The Works of John Playfair ...: With a Memoir of the Author ...A. Constable & Company, 1822 |
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Page 20
... discovery of them with unbecoming exultation . If there are any subjects on which men may be expected to reason dispas- sionately , they are certainly the properties of num- ber and extension ; and whatever pretexts moralists or divines ...
... discovery of them with unbecoming exultation . If there are any subjects on which men may be expected to reason dispas- sionately , they are certainly the properties of num- ber and extension ; and whatever pretexts moralists or divines ...
Page 24
... discovery of its demonstration . This method made an important part in the analysis of the ancient Geometers ; but few examples of it have been preserved in their writings , and those in the Propositiones Geometricæ are , on that ...
... discovery of its demonstration . This method made an important part in the analysis of the ancient Geometers ; but few examples of it have been preserved in their writings , and those in the Propositiones Geometricæ are , on that ...
Page 30
... discovery of the General Theorems , to the so- lution of Kepler's Problem , and to an accurate de- termination of the sun's disturbing force . His great modesty made him ascribe to the method he used that success which he owed to his ...
... discovery of the General Theorems , to the so- lution of Kepler's Problem , and to an accurate de- termination of the sun's disturbing force . His great modesty made him ascribe to the method he used that success which he owed to his ...
Page 37
... discoveries , and had been farther pursued by Mr Davie during Dr Hutton's absence . The result afforded a reasonable expectation of establish- ing a profitable manufacture of the salt just named from coal - soot . The project of this ...
... discoveries , and had been farther pursued by Mr Davie during Dr Hutton's absence . The result afforded a reasonable expectation of establish- ing a profitable manufacture of the salt just named from coal - soot . The project of this ...
Page 61
... discovery , which has extended its influence so widely over the science of chemistry , also led to important conse- quences in geology ; and Dr Hutton inferred from it , that strong compression might prevent the caus- * Dr Black's paper ...
... discovery , which has extended its influence so widely over the science of chemistry , also led to important conse- quences in geology ; and Dr Hutton inferred from it , that strong compression might prevent the caus- * Dr Black's paper ...
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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.