Orontii Finaei ... Quadratura Circuli. Paris, 1544, 4to.
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}