ius of
Copernicus. There is an exception, which, I {121} believe, has been quite
misunderstood. Maurolycus,[238] in his _De Sphaera_, written many years
before its posthumous publication in 1575, and which it is not certain he
would have published, speaking of the safety with which various authors may
be read after his cautions, says, "Toleratur et Nicolaus Copernicus qui
Solem fixum et Terram _in girum circumverti_ posuit: et scutica potius, aut
flagello, quam reprehensione dignus est."[239] Maurolycus was a mild and
somewhat contemptuous satirist, when expressing disapproval: as we should
now say, he pooh-poohed his opponents; but, unless the above be an
instance, he was never savage nor impetuous. I am fully satisfied that the
meaning of the sentence is, that Copernicus, who turned the earth like a
boy's top, ought rather to have a whip given him wherewith to keep up his
plaything than a serious refutation. To speak of _tolerating_ a person _as
being_ more worthy of a flogging than an argument, is almost a
contradiction.

I will now extract Beaulieu's treatise on algebra, entire.

"L'Algebre est la science curieuse des Scavans et specialement d'un General
d'Armee ou Capitaine, pour promptement ranger une Armee en bataille, et
nombre de Mousquetaires et Piquiers qui composent les bataillons d'icelle,
outre les figures de l'Arithmetique. Cette science a 5 figures
particulieres en cette sorte. P signifie _plus_ au commerce, et a l'Armee
_Piquiers_. M signifie _moins_, et _Mousquetaire_ en l'Art des bataillons.
[It is quite true that P and M were used for _plus_ and _minus_ in a great
many old works.] R signifie _racine_ en la mesure du Cube, et en l'Armee
_rang_. Q signifie _quare_ en l'un et l'autre usage. C signifie _cube_ en
la mesure, et _Cavallerie_ en la composition des bataillons et escadrons.
Quant a l'operation de cette science, c'est {122} d'additionner un _plus_
d'avec _plus_, la somme sera _plus_, et _moins_ d'avec _plus_, on soustrait
le moindre du _plus_, et la reste est la somme requise ou nombre trouve. Je
dis seulement cecy en passant pour ceux qui n'en scavent rien du
tout."[240]

This is the algebra of the Royal Household, seventy-three years after the
death of Vieta. Quaere, is it possible that the fame of Vieta, who himself
held very high stations in the household all his life, could have given
people the notion that when such an officer chose to declare himself an
algebraist, he must be one indee