THE SPIRIT OF THE QUARREL. 271 



Of the conversations and correspondence between Car- 

 dan and. Tartalea on this subject we have only, as 

 has been seen, the ex parte statement of Tartalea, 

 who gives his own version of the conversations, and 

 does not publish all the letters that passed on the 

 subject. Yet it is evident, even from this hostile 

 account, that Jerome made a promise in good faith, and 

 that Tartalea never seemed to consider that it was suffi- 

 ciently binding. Tartalea himself proves that Cardan 

 bore gross rudeness very good humouredly, and that 

 though his good faith was doubted and contemned, he 

 did not consider himself entitled to take any advantage of 

 its ungenerous rejection. Tartalea's rule was not put into 

 the Arithmetic, nor was it communicated to the world by 

 Cardan until it had grown, in the good soil of his own 

 mind, out of a seed into a tree. He considered then that 

 it had become so far fairly his own that he was entitled to 

 make public distribution of its fruits, if he gave, as he was 

 quite ready to give, and did give, proper credit to Tar- 

 talea for his part in their production. If he was still 

 bound by the letter of his promise, since mathematical 

 facts could be explained only step by step, he, who 

 proved himself to be decidedly the best mathematician of 

 his time, was bound to stand still near the threshold of his 

 science till Tartalea, by moving forward and himself pub- 

 lishing his rule, left the path open for him. Tartalea, 

 however, was in no mood to be hurried, and he actually 



