MAC 
Mr. Maclaurin was a very good, as well 
as a very great loan, and worthy ot love as 
well as admiration. His peculiar merit as a 
philosopher was, tliat all his studies were 
accommodated to general utility ; and we 
find, in many places of his works, an applica- 
tion, even of the most abstruse theories, to 
the perfecting of mechanical arts. For the 
same purpose he had resolved to compose 
a course of practical mathematics, and to 
rescue several useful branches of the sci- 
ence from the ill treatment they often met 
with in less skilful hands. These intentions 
however were prevented by his death ; 
unless we may reckon, as a part of his in- 
tended work, the translation of Dr. David 
Gregory’s Practical Geometry, which he re- 
vised, and published with additions, in 
1745. 
In his life-time, however, he had frequeiit 
opportunities of serving his friends and his 
country by his great skill. Whatever dif- 
ficulty occurred concerning the constructing 
or perfecting of machines, the working of 
mines, the improving of manufactures, the 
conveying of water, or the execution of any 
public work, he was always ready to re- 
solve it. He was employed to terminate 
some disputes of consequence that had 
arisen at Glasgow, concerning the gauging 
of vessels ; and for that purpose presented to 
the commissioners of the excise two elabo- 
rate memorials, with their demonstrations , 
containing rules by which the officers now 
act. He made also calculations relating to 
the provision, now established by law, for 
the children and widow's of the Scotch 
clergy, and of the professors in the univer- 
sities, entitling them to certain annuities 
and sums, upon the voluntary annual pay- 
ment of a certain sum by the incumbent. In 
contriving and adjusting this wise and use- 
ful scheme, he bestowed a great deal of la- 
bour, and contributed not a little towards 
bringing it to perfection. 
Of his works, we have mentioned his 
“ Geometrica Organica,” in which lie treats 
of the description of curve lines by conti- 
nued motion ; as also of his piece which 
gained the prize of the Royal Academy of 
Sciences in 1724. In 1740, he likewise 
shared the prize of the same academy, with 
the celebrated D. Bernoulli and Euler, for 
resolving the problem relating to the motion 
of the titles from the theory of gravity, a 
question which had been given out the 
former year w'ithoiit receiving any solution. 
He had only ten days to diaw this paper 
lip in, and could not find leisure to tran- 
MAC 
scribe a fair copy ; so that the Paris edition 
of it is incorrect. He afterwards revised 
the whole, and inserted it in his treatise of 
fluxions ; as he did also the substance of the 
former piece. These, with the treatise of 
fluxions, and the pieces printed in the Me- 
dical Essays, and the Philos. Trans, a list of 
which is given above, are all the writings 
which ourautlior lived to publish. 
Since his death, however, two more vo- 
lumes have appeared ; his algebra, and his 
account of Sir Isaac Newton’s philosophical 
discoveries. The algebra, though not 
finished by himself, is yet allowed to be ex- 
cellent in its kind; containing, within a 
moderate compass, a complete elementary 
treatise of that science, as far as it has hi- , 
therto been carried; besides some neat 
analytical papers on curve lines. His ac- 
count of Newton’s philosophy was occa- 
sioned in the following manner. Sir Isaac 
dying in the beginning of 1728, his nephew, 
Mr. Conduitt, proposed to publish an ac- 
count of his life, and desired Mr. Maclau- 
rin’s assistance. The latter, out of grati- 
tude to his great benefactor, cheerfully un- 
dertook, and soon finished, the 'history of 
the progress which philosophy had made be- 
fore Newton’s time ; and this was the first 
draught of the work in hand; which not 
going forward, on account of Mr. Con- 
duitt’s death, was returned to Mr. Maclau- 
rin. To this he afterwards made great ad- 
ditions, and left it in the state in whieh it 
now appears. His main design seems to 
have been, to explain only those parts of 
Newton’s philosophy which have been con- 
troverted ; and this is supposed to be the 
reason why his grand discoveries concerning 
light and colours are but transiently and ge- 
nerally touched upon ; for it is known, that 
whenever the experiments on which his doc- 
trine of light and colours is founded had 
been repeated with due care, tliis doctrine 
had not been contested ; while his account- 
ing for the celestial motions, and the other 
great appearances of nature, from gravity, 
had been misunderstood, and even at- 
tempted to be ridiculed. 
MACQUER (Joseph), in biography, an 
eminent chemist, was born at Paris in 1710. 
He was brought up to physic, and became 
a doctor of the faculty of medicine, in the 
university of Paris, professor of pharmacy, 
and censor royal. He was also a member 
of the academies of sciences of Turin, 
Stockholm, and Paris, and he held the me- 
dical and chemical departments in the 
Journal des Savans. M. Macquer made 
