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1614
ii&mburgf):
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THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA
~~h2j^- m-OWw-
<>^- y*&'<rfy\/bw
1614
A LECTURE
BY E.
W. HOBSON,
Cambridge
at the
University Press
1914
(Eambrtoge:
EMS
LIB
Q\
4
JOHN NAPIER AND THE INVENTION OF LOGARITHMS, 1614
In
the
celebration,
under
the
auspices
of
the
of
the
Royal
Society of Edinburgh,
tercentenary of
of
John
"
Napier's
Descriptio,"
Mirifici
Logarithmorum
Canonis
work
The
an
invention
of
Logarithms
first
not
only
in
marks
advance of the
importance
Mathematical
all
those
who have
can be compared
in
importance only
6
It
is
JOHN NAPIER
almost always extremely instructive to
disits
covery
or
invention
was
presented
by
originator,
and
mode
in
later
developments or
may have
still
more the
practice, of the
to
of the discoverer.
far
The
case of logarithms
this rule
;
is
very
accord-
ingly
may
of John Napier,
some
effort
of imagination
is
JOHN NAPIER
required, to be
expended
in realizing the
narrow-
ness of the
means
at
time,
before the
invention
of the
calcula-
Differential
tion
by means of
invented.
the
minds
Mathematicians,
and
had been
clarified
of coordinate geometry
made
by Ren Descartes.
A
;
modern Mathematician
an exponential function
familiar as
and
it
may seem
to us,
we
all
itself in that
connection as a
8
fairly
JOHN NAPIER
obvious one.
We
that, at the
in its generality,
of a
Mathematician,
Summary of
I
the life
of Napier.
of Napier*.
was born
at
in 1550,
when
his father
little
more
Andrews
in
* For a full account of the life and activities of Napier the " " Memoirs of John Napier of Merchiston by Mark Napier,
published in 1834,
t
JOHN NAPIER
sufficiently
long
to
in
graduate,
as
he
departed
previous to
1566
Mer-
His
first
marriage, by
peerage
in
By
five
his
five
sons and
daughters
literary executor.
The
Armada
tant, to
in
work
"A
of
discovery
of
the
is
whole
Revelation
St John."
This book
regarded as of consider-
as
it
contained a method of
interpretation
much
in
it
English, French,
io
JOHN NAPIER
In July 1594, Napier entered into a curious
Logan of
In this
who had
just
been outlawed.
was not
in
Magic,
supposed to
Fast Castle.
lie
hidden
in
Logan's dwelling-place,
to receive a third part
Napier was
of the treasure
when
sail
"the said
J hone
do
his utter
&
exact
dili-
gens
that
to serche
&
sik out,
and be
trye,
al craft
& ingyne
out the
the
he dow, to tempt,
and
find
sail find
sam, or than
mak
it
suir that
na
been thair
ingyne
may
1596, Napier
"proffitabill
&
necessary in
Hand
&
with-
&
JOHN NAPIER
relegion."
ii
His
were no
of Spain.
It
is
many of
his descendants.
The
inventions
circle,
occupants could
move
it
Napier's
mind was
Merchiston
estate,
tilled
by a
There
is
From a
MS.
title
that
"
was
first
De
Arte Logistica
investigations in Arithmetic
him
to a consideration of the
12
JOHN NAPIER
and
to a general
equations,
method
all
traction of roots of
numbers of
degrees.
But,
led probably
time,
he
means of diminishing
The second
in
which
The most
is
prominent name
in
this
connection
that
of
Georg Joachim Rheticus, the great computer whose work has never been superseded, and the
final result
of whose labours
for
is
embodied
in
the
published by Pitiscus in
trigonometrical
functions.
It
was
in
the early
JOHN NAPIER
Kepler was engaged
discovering,
in
13
In this age
of
numerical calculation
then
Napier occupied
'
He
which
the
in
his
"
Rabdologia,"
to
presently
is
be
made,
that
canon of logarithms
elaboratum."
that
It
"a
me
longo tempore
letter of
appears from a
Kepler
a
a Scotsman,
probably
Thomas
Craig,
friend of the
Tycho Brahe
There
is
strong
Canon.
The
"
Descriptio,"
JOHN NAPIER
About the same time Napier
published in 1614.
for the
and cube
roots.
in
He published
161 7
in
his
Rabdologia," as he says,
"
who may prefer to work with the natural numbers." The method which Napier calls Rabdologia
consists
of
calculation
of
multiplications
and
divisions
by means of a
In
"Napier's bones."
the
died.
publication
of
the
Rabdologia,"
Napier
The
"
"
Descriptio
was constructed.
In an "Admonitio" printed at
11,
method of construc-
on the canon
he says
"
For
ment
&
censure of learned
men
hereupon, before
JOHN NAPIER
the
rest
15
to
rashly
published,
be
exposed
the
The
struction'
" Mirifici
which contains a
explanation of the
was published by
his son
Robert Napier
it
in 16 1 9.
is
several
work was written by his father years before the word "logarithm" was
In
word
"
"
logarithm
is
used throughtitle,
After
explaining that the author had not put the finishing touch to the
little treatise,
"Nor do
doubt that
this
posthumous work
light in a
much more
perfect
&
finished state,
life
if
God had
granted a longer
enjoyment of
to the Author,
my
most dearly
JOHN NAPIER
men, among other
itself
this
shewed
difficult
matters were
method, as well as
in the fewest
Mathematicians.
The new
ol
invention attracted
the
attention
British
rapidity which
may
well surprise us
when we take
In
canon
"Ephemeris"
for 1620,
Kepler published
on
his invention
and on the
benefit he
had con-
upon Astronomy. Kepler explains how he verified the canon and found no essential errors
ferred
JOHN NAPIER
in
it,
17
The
letter
not heard.
table of Napierian logarithms with modifications and additions. The " Descriptio," on its publi-
cation in
Henry Briggs
College, Cambridge,
metry
in
the
City of London,
Savilian
Professor of
Geometry
Oxford,
to
in the task
form
to
shall
have to
refer later.
In a letter
House,
March
161
5,
Briggs wrote,
"
Napper, lord of
my
if it
head
&
hands a work
I
new
this
& admirable
logarithms.
hope
I
to
him
summer,
never
made me
more wonder."
H.
JOHN NAPIER
him again in 16 17, been spared. Another eminent
had Napier's
English Mathematician,
who
at
once saw
"
Descriptio,"
it
could be published.
in
The
by
translation
1618
his son
Samuel Wright.
"
The
and of
the
The
title
"
"
Descriptio
consists of
an ornamental
specimen page of
here reproduced.
The
explanatory
Gr.
P
fnin\
+
1
Smut
Logarithmi
Differentia
U^arithmi
Sinus
60
59
_**
1572964
15787?
1581*81 1*84453 15873** 1590197 1593069 I59594I 1598812 1601684 1604555
125267 12*731
1
26 196
183H933
18296324 18277747 18259203 18240692 18222213
126662 127127
i"-7*94
9872754
9872291 9871827
J
51
50
130888]
1
62
131837
9871362 9870897 98704^1 9869964 9869496 9869027 1 9X6^5 57.1 9868087 9867616 I
49 48 47 46
4*
44
43
4*
41 43
39 38 37
36 3*
76 33~259
1636129 1638999
133747
13-4226
134706
34
33 3*
1801*207
K
T7I77TT4
138093
u
30
ttin
80
JOHN NAPIER
solution of plane
19
and
spherical triangles.
Napier's
here given.
The
figures.
The
table
line,
a table of
tangents.
It
must be
after-
remembered
at that time
and long
semi-chord of a circle of given radius which subtends the angle at the centre.
7
called
is
iov
the sines of
The
table
is
2o
JOHN NAPIER
7
o,
important to observe
tables are not
the logarithms
in
Napier's
logarithms,
i.e.
logarithms
to
the
base
to
those to
if
base
i/e
the
exact
relation
is
that,
Nap
is
number,
and
Log x
its
logarithm
in
accordance with
.
Napier's
tables,
% ^
T
Nap
qqt
io
;
is
the
logarithm b
of
X io
t 7
to
the
base
lie
thus
X
io'
>
/l
Nap Log.*
io'
\ej
or
Log x = o
i
Nap
log e
o
i
loge x.
exist-
Napier had no
explicit
,
knowledge of the
we
he was
fully
JOHN NAPIER
element
in
21
the possible
systems of logarithms.
to
making the logarithms of the sines of angles between o and 90 i.e. of numbers between o and io positive
7
,
integral part
The
"
Constructio
"
consists of a preface of
fifty-seven
is
pages of
text.
The
conception of a logarithm
and a
full
account
is
of spherical triangles,
is
known
as Napier's analogies,
;
given,
expressed in words
the
other three
from Napier's
results.
The decimal
point.
Our present
employed somewhat
22
earlier
JOHN NAPIER
by Jobst
Biirgi for the
purpose of separat-
number*.
The
548-1 620),
Thiende,"
who
published
"De
in
in 1585,
and
"
in
title
La
Disme,"
in
an
"
in
which
By
94 3 o 5
for example,
94*1305.
notation 941305.
employed by
Pitiscus
in
the
appended
1612, of his
Trigonometria."
JOHN NAPIER
was
far better
23
notation used
by Stevin and
number
of
fact
that the
system of
involves
only an
system of notation
value of a
for integral
digit, in relation to
its
completely indicated by
position.
Napier s
1
definition
of a logarithm.
24
S.
JOHN NAPIER
He
supposes that on another straight line a
with uniform velocity equal to that
at T,
point
Q moves
at T.
which
P has when
course of
and that
is
at
lt
when
P
Pj
is
When P
its
is
in the
sine or length
SP
Q
number
x
TQ
X
X ,
from
of
at the
time when
T to the P is at P
x,
Thus
is
TS(=
io7 )
o,
less
than io7
is
positive
diminishes to zero.
where
is
the position of
will
P when
it
reached T,
position of
lt
of
lt
Q being on the left of T Let Q Q Q <2 be a number of positions and let Q such that Q Q = Q Q =Q Q =
2
,
...
...
P P P
2>
...
P;
so that
P P^ P P
2
P%P
are
spaces
JOHN NAPIER
described
25
by
in
equal times.
Napier then
shews by means of
and thus
of
that,
T^Q
SP that
are in geometric
The
matter
may be
and of the
intuition.
essential point of
P
> 1
P'
r-J
Let
in
PS = PS
-p-*
-^-p.
:
and
let
be
any point
in
PP
x
it
P P,
t
so that
the
The velocity of P,p pP^P^p' p'P moving point when at/ bears a constant ratio
3
.
^=^=-~-p)
As
this
to
its
velocity
when
at
/.
26
JOHN NAPIER
P P P P
X
it is
in
P^P
;
same time
as that in
PJ\
the velocities at
in the
same
that of
PP
x
1
to
PP
2
Hence
the result
follows that
PtS P S P S
t
t
u
are
if
the points
lf
<2 2
Q Q
3
,
...
such that
QiQ*=Q*Q*=Q%Qi=->\
i.e.
if
the spaces
PP
x
%t
PP PP
2
...
Thus
progression
gression.
are
themselves
in
arithmetic
pro-
if
x = SP, we
have
=
dt
at
io
r, 7
where
P
=;
T; and
if
=
to
io7
an
JOHN NAPIER
27
The
limits
of a logarithm.
available
As no method was
logarithm
could
by which a
be calculated to an arbitrarily
two
and
limits
lie,
his
S
1
the same,
ft
T,
and
at T,
are
decreases afterit
remains constant,
t
is
TP
7\
<
T^Q^.
in
of
be described
that ^7",
Qv
It is
p T>q T
l
l
28
JOHN NAPIER
If
x = P S, hogx=
1
Nap
T Q
X
we
thus have
hogx> TP
and
7
Nap
lt
or jo7
or
x;
1
Log x=y T
1
Nap
<f> T,
1
TP
IQ
-,
which
is
(io
-*) x
'
Thus
7
(io
x)
Q >Logx>
7
Nap
io
...(i);
manner
Nap
it is
shewn
io
that
y -
x
...(2),
where
x<y;
for
employs
Log x Log
and
jj/.
The
in
results (1)
(2)
even
Napier s
The
first
JOHN NAPIER
of numbers in geometric progression.
table consists of 101 numbers, of
29
The
is
first
which io7
the
first,
and of which
io7
is
the
common
ratio
thus (in
modern
7
(
numbers io
100.
io /
; 7
to
Each number was formed by subtracting from the preceding one the number obtained by
moving the
digits
right.
First Table
XV~itf)>
I
'-oto
iooj
OOOOOOO'OOOOOOO I'OOOOOOO
99999990000000
-9999999
9999998 'OOOOOO I
'9999998
999999 7 '0000003
'9999997
9999996*0000006
to be continued
up
to
9999900*0004950
30
JOHN NAPIER
The second
table consists of the 51
...
numbers
io7 (i
1)
where r = o,
is
1,
50.
The com(
mon
ratio
nearly equal to
number
in that table.
Second Table
r
Io7
(
I
-^) "'*}
'
OOOOOOO'OOOOOO IOO'OOOOOO
9999900*000000 99*999000
9999800*001000
to
be continued up to
9995001*222927
is
an arithmetical error, as
be referred
to later.
The
1
number
I
to the first
is
"
N
'
loV
Whkh
is
nearly
~ 2oW'
JOHN NAPIER
The
number
1
31
69 columns, and
21
is
numbers.
obtained
in
The
first
any column
the
first
by taking
y^
of
number
in
the preceding
column.
The numbers
275V0
the/^ number
in the
th
column
is
Third Table
First
I
column
Second column
69th column
.
OOOOOOO "oooo
9995000*0000 9990002*5000 9985007*4987 continued to 9900473-5780
9801468-8423
4998609-4034
The
number
is
in
^uVo")
20
,
which
nearly
last
number of the
last
column
less
32
In
this
JOHN NAPIER
table
in
there are,
speaking roughly,
:
68 numbers
7
the ratio
;
ioo
99 interpolated
twenty numbers
the
ratio
10000
9995.
tables,
Napier proceeds
For
this
(1)
and
In the
the
(1),
logarithm of 9999999
is,
in
accordance with
mean 1*00000005
f r
tne
required logarithm.
sine
in
The
is
the
table
for
this
between
and
for
2 0000000;
he takes 2-00000010,
The theorem
the logarithms
(2) is
for
of
number
way
the loga-
JOHN NAPIER
table
is
33
found to
lie
The
logarithm of the
is
last
lie
the
second table
thus found
to
The
sufficient
degree of
one
in
is
found thus
Let
then
y
;
be the given
say y < x. J y
Nap
Determine z so that
Nap
Nap
=10
; 7
io
= Logjj/ Log
Nap
Nap
.a:
first table,
to those of
Nap
Log:r, and
this
we
In
manner
the
table;
limits are
in
of
all
numbers
column of the
third
thus those of
9900473*57808 are
100024*9657720 and
h.
100024*9757760,
and
3
the
34
logarithm
is
JOHN NAPIER
taken to be
100024*9707740, the
of the two limits.
mean
The
first
number
fifth
in
cypher
from the
its
last
number
in the first
The
When
table
the logarithms of
all
the numbers in
thus
formed
his
by
filling
them
and
is
called
by
Napier
radical
table,
of the form
The
rithms in
For
this
purpose
The
logarithm of a sine
is
<3
36
found thus
nearest
:
JOHN NAPIER
Let
in
be the given
;
sine,
;
the
sine
?
the table
say
x >y
calculate
(xy) io and divide it either by x or by y, or by some number between the two then add the
;
For the purpose of finding the logarithm of a sine which is not embraced within the limits of
the
radical
table,
Napier gives
short
table
is
compounded of the
1,
and 10
1.
Short Table
Given
JOHN NAPIER
Nap
37
To
Nap
radical table
and
The
:
i.e.
20794407*66.
The
sine
to
8000000
is
have
whence by
is
found to be 23025842*34.
times this sine,
all
is
1
ten
will
have
this
number
the
difference
table
of
their
logarithms.
The
of the
was
then
The
logarithms of
all
now be
2,
deter8, ...
mined.
200,
...
4,
number
in
the
limits of
is
38
JOHN NAPIER
the difference which the short table indicates.
sines of angles
between
and 45
could
now
Napier gave,
however,
rule
by
than 45
This
we may
7
Nap
Log \ io + Log
x
Nap Nap
sin (90
\x),
& 2
.
that
cos ^-x =
sin
sin
\x
when we
take
into account
the change in
the
definition of a sine.
It
The accuracy of Napier s Canon. has been observed above that a numerical
number
in
the second
table.
As Napier employed
this
JOHN NAPIER
inaccurate
39
it
value
in
his
in
further
calculations,
produced an error
logarithmic tables.
that
the
greater
part
of his
error
is
The
effect of this
values.
Napier
means of
his rule
differ
value from
He
attributes
this
dis-
Owing
to these
The
40
JOHN NAPIER
io
7
is
and 90 are
however, clear
sum
of the
in
general,
only
as
number
is
unaltered
by multiplication by
an appendix
unity.
On
"
to the
Log
= o, and
Logio=io
tion
10
.
This
is
practically equivalent to
1,
the assumption
Log 10=
Gresham
and io10
(viz.
sin 5
Log^= io
This
his visit
JOHN NAPIER
to
41
out
Merchiston
in
161
5,
that the
same
Log 10=
and
this
was
to,
Napier
gives
some
indications of
These
and of square
roots,
which work
In an "Admonitio"
Napier remarked
is
assigned,
that
it
is
multiply or
divide
that
by
a
complete
sine
(sin 90),
if
and thus
42
year,
JOHN NAPIER
when he again
visited Napier,
shewed him
On
the whole
who,
in the
same
Logarith-
morum
common
he
or
thousand numbers
14 places
of
decimals.
In
1624
pub-
logarithms of the
first
14 places of
was
in
fitted
The gap between 20000 and 90000 up by Adrian Vlacq, who published
Gouda a
1
1628 at
table of to
1
common
logarithms
of
of numbers from
decimals.
error,
00000, to
10 places
the numerous
that
numbers
have
JOHN NAPIER
Other Tables.
43
was published
in
1624 by Benjamin
Ursinus at Cologne.
The
The
logarithms to
"New
for
Logarithmes," in London
in
decimal
places.
Predecessors of Napier.
It
is
conceptions involved
have a
history,
entitled
to
44
invention,
it
JOHN NAPIER
is
The
The
progression
had
In
his
in
Michael
"
Stifel
(i
486-1 567),
in
celebrated
Arithmetica
Integra,"
published
between
made
to
correspond,
tion,
viz.
division
and
exponentiation
on the
one
how
this
correspondence
could
be
utilized
for
There were
even
given
Stevin
the
by the
(1548-
Belgian
Mathematician
special
Simon
1620) certain
tables for
calculation
JOHN NAPIER
n ff
45
and of
(i+r)
i+r
-,
(i+rf
ej
+ ... +
(i+r)
really
The
first
tables
of
beyond
their
special
purpose.
Napier,
Stifel's
work
him
whose
insight enabled
relations
develop
the
theoretical
between
far-reaching
calculations
importance
in
in
regard
arithmetic
general.
On
the
theoretical side,
tinuously
moving points involved the conception of a functional relationship between two convariables,
tinuous
whereas
Stifel
and
others
numbers.
This was
in
in itself
the develop-
46
JOHN NAPIER
A
No
rival inventor.
account of the
invention of logarithms
to
work of Jobst Biirgi (i 552-1632), a Swiss watch-maker and instrument-maker, who independently invented a
system
of
logarithms.
work
entitled
"Arithmetische
und Geois
metrische Progress-Tabulen."
The
table
really
an antilogarithmic
table,
and
consists of a set of
numbers printed red placed in correspondence The red with a set of numbers printed black.
numbers are
series,
1
o, 10, 20,
...
those of an arithmetic
00000000,
;
series
000 1 0000,
the
y i*O0Ol.
appears to
have devised
his
JOHN NAPIER
system a good
but kept
six
it
47
it,
many
years
the
appearance
of
those
of
Napier.
Conclusion.
The system
that of Napier,
of Biirgi
is
decidedly inferior to
logarithms which
was spread
in
the
scientific
The concensus
Science of
the
full
all
of opinion
among men
of
nations has
ascribed to
Napier
indispensable for
all
elaborate arithmetical
calculations.
In
in
taken place
half
"
no
very remarkable
that, in
a country
48
distracted
JOHN NAPIER
by
political, social,
and
religious feuds
first
of those
great thinkers
teenth
who
in
the
Mathematical Science.
AA
000139 312