aIIod other Uti. Now, when a.

perron cannot eJpbin the

prlncipla! of a (cience withOut refercn to metaphor, the
prcJ.abilit)' is, that he NS net'el thought lICCuntdy llpoR
'llIe fubjeil. A number mar be ,reater or Jef. th.n ano-
lacr number; it may be added to, taken from"mllltiplicd
WOo and di,idcd by another number; but in other IC-
fpdla it i. ,err IIl1lnlbble: though the whole world
.
CbouJd be ddhoycd, one will be one, and three ... ill be
three; and no art whatever can changt: their natUfe. You
mily put il beforc one, which it will obey: it (ubmi"
t8 be tal.:en alnyfrom anOther grc:uer than itCdf.
but to attempt to take it a\O'3y Crom a nu.mba leCs than
itfelf is ridiculolU- Yet this ... attempted byalgebrai lb,
... ho talk of a number JeC. than nothing, of multiplying a
nrgatiye number intoa negative Dumber and thUi producing
a poUti,e number, of a number being imaginary. Hence
.
they talk of two rOOfl to "cry equ3tion of the fecondorder,
and the learner U fOtry _hieh .... ill fucece'l in a gift:nCllua-
lion: they talk of folving an eqllation, which reqllir ' .... 0
" impoffibJ
.'

.'

.'
J.> It. . I F A : C R, . ,d
.

. .
iqlpoGibk rOOI, to 111"11;':. it Coltiblc; 'they. (.:in , .li.il4out
. . , ..
fome impoffibJe numben, whitfl. bcin.&: mll\tiplicd.toce-
. . .
.rhef, produce unity. n ,il i, aU jugoo, at wbich CODl_
motdcnfe 1UlQi.Ia. but, fro., il.tu.'ina: bcea O!\ICC adopooe\o
like many other it &Ida tbe eon fUJI>'
-porten amoog. who Ioyoe 10 lake Willi' upoD b"1lll.
aIWl hate the hbout of a ren,o.,.. &hought.

.'