An introduction to mathematics, by A. N. Whitehead.

METHODS OF APPLICATION 37
ometry, and the observations of the heavens
disclosed the exact regularity of the solar
system. Some of the later Greeks, such as
Archimedes, had just views on the elementary
phenomena of hydrostatics and optics. Indeed, Archimedes, who combined a genius for
mathematics with a physical insight, must
rank with Newton, who lived nearly two
thousand years later, as one of the founders
of mathematical physics. He lived at Syracuse, the great Greek city of Sicily. When
the Romans besieged the town (in 210 to
212 B.C.), he is said to have burned their ships
by concentrating on them, by means of
mirrors, the sun's rays. The story is highly
improbable, but is good evidence of the reputation which he had gained among his contemporaries for his knowledge of optics. At
the end of this siege he was killed. According
to one account given to Plutarch, in his life of
Marcellus, he was found by a Roman soldier
absorbed in the study of a geometrical diagram which he had traced on the sandy floor
of his room. He did not immediately obey
the orders of his captor, and so was killed.
For the credit of the Roman generals it must
be said that the soldiers had orders to spare
him. The internal evidence for the other
famous story of him is very strong; for the
discovery attributed to him is one eminently
worthy of his genius for mathematical and