BRI 



550 



B R 1 



dated to it the numbers which he had already calcu- 

 lated ; and in 1617 he repeated his visit to Scotland 

 to submit them to the consideration of his friend. * 

 On his return to England in 1617, Briggs printed 

 his Logcuiihmorum Chilias prima, though he does 

 not seem to have published it till after the death of 

 Napier, which took place in 1618, as he expresses a 

 hope that the causes which led to the change of the 

 logarithmic system would be explained in the post- 

 humous work of Lord Napier. It would appear, 

 however, that the Scotch mathematician preserved 

 such ?. studied silence on the subject, as to create a 

 suspicion that he wished himself to be considered as 

 the sole author of the new system. Briggs was en- 

 titled to regard the conduct of his friend as injurious 

 to his reputation, and he accordingly asserted his 

 claims to the improvement of Napier's system in the 

 preface to his Aritkmelka Logcmthmica, &c. 



In the year 1619, Briggs was appointed the first 

 Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford ; and in 

 1620 he resigned his office in Gresham College, and 

 removed to Oxford, where he spent the remainder of 

 his life. In consequence of being a member of the 

 company trading to Virginia, he published in 1622, 

 a Treatise on the North West passage to the South 

 Sea, $c. which was afterwards reprinted in Purchas's 

 Pilgrims. His time, however, was principally occu- 

 pied with his Aritlnnetica Logaritfimica, which was 

 published in London in 1624'. This work, the result 

 of enormous labour, contains the logarithms with 

 their differences, of 30,000 natural numbers to 14 

 places of figures, besides the index, viz. from 1 to 

 20,000, and from 90,000 to 100,000. In this 

 work, he likewise explains the construction and use 

 of the tables ; and such was his anxiety to induce 

 Other mathematicians to compute the intermediate 

 numbers, that he offered to give instructions and 

 paper ready ruled for the purpose, to any persons 

 who were disposed to assist in the completion of the 

 labour which he had begun. This task was under- 

 taken and completed by Adrian Vlacq, who reprinted 

 at Gouda in 1628, the Arithmetica Lngari/hmica, 

 with all the intermediate numbers, to 10 places of 

 .figures. 



Briggs likewise completed a table of logarithmic 

 sines and tangents to the 100th part of each degree, 

 to 14 places of figures, besides the index ; a table of 

 natural sines to 15 places ; and a table of tangents 



and secants to 10 places ; but he was taken ill while 

 engaged in shewing the application of these tables to s 

 plane and spherical trigonometry, and he committed 

 the execution of this part of his plan to Henry Gelli- 

 brand, who willingly discharged this last duty to his 

 friend. The work was published at Gouda in 1633, 

 under the care of Adrian Vlacq, and was entitled 

 Trigonometria Britannica. 



On the 26th of January, 1630, Briggs terminated 

 his labours at the advanced age of 74, and his remains 

 were deposited in the choir of the chapel of Morton 

 College, under the honorary monument of Sir Henry 

 Savile. 



In his private character, Briggs was distinguished 

 by the frankness of his manners, and by the strictest 

 integrity. He was fond of retirement and study, and 

 enjoyed a high reputation among the mathematicians 

 of the 16th and 17th centuries. 



" In the construction of his two works on the loga- 

 rithms of numbers, and of sines and tangents," 

 says the learned Dr Hutton, " our author, besides ex- 

 treme labour and application, manifests the highest 

 powers of genius and invention ; as we here, for the 

 first time, meet with several of the most important 

 discoveries in the mathematics, and what have 

 hitherto been considered as of much later invention ; 

 such as the binomial theorem ; f the differential me- 

 thod and construction of tables by differences ; the 

 interpolation by differences ; with angular sections, 

 and several other ingenious compositions." 



Besides the works which we have already men- 

 tioned, Briggs published Tables for the Improvement 

 of Navigation. Lond. 1610, 4to. Description of an 

 Instrumental Table to Jitid the part proportional de- 

 vised, by Mr E. Wr ght, 1616, 1618. Lvcubraliones 

 et Annotationes in opera posthuwa, J. Neperi, \Edin. 

 1619, 4to. Euclidis Elenifntornm vi. liliri priores. 

 Lond. 1620, folio. Mathcmalica ab Anliquis minus 

 cognita. 



The unpublished works of Briggs are, Commen- 

 taries on the Grometry of Peter Ramus. Duce Epis- 

 tolte ad cdeberrim/tm rirum, Chr. Sever. Longo- 

 montanum. Animadversinnes Geometrical. De eodem 

 Argmneiilo. A Treatise of common Arithmetic. A 

 Letter to Mr Clarke of Gravescnd, Feb. 25, 1606. 

 The last four of these MSS. were in the possession 

 of the late Mr Jones. See Hutton's Mathematical 

 Dictionary; Ward's Lives of the Professors of 



Brig, 



The following account of the meeting between Briggs and Napier of Merchistori Castle must be highly interesting to eve^y 

 reader. It is given in the Life of Lilly, the famous astrologer, which was published at London in 1721. 



" I will acquaint you with one memorable story related unto me by John Marr, an excellent mathematician and geome- 

 trician, whom I conceive you remember. He was servant to King James I. and Charles II. When Merchiston first publish- 

 ed his logarithms, Mr Briggs, then reader of the Astronomy Lectures at Gresham college, in London, was so surprised with 

 admiration of them, that he could have no quietness in himself, until he had seen that noble person, whose only invention they 

 were : He acquaints John Marr therewith ; who went into Scotland before Mr Briggs, purposely to be there when these two 

 so learned persons should meet. Mr Briggs appoints a certain day when to meet at Kdinburgh ; but failing thereof, Mer- 

 chiston was fearful he would not come. It happened one day, as John Marr and the Lord Napier were speaking of Mr 

 Briggs ; " Mr John," saith Merchiston, " Mr Briggs will not come now :" At the very instant one knocks at the gate. 

 John Marr hasted down ; and it proved to be Mr Briggs, to his great contentment. He brings Mr Briggs up into my lord's 

 chamber, where almost one quarter of an hour was spent, each beholding the other with admiration, before one word was 

 spoken : at last Mr Briggs began. " My lord, I have undertaken this long journey purposely to see your person, and 

 o know by what engine of wit or ingenuity you came first to think of this most excellent help unto astronomy, viz. 

 the logarithms. But my lord, being by you found out, I wonder nobody else found it out before, when now being 

 known it appears so easy." He was nobly entertained by the Lord Napier; and every summer after that, during ths 

 IMrd's being alive, this venerable man, Mr Briggs, went purpot-ely to .Scotland to visit him. 



) Briggs actually gave the substance of the binomial theorem in words. 



