The Visual Display

ofthose Iines being ftom dght to left, or from left ro right, shews
whether in Foportion to its population the country is burdened
with heary ta-res or otherwise" (pages r3-r4). The slope ofthe
dotted line is unbformative, since it is dependent on the diameter
ofthe circle as wellas the heighr ofthe two v€rticals. Hov/evet,
the sign ofthe slope does maLe sense. taking Plafan to his familiar
point about whit he rcgarded as excessive taxation in Bdtain
(sirtb circle from the ngbr. wich rhe dope runlrrjng opposire Lo
mosr countriet. Playfair was enthusiastic about the multivariate
arrangfment becaLise ir fos(ered comparisom:
The autlor ofthis work applied the use of Lines to matters of
commcrce and Erance abour filteen lears ago. -rrh grc,r
succels. HJs mode wa" qenerallv approved ofas nor o'iiu fr.itir.rting,
bur rcnderirg rlose srudie' rno'e cle,r, and rerjrned
more e.srl) b) Lhe memo1. The pre'enr charL. rrc in like
mamer inrerded ro aid rror'rjcal studies. bv shewine ro $e
eye Lle 'izes ofdifferent courrrier rcpre.enrid bf imll,r form'.
for where forms are not similar, the cye cannot iompare them
easily nor accurately. From this circuirxtance it hapliens, thar
we have a more accunte idea ofthe siza ofthe olaie*. whi.h
are rphe,es. rlran of rhe narion. of Europe rn hich ". '* ."
thc maps, all ofwhich are irregular forms in themselves as well
as unlrke to each orher. Sizc. Populanon, and Revenue, are rhe
rluee pnnopal objecrs ofarrenrion upon rbe gcncral scale of
't.rti.rical srudie., wherhe, wc are acrurred bv"curiosirv or
inrerev: I h:r c rherelore represcnred these cbrec objeci' in one
r'lev/.... L?age 1Jl
But here Playfair had a forerunner-and one who tJrought more
clearly about the abstract probicms ofgraphical dcsign than did
Playfair, who lacked mathematical skills. A most rem:rLable and
explicit early theoretical statement advencing the gereral (nonanalogical)
relational graphic was made byJ. H. I-ambert in 1765,
3J y€ars before The Stutistical Breuiaryl
We have in general two variable quantities, x, y, which will
be collated with one another by observation, so rhat we can
determine for each value ofx, which may be considered as an
abscissa. rhe correspooding ordinare y. Were rhe expenments
or observat;on\ comDletelv l(currle. the.e ordinateicould
qire a number ofpoinrs throush *hich a straishr or curved
Ine should be dr";n. B.,t ". dis s not 'o. theine deviarer ro
a grcaler or lesse! exrent from the observational poinrs. ft must
thercfore be drawn in such a way that it comes as near as
possible ro is rrue posirJon dd goes. as ir u ere. tluough thc
mrcldre ot the elven Dol]lts.',
cRA?EaCAt TXCtLTENCE 4J
!3johm Hetuich Lamhert, Bdlr,ile
zen Cebtuucla da Mdthtuotik u"d d,th
,r/dd!r8 @erlin, 1?6t, s quored iD
Lam Til1iig. Earry nxlcjfteqral
Gapb.," Btxbh Joanal ht the Histotr
oJ S.iena,I (1s7l), 2o4-hs.