306 
ORIGINAL LETTER OF THE LATE DR. 
WARING TO THE REV. DR. MASKE- 
LYNE, ASTRONOMER-ROYAL. 
{ The following interefting letter was written 
by the late Dr. Warine, in reply to a 
paflage contained in Larannps’s life of 
ConporcerT, which ftates, that in the 
vear 3764, there was no firft rate analyft 
m England. Had Lalande been as dif- 
tinguithed a mathematian as he is an 
aftronomer, he would not have thus under- 
rated the merits of fuch eminent Britith 
mathematicians as Lyons, Emerfon, Lan- 
den, and Waring, who all flourifhed at 
that period. Dr. Waring, who publithed 
his ¢¢ Mifcellanea Analytica” in 1762, and 
his. ‘¢ Beane: Algebraice” in 14770. 
was the author of fome of the greateft dif- 
coveries in alec, algebraic curve lines, 
jafinite feries, increments, and fluxions. ] 
DEAR SIR, 
ET has been my mistortune to have 
had my writings attacked very early by 
feveral pertons ; ; but it has been my g good 
fortune to find that no errors in reafoning 
were detected, except two or three errata 
ef the prefs, and numerous others in my 
errata pages; add_to this fome general 
reflections which feem to betray both ig- 
morance and fome envy, or malevolence of 
‘difpofition; to thefe I gave no aafwer, 
unlefs once, when compelled to it by a 
flruggle for fubfiftence. \My opinion iS, 
chat future aces will aferibe to writers 
their jult merits without partiality, and 
it they do not, it is totally i immaterial 
either to the writers then dead, er to 
their readers. 
It is my cordiak wiih, that no party 
fhould fubit in fcies ce; names fhould be 
mentioned and not nations, and both paft, 
prefent, and future Featen hailed: 
Mr. Lalande, all aittronomers acknow- 
ledge, to be Sadie with the firlt rate 
abilities and knowledge e snd) .the 
writer of the beft fy fem of aftvonomy ; 
but of this you are the fupreme judge. 
Byery perfon that compares the works 
of diferent writers fhould have read and 
underftood them. 
T will confidently 
tellicent reader of ipbe inventions and 
writings of Harriot, Brizes, Napier, Wal- 
lis, Halley, alas Wren, Pell, Bar 
row, Mercator, Newton, De Naoinee Mac: 
jauring Cotes, Stirling, Taylor, Simp- 
fon, Emerion, Landen: and others, will 
with contempt, reprobate the affertion 
{contained ip your letter) of Mr. Lalande. 
i muf therefore afk Mr . Lalande, has 
he either underfiood, or even read the 
ang writ ings of the above-men- 
mathematicians; and, in 
a iecys 
Ge Le 
that every in- 
yiventions 
toned L Englih 
Griginal Letter of the fate Dr. Waring. 
{May 
particular, has he either read or under- 
ftood mine? J particularly alk this quef- 
tion, becaufe my enquiry will principally 
relate to them. : 
Ir he underftood them, he has done 
more than Mr. Condoreet, for Condor- - 
cet, in a letter to me, acknowledges that he 
did not underitand them. 
Icannot but iay, that this at firft gave 
me no great opinion of Condorcet’s at- 
tention or abilities as a mathematician, 
for I never read any mathematical work, 
that I could not, with proper attention, 
underftand the fubjeéts and the reafoning, 
though I have fometimes been almoft 
obliged to decypher the language; but I 
prefume it probable, that Condorcet 
was at that time too much engaged in 
political to attend to deep mathematical 
matters. Perhaps, this may be faid to be 
owing to the ob{curity of the expreffions ; 
of this, the readers muft be the 
judges: I can only add in defence, that 
Mr. D* lambert underftood the firk 
edition of the ‘¢ Medit. Algeb. and Propr. 
Algebr. Curv.” publithed in the year 
1762; for he fpeaks highly of them in 
the Paris aéts. Mr. Le Grange un- 
derftood- them, for in {peaking of my 
Algebra m the Berlin acts, the only book 
of mine he was probably then in pof- 
feflion of ; he recommends the conful- 
tation of it on the transformation of 
equations above all other books, and 
mentions it as a work full of excellent and 
interefting difeoveries in Algebra. 
Some of the Arf char Weiwapieieds m 
Germany and Italy underftood it, for 
they exprefled their fentiments of it in 
etters to me; they elected me, without 
any folicitation on my part, into two of 
the moft refpeftable focieties in the eworld 
Bononia and Gottingen: and _ feveral 
mathematicians of this country, though 
¥ cannot fay, that I knew any one who 
thought it worth while to read through 
the whole, and, perhaps, not the half 
Of “it. 
Some of the createft mathematicians 
that ever exified, have paid {ome regard 
to the inventions contained in my books, 
for they have publithed feveral of them. 
In the year 1762 F publithed thefirft edi- 
tion of oa Algebra, and fent a copy of it 
to Mr. Euler at Peterfburgh, containmg 
the lowes eae “ot ss 
Viz. bt AWE PH PE. Pirre 
Mr. Euler printed it in the Peterfourgh 
atts for 1764, and Mr. BezourT fince 
printed it with fome examples ; but more 
new examples have been given by me 
from 
