William Whewell, D. D., Master of Trinity College, Cambridge: An Account of His Writings with Selections from His Literary and Scientific Correspondence, Volume 2Macmillan and Company, 1876 - 448 pages |
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able Adieu afraid Airy appears arguments Astronomy Athenæum believe British Association Cambridge certainly CLIFF COTTAGE COLL course dare say DEAR FORBES DEAR HARE DEAR HERSCHEL DEAR JONES DEAR SIR JAMES diamagnetic doctrines doubt Dublin Edinburgh Edinburgh Review English expect feel friends G. C. Lewis geological give glaciers glad to hear hexameters hope induction interest John Mill labour lectures letter LODGE London look LOWESTOFT LUBBOCK mathematics matter means meeting metaphysical mind moral Murchison notion object obliged observations opinion paper Peacock perhaps persons philosophy pleasure Pray present principles printed probably published Quetelet reason recollect Sedgwick seen sermon shew Society soon speculations spondees suppose talk tell theory thing thought tides tion told TRIN TRINITY COLLEGE truly truth University views WHEWELL wish word write written
Popular passages
Page 363 - July, 1850. I am always glad to hear of your wanting new words, because the want shows that you are pursuing new thoughts — and your new thoughts are worth something — but I always feel also how difficult it is for one who has not pursued the train of thought to suggest the right word. There are so many relations involved in a new discovery, and the word ought not glaringly to violate any of them. The purists would certainly object to the opposition, or co-ordination, of...
Page 182 - I propose to distinguish such bodies by calling those onions^ which go to the anode of the decomposing body; and those passing to the cathode, cations^.; and when I have occasion to speak of these together, I shall call them ions. Thus, the chloride of lead is an electrolyte, and when electrolyzed evolves the two ions, chlorine and lead, the former being an anion, and the latter a cation.
Page 364 - Hence it would appear that the two classes of magnetic bodies are those which place their length parallel or according to the terrestrial magnetic lines, and those which place their length transverse to such lines. Keeping the preposition dia for the latter, the preposition para or ana might be used for the former ; perhaps para would be best, as the word ' parallel,' in which it is involved, would be a technical memory for it.
Page 289 - Whewell deeply resented this violation of academic neutrality: 'it was impossible,' he wrote, ' to listen to the Proceedings of the Statistical Section on Friday without perceiving that they involved exactly what it was most necessary and most desired to exclude from our Proceedings...
Page 130 - The neglect of this practice appears to me a serious deficiency in the arrangements of the Royal Society. I have written very hastily the first ideas which offer themselves, and I must beg you to consider them rather as thrown out for your consideration than as asserted in preference to anything else. I shall be extremely glad to hear that your plan or any modification of it is likely to be carried into effect. I am really sorry that it is out of my power to attend the meeting in person. I am one...
Page 182 - If you take anode and cathode, I would propose for the two elements resulting from electrolysis the terms anion and cation, which are neuter participles signifying that which goes up, and that which goes down; and for the two together you might use the term ions, instead of zetodes or stechions.
Page 129 - I think in some way to avoid the crowd of lay members whose names stand on the lists of the Royal Society. All committees on memoirs presented or on any subject concerned with science ought to give public reports of their views. The neglect of this practice appears to me a serious deficiency in the arrangements of the Royal Society. I have written very hastily the first ideas which offer themselves, and I must beg you to consider them rather as thrown out for your consideration than as asserted in...
Page 179 - I will add that, as your object appears to me to be to indicate opposition of direction without assuming any hypothesis which may hereafter turn out to be false, up and down, which must be arbitrary consequences of position on any hypothesis, seem to be free from inconvenience even in their simplest sense. I may mention too that anodos and cathodos are good genuine Greek words, and not compounds coined for the purpose.
Page 181 - It is very obvious that these words are much simpler than those in your proof sheet, and the advantage of simplicity will be felt very strongly when the words are once firmly established, as by your paper I do not in the least degree doubt that they will be. As to the objection to anode, I do not think it is worth hesitating about. Anodos and cathodos do really mean in Greek a way up and a way down; and anodos does not mean, and cannot mean, according to the analogy of the Greek language, no way....
Page 291 - Chalmers, and he allowed the proposal to be intolerable) an ambulatory body, composed partly of men of reputation and partly of a miscellaneous crowd, to go round year by year from town to town and at each place to discuss the most inflammatory and agitating questions of the day...