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Wrońskiego życie i prace.

Zamiast tego wzoru, Wroński podaje następujący:

P — v y + (o + łn)⁷) ~ +(cw+ dv^a) ~

+ (« -I- >* + ffv*) . £

w którym d i g nie są zerami, jak u Younga. Przytem Young miał nieuwzględnić poprawek barometrycznych i termometrycznych.

Young jest uczonym znanym, zwłaszcza w historyi optyki, jako zwolennik teoryi undulacyjnej.

⁶) Niezależnie od tego ogłosił odezwę publiczna „Do ludzi oświeconych w Państwie Brytańskiem“, którą tu w całości powtarzamy:

To the Enlightened Men of the British Empire.

The constant developement of the human mind, causes us at length to perceive, that the discovery of truth is the finał object of humanity. Further, the scientific march, in this progress of mankind, appears alone to warrant here a triumphant Buccess.

Thus, the revolutions in the Sciences, especially in the positive one, would be, at first, the good most interesting to man; and the discovery of philosophical truths would afterwards, though still unknown, become the supreme object of political societies, whose legality should then be deduced from this single principle.

But, the reiterated efforts of thousands of men, who have occupied themselves in scientific and philosophical researches, when compared with the few results obtained, afford an idea but little favourable to the individual power of man. Thus, for ezample, the announcement of a Reform in Mathematical Science, accomplished in our days, would appear, in the first moment, at least an exaggeration little deserving of serious attention. And, nevertheless, not only in the Mathematics, but further in Philosophy istelf, we must totally change the point of view, to enable us, at length, to discover this finał term which is beginning to reveal itself so strongly to humanity.

Speaking here of this high, and, in some sort, infinite interest, which is found implicated with scientific and philosophical truths, it scarcely becomes us to name that inferior of economical interest, eąually connected with them. We mention this last to point out, that, by a species of finality, this motive of physical life appears to serve to the previous developement of human naturę, until man may perceive, himself, the true interest attached to his supreme destinies.

But, whatewer it may be, either that we choose the limited economical interest of political societies, or the infinite intellectual one of our whole species, we should under the new auspices that we have glimpsed, signalize to the enlightened man of England, the little volume which has just been published among them unter the title:

„Address of Hoene Wroński to the British Board of longitude, upon the actual state of the Mathematics, their Reform, and upon the New Celestial Mecha-nics, giving the definitiv Solution of the Problem of Longitude — London, Dec. 1820“.

In perusing this smali volume, the superior characters to whom we address ourselv68 here, will discover, without doubt, besides the two generał interests, which we havo just suggested, a national one, powerful enough to justify the liberty we take by informing them of this revolution in the human mind. They will learn, with astonishment, that the author has madę vast sacrifices under the faith of the British Parliament; that he has brought to England, according to his humble opinion, superior discoyeries of immense importance; and that, in reward for this devotion to

Wroński.    7

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