REVIEWS. 45 



in them than many who have devoted their attention exclusively to the ancient 

 languages of Greece and Rome. He was also well acquainted with modern 

 European languages, and was lately engaged in translating some mathematical 

 works from the German. His rare ability was first perceived upon his com- 

 municating to the Royal Society, when only 22 years of age, a mathematical 

 paper in which he carried his investigations on portions of the differential 

 calculus to such length, and with such astonishing analytical powers, as to 

 merit the society's gold medal. The subsequent years of his life were passed ia 

 the same manner, and he continued to prosecute his studies with the most 

 devoted ardour, " far from the bustling haunts of men." The University of 

 Dublin presented him with the degree of Doctor of Laws. The University of 

 Oxford in similar recognition of his acquirements and ability, conferred on him 

 the degree of Doctor of Civil Law. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal 

 Society of England, and the French Academy of Science honoured him by' 

 putting his name on their roll, with the intention of electing him one of the few 

 foreigners who are corresponding members of that learned and select body. 

 The recent demise of Struve, the great Russian mathematician, created a 

 vacancy in that august conclave which Dr. Boole was to fill; but this unex- 

 pected death deprives him of the enjoyment of that distinction. On his appoint- 

 ment to the professorship of mathematics in the Queen's College here, it was 

 freely acknowledged by the most competent authorities that the government 

 had sent us the ablest scholar in the kingdom, and that in the Universities of 

 Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin, an equal to George Boole could not be found. 

 He was the inventor of a very ingenious system of mathematical notation, and 

 in addition to his " Outliaes of the Laws of Thought," and "treatise on dilferen- 

 tial equations," was late engaged in the preparation of another work on Math- 

 ematical Science. Although the deceased was of a very retir ng disposition 

 and avoided company, his genial good nature and warm-hearted generosity, as 

 well as his high moral principle, made him esteemed and beloved by all who 

 had an opportunity of forming even the most casual acquaintance with him. 

 In proof of this we need only mention, ■ihat when a special meeting of our Local 

 Gas Company was called to give the shareholders the benefit of ten instead of 

 eight per cent. Professor Boole, at much inconvenience, attended, and spoke 

 earnestly against the proposed breach of faith. Although he was then only one 

 of five dissentients, he has bad the satisfaction of seeing recognised and estab- 

 lished the principle of justice which he then advocated to his own pecuniary 

 disadvantage. He devoted himself with zeal to the instruction of the students 

 attending his lectures, and from his lucid manner, was most successful in con- 

 veying to their minds clear and distinct ideas of the intricate considerations 

 which the subjects involved. His regard for the studen sdid not terminate 

 with their attendance in his lectnre room, for his warm-hearted benevolence 

 made him take an interest in their subsequent career. He was guileless and 

 simple as a child, tender and affectionate as a woman, and in the full sense of 

 the expression, an honcest man. Those who enjoyed the rare opportunity of 

 studying: the higher mathematics under his guidance, feel that they have suffered 

 an irreparable loss, and that so lOfty and at the sanie time so gentle a mind is. 

 rarely met with." 



