Life of James Watt. With a memoir on machinery considered in relation to the prosperity of the working classes ... To which are subjoined, historical account of the discovery of the composition of water / by Lord Brougham; and eulogium of James Watt, by Lord Jeffrey.

  • Arago, F. (François), 1786-1853.
Date:
1839
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Life of James Watt. With a memoir on machinery considered in relation to the prosperity of the working classes ... To which are subjoined, historical account of the discovery of the composition of water / by Lord Brougham; and eulogium of James Watt, by Lord Jeffrey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    engineer preparing discoveries which were soon to immortalize him; and it cannot but appear remarkable that the words condensation of steam should come, as it were, naturally to present themselves in the history of the infancy of Watt. I have the more willingly alluded to this singu- lar anecdote, because, for its own sake, it richly merits preservation. And, as the occasion has presented itself, let us impress on youth that it was not modesty alone which prompted the re- sponse of Newton, when, in reply to a certain great personage who inquired how the principle of gravity was discovered, he answered, !C By al- ways thinking of it /” Let us point out, in these simple words of the great author of the Princi- pia, what is the true secret of men of genius. The extraordinary felicity of anecdote with which our associate, for fifty years, delighted all those with whom he associated, very early de- veloped itself. The proof of this will be found in a few lines which I extract from an unpublished note written in the year 1798, by Mrs Marion i Campbell, the cousin and youthful companion of the celebrated engineer.* “ He was not fourteen, I am indebted for this curious document to my friend Mr James Watt of Soho. Thanks to the profound venera-