The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1853-11-09

answer his purpose or not. 1t may no
, have sufficient power, or the several part
/ may not harmonic with each other, an,
he may find on actual experiment. whel
it is too late to profit by his knowledge
that his labors have all been in vain. Blu
let him bring in the aid of Mathematics
J then can he persevere with confiden
hope Of success; for he knows that he il
} following an unerring rule that will neve
deceive him; one that will save him tn,
trouble of making thousands Of fruitles.
and laborious experiments; for every thing
ne contructs, from the most simple machine
to the most complicated. is governed by the
principles of Mathematics, and must bt
constructed with a mathematical precision
or it will not answer the desired purpose.
The merchant and the farmer. as wei
as the mechanic, must understand this
Science; for scarcely day passes. in
transac.lng their business, but they are
called upon to make mathematical calcu.
lations. The merchant must count the
cost OF his merchandise, the price of ex.
portaton. the per centage of profit or loss
and various other calculations connected
with the ever varying routine of his bust
ness. The economical farmer will consid.
er the cost Of his lands, the amount ex.
pended for farming implements, the cos,
OF cultivation, the value of his productions,
and numberless other calculations that he
is daily called to make.
The navigator, who traverses the mighty
deep, periling his life upon the unknown
ocean, subject to being cast to and fro by
the mighty elements, or landed upon some
unknown shore, must be familiar with
Mathematics. For when far at sea, lei
the. storms howl around him as they will,
or his lone vessel be tossed as il may, still
10y few simple observations and the
friendly aid Of Mathematics. he is enabfsa
;:s caculate his precise latitude and lonyi-
tude, and thus determine his distance and
direction from the desired port, whence,
without knowledge of this Science, he
would be inevitably lost
And most Of all the student; he would
become learned in the literature and sci.
ence OF the day; must obtain an acquain.
tance with Mathematics; for without il all
will be dark and mysterious. Let him en-
gage in the study Of any OF the Sciences
Philosophy, Chemistry, Mineralogy, or
whatever he may choose, and he finds
them all closely and inseparably connect
ed with Mathematics. He may study Phi.
losophy that beautiful Science OF Nature;
he may learn the different properties of
bodies and their action upon each other;
ne may know that it is the attraction Of
gravitaton that holds all substances to the
earth; that sustains the planets in their
spheres. and that causes falling bodies to
approach toward the centre of the earth.
But when he would .know the laws by
which all bodies are governed in their ac-
ton upon each other, and the laws of at.
traction, he must call to his assistance the
science of Mathematics, for without it he
will be left in total darkness.
The Science Of Chemistry, one of the
most beautiful and interesting, and at the
same time. important OF all Sciences.
"since by its investigations the practical
arts are continually improving" is also
dependent upon Mathematics. And the
student who does not possess a thorough
mathematical knowledge must remain for.
ever ignorant Of this important branch of
education; for "all bodies and substances
unite with each other in certain ratios and
relations, and all compounds are formed,
by nature. in certain immutable proper
tions;" and the student may seek in vain
for some Science which is not connected
with Mathematics, for i. is emphatically
the Science of all Sciences. Indeed al
most every thing in nature, of which we
have any knowledge, is regulated by math-
ematical rules or constructed upon math.
ematical principles.
The universe, itself, that great piece Of
mechanism, the handywork of GoD, is said
to be governed by laws founded upon math-
ematical principles; and "when we cast
our eyes upward and behold the shining
tenants of the heavens moving in solemn
grandeur through the halls of the sky, each
star, as it rises and sets, marking time on
the record Of natures" and as they perform
their sublime revolutions declaring the
goodness. power, and omnipotence Of that
GoD who created them, land would know
the laws by which they are regulated in
their motions, we must fly to Mathemat.
los. "for by its aid alone are we enabled
to find them out. In the language of a
modern writer: "Mathematics form the
basis upon which rests tho L. awo that rov