EARLY LIFE OF TARTAGLIA. 217 



known family name, he was content to adopt, seriously, 

 the nickname given to him, as a perpetual memorial of 

 his misfortune. 



The mother of Tartaglia was unable to provide for him 

 any instruction. Therefore, when he was about fourteen 

 years old, he put himself to school to learn to write, and 

 in fifteen days learnt to make letters as far as k, but 

 there his schooling ended. The schoolmaster's first copy- 

 book reached only to k; when that was finished by a 

 pupil he received another, upon which were the remain- 

 ing letters. Nicolo had put himself to school without the 

 means of paying for instruction, so that the fifteen days re- 

 presented the extent of his credit; that being exhausted, 

 since he had no money, he had nothing more to spend, 

 and very properly retired. He contrived to go away, 

 however, with the master's second copy-book, out of which 

 he taught himself, and which he did not afterwards return. 

 In plain words, he stole instruction in the rudiments of 

 writing. From that day he declares that he had no other 

 teaching than what he could get through the help of a 

 daughter of Poverty, called Industry 1 . 



1 The above sketch of the early life of Tartaglia is taken from the 

 autobiographic details given in his own work, " Quesiti et Invention! 

 Diverse de Nicolo Tartalea Brisciano," Venice, 1546, where it occurs 

 in a dialogue between himself and the Prior di Barleta. Lib. vi. 

 Quesito 8, pp. 75, 76. The end of it, " da quel giorno in qua, ma piu 

 fui ne andai da alcun precettore, ma solamente in compagnia di una 

 figlia di poverta, chiamata industria," is at variance with the details 



