will Insure me Reward in the States

"I write this that you may understand that I have knowledge of the unfair way that I am treated In my own nati County

"I am told and have reasons to believe that it is the Clergy that treat me so unjust.

"I am not Desirous of heaping Disonors upon my own nation. But if I have to Leave this kingdom without my Just dues. The world Shall know how I am and have been treated.

"I am Sir Desirous of my

"Just dues ——"

"1849 July 3."

 

"July 7th, 1849.

"Sir, I have been given to understand that a friend of mine one whom I shall never be ashamed to acknowledge as

such tho' lowly his origine; nay not only not ashamed but proud of doing so for I am one of those who esteem and respect a man according to his ability and probity, deeming with Dr. Watts 'that the mind is the standard of the man,'[40] has laid before you and asked your opinion of his extraordinary performance, viz. the quadrature of the circle, he did this with the firmest belief that you would not only treat the matter in a straightforward manner but with the conviction that from your known or supposed knowledge of mathematicks would have given an upright and honorable decision upon the subject; but the question is have you done so? Could I say yes I would with the greatest of pleasure and have congratulated you upon your decision whatever it might have been but I am sorry to say that I cannot your letter is a paltry evasion, you say 'that it is a great pity that you (Mr. ——) should have attempted this (the quadrature of the circle) for your mathematical knowledge is not sufficient to make you know in what the problem consists,' you don't say in what it does consist according to your ideas, oh! no nothing of the sort, you enter into no disquisition upon the subject in order to show where you think Mr. —— is wrong and why you have not is simply—because you cannot—you know that he has done it and what is if I am not wrongly informed you have been heard to say so. He has done what you nor any other mathematician as those who call themselves such have done. And what is the reason that you will not candidly acknowledge to him as you have to others that he has squared the circle shall I tell you? it is because he has performed the feat to obtain the glory of which mathematicians have battled from time immemorial that they might encircle their brows with a wreath of laurels far more glorious than ever conqueror won it is simply this that it is a poor man a

humble artisan who has gained that victory that you don't like to acknowledge it you don't like to be beaten and worse to acknowledge that you have miscalculated, you have in short too small a soul to acknowledge that he is right.

"I was asked my opinion and I gave it unhesitatingly in the affirmative and I am backed in my opinion not only by Mr. —— a mathematician and watchmaker residing in the boro of Southwark but by no less an authority than the Professor of mathematics of —— College —— —— United States Mr. —— and I presume that he at least is your equal as an authority and Mr. —— says that the government of the U.S. will recompense M. D. for the discovery he has made if so what a reflection upon Old england the boasted land of freedom the nursery of arts and sciences that her sons are obliged to go to a foreign country to obtain that recompense to which they are justly entitled

"In conclusion I had to contradict an assertion you made to the effect that 'there is not nor ever was any reward offered by the government of this country for the discovery of the quadrature of the circle.' I beg to inform you that there was but that it having been deemed an impossibility the government has withdrawn it. I do this upon no less an authority than the Marquis of Northampton.[41]

"I am, sir, yours ——"

"Dr. Morgan."

 

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