“was explaining to an actuary what was the chance that a certain proportion of some group of people would at the end of a given time be alive; and quoted the actuarial formula, involving p [pi], which, in answer to a question, he explained stood for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. His acquaintance, who had so far listened to the explanation with interest, interrupted him and exclaimed, '?””
“… gave the name to the [] Analytical Society, which he stated was formed to advocate '.””
“For other great mathematicians or philosophers, used the epithets magnus, or clarus, or clarissimus; for alone he kept the prefix summus.””
“The great masters of modern analysis are , , and , who were contemporaries. It is interesting to note the marked contrast in their styles. is perfect both in form and matter, he is careful to explain his procedure, and though his arguments are general they are easy to follow. on the other hand explains nothing, is indifferent to style, and, if satisfied that his results are correct, is content to leave them either with no proof or with a faulty one. is as exact and elegant as , but even more difficult to follow than , for he removes every trace of the analysis by which he reached his results, and studies to give a proof which while rigorous shall be as concise and synthetical as possible.””
W. W. Rouse BallW. W. Rouse Ball was a British mathematician and lawyer, best known for his contributions to the field of mathematics and his passion for magic. He served as a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, fr...
“, who assisted in revising it [] for the press, says that himself was frequently unable to recover the details in the chain of reasoning, and if satisfied that the conclusions were correct, he was content to insert the constantly recurring formula, '' [].””
“took no exercise, indulged in no amusements, and worked incessantly, often spending eighteen or nineteen hours out of the twenty-four in writing.””
“...and analysis proved to be the first of theoretical astronomers no less than the greatest of 'arithmeticians.””
“The manner of 's death has a certain interest for psychologists. Shortly before it, he declared that it was necessary for him to sleep some ten minutes or a quarter of an hour longer each day than the preceding one: the day after he had thus reached a total of something over twenty-three hours he slept up to the limit of twenty-four hours, and then died in his sleep.””
“Foreshadowings of the principles and even of the language of [the infinitesimal] calculus can be found in the writings of , , , , , and . It was 's good luck to come at a time when everything was ripe for the discovery, and his ability enabled him to construct almost at once a complete calculus.””
“THE history of mathematics cannot with certainty be traced back to any school or period before that of the Ionian Greeks.””