354 Prof. Boole's Account of the late John Walsh of Cork, 



given to a new branch of knowledge which inquires into the 

 causes of such phsenomena as ignorance would persuade us had 

 been beyond the power of human reason to investigate. Already 

 it has opened the way for three great movements in human 

 affairs.'^ These movements he describes with a simplicity which 

 would excite a smile, if the whole history did not too deeply 

 draw upon the sources of pity, as, First — " The falsehood of the 

 Greek method of exhausted quantities, so celebrated throughout 

 all ages, even in our own times, by the mathematicians, astro- 

 nomers and philosophers of the world, as an admirable and re- 

 fined invention. And the falsehood of the offspring of that 

 method, namely, the no less celebrated doctrine of fluxions, dif- 

 ferentials, limits, &c., the boast and glory of England, France, 

 and Germany, demonstrated by the great invention of the geo- 

 metry of partial equations which has superseded them, at least 

 in my hands, and indefinitely sui'passed the old system in power.'' 



'' The second great movement in human afi"airs is in physical 

 science, viz. the falsehood of Newton's law of gravity." "The 

 third of these great movements " is the above argument against 

 immoi*tality, which, he says,* " because it is based upon demon- 

 strated truth will ultimately overspread the earth, and banish 

 superstition from its surface." Observe the admirable candour 

 of the admission " at least in my hands " with which poor Walsh 

 is forced to qualify his harmless boast of the triumphs of his 

 system. " Whether," he confesses in another part of the same 

 paper, " it is owing to the prejudices of the philosophers or to 

 the actual irrational bearing of the human species," his most 

 important discoveries had been " completely sent to Coventry." 



The remainder of poor Walsh's story is soon told. After 

 remaining without benefit for some time in the North Infirmary, 

 he was received into the house of a brother, the Rev. M. Walsh, 

 parish priest of Sneem in the county of Kerry. There, however, 

 he did not remain long. Restless and unhappy, he returned, at 

 his own desire, to Cork, and resided on Patrick's Quay, where 

 he endeavoured again, but vainly, to obtain pupils in his favourite 

 science. The paralysis from which he sufi'ered had moreover 

 destroyed the beauty of his hand-writing, which from one speci- 

 men that I have seen of it appears to have been once remarkable, 

 and thus cut off all hopes of subsistence from his former employ- 

 ment. Doubtless it was by the aid of benevolent friends (and 

 in generous sympathy for misfortune, Cork is not wanting) that 

 he was able to subsist. I have seen a letter addressed by him 

 while under these afflicting circumstances to Dr. Finn, who, as 

 already mentioned, had shown him kindness on a fonner occa- 

 sion. In that letter he complained that, notwithstanding all his 

 discoveries, he obtained no pupils, and expressed a desire to be 



