NOTE ON THE "FIVE ESSAYS."
At the session of the Royal Society 22 December, 1686, Petty produced a defence of the Two Essays. The defence was read and the author promised to lodge it with the Society[1]. The 29th December he gave in two notes about the magnitude of London and Paris, which were ordered with his leave to be printed[2]. The two notes were accordingly published in the Philosophical Transactions for November and December, 1686[3] under the caption of A further Assertion of the Propositions concerning the Magnitude of London, etc.[4] The first note is substantially identical with the first of the Five Essays as printed in 1687 and here reprinted—variations are indicated in the foot notes. The second note, reprinted on p. 537, is not unlike the theses of the Fourth Essay. At the next session of the Society, 5 January, 1687, Petty produced three more papers in answer to the objection of Mr. Auzout against his conclusion that London was greater than Paris and Rouen taken together. He permitted them to be read and it was ordered that Justel's pleasure should be known with regard to printing an extract of Auzout's letter with Petty's answers[5]. Justel sent the following interesting reply:
Ce billet est pour vous supplier Monsieur de ne vouloir pas mettre l'endroit de la lettre de Monsieur Auzout ou il parle de celuy qui luy a dit qu'il n'y a que vingt quatre mil maisons parceque ceci leur nuirait a tous deux et on me reprocherait d'estre cause de leur malheur. on est si delicat en france que la moindre chose
