An appeal to the republic of letters in behalf of injured science, from
the opinions and proceedings of some modern authors of elements of
geometry. By George Douglas.[525] Edinburgh, 1810, 8vo.
Mr. Douglas was the author of a very good set of {233} mathematical tables,
and of other works. He criticizes Simson,[526] Playfair,[527] and
others,--sometimes, I think, very justly. There is a curious phrase which
occurs more than once. When he wants to say that something or other was
done before Simson or another was born, he says "before he existed, at
least as an author." He seems to reserve the possibility of Simson's
_pre-existence_, but at the same time to assume that he never wrote
anything in his previous state. Tell me that Simson pre-existed in any
other way than as editor of some pre-existent Euclid? Tell Apella![528]
1810. In this year Jean Wood, Professor of Mathematics in the University of
Virginia (Richmond),[529] addressed a printed circular to "Dr. Herschel,
Astronomer, Greenwich Observatory." No mistake was more common than the
natural one of imagining that the _Private Astronomer_ of the king was the
_Astronomer Royal_. The letter was on the {234} difference of velocities of
the two sides of the earth, arising from the composition of the rotation
and the orbital motion. The _paradox_ is a fair one, and deserving of
investigation; but, perhaps it would not be easy to deduce from it tides,
trade-winds, aerolithes, &c., as Mr. Wood thought he had done in a work
from which he gives an extract, and which he describes as published. The
composition of rotations, &c., is not for the world at large: the paradox
of the non-rotation of the moon about her axis is an instance. How many
persons know that when a wheel rolls on the ground, the lowest point is
moving upwards, the highest point forwards, and the intermediate points in
all degrees of betwixt and between? This is too short an explanation, with
some good difficulties.
The Elements of Geometry. In 2 vols. [By the Rev. J. Dobson,[530] B.D.]
Cambridge, 1815. 4to.
Of this unpunctuating paradoxer I shall give an account in his own way: he
would not stop for any one; why should I stop for him? It is worth while to
try how unpunctuated sentences will read.
The reverend J Dobson BD late fellow of saint Johns college Cambridge was
rector of Brandesburton in Yorkshire he was seventh wrangler in 1798 and
died in 1847 he was of that sort of eccentricity which permits account of
his private life if we may not rather say that in such cases private life
becomes public there is a tradition that he was called Death Dobson on
account of his head and aspect of countenance being not very unlike the
ordinary pictures of a human skull his mode of life is reported to have
been very singular whenever he visited Cambridge he was never known to go
twice to the same inn he never would sleep at the rectory with another
person in the house some ancient charwoman used to attend to the house but
never slept in it he has been known in the time of coach travelling to have
{235} deferred his return to Yorkshire on account of his disinclination to
travel with a lady in the coach he continued his mathematical studies until
his death and till his executors sold the type all his tracts to the number
of five were kept in type at the university press none of these tracts had
any stops except full stops at the end of paragraphs only neither had they
capitals except one at the beginning of a paragraph so that a full stop was
generally followed by some white as there is not a single proper name in
the whole of the book I have I am not able to say whether he would have
used capitals before proper names I have inserted them as usual for which I
hope his spirit will forgive me if I be wrong he also published the
elements of geometry in two volumes quarto Cambridge 1815 this book had
also no stops except when a comma was wanted between letters as in the
straight lines AB, BC I should also say that though the title is
unpunctuated in the author's part it seems the publishers would not stand
it in their imprint this imprint is punctuated as usual and Deighton and
Sons to prove the completeness of their allegiance have managed that comma
semicolon and period shall all appear in it why could they not have
contrived interrogation and exclamation this is a good precedent to
establish the separate right of the publisher over the imprint it is said
that only twenty of the tracts were printed and very few indeed of the book
on geometry it is doubtful whether any were sold there is a copy of the
geometry in the university library at Cambridge and I have one myself the
matter of the geometry differs entirely from Euclid and is so fearfully
prolix that I am sure no mortal except the author ever read it the man went
on without stops and without stop save for a period at the end of a
paragraph this is the unpunctuated account of the unpunctuating geometer
_suum cuique tribuito_[531] Mrs Thrale[532] would have been amused {236} at
a Dobson who managed to come to a full stop without either of the three
warnings.
I do not find any difficulty in reading Dobson's geometry; and I have read
more of it to try reading without stops than I should have done had it been
printed in the usual way. Those who dip into the middle of my paragraph may
be surprised for a moment to see "on account of his disinclination to
travel with a lady in the coach he continued his mathematical studies until
his death and [further, of course] until his executors sold the type." But
a person reading straight through would hardly take it so. I should add
that, in order to give a fair trial, I did not compose as I wrote, but
copied the words of the correspondent who gave me the facts, so far as they
went.