the early History of Logarithmic Tables. 299 



pages of which are " Eegii Sanguinis Clamor ad Coelum adversus 

 Parricidas Anglicanos. HagseComitum. Ex Typographia Adriani 

 Vlacq. 165.2;" and "Joannis Miltoni Defensio secunda pro 

 Populo Anglicano : contra infamem Libelium anouymum cujus 

 Titulus, Regii Sanguinis Clamor ad Coelum adversus Parricidas 

 Anglicanos. Accessit Alexandri Mori Ecclesiastse, Sacrarumque 

 litterarum Professoris Fides publica, contra calumnias loannis 

 Miitoui^ Scurrae. Hagse Comitum. Ex Typographia Adriani 

 Vlacq. 1654." There is also_, at the end^ a supplement to 

 More's tract, "Hagae Comitum, Typis Adriani Vlacq, 1655." 

 The first work was (as Vlacq tells us in the second) written 

 by an author whose name was unknown to him; but it contains 

 a dedication to Charles II. signed "A. Viae." To the second 

 work are prefixed twelve pages headed " Typographus pro se- 

 ipso," and signed "A. Vlacq." In these he states that he 

 was desirous of publishing the views of both parties, and there- 

 fore waited with some anxiety for Milton's defence (which did 

 not appear for two years) in order to print it, as he accord- 

 ingly does ; but Milton has in it spoken of him in such a 

 way that he feels bound to give an explanation. The words 

 used by Milton with regard to Vlacq are, " Est Vlaccus unde 

 gentium nescio, vagus quidam librariolus, veterator atque de- 

 coctor notissimus, is Londini aliquandiu bibliopola fuit clancu- 

 larius, qua ex urbe, post innumeras fraudes, obseratus aufugit. 

 Eundem Parisiis fide cassum et male agendo insignem, via tota 

 Jacobaea cognovit : unde olim quoque profugus ne multis qui- 

 dem parasangis audet appropinquare, nunc si cui opus est ba- 

 latrone perditissimo atque venali, prostat Hagsecomitis Typo- 

 graphus recoctus" (Defensio Secunda, pp.20 &2I). In answer 

 to this inexcusable language, Vlacq simply and in a dignified 

 manner gives the account of his life from the age of 26. After 

 stating that Holland was his country, he proceeds to describe his 

 mathematical labours very much as is done above. At the con- 

 clusion he remarks that his works were a source of loss to him, 

 but that he does not regret it, as he knows he has done a service 

 to mathematics ; he adds, '^ scio .... istos libros abhinc aliquot 

 annos in magna sestimatione futuros, et me aliquam gratiam a 

 posteritate accepturum," a prediction long since verified by his- 

 tory. The account of his life after 1633 is rather too long ta 

 reproduce here ; so I give only the following abstract. At the 

 time of printing his Tables he was neither a printer nor book- 

 seller, and only became so in order to circulate his own works ; 

 with this object he went to France and th'en to England. He 

 lived ten years at London, at first very comfortably ; but after- 

 wards, having excited the jealousy of certain other booksellers, 

 they bribed some agents of Archbishop Laud to seize andconfis- 



