604< Notices respecting New Books. 



dice in the ordinary sense of the term ; though it must be admitted, 

 on the contrary, to have engendered a prejudice against the other 

 methods which only a very partial view of the intellectual objects 

 of mathematical science could have rendered so generally current. 

 It would, however, be impossible in our limited space to enter upon 

 this discussion at any length ; and we merely throw out these sug- 

 gestions for the consideration of those who have adopted a prejudice 

 against methods, solely because they are in favour of a system of 

 investigation w^hicli more immediately and advantageously applies to 

 that branch of study to which they have devoted their attention. 

 These persons may be reminded that even philosophy in comparison 

 with the arts of life is secondary, on precisely the same ground 

 that pure mathematics, in their own creed, is secondary to physics : 

 and then we are brought back by an application of their own ar- 

 gument to the superiority of the Greek over the coordinate geo- 

 metry. In all the arts of life constructive processes are required, — 

 not Eilgebraical expressions of value ; we have to actually draw the 

 line, and cut the body into a certain form and of certain dimensions, 

 — not to compute the coordinates of points, or to form the equations 

 of lines and surfaces. We must supply methods of actually tracing 

 the contours of the bodies to be formed, and that by practicable 

 processes, rather than give the relations of the coordinates of the 

 curve or surface. Who would think of assigning the equations of 

 the lines which by their intersection give the vanishing points of any 

 line in a picture ? Who would ever dream of laying down every 

 point of a building from an algebraical formula } What architect 

 would commence his operations for a roof, an arch, a groin, an ogee, 

 by finding their equations ? What carpenter would calculate the 

 points of a handrail of a circular staircase from its equation .? What 

 mason would adopt such a method for cutting the complicated stones 

 that are required in an ornamental building .f* Plain, straightfor- 

 ward, and simple geometrical constructions are those required in 

 all the arts, both of life and refinement. 



But it is time that we briefly notice the two elegant volumes 

 before us. 



A considerable number of works of this class have been published 

 on the Continent, though this country can boast but very few ; and 

 of those few, it does not appear that any one of them supersedes 

 the necessity of that now under consideration. For the greater part 

 they are mere compilations ; in most cases professedly so. Mere 

 compilation never yet produced a good book on science. To effect 

 this, something more is required than a mere translation of detached 

 passages from other writers. That author who succeeds in pro- 

 ducing a good elementary work on any scientific subject must possess 

 powers of a high order, and knowledge very extensive, an original 

 cast of thought, and a clear comprehension of the philosophy of 

 science. We think ourselves tolerably familiar with the foreign 

 writers on these subjects, and we know of no work that, for the pur- 

 poses of useful and careful study, could be so advantageously put 

 into the hands of the novice as that of Professor Young. The continual 



