Item 176 - William Whewell to Richard Jones

4 pp.

Trinity College - WW is at work 'with great activity' upon his history and philosophy of the inductive sciences: 'The history of mechanics and astronomy is so important and instructive that I must be liberally full'. He expects 'that by means of it I shall be able to shut the mouths of all gainsayers of my philosophy'. WW still holds that his philosophy contains 'the most valuable parts of my speculations'. If in the course of writing his book on the history, he finds himself 'becoming metaphysical and transcendental, I open book two, in which all these things fall into their places, and will in the end make the most beautiful system that can be imagined'.