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but Leibnitz proposed it in 1716, to try the skill of theEnglish mathematicians. Newton received it in theafternoon, and, though fatigued with the business of theday, solved it before night.

This sort of intellectual skirmishing was, of course,soon mixed up with the controversy about the origin offluxions. Newton ’s solution of the trajectories wascavilled at by Bernoulli. Brook Taylor defended it;but most unjustifiably and impertinently concluded bycharging Bernoulli with ignorance in his critique. Ber-noulli revenged himself on Taylor with considerablewarmth. The latter then came forward with a defianceto all the Continent, in the shape of a problem of somedifficulty in the integral calculus. Unfortunately, how-ever, a solution of the whole class of problems to whichit belonged had long before been given by Bernoulli.This was a blow to the English mathematicians, which,however, did not long hinder them from entering thefield afresh; and Keill, with equal zeal and want ofdiscretion, proposed the formidable problem of the re-sistance of fluids, levelling his challenge personally atBernoulli; who in a short time replied, that he wasready with a solution, which he offered to deposit withan umpire, provided Keill would in like manner sendhis. Keill never made any reply to so fair a proposal.His antagonist, indeed, had more than suspected himof forgetting, that when a man challenges another witha problem, he ought to be able to answer it himself;and thus instantly assigned the true reason for his back-wardness, at the same time exulting over him mostcruelly, and losing sight of all common decency in theabuse and invective with which he overwhelmed him.

The controversy was kept up by many minor attacksand replies, which do not appear worth notice. We haveseen enough to exhibit a lamentable view of the weak-nesses from which the highest intellectual endowmentsdo not exempt their possessors, and we are glad to turnaway from such a scene. The controversy was notwholly without some beneficial consequences in givingx 4