A Brief History of Mathematics

Abstract

THANKS, in great measure, to the unwearied industry and acumen of Dr. Moritz Cantor, it is now comparatively easy to construct a synopsis of mathematical history down to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It is true that success depends upon much more than a mere knack of précis-writing: the task requires judgment, discrimination and a certain kind of sympathy; still, the labour of such a work is greatly simplified now that the essential facts have been made accessible in Dr. Cantor's incomparable lectures. But when the historian loses the aid of this accomplished guide, and endeavours to carry on the tale down to our own time, he is at once met by serious difficulties, even if he confines himself to a strictly limited field. Most of the writers of popular histories of mathematics break down hopelessly when they reach the nineteenth century; they are hampered by the limitations of their own knowledge, and a consciousness of the difficulty of writing so as to be understood by the audience to whom they address themselves.

A Brief History of Mathematics.

An authorised translation of Dr. Karl Fink's. “Geschichte der Elementar-Mathematik.” By W. W. Beman and D. E. Smith Pp. xii + 334. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench Trübner and Co., Ltd., 1900.)