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44 Ail the views which Faraday haa brought forward and 

 illustrated, as demonstrated by experiment, lead tothU inetlnxl 

 of establishing the mathematical theory, and, as far as the 

 analysis is concerned, it would in most yrneral propositions be 

 more simple, if possible, than that of Coulomb. Of course the 

 analysis of jMrticular problems would be identical in the two 

 methods. It is thus that Faraday arrives at a knowledge of 

 some of the most important of the mathematical theorems 

 which from their nature seemed destined never to be perceived 

 except as mathematical truths." 



Lord Kelvin's papers on "The Mathematical 

 Theory of Electricity," published from 1848 to 1850, 

 his "Propositions on tho Theory of Attraction" 

 (1842), his "Theory of Electrical linages" (1847), 

 and his paper on "Tho Mathematical Theory of 

 Magnetism " (1849), contain a statement of tho most 

 important results achieved in tho mathematical 

 sciences of Electrostatics and Magnetism up to the 

 time of Maxwell's first paper. 



The opening sentences of that paper have already 

 been quoted. In the preface to tho " Electricity and 

 Magnetism " Maxwell writes thus : 



" JJeforo I began the study of electricity I resolved to read 

 no mathematics on the subject till 1 had first read through 

 * KxiKjrimenUl Researches on Electricity.' I was aware that 

 there was supposed to be a difference between Faraday's way 

 of conceiving phenomena and that of the mathematicians, so 

 that neither he nor they were satisfied with each other's 

 language. I had also the conviction that this discrepancy did 

 not arise from either party being wrong. I was first convinced 

 of this by Sir William Thomson, to whose advice and assist- 

 ance, as well as to his published papers, I owe most of what I 

 have learned on the subject 



"As I proceeded with the study of Faraday, I perceived 

 that his method of conceiving the phono. nena was also a 



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