1802.] 
from England, as does almoft all America, 
in its general appearance: but the people 
are juft as much civilized here, as any 
where elfe on the Continent. They have 
not, to be fure, all the conveniences in 
travelling, or all the domeftic conveni- 
ences, that you have: but Ido not know, 
that they are rendered morefavage through 
the want of them. ‘The moft unfavoura~ 
ble feature in their charagter is indolence 
in fome and too eager a defire for growing 
rich in others, accompanied with no great 
delicacy as to the means of doing fo. 
N does not like the idea of a removal, 
and has done away one objection, that we 
had no beer; for has juft made. fome 
very good. 
You with for fome particulars refpeét- 
ing our college: It is true, itis a public 
inftitution eftablifhed and endowed by the 
Virginia - flembly. But the term col- 
fege mifleads an Englifhman, particu- 
Jarly a Diffenter ; who has been accuftom- 
ed to give a modeft and uniounding name 
to inftitutions the moft refpe&table. The 
Americans, I think, rua into the contrary 
extreme. With them every fchool efta- 
blithed by law, is a college. Such is the 
college at Carlifle, fuch the college at 
Lancafter, and fuch the college at Lex- 
ington: the cafe however is, that the 
Tranfylvanian College was originally 
eftablifhed under the idea of its being a 
progreflive inftitution, and provifion is 
made in the A& of the Virginia Affem- 
bly (for it was eftablifhed before the fe- 
paration frem that flate) for the appoint- 
ment of different Profeffors, according to 
the cuftom of other colleges. The en- 
dowments will, in time, be very produc- 
tive, though they are now juft fufficient to 
anfwer prefent demands: hitherto no- 
thing {carcely has been attended to befide 
the Latin, and fome little Greek. For 
my own part, I wifh that thefe were les 
attended to. None, however, now de- 
vote more than half their time to them. 
One pupil reads the Greek Teltament. 
~The reit are no farther advanced than 
Czlar. Some read not Latin at all. 
The afterncons are devoted to compofi-_ 
tion, or to Blair’s Lestures, or Paley’s 
Philofophy, or geography and aftrongmy, 
or optics, or geometry end furveying, or 
xerchant’s accompts, according to the 
purivits or qualifications of the pupils. 
We have a library of about.100 hiftorical 
books, 120 theological, 50 metaphytical 
and philafophical, and reco fchool-books 
_-—muchiucha colieftion as an old minitter 
would have. Our apparatus conlitts of a 
MontuLty Mac. No, 26, . 
A Sketch of the Hiftory of Pure Mathematics. 
~ gebra. 
‘have given to Algebra. 
325 
pair of globes, an air-pump, a prifm, 2 
microfcope, and two telefcopes. 
Lexington, 
March 24th, 1795. 
i = 1 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
A SKETCH of the HISTORY of PURE MA- 
THEMATICS, tranflated from “ Traité 
Elementaire de Mathematiques Puress 
par LEMOINE, Profeffeur de Mathema- 
tigues et de Phyfique, Ge. ; 
(Continued from Page 112, of No. 84 ) 
ALGEBRA. 
40. IOPHANTUS,* of Alexandria, 
is accounted the inventor of Al- 
He is at Jeaft the firft writer of 
antiquity, in whofe writings we find any 
traces of that moft ingénious invention. 
The Arabians unfolded it, and Leonard 
of Pifa received from them the know- 
ledge of it, which he imparted te his 
countrymen, on his return from his long 
travels, Leonard even wrote a treatile 
on Algebra; but it was never publifhed. 
Lucas de Burgot was the firft whofe pre- 
* Diophantus flourifhed at Alexandria 
about the 365th year of our era. The only © 
work of his which remains in his arithmeti- 
cal queftions, of which there were thirteen 
books, on which the learned Hypatia wrote 
a Commentary; but the firft fix are all which 
now remain. The epitaph of Diophantus, 
which was compofed by a Greek poet, is an 
arithmetical problem, The following is a 
tranflation of it, by Bachet de Mexiriac, who, 
in 1721, publifhed an’edition of Diophantus, 
with a Commentary. 
Hic Diophantus habet tumulum, qui tempora 
vit2 “ 
Illius mira denotat arte tibi. 
Egit fextantem juvenis, lanugine malas 
Veftire hinc ceepit parte duodecima. 
Septante uxori poft hzc fociatur, et anno 
Formofus quinto nafcitur inde puer, 
Semiflem ztatis poftquam attigit ille paternz, 
Infelix fubita morte peremptus obit. 
Quatuor zitates, genitor lugere fuperftes 
Cogitur; hinc annos illius obfequere. 
+ Lucas Paccioli, furnamed De Burgeo, be- 
caufe he was from the town of St. Sepulchre, 
in Italy, explained the principles of algebra 
in his Susmma Arithmetica et Geometrica, firtt 
printed in 1494, and again in 1523. He 
compofed the moft part of what he calls Arte 
- Masgiore, from whence came'the name of 
4rts Magna (The Great Art) which fome 
Lucas de Burgo 
cornpoted a treatife on the Uivifion of a line, 
in extreme and mean proportion, which he 
intitled De Proportione Diving. ‘The proper 
Uy! ties 
