( II* ) 
may be expunged. Thirdly, that the quo- 
tient is generally exprefled by placing the 
dividend above and the divifor beneath a 
line drawn between them, as in vulgar frac- 
tions. Fourthly, that coefficients are to be 
divided as in common Arithmetic j or di- 
vided by a common meafure, 
In this example, I have divided the co- 
efficients by 5 and expunged the letter a. 
The reafon for dividing the figures by a 
common meafure is felf-evident, and the 
reafon for expunging this letter a will be no 
lefs obvious when you recollect, that letters, 
or quantities, thus written next to each 
other, as ad and ac, are fuppofed to be mul- 
tiplied one by the other; and that, in vulgar 
fractions, the numerator and denominator, 
that is, the dividend and divifor, being mul- 
tiplied or divided by the fame number, 
makes no alteration in their ralative value. 
But, to render this matter more intelligible, 
let us fuppofe ac, the dividend, to reprefent 
4 multiplied by 6, and ad, the divifor, to 
mean 4 multiplied by 2: now 4 times 6 
make 24, and twice 4 is 8. If I divide 24 
by 8 the quotient is 3. But if I take 4, of 
which 
