262 LIMITS AND FLUXIONS 



motions, or of fluxions, since it rests on a very 

 elegant algebraic theorem which cannot be given in 

 a work of this nature. The freedom with which 

 Landen divests himself of national prejudice stamps 

 a remarkable character on his work ; he is perhaps 

 the only English mathematician, who has acknow- 

 ledged the inconvenience of the method of 

 fluxions." . . . 



*'We can always descend from the function to 

 the differential coefiìcient or from the primitive 

 function to the derived function : but, generally 

 speaking, the reverse step is attended with the 

 greatest difficulty." 



**The rivals of Newton thought and invented 

 for themselves ; had they been influenced by his 

 authority, and devoted their talents to the perfec- 

 tion of synthesis, science must have been con- 

 siderably retarded. To the improvement of the 

 algebraical analysis, is to be attributed the amazing 

 advances of physical astronomy."^ 



Review of Carnofs ^ ^ Réflexiofts ,'' i8oi 



224. In the Montili)' Review'^ (London) for 1801 

 there is a short and unimportant account of Lazare 

 N. M. Carnot's new book, Réflexions sur la viéta- 

 physique du calcul infinitésininl^ 1797- Carnot 

 explains the correctness of results obtained by the 

 infinitesimal calculus of Leibniz on the theory of 

 compensation of errors — a theory which had been 



^ Monthly Review, voi. xxxii, p. 491. 



2 Monthly Review^ voi. xxxiv, 1801, p. 463. 



