the early History of Logarithmic Tables. 293 



Tafel van Hoeckmaten ende Raecklijnen door het ghebi'uyck van 

 Logarithmic de Wortel zijnde van 10000^0000 deelen, gcmaeckt 

 van Edmund. Guntero^ Professor vande Astronomic tot Londen. 

 Welcke ghetallen eerst ghevonden zijn van Toanne Nepero Heer 

 van Merchistoun : Ende ^tgebruyc daer van is met eenige Arith- 

 uietische, Geometrische ende Spherische Exempelen cortelick 

 aenghewesen, Door Ezechiel de Decker, Rekenmeester, ende 

 Lantmeter residerende ter Goude. Ter Goude, By Pieter Ram- 

 rnaseyn, Boeck-verkooper inde corte Groenendal, int vergult 

 ABC. 16.26. Met Previlegio voor thien laren.^^ The preface, 

 which occupies two pages, is signed ''Ezechiel de Decker/' and 

 dated "Ter Goude den 4 September 1626/' After speaking of 

 the editions of the Canon Mirificus, &c., he refers to Briggs^s 

 Arithmetica (1624), and with reference to it proceeds, Welch 

 Boeck wy voorgenomen hehben tot dienste vande Onervarene inde 

 Latijnse sprake, ende door ghebreck van Exemplaren hier te Lande, 

 int Nederduyts te laten uytghaen, met behulp van den Kunstlie- 

 venden longhman Adriaen Vlack, ende van ons yets by te voegken, 

 het welck wy noemen Het Tweede Deel Van de Nievwe Telkonst 

 (which book we have designed to pubUsh in Dutch, with the 

 help of the art-loving young man Adrian Vlacq, for the service 

 of those unacquainted with the Latin language, and on account 

 of the want of copies in this country, and to add something by 

 ourselves, the which we call the second volume of the new Arith- 

 metic). Decker then remarks that as the printing &c. of the 

 larger work must necessarily occupy some time, he has published 

 the present book in the mean while ; and after describing its con- 

 tents, he hopes it will satisfy the reader " tot dat ivy met Godfs 

 hulpe het Groote Werck voleyndicht hebben, waer in het wonderlick 

 Maecksel ende aenghenaem Ghebruyck inde Arithmetische Geome- 

 trische ende Spherische Werck- stucken breeder verclaert sal wesen, 

 als mede hoe datmen tot alle getallen, soo heele als gebrokens, Lo' 

 garithmi sal stellen, ende ter conirarie. Geniet ondertusschen dit, 

 ende soo het u wel behaeghty sal het toecomende beter doen. Ter 

 Goude den 4 September 1626^' (until we with God's help have 

 completed the great work, wherein the wonderful making and 

 pleasant use in Arithmetical, Geometrical, and Spherical work 

 shall be more fully explained, and also how one shall set log- 

 arithms to all numbers, both integral and fractional, and vice 

 versa. Enjoy in the mean time this, and if it pleases you, the 

 future shall do better). 



In 1628 Vlacq's Arithmetica was published in Latin, without 

 a word of reference to this previous publication by Decker; and 

 it is owing to this fact and the extreme scarcity of the work itself 

 that Decker's name is so completely unknown that De Morgan 

 unhesitatingly attributed (and with good reason) any work 



