The construction of the wonderful canon of logarithms

Introduction.
xvii
on his mathematical pursuits. The very opposite, however,
was the case, as at his death he left extensive
estates in the Lothians, the Lennox, Menteith, and elsewhere,
besides personal property which amounted to a
large
sum.
For fuller information regarding John Napier, the
reader is referred to the Memoirs, published by Mark
Napier in 1834, from which the above particulars are
mainly derived.
'
The Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Constructio ' is
the most important of all
Napier's works, presenting as it
does in a most clear and simple way the original conception
of logarithms. It is, however, so rare as to be
very little known, many writers on the subject never
having seen a copy, and describing its contents from
hearsay, as appears to be the case with Baron Maseres
in his well-known work, ' Scriptores Logarithmici,' which
occupies six large quarto volumes.
In view of such facts the present translation was
undertaken, which, it is hoped, will be found faithfully
to reproduce the original. In its preparation valuable
assistance was received from
Mr John Holliday and Mr
A. M. Laughton. The printing and form of the book
follow the original edition of 1619 as closely as a translation
will allow, and the head and tail pieces are in exact
facsimile. ^ To the
work are added a few explanatory
notes.
The second part of the volume consists of a Catalogue
c Z of