I Wish To God These Calculations Had

The Triumph Of The Industrial Arts Will Advance The Cause Of Civilization More Rapidly Than Its Warmest Advocates Could Have Hoped, And Contribute To The Permanent Prosperity And Strength Of The Country Far More Than The Most Splendid Victories Of Successful War.

The Proportion Between The Velocity With Which Men Or Animals Move, And The Weights They Carry, Is A Matter Of Considerable Importance, Particularly In Military Affairs.

Propose To An Englishman Any Principle, Or Any Instrument, However Admirable, And You Will Observe That The Whole Effort Of The English Mind Is Directed To Find A Difficulty, A Defect, Or An Impossibility In It. If You Speak To Him Of A Machine For Peeling A Potato, He Will Pronounce It Impossible: If You Peel A Potato With It Before His Eyes, He Will Declare It Useless, Because It Will Not Slice A Pineapple.

There Is, However, Another Purpose To Which Academies Contribute. When They Consist Of A Limited Number Of Persons, Eminent For Their Knowledge, It Becomes An Object Of Ambition To Be Admitted On Their List.

As Soon As An Analytical Engine Exists, It Will Necessarily Guide The Future Course Of The Science. Whenever Any Result Is Sought By Its Aid, The Question Will Then Arise — By What Course Of Calculation Can These Results Be Arrived At By The Machine In The Shortest Time?