﻿Hubert 
  Anson 
  Newton. 
  373 
  

  

  Stars," 
  which 
  he 
  delivered 
  in 
  1886 
  as 
  retiring 
  president 
  of 
  the 
  

   American 
  Association 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  of 
  Science, 
  or 
  in 
  

   certain 
  lectures 
  in 
  the 
  public 
  courses 
  of 
  the 
  Sheffield 
  Scientific 
  

   School 
  of 
  Yale 
  University, 
  entitled 
  "The 
  story 
  of 
  Biela's 
  

   Comet 
  " 
  (1874), 
  « 
  The 
  relation 
  of 
  Meteorites 
  to 
  Comets 
  " 
  (1876), 
  

   " 
  The 
  Worship 
  of 
  Meteorites 
  " 
  (1889), 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  articles 
  on 
  

   Meteors 
  in 
  the 
  Encyclopaedia 
  Britarmica 
  and 
  Johnson's 
  Cyclo- 
  

   paedia. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  ask 
  what 
  traits 
  of 
  mind 
  and 
  character 
  are 
  indi- 
  

   cated 
  by 
  these 
  papers, 
  the 
  answer 
  is 
  not 
  difficult. 
  Professor 
  

   Klein 
  has 
  divided 
  mathematical 
  minds 
  into 
  three 
  leading 
  

   classes 
  : 
  the 
  logicians, 
  whose 
  pleasure 
  and 
  power 
  lies 
  in 
  subtility 
  

   of 
  definition 
  and 
  dialectic 
  skill 
  ; 
  the 
  geometers, 
  whose 
  power 
  

   lies 
  in 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  space-intuitions 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  formalists, 
  who 
  

   seek 
  to 
  find 
  an 
  algorithm 
  for 
  every 
  operation.* 
  Professor 
  

   Newton 
  evidently 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  second 
  of 
  these 
  classes, 
  and 
  

   his 
  natural 
  tastes 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  found 
  an 
  equal 
  gratification 
  in 
  

   the 
  development 
  of 
  a 
  system 
  of 
  abstract 
  geometric 
  truths, 
  or 
  

   in 
  the 
  investigation 
  of 
  the 
  concrete 
  phenomena 
  of 
  nature 
  as 
  

   they 
  exist 
  in 
  space 
  and 
  time. 
  

  

  But 
  these 
  papers 
  show 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  mind 
  of 
  the 
  

   author 
  ; 
  they 
  give 
  no 
  uncertain 
  testimony 
  concerning 
  the 
  char- 
  

   acter 
  of 
  the 
  man. 
  In 
  all 
  these 
  papers 
  we 
  see 
  a 
  love 
  of 
  honest 
  

   work, 
  an 
  aversion 
  to 
  shams, 
  a 
  distrust 
  of 
  rash 
  generalizations 
  

   and 
  speculations 
  based 
  on 
  uncertain 
  premises. 
  He 
  was 
  never 
  

   anxious 
  to 
  add 
  one 
  more 
  guess 
  on 
  doubtful 
  matters 
  in 
  the 
  hope 
  

   of 
  hitting 
  the 
  truth, 
  or 
  what 
  might 
  pass 
  as 
  such 
  for 
  a 
  time, 
  but 
  

   was 
  always 
  willing 
  to 
  take 
  infinite 
  pains 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  careful 
  

   test 
  of 
  every 
  theory. 
  To 
  these 
  qualities 
  was 
  joined 
  a 
  modesty 
  

   which 
  forbade 
  the 
  pushing 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  claims, 
  and 
  desired 
  no 
  

   reputation 
  except 
  the 
  unsought 
  tribute 
  of 
  competent 
  judges. 
  

   At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  his 
  article 
  on 
  meteors 
  in 
  the 
  Encyclopaedia 
  

   Britannica, 
  which 
  has 
  not 
  the 
  least 
  reference 
  to 
  himself 
  as 
  a 
  

   contributor 
  to 
  the 
  science, 
  he 
  remarks 
  that 
  " 
  meteoric 
  science 
  

   is 
  a 
  structure 
  built 
  stone 
  by 
  stone 
  by 
  many 
  builders." 
  We 
  

   may 
  add 
  that 
  no 
  one 
  has 
  done 
  more 
  than 
  himself 
  to 
  establish 
  

   the 
  foundations 
  of 
  the 
  science, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  stones 
  which 
  he 
  

   has 
  laid 
  are 
  not 
  likely 
  to 
  need 
  relaying. 
  

  

  The 
  value 
  of 
  Professor 
  Nekton's 
  work 
  has 
  been 
  recognized 
  

   by 
  learned 
  societies 
  and 
  institutions 
  both 
  at 
  home 
  and 
  abroad. 
  

   He 
  received 
  the 
  honorary 
  degree 
  of 
  Doctor 
  of 
  Laws 
  from 
  the 
  

   University 
  of 
  Michigan 
  in 
  1868. 
  He 
  was 
  president 
  of 
  the 
  sec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  Mathematics 
  and 
  Astronomy 
  in 
  the 
  American 
  Associa- 
  

   tion 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  in 
  Science 
  in 
  1875, 
  and 
  president 
  of 
  

   the 
  Association 
  in 
  1885. 
  On 
  the 
  first 
  occasion 
  he 
  delivered 
  an 
  

   address 
  entitled 
  " 
  A 
  plea 
  for 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  pure 
  mathematics 
  " 
  ; 
  

  

  * 
  Lectures 
  on 
  Mathematics 
  (Evanston), 
  p. 
  2. 
  

  

  