The Works of John Playfair ...: With a Memoir of the Author ... |
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Page 16
This motion , though very remarkable and easily determined , has the same fault , in respect of the present problem , that was ascribed to the other irregularities of the moon ; for a very small part of it only depends on the pa ...
This motion , though very remarkable and easily determined , has the same fault , in respect of the present problem , that was ascribed to the other irregularities of the moon ; for a very small part of it only depends on the pa ...
Page 17
... though each quantity thrown out may be inconsiderable in itself , yet the amount of them altogether , and their effect on the last result , may be greater than is apprehended . This was just what had happened in the present case .
... though each quantity thrown out may be inconsiderable in itself , yet the amount of them altogether , and their effect on the last result , may be greater than is apprehended . This was just what had happened in the present case .
Page 19
It is doubtful , whether Dr Stewart was fully apprized of this circumstance ; because the geometrical method , elegant and beautiful as it is , rarely presents a general view of the relations , which the magnitudes it treats of bear to ...
It is doubtful , whether Dr Stewart was fully apprized of this circumstance ; because the geometrical method , elegant and beautiful as it is , rarely presents a general view of the relations , which the magnitudes it treats of bear to ...
Page 45
This gravel is so unlike that which belongs to a country of secondary formation , that it very much excited his curiosity ; and his present journey was undertaken with a view to find out whether , among the primitive mountains of Wales ...
This gravel is so unlike that which belongs to a country of secondary formation , that it very much excited his curiosity ; and his present journey was undertaken with a view to find out whether , among the primitive mountains of Wales ...
Page 51
sound philosophy for such an attempt ; and he accordingly confined his speculations to those chan . ges which terrestrial bodies have undergone since the establishment of the present order , in as far as distinct marks of such changes ...
sound philosophy for such an attempt ; and he accordingly confined his speculations to those chan . ges which terrestrial bodies have undergone since the establishment of the present order , in as far as distinct marks of such changes ...
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Popular passages
Page 81 - The mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time ; and while we listened with, earnestness and admiration to the philosopher who was now unfolding to us the order and series of these wonderful events, we became sensible how much farther reason may sometimes go than imagination can venture to follow.
Page 335 - ... the three angles of a triangle are together equal to two right angles, although it is not known to all.
Page 309 - ... that the mean longitude of the first satellite, minus three times that of the second, plus twice that of the third, is always equal to two right angles.
Page 125 - The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour — The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Page 325 - In one of these, where the dictates of Aristotle are still listened to as infallible decrees, and where the infancy of science is mistaken for its maturity, the mathematical sciences have never flourished ; and the scholar has no means of advancing beyond the mere elements of geometry.
Page 522 - An account of experiments for determining the length of the pendulum vibrating seconds in the latitude of London.
Page 55 - It is unreasonable, indeed, to suppose that such marks should any where exist. The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their own destruction ; he has not permitted in his works any symptom of infancy or of old age, or any sign by which we may estimate either their future or their past duration.
Page 56 - The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their own destruction. He has not permitted, in his works, any symptom of infancy or of old age, or any sign by which we may estimate either their future or their past duration. He may put an end, as he no doubt gave a beginning, to the present system, at some determinate period; but we may safely conclude, that this great catastrophe will not be brought about by any of...
Page 301 - Between the laws by which the tides diminish from their maximum at the full and change, to their minimum at the first and third quarters, and by which they increase again from the minimum to the maximum, as deduced from the observations at Brest, and as determined by the theory of gravitation, there is an exact coincidence. 2. According to theory, the height of the tides...
Page 439 - ... most general rule that we are enabled to give admits of many exceptions. The violation of the order of events among the phenomena of the former class, the suspension of gravity, for example, the deviation of any of the stars from their places or their courses in the heavens, &c., — these are facts of which the improbability is so strong that no testimony can prevail against it.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Works of John Playfair ...: With a Memoir of the Author ... Volume 4 of The Works of John Playfair ...: With a Memoir of the Author, James George Playfair |
| Author | John Playfair |
| Publisher | A. Constable & Company, 1822 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | 2 May 2006 |
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