3,$3 Memoirs of the Life of Dr. Robifon. 



Imperial palace might be the mod conveniently and certainly 

 fupplied with water. Dr. Rob is on, putting his mathe- 

 matical (kill to ufe, as a civil engineer, offered a plan that 

 was preferred to a variety of others which the fame occafion 

 produced. A more honourable appointment, prefent emo- 

 luments considerably augmented, and the grant of a mode- 

 rate penfion for life, were his rewards for a fervice fo ac- 

 ceptable. 



All this, however, could not make him prefer Ruffia to 

 the remembrance of Scotland ; and his defire of return to his 

 native country was at length fulfilled. He was, about 25 

 years fince, upon the death or retirement of Mr. Russel, 

 invited, in confequence of the high reputation to which he 

 had attained, to fill the chair of natural philofophy in the 

 univerfity of Edinburgh. 



High expectations had been raifed of extraordinary abi- 

 lity to be difplayed in his lectures in that fituation. It was 

 amply gratified. The writer of this fketch heard his lec- 

 tures in the feflion of 1780-81, and in fome feffions fubfe- 

 quent; and it is but juftice to own, that, in accuracy of de- 

 finition, in clearnefs, brevity, and elegance of demonftration, 

 in neatnefs and precifion in experiments, in the comprehen- 

 iivenefs of his courfe, extending to every branch of phyfics 

 and of mixed mathematics, and even in fullnefs of detail in 

 each particular divifion, a more perfect fyflem of academical 

 lectures is not to be eafily imagined. Yet, as men of great 

 original genius in fcience cannot eafily endure to dwell for 

 ever in the detail of its fimpleft and moft familiar elements; 

 as they find it often difficult to confine themfelves to the ufe 

 of thofe media in reafoning and demonftration which are 

 alone intelligible to ignorance ; as their natural march of 

 thought is not feldom too bold and rapid to be clofely fol- 

 lowed by genius and knowledge much lefs than their own ; 

 not a few, even of the moft ingenious of Dr. Rob is on'& 

 hearers, were found, at times, to complain, that they could not 

 always, with clear underftanding, purfue him through thofe 

 ferics of demonftration of the truths in mixed mathematics, 

 with which his lectures were filled. He heard their com- 

 plaints with kindnefs, and endeavoured to accommodate his 

 mftructions ftill more and more to their apprehenfion. But, 

 till Mr. Play fa 1 it, the prefent ProfefTor of mathematics 

 in that univerfity, had pcrfuaded the young men intending to 

 ftudy natural philofophy, to pay much more previous atten- 

 tion than had been ufual to pure mathematics, the fubject 

 of the complaint was never entirely removed. 



When the Royal S o c i e t y of Ed in b u r g h wa s i n- 



ftittfted 



