First published in 1857, this work comprises assorted noteworthy writings by the mathematician and astronomer Sir John Herschel (1792-1871), reflecting his diverse scientific and literary interests. It includes a piece on terrestrial magnetism, a review of William Whewell's writings on the history and philosophy of science, and several addresses to the Royal Astronomical Society. Of particular interest is Herschel's commentary on Adolphe Quetelet's work on probability, which advocated applying statistics and probability calculus to social and political questions. Herschel's article not only influenced the growth of social science in Britain, but also played an important role in James Clerk Maxwell's development of a statistical treatment of heat phenomena. Also included in this collection are Herschel's translations of poems by Schiller (accompanied by the original German) as well as examples of his own verse. In an intriguing appendix, Herschel outlines a method for compiling vocabularies of indigenous peoples.

Excerpt from Essays From the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews: With Addresses and Other Pieces Ducted on proper principles, and with a view to the general result, I am very desirous that what I have to say should not lose the force I wish it to carry, by coming before you mixed up with my own imperfections as a speaker - and I should be very sorry that the real interest of those topics on which I mean to beg your attention, Should be frittered away in unmeaning or hyperbolical ex pressions, which, in the excitement of the moment, I might have the bad taste to think very eloquent, but which would really have no other effect than to distract attention from the plain common sense of the matter. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1857.