Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 405 



means, are extending ; and that Gresham's generous wish of instruc- 

 tion for all is, as far as it can be, realized."— Chambers' Edinburgh 

 Journal, Sept. 30, 1848. 



Views of an entirely opposite kind to those expressed in the above 

 extract, in favour of the liberal and comprehensive character of the 

 Gresham trust, have been put forth in another publication. 



In a series of articles in the Mechanics' Magazine (July 22, &c), 

 commenced on the recent occurrence of a vacancy in the Gresham 

 Professorship of Geometry, and obviously written for the express 

 purpose of urging the exclusive claims of one particular candidate, 

 the narrowest possible limitation of the duties of the chair of Geometry 

 is insisted upon, under the pretence that " by Geometry Sir Thomas 

 Gresham meant Geometry ;" that as there was an old ordinance that 

 the lecturers should " read their lectures in their hoods, according 

 to their degrees in the Universities," therefore, " none but members 

 of the Universities were eligible*"; and then furthermore that " Mr. 

 Potts was the only man in either University now fairly before the 

 world with any legitimate claims," &c. 



Professor De Morgan's testimonial in favour of the same candidate, 

 is merely conditional, and commences with a very important " if," 

 which involves the question of the justice of this limitation. " If," 

 says he, " the word Geometry be used in the limited sense [the an- 

 cient Geometry], then Mr. Potts has very high claims indeed ; for 

 he is one of ihe very few persons who have paid attention to that 

 now rather neglected subject. In fact, the word being thus used, there 

 are but two or three persons on whom the choice would properly 

 fall." — A testimonial thus qualified, and resting merely upon great 

 proficiency in Geometry in the narrowest possible sense of the term, 

 may probably have been considered as any thing but a recommenda- 

 tion, such a choice being likely to restrict the lectures in an institu- 

 tion essentially popular to a branch of the subject which engages 

 the attention of " but two or three persons." 



That the term Geometry, as connected with the Gresham College, 

 was to be taken in no such narrow sense, appears certainly to have 

 been the opinion of its distinguished ornament Dr. Barrow, who seems 

 especially to have had in view the relations and applications of Geo- 

 metry to various purposes of science and of art, as Optics, Archi- 

 tecture, Navigation, Fortification, Geodesy, Mechanics, Geography, 

 Astronomy, as well as Logic, and mental culture and delight. The 

 conclusion of his inaugural discourse in Gresham College, 1662, is 

 well deserving the attention of those who desire that these lectures 

 may now be made extensively useful. 



" Quinimo institutum hoc nostrum quo lubentius aggrediamur, et 



persequamur laetius, animos addat timidis, et tardis subdat aculeos, 



, illius cui operam addicemus disciplinae ingens utilitas insignisque 



praestantia. Neque enim spinosis tenellas mentes subtilitatibus 



* Nothing can be more ridiculous than to assume on such frivolous 

 grounds that the choice is limited to members of the Universities. Wood- 

 ward, who founded the professorship at Cambridge which bears his name, 

 had already held the office of Gresham Professor of Physic for some years 

 before he entered the University.— He is said to have been apprenticed to 

 a linen-draper. 



