PARADOXES AND PARADOXISTS. 2JJ 



done by the paradoxist with his false science is less 

 serious than that accomplished by those who write 

 about real science without sufficient knowledge, yet 

 the study of paradoxes is not on that account to be 

 recommended. 



The subject of circle-squaring occupies a large part 

 of the present work ; perhaps, on the whole, there is 

 too much about it. A similar remark applies to the 

 * number of the beast,' on which, however, De Morgan 

 quotes some amusing stories. Here is one, taken from 

 Dr. Thorn (who claimed, by the way, to have the num- 

 ber of the beast in his own name) : * A Mr. James 

 Dunlop was popping at the Papists with a 666-rifled 

 gun, when Dr. Chalmers quietly said, " Why, Dunlop, 

 you bear it yourself," and handed him a paper on which 

 the numerals in 



IACOBVS DVNLOPVS 

 1 100 5 500 5 50 5 



are added up. This is almost as good as the Filii Dei 

 Vicarius, the numeral letters of which also make 666.' 

 Again, ' All the diviners, when they get a colleague or 

 an opponent, at once proceed to reckon him up ; but 

 some do it in play and some in earnest. Mr. David 

 Thorn found a gentleman of the name of St. Claire 

 busy at the beast number; he forthwith added the 

 letters in <TT K\atps and found 666 ; this was good fun. 

 But my spiritual tutelary, when he found he could not 

 make a beast of me ' (Dr. Thorn had tried this exercise), 

 ' referred the difficulty to the Almighty ; this was poor 



