PREFACE. XV 



is true I have in mine own hands an imperfect astronomical 

 manuscript of six sheets of paper, entitled Hypothesis Fran- 

 celidinis, said to be a piece of a great work of Vieta's, called 

 by him Harmonicum Coeleste, which may, perhaps, be found 

 complete in France, whence mine came. I have been told 

 here that the Englishman that, at the time of Vieta's death, 

 served him as a scribe, under the counterfeit name of John 

 Poltrier, being kindly offered by Vieta's heirs to take what he 

 pleased to keep as a remembrance of him, took not a leaf of 

 any of his writings. And Thuanus tells us that the heirs did 

 put all his papers in the hands of Peter Alelmus of Orleans. 

 I never enquired whether this Peter were the father to Jaco- 

 bus Alelmus, the French king's engineer ; from whom, four- 

 teen years after Vieta's death, Alexander Anderson acknow- 

 ledgeth that he had those two tracts, de tequationum recogni- 

 tions et emendatione, which he first published at Paris, anno 

 1615. And though it is likely that Monsieur Aleaume (for 

 so I think the French call him) be now dead, yet I hope a 

 diligent enquirer may learn who was his heir, and what is 

 become of Vieta's Adversaria." 



We consider this a most important testimony in 

 favour of Nathaniel Torporley, who, according to 

 Anthony a Wood, attacked Vieta under the name 

 of Poultry. We now see the truth through Wood's 

 mistake, a mistake that has puzzled Professor Ri- 

 gaud and other writers on the scientific history of this 

 period. Perhaps Poltrier may be a mistake for Pol- 

 troyer, and intended for an anagram of tbe name of 

 Torporley. This letter is also curious for the men- 

 tion of Vieta's Harmonicon Cceleste, which has been 

 but recently discovered, and is now in the course of 

 publication at Paris by M. Libri. 



We cannot conclude these few memoranda without 

 offering our respectful thanks to His Grace the 

 Archbishop of Canterbury, who, with the greatest 

 liberality, has afforded us every facility for consulting 

 the manuscripts in the library at Lambeth Palace. 



