96 JEROME CARDAN 



branded him as a liar and dishonest, and drove Tartaglia 

 almost wild with rage. That his offence did not meet 

 with universal reprobation is shown by negative testi- 

 mony in the Judidum de Cardano, by Gabriel Naude*. 1 

 In the course of his essay Naude lets it be seen how 

 thoroughly he dislikes the character of the man about 

 whom he writes. No evil disposition attributed to Cardan 

 by himself or by his enemies is left unnoticed, and a 

 lengthy catalogue of his offences is set down, but this list 

 does not contain the particular sin of broken faith in 

 the matter of Tartaglia's rules. On the contrary, after 

 abusing and ridiculing a large portion of his work, 

 Naude breaks out into almost rhapsodical eulogy about 

 Cardan's contributions to Mathematical science. " Quis 

 negabit librum de Proportionibus dignum esse, qui cum 

 pulcherrimis antiquorum inventis conferatur ? Quis in 

 Arithmetica non stupet, eum tot difficultates superasse, 

 quibus explicandis Villafrancus, Lucas de Burgo, Stife- 

 lius, Tartalea, vix ac ne vix quidem pares esse potuis- 

 sent ? " It seems hard to believe, after reading elsewhere 

 the bitter assaults of Naude, 2 that he would have neglected 

 so tempting an opportunity of darkening the shadows, 

 if he himself had felt the slightest offence, or if public 

 opinion in the learned world was in any perceptible 

 degree scandalized by the disclosure made by the 

 publication of the Book of the Great Art. 



This book was published at Nuremberg in 1545, and 

 in its preface and dedication Cardan fully acknowledges 

 his obligations to Tartaglia and Ferrari, with respect to 

 the rules lately discussed, and gives a catalogue of the 



1 Prefixed to the De Vita Propria. 



2 In a question of broken faith, Cardan laid himself open 

 especially to attack by reason of his constant self-glorification in 

 the matter of veracity. 



