144? Decisions on Disputed Invcriiionr. 



lies of his contemporaries,— if, t9 these unequivocal symptoms, he adds 

 another, viz. that of exaggerating and praising his own inventions, 

 and of obtruding them in all his writings,— then, the character of 

 such a man is drawn by his own hand ; and if public decency pre- 

 vents his contemporaries from adding the title of plagiarist to his 

 Christian name, posterity will not fail to write upon his monument, 

 " Here lies a man whose love of reputation was so inordinate, and his 

 love of justice so small, that he appropriated to himself the inventions 

 and discoveries both of the dead and the living ; and when he had car- 

 ried off all that his shoulders could bear, returned to spike and to de- 

 stroy all that he had left behind." * 



Such are the principles of scientific law, which we shall apply to the 

 illustration of those contested questions, that we shall from time to time 

 submit to the decision of public opinion. Our design is to be just and 

 merciful. If at any time we forget these attributes, that public opinion 

 which we invoke on others will not fail to fall heavily on ourselves. 



The task of deciding such causes as these, though a difficult one, is 

 not of an ungenerous character. What we take from one we liberally 

 confer upon another ; and when the contest is with a living candidate, 

 we may perhaps lay claim to some share of right feeling, even if we are 

 too generous to those who are long since gone, and whose rights and la- 

 bours are not under the protection of country, kindred, or friendship, — 

 or any of those strong holds of local feeling, in which the claims of liv- 

 ing genius are so deeply intrenched. 



1. Professor Leslie's Differential Thermometer invented by Professor 



Sturmius. 



More than twenty years ago, Professor Leslie announced to the world 

 his invention of a differential thermometer, for measuring small differ- 



* In these views we are supported by the high authority of Professor Playfair. 

 Speaking of Descartes' alleged Plagiarism of the Law of Refraction, discovered by 

 Snellius, he says, «' There is no doubt, therefore, that the discovery was first 

 made by Snellius ; but whether Descartes derived it from him, or was himself the 

 second discoverer, remains undecided. The question is one of those where a man's 

 'conduct in a particular situation can only be rightly interpreted from his general 

 character and behaviour. If Descartes had been uniformly fair and candid in his 

 intercourse with others, one would have rejected with disdain a suspicion of the . 

 kind just mentioned. But the truth is, that he appears throughout a jealous and 

 imperious man, always inclined to depress and conceal the merit of others. In 

 speaking of the invention of the telescope, he has told minutely all that is due to 

 accident, but has passed carefully over all that proceeded from design ; and has 

 incurred the reproach of relating the origin of the instrument without mentioning 

 the name of Galileo. In the same manner he omits to speak of the discoveries of 

 Kepler as nearly connected with his own ; and in treating of the .Rainbow, he 

 has made no mention of Antonio de Dominis. It is impossible that this should not 

 produce an unfavourable impression ; and hence it is that the warmest admirers of 

 Descartes do not pretend that his conduct towards Snellius can be completely jui- 

 tified." — Shjhk E'uy. Brill. Vol. II. p. 101. 



