40 JOHN DE WITT. 



statement respecting Leibnitz : see Leihnizens Matliematische 

 Schriften herausgegehen von C. I. Gerhardt, Erste Abtheilung. 

 Band ill. Halle 1855. James Bernoulli says, page 78, 



Nuper in Menstruis Excerptis Hanoverae imjoressis citatum, inveni 

 Tractatum quendam mihi ignotum Pensionarii de Wit von Subtiler 

 Ausreclinung des valoris der Leib-Renten. Fortasse is quaedam hue 

 facientia liabet; quod si sit, copiam ejus mihi alieunde fieri percuperem. 



In liis reply Leibnitz says, page 84, 



Pensionarii de Wit libellus exiguus est, ubi aestimatione ilia nota 

 utitur a possibilitate casuum aequalium aequali et liinc ostendit re- 

 ditus ad vitam sufiicientes pro sorte a Batavis solvi. Ideo Belgice 

 scripserat, ut aequitas in vulgus apjDareret. 



In his next letter, page 89, James Bernoulli says that De 

 Witt's book will be useful to him; and as he had in vain tried 

 to obtain it from Amsterdam he asks for the loan of the copy 

 which Leibnitz possessed. Leibnitz replies, page 93, 



Pensionarii Wittii dissertatio, vel potius Scheda impressa de re- 

 ditibus ad vitam, sane brevis, extat quidem inter chartas meas, sed cum 

 ad Te mittere vellem, reperire nondum potui. Dabo tamen operam ut 

 nanciscare, ubi primum domi eruere licebit alicubi latitantem. 



James Bernoulli again asked for the book, page 95. Leibnitz 

 replies, page 99, 



Pensionarii Wittii scriptum nondum satis quaerere licuit inter char- 

 tas; non dubito tamen, quin sim tandem reperturus, ubi vacaverit. 

 Sed vix aliquid in eo novum Tibi occurret, cum fundamentis iisdem 

 ubique insistat, quibus cum alii viri docti jam erant usi, tum Paschalius 

 in Triangulo Aritlimetico, et Hugenius in diss, de Alea, nempe ut 

 medium Arithmeticum inter aeque incerta sumatur; quo fundamento 

 etiam rustic! utuntur, cum praediorum pretia aestimant, et rerum fis- 

 calium curatores, cum reditus praefecturarum Principis medios consti- 

 tuunt, quando se offert conductor. 



In the last of his letters to James Bernoulli which is given, Leib- 

 nitz implies that he has not yet found the book ; see page 103. 



We find from pages 767, 769 of the volume that Leibnitz 

 attempted to procure a copy of De Witt's dissertation by the aid 

 of John Bernoulli, but without success. 



These letters were written in the years 1703, 1704, 1705. 



