SEVEN. FOLLIES OF SCIENCE 



prove to me that it is impossible and I will set about it 

 this very evening." 



Therefore it is not to be wondered at that certain very 

 difficult, or perhaps impossible problems have in all ages 

 had a powerful fascination for certain minds. In that 

 curious ollapodrida of fact and fiction, "The Curiosities 

 of Literature," D'Israeli gives a list of six of these prob- 

 lems, which he calls " The Six Follies of Science." I do 

 not know whether the phrase " Follies of Science " origi- 

 nated with him or not, but he enumerates the Quadrature 

 of the Circle ; the Duplication, or, as he calls it, the 

 Multiplication of the Cube ; the Perpetual Motion ; the 

 Philosophical Stone ; Magic, and Judicial Astrology, as 

 those known to him. This list, however, has no classical 

 standing such as pertains to the " Seven Wonders of the 

 World," the " Seven Wise Men of Greece," the " Seven 

 Champions of Christendom," and others. There are some 

 well-known follies that are omitted, while some authorities 

 would peremptorily reject Magic and Judicial Astrology as 

 being attempts at fraud rather than earnest efforts to dis- 

 cover and utilize the secrets of nature. The generally 

 accepted list is as follows : 



1. The Quadrature of the Circle or, as it is called in 



the vernacular, " Squaring the Circle." 



2. The Duplication of the Cube. 



3. The Trisection of an Angle. 



4. Perpetual Motion! 



5. The Transmutation of the Metals. 



6. The Fixation of Mercury. 



7. The Elixir of Life. 



The Transmutation of the Metals, the Fixation of Mer- 

 cury, and the Elixir of Life might perhaps be properly 



